Cheesemaker sells business to overcome Brexit hurdles after losing £600,000 in sales



A British cheesemaker offered his business to a bigger rival to regain access to customers inside the after Brexit left it with a black hole of 600,000 £ in misplaced EU revenue.

Simon Spurrell, who made headlines when following the UK's exit from the single market, will remain chief executive of Macclesfield- Cheshire Cheese Company is primarily based and retains a stake in the trading business.

Its new owner, another North West England family maker, Joseph Heler, has maintained a presence within the EU through its major operations and distribution center in the Netherlands, which Spurrell hopes will once again make it possible to supply European customers.

Spurrell said he was excited to return to the mainland after a two-year shortage, but still can't agree. accept as true with how the authorities have destroyed small businesses like his with their decision to head into a difficult .

"The problem is that small organizations like ours cannot have the right to enter the EU,” he said. "Selling the organization is a great response...it secures the fate of the business with a historical cheesemaker.

"But I still feel very depressed and bitterly disappointed by the way I have had so many conversations with the Ministry of International Trade and the ministers of the authorities and nothing is happening.

"They are powerless because of their policy of Brexit. They are so anti-European that they haven't even discussed getting a better deal. Obtaining the right to enter the single market must be the first step. kind="version.Dotcomrendering.PageElements.RichLinkBlockElement" magnificence="dcr-1mfia18"/>

Spurrell claims that when , he was told by many people that Boris Johnson called him of "that kind of bloody cheese".

Government departments advised him to seek out a new business in "emerging markets", he said, is laughable given the huge market on Britain's doorstep. promoting wax-wrapped trucks of cheese and has won numerous awards for 15 artisanal varieties as well as cheddar, cheshire and royal blue.

It has grown by around 30% a year and through 2019 he had decided to invest £1m in a warehouse in Macclesfield to fulfill orders in Europe for long-time favorites including Irish whiskey and medal-winning ginger cheddar gold at the International Cheese Awards.

But when Brexit export regulations came into effect, he was hit with veterinary certificate fees of up to £180 on retail orders to customers inside the EU - even for those buying private gift packs worth £30 - making his business unviable overnight. /p>

In 2021, the first year of Brexit business operations , he lost £240,000 in wholesale and client business in Europe and turned to taking any further £350,000 this year.

And despite the fact that the national hover call for all during the pandemic cushioned the losses, he saw no path to return to the single market as a small business.

Spurrell said that the alliance with Joseph Heler, a problem much larger, offered a strategic approach to dealing with the very costly exchange hurdles of Brexit.

"If you are large enough, you can mitigate expedited fees as Paperwork cost for one pallet of cheese can be spread over all one hundred pallets. This can also benefit all EU customers as they can benefit from a local shipping rate,” he added.

It has said the deal, which was made for an undisclosed sum, also became very good news for his team of workers. All workstation, production and warehouse staff could be retained at the same time since 14 additional full and part-time jobs will be created.

"We are very worried about this Christmas we had no idea what was going to happen and my main thought was for all the men here with me they are all now taken care of by this very good organization that we have joined…this offers to our crew some security for the future. Joseph Heler, said: "We are delighted to welcome the Cheshire Cheese Company...Together we are confident that we will increase its reach across the UK and beyond. 'Europe."

< a href="https://www.Theguardian.Com/money/2022/jul/30/brexit-united kingdom-buyers-pay- more-european-zara-ikea-decathlon" facts-link-call="in the body link"> Countless buyers and have been impacted by considering that 2020 with additional shipping costs, sometimes makes sales and purchases in Europe excessively luxurious.

Recent assessment of change statistics by the Economic and Social Research Institute suggests that exchange from the UK to the EU than if Brexit had not taken place.