Four things to think about when expanding your business into the UK

The UK is a minefield to foreign businesses, as outsourcing specialists, we often find that maintaining the same strategy from country to country can result in failure, more frequently than not. Ensuring that your strategy is tailored to the country, area or environment you wish to move your business to operate in is vital. It will give you the full advantage over direct competitors and to establish a strong position in the country of interest. There are a number of steps that can be taken to make sure that the expansion to the UK goes as smoothly as possible.

Costs

Pulling in your costs in the early days enhances your chances of success in the country you’re expanding to. If you don’t need a physical office in one of the most expensive cities, think about setting up a virtual office or PO Box for your British branch. Being sensible early on will get you steps ahead of the competition.

Move fast

Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to rent physical space for retail purposes. In some of the bigger cities in the UK, prime retail space moves extremely fast, so you might not have long to decide.

Communication & Networking

In the start-up, entrepreneurship and business community there is an abundance of companies who have been through the process you’re embarking on. The best thing to do in this situation is to speak to those who have done it before. They might just give you the most valuable advice regarding where to go, what resources to take advantage of and more.

Your business could be the only one of its kind in its native country but coming across the pond, it could just be a drop in the water. One of the most important things when moving to the UK is to ensure that

Get it right

Expanding to, or opening premises/branch/subsidiary in the UK is an incredibly difficult and complex task for even a native business, let alone a foreign company. The biggest and most common problem faced by businesses when they expand or move into overseas territory without any industry advice or help is that they maintain their operations and manner of working from their home country. In some cases, this can result in a clash of cultures, ideology and beliefs depending on the country in question. Work with a specialist with in-country know-how.

Need help expanding into the UK marketplace? Goodwille have helped over 1,800 businesses get started in the UK, and can help with ensuring a smooth market entry. Contact us today to find out how we can help your business.