London, UK: A report has revealed that nearly 94% of small to medium-sized businesses say that Brexit has affected them negatively.
The finding appears in “Brexit and Businesses: in their own words” report, published by European Movement UK.
Other findings include:
- More than half of businesses state that the volume and complexity of documents/admin now needed to trade had increased due to Brexit
- Two-thirds of businesses are not trading at pre-Brexit levels and 25% have had to reduce their workforce as a result of Brexit
- Over 70% of respondents anticipate that their situation will worsen, with 40.5% worried that it will get ‘much worse’.
- A vast majority see the benefits of rejoining the EU market: 95.5% to the single market and 92% to the customs union
Sir Vince Cable, vice president of European Movement UK, said: “The research by European Movement UK shows just how much ongoing damage is still being done by Brexit. Devastating barriers to trading with the EU have forced some companies out of business. Red tape, lack of workers, huge hikes in overheads – Britain’s small and medium enterprises have sustained a disproportionate amount of the damage.”
European Movement UK received almost 2,000 responses from SMEs.
