IoD on Grexit: Three quarters of business leaders think Greece will leave the euro
Three quarters of business leaders think Greece will leave the euro within the year, a study by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has suggested.
Read more: Even pro-Europeans admit the Greek crisis has been disastrous for the EU
Of the rest, only two per cent think it's "very unlikely" – suggesting UK businesses are bracing themselves for more economic turbulence over the next few months.
If Grexit takes place, the most likely outcome is a "messy default which negatively affects financial markets and creates pressure on other euro members", two-thirds of leaders added – while 45 per cent suggested there was a risk of contagion, with "widespread bank runs" in other southern European countries.
In the long term, a similar number suggested other countries could leave the euro.
But UK businesses will largely be cushioned from the fall, with 77 per cent of businesses saying they had no exposure to the country whatsoever, and just nine per cent saying they have clients in Greece.
But director general Simon Walker suggested businesses are nonetheless nervous.
"They have reduced their direct exposure to Greece in recent years, but are worried that a messy divorce from the single currency would shake markets across the continent and destabilise the already fragile economies of other southern European countries. IoD members do not expect the chaotic situation in Greece they see on the evening news to end anytime soon," he said.