Young Gun Jason Trost moving business to US as direct result of Brexit

Jason Trost, a Growing Business Young Gun since 2010, has revealed that he is starting the process of moving his peer-to-peer betting exchange business Smarkets to the US as a result of the UK’s decision to vote to leave the EU.

Speaking to Business Insider, the entrepreneur – whose London-based business is set to post revenues of more than £20m for year-end 2016 – said he plans to open a new office in the US at the start of next year with Brexit having given him the “impetus to move sooner rather than later”.

Trost also announced that he is considering a “Delaware flip”; the term for when an international company registers itself as an American company.

The news sees Trost become one of the first entrepreneurs to actually shift operations overseas as a result of the EU referendum but Smarkets’ London office will still remain in operation albeit “becoming less important over time”.

Last year, Trost revealed plans to add 75 new employees to its Central London office and outlined the company’s “self-management” structure whereby it lets employees set their own salaries, take as much holiday as they need and make their own decisions about operational conduct.

Trost told Business Insider:

“I feel very strongly about [Brexit]. I think it’s one of the biggest mistakes this country has ever made — a catastrophe is putting it lightly.

“I don’t think people realise [the implementation of Article 50 is] not done yet. […] Brexit is not Brexit.”