FOR Brian Gilda, the stakes involved in Brexit could not be higher. The entrepreneur, who has run Peoples for nearly four decades, believes the UK Government’s failure to negotiate a Brexit deal means the country is “staring over a cliff edge”.

He bluntly asserts that a deal which results in high tariffs being applied to trade with EU nations will have ramifications for literally hundreds of thousands of jobs. “This is a huge industry in the UK and Brexit has the potential to do untold damage to it,” he declared.

Mr Gilda does not give the impression that he believes the Government will heed his concerns. His view is that ministers are hell-bent on pursuing Brexit on political grounds, putting ideology before the needs of the economy.

He also points out that Brexit is not an issue which will only be felt in the future. Mr Gilda said he has seen the effects of Brexit uncertainty in Peoples’ last two financial years, undermining consumer confidence in an already extremely competitive market.

That Peoples reported some of the highest profits it has ever made in 2017, Mr Gilda said, is testament to the efforts of his team and the loyalty of its customers. But he knows that even tougher tests are lying just around the corner.