AAC Clyde Space has an international client base


For AAC Clyde Space, the sky most certainly isn’t the limit. The Glasgow-based company is part of the city’s dynamic and growing space cluster, specialising in the design, build and operation of small orbital satellites. It was formed in 2005 and is truly international, dealing with clients not just in the EU, but also in places like Australia, Japan, South Africa and South America and booking launch slots for its devices from a variety of global locations. Although its manufacturing is based in Scotland, AAC Clyde Space has strong EU links. Its corporate headquarters are in Sweden and that will remain the model after Brexit. The company’s Founder and


Chief Strategy Officer, Craig Clark, believes it will be less affected after 31 October than other Scottish firms because it already operates worldwide and relationships with businesses in non-EU countries will not change.


He acknowledges the current


uncertainty but adds: “Oddly, that means Brexit will probably be easier for us than for other companies. Europe just becomes another destination we ship to and we have all the different export licences we need for other places. “We produce high-tech equipment, so some of our products are already controlled items and we know how to deal with that. We are prepared and ready to be separate from the EU.” AAC Clyde Space also works within an international supply chain, buying components worldwide. “We purchase from places like the United States and that really won’t change. What’s key for us is ensuring that our suppliers in the UK have enough stock. “We don’t build that stock up


– they do. We’ve done an audit and from our findings we’ve seen that the suppliers are well- prepared for what is coming. They are professional and


reliable and have an obligation to their customers. We can see business continuity there. “We will be able to continue our business as we go through Brexit. If there turns out to be any issues, we can always buy what we need through our Swedish operation. And if the worst comes to the worst, we can always send our people over to Sweden and build satellites there.” The focus, Craig adds, needs


to be on supporting customers and continuing to grow the business. “That’s what we are doing. There are reasons Brexit is happening and it’s a process we cannot control. However, we’ve just won one of our biggest contracts ever from a French company – it’s not put them off.” If you have the right product, he adds, then people will want to buy it.


“Clients are taking a


pragmatic approach. The more sophisticated the customer, the more the realisation that life


outside the political world goes on.”


Just as AAC Clyde Space


sells internationally, it recruits staff internationally too. In a way, again this is actually an advantage, as it has experience of getting the necessary permissions for employees from outside the EU and so knows the processes involved in doing this after Brexit. “There will be restrictions in


movement for EU citizens and we do employ a lot of them, but in future all we’ll be doing is getting work permits for them and that’s something we do anyway for others,” says Craig. “Yes, it will add a bit more


cost, but it’s a process we are familiar with. We get lots of applications all the time from people all over the world wanting to work for us, so I can’t see getting hold of staff being a major problem.


“I’m an entrepreneur, so


my default position is to be optimistic.”


Neil Amner explains how Anderson Strathern is helping businesses with Brexit


Neil Amner


Anderson Strathern is keen to help businesses prepare for a no-deal Brexit. We were the first Scottish law firm to launch a hub information portal on our website, supported by a group of senior lawyers with expertise across areas likely to be affected. Our focus has been on


practical advice to all sizes of business as well as education and public sector clients. We have prepared articles, checklists and seminars as well as commissioning a research paper on Brexit preparedness. The information we have


Members of the Anderson Strathern Meritas team, Gillian Anderson,


Bruce Farquhar and Carole Tomlinson


provided has covered a wide range of areas, from exposure audits to contract reviews to employment and immigration advice. We have also covered VAT, customs and tariffs,


intellectual property, data and GDPR advice as well as the status of EU workers in the UK. As well as helping clients,


we have worked to prepare our own business, adjusting our focus, marketing ourselves to business and ramping up our international trade advice. We have also formed a


partnership with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and become the only Scottish firm in the Meritas international law network. We consider ourselves ready for the challenge. – Neil Amner, Director


More at Anderson Strathern’s Brexit hub at www.andersonstrathern.co.uk/ brexit/ and on Meritas at www.meritas.org/


www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com 7


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