§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all United-States-owned companies presently operating in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 17 October 1989]: Overseas companies are free to operate in the United Kingdom through a subsidiary incorporated in the United Kingdom or through a branch. A branch is not a legal 178W entity separate and distinct from its holding company. All such operations are treated in exactly the same way as British-owned ones. Because there is no distinction based on ownership, no records exist within Government of either subsidiaries or branches of United States companies operating in the United Kingdom. Informal estimates put the number in excess of 2,000.