Wealthy entrepreneurs are apparently quitting Rachel Reeves’ Britain for Dubai (Image: GETTY)
A growing exodus of Britain’s ultra-wealthy is underway as high-net-worth individuals accelerate plans to relocate abroad – with media entrepreneurs Simon and Selena Barr lifting the lid on their decision to move their family to Dubai. The Barrs, who built two companies turning over £5 million and employing 50 staff plus 120 freelancers, left Edinburgh two days before Labour’s July election landslide.
Mr Barr said: “We were looking at the Labour manifesto. We were going to be deeply penalised for the successes that we are now getting from the businesses. We felt that we had no option but to vote with our feet and leave the UK.” Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget raised £40 billion through targeted hikes on private schools, jets and private equity, fuelling the flight.
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Rachel Reeves will deliver her Budget on November 26 (Image: Getty)
As her second Budget looms on November 26, speculation mounts over filling a £50 billion public finance “black hole”. The Barrs remain unrepentant.
Mr Barr told The Telegraph: “I don’t regret it one bit. We’re loving Dubai. It is a fantastic, aspiration-led, go-getter place. We meet so many Brits. The first question is always, ‘Why did you come?’ Within a minute you establish you both left the UK for exactly the same reason.”
Revolut founder Nik Storonsky, a billionaire, joined the exodus this week, relocating to Dubai. Experts warn further raids could trigger a backlash. Simon Gibb, a partner at Trowers & Hamlins advising ultra-high-net-worth clients, said: “A lot of conversation in my world is focused on non-British, internationally mobile people leaving.
“I think there is a subcategory of mobile people that may well be growing, which is home-grown Brits considering, ‘Is the UK still the right place to undertake your – effectively geographically unconstrained – enterprise?’”
Dubai now has a thriving British expat community (Image: Getty)
Ms Reeves faces pressure from Labour’s Left for more, despite resisting a full wealth tax urged by Lord Kinnock. Options include hiking capital gains tax (CGT), already up to 24% for higher earners.
HMRC analysis warns further rises would backfire: a jump to 34% could cost £3.6 billion annually by 2028-29 through behavioural changes like asset sales or emigration. Even a one-point increase risks a £30 million loss.
The UK’s top 10% generate over 60% of income tax, making the wealthy vital. Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts £2.5 billion extra from CGT reforms, but only from 6,000 high-gainers.
Non-dom changes, netting £4.5 billion, have prompted exits by Goldman Sachs’ Richard Gnodde and Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris. Inheritance tax tweaks drove property developers Ian and Richard Livingstone to Monaco.
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Henley & Partners reports a record millionaire outflow, while Companies House data shows surging director relocations. Lord Harrington, ex-Tory minister, said: “Many of them were big investors in this country.
“A lot of them have gone to the Emirates, to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the really rich ones have gone to Monaco and also Italy.” He noted three prosperous neighbours fleeing his street due to inheritance tax.
Private school VAT has slashed enrolments by 25,000, per the Independent Schools Council—far exceeding government predictions—risking 80 closures and job losses. Marc Newton, Rigby gunmaker CEO, fumed: “Forget the financial side of things, I just don’t know how you can morally justify putting taxes on children’s education. It’s sick, actually. It’s wrong.”
A rumoured mansion tax would be “the final blow”, he added, amid National Insurance hikes burdening his 35 staff.
Stuart Adam, Institute for Fiscal Studies principal economist, cautioned: “Almost any tax rise will tend to lead to some behavioural response… Further loading taxes on to a small group of highly responsive people increases the risk that you get a big response and not very much revenue.”
Ms Reeves insists measures will yield billions by decade’s end, but the Barrs see betrayal. Mr Barr said: “We were putting no strain on the system… All we were doing was putting in, and we were getting zero benefit.
“It just felt like the country was falling apart.” In Dubai, with zero income tax, he added: “I really am a patriot. I love my country, but the country stopped loving me.”
As growth stalls below 1%, economists fear cumulative hikes stifle investment. Prashant Shah of o2h said: “The tax environment makes it harder” for life sciences funding. Newton echoed: “It seems the harder you work, the more punitive the taxes become… If I could, I would move.”
The gamble risks a vicious cycle: lost revenue forcing deeper cuts, eroding London’s appeal.
