Setting up a subsidiary of an Italian software house in the UK

I am currently researching the opportunity to open a foreign subsidiary of my software house in the UK. I am interested in a few issues:

• Accounting help : Do I need to hire an accountant? Approximate fees? What kind of services would the accountant need to perform for me provided that I do my own bookkeeping?
• Solicitor : Do I need one? Fees?
• Do I need to register for VAT? Also can customer payments be made straight to the Italian company?
• Also, do you know any agencies that provide free support to start-up businesses (excl Business Link)?

You don't need an accountant or a lawyer to start a (Limited Company) business in the UK, as it is trivial, both in time and cost. Of course, accountants and lawyers will both tell you that they are essential, but in my experience (20 years running businesses in the UK), neither add value.

Of course, there may be specific times when you need their services, such as for an acquisition, etc, but for day to day running, they are not necessary.

1. You may wnat one for your company as a whole but you definately don't need one just because you're opening a UK office.
2. You don't need one to set up a company but you may want to keep a british solicitor on staff if you have to deal with regulations like the the FSA.
3. You may need to register for VAT depending on your turnover (currently £77,000 ) for which you need a VAT number, this still applies to digital distribution services from other countries.
4. There's a bunch but a lot are local so who you go to really depends on where you're based. You may want to have a look at the HRMC site though.