Four in five business leaders want UK to stay in EU, study shows

More than four-fifths of business chiefs in the financial and professional services sector want the UK to remain in the EU, according to the first detailed research on the industry’s views.

More than a third (37 per cent) said they would relocate staff to somewhere within the single market if Britain ended up outside it, while 41 per cent said David Cameron’s proposal to hold a referendum on EU membership by 2017 was causing uncertainty.

The study was carried out on behalf of TheCityUK, the lobbying body for the finance industry, by Ipsos Mori. It interviewed 101 UK-based chief executives, board members, directors and partners.

It found 84 per cent wanted Britain to remain an EU member, while 10 per cent wanted it to leave the EU but remain in the single market and 5 per cent wanted it to leave both the EU and single market completely.

However, there was frustration with red tape: 65 per cent said EU regulatory change was one of their biggest challenges, while 56 per cent complained about the amount of regulation.

Chris Cummings, chief executive of TheCityUK, said: “The UK has to be in the single market if we are to shape and influence how it operates and develops. The results of this study demonstrate conclusively that business does not want to walk away from its largest trading partner”.

He said business leaders had given insights on how the EU could improve competitiveness in areas such as regulatory reform, prioritising international trade and investment negotiations.