- Title: The bitter taste of Brexit for London's food and wine trade
- Date: 5th December 2016
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (RECENT - LATE NOVEMBER 2016) (REUTERS) BRINDISA SPANISH FOOD IMPORTERS SHOP IN BOROUGH MARKET (FOOD MARKET) MEAT HANGING IN BRINDISA WINDOW PEOPLE LOOKING IN WINDOW BRINDISA SIGN WORKERS INSIDE BRINDISA SHOP BEHIND COUNTER MONIKA LINTON, FOUNDER BRINDISA, BEHIND COUNTER CHEESE ON DISPLAY CATALONIA CHEESE ON DISPLAY SPANISH CHEESE IN FRIDGE WITH PRICE TAGS CLOSE OF CHEESE CLOSE OF PRICE TAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) MONIKA LINTON, FOUNDER BRINDISA, SAYING: "The immediate impact is very clearly the currency, because we spend probably around 11 million euros a year on products from Spain and food from Spain and so that is now costing us roughly two million more and that needs to be found. So the best way to start that process is to increase prices." VARIOUS OF LINTON ARRANGING CHEESES BEHIND COUNTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MONIKA LINTON, FOUNDER BRINDISA, SAYING: "Tariffs are obviously a big question. If that is going to be combined with sterling still valued very low, then that is going to be a double whammy for all our customers." VARIOUS OF BRINDISA STAFF CUTTING MEAT BEHIND COUNTER VARIOUS OF STAFF CHATTING AND CUSTOMERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MONIKA LINTON, FOUNDER BRINDISA, SAYING: "We need linguists, we need people who understand Mediterranean foods and how they are processed and how to look after them and those skills aren't necessarily in the country, in Britain. So we are always going to need people from abroad." RED BUS DRIVING BY "THE GROCERY" FOOD AND WINE SHOP "THE GROCERY" SIGN GILES BUDIBENT, CO-FOUNDER OF WINE IMPORTER AND DISTRIBUTOR 'BARTON, BROWNSDON AND SADLER' LOOKING AT WINES ON DISPLAY BUDIBENT HOLDING BOTTLE OF WINE AND TURNING IT (SOUNDBITE) (English) GILES BUDIBENT, CO-FOUNDER OF WINE IMPORTER AND DISTRIBUTOR 'BARTON, BROWNSDON AND SADLER' SAYING: "At that exchange rate they were absolutely eroded and we were losing money selling wine. And we knew at some point we'd have to change our price list and adjust the prices to the new exchange rate." BUDIBENT LOOKING AT WINE ON DISPLAY IN SHOP / PLACES WINE ON SHELF (SOUNDBITE) (English) GILES BUDIBENT, CO-FOUNDER OF WINE IMPORTER AND DISTRIBUTOR 'BARTON, BROWNSDON AND SADLER' SAYING: "In the bigger companies you have certainly got, I presume, sort of departments that deal with this. They can take on that headache. People like buyers and sales guys, yes it is a concern, but it doesn't take up all their time. In a smaller company, there are only four of us, it is what we think about and do and of course that takes our eye of perhaps the main thrust of the business, of buying and selling wine itself." VARIOUS OF WINE BOTTLES ON DISPLAY PRICE TAG FOR FRENCH BOTTLE OF WINE BUDIBENT EXAMINING WINE (SOUNDBITE) (English) GILES BUDIBENT, CO-FOUNDER OF WINE IMPORTER AND DISTRIBUTOR 'BARTON, BROWNSDON AND SADLER' SAYING: "A lot of our wine is from the EU. If there is suddenly tariffs on those wines, it's obviously going to change, the market will change. They are just not going to be as affordable and relevant. So that is a very big concern." PETER HARDEN, CO-FOUNDER OF 'HARDEN'S LONDON RESTAURANTS' GUIDE BOOK, WALKING INTO MICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANT 'CHEZ BRUCE' 'CHEZ BRUCE' SIGN HARDEN SEATED AT TABLE INSIDE RESTAURANT CLOSE OF HARDEN READING COPY OF HIS RESTAURANT GUIDE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PETER HARDEN, CO-FOUNDER OF 'HARDEN'S LONDON RESTAURANTS' GUIDE BOOK, SAYING: "We don't know the shape of Brexit obviously, but I am a bit sick to death personally given my interests, about hearing about our need for skilled labour. Yes, we do all agree that we'd love as many rocket scientists and brain surgeons to move to the UK as possible but, you know, the hospitality and tourism trade is incredibly important too. And in general it is not reliant on skilled labour, it is reliant on unskilled labour and of a type of job that actually the local population have shown themselves pretty unmotivated at pursuing as a career." BRUCE POOLE, OWNER AND FORMER CHEF AT RESTAURANT 'CHEZ BRUCE' TALKING TO STAFF IN KITCHEN MEAT IN POT MORE OF POOLE TALKING TO KITCHEN WORKER VARIOUS OF WORKERS PREPARING FOOD IN KITCHEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRUCE POOLE, OWNER AND FORMER CHEF AT RESTAURANT 'CHEZ BRUCE' SAYING: "You'll hear people talk about the revolution in restaurants in the UK, particularly London, in the last 20 years. That is absolutely down to the people who have worked in the industry here. You know, it's not British people making British decisions when it comes to food. We employ people from all over the place and that has definitely added to the diverse culture of our food in London and the UK." BOROUGH FOOD MARKET FRUIT AND VEGETABLE STALL WOMAN TAKING PHOTO OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE STALL "BOMBA PAELLA" SIGN WOMAN EATING AS SHE WALKS THROUGH MARKET VARIOUS CROWDS OF PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH MARKET
- Embargoed: 20th December 2016 23:10
- Keywords: Brexit weak pound food and wine EU import tariffs sterling immigrant workers
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA0015BMJRK7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Importing fine Spanish foods to Britain has been a good trade for Monika Linton, who started her business 28 years ago from her parents' living room and now employs 300 people in five London restaurants, two shops and a warehouse.
But Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union has dealt a severe blow to Brindisa, Linton's company, and to thousands of other food and wine businesses in London that rely heavily on immigrant workers and imported goods.
For Brindisa, the first impact of the referendum was the plunge in the value of the pound against the euro, which abruptly made the artisan cheeses, fine hams and other products sourced from all over Spain more expensive.
"The immediate impact is very clearly the currency, because we spend probably around 11 million euros a year on products from Spain and food from Spain and so that is now costing us roughly two million more and that needs to be found. So the best way to start that process is to increase prices," Linton told Reuters at one of her shops in bustling Borough Market, a south London food paradise.
And she's worried if she can no longer easily employ staff who understand what Brindisa is all about.
"We need linguists, we need people who understand Mediterranean foods and how they are processed and how to look after them and those skills aren't necessarily in the country, in Britain. So we are always going to need people from abroad," she said.
With over 27,500 businesses generating an annual turnover above 14 billion pounds ($17 billion), London's food and drinks services industry is one of the most vibrant sectors of the city's economy, but also one of the most exposed to Brexit.
For small firms, which dominate the food and drinks sector, weathering a currency shock is tough.
Giles Budibent imports and distributes wine through his company Barton Brownsdon and Sadler (BBS).
He said profits plunged and in October he had to raise prices.
"At that exchange rate they were absolutely eroded and we were losing money selling wine," he said.
"In the bigger companies you have got departments that deal with this. They can take on that headache. In a smaller company, there are only four of us, it is what we think about and do and of course that takes our eye of the main thrust of the business of buying and selling wine itself," he said.
And there could be further Brexit-related problems down the line, depending on what terms Britain manages to negotiate with the 27 remaining EU members. For BBS and Brindisa, the return of trade barriers with the EU would be a major challenge.
"A lot of our wine is from the EU. If there is suddenly tariffs on those wines, it's obviously going to change, the market will change. They are just not going to be as affordable and relevant, Budibent said.
The number one concern for the industry as a whole is that Brexit will bring restrictions on immigration, shrinking the pool of cheap foreign labour on which the sector relies as the government focuses more on attracting skilled workers.
"We don't know the shape of Brexit obviously, but I am a bit sick to death personally given my interests, about hearing about our need for skilled labour," said Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden's London Restaurants, a respected annual guide now in its 26th year.
"We do all agree that we'd love as many rocket scientists and brain surgeons to move to the UK as possible but, you know, the hospitality and tourism trade is incredibly important too. And in general it is not reliant on skilled labour, it is reliant on unskilled labour and of a type of job that actually the local population have shown themselves pretty unmotivated at pursuing as a career," he said.
There are no official statistics on the proportion of foreign workers in London's food and drinks trade, but some in the industry estimate it's well over half, or even two thirds. Londoners are accustomed to hearing a wide variety of accents whenever they dine out, buy take-away food or go to a cafe.
Bruce Poole, proprietor of renowned Michelin-starred restaurant Chez Bruce in south London, said his business would simply not manage without foreign workers, notably from the EU.
Poole said foreign workers had been crucial to the transformation of British food culture, which a few decades ago was the butt of jokes by European neighbours but is now one of the most varied and innovative in the world.
"You'll hear people talk about the revolution in restaurants in the UK, particularly London, in the last 20 years. That is absolutely down to the people who work in the industry here... We employ people from all over the place and that's definitely added to the diverse culture of our food in London and the UK." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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