Some 250 companies are considering relocating activities to the Netherlands from the UK, according to the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), the investment promotion arm of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. 

In the 9 February statement, the agency added that the number of companies setting up in the Netherlands as a result of Brexit had grown since 2017. In 2018, 42 companies were attracted to the country--compared to 18 the year prior--which accounted for 1,923 jobs and an investment of €291m.

The agency added: “These are British companies, but also American and Asian parties that are reconsidering their current European structure due to the uncertainty caused by Brexit.”

Among those companies expanding are the Japanese bank Norinchukin, media company TVT Media, and financial service providers such as MarketAxess, Azimo, and UK P&I Club, a maritime insurer. It added that Discovery and Bloomberg were two of “several companies” to have already announced expansion in the country due to Brexit in 2019. 

The Invest in Holland initiative is making its case predominantly on five factors: location, first-class infrastructure, fluency in English, an excellent business climate, and the fact that the country “roll[s] out the orange carpet”. 

In the Forbes magazine rankings in 2019, the Netherlands ranked as the top best country in the eurozone for doing business (fourth overall), well above Ireland, Germany, France and Luxembourg.