Yahoo Finance BT's Openreach stockpiling equipment in case of hard Brexit
The boss of Openreach, a division of Britain’s telecoms giant BT (BT-A.L), said that the company is stockpiling equipment in case of a hard Brexit.
Clive Selly, CEO of Openreach told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We are stockpiling equipment so that if there should there be a hard Brexit we can continue to provide full service to customers. Stockpiling is being done in collaboration with big suppliers so there is no loss of continuity. There’s no impact on costs to customers.”
A no-deal Brexit — also known as a hard Brexit — means the UK would leave the European Union without rule or regulations in place over how goods and services can cross borders and be taxed.
Openreach is the latest out of a long line of companies from various industries that have warned that they are stockpiling goods and equipment in case Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal.
Britain’s retailer and vet business Pets at Home (PETS.L) says it is considering spending an extra £8m stockpiling products, including food, in case of a hard Brexit, as 17% of its goods come from outside the UK.
READ MORE: UK economy 2.3% smaller because of Brexit
The UK government has also told supermarkets to stockpile as much food as possible in warehouses around the country in case of a no-deal Brexit.
Tesco (TSCO.L), Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L), Walmart’s (WMT) Asda, and Morrison’s (MRW.L) have also been asking their main suppliers to ramp up stock over concerns. Aldi has already considered stockpiling food as part of its preparations for Brexit but CEO Giles Hurley added that Aldi’s increased fresh food range would make this more difficult.
Britain’s biggest industry lobby group CBI said that the UK’s biggest retailers and wholesalers have increased stockpiling efforts to the highest levels since the financial crisis in 2008.
Meanwhile, Sky News reported at the weekend that UK military bases in Gibraltar, Cyprus, and the Falklands have begun stockpiling food, fuel, spare parts, in case of a no-deal Brexit.
