We help new and existing UK businesses succeed through a combination of planning services, financial support, tailored guidance, visa-consultancy services and information.

Whether you’re an early-stage founder or seasoned entrepreneur, our experienced consultants provide a comprehensive service to help you plan, optimise, launch, scale and start a UK business.

Why choose the UK to start your business?

Why choose the UK?

Read our top reasons why the UK is the best place for new and experienced entrepreneurs to start a business.

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Visa programmes

Discover the Start-up, Innovator and Sole Representative visas, enabling international entrepreneurs to start a UK business.

View our performance for helping international businesspersons and entrepreneurs

View our performance

Download our latest performance update to learn more about our team’s expertise and the clients we’ve helped so far in starting a business.

Why work with InvestUK?

Bespoke service

Access a comprehensive package of support tailored to your needs and requirements.

Expert support

We’ve helped over 250 entrepreneurs to plan, launch and scale UK businesses.

Professional team

Our multi-lingual team have experience across all industry sectors and UK regions.

Rideshare

Building the next generation of ride-sharing platform

We helped ride-sharing business WYSTLE to establish in the UK and develop their service for launch in August 2021.

Discover UK business visas

Mature mixed race business man

Innovator Founder visa

A three-year visa designed for experienced entrepreneurs and professionals to launch, grow and scale a new UK business.

startup in uk

Skilled Worker visa

A visa designed for individuals to come to or stay in the UK to do an eligible job with an approved employer.

There are three visa programmes available for foreign entrepreneurs seeking to establish a business in the UK: the Start-up visa, the Innovator visa and the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa.

The Start-up visa is for new entrepreneurs who want to establish a business in the UK for the first time. You do not need to have any professional working experience, but you do need to have (or be in the process of developing) the knowledge and skills necessary to run your business. Applicants for the Start-up visa do not need to demonstrate any investment funds.

The Innovator visa is for individuals who are experienced businesspersons seeking to establish a business in the UK. Applicants can have started a business in the UK before, and the business can have already been established, but it should not have yet started trading. Applicants for the Innovator visa need to demonstrate that they have at least £50,000 available to invest (or already invested) in their business.

The Sole Representative of an Overseas Business visa category (known as the ‘Sole Representative visa’ is for businesses that wish to send a senior employee to the UK in order to establish a commercial presence for the company in the UK. The business must not have already established a branch or presence in the UK, and the applicant must be an existing senior employee of the business.

The UK welcomes entrepreneurs to setup businesses across all industries and regions. Some industries, such as the Financial Services industry, are regulated by UK Government bodies or appointed agencies to protect consumers and ensure the safety and soundness of the industry.

If you are applying for a Start-up or Innovator visa, your business plan may relate to any sector, provided the business idea meets the criteria of being sufficiently innovative, viable and scalable. Applicants can also develop other businesses as well as their main business plan.

From our business team

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The Value of Veterans

In this article our chairman Rupert Gather explores the value that supporting veterans after their service can bring to a company. If you want to turbo-charge your business in the post-COVID era whilst repaying the debt that we all owe, hire a veteran. You won’t regret it.

The UK, Business

InvestUK is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established for the protection of investors does not apply.