London fights for its financial crown, but it will be a stretch

The EU has long resented the UK's clout in financial services, and now Brexit has given it a chance to take the Square Mile down a peg

• How the City became the UK's powerhouse

When Michel Barnier railed against brass plate" access to the EU's single market, Britain's financial services firms knew they were uppermost in the former Brexit negotiator's thinking.

Ever since the EU referendum vote in 2016, City firms have been quietly leasing space in Dublin, Luxembourg, Amsterdam and Paris to make sure they can conduct business with their EU clients without exporting more than a handful of staff. Most of the headquarters, jobs and tax revenues of Europe's largest trading houses have remained in London. The question is, for how much longer?