The Confederation of British Industry and British Retail Consortium have welcomed the appointment of Boris Johnson as the new prime minister but warned of the issues facing business and retail more widely.

Johnson was elected leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister-designate earlier today with 92,153 votes from party members. He beat foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt who received 46,656 votes.

The MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and former London mayor will take over as prime minister from Theresa May tomorrow.

In his victory speech, Johnson said he was going to “energise the country [and] get Brexit done on October 31 and take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring with a new spirit of can-do”.

Both the CBI and BRC welcomed Johnson’s victory but also warned of issues facing the business community and the retail sector specifically.

BRC boss Helen Dickinson said retail was facing “many pressing issues” and the BRC “looked forward to engaging with Mr Johnson and his team to promote constructive solutions to these issues”.

She added: “Retailers employ 3 million people across the UK, making the industry the UK’s largest private-sector employer, and the burden of business rates and other public policy costs put these jobs and our high streets at risk.

“With retail conditions the toughest they have been for a decade, the new prime minister must act to support the successful reinvention of retail locations and local communities.”

CBI chief executive Carolyn Fairbairn said businesses needed three things in the first 100 days of Johnsons premiership: “a Brexit deal that unlocks confidence; clear signals the UK is open for business; and a truly pro-enterprise vision for our country”.

She said Johnson must “not underestimate the benefits of a good deal” with the EU, which would “unlock new investment and confidence in factories and boardrooms across the country”.

Fairbairn also said “early signals” will matter “from a new immigration system to green-lighting major infrastructure, there is no time to waste”.

Ahead of today’s result, CBI called on the next prime minister to deliver “annual business rates revaluations” as part of a manifesto it said would help “get the UK economy back on track”.

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