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Special Report – Manufacturing Barometer shows Brexit uncertainty is a key challenge for SMEs

Manufacturers fear Brexit will harm their business. A new survey shows that just 3% of small to medium-sized manufacturers in England believe Brexit will have a positive impact on their recovery from this year’s Covid-driven downturn.

The latest quarterly Manufacturing Barometer, conducted by the SWMAS (the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service) and the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP) surveyed 409 companies across the country. Fears around the impact of Brexit have been compounded by Covid-19: 62% of respondents are still trading below pre-pandemic levels, whilst more than a quarter feel it will take between one and five years to get back to normal.

Nearly half of SMEs are still not convinced that the financial support currently in place will be enough help them survive Covid-19 and that if they are going to invest, and drive the sector out of this crisis, more government support will be needed.

The Manufacturing Barometer can be downloaded here.