The government should be more willing to borrow to invest in infrastructure spending in the wake of the Brexit vote, Balfour Beatty has said.
In its Infrastructure 2050 report, the building firm argued that Britain's departure from the EU will cause a reduction in private sector investment, putting major projects like High Speed 2 and Hinkley at risk unless the Treasury finds funds to plug the gap.
The report said: "Now is an ideal time for government to borrow money in order to finance infrastructure projects.
"This is far from being an irresponsible course of action as some maintain."
It also warned that there is a major risk of high wage inflation in some sectors, such as rail, caused by a lack of skills.
Brexit could exacerbate this if curbs on immigration lead to fewer skilled workers coming to the UK. At the same time, the report calls for more investment in skills among the UK population.
