Almost a third of companies (31%) expect to move staff from the UK because of Brexit, a rise of more than 10% since the summer of 2017, according to the latest Thomson Reuters quarterly poll of chief financial officers (CFOs)
The research, based on responses from 100 CFOs across the UK and Europe in companies with revenue between $100m (£74m) to in excess of $5bn (£3.7bn), shows there has also been an increase in the numbers expecting to switch the location of their headquarters. This has risen from 4% in the original 2017 survey to 10% currently.
Other observations indicate CFO views are not changing dramatically, with 40% of respondents continuing to say that Brexit has impacted their strategic planning to date, identical to the last survey, released in December 2017.
Likewise, 34% of companies say that they are still planning for a ‘no deal’ scenario, a slight decrease of 4% since the last survey of 2017.
All government figures charged with delivering Brexit have enjoyed an increase in confidence in the latest findings. The prime minister Theresa May’s score has increased from 3.25 to 4.5; foreign secretary Boris Johnson has increased from 2.5 to 3.7, and Brexit secretary David Davis from 3.57 to 4.5.
This was the first report where respondents were asked to rank the degree of confidence they felt in the abilities of the Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition’s ability to deliver Brexit; he scored 3.2.
Respondents were also asked to rate confidence they had in John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor’s abilities to steward the UK economy for the first time. Like Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell was placed at the bottom of the table with a score of 3.6, while the Chancellor scored 6.1, and the prime minister scored 4.9.
Laurence Kiddle, managing director for the EMEA tax & accounting business at Thomson Reuters, said: ‘Businesses appear to be holding fast to a “wait and see” attitude, and a sizeable minority (37%) have held off from investing in the UK, which suggests that the full impact is yet to be felt.
‘However, the slight rise in confidence in the political leaders negotiating Brexit – and a recognition that there may be some business benefits, particularly in reducing UK tax rates and in deregulation - suggests business leaders are beginning to feel increased faith in the process.’
Report by Pat Sweet
