Lloyd’s of London launches Brussels hiring spree as new EU base takes shape

Lloyd’s of London today kicked off a search for new staff in Brussels as it prepares for Britain’s exit from the EU.

The iconic London insurance market rolled out plans last year to established a new European headquarters in Belgium to mitigate the fall-out from Brexit.

Lloyd’s is advertising vacancies for frontline underwriters as well as support staff across compliance, finance and operations.

Vincent Vandendael, Lloyd’s chief commercial officer, said the corporation had been “working hard” since the 2016 Brexit vote.

“[Work will] ensure that whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, our partners across the European Economic Area will continue to have access to our specialist, innovative policies, and benefit from the security of the Lloyd’s market,” he said.

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Lloyd’s was one of the first City institutions to unveil its plans for Brexit – just a day after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 at the end of March 2017. Having a base in the EU will allow insurers to continue to write business across the union. Around 11 per cent of Lloyd’s policies are for EU clients; last year, the market said half of these would continue to be written from the UK.

While Lloyd’s remains tight-lipped on the precise number of new hires it was looking for, it has previously guided the Brussels office will be “in the tens”. Last June, Lloyd’s cut around 10 per cent of its London workforce amid tough market conditions.

Brussels pipped the likes of Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris in an intense bidding process by some of Europe’s biggest financial centres.

Vandendael said:

Being at the heart of Europe will deliver many different advantages for our customers and provide an opportunity for us to continue to grow our business in the continent.

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