A recent survey suggests that most of Britain’s ultra-wealthy are actively considering leaving the country, citing a lack of confidence in the government’s ability to provide a stable fiscal framework rather than high taxes alone. The study, conducted by accountancy firm BDO, polled 200 individuals with personal fortunes of at least £50 million and found that two-thirds had contemplated relocating over the past year.
The survey revealed that 42 per cent of respondents pointed to inconsistent tax policies as the main factor in their deliberations, while only 18 per cent identified high tax rates as the primary concern. Elsa Littlewood, a tax partner at BDO, said many would prefer to remain in the UK but feel unable to plan long-term wealth management in such an unpredictable environment.
Experts note that Britain has long maintained tax rates similar to or higher than those in Europe, yet historically, the ultra-rich have remained in the country. What has shifted this pattern is a succession of policy reversals and threatened reforms under the Labour government, particularly around inheritance tax and capital gains tax, which have undermined confidence in financial planning.
Since Labour took office, several high-profile individuals have left the UK. Hedge fund manager Michael Platt relocated his family office to Dubai, while Norwegian-born shipping magnate John Fredriksen put his £250 million Chelsea townhouse on the market. Richard Gnodde, formerly Goldman Sachs’s senior banker in Europe, moved to Milan, and brothers Ian and Richard Livingstone shifted their primary residence to Monaco. Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal and Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris also moved to Dubai after decades in Britain.
The trend accelerated when Chancellor Rachel Reeves abolished the non-domicile tax status, a regime that had made the UK attractive to internationally mobile wealth. Proposed changes, including a 40 per cent inheritance tax on worldwide assets, were later scaled back following opposition, but uncertainty had already taken root.
Ms Reeves’s second Budget in November added to the instability. While increases to capital gains tax were ultimately limited, rates on savings and dividends rose, and new measures targeting high-value properties—described by critics as a “mansion tax”—were introduced unexpectedly.
Maxwell Marlow, a director at the Adam Smith Institute, warned that without policies to attract and retain high-net-worth capital, the broader population could bear the economic consequences.
BDO’s findings highlight that for businesses and investors reliant on wealthy individuals, it is not the size of taxes that is prompting departures, but the unpredictability of fiscal policy. Certainty has become the scarcest commodity in Britain’s economic planning, leaving many ultra-wealthy citizens reassessing their place in the UK.
