At PwC, we're still clear that a deal is more likely than ‘no deal’, and that at the end of status quo transition, the UK will leave the EU with a Free Trade Agreement which builds upon the existing EU-Canada deal.
But with the EU encouraging people to make contingency plans for a ‘no deal’ scenario and with no major breakthroughs in the negotiations in time for the June summit of the EU, there is increasing imperative to consider the impacts of a ‘no deal’ scenario. We surveyed 350 UK based businesses to understand the scenarios they are planning for and the preparations they have made so far, and whether these are in line with our recommended ‘no regret’ decisions.
In my recent article I set out eight ‘no regret actions’ - things all organisations should be doing now, to pave the way for doing successful business regardless of where the negotiations end up. The aim was to help businesses stay agile, mitigate risk, and take advantage of opportunities as they come up.
With the clock ticking, we wanted to dig into the detail of what businesses are actually doing to prepare. If they are preparing, which situations are they preparing for? Are they making changes, or are they playing for time? Are particular regions or types of business further ahead than others?
What we found is a business community that is extremely divided in terms of expectations and preparedness.
