Flanders attracts over £2bn in investment projects from UK based businesses following Brexit
New analysis from Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), the official government body for the region has revealed that over £2bn has been invested in the region by UK companies using Flanders as an EU base, and by international companies moving their European bases from the UK to Flanders, following Brexit. The figures were released by FIT to coincide with the visit of Minister-President of the Government of Flanders Jan Jambon to Scotland on Sunday 21 November 2021 to support the start of an economic mission organised by the Ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge.
Figures from Flanders Investment & Trade show 89 companies moved their investment projects to Flanders from the UK over the past three years. FIT recently announced an 53% jump in the number of UK investment projects in 2021, compared to last year.
The majority of these investments (77%) are from UK companies who have invested in a base in Flanders to manage the challenges posed by Brexit and are now trading with the EU from there. However, companies from other areas of the world, including the United States, Canada, India and Japan, are also moving their bases from the UK to Flanders to continue trading from a base within the EU.
Astrid Geeraerts, head of investment at Flanders Investment & Trade and based at the Belgian Embassy in London, comments: “Brexit has created several hurdles to trading with the EU for many UK-based businesses. We’re supporting an increasing number of companies who have decided to move their investments to Flanders so they only have to manage the bureaucracy of entering the bloc only once. Our central location and well-connected business network mean Flanders is well-placed as a strategic route into the EU.”
