Lloyd’s to move employees to Brussels

BRITAIN: Brussels is to host Lloyds of London’s European hub, beating off competition from six other EU cities to entice the 329-year-old organisation.

The insurance market announced its decision yesterday, the day after the UK officially fired the starting gun on its divorce from the EU. Its chairman, John Nelson, said that the move would lead to ‘‘tens’’ of people either moving from London or being hired on the ground.

That number could change depending on the terms of the exit arrangements, he said, adding: ‘‘We very much hope the Government negotiates a good deal but we have to assume risk of a harder Brexit’’.

Nelson said that Brussels was picked from a shortlist of five or six countries after a ‘‘thorough evaluation’’ in which areas such as clear regulation and talent pool, two things he said Brussels had without doubt, were important deciding factors.

Nelson said he hoped the move would open new business opportunities for Lloyd’s, which generates around 11 per cent of its profits from Europe.

It has not yet been decided who will run the new office, due to open in January 2019.

The announcement that Lloyds will open a Brussels office came a day after JP Morgan sent a memo out to staff saying that it was reviewing a number of factors in reaction to Brexit and would ‘‘not rush into any decisions’’.

It is currently looking at property in Frankfurt and Dublin, according to sources.

A number of European cities, notably Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg, have been trying to entice businesses after the UK voted to leave the EU.

- Telegraph Group