Originally published: Wealth Briefing, 17 April 2025
Increasing taxes, rising operating costs and financial incentives abroad top the list of reasons for jumping ship, the survey shows.
New research commissioned by Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management reveals that 38 per cent of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) business owners have either decided to leave or are considering leaving the UK.
The study was conducted by independent research company Pureprofile among a sample of 200 UK SME owners in March 2025.
Of those weighing up a move, sixty-five per cent plan to do so within the next two years, signalling a potential wave of entrepreneurial emigration from the UK, the survey reveals.
The study shows that three top catalysts for this shift: increased UK taxes such as National Insurance and inheritance tax (IHT) (48.5 per cent), better financial incentives in other countries, such as lower taxes and grants (48.5 per cent), and rising costs associated with running businesses such as labour and supply chain costs (46.5 per cent).
