The U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union has left more than three-quarters of chief executive officers saying they would consider moving their headquarters or operations outside Britain, according to a survey of 100 business leaders by the accountancy firm KPMG. Some 72 percent of the CEOs surveyed said they voted “Remain” in the June 23 Brexit referendum , KPMG said on Monday in an e-mailed statement. While 69 percent said they’re confident Britain’s economy will continue to grow over the next year, and 73 percent expressed confidence their companies will grow, 76 percent are mulling some form of relocation. “CEOs are reacting to the prevailing uncertainty with contingency planning,” KPMG U.K. Chairman Simon Collins said in a statement. “Over half believe the U.K.’s ability to do business will be disrupted once we Brexit and therefore, for many CEOs, it is important that they plan different scenarios to hedge against future disruption.”
Brexit Leads Three-Quarters of Britain’s CEOs to Consider Moving - Bloomberg
Heavy machinery whirrs and clanks on the factory floor of precision metalworking firm Robert Bion & Co, where a planned three-meter robotic arm would have been speeding up output by now, if Britain had not voted to leave the European Union. "We're waiting to get a clear idea of what the future might be before we make any significant investments," owner Nick Bion said at the company his father founded in 1964 in Reading, west of London. Britain's economy has held up better than most economists predicted since voters chose in June to quit the EU. Consumers have carried on shopping and employers have not laid off workers on a large scale, despite uncertainty over the country's future trade relations with its biggest export market.
From robots to websites, British firms curb spending due to Brexit | Reuters