AS the clock ticks down towards Brexit, businesses are looking for certainty to allow them to plan ahead.

Delamere Dairy has been making milk and cheese since 1985, and has been based in Knutsford since 1992.

Ed Salt, managing director, said: “At this moment in time it does not matter whether people wanted to leave or remain. That is the past and we can only affect the future.

“Our British goat’s milk comes from British goats on a British farm, but in reality it is connected to Europe. The tanker that picks the milk up is Swedish – either Scania or Volvo –the fuel will be imported and the carton is from Tetra-Pak in Switzerland.

“If we leave without a deal and move on to World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms, unlike the car industry which has a 10 per cent tariff, the food industry will be 40 per cent, and we would be affected if the Pound de-values.

“We are also reserving warehouse space in order to stockpile long-life produce in case of a no deal Brexit.”

Handforth-based Pets at Home is the nation’s biggest pet supplies retailer, while it also runs veterinary clinics.

Peter Pritchard, group chief executive, said: “We are being pragmatic. Is the population of pets in Britain going to change? Of course it’s not, so for us it is about planning for the levels of disruption we could face.

“Movement of goods is a key issue, as is the currency. We import a number of items from Asia, we saw the Pound de-value two years ago and that’s a potential worry for us again.

“There is also the issue of the availability of vets. Britain is not producing enough vets and we rely on employing vets from other countries. Vets could choose to return to their home country, while a new immigration policy could be a real challenge.

“Most businesses can cope with anything as long as they know what they are dealing with. While we are making contingency plans as we get closer to Brexit, we need a firm idea of how things are heading.”