The United Kingdom presents a robust environment characterized by a mature market, a skilled workforce, and investment-friendly regulations. Entrepreneurs in the startup or growth expansion phases will find UK phone numbers like a local or toll-free UK number to be especially valuable because the country focuses on protecting its citizens and building strong relationships in their homeland and internationally, creating a trusting atmosphere between consumers and larger enterprises.
Get UK Phone Numbers for Your Business
A virtual UK phone number looks like a local number in the UK. However, it uses international call forwarding and VoIP to send and receive calls over an internet connection. This means that your UK-based customers can call your business for free or local calling rates while you receive the call outside the country.
In other words, you can extend the benefits of local calling, even if your business is located internationally.
What Types of UK Phone Numbers Can I Get?
A global phone number provider like Global Call Forwarding can help you get a variety of virtual UK phone numbers to help you establish a reliable and cost-effective presence in this region:
- UK toll-free numbers: These are UK ITFS numbers or UK freephone numbers with local toll-free prefixes — these are free for local customers to call.
- UK mobile numbers: These are mobile numbers accessible from callers inside and outside the country.
- UK local numbers: These are local phone numbers with city-specific area codes — customers can call these numbers and pay regular local rates.
- UK national numbers: These are local numbers accessible from anywhere within the country.
Use these phone numbers in the UK to establish a strong local foothold in the region and set up your sales or support operations.
To learn more, check out our UK number guide or chat with our experts.
UK Country Code and Phone Number Format
The country code of the UK is +44.
UK phone numbers typically have a trunk prefix, toll-free or area code, and a 7-8-digit subscriber number.
Here’s an example of a UK phone number: +44 (808) xxx-xxxx, where 808 is the UK freephone code.
Doing Business in the UK
The UK is one of the best locations for companies to invest in for a number of reasons. Firstly, the UK has a number of exciting investment opportunities for international businesses that range from agri-tech to energy, and creative to communications. With these investment opportunities, there are also lots of ways that the UK government can help and sponsor companies to help them grow within the UK.
Further to this, the country has a transparent regulatory system which makes the UK an easy country to do business in. This is because it is possible for foreign companies to understand legislation so that they can expand to the UK, or move their business there. As a result of this, there are more headquarters based in the UK than in any other EU country.
In addition to the simple regulatory system, the UK also has a simple and competitive tax rate system. This can help companies not located within the UK to expand their business operations without losing out by paying large international fees.
Using UK Phone Numbers for Your Business
Although doing business in the UK can help a company to succeed because of its strong economic background and opportunities for investment, actually moving to the UK can be a difficult process. It can also involve a large outpouring of time and money as a result of research, buying land, building new offices, and finding good employees.
An alternative option is to expand with UK virtual numbers. These numbers help you establish your company as a local enterprise without being physically present in the country. Use your UK phone numbers to show potential customers they are appreciated and let them know your business exists as a service that is meant to be helpful, instead of focusing on sales and profits.
UK phone numbers offer the flexibility of allowing entrepreneurs to travel or live anywhere in the world while catering to their customer base in the United Kingdom. Because UK residents are creative and outgoing buyers, you can also use a vanity number to advertise your UK phone numbers. Vanity numbers are memorable and they translate well online, helping to spread the news about your business and services through online advertisements and word of mouth.
Related: Top UK Virtual Number Providers
Let Customers Call for Free with UK ITFS Numbers
The international toll-free number service (ITFS) is available in a range of countries across the world. ITFS numbers are versatile and great for company expansion as these numbers can allow calls to be forwarded from the UK to virtually any country in the world. This means that no matter where your business is located, you can communicate with customers and potential investors located in the UK. A UK ITFS number is also a great solution for keeping in contact with employees who are traveling in the UK. As a result, by purchasing a UK ITFS number, international companies can expand into the UK without having to move there which can increase the market reach of a company.
What is more, by having a UK ITFS number advertised on marketing materials, it has been found that companies experience much higher rates of customer interest than those companies that do not have a customer phone line. An ITFS number gives customers the feeling that the company they are contacting is close, reliable and provides a safe and affordable customer support service, all things that increase the likelihood of customers choosing to invest in that company.