A projected 16,500 high net worth individuals (HNWI) holding a combined £66bn in liquid investable assets are set to leave the UK this year, according to a report from Henley & Partners.

Its Private Wealth Migration Report noted that this forecast was the largest single-year exodus of millionaires from a country on record.

This “unprecedented” outflow comes following last year’s record-breaking exodus, when 10,800 HNWIs left the UK.

Henley & Partners stated that the UK’s significant wealth outflow has been years in the making, starting with Brexit in 2016, but two policy shifts since then in particular had accelerated the trend.

It pointed to the closure of the tier 1 investment visa in February 2022, which got rid of a key entry route for wealthy foreign nationals, and the Conservative government’s overhaul of the non-dom regime in March 2024 followed by the Labour government’s changes to inheritance tax rules in October 2024.

These changes triggered a “sharp escalation”, pushing net millionaire departures into double digits for the first time, with the UAE, USA, Italy and Switzerland set to benefit from the migrations.

According to Henley & Partners’ client data, UK nationals submitted 183 per cent more applications for alternative residence and citizenship programmes in Q1 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

Despite this, the report said that the UK remained a desirable destination for HNWIs, especially Americans disenchanted with the Trump administration.

However, without a ‘viable entry pathway’, the UK has been unable to offset the outflow, resulting in a growing imbalance between incoming and outgoing wealth.

Global migration is set for a record-breaking year, with 142,000 millionaires projected to relocate internationally in 2025.

Commenting on the findings, Henley & Partners CEO, Dr. Juerg Steffen, said: “2025 marks a pivotal moment. For the first time in a decade of tracking, a European country leads the world in millionaire outflows.

“This isn’t just about changes to the tax regime. It reflects a deepening perception among the wealthy that greater opportunity, freedom, and stability lie elsewhere.

“The long-term implications for Europe and the UK’s economic competitiveness and investment appeal are significant.”

FXGuard chair and co-founder, Prof. Trevor Williams, added that the UK’s economy had performed poorly over the past decade, and was the only country in the world’s 10 wealthiest nations (W10) that has seen negative millionaire growth.

“Since 2014, the number of resident millionaires in the UK dropped by 9 per cent compared with the W10’s global average growth of +40 per cent,” he said.

“Over the same period, the US saw a 78 per cent increase in millionaires — the fastest wealth growth among the W10.”

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