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<\/div>\n\/\/<\/span> Fortnum & Mason boss Tom Athron has urged Rishi Sunak\u2019s government to agree a deal with Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland<\/h6>\n\/\/ <\/span>The chief executive said the lack of a deal has made it \u201calmost impossible\u201d for food retailers to export to the EU<\/h6>\nFortnum & Mason boss Tom Athron has urged Rishi Sunak\u2019s government to agree a deal with Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The chief executive told The Financial Times that without an agreement it is \u201calmost impossible\u201d for food retailers to export to the EU.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce [a deal] gets sorted, then actually the rest of the conversation around Britain\u2019s trading relationship with Europe will begin to improve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free<\/strong><\/p>\nSign up\u00a0here\u00a0to g<\/span>et the latest news straight into your inbox each morning<\/span><\/p>\nSunak has been attempting push a deal with Brussels over the line this week, rejecting calls from former prime minister Boris Johnson to take a more aggressive approach.<\/p>\n
Fortnum & Mason was forced to temporarily halt its Europe deliveries, which equates to 10% of its business, due to Brexit.<\/p>\n
The government needs to \u201cinvest some time improving its relationship with the EU\u201d, which could only be done once the \u201carchitects of Brexit\u201d were out of the picture, Athron said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EU were always going to struggle to deal with them\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009Rishi is sort of one step towards that. And then whoever leads the next government I suspect, there will be another step.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one wins when you can\u2019t export like this,\u201d he\u00a0warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EU doesn\u2019t win, the UK doesn\u2019t win, we would be much better off finding a way through this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month, Marks and Spencer chairman Archie Norman criticised the government\u2019s plans to facilitate post-Brexit trade have been \u2018overbearing and confusing\u2019.<\/p>\n
Fortnum & Mason boss Tom Athron has urged Rishi Sunak\u2019s government to agree a deal with Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The chief executive told The Financial Times that without an agreement it is \u201calmost impossible\u201d for food retailers to export to the EU.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce [a deal] gets sorted, then actually the rest of the conversation around Britain\u2019s trading relationship with Europe will begin to improve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up\u00a0here\u00a0to g<\/span>et the latest news straight into your inbox each morning<\/span><\/p>\n Sunak has been attempting push a deal with Brussels over the line this week, rejecting calls from former prime minister Boris Johnson to take a more aggressive approach.<\/p>\n Fortnum & Mason was forced to temporarily halt its Europe deliveries, which equates to 10% of its business, due to Brexit.<\/p>\n The government needs to \u201cinvest some time improving its relationship with the EU\u201d, which could only be done once the \u201carchitects of Brexit\u201d were out of the picture, Athron said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU were always going to struggle to deal with them\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009Rishi is sort of one step towards that. And then whoever leads the next government I suspect, there will be another step.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wins when you can\u2019t export like this,\u201d he\u00a0warned.<\/p>\n \u201cThe EU doesn\u2019t win, the UK doesn\u2019t win, we would be much better off finding a way through this.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, Marks and Spencer chairman Archie Norman criticised the government\u2019s plans to facilitate post-Brexit trade have been \u2018overbearing and confusing\u2019.<\/p>\n