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Leafy, low-rise and elegant, Vilnius is relatively free from traffic |
Ever since the UK’s Brexit vote in June, cities across the continent have been lining up to lure financial firms away from London. All the usual suspects – Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Amsterdam – have rushed to make the case for becoming Europe’s new banking centre.
One of the very first pitches, however, came from a more unlikely source. A week after the referendum, hundreds of UK-based banks, hedge funds and fintech firms received a letter from a Lithuanian poker player-turned MEP.
“You must be thinking about where to relocate your EU operations,” wrote Antanas Guoga – or Tony G, as he is known at the tables. “I would like to invite you to explore Vilnius.” And, for anyone who was unsure where that was, he helpfully added: “The capital of Lithuania.”
At first glance, a former Soviet city of half a million people in the northeastern corner of Europe seems an unlikely spot for a global financial hub. Yet, as Guoga pointed out, Vilnius has already attracted a clutch of big tech and banking names.
