Back in January this year, The Guardian stated that the Dutch Government was in conversation with over 250 companies about moving their businesses from the UK to the Netherlands. This increased to 325 over the course of the year and amidst the growing uncertainty of Brexit, 100 companies have already decided to take the plunge and transfer their offices to the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency Commissioner (NFIA), Jeroen Nijland, believes the impending no-deal Brexit has attracted big companies to the Netherlands. Some of these companies include Sony and Panasonic and media companies such as Bloomberg who have begun moving some of their London staff to Amsterdam.
Hundreds of British firms in talks to move to Netherlands. "In a sign of growing anxiety in Britain about the prospect of a no-deal departure from the EU, the @NFIAHolland said it had already completed talks with a further 100 groups." via @thetimes https://t.co/n22PrJns3Z
— Jeroen Nijland (@jcmnijland) August 26, 2019
Nijland comments to Invest in Holland “The ongoing growing uncertainty in the United Kingdom, and the increasingly clearer possibility of a no deal, is causing major economic unrest for these companies. That is why more and more companies are orienting themselves in the Netherlands as a potential new base in the European market.”
Almost 100 companies have already chosen for the Netherlands due to Brexit https://t.co/l6kGVIDDRu #investinholland pic.twitter.com/m4RU1Iw0nX
— NFIA Holland (@nfiaholland) August 26, 2019
It’s not just British companies that are reconsidering their location due to Brexit. Many businesses based in America, Australia and Asia are pre-empting the knock-on effect Brexit will have on their access to the European market. Nijland says “Our experience shows that when a Brexit deal gets further out of sight, and the chance of a no deal increases, more companies contact us” reports Invest in Holland.
TIMES: Hundreds of British firms in talks over Dutch move #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/nBEtydbSO6
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) August 25, 2019
The NFIA believes the Netherlands is an appealing country for companies to move to as it has strong logistics facilities, digital infrastructure, and the Dutch are one of the best English speakers for a non-native English speaking country.
The first 62 companies that moved to the Netherlands already created around 2500 jobs and 310 million euros worth of investment.
The UK intends to strike up a trade deal with the US once a no-deal Brexit goes through. US President, Donald Trump, stated that a “very big trade deal, bigger than we’ve ever had,” would be signed once the UK has been released from the chain of the EU around its “ankle”, the Guardian reports.
Could this be a good thing? and re-establish the UK’s respect? Or are you going to be one of the 50,000 people that sit on a beach and watch Brexit unfold across the ocean for entertainment?
