British business survey finds majority of firms back remaining in EU

A majority of British businesses back remaining in the European Union (EU), a survey released by industry representative body the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed.

The BCC survey showed 54.1 percent of business leaders were in support of staying in the EU, a subject which will be put to a referendum in Britain on June 23.

According to the survey results, a large majority of leaders at exporting firms (59.5 percent) were in favor of remaining, and support dropped to a minority for remaining (42.8 percent) among firms which carried out business only in the domestic British market.

Adam Marshall, BCC acting director general, said that the difference in the numbers between those wanting to remain in the EU and those wanting to leave had narrowed over the past weeks.

Marshall added: "Although a clear majority of the businesspeople we surveyed continue to express a preference to remain in the EU, the gap between 'Remain' and 'Leave' has narrowed significantly in recent weeks."

Marshall also commented on the uncertainty around the referendum result, which has manifested itself in a weakening of the British pound and a reduction in hiring in some business sectors, notably the financial sector, from March onwards, according to recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley.

The BCC survey released on Tuesday found that 71.3 percent of business leaders reported that the referendum had had no impact to date on orders and sales, while 87.1 percent reported that recruitment was unaffected, with 79.6 percent reporting no effect on investment.

Marshall said there had been little significant impact so far, but that could change after the referendum: "While only a minority of businesspeople report that the referendum campaign has had a material impact on their firms to date, much larger numbers say they expect significant impacts in the aftermath of the vote."

The survey polled 2,200 business leaders in April. Endit