Boston roundtable discusses threats and opportunities for the Isle of Man

Could Brexit be a cloud with a silver lining? Despite the ongoing uncertainty about what the EU Leave vote really means for both the UK and the Isle of Man, a recent roundtable discussion between senior business executives, hosted by multi-family office Boston, suggested it could result in positive outcomes if people work together to define a future strategy for key Isle of Man sectors. Despite being an international business with offices inside and outside the EU, the company has a particular interest in the Island as it is home to its global headquarters.

Chaired by Boston Chief Executive Alex Fray, attendees at the event included Tom Richards, Managing Director of Thomas Miller Investment (Isle of Man), Steve Brennan, CEO of the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, Dick Welsh, Director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry, John McGowan, CEO of MAC Group, John Spellman, Director of Finance at the Department of Economic Development, Nick Verardi, Director of Bramden Investments and Greg Jones, Director of Tax from KPMG. Also attending from Boston were Katherine Ellis, Phil Knop, Alex McNee, and Bruce Elliott.

Discussion was wide ranging and covered a number of topics including the type of model the UK may adopt in its relationship with the EU, threats such as skills shortages emanating from cessation of free movement of people, and financial concerns arising from the potential impacts on VAT and increasing competition from the City of London.

Delegates felt that the EU and Europe as a whole could look very different over the next 10 years and Brexit could also lead to further fragmentation of the UK with regions becoming more autonomous. This could lead to opportunities for the Isle of Man to pick up business from these areas, although there could also be increased competition as other jurisdictions position themselves for inward investment.

All attendees felt that, now it has become a reality, Brexit and its impact on legislation offers an opportunity to rethink the future. Maintaining equivalence will be important in some sectors but the chance to develop legislation fit for the future as well as the present should be exploited.

Boston Director Bruce Elliott pointed to opportunities within data protection and privacy. “Google and Facebook are being challenged in Europe, they are being bullied by the EU,” he said. “Twenty per cent of our economy here is now eGaming related and that’s because we were friendly to eGaming when others were not. I want to take one step ahead of the UK and EU, not just ride along in parallel with them, and now that means proactively legislating to set ourselves apart in areas like data protection, data sovereignty, and the internet of things: areas where companies are concerned about the direction the EU is going.”

John Spellman from the Department of Economic Development revealed that the UK Government has already engaged with the Isle of Man regarding Brexit negotiations and all delegates felt it was critical for the Isle of Man to be clear in what it wants and how it is represented. “The call to action here is that if there are elements you want to be considered in the Brexit negotiations then raise them,” he said.

It was agreed that professional associations should work with their members to analyse issues and opportunities to feed into Government thinking. Other forums should also be considered to engage with high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs, who can bring new ideas and employment prospects to the Island.

Boston CEO Alex Fray commented: “While we are still in the early days of assessing the likely impacts of Brexit, the roundtable was a very useful discussion which explored areas of concern but also identified points of opportunity. It has given us all lots to think about, no matter which sector we represent, and has highlighted the need for everyone to think carefully and strategically about how the Isle of Man should operate in a post Brexit world. I would like to thank all the participants for their contributions.”

The full report of the roundtable discussion is available to read at http://bostonmfo.com/brexit 

Image: Phil Knop (Boston), Nick Verardi (Bramden) and Alex McNee (Boston)

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