There are many reasons why someone who lives in the UK may have an ownership stake or influence over a non-UK company. For example, offshore companies as well as companies incorporated in countries such as Cyprus, Malta or Luxembourg are often in tax planning structures. It may also be the case that the owner lived in another country before coming to the UK, and set up the company in that country before moving. Also, it is not unusual for people to accept appointments as directors of companies which are based in other countries.
On July 6 the Swedish pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai welcomed its one-millionth visitor. The huge interest in our exhibition – with the theme innovation by Sweden – is just one example of the curiosity about Swedish ideas, solutions and culture that I have met here at home and around the world during the last years.
Scandinavia is going to be on everybody’s mind and lips in London later this year, when The Scandinavia Show hits the city. More than 100 exhibitors will showcase and sell the best brands that Scandinavia has to offer in fashion, food, design and culture at a two day show.
In such tough economic times, the task of starting up your own business or considering expanding your business to the UK appears more challenging than ever. However, The Economist* recently ranked the UK as having the 11th best business environment worldwide, placing it ahead of many other European countries, so for those companies with strong balance sheets and those individuals with sufficient start-up capital, setting up in the UK may still make business sense.
As Danske Bank and its Finnish subsidiary, Sampo Bank, opened the doors to a prestigious event with the CEO of Thomson Reuters, Tom Glocer, as guest speaker, the message was clear: after a couple of hard years, the banks’ clients are getting back on their feet and the banks are there for them, open for business.
Swedish lawyers Hamilton Advokatbyrå have had a London outpost for nearly 25 years. It was established to help clients fromSweden to set up in the UK, but now the firm is helping companies from the UK that need advice on operating in Sweden.
As the world grows smaller and more and more businesses become global players, the need for law firms with an international scope grows the other way. Increasingly it is demanded that they safeguard any of their clients’ international transactions as well as their national ones. One of Norway’s leading law firms Wikborg Rein has chosen to embrace this development with a major extension of its London office.
There is probably no one who has not heard of the X factor and even though some of us may not admit to it, most are likely to have seen at least an episode or two of the popular talent show. But what all of us did not know is that the show has also brought fortune to two Danes whose invention has been just as exposed to fame’s searchlight as the aspiring stars.
Inspiring leaders, ambitious teams, and trusting partnerships: that is what Quiver Management is all about. The ambitious new coaching firm has just a month on its back, but its two founders, Dane Jan Bowen-Nielsen and his British wife Karen, have years of experience in both coaching and senior management on the international stage.
Solving the financial crisis and taking over the global banking industry are not on the list of Anders Wulff Larsens’s things to do this year. The Head of ICB (International Corporate Banking) in Danske Bank’s London office is more modest and far more unambiguous. He wants to continue doing what he and his unit do best: niche banking for corporate, Scandinavian group customers.
When Scan Magazine met Anders on the fourth floor of the bank’s London office in King William Street, we were not met with a lot of show or airy plans but with a very concrete statement. “It’s business as usual here – or at least as close as we can come.”
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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