UBM considers UK tax base
UNITED Business Media (UBM) is considering relocating back to the UK after George Osborne’s pledge to speed up a cut in the rate of corporate tax.
Chief executive David Levin said he could follow his WPP counterpart Martin Sorrell in redomiciling after what were seen as positive changes in the budget. UBM moved its tax-base abroad in 2008.
The media company saw its profits surge by almost a fifth in the first-quarter of this year, bolstered by strong trade fairs, especially in emerging markets.
UBM reported underlying first-quarter growth of 16 per cent in events and said forward bookings for its top 20 events in the next 12 months were up 21 per cent. Its underlying sales grew eight per cent to £238m for the first-quarter, while adjusted operating profit increased 19 per cent to £44.6m.
Levin said: “Overall, we anticipate continued growth in profit largely driven by a full-year of contribution from our acquisitions and continued momentum in our events business.”