LONDON: British businesses lack the ambition and knowledge to seize export opportunities, a leading accountancy body has warned, as a survey suggested the share of UK companies selling goods and services abroad has stagnated over the past two years.
Research by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) showed 53pc of UK businesses exported in 2016, which was unchanged from 2014.
The stark findings also showed 96pc of non-exporters had no plans to start in the coming year, despite the Government’s five-year, multimillion pound campaign designed to raise awareness and its ambition to double exports to £1 trillion by 2020.
Export ambitions did not appear to be lifted by the sharp fall in sterling following the Brexit vote, which has helped to boost UK competitiveness, while higher inflation next year is predicted to put a brake on domestic spending.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Government’s fiscal watchdog, expects net trade to be the biggest driver of growth next year as consumer spending slows amid higher inflation.
The ICAEW described the lack of export ambitions among businesses as “worrying”.
