Support for staying in Europe on the wane among finance directors

A clear majority favour Britain remaining in the EU, but unqualified support has fallen

Support for EU membership relied on David Cameron’s negotiating (Getty)

Support for the UK’s membership of the European Union has narrowed sharply among the finance chiefs of its biggest companies, according to a study to be published today.

The survey for the fourth quarter of 2015 by accountancy firm Deloitte found a majority – 62 per cent – still favour the UK’s continued membership of the bloc. But that was down from the 74 per cent figure recorded in the same survey during the second quarter.

Participating in the poll were 137 chief financial officers (CFOs), including the finance directors of 24 companies in the FTSE 100 and 62 in the FTSE 250. The rest, according to Deloitte, work at other UK-listed companies, large private businesses and the UK subsidiaries of big companies with overseas listings.

The narrowing of support is in line with polling data among the population at large. A recent poll by ComRes found 56 per cent of voters favour the UK remaining in the UK, and 35 per cent support “Brexit”.

But it also found that support was highly dependent on the success of David Cameron’s attempt to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with Europe and secure concessions on issues such as in-work benefits for EU migrants and ensuring the UK is not disadvantaged by decisions taken by eurozone members.

David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte, said Britain’s finance chiefs have a similar viewpoint. Around 28 per cent told Deloitte that their decision depended on the outcome of the Prime Minister’s renegotiation of UK membership, up from 23 per cent in the second quarter. Just 6 per cent said UK business would benefit from leaving the EU, but that was up from 2 per cent. Four per cent were uncertain of their position, up from 1 per cent the last time the question was asked.

Mr Sproul said: “With around one-third of CFOs undecided on their position or awaiting the outcome of renegotiation discussions, the eventual deal may well significantly affect business attitudes to EU membership.”

He added: “A clear majority of CFOs continue to favour the UK remaining in the EU, but the proportion of those expressing unqualified support has fallen.”

Deloitte’s poll also pointed to UK finance chiefs starting 2016 in their most defensive mood for three years as doubts over the health of the global economy weigh on confidence.

Asked to rate how optimistic they were about the prospects for their companies, 30 per cent said they were less optimistic – against 20 per cent three months ago. Just 12 per cent said they were more optimistic, down sharply from 36 per cent six months ago.

Deloitte said this was the third consecutive quarter in which corporate confidence had waned. It is now at its lowest level since the second quarter of 2012.

Only 37 per cent of those polls said now would be a good time to take on risk, down from 47 per cent in the third-quarter survey and 72 percent seen in the third quarter of 2014.

The survey also showed the outlook for revenues at its weakest for two and half years, with 52 per cent of expecting revenue growth, against 81 per cent in the second quarter.

On the plus side, 68 per cent were optimistic about UK growth, with 82 per cent positive on US growth. But only 25 per cent were optimistic about the eurozone.