BREXIT ON TEESSIDE
“FASCINATING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING”
“Investors aren’t put off, they see the direction of travel the
area is going in, they see the fantastic workforce and the great
professional services, and they want to invest here.”
These were the words of Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen at a
recent Brexit on Teesside event arranged by Vintage, Chartered
Financial Planners.
Almost 200 people attended the event, held at the Grand
Marquee, in Wynyard Hall’s impressive walled gardens. As well
as the mayor, the event also offered attendees a chance to hear
investment expert Neal Bailey, of Invesco, give his views on how
Brexit might affect investments on a global scale.
The date chosen for the event was significant, as being the original
date set for the UK to leave the European Union, which obviously
did not go ahead as initially planned.
Paul Adams, partner at Vintage, was first to take the stage and
welcomed guests. He provided a brief synopsis of the Brexit saga
so far, from Teresa May’s initial optimism, claiming “Brexit means
Brexit and we’re going to make a success of it” right through to
the latest twists and turns.
He then handed over to mayor Houchen, who gave his views that
investment in the region is still strong and if anything, the impact
will be a brief hiatus resolved with some forward momentum on
us leaving the European Union.
manage £91 billion-worth of assets in the UK and well over a
trillion dollars worldwide.
He said: “In general, we’re looking at a reasonable level of growth.
The forecasts are that the global economy will continue to grow
throughout this year and maybe into next and that’s positive for
everybody. If we’re all growing then we’re buying more goods
and services from each other however if one starts to wobble
then markets start to become anxious.”
The day concluded with an enticingly heated question and
answer debate, when Ben and Neal’s opposing views on Brexit
took centre stage.
Once the presentation came to a close, guests were invited to
stay for lunch, to chat and to enjoy the scenic Wynyard Hall
gardens in the sunshine.
Both speakers went down incredibly well with guests, who
described the day as “fascinating”, “thought-provoking”,
“enlightening” and a “top class event”.
Vintage, Chartered Financial Planners, have been providing
financial planning advice to individuals and businesses for over 30
years and recently moved to new, bespoke premises on Preston
Farm’s Lockheed Court.
“I believe we would see investment turbo-charged if the
uncertainty of Brexit went away. I don’t think this is an issue of
being good or bad for Teesside, Teesside is on the up, things are
going extremely well. I just believe that, without Brexit, we’d be on
turbo-charge,” he suggested.
Ben made way for Neal, who despite initially joking about Brexit,
told attendees that events in the UK only have a very small part
to play in investment markets, which are usually dictated by more
global events.
Neal described himself as a macro strategist for Invesco, who
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Vintage House, Preston Farm, Stockton-on-Tees
Vintage and Vintage, Chartered Financial Planners are trading styles of Vintage Investment Services
which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
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