In the last decade, European and non-European countries implemented laws, regulations and incentives to encourage young people developing their own business. Although, it seems extremely difficult for most of these countries to convince potential investors that a certain level of business appeal is provided. Instead, the UK has one of Europe’s most vibrant startup communities.
From IT to fashion, the country is host to a variety of new companies. This charm is demonstrated by the huge amount of investment coming from overseas: $2.4 billion in the first half of last year. These data are pre-Brexit, but they clearly represent numbers difficult to beat in Europe. To prevent the possible leak of investments, the British government is ready to “spend 400 million pounds”. According to Sir Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, this investment will grow to a total amount of one billion pounds for companies thinking to run a business in the United Kingdom.
The international appeal represents a relevant factor influencing the business investments. For a company, there are two type of markets:
1) a country in which you want to sell your own products and your services,
2) an international country where the market allows you to sell and grow exponentially.
It sounds obvious that firm will concentrate on markets where revenues and margins could increase faster than other destination. Moreover, it is only in the major global financial markets where are condensed the important investors who prefer to focus on reliable and well-known countries.
Therefore, London is the European pillar in regards to startups and international businesses. The “City” is also the preferred place for US firms that they decide to open a branch on European soil. The lack of real innovative competitor makes the British capital a pole of attraction and great interest to European and foreign entrepreneurs. To confirm this trend, London occupies the seventh place in the ranking drafted by Startup Genome and Telefonica of the 20 best startup ecosystem.
According to Martin Varsavsky, CEO of Fon, “London, Berlin and Stockholm are the three most advanced startup cities in Europe at this moment”. The streamlined bureaucracy is one of the keys to financial success in Britain and as confirms Rahul Ahuja, CEO of Taskhub.co.uk: “Open a startup in the UK is very simple. A company can be registered online in few minutes and VAT practices are accomplished in less than a day. Furthermore, to find an office at a reasonable price is not that difficult. This simplification is also apparent in the bankruptcy procedure, simple and streamlined, allows you to get started again after a missed opportunity, taking advantage of the experience that the failure has matured to put them to good use in a new venture”.
Silvano Ghigliani
Tags: Hmrc, business, spa, vat, iva, startup, llp, ltd, srl, tax, business ideas, business news, vat registration, hmrc tax, vat return, income tax, incorporated, businesses, hmrc tax refund, hm revenue, hmrc tax return, vat deregistration, business owner, iva register, private limited company, registering for vat, vat invoice, what is an iva, selling a business, business plans, buy a business, limited company, start up, small business, how to start a business, starting a business, starting your own business, small business ideas, the lean startup, what is vat, how to register for vat, ltd company, vat number, startup ideasÂ
