A British business leader believes that UK businesses will need to use more letters of credit (L/Cs) if the country leaves the European Union (EU) in December without a trade deal.

Chief executive of Sheffield Chamber, Richard Wright, says an increase in L/Cs forced by a no deal Brexit would have a negative impact on UK businesses, costing them both time and money.

Brexit risks

Wright gave his opinion on the increased need for L/Cs if the UK leaves the EU without a deal in the midst of a stern warning about the risks of a no deal Brexit for British businesses.

Trading will become a much more cumbersome process. "You will have lots more documentation, more L/Cs needed and customs declaration on imports and exports," he told Sheffield local paper, The Star.

"It takes 45 minutes to do a customs declaration on an import and that's not an insignificant amount of time and time is cost," he added.

Brexit expected

According to Wright, the vast majority of Sheffield-based businesses wanted to remain in the EU.

However, companies have respected and accepted the 2016 referendum result that resulted in a majority of voters voting leave he said.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.