The UK is known as an excellent environment to start a business due to the substantial number of talented workers and its extensive financial services sector. It is also a stable economic and political environment, albeit with fairly high taxes. It is common for UAE business people to consider the UK as the perfect place to start their next venture.
If you do decide to move your company to the UK, you will likely need visas for yourself and any employees who are joining you. Find out more about global visa services for foreign enterprises and businesses in the UK at Immigration Advice Service to get help with your application.
Talented Workers
For your business to excel in the crowded British market, you will need the best people who can ensure it produces the best products efficiently. The British Government claims that the nation’s workforce is the most qualified of any European major economy, bolstered by being the home of four of the world’s top-ten universities.
The centre of this talented workforce is London, which accounts for over 20% of Britain’s GDP. The British capital sees an extensive presence from some of the world’s leading companies, particularly in the financial services, insurance, technology, and creative sectors. As a result, it attracts some of the world’s most talented workers that your business can recruit from.
Geographic Location
Britain’s geographical location and strong international relations, particularly with other Western democracies, mean that UK-based businesses have great access to domestic markets. Despite a distancing from the European Union following BREXIT, many UK businesses maintain extensive operations that face towards Europe. Britain also has close ties to the United States. High-quality infrastructure, such as the Eurostar train to continental Europe and London Heathrow Airport, makes it easy to travel to these international markets.
Meanwhile, the UAE maintains closer ties to other nations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia than the UK. If these are the main markets that you are interested in, it is likely worth remaining in the UAE.
Stability and Security
The UK is one of the world’s safest and most economically and politically stable nations. It has a steady growth rate of around 1.3%, in line with other stable economies like the Netherlands and Canada. It has recovered well from recent crises and disruptive events, including BREXIT, the ongoing War in Ukraine, and rising energy prices.
Britain’s democracy also functions well. Even London is rarely disrupted by protests and strike action. Britain has changed leaders multiple times in recent years, but looking back at the country’s history shows that this situation is an outlier rather than the law.
Britain also has strong laws to protect consumers, investors, and businesses. Regulations enforced by bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority may mean that businesses cannot be as flexible as they are in the UAE, but they do create a safe environment for investors. Furthermore, the nation’s robust legal frameworks uphold property and shareholder rights.
Meanwhile, the UAE relies upon the volatile fossil fuel market for a large proportion of its economic output. Despite efforts to diversify into alternative industries, oil still accounts for 30% of the nation’s GDP. The wealth available to the government is always at risk of collapsing if the price of an oil barrel drops too low.
What Might Hold Your UK-Based Business Back?
The UK may not be the right environment for every business. Its high taxes have led many high-net-worth individuals to consider a move to the UAE. When you start a business in the country, you will need to pay a high 25% corporation tax and profits above £250,000, alongside a 20% value-added tax for most goods. Capital gains tax is also high at 10-28%. Finally, you and your workers will pay a high income tax of 20% on earnings over £12,571, 40% on earnings over £50,271, and 45% on income over £125,140. Your staff may expect higher wages to make up for this, and you may need to pay yourself more to achieve the lifestyle you have in the UAE.
These high taxes allow the UK to fund extensive public services. However, they will cut into your profits. As a result, you should only start a business in the UK as a UAE citizen if the opportunities available in the country offset these costs.
It should also be noted that, like most country’s, the UK is a difficult environment for startups, which often fail within a few years. Startups account for around 46% of total company insolvencies, although this is lower than in previous years. It is also widely understood that around 20% of UK-based startups fail in the first year, and 50-60% fail within five years. Your business needs to be built on excellent products and staffed by the best workers to succeed in this environment.
How Can Immigration Advice Service Help?
The British immigration system is constantly becoming stricter as the government is under pressure to reduce net migration. Therefore, most people from the UAE will need to get a visa to migrate to the UK and start a business. The same can be said for any workers that you want to bring with you from the UAE and your dependent family members. If you can’t get these visas, the enticing UK business climate for UAE investors will be irrelevant.
Get help from immigration professionals like Immigration Advice Service to improve your chances of getting a visa, and to make the whole process more efficient. Our services also extend to indefinite leave to remain applications and citizenship by naturalisation. Contact us today to learn more about our services and be connected with an expert immigration lawyer. They can guide you through the entire visa application process and help you to pull together all of the required documentation to show that you fit the requirements.
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