More than one third of US businesses with a base in the UK are considering moving their base to elsewhere in the European Union because of Brexit.
Research for Gowling WLG was carried out across September and October this year from a sample of 533 senior executives of companies with £10m annual turnover based in the US who export in a variety of sectors including financial services.
Over half - 53.7 per cent - of US businesses that export to the EU claim they are more likely to bypass the UK to do business with the rest of the continent as a result of June's referendum result.
The report, which looks at the impact of Brexit on transatlantic trade, shows how the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, in particular the delay caused by issues such as Article 50, are threatening trading links between the UK and the US.
For financial services, a total of 55 per cent of US companies surveyed are more likely to bypass the UK in order to do business with the rest of the EU, with just under half - 47 per cent - of those with a base in the UK considering moving elsewhere in the EU as a result of the Brexit vote.
However, the report also found Donald Trump's election may be an "unlikely hope" for the UK.
A total of 66 per cent of US companies in the financial services sector favour a direct trade arrangement with the UK, mirroring the President-elect's preference for direct deals between countries.
Bernardine Adkins, head of European Union, trade and competition for Gowling WLG Brexit Unit said: "The strong UK-US trade relationship that has been carefully nurtured over the past 50 years is in serious jeopardy.
"This is despite a wide consensus amongst US firms that the unique dynamics of the UK market and its access to the rest of the EU drive their preference for doing business here. Concerns that Brexit will have an effect on current investment decisions mean this needs addressing now, not later."
She added without its own privileged relationship with the European Union, there is a higher chance that US investment will continue to see the UK as an attractive gateway to the EU's single market, if the UK can retain important elements of its current access.
Kirsty Barnes, partner and Gowling WLG’s head of banking and finance, said: "So much has already been made of what Brexit will mean for London’s status as a global financial centre and this is clearly uppermost in the minds of US financial services firms who have long come to rely on the class-leading infrastructure and highly skilled workforce that the City brings.
"As things stand, it’s very much business as usual but all will be acutely aware of the pretenders to the financial throne eagerly waiting in the wings to step in should market conditions in the UK become especially unfavourable.
"Dublin for example has very much been stepping up its game recently, gearing up its infrastructure to attract business from across the pond but the reality is, it and the likes of Paris and Frankfurt, while bonafide financial centres in their own right, simply don’t yet have the offer to truly compete."
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
