Member Article

North East directors cautiously optimistic at Brexit panel

Over forty directors from the region’s business community attended an event at Gateshead’s Marriott Hotel last month to discuss the impact of Brexit on the North East.

Mauricio Armellini from the Bank of England, Simon Crosby from the Department for International Trade and Jonathan Greensit of HSBC made up a panel to lead discussion.

Dialogue centred around both the short-term impact present following the vote and looking forward at what to expect when the UK leaves the EU.

Cause for optimism?

The general view from the panel was that businesses should be cautiously optimistic and that, moving forward, Brexit could be a great opportunity to increase exports from the region.

Tait Walker’s Andrew Moorby, who chaired the event, revealed: “Brexit is an issue that will affect all businesses in the North East in some way, however big or small, so it is important to keep discussing the implications in the run up to the UK leaving.

“The impact of Brexit is still very much unknown but it is encouraging that there is positivity in the region for moving forward.

“There are, naturally, some concerns that businesses have, such as what will replace the European funding that is so crucial to training and digital development in the region.

“With stronger leadership in the region, however we hope such concerns will be heard and dealt with at a national level.”

Reflecting on the event as a whole, Andrew added: “It’s always great to see members of the North East business community sharing their thoughts and discussing key issues.

“We believe these events are the ideal opportunity for businesses to collaborate within the region and we will continue to run them regularly on key topics impacting both our clients and indeed the wider region.”