How Will the Exit from the EU Affect the Hospitality Industry?

On the way back to the office last night listening to radio 5 Live I was filled with uncertainty as I heard various members of the public who had been undecided on which way to vote in the EU referendum all confirm that they had indeed voted to exit!  Doubts then entered my mind about the apparent guaranteed win for the REMAIN movement.  Could the exit polls be wrong?

I nodded off to sleep with a whisky in hand listening to the commentary as results started to come through only to wake up to the news that the UK was out of the EU and that David Cameron had resigned.  It was somewhat reassuring to hear the calming words of Mark Carney (the governor of The Bank of England) whilst many of the politicians were gloating or delivering doomsday vitriol.

A number of my clients have been in touch asking for my thoughts on the situation and whether or not it is still wise to invest in the UK considering the occurrences of the past 24 hours.  My answer has been quite simply to let the dust settle for a few days and wait to see what the people in positions of power do next.  It is my hope that the famous British spirit and usual common sense approach to situations of great pressure and adversity will prevail and a strategy put in place that will offer stability to the economy and reassurance to individuals and companies both at home and abroad.

Potentially for the hospitality industry, tourism could increase as a weak pound would attract the foreign traveller having a positive impact on hotels and restaurants.  However there is a possible threat of interest rates being increased therefore slashing many of the populations’ discretionary spend.  It seems that the country responds more now than ever before to the “feel good” factor and we all look to our leaders for this reassurance.

The following days, weeks and months are bound to be very interesting and lets all hope that the exit voters don’t regret their decision in years to come. For more information about financial planning for your restaurant >