With a company built on importing and exporting raw products, Naissance Managing Director Jem Skelding knows how important it is to act now to be ready for new trading rules between the UK and EU. 

Jem, who also owns the business, says he has already taken action to prepare for the end of the Transition period on 31 December, and is now calling on others to do the same.

Jem adds: “There are only a few weeks left to prepare. It is really important that businesses plan ahead to mitigate any issues that might arise under the new rules on 1 January. Businesses need to conduct due diligence and a thorough risk assessment to understand how they can best prepare for the changes.” 

“Our existing knowledge of international trade definitely helped with the process. We also worked with European lawyers and used GOV.UK for step by step guidance on registering for an Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI) for importing and exporting goods.”

Jem’s advice comes as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, continues to update gov.uk/transition with vital information to help companies understand the important actions they need to take to be ready for the start of 2021. Support includes pre-recorded webinars taking businesses through the changes related to them.

Jem’s journey with Naissance was inspired by his childhood spent in Africa, where it was commonplace for people to use natural ingredients to make their own remedies, as premade products weren’t readily available. The business is made up of 100 employees based in the UK and ten in Germany. Jem says “As well as international offices we also employ staff from European countries so it was important to encourage staff to sign up to EU Settlement Scheme so that they can continue to work for us”

Further information 

Speak with your lawyer and accountant for more information, or answer questions using the GOV.UK checker tool to generate information tailored to your business, and to sign up for email updates.