Planning your first overseas operation, establishing a subsidiary or integrating an international acquisition? GAP helps turn the opportunity into a working operation: a clear business case, realistic cash and funding plans, dependable reporting, practical controls and accountable delivery.
When GAP is a good fit
For business owners, CEOs and CFOs who need experienced finance leadership to connect the decisions and get the work done. We work alongside your local, legal and tax advisers, then help translate their advice into systems, reporting and day-to-day controls. Support can continue as a recurring part-time finance leadership arrangement.
Our experience includes establishing overseas subsidiaries, US operating arrangements involving FOCI requirements, multi-site acquisition integration and international scale-up. We connect hands-on finance and transformation leadership with an established specialist network, including local tax, legal, employment and technical expertise.
From an overseas opportunity to a functioning business
GAP brings experienced leadership to the whole establishment programme: assessing the commercial case, choosing a workable structure with specialist advisers, establishing the operation and building the capability to grow. We connect decisions across finance, governance, people, systems and operations, so local arrangements work within the wider group.
- Commercial viability and funding: entry options, margins, investment requirements, working capital and scenario planning.
- Structure and governance: subsidiaries, branches or distributor arrangements; ownership of decisions, delegated authority and group oversight.
- Cash, currency and risk: banking, funding, cash forecasts, currency exposure, customer credit and escalation of material risks.
- Tax and reporting: coordinated local tax input, intercompany arrangements, local reporting and dependable group consolidation.
- People and culture: recruitment planning, local employment and payroll arrangements with specialists, management responsibilities and effective working across cultures.
- Operational readiness: contracts, systems, data, processes, reporting, compliance responsibilities and a practical launch plan.
US establishment and a five-site integration
GAP’s US track record includes establishing a subsidiary for a UK-owned protection business and leading the carve-out and integration of a military-products operation acquired from a global parent. The integration covered five US sites and required FOCI—Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence—compliance to be built into the operating arrangements.
The work brought together governance and security requirements with finance, systems, people, reporting and business continuity. It demonstrates the depth needed to make an overseas acquisition operate successfully, working with the appropriate security and legal specialists.
Read the acquisition and integration case study.
Establishing subsidiaries outside Europe
GAP’s international capability draws on experience of establishing subsidiaries in several markets outside Europe as a services organisation grew from a start-up into a multi-million-pound business. The work, undertaken in a European Finance Director role, connected local establishment with the finance and management infrastructure needed to run and oversee an expanding international business.
GAP brings that practical perspective to the questions behind expansion: how the operation will be funded, who makes decisions, how performance and risk are reported, and how local arrangements connect with the parent organisation.
Scaling internationally and realising value
GAP’s track record in industrial software includes an assignment that connected platform development, stronger management and expansion into North America, the Middle East and Asia. Revenue grew from £1.2 million to £4.9 million, and the business completed a strategic sale to a major Japanese industrial technology group.
Read the international scale-up and exit case study.
Start with an overseas establishment and readiness review
Overseas establishment and readiness review. We agree the countries, proposed arrangements, decisions and scope before work begins. The review examines the business case, funding and currency exposure, governance, reporting, systems, people and specialist requirements. You receive a decision brief, readiness and risk assessment, costed priorities and a practical establishment roadmap.
Implementation can follow as a defined programme. Regular part-time international finance leadership can then support reporting, cash, local advisers and performance as the operation develops.
Practical questions about overseas finance support
Can GAP work with our existing local advisers?
Yes. GAP can lead the finance establishment and implementation work alongside your accountants, lawyers, tax specialists and local management. We agree who owns each decision, deliverable and deadline.
What should an establishment review produce?
A decision brief, funding and cash assumptions, a readiness assessment, clear responsibilities and a practical implementation roadmap. The countries, proposed operating arrangements and specialist input are scoped before the review begins.
Can support continue after launch?
Yes. Recurring part-time finance leadership can cover cash forecasts, management reporting, local-adviser coordination and performance reviews. We agree the monthly outputs, time commitment, capacity and start date.
Read the overseas expansion finance checklist and see the subsidiary establishment case study.
Established experience. Specialist depth.
Established in 2001, GAP combines a track record of hands-on delivery with an established specialist network. Our capability brings together finance leadership, international establishment, transformation and independent systems expertise, informed by PLC, private-equity and not-for-profit assignments. Specialist skills are brought together around the needs of each engagement, with clear responsibilities and agreed outputs.
We draw on specialist relationships developed through implementation programmes and interim assignments, supported by a broad professional network. Finance, local accounting and tax, legal, employment, security and technology expertise can be brought together around the assignment. We agree the delivery team, availability, responsibilities and fees with you, keeping executive decisions and implementation closely connected.
Specialist tax, trade and employment support within the programme
Working with agents and distributors
GAP provides a coordinated review of the tax and VAT implications of overseas agent and distributor arrangements. We assess the responsibilities for selling, invoicing and stock, review commission and payment processes, and coordinate specialist advice on whether the activities create a taxable presence overseas. We work alongside your legal advisers to connect the agreed arrangements to practical finance controls.
Establishing an overseas presence
GAP provides coordinated advice and implementation support for an overseas branch, subsidiary or other operating presence. Through our specialist partners, we review structure, taxable presence, local registrations, company tax and reporting obligations. We coordinate review of withholding taxes, treaty relief and intercompany pricing where relevant, then help establish the finance processes and compliance calendar needed to run the operation.
Imports and exports
GAP provides an import and export tax readiness review covering relevant EORI and VAT registrations, commodity classification, customs value, origin and duty treatment. We help clarify who handles declarations and import responsibilities, coordinate specialist advice on import VAT and export evidence, and translate the findings into landed-cost models, cash forecasts and reliable records. Customs submissions are coordinated with the appointed customs agent where required.
Mergers, acquisitions and group structures
GAP provides coordinated specialist tax input for acquisitions, mergers, disposals, reorganisations and group structures. We help assess tax issues and implementation requirements alongside your accountants and legal advisers, then lead the finance readiness, reporting and integration work needed to make the agreed arrangements operate effectively.
Living and working overseas
GAP provides coordinated specialist support for owners and employees living or working abroad. We bring together advice on personal and company residence, taxable business presence, payroll and social security, and obligations in the relevant countries. We help convert that advice into workable arrangements and clear responsibilities for the business.
VAT
GAP provides VAT support covering registration requirements, the place of supply, reverse-charge treatment, export evidence, partial exemption and complex transactions. We connect specialist advice to invoice treatment, accounting records, reconciliations and return preparation so the agreed approach can be applied consistently in day-to-day operations.
How we work
We start with your business objectives, the countries involved and the decisions you need to make. We agree the finance, transformation and specialist tax support required, with clear responsibilities and fees before work begins. GAP coordinates the engagement and leads the practical finance changes needed to support stable operations and overseas growth.
Clear responsibilities. Visible delivery. Lasting capability.
An agreed delivery team. GAP brings together the leadership and specialist skills required for the assignment. Roles, responsibilities, availability and decision authority are agreed before work starts. The GAP 6×6 provides a shared method for diagnosis, implementation and measuring results.
A clear commercial agreement. The proposal sets out deliverables, client inputs, time, fees, specialist costs and decision points. A focused review can be agreed first; further phases proceed by agreement.
Responsible decisions and lasting capability. We consider financial value alongside the effects on people, services and resources. Benefits are assessed against an agreed baseline, and training, process ownership and handover are part of delivery.
Work with the team you trust. GAP works alongside your existing finance team, accountants, lawyers and technology partners, bringing additional expertise where needed.
Discuss your plans
Use our enquiry form to tell us about your business, the countries involved and the decision or deadline you are working towards. We will agree an appropriate next step. You can also contact us at david.roberts@gapconsult.co.uk or on 07831 139751.
Please do not submit confidential or highly sensitive information through the initial enquiry. Your information will be used to respond to your enquiry and manage the potential business relationship.