A study released this month has found that London has maintained its status as Europe’s main financial hub – but global players are catching up.
That’s according to Z/Yen’s Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) which reported that, although London had maintained second place globally, it has lost 23 index points since September 2020 with Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore closing in.
The news is significant as there had been real concern over the capital’s future status in both EU and global finance in the wake of Brexit, particularly with the lack of an equivalence deal maintaining its access to continental markets.
Yet despite holding on to EU dominance, the Bank of England has suggested over 7,000 jobs have been lost to rival centres in the EU following the end of the transition period. But a jobs exodus from London has yet to be realised within finance, and a report from Business Money even shows a 10-fold rise in businesses looking to open satellite offices in the UK.
There have been further reports this month that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is planning to set light to a range of EU rules in a bid to secure London’s position as a global financial centre.
Read more: Quarter of all full-time UK jobs supported by export activity
Chairman at PwC UK, Keven Ellis, commented that: “Not only has the UK grown in appeal to some of our newer trade targets, but it remains an important market among our European neighbours, with 15% of Germany’s CEOs saying the UK is a top 3 growth target, compared with 13% in 2019.
“These are encouraging signs but there’s more to do to enhance the UK’s position and investment attractiveness in what remains a very uncertain world.”
