Nearly three in ten wealthy UK residents are considering leaving the country as confidence in the economic outlook declines and concerns about further tax increases intensify, according to a new survey. An analysis by wealth management firm Saltus found that 8% of high-net-worth individuals are already actively exploring the possibility of permanently relocating outside the UK, while a further 22% say they would consider doing so amid speculation about tax rises in the autumn Budget.

According to The Times, the trend has gathered pace following changes introduced by the Labour government to the tax system, prompting an increasing number of wealthy residents to move their tax residency abroad.

Among the most significant measures are the taxation of worldwide income earned by foreign nationals living in Britain but permanently resident in another country, as well as the abolition of inheritance tax exemptions for overseas trusts.

Chris Rokos and the move to Greece

One of the most notable cases is that of billionaire hedge fund manager Chris Rokos, who was reported last month to be moving his tax residency to Greece.

Rokos was Britain’s third-largest taxpayer last year, having paid a total of £330 million in tax. His departure adds to the growing list of prominent business figures who have decided to leave the country.

Sir Peter Wood, a businessman with an estimated fortune of £795 million and a former Conservative Party donor, told The Times that he moved his residence from Britain to Florida last year, where he owns a property.

Other high-profile departures include Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire steel magnate and founder of ArcelorMittal, and Nassef Sawiris, the second-richest person in Egypt.

Leaving Britain is no longer a distant prospect

Michael Stimpson, a partner at Saltus, points out that wealthy individuals do not uproot their lives in response to a single tax announcement. However, he says the survey findings reveal a significant shift in how they view their future in Britain.

“Leaving the UK is no longer a distant thought. It has become an option that an increasingly large minority are actively considering, weighing up their family, financial and personal circumstances,” he said.

The analysis was based on a survey of 2,000 adults in Britain with at least £250,000 in investable assets, excluding their primary residence.

According to the annual survey, confidence among wealthy individuals in the British economy fell to 56%, down from 66% a year earlier. Meanwhile, 40% now regard potential tax changes as a major risk to their wealth.

Henrietta Grimston, a certified financial planner at Saltus, says she has seen a significant increase in the number of clients exploring whether relocating abroad is feasible, primarily to limit their future inheritance tax liabilities.

She explains that many of those considering a move already have the right to live in other countries, either through family ties or because they were born there. Others are turning to countries that offer residency permits and the opportunity to obtain citizenship through investment, seeking a more favourable tax and economic environment.

Greece and Italy compete for Britain’s wealthy residents

Changes to British tax policy are creating opportunities for other European countries, which are seeking to attract wealthy tax residents by offering more favourable regimes.

Italy has introduced a special tax regime for income earned abroad in exchange for a flat annual tax payment of €100,000.

Similarly, Greece has managed to attract particularly wealthy foreign nationals, offering, subject to certain conditions, a fixed annual tax of €100,000 on foreign-sourced income.

Greece’s tax framework is one of the factors making the country attractive to investors and businesspeople seeking to move their tax residency outside Britain.

The case of Chris Rokos highlights this shift, with Greece now among the destinations being considered by some of Europe’s wealthiest individuals.

Warnings over the loss of major taxpayers

The risk of further departures among major taxpayers was also highlighted last month by Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, Britain’s largest direct-to-consumer investment platform.

Speaking to The Times, Hargreaves argued that the country could not afford to lose more people who pay exceptionally high taxes. “Unfortunately, Labour’s slogan is ‘We hate the rich’, even though the rich pay a substantial share of taxes,” he said, sharply criticising government policy.

He added that there was a limit to how much the tax burden on wealthy individuals could be increased before they decided to leave the country.

Hargreaves said he remained deeply patriotic and loved Britain, but expressed disappointment with how the country had been governed over the past three decades.

“We may have had governments that were supposedly on the Right, but in reality they were socialist too, and socialism always fails in the end,” he argued.

His comments reflect the intensity of the debate over the taxation of wealth in Britain, as the government seeks to balance its fiscal needs against the risk of losing tax revenue as wealthy residents relocate.