LONDON: Britain is prepared to pay up to €40 billion ($47 billion) as part of a deal to leave the EU, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing three unnamed sources familiar with Britain’s negotiating strategy.
The EU has floated a figure of €60 billion and wants significant progress on settling Britain’s liabilities before talks start on issues such as future trading arrangements.
The government department responsible for Brexit talks declined to comment on the article. So far, Britain has given no official indication of how much it would be willing to pay.
The newspaper said British officials were likely to offer to pay €10 billion a year for three years after leaving the EU in March 2019, then finalize the total alongside detailed trade talks.
Payments would only be made as part of a deal that included a trade agreement, the newspaper added.
“We know (the EU’s) position is €60 billion, but the actual bottom line is €50 billion. Ours is closer to €30 billion but the actual landing zone is €40 billion, even if the public and politicians are not all there yet,” the newspaper quoted one “senior Whitehall source” as saying.
Whitehall is the London district where most British government departments and ministers are based.
A second Whitehall source said Britain’s bottom line was “€30 billion to €40 billion” and a third source said Prime Minister Theresa May was willing to pay “north of €30 billion,” the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Brexit Minister David Davis said on July 20 that Britain would honor its obligations to the EU but declined to confirm that Brexit would require net payments.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a leading Brexit advocate, said last month the EU could “go whistle” if it made “extortionate” demands for payment.
Pro-Brexit campaign group Leave Means Leave said speculation about a divorce bill was “unhelpful.”
“With the EU Brexit negotiations, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” said the group’s co-chair Richard Tice.
“The focus should be on accelerating talks with the aim of concluding them at the end of 2017. This would enable businesses to adapt during the 15 months leading to March 2019.”
The Telegraph said advisers in May’s office had warned bosses in London’s financial sector that Britain walking out of Brexit talks was a “real possibility” if the impasse over the bill cannot be broken.
Romano Prodi, former head of the European Commission, told the Observer newspaper it would be economic “suicide” for Britain to fail to reach a compromise on Brexit, and called on the EU to preserve as much trade with Britain as possible to avoid damaging both sides.
If Britain cannot conclude an exit deal, trade relations would be governed by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, which would allow both parties to impose tariffs and customs checks and leave many other issues unsettled.
Last week, the Bank of England (BoE) said Brexit uncertainty was weighing on the economy. Finance Minister Philip Hammond wants to avoid unsettling businesses further.
The EU also wants agreement by October on rights of EU citizens already in Britain, and on border controls between the Irish Republic and the British province of Northern Ireland, before trade and other issues are discussed.
UK ready to pay up to $47bn to leave EU: Report
UK ready to pay up to $47bn to leave EU: Report
Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail
RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.
With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.
The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion
With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market.
Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.
Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.
Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.
On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.
He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.
Speaking to Arab News, Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”
Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.
“Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said.
Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.
He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”
