Almost a quarter of businesses will put a freeze on recruitment following the decision to leave the EU, according to research by the Institute of Directors (IoD).

The survey of 1,092 IoD members found that 32% will continue to hire staff and 5% plan to make redundancies.

Almost two thirds (64%) of business owners say that leaving the EU will have a negative effect on their business.

23% think the result is positive, compared to 9% who say it makes no difference.

Other findings:

• 36% say the result will cause cuts in investment
• 22% are thinking about moving some of their operations outside the UK
• 44% say the result will not change investment plans for their business
• 51% say that getting a good deal should be prioritised over a speedy exit

Simon Walker, director general of IoD, said:

“Businesses will be busy working out how they are going to adapt and succeed after the referendum result. But we can’t sugar-coat this, many of our members are feeling anxious.

“A majority of business leaders think the vote for Brexit is bad for them, and as a result plans for investment and hiring are being put on hold or scaled back.”