The UK is heading for an exit from the European Union, according to Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney.
Food group Greencore supplies food to about three quarters of UK consumers every month.
"There is a high chance" of exit, Patrick Coveney said in a speech at a Dublin Chamber of Commerce event in Dublin today.
He added that he does not see a late shift back to the "Remain" camp, in contrast to the Scottish referendum in 2014, according to Bloomberg reports.
He said that in the wake of a Brexit vote, "you will see Union Jacks all over England, a massive level of nationalism, and then slowly people will wake up to the fact it might be not great.”
Patrick Coveney: "It would be bad for the UK, Irish & global economies if UK votes to leave EU. I think they will" pic.twitter.com/Mt3WSWsC1r
— Dublin Chamber (@DubCham) June 15, 2016
Mr Coveney also predicted that UK Prime Minister David Cameron will resign the morning after the vote, Bloomberg said.
He said the impact on Greencore of a Brexit will be "negative, not catastrophic," with the pound and euro weakening against the dollar.
Greencore is the biggest Irish employer in the UK, with as many as 15,000 people. It produces more than 500 million pre-packed sandwiches a year.
The Greencore CEO said that Ireland would have to seek a trade deal with the UK in the event of a Brexit.
"I have no idea how that would be achieved, but it would be madness not to try," Mr Coveney said. "But that would be hard," he added.
