Small importers expect cost hike as a result of Brexit

The specialist lending platform for SMEs carried out a survey of 1,325 British small business owners which revealed that importing small businesses expected their average costs to increase by £5,300 per month, resulting in £60,000 per year of added expenditure.

With 214,300 small businesses currently importing goods or services into the UK, the potential impact would be vast and could risk widening the UK trade deficit even further after it grew by £1bn in May.

Businesses were deflated by the overall result of the general election, with only 12% stating that they felt positive about the outcome, while 41% stated the opposite.

Fears around the increase in import costs were not mitigated by the fact that 41% believed the election result would soften Britain’s EU exit strategy, which the majority (55%) thought would be good for their business.

“With formal negotiations with EU leaders having only begun last month, it is too soon to comment on the true impact Britain’s exit from the European Union will have,” said James Meekings, co-founder and UK managing director at Funding Circle (pictured above).

“What is clear, however, is that we must consider how best to support importing small businesses who face a potential increase in costs as we leave the European Union.”

Investors at Funding Circle include 60,000 individuals, local and national government, the European Investment Bank and financial institutions such as pension funds.

To date, investors have lent £2.5bn to more than 25,000 UK small businesses through the lending platform.