(Bloomberg) — Brazilian financial technology company Nu Holdings Ltd. is considering moving its legal base to the United Kingdom, which would mark a major victory in Britain’s efforts to encourage more tech companies to set up shop in the country.
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The digital challenger bank worked with the UK government on the plans, which were discussed on Tuesday as part of a wider set of agreements between Brazil and the UK on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro, according to people familiar with the talks.
The change of domicile was not included in a joint announcement by the two governments drafted on Tuesday because it was still awaiting approval from Britain’s Revenue and Customs Authority, according to two of the people who asked to remain anonymous at subject of private information.
“Nubank continually reviews its legal structure to align with the footprint of its operations,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “At this time, no decision has been made regarding the re-domiciliation of Nu Holdings Ltd. or any other legal entity within our group. As a publicly traded company, we are committed to transparency and will follow standard communications protocols if and when such decisions are made.
Nubank – whose holding company is currently based in the Cayman Islands and listed on the New York Stock Exchange – has recently become the most valuable bank in all of Latin America. Although its headquarters would remain in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the change of legal domicile to the United Kingdom would be seen as a major achievement in efforts by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to attract more technology and technology companies. investments in the country.
Last month, the UK’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology announced the opening of an office to speed up the approval of new technologies. The new agency, called the Office of Regulatory Innovation, is designed to reduce the time entrepreneurs wait to bring their inventions to market and streamline the regulatory hurdles they face.
The Labor government is courting tech companies and investors as it faces a widespread decline in business confidence, after Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveiled £40 billion ($50.5 billion) ) tax increases in his first budget. The measures included increasing the corporate payroll tax to 15% and lowering the threshold at which companies start paying the tax. The government also increased capital gains tax and removed the value-added tax exemption on public school tuition fees.