Rosy future for Anglo-Dutch business relations, predicts survey

Citation

(1998), "Rosy future for Anglo-Dutch business relations, predicts survey", European Business Review, Vol. 98 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.1998.05498eab.005

Rosy future for Anglo-Dutch business relations, predicts survey

Rosy future for Anglo-Dutch business relations, predicts survey

Greater investment and creation of more jobs are predicted as a result of strengthening commercial ties between the UK and The Netherlands, a new survey reveals.

Hundreds of additional jobs are expected to have been created by UK subsidiaries of Dutch companies in the four year period ending in 2000. Dutch subsidiaries of UK companies predict an increase in staff over the same period. Positive attitudes to EMU were also reported by subsidiaries in both countries and the introduction of the Euro is expected to further strengthen centuries-old cultural and business links.

The survey, conducted by business advisers KPMG, examined cross border investments between the UK and The Netherlands by polling 269 UK subsidiaries of Dutch companies and 275 Dutch subsidiaries of UK companies. The results provide a comprehensive insight into expectations regarding future performance levels, staffing, business issues and developments, as well as valuable information on similarities and differences in management style, organisation and culture.

Dutch companies set up in the UK primarily for access to the UK market, whereas The Netherlands is often used as a gateway to Europe by UK companies. Respondents confirmed that regulatory and tax environments in both countries are highly conducive to start-ups by foreign parents.

Two case histories contained in the report both confirm that the advent of the Euro will make business appreciably easier. Plastics company Synbra, headquartered in The Netherlands with subsidiaries in the UK, Germany and France, considered the exchange rate between sterling and the guilder one of the most serious constraints on business. Signage specialists Pearce Signs, based in Orpington, Kent, but also one of the top five sign companies in The Netherlands via its subsidiary, pointed out that the relative strength of sterling has increased by 27 per cent over the last 18 months as European states position themselves for a single currency.

Henk Lafebre, KPMG Dutch liaison partner in London, commented:

In 1997 total Anglo-Dutch trade amounted to $30 billion; the countries are each other's fourth-largest trading partners. Both countries have significant impact on each other's economies, providing employment for thousands of people.

Our survey provides a clear overview of the Anglo-Dutch investment arena. We expect that prospective investors will be able to benefit from the experiences of their predecessors, and that existing investors might be able to find new ways of improving performance by comparison to their peer group.

It is believed the cultures of the British and the Dutch have largely similar profiles and that, if brought together in combined business, they could enjoy a distinct advantage against competition in the market places of Europe and the rest of the world.

The survey (Anglo-Dutch Bilateral Investments, Anglo-Dutch Advisory Group, KPMG, London and Amsterdam, June 1998) was carried out in conjunction with The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, the Invest in Britain Bureau and The Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce.

Complimentary copies of the report are available from the KPMG Anglo-Dutch Advisory Group. Tel: 0171 311 4210.