Interpreting Services for UK Businesses. 120+ Languages

Face-to-face, telephone, and remote interpreting from professional native-speaking interpreters.

Global LTS provides professional interpreting services for UK businesses, legal proceedings, medical appointments, conferences, and negotiations. Our interpreters are native speakers with subject-matter expertise in your sector, covering 120+ languages across three delivery formats: face-to-face, telephone, and remote video interpreting.

Our Interpreting Services

Face-to-Face Interpreting

An interpreter attends in person and conveys spoken communication between parties in real time. Face-to-face interpreting is the most effective format for complex, sensitive, or lengthy engagements where nuance, body language, and relationship matter.

Used for: business negotiations, legal proceedings, medical consultations, site visits, HR meetings, and public sector interviews.

Delivery formats: consecutive interpreting (speaker pauses for the interpreter to convey each segment) or simultaneous interpreting (interpreter conveys in real time, used for conferences and large meetings).

Find out more about face-to-face interpreting

Telephone Interpreting

An interpreter joins a call by telephone and conveys communication between parties in real time. Telephone interpreting is the fastest format to arrange and suits situations where an interpreter is needed at short notice or where travel is not practical.

Used for: customer service calls, appointment scheduling, brief consultations, and situations where an in-person interpreter is unavailable at short notice.

Telephone interpreting is consecutive only. Simultaneous interpreting requires the interpreter to see the speaker and hear clearly, which telephone audio does not consistently support.

Remote Video Interpreting

An interpreter joins a video call and provides interpreting in real time. Remote video interpreting combines the speed and flexibility of telephone interpreting with the visual communication that face-to-face provides. It works well for formal meetings, medical consultations, and legal proceedings where seeing the interpreter and both parties matters.

Used for: remote business meetings, video legal hearings, telemedicine consultations, and cross-border negotiations.

Consecutive vs Simultaneous Interpreting

Consecutive interpreting is the standard format for most business and legal settings. The speaker delivers a section of speech, then pauses. The interpreter conveys that section in the target language before the speaker continues. This format suits meetings, interviews, negotiations, and consultations where the conversation has a natural back-and-forth rhythm.

Simultaneous interpreting is used at conferences, large meetings, and events where pausing for interpretation is not practical. The interpreter conveys the speaker’s words in real time, typically working in a soundproof booth with specialist equipment. Because simultaneous interpreting is cognitively demanding, professional simultaneous interpreters work in pairs and rotate every 20-30 minutes.

Global LTS provides both formats. For conference and large-scale events requiring simultaneous interpreting and booth equipment, contact us to discuss your specific requirements.

Industries We Work With

Legal and Courts

Legal interpreting requires precise, impartial interpretation with no paraphrasing. Our legal interpreters have experience in court proceedings, solicitor meetings, immigration hearings, police interviews, and arbitration.

Medical and Healthcare

Medical interpreting requires both subject-matter knowledge and sensitivity. We provide interpreters for clinical consultations, hospital appointments, mental health assessments, and patient communications across a range of languages.

Business and Negotiations

Cross-border negotiations, due diligence meetings, supplier visits, and international board meetings all require interpreters who understand both the language and the business context. Our business interpreters have sector-specific knowledge across manufacturing, finance, legal, and technology.

Public Sector and Government

We provide interpreters for local authority meetings, immigration and asylum proceedings, public consultations, and social services appointments.

Conferences and Events

For large conferences requiring simultaneous interpreting, we provide interpreter teams, booth arrangements, and technical coordination for multi-language events.

Languages Covered

We provide interpreting services in 120+ languages. The most frequently requested include:

European: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Turkish, Greek, Swedish

Asian: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil

Middle Eastern: Arabic (Modern Standard and regional dialects), Farsi, Hebrew

If your required language is not listed, contact us to confirm availability before booking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between interpreting and translation?

Translation deals with written text. Interpreting deals with spoken language in real time. A translator works with documents; an interpreter works in live conversation, meetings, or events.

How quickly can you arrange an interpreter?

For telephone interpreting, we can typically arrange cover at short notice. For face-to-face interpreting, we recommend a minimum of 48 hours notice where possible, though we handle urgent requests regularly. Contact us with your requirements and timing.

Do your interpreters have subject-matter expertise?

Yes. We match interpreters to projects based on sector knowledge. A legal proceeding is handled by an interpreter with legal experience; a medical appointment by an interpreter with medical knowledge. We do not send general interpreters to specialist settings.

What is consecutive interpreting?

The speaker delivers a section of speech, then pauses while the interpreter conveys it in the target language. This is the standard format for meetings, interviews, and consultations.

What is simultaneous interpreting?

The interpreter conveys the speaker’s words in real time without pauses. This requires specialist equipment and is used at conferences and large events. Simultaneous interpreters work in pairs and rotate every 20-30 minutes due to the cognitive demands of the format.

Can you provide interpreters for legal proceedings?

Yes. Our legal interpreters have experience in court hearings, immigration tribunals, solicitor meetings, and police interviews. Accuracy and impartiality are essential in legal settings and are applied as standard.