In addition to a range of support services, the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) offers further help to fast-track the development of your business in the East Midlands region.

The free and confidential services in the VIP Global Fast-Track programme include:

1. Getting you started
Providing you with a dedicated Business Relationship Manager to offer you the help and support needed to establish your business in the East Midlands.

2. Free company registration
For qualifying international companies entering the UK for the first time.

3. Information service
Providing the information you need to aid decision making including:
labour costs, availability and skills; demographics; details of market opportunities; academic and business networks; funding; recruitment; routes to recruit and develop the people your business needs.

4. Virtual office/touch down space
Benefit from a flexible first base providing you with 6 months free virtual office and up to 6 months free ‘touch down’ space (minimum 20 days). Choose from a range of high quality office and science parks around the region. As your business develops, we will help identify suitable premises for expansion.

5. Free membership
Link in to your local Chamber of Commerce with a year’s free membership. Benefit from networking, financial, legal and marketing advice with a range of member discounts. Plus, a comprehensive range of events designed to raise your company’s profile and encourage new business opportunities.

6. Professional advice
Access to a range of professional advisors - providing essential support in legal, accounting and other matters required to start up or expand your company.

7. Helping you to grow further
Once you are up and running, we provide you with ongoing business account manager support to help you access wider business services and grow further.

The UK has an open, transparent, business-friendly system to encourage the formation of new businesses:

• No permission is required to establish a business presence in the UK, although there are regulations on the use of business names and certain business sectors which may require licences or authorisation (such as finance, defence and oil exploration) 
• There are no restrictions on a company in the UK being 100% owned by overseas shareholders
• Most businesses in the UK take the form of a limited company. This limits the personal liability of the company’s owners to the amount they pay for the original shares
• There are two types of limited companies you can set up in the UK, private and public. Private companies (Ltd.) cannot offer their shares for sale to the general public
• The new Companies Act (2006) simplifies many of the procedures of setting up a company. 

Virtual office

emda has secured free access within a range of business centres in the East Midlands, to provide virtual office space over a 6-month period. This provides you with a UK base during the crucial first few months of planning and launching your UK business, and also includes a business/registered address, a message taking service and post forwarding (additional costs may apply).

Touch down office space (minimum 20 days)
In addition to the virtual office benefits above, we can provide you with physical touch down space in a range of premises around the East Midlands, including free wired or wireless Internet access, optional extra services (additional costs may apply), and access to an online booking portal to book your office space from wherever you are.

To find out more, please contact the England’s East Midlands team.