Northamptonshire businesses reflect on five years since Brexit

It has been five years since the 2016 referendum result led to the UK's departure from the European Union. Residents of Northamptonshire voted to leave, with Corby having the highest proportion of Leave voters at 64.2%, while South Northamptonshire had the highest support for Remain at 45.7%.

The BBC interviewed two business owners with differing views on Brexit and its impact on their companies. The owner of a transport and logistics company told the BBC that leaving the EU, while challenging, was the best option in the long run. Europa Worldwide Group owns a large 720,000 sq ft (25-acre) warehouse in Corby, equivalent to 15 Premier League football pitches.

The company's chief executive, Andrew Baxter, voted to leave. He said, "I believed it was in our long-term economic and other interests, and I still do today." Mr. Baxter stated that despite the challenges his business has faced, he has never regretted voting to leave. "When we left the customs union, the first month of moving goods and all the customs procedures we had to comply with was very difficult... it took us about three months to get back to normal," he said. "And it took about a year to get the flow of goods back to pre-Brexit levels. So it was a challenge."

Ravensden, based in Rushden, supplies toys and gifts to zoos and aquariums around the world. Between 35% and 40% of its business is trade with Europe. The company’s director, Michael Pape, voted to remain in the referendum. He said the company had to make many changes. “It was certainly more difficult at the start, trade dropped off slightly,” he said, but the company’s sales are now back to pre-Brexit levels. The company has set up a company in the Netherlands and now operates in a different way.

Mr. Pape said, "There is more paperwork, but as we have put systems in place, from a business point of view it has not had a massive impact." Despite some challenges, both companies have found ways to adapt to the post-Brexit environment and continue to operate.