COMMENT: Shropshire businesses not panicking over Brexit

The exact effects of the vote to leave the European Union on businesses remain unclear as we enter 2018.

Britain will almost certainly be out of the bloc by the end of March 2019, and Prime Minister Theresa May wants it to be a clean break.

But it is evident companies are reassessing their long-term investments in Britain, including in Shropshire and mid Wales, fearful of how Brexit might affect trade across the EU.

- MORE: 'Firms threatening to leave Shropshire as Brexit hits economy’ - expert

And while Britain and Europe are negotiating over what happens to EU citizens who now work in Britain, no one is sure how those talks will go.

Since the Brexit vote the pound has plummeted and mutual funds dependent on Britain’s property sector felt the strain and blocked panicked investors from withdrawing their cash en masse

There are also worries about inflation as a cheaper pound increases the cost of imports. Stocks, however, have been more resilient.

Nationally, thousands of jobs look set to move and while it’s impossible to attach an exact price tag to Brexit, the impact of new tariffs and a restriction on the movement of people will affect a lot of businesses.

But what about the positives? Companies have the opportunity to make business deals with countries around the world, from scratch. Countries like China and Australia are already moving to make trade deals with Britain after Brexit.

Britain will also no longer be obliged to pay billions of pounds towards EU membership cost. As Britain had been a major contributor, it can spend all that money on its own growth.

Here in Shropshire and mid Wales, it appears many firms have not yet hit the panic button ­– despite the uncertainty over Brexit.

They haven't made rash decisions, but have rather been taking part in fact-finding missions to find out exactly what the impacts will be.

One of the biggest impacts of the Brexit vote is that some bushinesses have put on hold opportunities to invest in the region and consider whether their future lies here or in Europe.

But for others, they have remained more positive and have gone ahead and carried new investment.

Substantial investment is on its way to the county, in the form of major new factories and extensions to some of our biggest employers as well as our firms landing big new contracts.

The next 12 months are inevitably going to come with some more uncertainty, especially as Brexit negotiations continue. But I am sure the region's businesses will be up for the challenges that lie ahead.