Brexit was the most serious threat the Gibraltar financial
services industry had ever faced. The 2016 U.K. Brexit referendum
result cast a shadow over the sector, and even
the immediate prospects for my own professional practice
looked challenging, years after building a hugely successful
business model. In 2016 I therefore set out to devise a business
strategy which has since received wide publicity, including the
two-way business exchange between Malta and Gibraltar (later
extended to include La Linea). As I have watched the events of the
last 4 months unfold, Brexit does now seem like a distant dot in
the horizon. But whereas Brexit didn't immediately impact
consumers and the very large majority of people (outside the
financial sector) got on with their lives without any concern
whatsoever, the Coronavirus has hit everyone and indeed hit every
business activity. There is also no escaping that the tourist,
leisure, retail and hospitality sectors are and will
