Following the US in popularity with UK movers (588 Sterling customers relocated there in 2014), was Singapore (113), Hong Kong (96), the UAE (77) and Canada (71).
The International Movers Study also showed a drop in relocations to France (from 98 in 2010 down to 68 in 2014). More than twice as many workers (145) as the UK to France 2014 figure relocated from France to the UK, however.
Commenting on these findings, Tony Coe, founder and chief executive of Saunders relocation company, said: “France’s rising taxes have been the prime factor behind the exodus from France – and the UK, especially London, has been a big beneficiary.”
He added: “Dubai is also a relocation magnet because expats save a fortune in tax, incomes there are higher and jobs are plentiful.
“The USA has always remained popular, mainly because of the lower cost of living and the fact that it is the land of opportunity and free enterprise.”
The Sterling Relocation study also found a significant drop in the number of relocations in the banks and financial services industry over the last four years, explained by the impact of the recession and scrutiny of the banking industry's mobility policies.
The study found that numbers of relocations in the oil and gas sector have been growing year on year since 2009, but that this was reversed following 2014’s oil price crash.
