---
title: "Branch"
url: https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/branch
type: DefinedTerm
role: structure
jurisdiction: [UK, IE, UAE]
reviewed: 2026-11-10
modified: 2026-11-10
---

# Branch

Role: Structure | Jurisdiction: UK · IE · UAE

A place of business through which a company trades in another country without forming a separate company there. The branch is the company itself abroad, so the whole company stands behind its liabilities, and the country where it trades can tax the profit attributable to it.

An overseas company registers a UK establishment at Companies House under the Overseas Companies Regulations 2009, and a foreign company registers an Irish branch with the Companies Registration Office under Part 21 of the Companies Act 2014. For tax, a branch is usually a permanent establishment, and its profit is attributed as if it were a separate enterprise dealing at arm’s length with the rest of the company.

## Legal basis
- Overseas Companies Regulations 2009 (UK)
- Companies Act 2014, Part 21 (Ireland)

## Related concepts
- Related: [Permanent Establishment (PE)](https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/permanent-establishment) (the tax presence a branch usually creates)
- Related: [Holding Company](https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/holding-company) (the subsidiary route puts a separate company under the parent instead)
- Related: [EEA-Resident Director](https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/eea-resident-director) (which applies to an Irish company, not to a foreign company’s Irish branch)

## Situations
- [Expanding abroad through a branch or a subsidiary](https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/situations/branch-or-subsidiary): step 1 of 7

## Analysis that discusses it
- [A branch is the company itself abroad, which decides tax and risk](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/branch-or-subsidiary-uk-ireland-uae) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-11-05)
- [A Canadian company in the UK is a structure decision, not a filing](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/canadian-company-expanding-to-uk) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-11-08)
- [Australian founders choosing a European base, London or Dublin](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/australian-business-european-base-uk-or-ireland) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-10-03)
- [Moving a company to another country is three transactions, not one](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/move-company-to-another-country) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-11-05)
- [Business setup in Dubai is five records the bank reads together](https://www.boruconsulting.com/blog/business-setup-in-dubai) (Corporate Structuring, 2026-11-10)

Canonical: https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/branch

---
Source: https://www.boruconsulting.com/glossary/branch