UPDATED 10.32am It looks like Great Britain's exit from the European Union could be a good thing for New Zealand after all.

John Key said on Saturday he's not convinced with the argument New Zealand could now further improve relationships with Britain as we renegotiate our own trade deal with the country.

But the man who spearheaded the leave campaign in Britain says the move will help British / Kiwi relations.

In an exclusive interview with Newstalk ZB, United Kingdom Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said the independence will also allow the restoration of an old friendship.

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH NIGEL FARAGE ABOVE

Historically Britain has been New Zealand’s key trading partner and earlier this week Foreign Minister Murray McCully said it's certainly something he'll be discussing with trade experts.

Mr Farage went as far as to make an apology to New Zealand for his forefathers joining the EU in the first place and giving New Zealand such a bad hand.

"What is even more exciting for me is what we can do with you guys. We can - and I apologise to everybody in New Zealand for what my parent's generation did - we turned our backs on you.

"Now we can talk to you guys about having a sensible, better trading relationship and Britain once again has the chance to be a global trading nation, not just a European one."

It could take some time though before renegotiations can occur and exporters might not be convinced of the benefits either.

Beef and Lamb NZ general manager trade policy Ben O'Brien has warned the Brexit could have a substantial negative impact on that sector.

At the start of the century, the EU was one of two key export markets for New Zealand meat.

As far as negotiations go, EU leaders have already brushed aside the idea of informal talks.

Angela Merkel has said until she receives formal confirmation of a withdrawal under article 50 of the EU, nothing will happen.

Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed the UK is not ready to begin the formal withdrawal process, his replacement is expected in September.

Once the British parliament acts on section 50 of the EU, the parties have two years to shake hands on an exit deal and only then can it begin renegotiating deals with trade countries.

The EU may have some tough negotiations ahead, Nigel Farage believes its leaders don't have much to bargain with.

He said Britain's the EU's biggest trading partner in the world, buying 70 billion pounds worth of goods such as French wine and German cars each year.

He said it's those countries that are set to lose profits and jobs and EU leaders should keep that in mind when talking tariffs.

On the matter of the markets, he said they're not as bad as what's being portrayed. Since the announcement, the sterling's fallen below Friday's 31 year low.

He said the London stock market closed today nine percent higher than its low in February and the sterling hasn't really crashed, it's only down a few percentage points from the same time.

And he's revelling in the fall-out of politicians.

The Brexit has launched an avalanche of resignations on both sides of the political divide following the controversial vote.

Mr Farage said in the end it was a win for the people, who overturned the establishment.

He said they've taken back from a ludicrous European project and can now dictate their own laws and borders without interference.

"It was indeed a seismic event, we've seen the British Prime Minister announce his resignation, the leader of the opposition, it looks like he's 90 percent on the way out, even the British High Commissioner in the European Union has resigned so it's had quite an effect."