Many of Britain’s leading companies will suffer if the pound remains at or above the freshly breached $2 mark, shareholders were told yesterday.

As sterling surged to a 15-year high of $2.0074, analysts said that dozens of UK companies were vulnerable.

Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the immediate reaction to the pound breaking through the $2 barrier was subdued because it had been in the high $1.90s for some time.

“But if it stays this high, there will be casualties,” he said, naming BP, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Smiths Industries and Carnival Corporation as companies with significant exposure to the dollar.

British exporters to the United States and other dollar-linked territories in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America are exposed because their goods become more expensive in local currency terms. Producers of oil and other commodities suffer because their output is traditionally priced in dollars, yielding lower revenues when translated back into sterling.

British shareholders may also suffer because some London-listed blue chips, including BP, Anglo American and HSBC, set their dividends in dollars. While some exporters routinely hedge against a weaker dollar, they cannot insure against a long-term strengthening of the exchange rate.

Business put on a brave face yesterday. Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, argued: “Better some short-term pain if it keeps underlying inflationary pressures in check.”

By last night, sterling eased fractionally to trade at $2.0055.

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