Advisory
TAX STRATEGY
We specialise in providing corporate and personal tax planning advice to a range of clients. Our clients are typically privately-owned or family-owned businesses and their owners, including high net worth individuals.
We work in conjunction with our clients and their other advisers (such as solicitors and bank manager) to deliver tax solutions that work for our clients and their business. We pride ourselves in being approachable but plain-speaking and our clients welcome the fact that we can explain complex tax issues and solutions without using technical jargon.
Our approach seeks to deliver practical solutions that take account of existing business and financing structures.
In most cases, through the relationships that we have built up with our clients, our role has become that of business adviser and tax adviser, providing advice and input on issues beyond tax, including corporate finance and business funding.
No-one likes surprises in relation to fees, so we seek to be open and transparent with our fee arrangements.
We have a very strong relationship with solicitors, banks and other advisers and will typically take on the role of ‘project manager’ to ensure that the strategy is implemented in accordance with our advice.
The key areas of our practice include—
BUSINESS STRUCTURES
Advice on establishing or restructuring your business to ensure that the structure achieves the commercial and personal objectives of the owner in a tax-efficient manner.
This may involve a demerger, which can separate the business before a sale, or to allow the separation of ‘family assets’ from the main ‘trading business’, protecting the long-term value of the business.
EXIT AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
Advice and planning for the sale or purchase of a business, ensuring that owners maximise the commercial value of their business and that the sale is structured in a tax-efficient manner, including Management Buyouts, Family Buyouts, Employee Ownership Trusts – all of which allow the business owner to be paid over a deferred period out of future business profits so that the incoming shareholders do not require to make a significant personal investment.
Working closely with all parties allows the management team/next generation of the family to be supported into the role of business owner, whilst allowing the older generation to realise the value of their business in a tax-efficient manner.
WEALTH PLANNING
Advice on passing family assets and wealth to the next generation, including the availability of reliefs from inheritance tax and capital gains tax, potentially by creating a family trust, which can protect the wealth of the family in a tax-efficient manner.
This may be shares in an investment company, or buy to let property investments, commercial property
TRANSACTION SUPPORT
Providing expert tax advice on all forms of transactions, including business acquisitions, disposals, and complex reconstructions such as demergers.
The critical factor to ensure a successful transaction is obtaining clearances from HMRC. We will guide you through effective communication with HMRC by explaining the commercial drivers for the transactions, or by adjusting the transaction in a manner that meets with approval from HMRC.
We would strongly recommend that you instruct us to prepare the clearance application for a transaction as it is much easier to get an advance clearance granted than to overturn a refusal.
DEALING WITH HMRC
We have supported clients through all manner of enquiries from HMRC, including investigations under the CoP 8 and CoP 9 procedures, as well as more general enquiries into our clients’ tax affairs.
STAFF INCENTIVES AND RETENTION
Advice on providing incentives to key employees, including various equity plans, such as granting tax-favoured EMI options, issuing growth shares (which have negligible value at the time of issue but increase in value as the business grows in value), as well as more traditional remuneration planning.