Brexit?
As leaflets hit doorsteps around the UK ahead of the 23 June EU Referendum, Adam Austerfield, Director of Global Market Development at LSE Enterprise and Regional Vice-President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, was interviewed on the Britain Decides programme on Talk Radio Europe. How would Brexit affect British expatriates living in Spain?

Our survey of British Chamber members was extremely clear: 97% said they wanted to stay in the EU. Our members include SMEs and multinationals, spread around Spain and some with global headquarters in London, so we have a balanced and comprehensive result. London is often the place for raising capital, so that and the rise in transaction costs in the event of Brexit came up as significant issues.

Asked for an intelligent guess on how UK nationals with their own business in Spain would be affected, Adam cited LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance study on the difficulties that would arise and how small companies would have fewer resources to respond to challenges and extra costs. He thought that Brexit would have negative effects for both existing UK residents in Spain and newcomers.

In the 1970s, when Britain joined the EU, the trade patterns changed fundamentally and underpinned growth in the 80s and 90s. Existing and new trade links would be affected, and people setting up businesses in Spain might look for trade partners other than the UK.

There are about 300,000 registered UK residents in Spain, with over a million shorter-term visitors. Their net contribution to Spain is certainly positive, although they use infrastructure and healthcare as well – changes to healthcare provision would be a significant concern for this demographic.

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