U.K. Brexit Divorce Bill Is 37.1 Billion Pounds, Says Watchdog

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. government’s budget watchdog -- the Office for Budget Responsibility -- expects the Brexit divorce bill to be 41.4 billion euros, or 37.1 billion pounds.

The figure was released in an annex accompanying the main financial forecasts of the Spring Statement. It’s “almost exactly in the middle” of the range given by the British government and the majority of the cost, around 75 percent, will be incurred by 2022.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s administration said back in December that Britain will pay the European Union between 35 billion pounds ($48.7 billion) and 39 billion pounds after Brexit, but the final amount could change depending on the type of arrangement the U.K. manages to negotiate with the EU.

The EU has yet to put a final number on the bill but has been asking for at least 60 billion euros ($74 billion). Its officials have long said any final figure would be camouflaged to help the U.K. government sell the unpopular settlement to skeptical voters.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net.

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