Aveva looks at overseas moves because of Britain's 'silly" red tape We'll soon get to the point where the pain threshold is breached. We're very good corporate citizens but it will get to the point that the barriers to doing business in Britain get so high, we'll look elsewhere," Mr Longdon said. Hong Kong is a likely contender, he added. Aveva was founded by the Government and Cambridge University in 1967 to try to introduce computers into British engineering. However, the company was privatised under former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Since then it has become one of Britain's most successful software businesses, employing 1,300 people around the world, a third of whom are in Britain.Aveva has offices in Chesterfield and Manchester as well as its Cambridge headquarters. Shares in Aveva jumped more than 10pc to £16.40 yesterday, as it revealed a 16pc jump in pre-tax profits for the year to April to £57.7m. Revenues increased from £174m to £196m following a surge in demand from the oil and gas industries. "Oil and gas are on fire," said Mr Longdon. Mr Longdon, who received £561,000 in pay in the year to April 2011, also criticised the tax rate for top earners. I know we have had movement on the 50pc tax [rate] but it only went down to 45p. In my view that was a way to get it back to 45pc for ever. It'll never go back to 40p," he said.