Brexit Ad Luring U.K. Companies To France Banned By London Tube

(Bloomberg) -- The London Underground banned an ad designed to lure British businesses to northern France after Brexit, saying the issue was too controversial.

The ad, commissioned by the Normandy Development Agency, urged entrepreneurs concerned about the U.K.'s departure to “vote with their feet” and open offices or production sites in Normandy, just across the English Channel.

Transport for London refused to run the ad in its stations because it “did not fully comply with our advertising guidelines,” a TfL spokesman said by email. TfL doesn't allow images or messages that “relate to matters of public controversy or sensitivity,” the spokesman said.

TfL's decision highlights the intensifying rancor in Britain as U.K.-based companies weigh their post-Brexit options. With the clock ticking down on the scheduled departure from the European Union at the end of March 2019, the British Chambers of Commerce warned this week that investment decisions could be paused, staff relocated and premises moved because of Britain's break from the bloc.

Normandy, home to the Bayeux Tapestry and famous for its Camembert cheese, will instead run its advertising campaign in national newspapers this week and send a bus wrapped with the message on a tour to cities including Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester.

“We are very keen to get across our invitation to British entrepreneurs who wish to either set up or remain in the euro zone,” Herve Morin, the region's president, said in an emailed statement. “Brexit gives Normandy a unique opportunity to welcome British businesses who decide to stay at the heart of the European Union.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Steve Geimann

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