Lloyd’s of London CEO Inga Beale rules out Malta for EU subsidiary

Lloyd’s of London CEO Inga Beale tells Bloomberg that insurer will set up EU subsidiary because of Brexit, but not in Malta

Inga Beale, CEO of Lloyd's of London
Inga Beale, CEO of Lloyd's of London

The chief executive of Lloyd’s of London has ruled out Malta will host a subsidiary outside of London as a result of Brexit.

In an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Inga Beale said the new location could be announced by the end of March, but ruled out Malta as the new base.

“They had a unique cell structure that was available… but I think we decided that it is not enough… it’s not going to be the right location for Lloyd’s, we’re such a global business.”

British prime minister Theresa May has said she is willing to drag Britain through the hardest of Brexits, if both Brussels and the UK’s Parliament fail to give her what she wants.

The scenario is that once the UK leaves the EU’s single market to regain control of immigration policy, May will renegotiate the UK’s customs agreement and seek a transition period to phase in changes.

Inga Beale said that as a result of this, her business was going to lose crucial licensing.

“So we’re going to be setting up a subsidiary somewhere else in the EU – a country that we hope will remain in the EU –and that is how we are going to provide seamless coverage to our customers,” Ms Beale said.

Earlier in the week UBS chairman Axel Weber said that about 1,000 of the Swiss bank’s 5,000 employees based in London could be affected by Brexit, while Stuart Gulliver, HSBC’s chief executive, said the bank could relocate 1,000 staff to Paris.