Almost two in three UK businesses (63 per cent) are not ready for Brexit, with 26 per cent needing a further six to 12 months to get their company prepared, according to new research by ThoughtWorks.

The global software consultancy surveyed 1,026 business leaders across the UK, finding that there was little variation between a hard or soft Brexit on business readiness - 37 per cent for both scenarios - with only 14 per cent of business stating they were already fully prepared for Brexit.

The poll was carried out when the Brexit deadline was still 31 October, with the overwhelming majority of respondents calling for more time – while nine per cent said they will never be ready.

Just this morning, it was revealed that the EU has agreed to a Brexit extension to 31 January 2020, with the option for the UK to leave earlier if a deal is ratified.

Breaking the research results down by sector, construction companies were found to be those most likely to be ready for the impact of Brexit, whereas those in manufacturing and the education sectors were least likely to be fully prepared.

Businesses in retail (31 per cent), health (29 per cent) manufacturing (29 per cent) were most likely to say they would need a further six months to a year to adapt to the key regulatory, economic and data issues that they believe will come as a result of Brexit.

ThoughtWorks also found that the size of a business also had a bearing on its perceived readiness for Brexit. Nearly a quarter of small businesses (23 per cent) said they were prepared, compared to just seven per cent of larger companies.

Kevin Flynn, director at ThoughtWorks UK commented: “Supply chain disruption, employment of EU citizens, the falling value of the pound and transfer of data between the UK and EU are key issues cited today as challenges for businesses.

“There will no doubt be opportunities from market uncertainty and we expect to see the tech gap widen, as tech-centric agile businesses adapt quickly whilst those whose technology holds them back will likely fall behind or struggle to survive.”

Share Story: