Over 270 financial firms fleeing Britain to the EU over Brexit
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A report released by a London think tank on Monday said that 275 financial firms are in the process of transferring a combined €1.06 trillion worth of funds, assets and staff from Britain to the EU.
The report “Brexit & the City – the impact so far” published by the New Financial think tank, said that the moves are an inevitable consequence of the political circumstances surrounding Brexit.
The majority of the relocations, numbering at 100, are heading to Dublin, which could become a post-Brexit hub for high-profile asset management firms such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Luxembourg was the second-highest on the list with 60 relocations; Paris came in at 41, Frankfurt at 40 and Amsterdam at 32.
The think tank added that this estimate comes from only a small proportion of firms that have already reported what they are moving.
The New Financial report states that the damage from Brexit started a while ago. For many firms in banking and finance, Brexit effectively happened some time last year.
The political uncertainty since the referendum has forced firms to assume the worst-case scenario of a ‘no deal’ Brexit with no transition period, and to prepare accordingly. Many large firms have had their new entities in the EU up and running for months, and having spent tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on their contingency plans are not going to relocate business back to the UK anytime soon.
On Tuesday, British lawmakers are due to vote on Prime Minister Teresa May’s amended Brexit deal with the EU. If they cannot agree on a deal, Britain could leave the EU on March 29 without any transition period.
