German-British firms remain upbeat about UK activities
German-British businesses are more upbeat about their own activities in the UK than about the British economy overall.
That 's according to the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce, the London-based organisation representing around 75 British and German firms.
The war in Ukraine and global supply chain issues present new challenges, which are increasingly affecting the business community, the survey says.
On the other hand, addressing climate change will offer significant business opportunities, although current initiatives in the UK are not yet seen as sufficient.
Similar to the autumn of 2021, half of German-British companies are positive or very positive about their own current and expected future performance in the UK, with half planning to increase their investment and to recruit more staff.
However, more respondents are expecting the UK economy to continue to 'cool ' in the coming 12 months.
Thirty-eight per cent expect a worsening performance and only 23 per cent expect it to perform better.
Logistical problems remain the largest challenge for businesses, but for the first time, rising energy and other input costs are listed as key challenges, indicating a significant economic impact of the war in Ukraine.
Shortage of skills and trade barriers/customs formalities have been pushed down the list of challenges.
With the lifting of most Covid restrictions, travel restrictions are also no longer major issues.
Concerning climate change-mitigating policies in the UK, fewer than 5 per cent of respondents see them as very effective.
Dr Ulrich Hoppe, director general of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce, said: "The survey results suggest that, despite the recent significant decline in bilateral trade, the German-British business community remains positive about their own operations in the UK.
“In other words, the companies which are already successful in the UK will continue to be so.
“In addition, future business opportunities are seen in the field of climate change-mitigating technologies but Brexit-related issues and the war in Ukraine continue to have a negative impact on businesses and may become even more challenging in the near future. ”
The study was part of the World Business Outlook survey of the Association of German Chambers of Industry & Commerce.
Fieldwork was conducted between 8 April and 20 April 2022.