An organisation which aims to challenge the perception that business is overwhelmingly in favour of the UK joining the European single currency is looking for support from the business community in Northern Ireland.

Business for Sterling, which includes Lord Hanson, Lord Sainsbury, and the current chairman of the Institute of Directors, Tim Melville Ross, is keen to recruit a group of "like-minded" business people in Northern Ireland to promote the case for keeping the pound.

"Business for Sterling" chief executive denied that the group had a political agenda.

"We don't come into this from a political angle," Mr Herbert said. "We are a business-led campaign dedicated to putting the business case against the euro. We feel that it could have a devastating effect on the British economy, and on British business."

He said that benefits from lower transaction costs would be outweighed by the damage that would be caused if the UK was subjected to a single interest rate and single monetary policy.

"We may see that happen in Ireland," he said, "which has had to cut interest rates to probably unsustainable levels, given the growth in the economy."

He said that it was not ruling out the possibility of joining the single currency at a later stage.