This site uses cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyse use of our website. By clicking ‘I accept’ you agree and consent to our use of cookies. You can find out more about our cookies here. Find out more

Call for Government to publish insolvency forecasts for Brexit

Jeremy Willmont

The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) should publish its forecasts on what impact different Brexit scenarios will have on UK insolvencies, to help UK PLC start vital contingency planning.

The DExEU currently refuses to disclose any estimates it has made of personal or business insolvencies which could result under different possible Brexit scenarios.

It is vital for British businesses to get these insolvency forecasts ahead of time, so that they can themselves properly plan for Brexit.

Many businesses hope that the new Government will be more transparent and open over what they feel the impacts of Brexit might be. A ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit will require very different strategies and the sooner companies can start making informed contingency plans for whatever the future may hold, the better.

It is the DExEU’s responsibility to use their resources to help businesses plan for Brexit – and it should be well within the DExEU’s capabilities to undertake these estimates.

The DExEU has argued that it cannot even confirm the existence of its estimates of the number of insolvencies that might result in different Brexit scenarios.

Call for DExEU to publish insolvency projections
Jeremy Willmont, Head of Restructuring and Insolvency, says: “How Brexit will impact the economy is the number one question of the next few years. The DExEU should share the calculations and data they are preparing with businesses.

“We need to know what a ‘soft landing’ and a ‘hard landing’ actually entails.

“Businesses expect transparency and deserve transparency.”

Commenting on the possibility that the relevant estimates have not been made yet, Jeremy Willmont adds: “It would be surprising if these calculations over how the economy will be impacted were not made far in advance of the planned start of negotiations.”

“If they have not been made, then that would be a concern.”

“With the Insolvency Service regularly producing insolvency forecasts, it would be curious if the DExEU did not have this data.”