Mr Baxter was one of the 30-strong ‘expert group’ unveiled by Vote Leave in May 2016 to ‘dismiss Brexit fears’ and in the same month he was involved in a debate on ITV with the title: ‘Would our economy be better or worse off if we left the EU?’
During the show, he is reported to have said:
“Anyone who says that the EU is going to put big trade barriers up against the UK, is talking rubbish, there’s no way that will happen”.
Well he was right about that. The EU didn't put up big trade barriers. They didn't need to because we asked - nay, demanded - that Britain leave the customs union and the single market, thus placing us outside the big trade barriers that already existed, the ones we had helped to build. In other words, we did it all to ourselves.
Reading the Business Desk report from 24 March, Europa Road claims “that it has ‘won from Brexit ‘ after returning to offering guaranteed pre-Brexit delivery times across Europe.”
The sales director at Europa Worldwide Group, Adrian Redmile, puts the success of the company down to a £5m investment in its Europa Flow product.
Redmile said: “In support of our Midlands exporters, who have been struggling to grapple with delays on time-critical consignments over the past few years, we’re delighted to have returned to offering pre-Brexit delivery times.”
First of all, it can hardly be described as a “win” if you have to spend £5mn not to offer a better or quicker service, but simply to provide the same level of service that you delivered pre-Brexit without having to spend £5 million.
The chemicals industry is complaining bitterly at having to spend up to £2 billion to replicate the REACH database that we had access to and helped create as an EU member. It is simply wasted money.
Secondly, I’m not sure I believe they can offer a “guaranteed” shipping time. If the authorities in France decide to randomly inspect a consignment there will presumably be unexpected delays. The company also seems to have changed its business model because the report says: “These days, Europa Road mainly works with companies who are shipping finished good.”
I presume this means they are working more with companies shipping complete loads of one product, rather than sending stuff groupage with dozens of different items all with separate paperwork, although their accounts for 2022 says they handle full loads, part loads and groupage. With groupage, if one consignor makes an error on a declaration and his goods are held at a customs post, the whole load is delayed. So I think Mr Redmile is perhaps overegging things a little.
It’s true that Europa Worldwide Group has increased turnover considerably since Brexit - roughly by a factor of three. From around £100m in 2016 to £290m in 2022. It looks impressive until you dig down into the numbers.
In 2016 the group employed 616 staff. Six years later this had increased to 1121, nearly double. Drivers and warehouse staff in that total went from 224 to 459, again, doubling. But turnover including inflation tripled. Unless there has been a stunning improvement in productivity, which seems unlikely, it means the higher turnover has come from a significant increase in the cost per consignment of about 50% (less inflation).
Now, I suspect this is due to EW offering DDP services (Delivered, Duty Paid) to Europe with all the extra costs of freight forwarding that weren't needed before Brexit since you simply loaded a truck and off it went to the final customer. Those additional costs are now being paid by the exporter.
In that ITV debate back in 2016, Baxter appeared with the MD of a maker of high end skylights based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, named Sunsquare. Justin Seldis said he had suppliers all over Europe sending him top quality parts and he was exporting finished products back to the EU. He said leaving "would hamper his company's chances of expanding."
And indeed we can see just how that would be likely to happen. Sunsquare Ltd would have been paying perhaps 30% more to ship goods to clients in the EU and at the same time, experiencing delays in receiving parts from European suppliers. Whether this was responsible for the company appointing a voluntary liquidator in April 2023 or not, is another matter. Covid may also have played a part. But I am willing to bet that Brexit was involved in one way or another.
This story is a microcosm of Brexit. Freight forwarders have enjoyed a bonanza at the expense of small businesses who have suffered a tsunami of additional costs and paperwork plus delays.
Also, Brexit was never going to affect Mr Baxter. His family sold RH Freight to the Swiss transport conglomerate Kuehne + Nagel for £66 million in 2011. Incidentally, Andrew Baxter also donated £10,000 to Nigel Adams when he was MP for Selby back in 2020.
