The British market, particularly its center in London, serves as a ‘gateway’ to the global market, which is an opportunity that Croatian companies still underutilize, even after Brexit, which surprisingly has not negatively impacted the operations of domestic companies in the United Kingdom. This is the conclusion of today’s panel discussion as part of the conference ‘How to do business in Great Britain?’ organized by the Association of Croatian British Professionals (ACBP) and the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP).
Irena Weber, director of HUP, stated that Croatia has a trade surplus of 110 million euros with the UK – in 2023, Croatia exported goods worth 248 million euros to the United Kingdom and imported 137 million euros.
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Marko Jurčić, director of international relations at HUP, commented that these trade exchange figures are not bad, but noted that the potential is much greater, not only towards the UK but also towards EU countries.
– We often see examples of individual successes, but we need business entities that collaborate, as the potentials are enormous – said Jurčić.
Additionally, the United Kingdom is the fourth largest emitting market in tourism, and the number of British guests in Croatia increases year by year. However, as Jurčić pointed out, although the British love us as a tourist destination, we need to elevate our mutual relations to a higher level because the British market has not lost its potential with Brexit and ‘our organizations need to take advantage of that.’ He cited numerous opportunities that the UK offers as reasons for the expansion of Croatian companies into the UK market, an innovative environment, and emphasized that it is today a ‘gateway’ to the global market, both to the American market and to the Commonwealth countries.
Everyone wants to go to London
One of the Croatian software companies operating in the British market is Q Agency, whose director Filip Ljubić described on the panel how entering that market was not easy at all.
– For three years, we were ‘banging our heads against the wall.’ We expected that this market lacked developers and that we would get there much easier, but this is a market that everyone thinks will be easy. India, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Romania – everyone is sending emails to London – commented the director of Q, whose British clients include well-known media such as The Times and The Sun.
Infobip, for example, first conquered emerging markets and then moved on to ‘tougher battles,’ explained Boris Pogačnik, vice president for business development at Infobip.
– It is easier to expand from the UK than from Vodnjan or Zagreb because you have the support of institutions and qualified people. That was the first logical step in the internationalization of our business – said Pogačnik.
Regarding opening an office in the UK, the registration of a company is neither expensive nor complicated nor time-consuming, said Luka Dorotić, partner at the law firm Čolić & Dorotić, but the real challenge is compliance with regulatory processes, for which Dorotić recommends hiring a legal advisor. With Brexit, issues regarding work permits have become relevant, which has affected our workers in the United Kingdom and vice versa.
– Depending on what you want to do and what qualifications you have, you must choose one of the visas available. If you want to work in the UK, there is a visa for skilled workers, and the process for issuing that visa takes three to four weeks. In other situations, you may have an innovative new business that you will present in the UK, which must be new, scalable, must be approved by the relevant authority, and you must meet the conditions for obtaining such a visa. Or you can be recognized in the field of science, arts, or IT, which will again be approved by the relevant authority. It is important to note that some of these visas also allow for self-employment – explained Dorotić.
Rosa Rogina, director of the London Festival of Architecture, described that the working environment in the United Kingdom is very flexible, largely influenced by the pandemic. For example, she works four days a week at the festival while also working two days a week at the university. Additionally, working from home is common in the UK, people often work in two places, co-working spaces are popular, and many companies are already practicing a four-day work week.
That the world today is ‘smaller’ than it was before the pandemic was confirmed by Pogačnik, describing how Infobip, in 2020, seeking investments from large international funds that had a branch in London, ultimately received an investment from the New York venture capital fund One Equity Partners.
Success despite Brexit
Tena Kovačević Janko, a specialist in gynecology and obstetrics, went to London for knowledge, with the mission that one day she would return to Croatia with that knowledge, which happened two years ago when she returned to Poreč, opened a private practice, and started a family. On the panel, she mentioned what we can learn from the British.
– I learned that regardless of how old you are, when you get there – you are a junior. You learn from colleagues who have gone through it before you, and they all selflessly share that knowledge because they must realize themselves through their student – that is their culture of knowledge transfer. Also, over time, you learn to convey facts without involving emotions – said Kovačević Janko, who caught the ‘last train’ to London and went for specialization in 2019 before Brexit, after which it became much harder for other colleagues to go to the UK.
From a professor’s perspective, Rogina pointed out that there is a negative trend occurring at British universities – there are fewer European students, and more students from other parts of the world. Therefore, she believes that companies should think about ways to encourage our students to educate in London, as it would be a shame to lose such experiences and knowledge like Tena’s, which can then be brought back to Croatia.
The fact is, noted Dorotić, that Brexit has affected legislation and migration policies, but even that has not negatively impacted the operations of Croatian companies in the UK.
– The freedom of movement has been hindered, and certain aspects have been slowed down and made more difficult, but we receive positive feedback from clients because despite all the obstacles, the administrative burden is less, and the United Kingdom is an encouraging and easier environment for residence and work – said Dorotić.
