Majority of SMEs unprepared for disruption if Britain crashes out of EU
The majority of British SMEs have done no planning for the various possible outcomes of Brexit on their supply chains.
Just 47 per cent have done any planning to counter potential supply-chain disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The bigger the company, the more exercised it has been planning for logistics disruption, according to a survey of business conducted on behalf of Close Brothers Asset Finance.
Fifty seven per cent of companies valued at £10m or more have done any worst-case scenario planning, while only 25 per cent of SMEs with turnover of less than £250,000 have done so.
Manufacturing is the sector most exposed to disruption to the supply chain, with 57 per cent of those surveyed exporting to Europe.
Overall, 40 per cent of SMEs export to the Continent, with the North East the most outward-looking of the regions, at 59 per cent.
And one third of SMEs in the transport and haulage sector (35 per cent) believe their business will suffer if they have to reorganise the supply chain because of Brexit.
The survey indicates that SMEs are just as bewildered as everybody else as to potential outcomes of Brexit from the Chequers plan to a no-deal exit.
“It clearly demonstrates that in the absence of certainty, businesses have taken it upon themselves to assess the impact of leaving the EU will have on the supply chain, which, for many businesses exposed to Europe, is critical,” said Neil Davies, CEO of Close Brothers Asset Finance.
