The report found 88 out of 222 firms monitored had confirmed at least one location in Europe where they are considering moving operations or adding staff. Of that number, 26 were considering multiple locations.

Luxembourg was the second-most popular relocation destination after Dublin, attracting 26 companies, compared to Dublin’s 34. Frankfurt attracted 23 companies of which 19 are universal banks, investment banks or brokerages, and Paris attracted 20.

New hires

Some 44 firms had announced plans to hire in Europe for new or existing roles outside of London, amounting to 2,850 new jobs, mostly across the four cities.

As the Brexit transition period approaches its end, the pace of movement is picking up with over 400 jobs relocated from London to Europe since January 2020, bringing the total tally of post-referendum job moves to 7,500.

Migration of assets to Europe reached £1.2 trillion at the end of 2019, according to EY’s figures.

Omar Ali, UK Financial Services Managing Partner at EY, said:

“With the prospect of a deal between the UK and EU still hanging in the balance, many firms still remain in a ‘wait and see’ mode. The pre-trade agreement, set to be finalised at the end of October, means we could yet see a flurry of further staff and operational announcements in the weeks that follow. But the clock is running down, and with the possibility of a second COVID-19 spike threatening cross-border movement in the final three months of the transition period, Firms must now ensure that as a minimum they will be operational and can serve clients on the 1st of January 2021.”