Veteran tech entrepreneur Hemani slams Brexit trade stance

Westcoast, the UK computers supplier founded by Chelsea vice-president Joe Hemani, blasted government Brexit policy as “stupid” today for putting out mixed messages on trade.

“The government says we want to be open for business and we want to trade with the world and on the other hand we alienate 500 million people 26 miles from our shores. It’s not very clever,” he said.

Hemani founded the Apple, HP and Samsung vendor more than 30 years ago.

The privately-owned firm, one of the 30 biggest in the UK, posted a 20% rise in revenue to £1.9 billion last year thanks to rising business demand for cyber security and cloud computing.

The company’s pre-tax profit rose 21.8% to £17.8 million.

Hemani said the government’s EU exit plan was undermining UK business confidence.

“I do believe the full impact of Brexit is still to be felt. It’s early days but... we see signs that are unpleasant,” he said.

Westcoast makes around 40% of purchases in dollars or euros and FX volatility pressured profit margins.

The group passed on some of the extra cost to clients. “There’s no way out of it, that’s the law of the land,” Hemani said.