Gates Industrial Corporation has won overwhelming shareholder backing for its plan to move its corporate domicile to Bermuda from England and Wales, saying the change will reduce administrative costs.

The company, which is based in Denver, Colorado, and is a global manufacturer of engineered power transmission belts and fluid power products such as hoses and tubes, emphasised that the move is “not tax driven”.

Chief executive Ivo Jurek said the move would “enhance capital and strategic flexibility while sustaining strong corporate governance and reducing administrative complexity and cost”.

Gates expects the redomiciliation to have no material impact on its day-to-day operations, services, management, board or employee base. The company employs approximately 15,000 people globally. Its sales, distribution, and manufacturing operations span more than 120 locations across 30 countries.

Gates, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, announced that about 99.6 per cent of votes cast at shareholder meetings supported the redomiciliation proposal.

The move is subject to approval by the UK courts and other regulatory requirements. The company expects the change to become effective on July 20.

In a proxy statement issued ahead of the vote, the company said Bermuda had been selected as the new home for its holding companies after an 18-month process that included consideration of several potential domiciles, including the US state of Delaware, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg.

Gates said Bermuda offered a more suitable legal framework for a company with a predominantly US shareholder base while avoiding the disruption and expense associated with a US reincorporation.

Choosing the US, Gates added, would also have required a more extensive restructuring of global operations at an implementation cost of an estimated $3 million to $5 million.

In the proxy, Gates described Bermuda’s tax regime as “generally more favourable, less complex and less prone to uncertainty and risk of unfavourable changes compared to the US tax regime”.

Gates’ annual global revenues, which totalled approximately $3.5 billion in 2025, are well above the 750 million-euro threshold used for Bermuda’s Corporate Income Tax Act, putting the company potentially within scope.

While Gates does not explicitly state whether it expects to pay any tax in Bermuda, it does say its new island entity is intended to be a holding company and its operating subsidiaries will continue to pay tax in their countries of residence, suggesting that any taxes liable in Bermuda are likely to be minimal.

Gates said eliminating the costs and complexity associated with maintaining a UK parent company, while also meeting US public company reporting requirements, was cited as a key benefit of redomiciling.

Once the reorganisation is complete, Gates expects to dissolve its UK holding company. Delaying the move would expose Gates to additional UK compliance costs during 2026 and potentially 2027, the company added.