Short Brexit delay will only add to frustration, says McLaren CEO

A delay of a month or two to Britain's exit from the European Union would be a "frustration" and only worth it if it helped bring about a more orderly Brexit, the chief executive of carmaker McLaren Automotive told Reuters on Wednesday. Britain is due to leave the bloc in under four weeks' time but lawmakers could back an extension in a parliamentary vote if Prime Minister Theresa May's exit agreement is voted down, potentially prolonging uncertainty for businesses.

"If there is a delay of a month or of two months, it will simply be a sort of frustration," Mike Flewitt told Reuters during an interview at the Geneva car show. "We want to know what the rules are, we want to know how we are going to be trading with the EU partly for selling cars there but probably more significantly is we source a lot of components there," he said.

"If a delay brought a more orderly, managed exit, absolutely fine, then it's worth having a delay." McLaren Automotive sold some 4,800 cars last year made at its southern English factory in Woking.