27th June 2016

Post Referendum Panic? Keep Calm & Carry On

Thursday 23rd June was a momentous day as the British public made the biggest and most far reaching decision of this century so far by voting out of the EU.

We all know what happened since the referendum results were confirmed on Friday.

Countless discussions have already gone on in the offices across the UK, debating the impact of the majority vote to leave the EU, as well as in the offices of accountancy and law firms seeking to advise owners of small and medium businesses.

The results of the referendum will inevitably create a huge amount of uncertainty over the next few years as all the processes, laws, regulations and protocols are unravelled and new agreements drawn up. 

And it’s this uncertainty that is very likely to lead to the banks tightening their purse strings and lending criteria. 

The instincts of some businesses will be to batten down the hatches and not make any major decisions while they wait to find out what is going to happen. But many businesses will see opportunities and want to access growth capital.

In the coming weeks and months, the role of lawyers, accountants and trusted advisors will become even more crucial in helping to steer small businesses through these 'choppy waters' and take advantage of opportunities as the UK gets to grips with going it alone. 

One thing is certain, the UK still remains a great place to do business. We are still the main hub of fintech in Europe and that hasn’t changed overnight as a result of the referendum. However, we do need to keep supporting our early stage companies to enable their continued growth and success.

This is where the alternative finance market and the trusted advisors can work together to help those businesses who prefer not to take the wait and see approach but just power on. At CrowdBnk, we will continue to give our support to high growth businesses seeking capital, by offering sound advice and fostering a strong community of investors ready to provide funding to them.

We cannot change the results of the referendum but we can certainly decide how we choose to deal with those results.  We need to work together and help small businesses drive economic activity in the UK forward and continue growing from strength to strength