Market Research

UK High-Earners Contemplate Move To Hong Kong, Singapore - Withers Poll

Vanessa Doctor Asia Editor 2 February 2010

UK High-Earners Contemplate Move To Hong Kong, Singapore - Withers Poll

A survey recently conducted by international law firm Withers has shown that the majority of high earners in the UK are contemplating moving abroad within the next 12 months.

Among the 116 respondents of the study, 75 per cent said they are likely to move overseas in the next year, while 68 per cent said they would move both their businesses and families abroad. The most popular destination turned out to be Switzerland, which gained a 63 per cent preference. The Alpine state was followed by Jersey and Guernsey (13.79 per cent), the US (12.93 per cent), Hong Kong (11.2 per cent), Monaco (10.34 per cent) and Singapore (9.48 per cent).

The poll, conducted in late January this year, covered UK-based advisors to high net worth indviduals, bankers, accountants, IFAs, trust firms, and headhunters.

"While the poll was never intended to be specific, it gives a clear indication of the intentions and concerns of Britain's high earners. Hong Kong and Singapore, among other locations, will ultimately benefit from the fact that Britain's top wealth creators and earners are under pressure as a result of higher taxes and uncertainty over the government's future intentions," Marcus Dearle, the managing director of Withers' Hong Kong office, said in a statement.

"Both Hong Kong and Singapore has a fiscal environment that is attractive to entrepreneurs, as well as a culture that is seen as friendly to business," he said.

The survey's results highlight the major effect that a probable exodus would cause upon the UK economy, having already been drastically hit by the 2008 financial crisis. When asked if they would consider not moving abroad should a change of government take place in 2010, 68 per cent of the respondents said it would not make a difference.

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