Irish companies stockpile goods in UK to counter no-deal Brexit
25 September 2018
Carol Lynch, Partner, comments in the Financial Times and The Irish Times on the impact of Brexit and the availability of warehousing space for companies reviewing their supply chains:
With just six months to go before Britain leaves the EU, Irish businesses are competing with a growing number of online retailers for warehouse space in Britain as fears grow that a disorderly Brexit next March could stop or delay shipments to Ireland’s biggest export market. Irish companies are facing a tightening market for warehousing as retailers in Britain take more storage space to capitalise on the boom in online sales.
“All our clients are reviewing their plans for this,” said Carol Lynch, partner with accounting firm BDO in Dublin. “The difficulty companies are facing, however, is the lack of warehousing space available [in the UK]. This is at a premium. [Stockpiling also] involves a significant investment in products, hitting cash flow.”
The articles speaks to companies who have already started making Brexit contingency plans, such as C&C and Dawn Farm Foods.
The recently published BDO Optimism Index from BDO found that 88% of Irish businesses surveyed believe a final agreement on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU will not be reached by the October deadline. Commenting on this finding, Lynch says that this “is understandable given the amount of work that is still to be done on Northern Ireland, Border checkpoints and the future trade agreement.”
For more information on Brexit planning or if you wish to speak to an advisor, contact the BDO Brexit taskforce at [email protected] or ring 01 470 0420.
*Article adapted from Financial Times and The Irish Times, 25 September.