Netherlands in talks with 325 companies about relocating because of Brexit
The Dutch government is in talks with 325 companies that are thinking about relocating because of Brexit, the Dutch investment agency said.
The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) said almost 100 companies had already moved some business to for the Netherlands, with 325 more expressing an interest in relocating to the country to lessen the impact of Brexit.
Read more: Brexit deal is now ‘touch and go’
Jeroen Nijland, NFIA commissioner, said: “It is clear that the Netherlands regrets the intended departure of the British from the European Union. And it is clear that Brexit undeniably has economic implications for international business, because they do business everywhere in Europe.
“The ongoing growing uncertainty in the United Kingdom, and the increasingly clearer possibility of a no deal, is causing major economic unrest for these companies. That is why more and more companies are orienting themselves in the Netherlands as a potential new base in the European market.”
Companies such as Bloomberg, Discovery and UK P&I have already relocated some business from the UK to the Netherlands.
The agency said it expected further companies to make the switch in the coming months.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to take the UK out of the EU on 31 October with or without an exit deal.
Read more: EU ‘willing to listen’ to UK’s Brexit ideas, says Donald Tusk
Johnson said on Sunday it was “touch and go” whether or not the UK will leave the EU with a deal.
Johnson has repeatedly insisted the UK will leave the bloc “come what may, do or die” on 31 October, raising fears of a no-deal Brexit.
However, he previously stated that the chances of the UK leaving without an agreement were “a million to one”.
Nijland said: 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.”