Brexit and rising property costs lead one in five businesses to consider move away from London

Uncertainty surrounding Brexit, rent rises in a city already renowned for its high property costs and business rate rises mean that one in five London-based businesses have either already relocated or are consider moving to a new location, according to a new survey from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The survey of 577 businesses found that some businesses were having to look at relocating to a different part of London while others were looking to move out of the capital and others out of the UK entirely. The survey, carried out by Comres, found that 22 per cent had moved or were planning to relocate because of Britain’s decision to leave to the EU, 21 per cent because of rent rises and 19 per cent because of rising business rates. When it came to moving because of Brexit, found 11 per cent of London-based businesses had considered leaving the UK and 2 per cent had already done so.

Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “What we have is a still unfolding picture of how business are reacting to a number of cost pressures and uncertainties. While this survey found just 2 percent of businesses had moved business activities out of the UK, perhaps the more worrying factor is that more than one in ten have considered it. Unless businesses see serious progress in trade talks, which have already been delayed, it is not unlikely that we could see this figure translate into even bigger losses for London and indeed the UK.”