P2 Consulting and Brexit Partners collaborate for post-EU advisory offering
With just under a year to go, the 2019 deadline for Brexit negotiations is looming, and without a workable deal in sight, the UK’s economy is bracing itself for the potential of a Hard Brexit resulting from no agreement being reached. In an increasingly uncertain UK market, P2 Consulting and Brexit Partners have joined forces to help British businesses prepare for life after the EU.
Brexit Partners is a specialist strategy and execution advisory organisation, pertaining exclusively to helping clients navigate an uncertain future as the UK pushes forth with its decision to leave the European Union. The organisation comprises of experts from the financial services, management consulting and public policy disciplines, as well as from academia.
With the end of Brexit negotiations now under a year away, Brexit Partners has announced a new partnership with P2 Consulting, a leading project and change management consultancy. Founded in 2013, P2 has grown significantly year-on-year, and currently generates revenues of around £11 million from its portfolio and project management services, delivered principally to clients in the financial services and consumer/retail sectors. The firm is also undergoing a period of inorganic expansion, having recently concluded a merger with consulting firm Certeco, in order to meet growing client demand, having recently been named as the second fastest growing private company in the UK in 2017, according to the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100.
P2’s alliance with Brexit Partners comes as the latest development in an extended business relationship between the two firms, which have collectively completed over 30 Brexit projects. The focus of the partnership is to help organisations understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities of a dreaded ‘Hard Brexit’, which would mean complete separation from the EU and a return to an arrangement that existed before Britain's entrance into the organisation – something which could stifle economic growth in Britain by 8%.
With this alarming backdrop, P2 and Brexit Partners will work with clients to help them mitigate any negative impacts and where possible, help them disrupt the market, innovate and create competitive advantage. The firms intend to do this by combining Brexit Partners’ pool of experts spanning business transformation, corporate finance, legal, regulatory, risk management, public policy, marketing and human resources, with P2 Consulting specialism in project and programme management, business analysis and testing, in order to provide end-to-end Brexit impact analysis, scenario planning, Brexit strategy and strategy execution.
Dr. Ray Nulty, Managing Partner at Brexit Partners said of the predicament faced by UK businesses, “It’s not just about internal processes and exposure to sterling – they also need to think about the impact on customers, supply chains and capital markets. Firms need to approach Brexit as a transformational change and use it as an opportunity to future proof their organisations. It’s vital they move swiftly to get a 360-degree view of the challenges and put measures in place to mitigate risks.”
Remarking on how the two firms can help clients in this regard, Julian Clarke, Group Client Officer at P2 Consulting added, “UK corporates require clarity as to the consequences of Brexit, but one thing for certain is that it signals significant change. Our combined experience will provide a guiding light to organisations still caught in Brexit confusion and help those that are further down the line in their preparations but have technical difficulties they might need help with.”
Brexit consulting
The UK’s economy as a whole remains sluggish as firms remain reluctant to invest large sums in a market which may be increasingly isolated, post-2019. However, bucking this trend, the consulting industry has continued to prosper, thanks in part to private and public sector demand relating to Brexit uncertainty.
Last year, McKinsey & Company was revealed as the consultancy to have successfully obtained a sought after government tender for the implementation of nearly 800 Brexit-related plans. The contract was aimed at further papering the cracks at Whitehall, following the extensive streamlining of the British Civil Service in recent years, while the future hiring of some 5,000 staff is still likely to further boost operations ahead of 2019’s deadline for negotiations with Brussels.
More recently, this saw the UK Government commission an analysis by Big Four professional services firm EY into the impact of Brexit on the UK medicines supply chain. The results of the investigation, which will include talks with drug manufacturers who have already revealed they are spending millions of pounds preparing for the UK leaving the EU, may however, remain secret because the information could be commercially sensitive.
As private sector clients also move to position themselves for Brexit, meanwhile, EY announced the launch of its new Geostrategic Business Group, in collaboration with Teneo Intelligence. The new wing of EY will work with or organisations and institutions on a global basis to understand the business implications of the geopolitical landscape, amid uncertainty brought on by Brexit, the Presidency of Donald Trump, and a host of inconclusive elections across Europe.
