The UK is failing in the global race for the wealthy

While governments around the world roll out red carpets for high-net-worth individuals, the UK is making itself one of the least attractive places for them to live, invest, and die.

In a global competition for capital, talent, and spending power, Britain is fast becoming an also-ran.

Across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, jurisdictions are sharpening their appeal with competitive tax regimes and welcoming policies for globally mobile individuals.

Italy, Greece, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates are aggressively competing to attract the world’s richest people – for the jobs, investment, and economic vitality that follow in their wake.

Britain, by contrast, is slamming doors. With its recent decision to scrap the non-dom regime and impose inheritance tax on overseas trusts, the UK has sent a clear and blunt message to globally mobile wealth creators: go elsewhere.

The result has been an accelerating outflow of wealth and people—one that independent experts, market data, and financial institutions all confirm is real and growing.

Latest data from wealth advisory firms shows that the UK is now suffering one of the largest millionaire outflows on record. Recent figures from Henley & Partners and New World Wealth predict that 16,500 millionaires will leave Britain this year—more than double last year’s number and the largest net loss of high-net-worth individuals for any country globally, apart from China.

This exodus isn’t theoretical. It’s already hitting London’s property markets, financial services sector, hospitality, and luxury retail. Prime central London property transactions are plummeting, with research firms reporting double-digit percentage falls compared to a year ago. Wealth managers, estate agents, and tax advisers all report a sharp spike in relocation inquiries since the new rules were announced.

These trends are echoed by findings from deVere Group, a leading financial advisory organisation with a global client base. Their latest research shows a dramatic increase in the number of their UK-based high-net-worth clients exploring or actively pursuing overseas relocation in 2025. The driving factors, according to deVere, are a combination of tax changes, political uncertainty, and concerns about long-term economic competitiveness.

What’s most striking is that this isn’t just about taxes on income. For many globally mobile individuals, the inheritance tax on worldwide assets held in offshore trusts was the final straw. The UK has turned itself into one of the most expensive countries in the world to pass wealth between generations—precisely at a time when rival jurisdictions are offering predictability and protection.

And it’s not just individuals voting with their feet. The departure of wealthy families means the loss of entire ecosystems of employment and commerce. Jobs in legal services, finance, real estate, hospitality, education, luxury goods, and even charity sectors are all at risk. Many private schools, arts organisations, and philanthropic institutions that have long depended on donations from the non-dom community are already warning of funding gaps.

Meanwhile, countries like Italy offer a flat €100,000 annual tax on foreign income for new residents.

Greece offers highly attractive lump-sum tax arrangements. The UAE continues to build on its reputation as a low-tax, business-friendly destination with world-class infrastructure. Even the US, despite its worldwide tax system, still remains appealing to many thanks to its economic opportunities and investment landscape.

Britain, once the global capital for international wealth, risks losing not just individuals but its broader position in the financial services and investment industries. Capital goes where it’s treated best.

Right now, the UK’s policy decisions are making clear that foreign capital, foreign domiciles, and globally mobile entrepreneurs are not welcome.

The Treasury seems determined to ignore the warning signs. The official line remains that scrapping non-dom status will bring in billions in extra tax revenue. But that projection relies on outdated assumptions.

It underestimates how many people will leave and overlooks the secondary economic damage caused by their departure. Independent studies from groups like Oxford Economics suggest that the long-term cost to the UK economy from this flight of wealth could outweigh the projected tax gains.

Nor is this a short-term phenomenon. Once families relocate, they rarely come back. They establish roots in new jurisdictions, move their businesses, educate their children abroad, and redirect their philanthropic giving. The damage compounds over time.

The global race for talent and capital is intensifying, and right now the UK is running in the wrong direction. The more the government clings to short-term populist measures targeting the rich, the more it risks hollowing out the very base of its long-term tax and investment economy.

Other countries have understood that attracting and retaining wealth creators is not just about giving tax breaks—it’s about creating an environment of stability, predictability, and opportunity. The UK’s policy shift is doing the opposite. And unless there is a rapid change in course, the exodus will only accelerate.

With thousands of high-net-worth individuals now making relocation decisions before the start of the next school year, time is running out. Britain is in a global contest for capital—and right now, it’s losing.