One of Germany’s most prominent businessmen has said Brexit will be more painful for the rest of Europe than for Britain, and a UK outside of the EU might prove “highly attractive” to foreign investors — in a sharp break with the German consensus on Britain’s post-EU future.

Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of Axel Springer, one of Europe’s largest media companies, said Britain was bound to experience short-term pain as a consequence of its June 23 vote to quit the EU, “but in three to five years from now, my bet would be that England will be better off than continental Europe”.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Döpfner said he saw Britain moving towards a “more free market-oriented model, while Europe is step by step transforming into a transfer union” — with funds being channelled from successful states to the struggling ones. “And that can put a lot of investors off.”

“If Britain can create an alternative here, I think that is highly attractive,” he said, in an interview at Axel Springer’s headquarters in Berlin.

The comments are in stark contrast to the reactions of most of Germany’s business and political elite, which believes that Brexit will be a disaster for the UK economy. Earlier this month, Eric Schweitzer, head of DIHK, the German chamber of commerce and industry, said the economic effects of Brexit would be “very negative” for Britain.

Axel Springer, which narrowly lost out to Japan’s Nikkei in the race to buy FT Group last year, owns the mass circulation Bild, Germany’s best-selling newspaper, as well as conservative broadsheet Die Welt. Under Mr Döpfner’s leadership, the company has expanded internationally and invested heavily in digital properties such as Business Insider and Politico Europe.

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He said it would, for example, be able to implement a “very healthy”, “talent-oriented” immigration policy. “You basically integrate and invite the people that you benefit from and not people who only benefit from your social welfare system,” he said.

Meanwhile, the EU would suffer because it would lose Britain’s “healthy influence”, in particular its “pragmatism” and “free-market orientation”, which had led to “sensible compromises” in negotiations between member states. “If it is all defined, let’s say, by France, Spain and Italy making compromises with Germany — I’m a little worried by that prospect,” he said.

David Fuller's view

Some of those negative views mentioned above reflect the feelings of rejection, uncertainty, anger and envy that Britain is leaving a failing union which they must continue to endure.  I trust these feelings will moderate over time.

Regarding the concluding paragraph above Britain is leaving the EU, not Europe, with which we have been allied for centuries.  Mutual interests and common sense should ensure that this will be on even better terms when Britain is once again a fully independent nation. 

Here is a PDF of Axel Springer’s interview.