Brexit fears overshadow UK’s pole position as leading EU legal hub 

With Britain having the largest footprint in legal and accounting, a report commissioned by the City highlights the contribution of the sector to the economy and warns of the dangers ahead.

Britain’s position as the leading legal hub of Europe could be directly impacted by Brexit, according to a new report by PwC for TheCityUK. With one in four of all EU legal and accounting professionals based in Britain, the report warns of the dangers ahead if the finacial sector is adversely hit. Nearly one quarter (23 per cent) of EU employees in the sector are in the UK. Britain’s premier position as a legal and accounting services employer is trailed by Germany at 21 per cent of the EU’s total sector jobs, then France (10 per cent), Spain (eight per cent) and Italy (seven per cent).

Employment

According to the report, ‘Total Tax Contribution Study for UK legal and accounting activities’, the sector collectively generated employment of 693,000 across the UK. In 2015/16 the UK-based legal and accountancy sector generated an estimated £15.5bn in tax – comprised of taxes borne (£6.4bn) and taxes collected (£9.1bn) – representing 2.5 per cent of all UK tax receipts.

Tax contribution

Added together with the significant total tax contribution for the financial services sector, reported as £71.4bn in 2015/16, the estimated total tax contribution for UK-based financial, legal and accountancy services is £87bn. In 2016, there were nearly 60,500 legal and accounting businesses in the UK with small to medium sized enterprises with fewer than 99 employees making up 99 per cent of all firms.

Considerable contribution

The report from TheCityUK and PwC is the first such study to cover legal and accounting activities and highlights the importance of these activities to the UK economy. Miles Celic, CEO of TheCityUK, which commissioned the report, said in a release: ‘The legal and accounting sector make a considerable contribution to the UK economy in their own right, and are an essential part of the world-leading financial and professional services ecosystem. The UK is the leading global hub for legal and accounting expertise and it is vital that we not only preserve that, but we continue to grow it. This expertise isn’t just located in London. Right across the UK, centres of excellence, including Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh, are adding value to the UK economy. These are also the areas we expect to see the most growth in the coming years as we move through Brexit and beyond.’

Source: Global Legal Post – Brexit fears overshadow UK’s pole position as leading EU legal hub

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