IOD study highlights businesses' unpreparedness regarding Brexit plans

The Institute of Directors (IoD) says in a study published Thursday morning that only 11% of British companies have begun to implement contingency plans for Brexit.

What exactly the future holds for a post-Brexit UK remains uncertain.

Second round Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU commenced on Monday and it appears the Conservative Party are still torn between asserting British court control on migration policy and the minimisation of disruption to British business interests as their central priorities.

But with the Prime Minister set to hold the first in a series of periodic meetings with industry lobbyists and leaders later on Thursday afternoon, almost one fifth of businesses don’t even understand how EU laws will affect their sector and as concerns rise, business heads are hoping the future of the UK’s trading status with EU countries becomes more transparent.

Undertaken through the first two weeks of July, the study shows that leaders of just less than one third of the 991 businesses surveyed lack understanding as to what moving to WTO rules would mean for EU-UK trade.

How long it would take for the UK to be able to trade on WTO terms will depend on levels of co-operation as well as the acceptance of Britain's proposals from other governments. In the meantime, trade is likely to slow at a glacial pace as legal processes and paperwork could take years to complete.

According to Stephen Martin, director general of the IoD, "most have not made any concrete changes yet," before going on to note "there is still a window of opportunity for the Government to convince them to hold off triggering contingency plans", highlighting that many firms are still waiting for more clarity from the Government on the details of the transition before making any changes of substance to their operational procedures.

Martin also noted that in order for a smoother transition that there needed to be a "full and frank discussion with all negotiating parties on what transition looks like, well in advance of March 2019."