WHAT DOES BREXIT REALLY MEAN FOR BUSINESS?

It took four years, and the brinkmanship was epic on both sides, but on Christmas Eve, the UK finally secured a Brexit deal. Three months on and what’s the verdict?

Carina Evans is CEO of Maidenheadbased Podium Pet Products. The company develops and manufactures natural products for domestic animals. It also sells Dog Rocks which help reduces grass burn caused by dogs urinating on lawns.

Carina said: “Despite everything, we had our best year to date last year – in 13 years of trading. We exported more to North America and Europe because we were ready to go online. We also cut products that were not selling and focused on our non-plastic ethics.”

No deal would not have been a calamity for Podium. “Our biggest markets are the US and Canada. We are not dependent on Europe, but it is a large market on our doorstep, so Brexit gave us the opportunity to give Europe another go. The shipping requirements and extra paperwork are no different from selling into North America so in theory, there should be no difference.

“Europe is our neighbour. We need it and its population need us, we just don’t need such close integration and we need to protect our assets and sovereignty. I believe this degree of separation is ideal. It’s a good outcome from where I stand.”

She admits there are teething troubles. “But ultimately neither party wants to damage trade relationships. We have been through much bigger problems than this.”

Carina is looking forward. “We want to consolidate on a whirlwind 2020, look at where we can further refine, develop new products, tighten contracts, look at other markets and travel for face-to-face meetings with customers and suppliers as soon as we possibly can.”

For Swindon-based healthcare group Wasdell Group, the Brexit deal was a welcome Christmas present.

Chairman Martin Tedham, said: “Until the Brexit deal was done, there was enormous uncertainty surrounding international trade. If we had gone out of the EU without a deal, that could have been disastrous in terms of our not knowing when or if pharmaceuticals would be arriving.

“We pre-empted the confusion and inevitable teething troubles in the first months following the deal by buying an additional three months’ supplies of the goods we need to deliver our services. It was really our customers who have faced difficulties – until the last minute, they weren’t clear about tariffs, or when their goods would get through border controls. Our customers supply their own containers, so the burden of border issues has fallen on them rather than us, though we all expected some friction in the initial stages.

“The major difference we have seen is a steep rise in the costs of pallets – we were paying around £35 per pallet, but that rocketed to more than £100. Some transport drivers are demanding higher rates to compensate for additional time spent waiting at borders.”

Three years ago, Wasdell built a new facility in Dundalk, Ireland, so it would have a European headquarters ahead of the UK leaving the EU. “Twenty of our current customers moved their work to Dundalk in January 2021 alone, and I expect more to want to do so,” said Martin. “We’ve ensured colleagues have been trained in the new tariffs and duty regulations, and the operation is going smoothly. Dundalk is now an important strand of our expansion strategy. We own additional land there, so that we can expand that facility as demand increases.”