THE SCF GROUP HAS BEEN FORMING AND MANAGING UK & IRISH COMPANIES FOR OVER 25 YEARS BUT THE REASONS WHY AND FOR WHOM HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE DECISION OF THE UK TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION

WHY & FOR WHOM?

THE UNITED KINGDOM

Why? The UK has long been deemed to be one of the most attractive locations in which to establish a limited company in Europe. However, the decision to leave the EU, high inflation and increased corporate taxes have had a negative effect but some core benefits remain, namely:

1. Lack of bureaucracy – Compared to virtually all of Continental Europe the UK is remarkably free of business related bureaucracy and is a ‘hot bed’ of entrepreneurial activity
2. Companies can be formed in as little as 3 hours and have virtually no capitalization requirements
3. English is the World’s main business language
4. The UK’s common law system is considered to be much more business friendly than the slow and codified civil law system in Continental Europe
5. London is without doubt the greatest financial and services centre in all of Europe
6. Corporate taxes are lower than the EU norm at 25% for companies with profits over £250k
7. Individual taxation can be very advantageous for wealthy non-domiciled but UK ordinarily resident individuals
8. London is the main communications hub for Europe and indeed the World
9. The UK’s economy is the 6^th largest in the World

For Whom? Before Brexit the answer to this question was basically see all of the above! However, since the Brexit decision the need for individuals and/or companies previously content with trading from their home EU base to establish a genuine UK presence has greatly increased. In our view, as the UK diverges more and more from the current EU trading standard norms so too will the need for EU companies to establish a UK presence. With SCF, establishing that presence can be surprisingly cost effective and beneficial especially for those that want to establish genuine UK management and control but without the inherent costs associated with opening up their own office in London.

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Why? The Republic of Ireland has long sought to be an attractive location for multi-national companies and has long been a competitor to the UK for inward investment. Now that the UK is leaving the EU and Ireland is remaining, the attractiveness of Ireland has been greatly increased not least for UK companies needing to maintain an EU presence but nonetheless in familiar surroundings. The reasons are many but include:

1. Lack of bureaucracy – Compared to virtually all of Continental Europe Ireland, like the UK is remarkably free of business related bureaucracy and is also a ‘hot bed’ of entrepreneurial activity
2. Companies can be formed in as little as 3 working days and have virtually no capitalization requirements
3. English is the main working language of Ireland
4. The Irish common law system is almost the same as that of the UK and is therefore considered to be much more business friendly than the slow and codified civil law system in Continental Europe
5. Dublin is a significant EU financial and services center ranking only below Frankfurt and Paris
6. Corporate taxes are much lower than the EU norm at 12.5% and are unlikely to change in the near future.
7. Individual taxation can be very advantageous for wealthy non-domiciled but Irish ordinarily resident individuals
8. Dublin is a major communications hub for Europe and is the home base for the World’s largest airline Ryanair and the Irish Flag carrier Aer Lingus

The Irish economy is per capita one of the wealthiest in Europe out ranking even Germany

For Whom? Before Brexit the answer to this question was basically see all of the above! However, since the UK’s Brexit decision the need for individuals and/or companies previously content with trading from their home UK base to establish a genuine Irish presence has greatly increased. In our view, as the UK diverges more and more from the current EU trading standard norms so too will the need for UK companies to establish an Irish presence. With SCF, establishing that presence can be surprisingly cost effective and beneficial especially for those that want to establish genuine Irish management and control but without the inherent costs associated with opening up their own office in Dublin.