finneh
Full Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 7,318
As someone who runs an 8 figure turnover business I'd agree.In terms of how Brexit has affected me personally, I would have to say not so I'd notice.
Of course being retired means you are out of the main stream, although just recently I have been contacted by a number of people/companies I use to deal with over ten years ago, at that time I had my own business involved in Training Programming of various sorts, for various companies. They are all now seeking my help in providing training for new employees. The majority of these people haven't trained anybody for years (which help explains why they are still using my number as a contact for training!) and the single most common factor is that their pool of cheap skilled labour has dried up, mainly as people return home to countries in the EU. Some of this was of course affected by Covid related issues, but of those I've spoken to, most say it was beginning with Brexit.
It would appear they are now revisiting their payment levels/scales and broadly this amounts to having to up their wages/salary levels and offer free training; not just to new recruits, but for some companies also to all employees under the age of thirty five they are offering to support a 'continuous training' programme based on personal aspirations. Presumably to try and keep people they train.
Anything that gets companies reinvesting in their locally sources people/workforce and not having to rely on Government handouts, means a brighter future...viva Brexit!
Almost makes me want to return to the fray.... but on second thoughts with steel hips and a pacemaker in place better not!
Supply chains have been really challenging over the last 16-17 months but it's been equally challenging with suppliers outside of the EU compared with inside. Shortages of materials due to higher demand and lower supply have caused massive cost inflation. Likewise the container cost increasing by an order of magnitude (although a byproduct is making UK products more competitive).
Labour is harder to come by nowadays but in fairness this has been a positive for us. Our factory (45 guys) is quite a tight knit group and we've been able to increase salaries at the lower end without ceding a competitive advantage (as our competitors are either doing likewise or not meeting customer demand).
Effectively we're in a position I've not seen before, which is large growth in EBITDA (by far a group record) whilst also implementing larger than inflationary pay rises (particularly at the lower end). Our order book is also at a record high.
It's also nice to be in a market where customers are looking at more than just price. Contractors are now as interested in security of supply and your ability to be dynamic to changing delivery programs. Our competitors who shut down last Spring, were slow to increase stock levels last Summer and whom simply blamed their supply chain when they couldn't keep up with site demands have lost market share.
It's also not awful for a company with £3m of stock to see 35% material inflation.
Electricity prices are challenging but along with the super deduction it's given us the impetus to give the preliminary go ahead for £500k in solar panels.
Truth be told the only major byproduct that I have been able to attribute to Brexit thus far is our industry paying 10% more for lower skilled workers due to lower supply.