Almost Third of UK-Based Firms Ready for Relocation Abroad Amid Brexit - Poll

LONDON (Sputnik) – Twenty-nine percent of UK companies are either considering moving their operations abroad or are already implementing relocation plans due to the looming UK withdrawal from the European Union, a fresh survey made by the Institute of Directors (IoD) lobby group showed Thursday, according to The Guardian.

The survey was conducted among 1,200 members of the IoD, which represents around 30,000 firms.

The results of the study also showed that 16 percent of UK firms had already activated relocation activities while 13 percent of them were considering moving at least part of their operations beyond the country's jurisdiciton over Brexit.

Three percent of the surveyed companies said they were already relocating but not due to Brexit, while 62 percent responded that they had had not Brexit-related plans to move their operations overseas.

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Three percent of the companies were unable to produce an answer saying they did not know.

Similarly, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, suggested Wednesday that the scale of cooperation between UK financial service companies and EU businesses will be declining after Brexit with the UK companies eventually boosting their activities in fast-growing economies outside the bloc.

Hammond also noted that the United Kingdom had always had a vision of itself as a part of the world, not just Europe, adding that the country was well positioned to develop trade relations with various expanding markets.

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The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union in late March. The two sides have reached a withdrawal deal. However, it has not yet been approved by the UK lawmakers, prompting fears of a no-deal Brexit both in Brussels and in London.

The British parliament voted Tuesday on amendments that rejected a no-deal Brexit and authorized UK Prime Minister Theresa May to return to Brussels for more talks on a legally binding change to the Irish border proposal contained in the draft Brexit deal agreed by Brussels and London at the end of 2018.    

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On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney also stressed that the withdrawal agreement between London and Brussels was not open for renegotiation.