WITH 15 months to go until the UK is due to leave the European Union one of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs has highlighted the challenges businesses face in trying to figure out what Brexit means. Sir Tom Hunter thinks the information provided before and after last year’s vote to leave the European Union has been woefully deficient.
Businesses have been left facing huge uncertainty about key issues such as what the terms of trade with EU countries will be after the divorce.
Yet Sir Tom’s West Coast Capital kept investing in the UK in the year to March. The firm made a significant investment in Edinburgh-based internet analytics firm TV Squared. It also ploughed money into the student accommodation sector.
West Coast is still hard at work on plans for a massive development in West Lothian expected to feature thousands of new homes.
But Sir Tom’s investment policy signals caution about the outlook for the retail sector, in which he made his name by growing Sports Division into a £290m business.
Sir Tom says he won’t be investing in retail property for now, noting the outlook for centres outside London is uncertain. This partly reflects the impact of e-commerce, a sector he has invested in. The implications of his analysis for high streets and retail parks across Scotland are sobering.
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