By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 02:01 EST, 13 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:25 EST, 13 March 2014 . Billionaire financier George Soros has warned that foreign-owned companies would flee Britain if the country decided to quit the European Union. The notorious currency speculator - whose actions devastated sterling in 1992 - said that Britain had the best of all worlds by being part of the EU but not the euro. But underlining corporate concerns about the economic impact of a British exit, he suggested yesterday that an exit would cost jobs and investment. George Soros speaking in London yesterday: The billionaire investor warned that multinational companies would flee Britain, shedding jobs, if the country were to leave the European Union . 'I leave it to the British business community, particularly multinationals that set up factories here as an entry point into the common market, to explain to the public what they stand to lose,' he said. 'But in one word - jobs.' Mr Soros's comments came as Labour leader Ed Miliband said his party would be unlikely to table an in/out referendum on Europe if it was to win the next election. David Cameron, the prime minister, is all but committed to such a poll in 2017 after pressure from the Tories' eurosceptic right, who fear an electoral challenge from Ukip, who are avowedly anti-EU. Mr Soros, who spoke yesterday in London to promote his latest book, warned that Europe's union might yet collapse if its economy continues to stagnate, a situation he blamed on Germany. 'The policy of austerity that Germany imposed on the eurozone countries was the wrong one,' he added in a comment piece published this morning in the Financial Times. 'The downward pressure has now diminished and this has given financial markets a lift. But the prospect of a long period of stagnation has not been removed and it has set in motion a negative political dynamic. 'Anybody who finds the prevailing arrangements are intolerable is pushed into an anti-European posture, so I expect the process of disintegration to gather momentum.' Differing positions: Labour leader Ed Miliband, left, says his party has no intention to hold an in/out referendum on EU membership, but Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, right, has vowed to hold such a poll in 2017 . Mr Soros, 83, famously made $1billion by betting against the sterling on Black Wednesday in 1992, forcing John Major's Tory government to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. But now, he said, any British withdrawal from European institutions would hasten the collapse of the EU and diminish the Union's standing in world affairs. He predicted disaster if any country were to try to leave the eurozone currency bloc. 'If the euro disintegrated in a disorderly manner it would not have solved the problem, it would have created an even bigger problem – a real meltdown,' he was quoted as saying yesterday by The Guardian. 'The problems of the euro don't have a national solution. Leaving the euro is a disaster. It would mean defaulting on a country's debts. That would have very severe consequences for financial stability. 'It might be beyond the powers of the authorities to control.' Despite that dire warning, Mr Soros suggested that if Scotland votes for independence, it would be better off joining the eurozone that pursuing monetary union with the Bank of England. ‘Scotland wants to remain part of the pound sterling and Britain is creating obstructions to that,' he said. 'It would be a very difficult relationship and I don’t think that Scotland becoming independent and yet remaining part of the sterling is possible.’
Comments came as Labour leader rejects referendum if his party wins .
Mr Soros blamed Europe's stagnant economy on German-imposed austerity .
Currency speculator famously made $1bn betting against the pound in '92 .
By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 02:01 EST, 13 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 07:25 EST, 13 March 2014 . Billionaire financier George Soros has warned that foreign-owned companies would flee Britain if the country decided to quit the European Union. The notorious currency speculator - whose actions devastated sterling in 1992 - said that Britain had the best of all worlds by being part of the EU but not the euro. But underlining corporate concerns about the economic impact of a British exit, he suggested yesterday that an exit would cost jobs and investment. George Soros speaking in London yesterday: The billionaire investor warned that multinational companies would flee Britain, shedding jobs, if the country were to leave the European Union . 'I leave it to the British business community, particularly multinationals that set up factories here as an entry point into the common market, to explain to the public what they stand to lose,' he said. 'But in one word - jobs.' Mr Soros's comments came as Labour leader Ed Miliband said his party would be unlikely to table an in/out referendum on Europe if it was to win the next election. David Cameron, the prime minister, is all but committed to such a poll in 2017 after pressure from the Tories' eurosceptic right, who fear an electoral challenge from Ukip, who are avowedly anti-EU. Mr Soros, who spoke yesterday in London to promote his latest book, warned that Europe's union might yet collapse if its economy continues to stagnate, a situation he blamed on Germany. 'The policy of austerity that Germany imposed on the eurozone countries was the wrong one,' he added in a comment piece published this morning in the Financial Times. 'The downward pressure has now diminished and this has given financial markets a lift. But the prospect of a long period of stagnation has not been removed and it has set in motion a negative political dynamic. 'Anybody who finds the prevailing arrangements are intolerable is pushed into an anti-European posture, so I expect the process of disintegration to gather momentum.' Differing positions: Labour leader Ed Miliband, left, says his party has no intention to hold an in/out referendum on EU membership, but Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, right, has vowed to hold such a poll in 2017 . Mr Soros, 83, famously made $1billion by betting against the sterling on Black Wednesday in 1992, forcing John Major's Tory government to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. But now, he said, any British withdrawal from European institutions would hasten the collapse of the EU and diminish the Union's standing in world affairs. He predicted disaster if any country were to try to leave the eurozone currency bloc. 'If the euro disintegrated in a disorderly manner it would not have solved the problem, it would have created an even bigger problem – a real meltdown,' he was quoted as saying yesterday by The Guardian. 'The problems of the euro don't have a national solution. Leaving the euro is a disaster. It would mean defaulting on a country's debts. That would have very severe consequences for financial stability. 'It might be beyond the powers of the authorities to control.' Despite that dire warning, Mr Soros suggested that if Scotland votes for independence, it would be better off joining the eurozone that pursuing monetary union with the Bank of England. ‘Scotland wants to remain part of the pound sterling and Britain is creating obstructions to that,' he said. 'It would be a very difficult relationship and I don’t think that Scotland becoming independent and yet remaining part of the sterling is possible.’
comments came as Labour leader Ed Miliband said Europe's union might yet collapse if its economy such a poll in 2017 . Mr Soros, 83, famously made $1billion by betting against the sterling on