Lloyd’s of London have confirmed that they will establish a new subsidiary in Brussels, in the wake of Theresa May’s triggering of Article 50 on Wednesday.
The insurance market, who have been based in London for the past 329 years, confirmed the rumours that began circulating yesterday, alongside financial results for the year.
“A subsidiary office will be opened in Brussels with the intention that it will be operational for the January 1 renewal season in 2019,” it said.
Inga Beale, Lloyd’s CEO, told the BBC’s Today programme why Brussels was the number one choice: “What we were after was some jurisdiction that had a really robust reputation for regulation, we also wanted to be able to access talent and we wanted really good accessibility.
“Brussels came out top of our list.”
11 percent of Lloyd’s premiums are with EU clients, but only half of that – about £1.5 billion – is at risk from Brexit. Beale also confirmed that should passporting rights be guaranteed, a European subsidiary would not be needed. The group plan to open the office by mid-2018.
Despite an “extremely challenging” year, Lloyd’s of London confirmed it had made a profit of £2.1 billion in 2016, flat on the year before.