None of Britain’s so-called unicorns, private companies with a valuation above $1bn (£710m), will support Britain leaving the EU, the Guardian can reveal.
Of the 14 companies on the list, five have come out as explicitly against Britain’s exit from the EU, while the rest either remained officially neutral or declined to comment on the matter.
Taavet Hinrikus, the co-founder of the financial technology (fintech) startupTransferWise, said: “We believe it would be crazy for the UK to leave the EU, both for businesses and consumers.”
Funding Circle, another fintech startup, said: “A successful, well-functioningEurope is crucial to a business like ours and we believe this is best achieved by remaining part of the EU.”
Alex Chesterman, the co-founder of property website Zoopla, said: “We have benefited from access to both capital and talent as part of the EU and leaving would create both economic and political uncertainty, which could have a material impact on our currency, borrowing rates, house prices and wider consumer prices.”
David Brown, the chief executive of e-commerce technology company Ve, gave an impassioned defence of Britain’s position in the EU, saying: “From the perspective of a tech business in London I don’t think Britain leaving Europe is sensible in the slightest. In fact, I believe we should further increase our ties with Europe on a trade and economic basis.”
The food delivery website Just Eat said even though Britain leaving the EU would not materially affect its own business, “we feel a close affinity with all our colleagues within the
EU and, on balance, feel it would be favourable for Britain to remain within it”.Valuing pre-IPO companies can be tricky, and the definition of a unicorn organisation is often contested. The Guardian started with a list of Britain’s 16 unicorns compiled by the investment banking firm GP Bullhound in June 2015, and then removed Powa, which went into administration in February 2016, and Wonga, which has shrunk since its peak in 2012 when it was valued at just over £1bn.
The Guardian contacted the remaining 14 companies and asked about their stance on Brexit. Those who stayed neutral were asked why they had decided to stay out of the debate.
The absence of any public support for Brexit reflects the wider attitude of Britain’s technology sector. In March, a survey of members of the industry body Tech London Advocates revealed that 87% were against Brexit, with just 3% prepared to support leaving the EU.
A few days later, Silicon Valley Bank released another survey, showing that 72% of UK-based technology and healthcare startups said leaving the EU would have a negative effect on their business.
Manish Madhvani, a co-founder of GP Bullhound, argues that the biggest advantage of EU membership is the psychological boost it provides to British firms by forcing them to think about themselves in a pan-European context and compete on an equal footing with the US giants. Leaving, he argues, “would just create uncertainty, and potentially increase the cost of doing trade.
“People, as a statement, will move some of their headquarters. Quite a few large corporates have already said that. And that will undoubtedly reduce the talent pool. The stat is 60% of all European corporates of size now have their headquarters in London. That’s a great position and that’s why we’ve got in my view the best city in the world. Anything that disrupts that hugely pivotal talent pool, well, that’s the key to all of this.”
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