Over 100 jobs at risk as Lloyd’s moves to post-Brexit hub - report

Dozens of jobs at Lloyd’s of London may be relocated to its post-Brexit base in the EU which is expected to be revealed this week.

 

Like other news outlets, the Press Association is reporting that Luxembourg is the frontrunner in Lloyd’s search for a new EU outpost. It also claimed that more than 100 jobs could be moved from London.

 

However, retiring Lloyd’s chairman John Nelson clarified that a final decision has yet to be made and that “there’s still more than one country in the frame.”

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Nelson said there has been “a lot of enthusiasm” from several EU countries but Lloyd’s will choose the one with reputable regulation.

 

“If you look at the way we operate in different parts of the world – in Singapore, in China – nobody would say that we’ve gone there with our hubs because it’s a light touch, light regulation regime. Quite the opposite,” Nelson was quoted as saying in the report.

 

“So anywhere we go, we want really good quality, firm regulation,” he added. “We don’t want to go to a sort of Banana Republic type country, but there aren’t many of those, fortunately, in Europe.”

 

Both Sky News and City AM are reporting that the Council of Lloyd’s will meet on March 29 – the same day Prime Minister Theresa May signals the start of the official Brexit talks – to decide and announce the market’s new EU outpost, with Belgium as the other potential destination.

 

“We will present further details of our plans to open a subsidiary in the EU by the end of this month,” a Lloyd’s spokesman told Sky News.

 

As Lloyd’s prepares for its post-Brexit future, its outgoing chairman is playing down the issues caused by the UK’s departure from the EU. While acknowledging that there are “serious challenges” ahead, Nelson believes that the market is in a “strong position” unlike in the past.

 

Speaking to the Press Association, Nelson said: “If you go back in history and talk to some of the people who have been working here – I’ve only been working here at Lloyd’s for six years – but for 40 years, they’d regard this as probably a bit of a walk in the park compared to a few years ago, when Lloyd’s very nearly went bust, when it was almost out of business for reputational reasons.”