JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has warned that the Tim Martin wealth exodus debate gripping the UK reflects a genuine crisis of government policy, saying it is ‘madness’ to attribute the departure of wealthy founders to anything other than conditions created by Labour.
Martin made the remarks in an interview with City AM, in which he said he is ‘very concerned about people leaving the country’ and accused the government of setting out a stall that is ‘unfriendly to many entrepreneurs and businesses, from abroad and from this country.’
Rokos departure renews wealth exodus fears
His comments came as hedge fund billionaire Chris Rokos became the latest high-profile figure to announce a departure. Rokos, the founder of Rokos Capital Management, is transferring his tax residency from the United Kingdom to Greece and also plans to open a company office in Athens, according to LIGA.net. His exit, first reported by Bloomberg, is likely to cost the government hundreds of millions of pounds in lost tax revenue every year.
The scale of that loss is underlined by Rokos’s recent tax contributions. In 2025, he paid £330 million in tax, placing him near the top of the Sunday Times Tax List, according to The National. For the Treasury, losing a taxpayer at that level is not a rounding error.
Martin drew a historical parallel to make his point. ‘The Beatles and The [Rolling] Stones left the country in the 1970s because taxes were so high, and it’s madness to think human nature has changed,’ he said. ‘We need the top talent to live in the UK. We have to have policies which attract and retain talent, just like humble pub companies have to try and do in the locations in which they trade.’
Tim Martin wealth exodus remarks and the non-dom abolition
Much of the current concern centres on Labour’s decision to abolish the non-dom regime, a tax arrangement under which wealthy foreigners could avoid paying UK tax on income earned outside the country. The arrangement had existed since 1799, when it was introduced to protect colonial investments, The National reports. Its removal, confirmed by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves at last year’s October Budget, has been cited repeatedly as a trigger for departures.
Critics have also pointed to a series of other measures: the removal of the VAT exemption for private schools, increases to capital gains tax rates, and proposed levies on high-value properties. Taken together, opponents argue, the direction of travel sends a clear signal to mobile, high-net-worth individuals.
Martin did not spare the broader international context. He pointed to the United States as a counter-example, noting that several of its most prominent entrepreneurs were born outside the country. He listed Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. ‘I think the UK has to try and attract talent from around the world,’ he said. ‘The government [has] set its stall out, and it’s unfriendly to many entrepreneurs and businesses, from abroad and from this country, and they are leaving.’
Martin said he has no plans to leave himself. He acknowledged, with a degree of levity, that he might consider New Zealand, where he was raised. ‘The surf is probably better in New Zealand, and it’s a more temperate climate. But my wife won’t let me go, that’s a joke,’ he said. Age, he added, was the more honest constraint. ‘I’m too old. But I do think that if I was 21, and thinking of setting up a business, it might be different. I notice that quite a few young entrepreneurs have set up businesses from Britain and are moving abroad.’
That last observation may be the sharpest point in his argument. The loss of an established billionaire like Rokos is visible and quantifiable: £330 million in annual tax, now headed for the Greek exchequer. The loss of younger founders who never put down roots here is harder to measure and harder still to reverse. With Rokos now preparing his Athens office and his UK residency winding down, the government’s response to that question grows more pressing.
