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Doing Business in the UK
Innovative and Fastest Growing Industries in the World
More than 330,000 new companies are registered in the UK every year. They join over two million existing businesses. Every year, hundreds of firms, from high-tech start-ups to global brand leading businesses, receive substantial advice and support about locating in the UK.
In North East England, One North East leads one of the biggest and most extensive partnerships in the country for supporting inward investors. Partners include UK Trade and Investment, the North East Chamber of Commerce, CBI North East and the region’s five universities:
- Durham University
- Newcastle University
- Northumbria University
- University of Sunderland
- Teesside University
Understanding tax in the UK
Tax rates in the UK have been modified in recent years to make them increasingly supportive of business. Rates in such areas as corporation tax are designed to be competitive with those imposed by other EU countries. Information on general issues relating to income tax, VAT and corporation tax can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/home.htm
Visas and immigration
Citizens from outside the EU need to apply for visas if they want to visit or work in the UK. Immigration rules are being tightened in the UK and generally throughout the EU. However, people with skills and talents that are in demand, or with other contributions to make to this country, such as innovative business ideas, have been prioritised and are welcomed in the UK.
Businesses from outside the EU are able to appoint a company representative who can legally live and work in the UK. To qualify as a sole representative, a person must hold less then 50 per cent of the company stock (preferably less than 33 per cent) and be able to support themselves in the UK. In addition, the company must prove that a UK firm isn’t already acting as a representative. Go to www.ukvisas.gov.uk to find out about the process involved.
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About North East England
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Support for Investors
- Advice on availability & costs of premises
- Assistance with grant applications
- Identification of R&D in your sector
- Property Solutions
- Market Validation
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Industry Support and Infrastructure
- Centres of Excellance & Clusters
- Universities
- Innovation Connectors
- R&D Facilities
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Skills and Expertise
- Overview of Skills and Experience
- Innovation Highlights
- Introduction to Our Key Sectors
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Financial Support
- Key Funding Channels
- Selective Finance for Investment
- Grants and Funding
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Premises and Locations
- Property Solutions
- Strategic Development Sites
- Managed Workspaces
- Incubators
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Transport Infrastructure
- By Air
- By Sea
- By Rail
- By Road
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Doing Business in the UK
- Understanding Tax
- Visas and Immigration
How Can We Help?
This website is your guide to doing business in North East England and the range of inward investment support services from One North East.
Discover why North East England should be your UK platform for global growth with a free consultation from our inward investment team.
Nissan is building a £200 million European battery plant in Sunderland. The North East will have the UK’s first comprehensive infrastructure of electric vehicle... 
Advanced technologies in wind and solar power generation have been created. Biofuels and biomass are rapidly expanding, and innovations in fuel cells... 
Huge offshore wind farms planned for the North Sea have placed North East England in an ideal position to manufacture large numbers of turbines for these farms. 
Driving this sector are pharmaceuticals, world beating stem cells and genetic research, drug discovery and protein diagnostic techniques... 
The digital games industry, with Digital City as a focus, is a driving force in the creative field, while Sage has a commanding position in software development. 
The North East has major base chemicals & petrochemical complexes, alongside fine & speciality chemicals & pharmaceuticals. Biotechnology... 
Automotive manufacturing dominates this sector – Nissan in cars, and Komatsu and Caterpillar in heavy earth-moving vehicles. Defence, aerospace and marine... 
World leading subsea technologies have been developed to extract deeper oil and gas reserves, the North East has major pipeline terminals, processing... 
North East England is leading the way with a technology that allows electronic circuits to be made using specially developed semi-conductive materials. 
Exciting developments are taking place in printed electronics, with PETEC, the national centre for this future industry, located in the North East. Nanotechnology... 
Knowledge intensive business services in areas such as finance, legal services, human resources, management consultancy and marketing are expanding... 