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Pub industry figures throw weight behind #Remain campaign in letter to The Times

22-Jun-2016 - Last updated on 23-Jun-2016 at 10:28 GMT

High-profile figures from the pub trade have signed a letter to The Times newspaper alongside figures from across the hospitality industry in support of Britain remaining in the European Union.

Signatories of the letter included:

Adnams CEO Andy Wood
Beds & Bars chief executive Keith Knowles
City Pub Company chairman Clive Watson
Compass Group chairman Paul Walsh
Greene King CEO Rooney Anand
The Racehorse Pub owner Maura Collyer
Whitbread CEO Alison Brittain
Yummy Pubs director Anthony Pender

The letter reads:

"Sir, we own and run more than 1,200 businesses, from micro companies to the FTSE 100, employing more than 1.75 million people. We know our firms are stronger in Europe. Our reasons are straightforward: businesses and their employees benefit massively from being able to trade inside the world’s largest single market without barriers. As business people, we always look to the future — and a future inside the EU is where we see more opportunities for investment, growth and new jobs.

"We know that Britain leaving the EU would mean having to re-establish terms of trade from scratch with our home market of 500 million consumers. That wouldn’t just hurt exporters but the hundreds of thousands of small and medium firms who do business with them.

"Even those that want Britain to leave say that, in the short term, Brexit would lead to economic uncertainty and would put jobs at risk. Smaller businesses and the people they employ are particularly vulnerable to any economic shock that could follow a vote to leave. Britain leaving the EU would mean uncertainty for our firms, less trade with Europe and fewer jobs. Britain remaining in the EU would mean the opposite: more certainty, more trade and more jobs. EU membership is good for business and good for British jobs. That’s why, on 23 June, we back Britain remaining in the EU."

However, a poll of Publican's Morning Advertiser readers this week indicated that the majority of the trade was in favour of Brexit, with 59% of respondents wanting to leave the EU.

A separate survey by data firm RPBI provided a similar result, reporting that UK hospitality operator largely would vote to leave.