Non-dom exodus: Top London dealmaker quits UK for Switzerland
One of London’s most successful private equity dealmakers has left the UK for Switzerland, adding to the wave of wealthy individuals quitting Britain in the wake of the government’s crackdown on wealth.
Kurt Bjorklund, the executive chair of Permira who until recently was the buyout giant’s managing partner, relocated to the low-tax jurisdiction in the past year after ministers unveiled a succession of tax grabs from the super rich, according to sources cited by the Financial Times.
Since its maiden Budget in November 2024, the Labour party has ploughed ahead with its pre-election promise to abolish the centuries-old non-dom regime and apply VAT on private school fees for the first time. It also hiked taxes on an arcane bonus enjoyed by private equity executives known as carried interest.
More recently, the Chancellor has unveiled plans to introduce a so-called mansion tax on properties worth more than £2m.
The departure of Bjorklund, who moved to the UK from his native Sweden in 1996, brings an end to a glittering career in London that saw him rise to become one the capital’s most storied dealmakers. Morning Wire understands he will maintain the same role, but based in Switzerland.
Permira has become a major player of London’s burgeoning buyout industry, boasting €85bn (£73.3bn) in assets under management. The group is best known for its stakes in household name fashion brands Dr Martens, Golden Goose and Reformation, but also owns wealth management juggernaut Evelyn Partners and professional services shop JTC.
Non-dom exodus ramps up
In choosing to quit Britain, Bjorklund joins the growing ranks of high-net worth individuals (HNWIs) choosing to relocate away from the UK in the wake of the government’s non-dom crackdown and wider tax agenda.
Steel Lakshmi Mittal, Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris and Goldman Sachs rainmaker Richard Gnodde were among the first names to emerge as having quit the UK after the government’s 2024 Budget.
Other luminaries from Bjorklund’s buyout industry have also relocated, including Advent managing partner James Brocklebank and Coller Capital founder Jeremy Coller.
Advisers to the super-rich have held the government’s non-dom crackdown up as the main driver of departures. The 200-year-old tax regime had allowed wealthy foreigners to be taxed only on UK-based income and assets but the Chancellor opted to abolish it in her maiden Budget. As part of the same tax raid, which came into force in May 2025, Reeves also tightened up rules around foreign trusts.
Under the revamped rules, trusts owned by non-doms and former non-doms would be treated in the same way as a UK citizen in the eyes of the Exchequer and be liable for inheritance tax.
Permira declined to comment.