Apparently no single location can replace London, with professional services firm EY itself saying the variety of post-Brexit hubs being revealed means no one European centre is proving to be a compelling alternative.
Dublin and Frankfurt come close, though – the two beating the likes of Luxembourg and Paris as the new location of choice for financial services moving out of Britain when the UK-EU divorce is all said and done.
According to EY’s Brexit Tracker, 19 companies have already announced a move to Dublin or elsewhere in Ireland. Next on the list is Germany, with 18 having mentioned either Frankfurt or another city.
A report by the
Belfast Telegraph said 59 of the 222 firms monitored by EY have either started moving out of the UK or are still reviewing their domicile.
“We are seeing major financial brands put their contingency plans into action – over a quarter of the companies we track have suggested there will be potential changes to their London base as a result of Brexit,” said Omar Ali, EY’s UK financial services leader, as quoted by the report.
Ali expects the process to accelerate as firms finalise their submissions detailing their post-Brexit contingency plans to regulators. According to EY, 15 of the firms being tracked have yet to announce a location after initially revealing possible move plans.
It remains to be seen how the exodus will impact businesses in Europe, but Ali is concerned the fragmentation of financial services could increase costs – not to mention limit the breadth and depth of finance options.
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