EXPO 2015: The UK’s position on whether it remains part of the European Union must be determined as soon as possible in order to avoid damaging investment into the country, according to leader of Manchester city council, Sir Howard Bernstein.
Speaking at a debate hosted by Estates Gazette at Expo Real, in partnership with Bilfinger GVA, the British Property Federation, Hogan Lovells and Pattern, Bernstein said: “Our participation in the EU or not is an issue. I personally think we need to say in. What would be catastrophic though would be continuous debate for a couple of years.
“It is the equivalent of putting a sign up saying ‘out for lunch’. We need to do this sooner rather than later, certainly by autumn next year. If don’t do that it could have a large negative influence. I worry about uncertainty.”
Prime minister David Cameron has promised an in/out referendum by 2017 but many business leaders would like to see a decision sooner.
Mark Rawstron, Bilfinger GVA’s senior capital markets director, added that the referendum for Scottish independence last year had a dramatic impact on investment volumes in the country and Scotland was still suffering as a result.
“Some overseas investors still won’t go to Scotland because of the devolution discussion. It has been very damaging from that perspective,” he said.
Whether a Brexit, were it to take place, would damage investment or not was something Jackie Newstead, global head of real estate at Hogan Lovells, was sceptical about.
“If this actually happened, would it make a difference to the attractiveness of UK? I’m not sure. One of reasons people invest in the UK is because it outside of the euro, so it might not matter,” she said.
