Dublin remains most popular choice for Brexit relocations

Dublin remains the most popular destination for Brexit-driven staff relocations and new European hubs or offices, with 36 financial services firms announcing intentions to relocate UK operations and/or staff to the city, according to EY.

Luxembourg is the second most popular destination, attracting 29 companies in total, followed by Frankfurt with 23 companies and Paris with 21. Other named locations include Madrid (8), Amsterdam (8), Milan (7) and Brussels (6).

However, when it comes to the number of people who have been, or plan to be, relocated to one destination, Paris scores highest, attracting about 2,800 UK employees, followed by Frankfurt (about 1,800) and Dublin (about 1,200).

Brexit-related activity within the UK financial services market – covering the relocation of staff and/or operations, the establishment of new EU hubs or offices, and the flow of assets to Europe – has remained muted over 2021.

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According to the latest data from the EY Financial Services Brexit Tracker, since the UK’s official departure from the EU and the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, there has been a reduction in announcements of operational moves.

Between January 2020 and December 2021, the number of financial services firms that have publicly stated they have moved or plan to move some UK operations and/or staff to Europe rose just three percentage points from 41 per cent to 44 per cent (from 92 to 97 out of 222 companies).

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This compares to the period in the wake of the referendum, when announcements rose steadily from 18 per cent in December 2016 to 41 per cent in January 2020.

A number of the largest investment banks located in the UK, which had initially projected higher numbers of staff moves to EU states in anticipation of losing access to the single market, have since revised down the number of roles they will relocate.

The total number of Brexit-related job relocations from the UK to the EU has subsequently fallen to just under 7,400, down from 7,600 in December 2020.

Since the referendum, 41 per cent (90 out of 222) of firms monitored have confirmed at least one location in the EU to which they are or are considering moving or adding staff and/or operations.

Thirteen per cent (28 out of 222) have confirmed multiple such locations in the EU, which compares to 12 per cent this time a year ago.

Fidelma Clarke, EY Ireland financial services Brexit lead, said: “It’s been nearly a year since the UK officially left the European Union, but the financial sector is still working through the aftermath of Brexit – and will be for some time to come.

“While the majority of operational moves were made well ahead of the 2020 Brexit deadline – and before the pandemic – travel restrictions over the last two years have challenged the practicalities of relocation.

“Depending on the trajectory of the Omicron variant and its impact on international travel in the short term, moves that were delayed should pick up over the coming year not least due to regulatory requirements to have senior financial services employees in situ in the firms they lead.”