A wave of company directors have left the UK since the government unveiled a host of punitive tax rises on the wealthy at its maiden Budget last autumn, exacerbating fears that a wealth exodus of Britain’s most affluent residents is afoot.
According to an analysis of Companies House data, 3,790 company directors removed Britain as their official country of residence between last October and last month, a steep rise from the 2,712 that did so over the same period the previous year.
The data, which was compiled by the Financial Times, unearthed several high-profile business figures who had left Britain whose departures weren’t already known.
The former boss of London-listed consumer giant Reckitt Benckiser, Bart Becht, FTSE Russell founder Mark Makepeace and AC Milan and Miami Football Club-backer Riccardo Silva were all found to have left the UK since the Budget.
Labour’s raid on wealth
The government’s raid on wealth, which comprised a tougher-than-expected crackdown on the non-doms, a tightening of inheritance tax reliefs and applying VAT on private school fees, also drove Essex boxing promoter Eddie Hearn and Ineos director John Reece from the UK.
The departures accelerated dramatically to reach a monthly peak of 691 in April, first reported by Bloomberg News, when the majority of the tax rises from the preceding October came into effect. The figure was 79 per cent higher than the same month in 2024, and 104 per cent more than 2023.
The United Arab Emirates enjoyed the largest influx of UK-based company directors, the data showed, with over 150 joining between April and June of this year.
The low-tax jurisdiction is becoming an increasingly popular bolt-hole for the footloose super rich. Thanks to an aggressive set of regulatory and fiscal incentives, city-states like Abu Dhabi and Dubai are becoming home to a growing number of family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
The Companies House filings will add succour to the narrative that Britain is struggling to keep hold of its richest residents in the face of stiff competition from the likes of the UAE and Italy, which operates a flat-tax regime for rich foreign nationals.
Official data on non-dom expatriation levels will not be released until 2027.