Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has said he is “very concerned” by the wealth exodus gripping the UK as he hit out at Labour’s “unfriendly” attitude towards entrepreneurs.
The pub tycoon said it is “madness” to blame the number of ultra-rich businesspeople leaving the country on anything other than the business conditions created by the government.
Fears over an exodus of wealthy founders were renewed earlier this week when hedge fund billionaire Chris Rokos became the latest to announce his departure.
Rokos is the founder of namesake investment firm Rokos Capital Management. His exit, first reported by Bloomberg, is likely to cost the government hundreds of millions of pounds in lost tax revenue every year.
In an interview with City AM, Martin said: “I’m very concerned about people leaving the country. The Beatles and The [Rolling] Stones left the country in the 1970s because taxes were so high, and it’s madness to think human nature has changed.
“We need the top talent to live in the UK. […] We have to have policies which attract and retain talent, just like humble pub companies have to try and do in the locations in which they trade.”
‘If I was 21…’
Martin said he does not plan to leave the country himself, but joked that he would consider a return to New Zealand, where he was raised.
“The surf is probably better in New Zealand, and it’s a more temperate climate. But my wife won’t let me go – that’s a joke,” he said.
“I’m too old. But I do think that if I was 21, and thinking of setting up a business, it might be different. I notice that quite a few young entrepreneurs have set up businesses from Britain and are moving abroad,” he added.
Martin said it is “important to note” that a number of the US’s biggest entrepreneurs were born outside of the country, listing Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
“I think the UK has to try and attract talent from around the world. […] The government [has] set its stall out, and it’s unfriendly to many entrepreneurs and businesses – from abroad and from this country – and they are leaving,” he said.
The country’s exodus of wealthy businesspeople has been blamed on rumours surrounding taxes on wealth and the Labour government’s decision to end the non-dom regime.
The tax loophole had allowed wealthy foreigners to avoid paying tax on income earned outside of the UK, but it was scrapped by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves at last year’s October Budget.
Critics of the government have also blamed its decisions to scrap the VAT exemption for private schools, increase capital gains tax rates and plot a new raid on mansions.