Exodus

As I have said before, bankers will leave Loindon because of the 50% tax rate.

Not immediately because there would be up front costs, but over time as expatriate tours of duty come to an end and businesses reorganise, the powers that be will see London as an expensive place to put businesses because of the high cost of grossing up expatriates compared to other jurisdictions, so expect businesses to move over time and their London operations to downsize.

Like J.P.Morgan, who until recently, planned to build a 1.9 million square foot building in Docklands to house their 17,000 staff who are currently spread across several offices in London.

They still plan to move to Docklands, but have halved their office space requirements to the 1 million suare feet offered by the former Lehmans building. And if you think that soundslike they can pack people in tighter that is only 60 square feet per employee. If you think that 7.5x7.5 feet per employee sounds enough, remember that that doesn't take account of the space needed for corridors, meeting rooms, filing cabinets, computers and the rest.

Sounds like that 17,000 London headcount is not going to last either.