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According to the latest snapshot from the Confederation of British Industry’s monthly distributive trades survey, retail businesses raised the ratio of their stocks to expected sales in January to the highest level since February 2008.
The report, which is closely monitored by the Bank of England for early warning signs from the UK economy, said retailers expected demand to fall and had built up stocks in case the UK exits the EU without a deal.
A growing number of companies have begun ramping up their plans for a potentially disruptive no-deal Brexit at the end of March, with Westminster still gridlocked since Theresa May suffered the biggest government defeat in history over her Brexit plan.
Firms including Bentley, the luxury carmaker, and retailers such as Dixons Carphone and Pets at Home have announced plans to shore up supplies in the event of chaos at British ports.
Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the CBI, said: “There are early signs of companies bracing themselves for a no-deal Brexit: some of our wholesalers are now reporting that they’re building up stocks in case the UK exits the EU without a deal.” [...]