The Legal 500

United Kingdom > West Midlands > Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax

Editorial sections

Other

All countries

Wragge & Co LLP’s full-service tax practice advised Astex Therapeutics on the tax and incentives aspects of its acquisition by NASDAQ-listed SuperGen; and new client Lyceum Capital on its acquisitions of Adapt and Access UK. Lee Nuttall delivers ‘concise and straightforward advice’, with a focus on the real estate side; Neil Pearson is experienced in structuring deals for venture capital trusts; and Kevin Lowe is rated for his corporate and projects tax advice. Other clients include Sanctuary and Argent. The team’s response times are ‘excellent’.

DLA Piper UK LLP is regularly involved in complex deals with an international element, and acts for clients such as Aviva, Barclays and Compass Group. The team advised Valero Energy on its £1.73bn acquisition of the Chevron oil refinery in Pembroke, and acted for Wereldhave NV on a real estate acquisition valued at €182.2m from a Jersey-based property unit trust. Mark Burgess is highly rated for his real estate tax work.

Gateley’s share scheme practice continues to develop, and it is gaining a reputation for tax advice on structuring exits for entrepreneurs and management teams. The team also handles tax litigation, including disputes involving breach of tax warranties. It provided tax advice to Education Development International on the approved and unapproved share incentive plans involved in its takeover by Pearson. Practice head James Gopsill is recommended for real estate tax.

Pinsent Masons LLP was instructed by UBS in its appeal against the decision of the First Tier Tax Tribunal on the tax treatment of UBS’ bonus structure. Other blue-chip clients include Avon Cosmetics, Delphi Automotive and AXA UK. Ian Hyde stands out for his experience in real estate tax matters and tax litigation.

Squire Sanders LLP has a ‘co-ordinated and strong team’. The ‘experienced’ Jon Stevens acted for a syndicate of investors in its acquisition and development of a Holiday Inn Express Hotel with an approximate fund value of £22m. Significant client wins included Seven Capital, Coats, Worldwide Sports Investments and Vodafone. Lawrence Green is highly rated for his knowledge of employee share incentives.

Boutique tax practice Parisi Tax LLP Birmingham provides a ‘first-rate service more appropriate to a much larger firm’. It assists a number of well-known law firms, and recently advised a large privately held company on complex merger and subsequent demerger of interests. Lisa Stevenson is ‘dependable and knows her stuff’’, and the ‘commercial’ Becky Rees is also recommended.

The mainstay of SGH Martineau LLP’s tax practice has been working with fund managers in relation to venture capital investments. Highlights included advising on the transfer of a property in the UK by a local authority pension scheme into a Guernsey unit trust. London-based Oliver Gutman now heads the team, and Kavita Patel is a key contact at the Birmingham office.

Browne Jacobson LLP’s Andrew Noble ‘explains technical issues in a very comprehensive way’. Deal highlights included advising the Dutch-based Macintosh Retail Group on the tax aspects of its acquisition of Jones the Bootmaker, the UK shoe retailer, for approximately £40m.

Eversheds LLP’s Andrew Quayle divides his time between Manchester and Birmingham, and has particular expertise in employee share incentive arrangements. Damian Shirley heads the indirect tax unit, and has extensive experience in capital projects in the education sector.

At Higgs & Sons, the ‘very professional’ Susheel Gupta is recognised for his work in the owner-managed business sector and for his restructuring work. He led the tax advice on the merger between Curry and Partners and Bigwood, and also on the s110 demerger of Nickolls and Perks.

Knights solicitors llp’s tax team advises on diverse areas such as tax indemnities on transactions, capital allowances on fixtures in commercial properties, and stamp duty land tax. Henry Davenport is recommended.

Search News and Articles

Press releases

The latest news direct from law firms. If you would like to submit press releases for your firm, send an email request to

Legal Developments in West Midlands for Corporate tax

  • US rules regarding offshore accounts

    The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act 2010, enacted on 18 March 2010, imposes a new US withholding tax and reporting regime, known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The FATCA regime applies generally to payments made after 31 December 2012, except on obligations (to be defined in future guidance) outstanding on 18 March 2012. Substantial effort is required by foreign entities to bring their worldwide operations and policies into compliance with the FATCA rules as of the effective date.

    - Jones Day

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

Press Releases in the UK

The latest news direct from law firms. If you would like to submit press releases for your firm, send an email request to
© 2013 www.legal500.com