26 February 2008
Most people leaving England to set up life abroad head to Spain, France, the US or down under to Australia or New Zealand, new research has suggested.
UK currency firm Caxton FX found that emigrants are taking their money to other countries and costing the UK economy hundreds of thousands of pounds each - £100,000 on average.
The company states the average amount of money exchanged before people set up a life in a new country is £70,000.
Citing a recent study by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, Caxton indicates that there are currently three million Britons living overseas - which apparently represents one of the highest levels of emigration in the last 50 years.
Rupert Lee-Browne, a director at Caxton FX, says that the company's clients believe there are "real opportunities" outside of the UK.
"The environment for wealth-creators has become unwelcoming. Stealth-taxes, increased bureaucracy and failing government policies are blamed as the main drivers for this exodus," he added.
In December 2006, Institute of Public Policy Research figures showed that 760,000 Britons lived in Spain.
