NELSON PREDICTS OTHERS WILL FOLLOW LLOYD’S TO BRUSSELS

Lloyd’s chairman John Nelson has forecast other insurers will follow the market’s decision to set up a European base in Brussels to help overcome the impact of the UK’s exist from the European Union. In an interview with the Financial Times, Nelson said he expected “a little ecosystem to gradually develop” in Brussels despite the Belgian capital not currently having a reputation as a significant centre for insurance. Nelson said Lloyd’s engaged with “five or six cities seriously and measured them against 37 criteria” with Brussels picked on the back of its regulatory reputation. “The other important thing was talent. We needed a good talent pool to recruit from and Brussels has that,” he said. Nelson also cited the Belgian capital’s location in the centre of Europe with good transport links as important.