Liberty to shift post-Brexit EU HQ to Luxembourg

Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) has announced that it intends to headquarter its post-Brexit EU operations in Luxembourg.

The move follows a detailed analysis of potential jurisdictions, with the aim of ensuring that LSM’s post-Brexit structure complements its European strategy. LSM will be seeking regulatory approvals to operate via an insurance company and insurance intermediary domiciled in Luxembourg, which together will enable LSM to continue to offer both Lloyd’s and Company paper from its offices throughout the EU and Switzerland.

LSM will maintain its London headquarters and is continuing to analyse potential structures for its new EU operation, and expects to make a further announcement about that to its clients and employees later this year.

LSM’s president and managing director Nick Metcalf said, “We have ambitious plans for growing the business that we do within and from the EU, and Luxembourg best fits the design principles we set ourselves to best position our post-Brexit structure. It is important to us to locate ourselves in a robust regulatory environment, and Luxembourg offers us exactly that. The regulator is well-respected, pragmatic, and insurance-specific and so understands the market very well.

“Our primary objective was to minimise disruption to our clients and policyholders and employees, and I hope to be able to demonstrate how we have achieved that, when we set out how our new structure will work after the summer. For our clients it will be very much business-as-usual. Europe is a key market for us and we are working towards expanding our capabilities and product offering in Europe over the coming months and years.”