UBM investors vote on move back to Britain
UBM shareholders will today vote on a move back to Britain, after years of the business publisher basing itself in Ireland for tax reasons.
The FTSE-250 listed firm is hosting a general meeting this afternoon after UBM’s board decided that recent changes to corporation tax make the UK a more hospitable place to headquarter itself.
The transition, which is almost certain to be approved, follows in the footsteps of the likes of Sir Martin Sorrell’s ad giant WPP, which announced it would bring its tax base back to Britain in August. WPP shareholders meet to approve the move next month.
UBM moving back to the UK will come as a welcome boost to George Osborne ahead of next Wednesday’s Autumn Statement
In March, Osborne announced a bigger-than-expected cut in corporation tax, from 26 per cent to 22 per cent over the next two years.
Although this is still higher than Ireland’s corporation tax of 12.5 per cent, other tax benefits in the UK make the move worthwhile, UBM says. If approved, the company will move its tax base back to Britain at the end of the week.
UBM, which publishes Property Week and runs PR Newswire, moved its base to Dublin in 2008 due to what it called the “less complex” tax system. The company made £102m in pre-tax profit last year on revenues of £972m.
Around 15 major corporations are believed to be considering moves to Britain thanks to lower corporate tax rates, including publisher Informa.