Are you in or are you out? Director at bed manufacturer throws his hat in the ring

Jason Lowdon, sales and marketing director at Harrison Spinks’ Somnus brand. Harrison Spinks is a fifth generation bed manufacturer founded in 1840. The business employs around 500 staff in the Leeds area.

Are you in or are you out? In

Why?

The upcoming EU referendum leaves us with a level of uncertainty in terms of what it will mean for us as a business trading within the European Union.

If we were to leave I don’t think it would be the best outcome for us, as we are unable to predict how exiting the EU will affect our operations in Europe – we would be in unchartered waters that we haven’t previously traded in.

My main concern would be that the freedom and ease of trade would potentially be lost if we left the EU.

An exit would lead to new legislation being required when it comes to importing and exporting in and out of Europe, meaning new negotiations would need to take place. I’d be concerned about how long these discussions could take in order for the new legislation to be agreed upon.

What will happen to your business if we leave the European Union?

The current EU trading laws have been in place for decades, and make it fairly straight forward for us to export our mattresses and beds to the continent. Overseas trade is an important part of our business and if we were to leave the EU I’d question whether or not this process would remain as smooth and hassle free.

Choosing to exit could mean a lot more red tape to go through in order to trade in Europe, which could result in a number of setbacks for us from an operations perspective, including potentially lengthy delays with deliveries, as well as elevated costs to us which in turn could result in increased charges for our customers.

Do you have an opinion on the EU Referendum, set for 23 June? Email yorkshire@thebusinessdesk.com.