Opening a Branch Office in the UK for Overseas Companies

How to register a UK branch, open a UK branch and complete UK branch registration when expanding your international business.

If your overseas company is considering expansion into the UK, one option is to open a UK branch (also sometimes described as a ‘UK establishment’). This route allows you to trade in the UK under your existing overseas entity rather than forming a new UK subsidiary.

At Paul Beare, we help international businesses navigate the full process to register a branch in the UK, manage UK branch registration and ensure your UK presence is compliant, credible and commercially effective.

What Does It Mean to Have a UK Branch or Establishment?

When you open a UK branch of your overseas company, you are effectively establishing a UK extension of your parent company rather than creating a separate UK company. As a UK ‘branch’ you will be subject to UK filing and disclosure obligations and, importantly, your overseas parent remains legally responsible for the UK operations.

Under the UK law for overseas companies, you must register the UK branch (or UK establishment) with Companies House if you carry on business in the UK through a ‘place of business’ in the UK.

Why You Might Choose to Open a UK Branch

Choosing the branch route may be appropriate if you:

Already have an established overseas company and you want a relatively faster way to expand into the UK without forming a new separate UK legal entity.

Anticipate limited UK operational complexity and want to leverage the parent company’s records and structure.

Wish to keep your global corporate group structure simpler by using the parent company for UK trading, rather than managing a new UK subsidiary.

That said, you should be aware of the trade offs. A branch offers fewer ring fencing benefits (the overseas parent remains liable for UK operations) and may present credibility challenges (for example UK customers or banks might prefer a UK incorporated entity).

The UK Branch Registration Process

Here is a guide to the key steps you must take when you decide to set up branch office in UK:

Step 1

Assess the need for registration

Step 2

Prepare the documentation

Step 3

Carry out the registration and display

Step 4

Post registration obligations

Pros & Cons

Registering a UK Branch vs Incorporating a UK Company

Advantages of UK Branch

Faster to establish for the existing overseas company
Simpler structure (less separate governance)
Useful if UK operations are limited, exploratory or low scale
Avoids forming a brand new UK legal entity

Disadvantages / Risks

Parent company remains legally liable for UK branch obligations and debts
Less ring fencing of UK risk; may affect credibility with UK banks and customers
Branch may be less tax efficient than a UK subsidiary in some circumstances (profit allocation issues)
Branch accounting and disclosure may still be demanding; parent’s accounts may become public via UK filings

How Paul Beare Can Help

Open a UK Branch

When your international business chooses to open a branch in the UK, we act as your specialist adviser, ensuring the process is smooth, timely and fully compliant. We deliver:

Strategic advice on whether a UK branch of overseas company or a UK subsidiary is a better match given your business goals, risk appetite and cost structure.

Complete handling of UK branch registration: preparation of Form OS IN01, certification of documents, translations, submission and liaison with Companies House.

Post‑registration support: establishing UK bookkeeping, payroll setup (if applicable), UK tax registration, VAT, UK bank account introductions, corporate governance alignment.

Ongoing compliance management for your branch: updating UK filings, preparing accounts/returns for Companies House and HMRC, ensuring you meet UK obligations and remain credible with banks and partners.

Coordinated service aligned with your global parent company – your UK branch is integrated, not isolated.

Set Up a UK Branch