57pc of SMEs fear negative impact of Brexit

More than half (57 per cent) of the UK’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) believe that Brexit will have some negative impact on their business, while 6.6 per cent think it will destroy their business, a new survey has found.

Yet despite this pessimism, just 17 per cent of SMEs said that they were not prepared at all for the UK to leave the EU on 31 December 2020.

According to a new survey by fintech business bank Amaiz, the vast majority of business-owners are ready for Brexit, even though they may not be happy about it.

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37.5 per cent of SMEs said that they are most concerned about changes to regulations, while 37.2 per cent believe there will be an increased cost of doing business, and 35.5 per cent said that they were worried about reduced access to suppliers.

More than a quarter (25.7 per cent) said that they are concerned that Brexit will mean that they will have reduced access to talent, while 25.4 per cent think that Brexit will damage the UK’s reputation.

“Financial services will be one of sectors hardest hit by Brexit,” said Steve Taklalsingh, managing director of UK business at Amaiz.

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“We’ve had a long time to prepare, the worry remains over the uncertainty over the deal, which is still not finalised.”

Almost half (49.2 per cent) of company leaders told Amaiz that they have already reviewed the new regulations which are set to take force on 1 January 2021, and made changes to ensure their companies will meet them

The survey concluded that UK SMEs believe that Covid-19 poses a bigger threat to their business in 2021 than Brexit – with 62.4 per cent stating that the pandemic was their top worry, verses 17.3 per cent who cited Brexit as the top concern.

Read more: Just 39pc of SMEs have enough savings to survive the pandemic