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Please introduce yourself and Paul Beare Ltd.

I founded in 2015, after working in the family business before being part of its sale. To begin with, the mission was clear: to give overseas companies a trusted UK partner when expanding into Britain.听

Fast forward to 2026 and we鈥檝e grown it into a full service accounting, company-formation, banking, tax, payroll and legal advisory firm, specialising in providing seamless support to non-UK businesses establishing a UK presence. Typically, our clients come from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Singapore, South Africa and across Europe and our goal remains the same: making their UK expansion as smooth, efficient and strategic as possible.

What first led you to focus on helping overseas companies expand into the UK?听

The UK has always been a very attractive place for overseas companies to come and set up. Whether that鈥檚 our legal system, the skills base, the language, time zone or historic ties, the UK is one of the first countries businesses will look to as a place to expand. That might be as a bridge into the US or Europe, or just to sell to UK customers. So it made sense for us to get into that space.听

And growing a business like ours 鈥� which involves helping companies overcome hurdles and get set up to succeed – really taps into the fact that I鈥檝e always听enjoyed听helping others – ever since my early days. So after working in the family听business听– which we successfully sold 鈥� seeing how impactful it听 can be to support clients getting to where they want to be gave me the hunger to do my own thing.听

What are the biggest challenges international companies face when entering the UK market?

Despite the fact that the UK is a really good place to do business, there are definitely challenges facing those companies that come from outside and set up here, wherever they come from. And this isn鈥檛 a business skills issue 鈥� it鈥檚 a question of听knowledge, so understanding the unknown unknowns is key for them.听

We see that particularly in the nuances around employment, banking and HR, all of which remain critical for overseas companies entering the UK.听 Employing people, for instance, despite the UK鈥檚 progress on demystifying the process, can be tricky for a new entrant. And that鈥檚 without touching on the question of visas and eligibility.听

That鈥檚 an issue that is subject to quite a lot of change depending on how the political winds are blowing, so we鈥檝e had to develop a whole dedicated team of experts to help clients stay up to date.听

You鈥檝e supported businesses with everything from tax to payroll and banking. Which part of UK setup tends to surprise/challenge founders the most?听

Banking.听We get a lot of 鈥淚n my country we can do this鈥�, but while that鈥檚 understandable, it doesn鈥檛 really get the job done.听 Because, although at first glance the banking landscape in the UK might look familiar to those coming in from Europe or Australia, say, actually the process of opening a full service bank account can take a long time 鈥� and it鈥檚 a lot slower (or even impossible) if the client doesn鈥檛 understand what the banks want and why.听

Because the UK has such a stringent anti-money laundering regime (we lead the world on that) navigating the compliance checks demanded by the banks can be very time consuming and stressful. And that鈥檚 exacerbated by the banks themselves, which are now operating in a very competitive sector threatened by a whole load of new entrants in recent years. So they are very hyperconscious of risk vs reward when it comes to taking on new customers, particularly ones from overseas.听

On the flipside, the rise of the fintechs has been a good development by and large because it鈥檚 forced the legacy banks to up their game, introduced more competition and choice into the market and kept the UK at the forefront of that particular sector. And as a result, we鈥檝e had to stay right at the cutting edge of what鈥檚 on offer, and advise clients carefully about what their banking strategy should be.听

So we encourage our clients to 鈥楾hink global, act local鈥�. The fact is that different legislation applies and part听of听that is working with the right advisers to learn the specifics for the听country听you鈥檙e entering into, alongside understanding your target market.听听

Why do you think so many companies underestimate how complex UK compliance and regulation can be?听

I think many people assume that compliance and regulation will be similar in most countries, but that is not the case. 听 Or they assume that it will be easy to find out what they need to do, but often it isn鈥檛 as most organisations aren鈥檛 set up to give comprehensive advice on these topics, and as the companies wanting to set up here don鈥檛 know what they don鈥檛 know, they often don鈥檛 ask the right questions to get the information they need.

How has the demand for UK expansion support changed over the last few years?听

Very positively.听We鈥檝e seen strong growth over the past ten years, with a few blips along the way. And we鈥檝e managed that not just thanks to catching the general economic waves as they have crested, but also by expanding beyond simple accounting services into areas like employment and visa services, payroll and HR.听
 

What role does trust play when you鈥檙e acting as a 鈥淯K partner鈥� for overseas businesses?听

Now that is a brilliant question because it goes to the heart of what makes a successful business partnership. Reputation takes a long time to build and a second to destroy, so establishing ourselves as a firm to be trusted is the fundamental building block of what we do.听

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Whether we鈥檙e handling client funds, advising on employment terms, or assisting with a foreign national being sponsored to live and work in the UK. we鈥檙e aware of the huge amount of trust placed in us by our clients. They stand to lose a lot if we don鈥檛 deliver on our promises, so we don鈥檛 take that lightly. Any firm can invest in expertise or tech or whatever, but ff you don鈥檛 have trust in any form of relationship (not just professional) then you听don鈥檛听have a relationship.听

听 听 听 听 听 听 Are there particular regions or industries that are currently expanding into the UK more aggressively?

We have clients from a wide range of sectors, including tech, retail, education, environmental, and professional and financial services, so there aren鈥檛 really any specific sectors over others that want to expand into the UK.

What advice would you give to a startup thinking about entering the UK for the first time?听

It鈥檚 the usual things that you might expect 鈥� for instance good and effective market research is the building block of any successful expansion plan. Then it鈥檚 down to good old-fashioned planning; that should be followed by more planning.听

But then one thing I often advise clients while in the pre-engagement discussion is to talk to those who have already done it – preferably in your own jurisdiction.听Getting some first hand insight and feedback from friends, peers or acquaintances that are a couple of steps further down the track can be immensely valuable 鈥� especially when it comes to warning of hazards to avoid.听

What are you most excited about seeing in cross-border business and international expansion over the next few years?

I think we鈥檙e certainly going to see the acceleration of a trend that has already become established in the last few years, and that鈥檚 how international expansion is now becoming more possible for smaller as well as the larger businesses.听

That鈥檚 principally because of technology – including AI – that is now underpinning and enabling remote working, making overseas companies increasingly confident about expanding into other countries including the UK without losing control.听

I think it鈥檚 also the case that businesses are becoming more aware of regulatory challenges in different countries which means they are adopting a more strategic approach when considering international expansion.听

Given that, I think we鈥檒l see more people coming to firms like ours to help them build a solid presence with the right payroll structures, banking relationships, tax compliance, visas and legal frameworks in place from day one. Companies are recognising that getting these foundations right early allows them to grow faster and with less risk.

And of course, with the growth of tech comes a growing expectation that things get done fast. Business executives increasingly expect expansion to happen quickly, and they want advisers who can coordinate across multiple areas 鈥� accounting, payroll, tax, immigration and compliance 鈥� in a seamless way. That creates a huge opportunity for specialist firms like ours that understand both the technical requirements and the practical realities of doing business internationally.

We鈥檙e already seeing greater demand from our clients looking to get set up fast, so for instance we make sure they fully understand the UK Home Office requirements around visas in order to meet their proposed timelines.听

We are particularly excited about the continued growth in cross-border collaboration between the UK and markets such as North America and APAC. Despite global economic uncertainty, there is still strong appetite for innovation, investment and talent mobility, and the UK remains an attractive destination for ambitious international businesses.听