Tony Grimshaw OBE, director of Lancashire-based housewares manufacturer What More talks frankly about his views on Brexit:
“It’s a big change, and that’s always difficult. There will be challenges along the way, but there will also be benefits. From my experience, challenging situations can often be turned upside down, and seen as opportunities. Even if it isn’t a direct business endeavour, it’s still a chance to grow, to understand the world a bit better and move forward.”
He elaborates: “At the moment, the problems are obvious. There’s extra paperwork to contend with, new processes to go through, and there are new rules to interpret and apply. For now, in the immediate future, business will overcome these challenges. That’s what successful businesses do.”
Tony points out that: “The short-term pain is things like more paperwork, and rules to understand and apply. Over the longer term, we’ve got the freedom to set our own course, and you can’t put a value on that.”
Tony is confident that – despite higher costs of manufacturing in Britain – there are huge opportunities for “Brand UK”, which can compete with other economies when it comes to “sustainability and environmental impacts.”
He emphasises: “British manufactured products are some of the best in the world, made to the highest standards with strict environmental controls. The UK is a brand in itself, and we’re lucky that it’s a brand people know and it inspires confidence. Brand UK is recognised, respected and envied all over the world. People want UK manufactured products and it would be rude not to supply them. I’m very confident that Brand UK is strong enough to stand on its own two legs, next to but apart from the EU.”
Top: What More’s headquarters.
