Editor’s note: This is a sponsored story for UKTI.
From writing about how to get a hold of VC’s in London, to finding great co-working spaces there, or reasons of going to the UK in the first place – we have covered it all.
This time around, however, we will be talking about the chance of actually setting up your company in London or Manchester at nearly zero cost.
After all, even if you want to go to London and set-up shop, there is a lot of work and research involved. What is the process of setting up the company? How much is that going to cost? How to structure your company in order to optimise for tax? What other legal questions to consider? Where to set-up the office and how much would that cost? All of that will cost time and money.
However, UKTI, just announced a competition by the UK government, where the winners will receive a complete package that will let them open an office in the UK almost immediately and at nearly zero cost.
The winners of the competition will get a limited liability company completely set-up for them in London and will get a business address in Manchester, including: legal & tax advice, PR consulting, business development, co-working space membership, pre-paid access to events of your particular business sector and more.
Indeed, that is thousands of pounds worth of services, but from our point of view – the connections you will make to the government and the introductions throughout the process is the real prize, which can be priceless.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the competition is that it is not just the UK government that is behind this, but also a number of private sector partners (Startups, investors, co-working spaces, etc) who are going to be contributing. Thus, the aforementioned introductions will be done by the right people.
The goal of the competition is not to simply set you up and leave you be, but to actually help Finnish & Baltic companies to first establish a base in the UK and then grow it internationally, while showing the opportunities that the UK can provide. Thus it is in UKTI’s best interest to help you throughout the expansion process.
To apply, simply register here. All Finnish & Baltic companies can apply. In the Baltics, the competition will have official launch events starting in Tallinn on the 15th of September going on to Riga on the 16th of September and finally Vilnius on the 17th of September.
The ten finalists will pitch in Helsinki, right before Slush, on the 17th of November, at the British Ambassador’s Residence and will be judged by a stellar jury: Mark Prisk (MP and Prime Minister’s Envoy for the Nordic and Baltic Countries), Ophelia Brow (Index Ventures), Mark Leaver (Digital and Creative Sector Specialist for UKTI), Ed Bussey, (CEO & Founder for Quill Content) and Nicole Yershon (Ogilvy London).
For more information on the event, check out this page and apply here.
You can also read all of the articles that we did on UK, here.
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UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. They also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s dynamic economy. Their extensive network provides market and sector specific information, location and office space guidance and practical help (e.g. company establishment, taxation and hiring personnel) to get your UK operation up and running. Their services for Finnish companies are confidential and free of charge.
More information on UKTI – www.ukti.gov.uk and on London’s Tech City –www.techcityuk.com or please get in touch with Mari Aaltonen
