As the Brexit date in October is closing in, more and more British entrepreneurs and companies are chosing to move their headquarters or backup subsidiaries to the Netherlands. The future is still very unclear. No one really knows how reality will look once Brexit takes effect, but the benefits of owning a company in Holland remain plentiful. So which companies are we talking about? And what exactly are the benefits of moving your company? In this article we present you with some pretty logical reasons others deemed important enough, to register a company in the Netherlands.
Intercompany Solutions CEO Bjorn Wagemakers and client Brian Mckenzie are featured by CBC News - Dutch Economy braces for the worst with Brexit, in a visit to our notary public on 12 February 2019.
Many multinationals have already preceded you
The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) has released information that 98 companies have already settled in the Netherlands. An additional whopping 300+ companies are seriously considering doing the same. These are huge multinationals such as Discovery and Bloomberg, adding a nice variety of newly settled businesses in the Netherlands. It’s especially the financial sector, media and communications and IT and technology that have seen a substantial rise in newly established foreign companies.
Why all the sudden moves?
Obviously Brexit has a large amount of complicated consequences, especially for businesses operating within the European Union. For example; financial institutions are obligated to have European subsidiaries to do business with Europeans and European companies. This is not obligatory for most other companies, though British entrepreneurs will have to deal with both British as well as European clients. Having a subsidiary in the Netherlands will make your daily business activities a lot easier to handle.
The biggest reasons British companies are choosing Holland
The reasons for a company or company subsidiary in Holland are pretty clear. As already stated above; reason number one is definitely the fact that some companies might be lawfully obligated to do so. Other companies might go bankrupt if they don’t tend to their European clients’ needs in the same current timeframe. The connection with Europe stays firm that way, making it possible to continue their business as usual.
A second important reason is the ample amount of subsidies for new businesses and innovations currently offered by the EU. With Brexit these subsidies become unattainable, or at the very least harder to get. This might create stagnation in overall innovative concepts, or new startups. The third reason for a company to move or open a branch office in the Netherlands, is the fact that lengthy border procedures will be completely avoided.
Other reasons worth mentioning are specifically aimed at Holland being a very smart choice for your company. Holland has an extensive and well-operating infrastructure; physically as well as digitally. The different ports and airports are well within a maximum two hour driving distance. Also, there is a reason so many expats have happily chosen the Netherlands in the past. There is a large amount of bilingual personnel, the services Holland offers to foreigners are excellent and the Dutch business market is very stable and secure.
If you want to know more about the whole process of establishing a company in the Netherlands, or would like to hear more about all the benefits, feel free to contact our team anytime. We can answer all your questions and provide you with the necessary information to make a well thought-out decision.
The globally anticipated Brexit date (the 31st of October) is approaching rapidly and this is beginning to cause a lot of stress among many British investors and entrepreneurs. If you own an UK based company and have not really thought about the possible consequences of a hard Brexit, now might seriously be a good time to evaluate your options.
A lot of other organizations have already preceded you and opened a branch office in the Netherlands. Some multinationals even moved their entire headquarters to Amsterdam or Rotterdam. The main reason for this course of action is pretty simple: continued access to the European Single Market with all its profits. Because once you are out, you will no longer reap the benefits of being part of the EU and this might lead to rather large problems in continuing your normal business operations and activities.
Intercompany Solutions CEO Bjorn Wagemakers and client Brian Mckenzie are featured by CBC News - Dutch Economy braces for the worst with Brexit, in a visit to our notary public on 12 February 2019.
The European Single Market explained by the European Commission
“The single market refers to the EU as one territory without any internal borders or other regulatory obstacles to the free movement of goods and services. A functioning single market stimulates competition and trade, improves efficiency, raises quality, and helps cut prices. The European single market is one of the EU’s greatest achievements. It has fueled economic growth and made the everyday life of European businesses and consumers easier.”[1]
Being locked out of the European Single Market: some consequences for your business
If your UK business is currently dependent on employees and freelancers from different EU countries, you will find that you will have to deal with many arising issues. The terms of the contract between you and them will obviously change, since EU legislation will no longer be applicable in the case of a hard Brexit. This might result in both freelancers and employees looking elsewhere for a job, simply because the terms of employment will become too complicated.
Another massive issue will be traveling. As the borders will become real borders again between the UK and every EU country, this obviously means there will be a substantial rise in documents, visas, various travelling documents and several other bureaucratic consequences that will take up a lot of time. Clients will have to spend more effort in order to travel to you and vice versa.
Then there is also the fact that the import and export of goods and services will be severely influenced in a negative way, mostly because of the extra time every shipment will take. If you have an online business or web shop, sending goods to your EU clients will prove a challenge you might not even be up for. Some goods will become less available for import, which inevitably will lead to shortages and higher prices that a lot of small businesses cannot pay if they want to remain profitable.
There is a solid possibility you might lose a few clients
In other words: if you do not open a subsidiary in an EU country, you might have to consider the fact that your business might not make it by the end of next year. However dramatic this may sound, it is a very realistic vision for many small business owners and large organizations that are dependent on EU clients. It is therefore absolutely no surprise that a lot of companies have established branch offices in the Netherlands, of which some are inactive totally, basically awaiting what will happen from the 1st of November. In the case of a hard Brexit, these subsidiaries can be put into action immediately, so the company does not have to suffer from the exclusion from the EU.
Intercompany Solutions can inform you about all the possibilities of opening a backup subsidiary in the Netherlands. If you want to know more, please always feel free to contact us for more information or a personal quote for your business. The good news is, that establishing a company or branch office in the Netherlands can be done in just a few business days. Which means that you can be ready before the date is here, just give us a call.
[1] European Commission. (2017, 5 July). The European single market - Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs - European Commission. Link: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market_en
Since the referendum in 2016, Brexit has been a topic of massive controversy ever since. Will it really benefit the UK to exit the European Union? What kind of consequences will this have for both laborers as well as business owners? And what is the best strategy to stay connected to the EU, if you are an entrepreneur or business owner?
It’s specifically the last question that has kept many business owners scratch their heads, so to speak. Obviously relocation and/or the opening of extra subsidiaries in an EU country are the best way to achieve this in most cases. But relocation is not a small step you just take, it takes time, research and proper preparations. Nonetheless almost 100 companies have made this move and are the proud owners of either new headquarters in the Netherlands, or a new branch office.
Intercompany Solutions CEO Bjorn Wagemakers and client Brian Mckenzie are featured by CBC News - Dutch Economy braces for the worst with Brexit, in a visit to our notary public on 12 February 2019.
The Brexit date is almost here and people need solutions
Brexit day is only weeks or months away. More and more entrepreneurs are having uneasy and restless feelings about the big deal or no-deal question. This has already led to a significant increase in companies orientating themselves on the Netherlands for a possible new base in the European market. And this number will easily become larger, since another 325 organizations and businesses are contemplating moving here in the very near future.
The increase is mostly visible in the financial sector, media and communications, IT and biotechnology. Companies in these sectors are mostly drawn to Holland due to the excellent employment market in combination with lenient financial opportunities and permits. It’s not just UK companies that decide to settle here: a large Japanese bank like Norinchukin and the American CBOE also made the same decision.
Not every company is ready to take action just yet
Many UK companies are still a tad hesitant, because it is still very unclear how Brexit will take shape and what the exact effects will be on the business community. It might pose some risks for your company though, if you do not consider at least one branch office in an EU country before an eventual hard Brexit goes into effect. This surely might have consequences like:
- A substantial delay in all business activities due to obligatory border formalities and the necessary documentation you will need now
- You will no longer be able to take part in the free EU market, this will make much more difficult to hire freelancers or buy and sell products from and to other countries in the EU
- You can pretty much count on establishing a backlog in your services very fast due to all the new requirements and paperwork
- You are at risk losing clients from all over the EU, simply because it will be easier for them to find a competitor who is still based in the EU
Intercompany Solutions can help you avoid such consequences
The list is much longer than this, as every single business will be subjected to certain extra disadvantages linked to a specific sector. If you want to avoid such consequences, it would be wise to consider opening a branch office in Holland. Intercompany Solutions can realize this for you in just a few business days, plus you won’t even need a physical location immediately as it is also possible to establish a subsidiary or branch office. Please feel free to contact us anytime with questions, we will try to assist you in every possible way we can.
Intercompany Solutions gets Brexit related requests on a almost daily basis currently, and has assisted many companies make the transition.
