Brexit leaves London combating for its future as Europe poaches enterprise

Brexit leaves London fighting for its future as Europe poaches business

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Billions of dollars worth of stock and derivatives trading has already vanished from the British capital after the United Kingdom completed its exit from the European Union on Jan. 1, shifting abroad to financial hubs in Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.

“I’m not predicting the end of London as a major financial center, but I think it’s in the most precarious state it’s been in for a long time and cannot be complacent,” said Alasdair Haynes, the CEO of Aquis Exchange, an upstart rival to the London Stock Exchange and the CBOE.

Financial services are the source of almost 11% of government tax revenue, according to PwC research. In 2019, the sector contributed £132 billion ($185 billion) to GDP, or nearly 7% of the economy’s total output. Half of that was generated in London, where more than a third of the sector’s 1.1 million jobs are located, according to the Office for National Statistics.

While more than half of Britain’s finance sector revenues are domestic, any loss of tax…

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