According to the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), 98 companies have moved to the Netherlands in anticipation of Brexit. Over 300 additional companies have also expressed interest in relocating to the Netherlands and the NFIA – which attracts companies to the Netherlands for the Dutch government – expects more interest from foreign business as the possibility of a no deal Brexit threatens economic unrest.
Of the nearly 100 companies who have already committed to the Netherlands, the NFIA cites “urgent” reasoning such as maintaining a banking license or broadcasting rights within the EU.
Access to the EU is cardinal not only for British companies but also for international companies across the world. Only around half of the companies which have shifted operations to the Netherlands are from Britain while the remaining companies are from elsewhere such as the US and Asia. Companies who have already chosen to move to the Netherlands reportedly include Bloomberg, AMBest, Discovery, the Japanese bank Norinchukin, the media company TVT Media, financial services providers MarketAxess and Azimo, and maritime insurer UK P&I.
NFIA Commissioner Jeroen Nijland said in a statement that “The Netherlands is an attractive country for Brexit-impacted companies. But we are not the only country that these Brexit companies are looking at. We are competing with countries such as France, Ireland, Germany and Belgium. 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. Brexit remains bad news for the Netherlands, but with Brexit more companies are going to choose our country in the coming years.”
