With Regret, Britain’s Pro-EU Bosses Sip Burgundy and Move On

  • Executives look to post-Brexit opportunities away from EU
  • Business leaders still concerned about U.K.-EU trade deal
A Pro Europa supporter holds European Union and British Union flags during a gathering in Brussels on Jan. 30.Photographer: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg
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Most of Britain’s top executives spent the last three-and-a-half years regretting the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union. When the split finally happens on Friday night, many will be raising a last toast to the bloc -- and then getting on with business.

“I shall enjoy a glass or two of Cotes du Rhone, Burgundy or Riesling,” said Greg McDonald, owner of Goodfish Ltd., a plastic parts maker based in Cannock, England. McDonald, who voted against the departure, is now focused on establishing a presence in the euro zone, including with a new factory in Slovakia.