Among them is Sir Richard Branson, the pro-EU Virgin billionaire, who is today launching his own campaign keep Britain in Europe by warning that he is “deeply concerned about the impact of leaving”, reports The Telegraph.
His intervention is the first in what is likely to be a series of pleas by business leaders – for and against EU membership – to voters before ballot boxes open on Thursday.
It is thought that a host of FTSE 100 chief executives and chairmen are putting their name to a letter encouraging the UK to stay in the EU, which could be published today.
They will warn that a so-called Brexit would likely result in an “economic shock” that would be most damaging to small firms.
Similarly, pro-Leave business leaders, who include J D Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin, are also expected to make final attempts to convince Britons to quit the EU in the last days before the referendum.
The City is bracing for dramatic market swings whatever the outcome of the referendum, with a number of banks ensuring they have foreign exchange traders at their desks overnight to deal with volatile currencies as the result comes through.
Virgin founder Sir Richard, who has long been an strong supporter of the Remain campaign, said: “As an entrepreneur I have been known for taking risks throughout my career but leaving the European Union is not one of the risks I would want the UK to take.”
The billionaire, whose home is Necker Island in the Caribbean, added: “Although I’ve been living in the British Virgin Islands for some time now, I have never stopped caring passionately about the UK and its great people.”
