Once a decision is taken to set up a more permanent presence in the UK, you need to decide on your choice of entity. Often this is tax-driven, but it also depends heavily on how the entity concerned will be perceived locally by the end consumer of the product or service.
In the UK, customers will feel more comfortable dealing with a locally established, recognised entity rather than a branch of an overseas parent whose identity they cannot confirm.
Each entity needs to be scrutinised to determine its tax and legal status, both locally and in the home state. The most common forms are:
There are also other forms of business entities available such as partnerships, limited liability partnerships and proprietorships.
For more information about different entities available domestically, please refer to Business Structures.
For assistance with the formation of a new company, please refer to Corporate Services. This also describes our domiciliation services in more details.
