Brexit has made it “much more complicated” to manage staff and make new hires, according to Bentley chief financial officer Jan-Henrik Lafrentz.

Speaking on a call with journalists following the release of the Audi Group’s financial results, he said: “It’s not necessarily the money; it’s the effort it takes to manage the business now. 

“For example, changing people [within] the Audi brand group is much more complicated. It takes six months to get visa. You can’t change people for just six months, because the effort is the same as hiring people for three or five years.”

Lafrentz hinted that this makes the UK’s automotive industry less attractive to investors, saying: “What is absolutely needed is stability.