BRAL

The foundation of today’s Schneider Group goes back to the formation of a company in 1919 by Mr. Mathias Schneider in the German federal state of Baden Würtemberg. The company initially started with the production and installation of wooden windows before expanding into steel and aluminium components for the cladding of a building.
Schneider uses state of the art equipment to produce these components at their 100,000 square meter production facilities. Schneider’s solutions are known as technically advanced, combining practicality with sophisticated design and considering individual concepts. Some of the landmark buildings Schneider was involved with include the Federal Chancellery in Berlin and the BBC Headquarters in London.

A sales subsidiary, Schneider (GB) Limited, was formed in 1986 in London and manages projects with individual values in the region of £5 million to £40 million. Recent projects include developments along the Thames such as Battersea Reach, Bankside and the new Ropemaker building in the City of London.

The Schneider Group has been a BRAL and Blick Rothenberg client since 1991, with assistance given to both Schneider (GB) Limited and its parent company Gebr. Schneider Fensterfabrik GmbH & Co. KG (“Gebr.Schneider”), who act as subcontractors. BRAL’s services include monthly payroll compliance and payment, Construction Industry Scheme (“CIS”) assistance and quarterly VAT compliance for both Schneider (GB) Limited and Gebr.Schneider. We also prepare quarterly management accounts, with a particular focus on keeping the creditor ledger up to date for Schneider (GB) Limited. This can be quite involved as the company now act as contractor on a number of UK projects. The BRAL management accountant is a German speaker who directly liaises with UK administration staff, project managers and the German accounts department to collate all necessary information.

Our CIS service consists of CIS registration (especially for overseas entities), verification of subcontractors and monthly CIS returns for contractors. In 2006 we organised a special workshop on the new CIS Scheme for Schneider and its Group companies at their Headquarters in Stimpfach, Germany.

BRAL’s payroll department liaises frequently with the personal tax department at Blick Rothenberg to ensure that tax matters for both the employees of Schneider (GB) Limited and Gebr. Schneider are treated correctly and P11ds are prepared on an annual basis. In total, BRAL currently looks after more than 30 employees of the Schneider Group, many of them expats on short-term secondment from Germany.

Markus Sturm, CFO of Gebr. Schneider says “It is important for us to have a German speaking contact. This makes it easier to discuss the often complex accounting and tax matters. BRAL has the advantage that they can provide this.”

In addition, Blick Rothenberg prepares audited financial statements for Schneider (GB) Limited and corporation tax returns for both companies.