Gary Boom, managing director of BI, said he was wary of making bold predictions given the unprecedented nature of the Brexit vote, but added: 'We can say that the uncertainty associated with a leave vote would likely result in further volatility, which is generally unwelcome for any market.

Sterling has been weakening against the euro in the lead-up to the vote and it seems probable that it would continue to fall if we vote leave; this would result in price rises across the board as the cost of replacement stock would immediately rise.

However, the picture for an international business such as BI is complex: sterling’s weakness has boosted the purchasing power of non-UK markets, said Boom.

‘In essence, it’s been cheaper for our Asia/US/EU customers to buy from the UK than elsewhere. With a remain vote, we would expect a reversal of this as GBP strengthens.’

‘In contrast, a leave vote would see an acceleration of higher prices for replacement stock as GBP would likely fall markedly. That said, if the economic community are to be believed, a leave vote would be accompanied by a material negative macro shock that would do no favours to both local and regional economic activity.’