Rees-Mogg: Ireland ‘particularly attractive’ for investment funds regardless of Brexit

Leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg thinks Ireland is a “particularly attractive” location for investment funds.

“The way the global financial system works is that different jurisdictions are suitable for different investors,” Rees-Mogg said on Channel 4’s Brexit Millionaires documentary, noting that Ireland was attractive “irrespective of Brexit.”

Rees-Mogg attracted controversy in July when it emerged that the boutique asset management firm that he partly owns had launched a second fund in Ireland.

The head of the European Research Group owns a 15% stake in Somerset Capital Partners, which warned in March 2018 of the financial risks associated with the type of hard Brexit that Rees-Mogg supports — saying it could cause “considerable uncertainty.”

The Tory MP said last month that the UK will be “a better destination for investors” once it has left the European Union, even as experts repeatedly warn about the potential impact to the country’s economic growth.

Speaking in the documentary, which was broadcast on Monday, Rees-Mogg insisted that the firm’s moves to Dublin had nothing to do with Brexit, and said that he had first been involved in launching a fund in Dublin some 25 years ago for a previous employer.

A report released on Monday by think tank New Financial found that the Irish capital was in “a league of its own” when it came to attracting Brexit-related investment.

Of the nearly 270 firms that have relocated some aspects of their business as a result of Brexit, around 100 — or more than a third — have chosen Dublin as a location.

Some 60 chose Luxembourg, while 41 firms plucked for Paris. Frankfurt is not far behind, on 40, while Amsterdam has seen 32 moves.