Industries We Serve
Deep sector knowledge. Strategies that fit your industry, not a template.
Property Developers & Investors
SPV structuring, SDLT planning, and capital allowances for portfolios from single buy-to-lets to multi-site developments. We make every deal work harder after tax.
Property tax in the UK has moved in one direction for three consecutive years. The additional-dwelling SDLT surcharge climbed from 3% to 5%. Section 24 mortgage interest restriction continues to bite higher-rate landlords. Dividend tax rose 2% from April 2026, with a further 2% rise on property income scheduled for April 2027. From April 2028, a mansion tax applies to homes above £2 million. The investors and developers who thrive in this environment are the ones who structure ahead of the rule changes, not behind them. We work alongside your lawyers, brokers, and lenders so the tax position on every acquisition, refinance, and disposal is planned before contracts are signed.
Typical engagements
- Choosing between personal ownership, SPV, and LLP for a new acquisition
- Modelling SDLT on portfolio purchases including the 5% surcharge and 15% higher rate
- Capital allowances and full expensing on commercial fit-outs and refurbishments
- Refinancing decisions where Section 24 has made personal holdings uneconomic
- Incorporation of personal portfolios into corporate structures (and when not to)
- Inheritance tax and succession planning for multi-generational property estates
Startups & Founders
EIS/SEIS compliance, EMI schemes, cap table management, and the financial architecture that institutional investors expect before they write a cheque.
The UK has the most generous early-stage investment tax regime in the developed world — but the rules are intricate and getting them wrong is expensive. SEIS gives investors 50% income tax relief on up to £250,000 raised. EIS gives 30% with the gross assets test doubled to £30 million and annual limits raised to £10 million from April 2026. EMI option schemes give your team capital gains tax treatment on exit, but only if the scheme is filed and operated correctly. Investors will not write cheques without HMRC advance assurance, and they will walk away from cap tables that look reactive rather than planned. We help founders get the financial architecture right from the first round, then scale it through subsequent raises and into eventual exit planning under BADR.
Typical engagements
- SEIS and EIS advance assurance applications and ongoing compliance
- EMI option scheme design, HMRC valuation, and annual filing
- Founder share planning ahead of a priced round (including reverse vesting where relevant)
- R&D tax credit claims under the merged scheme and ERIS regime
- Investor-ready management accounts and cap table modelling
- Pre-exit Business Asset Disposal Relief planning at the 18% rate
Professional Services Firms
Partner remuneration, LLP structures, and profit extraction strategies for law firms, consultancies, and agencies that want to keep more of what they bill.
Law firms, consultancies, marketing agencies, and other professional services partnerships face a specific challenge: the people who generate the revenue are the people who own the firm, and every pound of profit needs to be extracted tax-efficiently. The 2% dividend tax rise and the move of carried interest into income tax at 34.1% from April 2026 have re-opened the debate between LLP membership, salaried partner status, and incorporation. The right answer depends on partner mix, succession plans, and how much profit needs to remain in the firm to fund growth. We work with partner committees and managing partners to model the alternatives, draft the resulting partnership and shareholder agreements, and implement the chosen structure cleanly.
Typical engagements
- Comparing LLP, salaried partner, and incorporated structures for profit extraction
- Self-employed vs employed status reviews under HMRC's salaried member rules
- Drafting and updating LLP membership agreements and shareholder agreements
- Equity transitions when senior partners retire or new partners join
- Tax-efficient bonus structures and deferred remuneration plans
- Practice valuations for partnership buy-ins and buy-outs
Technology & Innovation
R&D tax credit claims, IP structuring, and international expansion frameworks for software, hardware, and deep-tech companies scaling beyond the UK.
The R&D tax credit regime that built the UK's tech ecosystem has been substantially rewritten. The merged scheme replaced the SME and RDEC frameworks. The Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS) regime now applies to loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs at an effective 27% rate. Subcontractor rules changed. PAYE caps tightened. Claims that would have been accepted three years ago are now routinely opened for enquiry. At the same time, scaling tech companies face new questions on IP location, permanent establishment, and transfer pricing as they hire across borders. We prepare R&D claims to evidentiary standards that survive enquiry, structure IP holdings to support future growth, and advise on the international tax architecture that funded growth requires.
Typical engagements
- R&D claims under the merged scheme — including ERIS for R&D-intensive loss-makers
- Pre-filing technical narratives and contemporaneous record-keeping reviews
- Handling HMRC R&D enquiries and compliance check correspondence
- Patent Box election and the 10% effective rate on qualifying IP income
- Transfer pricing documentation for UK companies with international group members
- Permanent establishment analysis when hiring engineers in new jurisdictions
Family Businesses & Wealth
Succession planning, the new £2.5M BPR cap, trust structuring, and multi-generational strategies that protect what took decades to build.
From April 2026, 100% Business Property Relief applies only to the first £2.5 million of qualifying business and agricultural assets per individual; the excess attracts 50% relief and an effective 20% IHT rate. For sole owners, unmarried partners, and any family with assets meaningfully above the cap, decades of estate planning need revisiting. Trust structures, lifetime gifting, life insurance written in trust, and family investment companies all become more relevant. The interaction with the 2026 dividend rise, the corporation tax marginal relief zone, and the SDLT surcharge means a family business is increasingly taxed across three different points: when it earns, when it distributes, and when it passes on. We bring all three into the same conversation and build plans that work across generations.
Typical engagements
- BPR and APR reviews to confirm qualifying status of trading and farming activities
- Succession plans incorporating the £2.5M BPR cap and the 10-year interest-free instalment option
- Family investment company (FIC) structuring for long-term wealth transfer
- Discretionary and interest-in-possession trust design and ongoing administration
- Lifetime gifting strategies including potentially exempt transfers and the seven-year rule
- Pre-sale planning for family businesses considering a third-party exit