Global business leaders more worried about Brexit than Grexit

European and US business leaders are more worried about the UK leaving the EU than Greece leaving the eurozone. "The prospect of not being able to operate seamlessly across Europe [if Britain left the EU] is worrying," said one US chief executive, whose company runs its European operations from London.

The Conservatives have promised to hold a referendum on UK membership of the EU if they win the general election on May 7. This uncertainty has unsettled British businesses, although opinion is divided on the benefits of staying in the bloc.

Grant Thornton surveyed 2,600 chief executives, managing directors, chairmen or other senior executives from all industry sectors in 36 countries in February. Nearly two-thirds of those in the eurozone said a British exit from the EU would have a negative impact on the European economy, while just 45 per cent felt a Greek exit from the euro would be negative.

In Germany, 61 per cent of business leaders felt a Brexit would damage Europe compared to 37 per cent on a Grexit. The difference was even more pronounced among non-eurozone EU members, at 72 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.

Sacha Romanovitch, Grant Thornton's chief executive elect, said US businesses were particularly worried about the impact of a Brexit.

"The UK has a great history of being a facilitator of trade and is a gateway into Europe and the rest of the world," she said. "For American businesses, there is nervousness about doing business in Europe, and there tends to be a trust and certainty when you come to Europe through the UK."

David Palmer-Jones, who runs the UK operations of France's Suez Environnement, said his business would suffer from the loss of "strength and vision" in Europe if Britain left the EU. "For our business it makes sense to maintain closeness to our largest market," he said.

The research findings come as the British Chambers of Commerce reported an increase in the number of UK businesses who believe withdrawing from the EU would be negative.

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Although over a third of firms said further integration with Europe would be negative, just over half said the most positive outcome for their business would be to operate in a reformed EU.

John Longworth, director-general of the BCC, said UK businesses needed to know there were clear safeguards in place to protect against unwanted further integration with the EU.

"The harsh reality is that most politicians and business leaders are unaware of what is happening in Brussels and politicians of all parties are yet to provide a vision of what EU reform means in practice," he said.

The Conservative party manifesto commits to hold an in-out referendum before the end of 2017 and to negotiate a "new settlement" for Britain in the EU, but gives few specifics on which reforms it will seek or which powers it will try to reclaim from Brussels.

The Labour party manifesto says it will return Britain "to a leadership role in a reformed European Union" but also lacks detail about which reforms it will target.

One FTSE 100 chief executive, with operations in the UK, continental Europe, and the US, said leaving the EU would add costly complexity to his business, and reduce his industry's lobbying power in the US.

"[Brexit] would put the UK on a back foot in terms of attracting investment," he said. "I would expect the CEO and business community to be a lot more vocal on an EU referendum than they were on Scotland."

A number of non-UK companies have spoken up in favour of Britain remaining in the EU, including Siemens, McDonald's, Philips, and Smurfit Kappa, which have echoed the views of bosses of UK companies such as Shell, Diageo, Tesco and Virgin.

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