The Norwegian Collaboration Centre (NCC) provides a Softlanding environment for Norwegian companies who wish to pursue their commercial Internationalisation needs through the North East of England.

Every company is different - we recommend a free initial consultation to discuss your needs.

visits

Regional visits are organised which could include sector specific meetings. This could be with partners, resellers, representatives, etc. One month's notice is required. The visit provides opportunities to discuss the UK business culture and requirements in an informal way. The Norwegian Collaboration Centre in conjunction with One North East provides the service. Group visits of sector-focussed companies are preferred.

Who: Companies at early stage investigations of establishment in the UK as part of their company Internationalisation process.

Costs: Service is free of charge, but visitors must cover their own travel costs.

setup

NCC will provide a soft-landing environment for Norwegian registered companies. The service consists of office space in one of the Northeast's most prestigious buildings with easy access to the port with DfDS and Fjordline and airport with Wideroe, SAS, Jet2, Ryanair, and KLM providing connections to Norway. Permanent or temporary, Norwegian or British staff may be located at the NCC.

Who: Small companies confident at taking the first step in a safe environment.

Costs: Offices are free for up to 3 months, office services used to be paid for, optional advise support fee depending on need.

interim management

The NCC provides a successful service that includes UK Company establishment, UK locum executive collaboration with Norwegian management, recruiting and training, business management, sales, product support, administration and accounting, UK trading relationships and agreements, with flexible exit and handover.

Proof of concept service is available which provides a "will it fly in the UK" experience in a controlled environment, thus minimising the commercial risk of entering the UK.

The interim management service is provided through KandoIT Ltd, which has a broad knowledge of UK and Norwegian business with a particular focus on Technology Companies.

Who: Companies needing to take the Internationalisation step but want to minimise the commercial risk.

Costs: Norwegian business funds UK based business, including staff, interim management and other costs. Configurations with equity, local funding also considered on a case-by-case basis.

"office next door"

The NCC and web technologies combined allow a service with which a company may set up in the North East of England, but the experience is as if the staff are in the next office. High bandwidth Internet connections, VOIP, web based storage, and web based collaboration tools may all be used to provide the experience of colleagues working together, even though separated by 100’s of kilometres. "Office next door" achieves lower cost of employment, sourced from a large pool of workers and governed under British law. Direct or interim management services may be employed. Low cost and frequent fights to the North East make team and management meetings easy.

Who: Norwegian companies finding it difficult to expand in Norway, due to access to labour, but also advanced in their use of technology.

Costs: Norwegian business lowers overheads by funding UK based business, including staff, interim management and other costs.

inward investment

One North East in conjunction with the NCC can provide a full support package to the Inward Investor. Premises can be located; staff found, introductions to financial support such as Banks, Venture Capital, Grants etc.

Who: Norwegian trading companies who have made the decision to have a presence in the UK and have identified the North East of England to be culturally and commercially in tune with Norway.

Costs: There is a possibility of inward investment financial support grants considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Norwegian Collaboration Centre • Fabriam Centre • Atmel Way • Middle Engine Lane • Newcastle upon Tyne • NE28 9NZ • UK
Tel: + 44 (0) 191 280 4682 • Fax: + 44 (0) 709 212 5710 • E-mail: info@norway2uk.com