Although the issue of whether Britain should join the euro remains on the margins of political debate, as far as companies looking to invest in the UK, the question refuses to go away, as demonstrated by this recent article in the Financial Times.

Britain's consistent economic growth during the past years has pushed the euro off the political agenda. However, if investment decisions by major companies start to go against the UK because of Britain's status outside the eurozone, a re-think may be in order.

Just to give some examples of the feelings of the business community, Hans Haefeli, Vice President of US construction company Caterpillar, which employs 11,000 Britons, has stated that "fundamentally it would make life easier for us if Britain were in the euro" while Andreas Ludwig, head of Austrian company Zumtobel which employs 650 people in County Durham, commented that "not being in the euro means we are exposed to currency fluctuations and that is a problem".

Moreover, Toyota, the world's largest car manufacturer, is expected to decide within the next year whether to make a big investment in its UK plant in Derby or to increase its resources in other sites in Europe. This decision will be a good litmus test of whether by staying out of the euro the British economy is being hamstrung.