Brexit causes UK tech firms' shares to plummet - apart from ARM

BT, Vodafone, TalkTalk, Capita and Sage all see their share price sliding, while ARM is holding its ground

Shares in UK technology companies have plummeted thanks to the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

This morning, the FTSE 100 fell by more than eight per cent, wiping £120bn off of the value of the UK's top 100 companies, but this has since steadied to a drop of 4.5 per cent, which is still significant (about £70bn).

UK technology and telecoms firms aren't the worst to be hit, but have nevertheless been affected by the Brexit vote.

BT has seen a drop of 9.73 per cent, Vodafone has seen a dip of 3.35 per cent and TalkTalk has seen its share price dive by more than 12 per cent. Meanwhile outsourcing firm Capita, which bought Trustmarque last week for £57m, has seen a drop of 11.65 per cent, and Softcat has seen a huge 13.65 per cent drop. Accounting software firm Sage has seen a 3.11 per cent decrease, and Micro Focus has seen a drop of 7.70 per cent.

But all is not doom and gloom, with Cambridge-based chip firm ARM Holdings actually on the up, albeit only just, by 0.39 per cent. The FTSE 100 microchip maker has had a successful year, with revenues up 14 per cent and earnings per share up 15 per cent. The firm may not have been impacted as much as other companies because much of its revenue comes from outside of the EU.

Meanwhile, Brexit will also mean that the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) will not directly apply to the UK.

The ICO has called for the UK government to reform data protection laws, suggesting that new legislation could mirror GDPR, as most companies will have been prepared for the incoming EU regulations, and will need to adhere to many of the rules if they are using data of EU clients, citizens or employees.