March 2017
Lloyd’s decision to locate its post-Brexit EU subsidiary in Belgium reflected the market’s need for a regulator that had a high standing, as well as a location that would be able to attract staff with crucial expertise.
Earlier today the Corporation of Lloyd’s confirmed this publication’s story on Tuesday (28 March)that it had chosen Brussels as the home for the subsidiary after a selection process that lasted months.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme, Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale said: “What we were after was a jurisdiction that had a really robust quality reputation for regulation.
“We also wanted to be able to access talent and we wanted a really good accessibility not only from other parts of continental Europe but also from London.”
Beale dismissed the idea that tax had been a consideration and sidestepped a question about whether Lloyd’s had received a preferential deal to attract it to the jurisdiction.
“Tax is not one of the considerations for us. Obviously, we’re aware of the tax situation but it wasn’t one of the key factors.”
She also played down speculation in other publications that upwards of 100 jobs would move from London to Brussels.
The executive responded to a question on the number of relocated positions by saying: “It will be minimal. We are expecting Lloyd’s to have people numbered in the 10s.”
The Lloyd’s CEO said that she expected around 5 percent of Lloyd’s current £29.9bn ($37.1bn) of premiums to be written via the new European platform.
However, the amount of business that is funnelled through the subsidiary will depend on how successful the Corporation is in convincing managing agents not to transfer the business to existing or newly established non-Lloyd’s entities.
In the statement announcing the move this morning, Beale also hinted that Brussels had been chosen as part of a drive to grow the market’s continental European book.
“I am excited about the opportunities this venture will offer the market by providing that important European access efficiently,” she said.
Lloyd’s said that it expected the platform to be in place to write business from 1 January 2019 onwards.
Luxembourg was the second choice for Lloyd’s. Other jurisdictions that were seriously examined included The Netherlands, Ireland, Germany and Malta.
