Exclusive: Leaked minutes from a meeting of vehicle crash repair leaders reveals that repair firms would collapse within weeks of no-deal Brexit.
Theresa May and her chancellor Philip Hammond view a car production line during a visit to the Jaguar Land Rover factory in 2016Thousands of vehicle repair companies could collapse within a few weeks of a no-deal Brexit.
LONDON — Up to 1,000 companies in the UK vehicle repair industry could collapse within two weeks of a no-deal Brexit, with many more forced to close within a month, according to leaked minutes from a meeting of leading industry figures seen by Business Insider. The minutes from the meeting reveal that any slowdown of car parts entering the UK at the border would force thousands of companies to cancel repairs, leaving them without cash to stay afloat.
There was a"reality check moment within the [meeting] room" when attendees realised the scale of potential damage to the industry, according to meeting chair Chris Weeks, Director of theIn some cases, dealerships from where repairers get car parts have up to three days worth of stock, and some vehicles can be repaired without using parts from abroad. However, these exceptions account for around just 3% of repairs.
"We have two to three per cent return on sales, that's our profitability. We don't have any cash lying around." Industry leader Kate Goodwin warned that"a lot of smaller businesses could go bankrupt in a no deal scenario that led to any protracted delays in supply chain - and this is weeks not months."
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour's shadow Business Secretary, told BI: After the complete mess the government has made of Brexit negotiations, it is unforgivable that it continues to play chicken with people's jobs and livelihoods. A government spokesperson told BI:"It remains our priority to deliver a deal that will protect UK jobs and prosperity and provide certainty for businesses as we leave the EU.
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