Harrison Drury helps Oz firm expand into UK

An Australian manufacturing business has established a new European office in Manchester, with a little help from experts in Harrison Drury’s corporate team.

Certags, which produces custom inspection tags and labels for the crane and heavy lifting industries, has opened the office to complement its operations in Australia and the US.

Harrison Drury has assisted the Melbourne-headquartered firm in establishing the UK subsidiary with associate solicitor Brett Cooper advising the Certags management team on a range of legal issues.

Aaron Mulrooney, a director at Certags who is heading up the Manchester office, said: "With the country at the forefront in all forms of health and safety regulations within the industry, it was a natural progression for Certags to set up an office in the UK.

"After assessing several cities, Manchester emerged as the clear choice. Its central location allows easy access to our customers across the country, while Manchester Airport provides direct links to major European cities, which will benefit our plans to expand into Europe in the not too distant future.”

Speaking about the assistance provided by Harrison Drury, he added: “Setting up a business from overseas can be a difficult process. Thankfully we had Brett and the team at Harrison Drury to assist us. The work they put in prior to me landing in the UK meant I could hit the ground running immediately.

“There were multiple challenges unique to our situation and Harrison Drury looked closely at each and communicated clearly to provide solutions based on their local knowledge. The firm has played a key part in our quick expansion into the UK market and we look forward to working with them as our business grows.”

Brett Cooper, associate at Harrison Drury, added: “It’s great to have been able to play our role in helping an international business set up in the UK, bringing with it investment and jobs to the region. Our knowledge of the manufacturing sector and our international trade expertise meant we were able to advise Certags on a broad range of issues.” Harrison Drury was first put in touch with Certags through its membership of Alliott Group, an international alliance of independent accounting, law and consulting firms with more than 160 member firms in 60 countries.