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Paul Drechsler, who will step down from his role at Britain’s largest business lobby group on Tuesday, said there was “a limit to how long you can put up with uncertainty”.
“There are several CBI members that have made substantial investments outside of the UK in order to have contingency plans available,” he said in an interview last week.
Research has suggested that British companies doubled their foreign direct investment projects in France last year and that Paris has outstripped Londonin its appeal to investors.
Mr Drechsler said that even if business leaders were unwilling to speak out publicly on issues such as the customs union, they should at least inform local MPs of their views. “If you do not speak out now, do not say in three years’ time that this was a terrible mess,” he said.
He also warned that Brexit was stopping policymakers from focusing on companies’ top priorities, including infrastructure improvements and the need for appropriately skilled workers.
“Every company that I talk to, [their] number one issue is availability of talent and skills,” he said. “Every company I go to is struggling to get what they need.” [...]
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