EXPO REAL 2016: Poland could be a surprise winner if financial services firms moved from London, researchers at UBS have said.
Gunnar Herm, head of real estate research and strategy in Europe at UBS, said technology and connectivity has opened up locations that could be physically remote but cost-effective.
He said: “We will see a continuing industrialisation in the financial and business service sector. This gears the whole industry more toward cost-sensitivity and, therefore, locations that provide modest human cost are likely to win.
“Places like provincial Poland or Romania could be new locations for businesses and, in turn, real estate investment.”
A move away from London for the financial service sector, if the UK has a “hard Brexit” without a passporting deal with the EU, could mean companies will have an opportunity to rethink not only where they work but how.
So far, the debate over where financial services firms could go if they were to leave London has largely focused on Western European cities such as Frankfurt.
Herm said: “It is not all about reallocating people to other places in Europe, but really rethinking the business.
“Those parts that still need to be done manually probably become much more cost-sensitive, and that could be transferred to Central and Eastern Europe.”
• To send feedback, e-mail david.hatcher@estatesgazette.com or tweet @hatcherdavid or @estatesgazette
