Analyzing the Impact of Brexit on Small Business Enterprises in the UK

This essay examines the multifaceted impact of Brexit on small business enterprises in the United Kingdom, focusing on the challenges and opportunities faced by businesses like the Leon restaurant. The paper explores the decline in UK staff recruitment, particularly those with European food culture knowledge, and the impact of consumer spending decline. It highlights the loss of EU employees due to uncertainty and increased import prices affecting the food industry. The essay also investigates the issues related to VAT and trade negotiations. The paper provides recommendations for business executives to improve their business even with the rising complexities caused by Brexit. The essay uses the Leon restaurant as a case study to provide a comprehensive analysis of Brexit's effects on small businesses.

Running head: IMPACT OF BREXIT ON SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
IMPACT OF BREXIT ON SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
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IMPACT OF BREXIT ON SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
Brexit also known as the British Exit from the European Union has been believed to have
the potentialities to fundamentally bring modifications to the ways in which companies perform
business in the United Kingdom. The overpowering power of evidence has expected Brexit to
have significant impact on the UK financial system (Kraemer-Eis, Lang and Gvetadze 2013).
The paper intends to study the ways in which Brexit will affect the small business enterprises in
Britain such as the Leon restaurant. The essay further evaluates the potential issues this food
business will experience and recognize its potential opportunities Leon restaurant will create. In
addition to this, the paper will intend to focus on two major areas and further identify the issues
related to it by providing certain recommendations in order to generate effective outcomes in its
business.
John Vincent, the cofounder of Leon fast foods chain has expressed his concern towards
the struggle the business has experiencing since the influx of Brexit. One of the major areas of
apprehension in the current business process of the restaurant is the massive decline of recruits of
the UK staffs. The restaurant chain with its famous Mediterranean-inspired set of choices
intensely relies to employ staffs who have a detailed understanding of the food culture of various
parts of Italy and other European regions (Ciuriak, Dadkhah and Xiao 2017). Several surveys
have made revelations of the apprehensive decline of consumers’ expenditure on restaurants.
This has primary occurred as home dining has resulted in investment retrenchment along with the
employment decline caused by the British Exit. Leon restaurant has been reportedly recruiting
several immigrants living in UK who have had effective contribution on the well functioning of
its business and further attracted a wide range of global consumers (Kabeya, Opio and Lufuke
2015). However, it must be noted that, nearly one third of the non-UK European Union
employees have left their jobs since the Brexit referendum. This increased rate of workforce

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IMPACT OF BREXIT ON SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
departure of the non-UK workers has been apparently caused due to the excess level of
uncertainty regarding the future consequences of the employment base raging within the
country. Around one fifth of 2 million EU public who are engaged in the UK workforce has been
effectively contributing to the food industry in either retail or food chain business (Hunt and
Wheeler 2017). Although the dearth of new employment arrivals post the Brexit vote is unable to
produce effectiveness within the food industry. The chiefs of the restaurant have collaborated
with other food chains to bring effective outcomes related to their rates to rise up to almost £25
thousand within the coming year (Breinlich et al. 2017). However, the administrative bodies and
European government must pay considerate attention to the excess rate of unemployment
pertaining within the organization that has further resulted to many immigrants to lose their
livelihoods. However, the officials of the popular food destination have assured the legal rights
of its current employees to be safeguarded by the British legal system.
The immense rate of price swing on food ingredients that has caused due to the departure
of British from the EU has a pessimistic tone in the food industry. Leon food chain imports raw
materials from varied regions of Europe because of the lack of food ingredient supply in the
United Kingdom. It must be taken into account that a significant percentage of food resources of
the restaurant are brought from the EU. The owners of Leon restaurant has been facing increased
prices on the key ingredients that are being resourced from varied areas of the European region
due to the disintegration in the value of European currency since the Brexit vote that has led
several products to increase their rates nearly by 20% (Kierzenkowski et al. 2016). Though few
food chain companies are working on to enhance their level once they succeed to extract their
required resources from the non-UK markets without violating the import regulations, restriction
as well as tariffs of the European Union. One of the significant concerns of the National Farmers

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IMPACT OF BREXIT ON SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
Union is the issue related to trade negotiations along with the prospect of the sales in abroad to
the EU such as red meat and other dairy products such as cheese and curd being influenced by
import taxes. The food chain is extensively reliable on the EU food supply such as beef and dairy
products (Pisani-Ferry et al. 2016). Greater concerns amongst the food farmers has also resulted
to the increased rate of apprehension within the farmers who have been reluctant to use products
that has life risking effects on their lives. However, it has been guaranteed by Brexit, that the UK
administration would work on equalizing to the subsidies. Leon restaurant along with several
other food chain companies are being reprimanded with almost 20 percent VAT by the tax system
(Wadsworth et al. 2016). However, the restaurant has insisted the government officials to give
consideration in the reduction level of the VAT.
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that the exit of British from
European Union has indeed brought a pessimistic tone within the industry of small business
enterprises. Issues which triggered the UK economic system. The departure of Britain from the
single market of Europe as well as its custom union have given rise to several challenges to the
small enterprises like a popular food chain restaurant Leon situated in the UK. However, Vincent
the chief of Leon restaurant must intend to cater its business endeavours outside the UK in order
to facilitate development of ‘unjustified taxes’ such as trade rates as well as apprenticeship taxes
that has created complexities within the business of UK. The paper has focused on the way
Brexit has declined the labor resources of non-UK inhabitants who had a vital participation in the
business process of Leon food chain. In addition to it, it has identified the way the organization
has unable to cope up with the increased price rates of its key ingredients that has been brought
from the EU. The paper however has provided effective recommendation to the restaurant

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executive in order to generate effective improvement in its business even with the rising
complexities caused by Brexit.

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IMPACT OF BREXIT ON SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
References
Breinlich, H., Leromain, E., Novy, D. and Sampson, T., 2017. The Brexit Vote, Inflation and UK
Living Standards.
Ciuriak, D., Dadkhah, A. and Xiao, J., 2017. Brexit Trade Impacts: Alternative Scenarios.
Hunt, A. and Wheeler, B., 2017. Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the
EU. BBC News, 25.
Kabeya, P.K., Opio, M.S. and Lufuke, M.M., 2015. The Effect of Minimum Wage on
Employment and Working Hours in the Western Europe: A Case of the UK, France and
Netherland.
Kierzenkowski, R., Pain, N., Rusticelli, E. and Zwart, S., 2016. The economic consequences of
Brexit.
Kraemer-Eis, H., Lang, F. and Gvetadze, S., 2013. European small business finance
outlook. Luxembourg, European Investment Fund.
Pisani-Ferry, J., Röttgen, N., Sapir, A., Tucker, P. and Wolff, G.B., 2016. Europe after Brexit: A
proposal for a continental partnership (Vol. 25). Brussels: Bruegel.
Wadsworth, J., Dhingra, S., Ottaviano, G. and Van Reenen, J., 2016. Brexit and the Impact of
Immigration on the UK. CEP Brexit Analysis, (5), pp.34-53.