Dependent Branch Office in Germany
Ease your way into the German market with a Dependent Branch Office. Called a "unselbständige Zweigniederlassung" in German, it's a subordinate branch of a foreign company that is directly controlled by a parent company abroad. This setup is ideal for international businesses that want boots on the ground with minimal bureaucracy to deal with.
Autonomous Branch Office in Germany
An Autonomous Branch Office (selbständige Zweigniederlassung in German) is dependent on a foreign head office but operates independently in Germany. This type of organisation can give you an official presence in Germany without the commitments of creating a separate legal entity.
Foreign Owned Subsidiary in Germany
Get that converted "Made In Germany" label for your business by going all in with a German limited liability company.
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There are many factors to consider when deciding on the right legal form, including your company's objectives. To get this right, seeking expert advice is essential.
The abbreviation GmbH stands for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, which translates to "company with limited liability".
All liabilities are covered by the company rather than the personal assets of its shareholders.
The corporate form is widespread in Germany and can be best compared to the US-American LLC, the British Inc. or Ltd and the Australian Pty.
The 'Mini-GmbH' is the corporate legal form Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt) — commonly known as the UG.
The UG is a limited liability structure that caters to the needs of startups that have restricted starting capital (the minimum share capital is only €1.00 per shareholder) but still want to benefit from limited liability.
The UG is not a corporate form of its own, as frequently assumed, but is a variation of the regular GmbH, which was created by the legislation to Modernise the Law on Limited Liability Companies and to Combat Abuse (Modernisierung des GmbH-Rechts und zurBekämpfung von Missbräuchen [MoMiG]) in 2008. And, why the name Mini-GmbH comes from
Since its introduction, the UG enjoys enormous popularity among founders with more than 200,000 formations already — a number that is steadily growing.
A UG is a type of limited liability company introduced in Germany in 2008 to better serve the needs of entrepreneurs.
The UG is not a separate corporate structure to the GmbH, as is often assumed, but was created by legislation that modernised limited liability company law in Germany.
As such, the UG is also colloquially referred to as "Mini-GmbH" or "1-Euro-GmbH".
In addition to the classic UG, there are other hybrid forms to consider such as the UG & Co. KG, and the gUG, a not for profit UG.
A Holding is a parent company with at least one subsidiary that it holds shares in. In many cases, the parent company owns 100% of its subsidiary.
In recent years, the Holding has increased in popularity as a corporate model, introducing innovative company structures to startup ecosystems around the world.
For example, if there is more than one founder, it may be feasible for each founder to set up their own Holding that holds shares in different subsidiaries.
