Market Research
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.