Onward sales and exports for financial, professional and business services

Export financial, professional and business services from the UK and understand regulations and trade agreements.

Export from the UK

Once you have set up your business in the UK, you can access a range of support and advice whether you are looking to export for the first time or grow into new or existing markets.

Exporting services from the UK is enabled due to the development of:

  • free trade agreements
  • improved market access for services through digital trade
  • cross-border sharing of data
  • staff mobility
  • access to talent investors

There are currently over 40 markets with high potential for UK business in financial, professional and business services.

UK Export Academy

The Department for Business and Trade’s consumer and retail sector experts can support your business’s journey to international growth.

Book yourself on an upcoming UK Export Academy event.

Use our online resources and step-by-step guides on Business.gov.uk to help you export from the UK.

Selling digital services or consultancy to the EU

For financial, professional and business service companies selling digital services to the EU, or transferring data, specific regulations now apply.

Find out more about selling services to the EU on GOV.UK.

Asset management

The City of London Corporation, the Department for Business and Trade and the Investment Association have launched the Global Investment Futures website, an international campaign to promote and support the UK’s leading investment management offer.

Fintech

The UK has entered 5 fintech bridge agreements with other fintech hubs in Singapore, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Australia. These bespoke agreements create valuable opportunities for expansion and collaboration by reducing barriers to international markets.

You will need to have approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and be operating here before applying for financial authorisation to set up in other countries from within the UK.

Find out more about the the FCA on our Regulations guide.

Insurtech

The primary objective of the UK-Connecticut Insurtech Corridor is to remove the barriers US and UK Insurtechs face when entering and expanding in each respective market to facilitate traction and growth.

Learn about the UK-Conneticut Insurtech Corridor on business.gov.uk.

Legal

For the first time, English and Welsh solicitors and law firms will be able to register to practise in India on a permanent basis, under new rules published by the Bar Council of India in March 2023.

The agreement has been formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 5 June 2023 which you can read about on the The Law Society website.

Free trade agreements

The UK has free trade agreements (FTAs) in place which can reduce restrictions on trade, making buying and selling easier and cheaper.

Trade agreements are made between two or more countries and set out the preferential rules for buying or selling goods or services between them.

Read more about FTAs on GOV.UK.

Several of the agreements provide more opportunities for tech and digital service firms based in the UK to trade easily by ensuring the free flow of data, now or in the near future. Go to GOV.UK to discover the benefits of the:

  • Singapore Digital Economy Agreement - benefits also include promotion of cross border e-commerce and mutual recognition of electronic signatures.
  • UK-Japan Digital Partnership - ensures easier faciliation of e-commerce and consumer protection for this, and increased collaboration on AI and related research activities
  • UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement - brings easier faciliation of e-commerce, increased collaboration on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity and mobility for skilled talent.

The UK's joining of the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) also gives increased benefits in digital trade, ensuring ease of data flow between UK and other member countries, including Canada, Malaysia and Japan.

Find out about the benefits of the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) on GOV.UK.

Next steps

For more information you can search the UK Investment Support Directory to find specialists with experience in sales and exports from within the UK.