Brussels not popular among companies leaving London due to Brexit

According to figures from the London-based forum and think-tank New Financial, Brussels is only in seventh place when it comes to companies re-locating all or part of their operation from the City of London to another European city as a result of Brexit.

Of the 269 financial services companies that have (at least in part) relocated, a large portion have opted to set up shop in the Irish capital Dublin. Just nine companies have come to Brussels so far.

This is far fewer than the hundred or so companies that are relocating to Dublin. 60 companies have opted to re-locate at least part of their operation to Luxembourg. 41 companies have opted for Paris, 40 for mainland Europe’s biggest financial centre Frankfurt and 32 for the Dutch capital Amsterdam. 12 companies have opted to move (some of their) operation to the Spanish capital Madrid .

The insurance company Lloyd’s of London was the first City of London firm that announced it was moving to Brussels. The insurers Hiscox, QBE and MS Amlin followed suit by also announcing a move to Brussels. The money transfer companies MoneyGram and Transfer wise also announced a move to Brussels, as did Euroclear, a company specialised in global security transactions.

1,000 billion euro in assets
According to New Financial, banks are withdrawing a total of 800 billion pounds of assets from the City of London. The insurance companies are reported to be taking “dozens of billions” pounds away and asset management firms are pulling 65 billion pounds’ worth of assets out of London. In total this amounts to 900 billion pounds or more than 1,000 billion euro.

New Financial says that its study is “The most extensive analysis to date of the impact of Brexit on banking and the financial services industry”.

However, New Financial believes that even this has “greatly underestimated” the impact. The think-tank expects other companies to decide to up sticks from London in the near future.


The author: Clémentine FORISSIER

Clémentine Forissier, a youthful journalist hailing from Brussels, has been making waves in the field of media. Despite her relatively young age, she has quickly risen to prominence as a prominent voice in Belgian journalism. Known for her fresh perspective and dynamic reporting, Clémentine has become a recognized figure in the Brussels media scene, offering insightful coverage of various topics.

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