A new joint survey from EEF and accountancy firm BDO has revealed that one in seven British companies have moved some of their operations back to the UK during the past two years.
The apparent trend for business repatriation has occurred due to companies finding a reduction in the benefits of overseas production.
The survey has also demonstrated an increase in the focus on innovation to increase competitiveness, particularly among small and medium sized companies. The report revealed that 21% of companies now cite innovation as key, a figure that has doubled from 10% in the past 2 years.
Despite the positive increase in British based business and an increase in innovation, a majority of respondents rated the UK as ‘bad’ for regulation. Indeed three quarters of companies overall have seen an increase in the cost of complying with health and safety regulations over the past 3 years. In addition 60% have seen an increase in both cost and time when dealing with environmental regulations over the past 12 months.
