Bloomberg Businessweek USA 09.30.2019

September 30, 2019

34

“Goodman,”Blackhamsays.“It’sstilllooking

clearbacktoCalais.Youshouldn’thaveanyprob-

lems.”ThesituationatDoveris lessrosy—queuesare

forming—butcomingtheotherwayshouldbefine.

“Thanks,mate.Ta-rah.”Moorehangsup.Once

thefreshcrateappears,hegetsbackontheroad

andflicksonBBCRadio4:Thepoundis fallingfur-

ther;protestsandcounterprotestscontinueout-

sideParliament;queuesareformingattheborder

betweenSpainandtheBritishterritoryofGibraltar.

● 9:30A.M.,NEARSTAFFORD,WEST

MIDLANDS,CENTRALENGLAND

Thesmellofmeltingacrylicfillsthefactoryfloor

atGoodfishLtd.Machineswhirnoisily,pumping

hotplasticintomouldstomakehandlesforviolin

cases,rakeheadsforgolfbunkers,fog-lighthold-

ersforMiniautomobiles.

OwnerGregMcDonaldisperchedona silver

medicineballintheboardroom,watchinga video

feedoftheoperation.BeforetheBrexitreferendum,

hewrotea notetohis 126 employeesaboutwhy

leavingtheEUwouldbebadforjobs.Themajority

ignoredhim,votingforit anyway.Nowhisstaffis

downto96.Goodfish’ssaleshavefallen20%sofar

thisyear.Meanwhile,theweakpoundhasmadehis

remainingemployees’annualholidaysmoreexpen-

sive,andtheywanta raise.Hehasn’tbeenobliging.

McDonaldpullsouta MacBookProandloads

thePDFofhisBrexitcontingencyplan.Lineitem 2

reads,“PushbuttononinvestmenttoCEE”—Central

&EasternEurope.Goodfish’smajorEuropean

customersdon’twanttoriska productionshut-

downduetoa delayinpartsleavingtheU.K.or

tobearthecostsofnewtariffs.Heknowsthey’re

readytoshiftsuppliercontractstofactoriesonthe

Continentandwantstopreemptthelossofbusi-

ness.Settingupa factoryinSlovakiawillcosthalfa

insidetheblocafterBrexit,soCboesetupa hub

inAmsterdam.A dozenofHemsley’sstaffarenow

there,poisedtoliaisewithcustomers,watchmar-

kets,andsatisfyregulators.

Cboe’sreadinessforno-dealis matchedacross

theCity.BigbankssuchasHSBC,DeutscheBank,

andJPMorganChasetriggeredBrexitplanslong

ago,sendingbankerstoParisandFrankfurtand

settingupEUsubsidiariestoensurecontinuity.

Still,therearesomeheadaches.ListingEuropean

sharesfortradingonboththeDutchandU.K.

boards—havingtwoplatformsanda splittrading

volume—maymeanlesscompetition,fewertrades,

andhigherprices.Whethersmallandmidsizefirms

areaspreparedasthebigbanksis a naggingques-

tion.Thenthere’sthe£ 16 trillioninuncleared

swapspotentiallyhanginginregulatorylimbo.

Hemsleystudiesthescreensforcluesasto

whatkindofdayit’sgoingtobe.Aslongasselling

andbuyinggoon,Cboe’spreparationsarehold-

ing.ManypeoplegottheirBrexit-relatedbusiness

outofthewaydaysago,onceno-dealbecame

unavoidable—whichisfinebyMark.Hesucksin

hisbreathandwaitsforflickers of trouble.

● 8:45 A.M., SAINT OUEN L’AUMONE, AN

INDUSTRIAL ESTATE NEAR PARIS

The 007 theme blares out again. Moore jolts awake

from a nap. It’s Ellis Blackham, JJX’s 21-year-old logis-

tics account manager. “Hi, Rog, how’s it going?”

Like Moore, Blackham voted Leave. He expected

Brexit to boost demand for logistics services. So far,

he’s right: JJX’s warehouses are filled with stockpiled

goods, from Heineken lager to Nivea skin lotion.

“Still waiting for the goods to come back,” Moore

replies. “Shouldn’t be too much.” His drive to Paris

went without a hitch. He’s bringing more airplane

parts on his return.

◀ Lorry driver Roger

Moore waits at the

Channel Tunnel