Brexit will give UK businesses ‘massive opportunities’ for trade, says business chief

BRITAIN is set to benefit from “massive opportunities” to do international trade after it quits the EU, says the head of a leading business lobby group.

Stephen Martin, 51, who took over as the new director general for The Institute of Directors (IoD) this month, said that he voted for Brexit last June.

He urged all British businesses to explore new opportunities after the UK leaves the EU and said it “could open our eyes to the rest of the world.”

He said: “British businesses want to make Brexit work and are keen to explore trade opportunities with the rest of the world that arise once we leave the EU. “

He added that he was not surprised by the vote to leave the UK and wholly supported it. 

His public stance to support Brexit has come as a surprise to many in the business community – as many are remainers.

Although another important group – the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) – did not state which campaign it backed in the referendum, preferring to take a neutral stance instead, its former director general John Longworth publicly came out and backed the Leave campaign.

He resigned shortly after that late last year and has gone on to co-chair a Brexit campaign group called “Leave means Leave”.

He has now thrown his full support behind the new man at the helm of the IoD.

And as Mr Martin takes control, he has plans to broaden the IoD’s appeal outside of its base of London. 

He has previous experience working in the north of England where he ran construction group Clugston in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.

He told The Daily Mail Brexit was a good opportunity for Britain to forge ahead in forming business links with new trading partners.

Adding that there were many massive untapped opportunities around the world especially if the Prime Minister becomes a supporter of free trade. 

February 28th, 2017: Express