Support for Brexit has increased markedly among South West business leaders over the past year, according to a new survey, leaving the region’s bosses sharply divided on the vital issue of EU membership.
The business poll, conducted by growth capital firm BGF (Business Growth Fund), shows 52% of the region’s business leaders believe British businesses are better off inside the EU – down from 86% last year. 
However, 61% claim being in the EU gives British businesses invaluable access to European markets and 48% are concerned that an EU exit risks stifling business growth.
Looking ahead at the potential implications of a leave vote, 42% say that Brexit would prompt multinational companies to relocate operations overseas while 74% believe it will trigger another Scottish independence referendum.
Reflecting frustration with the EU, more than four out of five (81%) claimed that Britain’s membership saddled British business with unnecessary and problematic regulation.
And while just over half (56%) believe an EU exit would not impact on skills, 27% think it would lead to a more marked shortage.
The results from the BGF survey follow one from Business West, the region’s largest business organisation, which showed 57% of business people plan to vote to remain part of the EU, compared to 26% who say they will back the leave campaign.
The BGF Growth Climate Index also gauged other factors impacting on the region’s businesses. It identified macro-economic conditions (32%) and instability in overseas markets (26%) as the biggest factors holding businesses back from growth.
Worryingly, only 26% expect conditions for growth to improve over the next quarter (compared to 68% in November 2015) although 42% expect them to stay the same. 
Despite this, business owners and directors remain focused on growth – 84% said that the objective of the companies they work with is to pursue growth over the next quarter, compared to just one in 10 that plan to consolidate or remain the same size.
This suggests that while uncertainty associated with the upcoming referendum and economic slowdown overseas is increasingly front-of-mind for the South West business community; it is not dampening individual business’ appetite for growth.
BGF’s Bristol-based South West and South Wales director Paul Oldham, pictured, said: “The Growth Climate Index exclusively seeks the views of senior business leaders who are committed to supporting Britain’s most ambitious small and mid-sized businesses. The poll shows that opinion among the South West business community is increasingly divided when it comes to Britain’s membership of the EU.
“It’s also clear that despite uncertainty prompted by the vote, and economic instability overseas, individual businesses remain committed to growth. In uncertain times it is crucial that these companies get the support they need to innovate, export, grow and prosper.”
BGF is the UK’s most active provider of long-term to small and mid-sized businesses.
Its Growth Climate Index is based on a poll of BGF’s Talent Network, a proprietary network of board-level directors and chairman with wide-ranging experience across the spectrum of UK and international business, from senior business leaders of high-growth small and mid-sized companies to FTSE 100 corporates.
More than 320 Talent Network members took part in the online survey in February and March.
