Lloyd’s of London will set up European headquarters outside Britain, with chief executive officer Inga Beale confirming the plans.
Earlier this week we told you about Lloyd’s chairman John Nelson stating that the company will create a European base by April, and now Inga Beale has added her voice, pointing to Theresa May’s speech as a primary cause for the move.
Speaking in an interview on Bloomberg TV, Beale outlined that the company would determine a location “likely to be somewhere on the continent” within the first quarter and stated that May’s speech “confirmed that to stay in the single market is not a priority and it’s not going to happen and that means we have to go ahead with our contingency plans.”
Beale added that her expectation is that passport right will be lost and so it is necessary for Lloyd’s of London to move quickly especially as approvals could take anything from 12-18 months.
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As for where Lloyd’s positions itself, rumours have swirled about both Ireland and Switzerland – and while Beale did not confirm a destination, she did at least rule one possibility out. Malta was apparently under consideration, but Beale outlined that it would not be able to handle the company’s global business.
The insurance industry has been hit hard by the prospect of Brexit, especially as it suffers from slim margins. Still Beale believes that the arrival of Donald Trump as US President today will not have such a large impact on the industry – although any economic growth could see sales jump.
Several companies have joined Lloyd’s of London in considering moving at least some operations outside the UK including banking namesake Lloyds Banking Group, as well as HSBC, JPMorgan Chase & Co and UBS Group.
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