No Sleep Till Brexit: The City Scrambles to Deal With Quitting the EU
Bankers, traders, and money managers are worried about London’s future as the financial gateway to Europe.
A City worker walks in view of the Bank of England in London on July 30, 2018.
Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
As soon as Justin Urquhart Stewart arrived at his office on the morning of Oct. 18, he huddled with his money managers and research chiefs. This was supposed to be a big day in the runup to Brexit. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was supposed to make progress with European Union leaders on the last outstanding terms of Britain’s departure from the bloc on March 29. And financial institutions such as Seven Investment Management LLP, a London-based firm Urquhart Stewart co-founded 17 years ago, were supposed to finally get some clarity on a process that’s thrown their industry off balance for two years.
Yet everything that was supposed to happen didn’t happen—except for some talk about extending U.K. membership in the bloc in all but name for another year. Urquhart Stewart sighed. It was another kick-the-can moment. More political drama was bound to follow.