IDA: More than a dozen financial giants bound for Dublin

The head of Ireland's Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has confirmed that more than a dozen London-based financial houses and banks will transfer their EU activity to Dublin.

The Guardian reports that Kieran Donoghue said that each company in question was looking for office space with a capacity ranging between 10 and 50 staff. One firm is considering moving 1,000 staff to the Irish capital.

Deals could be finalised this summer, given the time it takes applying for a licence from domestic regulators and secure office space.

The Bank of England has stated that these mobile firms must provide information on their post-Brexit plans by July 14.

According to the Irish Independent, banks and financial services are required to be "day one ready" for Brexit by the end of March 2019.

Deals already struck include "one American bank".

Donoghue said: "A number of these groups have privately decided they have selected Dublin but won’t announce until they conclude discussions with the regulatory regimes in Britain, Ireland, the European Central Bank and regulatory authorities in the US. Given the scale of these groups, this is very sensitive."

He also said Brexit is a "sensitive event" for the financial sector.

He said: "They don’t really want to leave decades of infrastructure in London, for them to leave is a disruption to business and a cost.

"We do not think that London is going to disappear, but the industry will move to a more decentralised model.

"Essentially there are going to be three of four centres in Europe that are going to grow in size, but not to the point that London becomes irrelevant."