Dunedin boss Marshall hopes for ‘orderly’ break-up of euro

Published on Tuesday 31 January 2012 00:00

The head of Scottish private equity firm Dunedin said yesterday that he expects the euro to break up, as EU leaders met in Brussels in the latest attempt to revive the continent’s ailing economy.

Ross Marshall, chief executive of Dunedin, said: “There does not seem to be any conceivable way that the euro can survive in its current form so we hope that there is an orderly break-up rather than a disorderly break-up to resolve the eurozone crisis.”

He warned that the economic recovery would be slow due to the vast amount of debt to be repaid across all sectors, but said the demise of the single currency would create opportunities for “well-managed, well-capitalised businesses”.

Marshall, whose firm has offices in Edinburgh and London, was making his belated predictions for 2012 as European leaders tried to agree a strategy to boost economic growth and create much needed jobs.

Yesterday’s EU summit took place against a backdrop of Greece’s ongoing negotiations with its bondholders. The embattled country is said to be close to sealing a deal to reduce its debt.

Time is running out for an agreement that would pave the way for it to receive the €130 billion (£109bn) bail-out it needs to avoid a default. But European officials are afraid that the deal may not be enough to fix Greece’s finances, with some blaming Athens for dithering in its austerity promises.

EU data released yesterday showed confidence in the eurozone economy strengthened in January – its first positive move for nearly a year.

But economists said the figures were distorted by a strong recovery in Germany that masked a deterioration in France and Italy’s position.

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january_king

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 08:57 AM

Is this a news story, a press release or what? It is given no context whatsoever - e.g. was this drawn from a public speech, an annual report or what? It could as easily have started "A man in the Oxford Bar hopes . . . "

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