UBS to relocate UK staff in absence of Brexit transition deal

Banking giant UBS is to press ahead with plans to relocate London staff to EU offices including Frankfurt, with the investment banking arm warning the absence of any Brexit transition deal would result in “significant” changes to its operations.

The Swiss lender said in its annual report that it is expecting to merge its UK entity with its European division, headquartered in Germany, ahead of the Brexit deadline of 29 March, 2019.

UBS said that would mean moving staff closer to clients in their respective European cities and locating central risk management and support services in Frankfurt.

The bank said its plans would be put in motion “in the absence of adequate transition relief being agreed and passed into law by the UK and the European Union” as “the nature of the UK’S future relationship with the EU remains unclear”.

The annual report added: “Anyfuturelimitationsonproviding financial services into the EU from our UK operations could require us to make potentially significant changes to our operations in the UK and the EU, and to our legal structure.”

The bank said that if this scenario happened “we further anticipate that some staff would be relocated as a result”.

UBS said the exact number of staff and their specific roles would be “determined in due course”. However, it is understood that fewer than 200 could be moved under current plans, with talks over relocation set to take place in the coming months.

“The timing and extent of the actions we take may vary considerably depending on regulatory requirements and the nature of any transition or successor agreements with the EU,” UBS said.

The changes will mean shifting its European Economic Area (EEA) investment bank business from London to other EU offices, though its UK wealth management, asset management and non-eea investment bank business will remain in Britain.

UBS employs more than 5,000 people in London.

UBS’S wealth management arm revealed major investment in Edinburgh earlier this year as it prepares to move to a larger site in the city where it is looking to double its headcount.

It is currently based in Wemyss Place in the city centre, but has signed a tenyear lease on new premises at 1 St Andrew Square as it looks to grow staff from 16 to 30 over the next two years.

The move is expected to take place by May.