So what could be the damage to Australian listed companies with exposure to the UK economy and consumers?
The big banks are near the top of the list simply because they are exposed via the financial markets.
On Friday banks in Europe, the US and UK sold off by 5% to 20% and more (UniCredit, the Italian bank sank 24%, and Barclays, the UK giant, fell 20%, with German giant, Deutsche shedding 17% in value).
There were much smaller, but still large losses for our banks here earlier on Friday – the CBA lost 3.3%, the ANZ, 4.1%, Westpac, 4.4% and the NAB, 3.8.
QBE, Australia’s most international insurance group, which substantial reinsurance operations in London, saw its shares slid more than 6% to %10.97.
Shares in the recently spun-off NAB UK bank, CYBG (the old Clydesdale bank) slumped more than 17%, while Henderson (the old UK part of the AMP) fell 12%.
That spin off by the NAB of Clydesdale is now looking better by the day – not for the stockmarket performance, but for the timing and the way the NAB has extracted itself from what would have been a very messy situation had it still been grappling with its UK investment.
Westfield, which is exposed to the UK through its big shopping centres, lost nearly 5% in value on Friday.
Westfield will remain under pressure, especially from investors who are sceptical of the Lowy family company’s plans to build more malls in Britain, when the country is increasingly over shopped and big and small retail chains are cutting back..
Wesfarmers looks like being a major source of worry for investors, despite the well-performed Coles, Kmart, Bunnings and Officeworks chains.
It paid just over $700 million for Homebase in the UK and plans to spend several hundred more over time turning it into a UK version of Bunnings.
But there is a small but vocal group of analysts and shareholders worried this move is an over reach.
The increasingly likelihood of a slowdown or recession in the UK as a result of the vote and the damage the uncertainty will do to consumer confidence and spending, will add to the unease among some shareholders and analysts about the UK move
Wesfarmers saw its shares sold off on Friday and they lost 3.77% on Friday to end at $39.26.
That was on top of the less than convincing strategy update midweek about the poorly performing Target department store business.
