Gorilla
“We had always planned to expand into Europe from the UK, but Brexit brought challenges that none of us were equipped to deal with,” says Richard Allen, head of European Accounting, Gorilla Glue Europe Ltd. “This was unfamiliar territory for all British businesses in our situation and we needed specifi c help to facilitate our growth, fi rstly into the Netherlands and later into Germany. I had worked with UHY in previous companies, so for me it was the only network I wanted to support us. I was sure from the outset that UHY had all the resources to steer us through this critical period. “From the beginning I have been impressed by the effortless way member fi rms communicate. There is never any need to repeat instructions and I have absolute confi dence that everything necessary is always being done to get us where we need to be.”
STAYING CLOSE
As each new member fi rm was instructed by Richard, Michelle Dale, VAT director, UHY Hacker Young, Manchester, UK, coordinated communications between Niall Donnelly, head of corporate tax, UHY Farrelly Dawe White Ltd., Dundalk, Ireland; Martin Kuijpers, VAT specialist, Govers Accountants/Consultants, Eindhoven, Netherlands and his colleague, Lomme Van Dam, international business tax advisor, also from Govers Accountants/Consultants. “Together, these people from different parts of the world in the UHY network, used their collective expertise to help us become legal entities and deal with rigorous compliance issues in the Netherlands and Germany. They got us established quickly and continue to help us to build up the entity structure. On top of this, their detailed advice and day-to-day support with matters such as VAT returns and payroll are second to none,” says Richard. “It has been immensely stimulating to bring together member fi rms from across UHY to make sure that Gorilla Glue meets all its EU VAT compliance issues in a postBrexit commercial world,” says Michelle. “This is an example of the strength of our international network performing at its best and I am proud to be part of an evolving relationship with an inspirational business.”
SEAMLESS SUCCESS
“The excellent work of UHY has seen us successfully expand into Europe and overcome any obstacles prompted by new legislation,” says Richard. “I have been able to get on with my regular job within Gorilla Group Europe without constantly having to provide background information. I will always be grateful to UHY for the fact that our success in Europe is attributable to their rock-solid advice and expertise. “We are reporting a turnover for the UK entity of about GBP 35m and close to EUR 10m in the Netherlands. It is too soon to know what our German fi gures will be, but confi dence from our leadership team at Gorilla is higher than it has ever been because that outstanding service from our accountancy partner is instantly there whenever we reach out. “Without hesitation I will recommend UHY to anyone seeking accounting and consulting services. In a complex post-Brexit world they have made our lives remarkably straightforward. We have always trusted that we were in the best hands and we continue to do so.”
