Article originally published in the Sunday Telegraph, 1 March 2026
Money manager says its wealthy customers believe Labour is ‘anti-business rather than pro-growth’
A leading private bank has warned the Government that high taxes and red tape are making Britain an “excruciating” place to invest and driving entrepreneurs overseas.
Lombard Odier, which manages money for the ultra-wealthy, has written to Rachel Reeves, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, to highlight the scale of frustration among investors over the Government’s policies.
We are seeing a quiet but determined exodus
The 230-year-old bank said the Chancellor’s tax raid on employers’ National Insurance contributions, combined with the Employment Rights Act and changes to business rates, had led many of its customers to conclude that the Government is “anti-business rather than pro-growth”.
A number of high-profile entrepreneurs have fled Britain in recent months for tax havens, including Dubai, in the wake of the Chancellor’s Budget announcements.
Lombard Odier said the impact of the tax changes have been compounded by a “lack of enterprise and negativity embedded in UK investing culture”.
“This cautious approach regarding investment may also be rooted in a perception that generating wealth is something negative,” the bank wrote.
Lombard Odier said the impact of the tax changes have been compounded by a “lack of enterprise and negativity embedded in UK investing culture
The bank described how some entrepreneurs “found the process of raising capital from UK investors excruciating”, forcing many of them to seek investment overseas.
Lombard Odier submitted its concerns in a call for evidence launched by the Treasury last year. This was designed to tackle the growing number of entrepreneurs moving their companies overseas in search of growth.
Ms Reeves has tasked Treasury officials with reviewing the scale of investors leaving Britain. She has also launched an assessment of her decision to abolish the non-dom regime.
To tackle the wealth exodus, Mark Goddard, the UK chief executive of Lombard Odier, urged the Treasury to try and unlock £350bn in funds from cash Isas.
He said savers could be encouraged to direct some of this cash towards early-stage start-ups.
Financial literacy
He also called for a dedicated investor visa contingent on investing in UK venture capital and private businesses. Mr Goddard said the Government should also focus on improving financial literacy to boost investment.
He added: “There needs to be a stronger promotion in the education system of financial literacy, investing and entrepreneurship, to support the next wave of businesses in the UK.”
Lombard Odier’s UK CEO called for a dedicated investor visa contingent on investing in UK venture capital and private businesses
However, the Chancellor’s Spring Statement on Tuesday is not expected to include any tax breaks for business owners. The Chancellor aims to keep it as uneventful as possible in an attempt to restore confidence.
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learn more Based in Switzerland, Lombard Odier launched in London more than 50 years ago and has built a business on managing money for start-up founders. It manages £215bn of client money globally.
Read more: Lombard Odier reports full-year results for 2025
Mr Goddard was invited to the Treasury for talks on the wealth exodus in February. To help inform the bank’s recent letter to the Chancellor, Mr Goddard hosted a dinner with a group of eight entrepreneurs.
Six of them said they would consider leaving the UK, Mr Goddard said.
“We are seeing a quiet but determined exodus,” Mr Goddard said.
“When these individuals leave, they don’t just take their bank balance. They take their expertise, their future tax contributions and their appetite to mentor and fund the next generation of British start-ups.”
Herman Narula, the 37-year-old technology entrepreneur who is worth more than £700m, said last year that he was preparing to quit Britain for Dubai, blaming the Government’s policy.
Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire steel magnate, was reported in November to have moved his tax residence from the UK to Switzerland, with most of his time spent in Dubai.
In its letter to the Treasury, Lombard Odier warned of a “massive problem with scaling in the UK and Europe more widely”.
The bank highlighted how investors encountered problems accessing state funding in the UK, with one entrepreneur being forced to raise $70m (£52m) abroad after his business was assessed as too risky.
Lombard Odier warned of a massive problem with scaling in the UK and Europe more widely
Lombard Odier said a consistent concern among clients was inconsistency in tax policy.
“Sentiment is that actions speak louder than words,” it added.
A Treasury spokesman said: “In an increasingly unstable world, Britain stands out: stable, open for business and governed by the rule of law.
“With £10tn of capital and a globally competitive tax regime – including the lowest main rate of capital gains tax in the European G7 and the doubling of tax reliefs for entrepreneurs – the UK remains an attractive place for talented individuals to live, invest and run a business.”
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