British companies avoid taking sides in the debate over an EU exit

Yet so far, the voice of business has been less full-throated than many analysts expected. "Business does seem strangely muted on this," said Simon Tilford, the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a research institute in London. "It has been surprising that so few internationally active businesses are prepared to speak out."

Mr Tilford said many companies still either thought that there was relatively little prospect of Britain’s voting for withdrawal, or believed — in his view over-optimistically — that little would change in the event of a British departure. He expects more corporations to speak out closer to the referendum, particularly if opinion polls continue to predict a close result. In the meantime, with surveys showing voters to be deeply divided, companies appear to be worried about annoying consumers, Mr. Tilford said. The feeling, he added, is “there is no point putting your head above the parapet for something that isn’t going to happen.”