The latest figures for Dublin are up from 21 last quarter, meaning that between September and the end of November 2018, Dublin attracted six additional financial services companies to relocate to the city.
Paris has gained popularity, with 15 companies confirming they are moving or adding some staff and/or operations to the French capital, up from 10 last quarter. Two more companies confirmed plans to relocate to Frankfurt and Luxembourg, with the numbers rising from 15 to 17 and 14 to 16 in the last quarter respectively.
In aggregate, 30% (67 out of 222) of firms monitored by the EY Brexit Tracker have now confirmed at least one location in Europe to where they are moving, considering moving, or adding staff and/or operations, up from 25% last quarter. The last quarterly EY Brexit Tracker was released on 1 October 2018.
Commenting on the findings, Simon MacAllister, Partner and Brexit Lead for EY Ireland said, “The latest figures are encouraging for Ireland as there were concerns that rising costs would impact its relative attractiveness. It appears that availability of talent and a proven track record remain the primary concerns for financial firms when exploring relocation. With only 30% of London-based firms so far committing to any relocation of activity, there could be more opportunities for Ireland to pursue in the months ahead.”
Cormac Kelly, Financial Services Brexit Lead for EY in Ireland added, “The Central Bank of Ireland is continuing to take a proactive approach to high quality applications for authorisations. Leading firms are in implementation mode whereas the second tier firms are still in approval process and looking to define clear business models with appropriate governance structures. There is still a long list of third tier applicants who continue to fundamentally misunderstand the regulatory expectations. For the Central Bank of Ireland, it is absolutely about quality rather than quantity and we are delighted to welcome the significant expansion of a number of global financial services firms, most of whom had activities in Ireland already.”
