Thursday 23 August 2018 1:27 pm | Updated: Friday 24 May 2019 7:46 pm

Investors believe the government is failing at Brexit negotiations

The majority of British investors think the government is doing a bad job at securing a Brexit deal for financial services and almost half think the UK will be poorer after it leaves the European Union.

In total 59 per cent of investors feel the government is failing at the negotiations and does not "have their back", according to the Brexit Wealth Index.

Just under half – 44 per cent – do not believe the that Brexit will make them any wealthier, research by the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association found.

The findings come as the government today published 24 technical notices, including one on financial services, to advise businesses and the public on contingency plans for a no deal Brexit.

Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) director general Mark Brownridge said: “It is clear that from this research that British investors feel that Brexit has not made them wealthier to date, and they do not believe that it will in the future either.

"Moreover, they feel that our government does not have their back, and in fact, is contributing to the negative sentiment surrounding Brexit.

"The fact that so many investors feel this way is going to have a knock-on impact on the rest of the country and the economy."

However, a third of investors believe that there will be more opportunities to invest in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) post-Brexit, the survey, which was based on 1,122 responses, said.

A Brexit dividend will make the UK richer after it leaves the UK in March next year, according to a third of respondents to the survey.

"There is some positivity, with many feeling that there will be great opportunities for wealth creation, entrepreneurship, and investment into SMEs in a post-Brexit Britain," Brownridge added.

"We must remain optimistic yet cautious, we need to ensure that investors have the confidence to continue to look to UK SMEs as a viable investment, and also ensure that there is enough capital for investors to reinvest back into UK businesses."