Brexit makes Amsterdam a top 5 destination for fleeing UK firms

Amsterdam was one of the five place in the European Union most successful at luring British financial firms who were looking to establish a new headquarters office or hub because of Brexit. Think tank New Financial released a report on Friday saying that 440 of the companies moved operations and thousands of staff members out of the United Kingdom and into the European Union.

Amsterdam took fifth place on the list by winning over 48 of the British financial firms identified in the study. Dublin took the top spot, with 135 companies choosing the Irish capital, followed by 102 companies which relocated to Paris. Luxembourg attracted 93 firms, and Frankfurt welcomed 62 others.

About two-thirds of the companies which selected Amsterdam are exchanges, trading platforms, and brokerage firms, the report said. As a result of Brexit, Amsterdam stripped London of its title as the continent’s share trading capital earlier this year.

“We have identified more than 900 billion pounds in bank assets (roughly 10% of the entire UK banking system) that have been or are being moved,” the report stated. Another 100 billion pounds in assets and funds were also transferred to the EU by insurers and asset managers.

“The worse news is that this analysis is almost certainly a significant underestimate of the real picture: many firms will have slipped below our radar (particularly banks and asset managers that are already headquartered in the EU).”

More movement from the UK to the EU will still happen in the coming years, especially with the coronavirus pandemic delaying the execution of some decisions. “We expect Frankfurt will be the ‘winner’ in terms of assets in the longer-term, and that Paris will ultimately be the biggest beneficiary in terms of jobs,” the report noted.

In return, between 300 and 500 smaller EU companies will likely establish a business hub in the the United Kingdom. This will be between 50 and 70 percent less than expected, the report noted.

“This redistribution of activity across the EU has wound the clock back by about 20 years,” the think tank said.