Kevin Beare & Co, a UK accounting firm, are proud to be a platinum sponsor of the UKTI “Go UK” business plan competition open to Australian and New Zealand businesses with an interest in expansion to the UK.

The prizes:  Four support packages worth A$25k each to help three (3) Australian and one (1) New Zealand business get started in the UK. These include:

• Business registration and accounting support by, Kevin Beare & Co. UK Chartered Accountants
• Business to business networking with Alan MacKelworth & Co Ltd who specialise in CEO to CEO introductions with key-customers, alliance partners & thought leaders 
• A return business class airfare to London with British Airways

So, Go UK provides the winning companies the opportunity to meet with potential business partners, gain client contacts & business networks. It provides company formation (Branch/Ltd) services, employee support, and ongoing UKTI support to expand to the UK, Europe and beyond.

Entries are now open for Go UK participants to submit their business plan online with close of entries on Friday 17 February 2012.

The finalists will be announced at the end of February 2012 and the winners and final prizes will be awarded at a cocktail reception in March in the following locations:

• Sydney (covering all NSW, ACT and WA entrants);
• Melbourne (covering all VIC, SA and TAS entrants); and
• Brisbane (covering all QLD and NT entrants).
• Auckland (covering New Zealand).

We have put together a page on our website noting the key points involved when creating a UK business plan.

For more information about Go UK and to enter the competition, please click UK in Australia website.

For New Zealand entries, please click UK in New Zealand website.

Editors Note:

Kevin Beare & Co. is a UK accounting firm that prefers to work with overseas companies operating in the UK. Initially, they form the appropriate legal entity and arrange the relevant fiscal registrations, which includes VAT. They provide ongoing support with fully outsourced accounting, including payroll for the UK hires, expenses processing, preparing monthly/quarterly management accounts, and making any necessary payments. It also includes preparing and submitting quarterly VAT returns.

AMaC Limited work closely with their clients executive teams to deliver B2B Executive to Executive introductions in the UK and beyond. They help build robust relationships with their peers in key-customers, alliance partners, thought leaders, emerging markets and new geography and innovative suppliers.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the government department that helps UK based companies succeed in the global economy. They also help overseas companies by providing advice and practical assistance and are acknowledged as Europe’s best authority to aid global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. They provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage, maximising resources and saving time and money.

British Airways has worldwide route network that covers more than 150 destinations in 75 countries. In more than 90 years, the airline has carried more than 1.2 billion customers on its extensive network, and is recognised as one of the world’s elite carriers. British Airways has been flying to Australia for over 75 years and currently operates two flights daily between Australia and the UK via Bangkok and Singapore.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) helped more than 40 Australian companies successfully establish themselves in the UK last year and some 1000 Australian companies are already set up and doing business in the region.

To encourage further investment, UKTI has launched Go UK – a business plan competition open to Australian and New Zealand businesses with an interest in expansion to the UK.

Entries are open for Go UK participants to submit their business plan online with close of entries on Friday 3 February 2012.

The finalists for each region/category will be announced in February 2012 and the Australian winners and final prizes will be awarded at a cocktail reception in March in the following locations:

• Sydney (covering all NSW, ACT and WA entrants);
• Melbourne (covering all VIC, SA and TAS entrants); and
• Brisbane (covering all QLD and NT entrants).

Go UK gives Australian and New Zealand companies the chance to win business support packages that include British Airways return airfares to London, meetings with potential business partners, client contacts, business networks, Company formation (branch/Ltd), and employee support services, as well as ongoing UKTI support to expand to the UK and Europe, and then the world.

Richard Morris, Director General of UK Trade & Investment in Australia and New Zealand, says now is an opportune time for Australian businesses to expand into the UK.

“The UK is the easiest place in Europe to do business and has the least barriers to entrepreneurship in the world.  Just as Australia can be a gateway to Asia, the UK is the gateway to Europe and a combined population of around 500 million people,” Mr Morris said.

“We all know examples of great Aussie success stories in the UK. Everyone has heard about Macquarie, Westfield, BHP Billiton, NAB and others at the big end of town. But not so many people know about the SMEs that crack the UK market every year. It doesn’t matter what your line of business, any Australian company thinking of establishing themselves in the UK should enter Go UK.”

Mr Morris says the UK is much more than a financial services centre, it is the world’s sixth largest economy; one of the world’s top ten manufacturing nations; and has the world’s second largest aerospace industry; the world’s second largest – and Europe’s largest – life sciences industry; Europe’s second largest ICT sector; and its largest creative industry sector.

He adds: “Real estate in the UK is competitively priced; the Australian dollar is buying more than it has for many years and the UK economy is poised for a decade of growth, especially with the London 2012 Olympics just around the corner.  If you are thinking about expanding internationally, enter Go UK and contact UK Trade & Investment for assistance.”

A similar initiative, UK Market Entry (UKME) competition, was run last year and attracted 95 entrants in Australia and 60 entrants in New Zealand.

The winners of the UK Market Entry (UKME) competition were Victorian-based aluminium design and manufacturing company, Lite Industries, making its own specialised range of products including shoring systems, pallets and tow trailers; and PHM Technology (PHMT), a software company that has developed advanced modelling and analysis tools for the design and operation of some of the critical systems that form the backbone of a range of industries from aerospace to oil & gas.

The winning Queensland companies were Noja Power, an exporter to the UK of its market-leading circuit breakers that increase the reliability of electricity supply and conform to the latest environmental standards; and In Business Systems, providing a revolutionary new method of connecting the framework for structural steel buildings.

The NSW winners were Rutherford Global Power; which provides temporary electrical systems for the construction and tunnelling industries; and Iris Interactive which helps bio-pharmaceutical and healthcare companies commercialise new products and bring medicines to patients faster.

To enter the Go UK competition, go to http://ukinaustralia.fco.gov.uk/go-uk/

To find out more about UKTI go to http://ukinaustralia.fco.gov.uk/en/business

BACKGROUNDER

DEADLINES

The Go UK business competition will run between 29 September 2011 and February 2012.

3 February 2012: Closing date for registration and completed application form.

Prize details

Three companies from Australia and one from New Zealand will each win a Go UK prize package worth at least $25,000, which will include:

• Business consultancy and executive introductions from AMaCLtd.
• Return business-class flight to the UK with British Airways.
• Business registration and six months worth of accountingPLUS support from Kevin Beare & Co. Chartered Accountants

For full terms and conditions of the competition see http://ukinaustralia.fco.gov.uk/go-uk

EVENTS

1. Awards will be held in March 2012 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Public holidays and bank holidays tend to be the same each year. Next year however there is an additional Public holiday for the Queens Diamond Jubilee which falls on Tuesday 5 June.

The Treasury has published a consultation paper on reforming the tax system as it applies to non-domiciled residents. The Government has also set out another consultation on its plans for a statutory residence test (SRT).

The aim of the non-dom consultation, the Government said, is to encourage individuals to invest in the UK while also ensuring a fair tax contribution. Details include increasing the existing £30,000 annual charge to £50,000 for non-domiciles who claim the remittance basis in a tax year and who have been UK resident in 12 or more of the 14 years prior to the year of claim; allowing non-domiciles to bring overseas income and capital gains to the UK tax-free for the purpose of commercial investment in UK businesses; and simplifying the way in which some aspects of the current rules work.

The Government is also consulting on rules it is considering for a statutory residence test. At present, there is no full legal definition of tax residence, meaning that the rules are unclear and complicated. To remove the uncertainty, the Treasury is proposing a framework for the SRT. There are to be four areas of consideration: accommodation; family residence; UK employment or self-employment; and a history of past residence.

More details on the consultation on the reform of non-domiciled tax can be found at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consult_nondom_tax_reform.htm

More details on the consultation on the SRT can be found at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consult_statutory_residence_test.htm

Don’t forget that we can make sure that you both comply with the rules and pay no more tax than you should be paying.