The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 11: Spring 2019

FINANCE Getting away from it by Kevin Gray, Chief Executive of Bath Building Society Kevin Gray, Chief Executive of Bath Building Society @BathBuildingSoc I recently attended a Chamber of Commerce breakfast event held at the Corn Exchange in Devizes at which the MP for Devizes, Claire Perry, was the guest speaker. Claire gave the attendees a very interesting insight into the Brexit machinations at Westminster and put forward her personal view that there is no appetite amongst our politicians for a ‘no deal’ outcome. We will all have to wait and see if that turns out to be the case or not. What did intrigue me was the question and answer session that followed Claire’s speech. Several questions were fielded about business topics as varied as training, transport, and affordable housing but time and time again the questions moved back onto the subject of Brexit. It is quite clear that many businesses, particularly exporters, are very concerned about their prospects in the event of a ‘no deal’ and a transition period not happening. For some, the impact of crashing out of the EU trumps just about every other business concern. Putting aside my personal views on the merits or demerits of Brexit, the fact that we are less than 50 days away from possible departure and no-one knows how business 4855-Businessexchange_Halfpagelandscape_210x122_OUT.indd 1 will have to operate after 28th March 2019 is nothing short of a national scandal. Having come down from my political high horse, like many others, my thoughts have moved on to dreaming about better things such as summer holidays. After much debate with my daughters, we have settled on a week in Menorca and we have extended an invitation to my late wife’s mother. Having booked the holiday, our family then started a discussion about what travel rights to Spain we will have, whether we will still have access to medical help in the EU in the event of an emergency and whether the mother-in-law will still be able to rely on her pet passports to take her dogs to the Continent. Yes, you guessed it, Brexit had popped up again. There just doesn’t seem to be a way of getting away from it. But maybe there is a way of ‘getting away from it’ every weekend. For many years my family has holidayed in beautiful Cornwall during the Easter or October school holidays. I have always dreamt of owning a holiday home by the sea but either could never afford it, or other priorities got in the way. Perhaps the time is now right for me to take the plunge. That got me thinking about one of Bath Building Society’s Holiday Home mortgages, so I am making my own enquiries with our Head of Mortgages, Steve Mathews! One interesting point that Steve mentioned is that we are advancing more holiday home finance to property investors who have incorporated their businesses. Maybe you too wish to ‘get away from it’. If you are a private individual looking for a holiday home or if you have a company that wishes to invest in holiday properties, why not give us a call on 01225 475737. I can’t promise anything about getting away from Brexit though! 05/10/2016 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 17:16 25

The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 11: Spring 2019 | Page 25