Most EU businesses have not altered strategy following Brexit vote, survey finds

Most European and British businesses are yet to change their strategic planning in the wake of the UK's decision to leave the European Union, according to a new industry survey.

In a poll of 200 high ranking chief financial officers across the UK and EU, Thomson Reuters found that 69% of the respondents' businesses had not seen an impact from Brexit vote on their strategic planning.

A mere 12% of finance chiefs had investigated moving operations out of Britain, and while 34% said they had anticipated the number of employees in the UK decreasing.

Only 19% of CFOs said that they planned to relocate staff as a result of Brexit.

However, some are changing plans in response to Brexit, with 21% of all CFOs saying they have held off from expanding in the UK as a result of the vote.

Commenting on the findings Laurence Kiddle, managing director for the EMEA Tax & Accounting unit of Thomson Reuters, said: "The results suggest a relatively muted response from business so far – not the knee-jerk reaction that some expected."

Away from the headline findings, Thomson Reuters also noted that confidence among the CFOs in prime minister Theresa May's ability to generate a positive outcome for business is a mere 3.5 out of 10, while international trade minister Liam Fox commands the least confidence among senior UK finance chiefs, bagging an even worse score of 3.2.

However, chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, are rated highly, scoring 8 and 8.6 out of 10 respectively.