5 ms·

Any sense of how this will affect London tech?

by 46Bit 10y ago

andrewingram 10y ago
It feels like pretty much everyone is adopting a "wait and see" attitude. But i've yet to meet anyone who thinks it's going to be a positive impact.
- vr46 10y ago
  "Wait and See" == "Uncertainty". I work for a FTSE100 and nobody in management is talking about it. Nobody. It's head in the sand time as far as we're concerned, although I imagine there's frantic discussions going on upstairs. Tech people are already leaving and not being replaced, I'm ready to quit my six-figures and bail out while the going's relatively good - just have to await my EU spouse getting their residency so we can definitely move back and forth freely.
- zigzigzag 10y ago
  I know a company that's actually relocating its HQ from the US to the UK (it's a small startup). The CEO is moving to London for personal reasons, so that's one factor, but another is simply a bet that there will be no EU deal and corporation taxes will be lowered a lot as a result.
  - urbanj 10y ago
    Oh, well if one small startup is relocating to the UK then everything must be ok.
zelos 10y ago
Google[1], Apple[2] and Dyson[3] (ok, not quite London) are making quite big noises about big new offices, so I guess things can't be that bad? Possibly they're betting on picking up lots of tech staff cheap if the banks start leaving London? [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/15/google-commits-to-massive-new-london-hq https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/15/google-co... [2] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-create-stunning-new-hq-at-battersea-power-station-a3356201.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-crea... [3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-39117982 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-39117982
- hueving 10y ago
  The big companies that already have a presence in multiple European cities won't have a big impact on staff. Take Google for example, people staying in London can keep working at that office, people that want to leave (or are forced to leave) can work in many of the other European locations (e.g. Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Vienna). Smaller tech companies will probably be hit the hardest if they only have a London presence and they lose half of their employees. Depending on the employee composition, it may even make sense to move the company entirely to another country in Europe.
  - cjrp 10y ago
    > Depending on the employee composition, it may even make sense to move the company entirely to another country in Europe. Similarly, if you're starting a company it probably makes sense to make Berlin or somewhere like that your home. Why risk potentially having your supply of engineers reduced dramatically post-Brexit? Funding could start to dry up in the UK for the same reason.
    - corford 10y ago
      If I was incorporating in Europe today and didn't need SEIS/EIS I'd definitely at least look at Ireland, Germany, Malta and Estonia before automatically picking the UK. The criteria would be something like: 1). Is it easy to do most company filing work, taxes, VAT etc. on-line 2). Is it easy to open a business bank account there 3). Are investors familiar with that country 4). Is the required paid up share capital on incorporation small 5). Is the process quick (and corporate tax rate & legal compliance burden not too onerous)
      - cjrp 10y ago
        Lower corporation tax too.
  - zigzigzag 10y ago
    Why would they lose half their employees? The only way Brexit involves people being forced to leave where they live is if the EU forces it to happen. The UK has already said many times it wants to take that possibility off the table as soon as possible.
thenomad 10y ago
Keep a close eye on EU data protection/retention laws and agreements and how Brexit will affect the UK's ability to trade with the EU in that way. Currently the UK's Department For Brexit has stated they have no idea what will happen there. That's likely to have an impact on any tech company trading with the EU that uses or accesses personal data.
- noir_lord 10y ago
  > Currently the UK's Department For Brexit has stated they have no idea what will happen there. That applies to everything not just Data Protection/Retention. They have no plan, no mandate for what they are doing and no sensible way to even begin the planning.

Any sense of how this will affect London tech?

by 46Bit 10y ago

Any sense of how this will affect London tech?

It feels like pretty much everyone is adopting a "wait and see" attitude. But i've yet to meet anyone who thinks it's going to be a positive impact.

vr46 10y ago
"Wait and See" == "Uncertainty". I work for a FTSE100 and nobody in management is talking about it. Nobody. It's head in the sand time as far as we're concerned, although I imagine there's frantic discussions going on upstairs. Tech people are already leaving and not being replaced, I'm ready to quit my six-figures and bail out while the going's relatively good - just have to await my EU spouse getting their residency so we can definitely move back and forth freely.
zigzigzag 10y ago
I know a company that's actually relocating its HQ from the US to the UK (it's a small startup). The CEO is moving to London for personal reasons, so that's one factor, but another is simply a bet that there will be no EU deal and corporation taxes will be lowered a lot as a result.
- urbanj 10y ago
  Oh, well if one small startup is relocating to the UK then everything must be ok.

zelos 10y ago

Google[1], Apple[2] and Dyson[3] (ok, not quite London) are making quite big noises about big new offices, so I guess things can't be that bad? Possibly they're betting on picking up lots of tech staff cheap if the banks start leaving London? [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/15/google-commits-to-massive-new-london-hq https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/15/google-co... [2] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-create-stunning-new-hq-at-battersea-power-station-a3356201.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-crea... [3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-39117982 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-39117982

hueving 10y ago
The big companies that already have a presence in multiple European cities won't have a big impact on staff. Take Google for example, people staying in London can keep working at that office, people that want to leave (or are forced to leave) can work in many of the other European locations (e.g. Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Vienna). Smaller tech companies will probably be hit the hardest if they only have a London presence and they lose half of their employees. Depending on the employee composition, it may even make sense to move the company entirely to another country in Europe.
- cjrp 10y ago
  > Depending on the employee composition, it may even make sense to move the company entirely to another country in Europe. Similarly, if you're starting a company it probably makes sense to make Berlin or somewhere like that your home. Why risk potentially having your supply of engineers reduced dramatically post-Brexit? Funding could start to dry up in the UK for the same reason.
  - corford 10y ago
    If I was incorporating in Europe today and didn't need SEIS/EIS I'd definitely at least look at Ireland, Germany, Malta and Estonia before automatically picking the UK. The criteria would be something like: 1). Is it easy to do most company filing work, taxes, VAT etc. on-line 2). Is it easy to open a business bank account there 3). Are investors familiar with that country 4). Is the required paid up share capital on incorporation small 5). Is the process quick (and corporate tax rate & legal compliance burden not too onerous)
    - cjrp 10y ago
      Lower corporation tax too.
- zigzigzag 10y ago
  Why would they lose half their employees? The only way Brexit involves people being forced to leave where they live is if the EU forces it to happen. The UK has already said many times it wants to take that possibility off the table as soon as possible.

thenomad 10y ago

Keep a close eye on EU data protection/retention laws and agreements and how Brexit will affect the UK's ability to trade with the EU in that way. Currently the UK's Department For Brexit has stated they have no idea what will happen there. That's likely to have an impact on any tech company trading with the EU that uses or accesses personal data.

noir_lord 10y ago
> Currently the UK's Department For Brexit has stated they have no idea what will happen there. That applies to everything not just Data Protection/Retention. They have no plan, no mandate for what they are doing and no sensible way to even begin the planning.