Brodies LLP’s tax team is well-placed to serve the needs of high-net-worth individuals, families and their businesses; the practice works closely with members of the personal and family team. Alan Barr and Isobel d’Inverno are the co-heads of the practice. D’Inverno has deep knowledge of land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) and stamp duty land tax (SDLT). Heather Gibson is recommended for her expertise in oil and gas taxation and HMRC excise duty approvals.
Corporate tax in Scotland
Brodies LLP
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Testimonials
‘Isobel is extremely knowledgeable about tax and very generous with her time on what is not a fee paying matter’.
‘Brodies LLP specializes in Scottish law’.
‘I have been impressed by their teamwork and knowledge’.
‘Isobel D’Inverno is a corporate tax specialist who is firm, knowledgeable and decisive’.
‘Heather Gibson has good knowledge of tax and trust law’.
‘Brodies have a long standing knowledge of our business and aspirations’.
‘We receive pragmatic and commercially focused advice’.
‘We get solutions as well as risks being highlighted’.
Key clients
Capreon funds
Lalique Group SA
Drum Property Group
Omega Diagnostics Group plc
Drum Development Group
Anadna Properties Limited and Cerberus Capital Management
Gresham House plc
FIM Services Limited
The shareholders of Paterson Arran Limited
Dana Petroleum
Moorfield Real Estate Fund III (MREF III)
Janus Henderson
LCN Capital Partners
Work highlights
- Provided UK tax and incentives advice to CBRE in connection with the recommended £260m acquisition of Telford Homes PLC.
- Advised Lalique Group SA on the tax aspects of the acquisition of the Glenturret distillery and whisky brand from Highland Distillers (part of the Edrington Group).
- Advised Capreon on several matters, including the tax aspects of refinancing and restructuring UK commercial property investments.
Dentons
Dentons' Scottish tax practice handles a broad range of matters, including planning and structuring for corporate deals and reorganisations, value-added tax, financial services tax and employment tax. Team head Gwen Souter, who is a chartered accountant, is adept at providing international tax advice to listed companies, privately held businesses and multinational groups. Lorna McCaa is recommended for corporate and real estate tax advice, and cross-border deals.
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Key clients
M&G Real Estate (various funds)
Hyundai Asset Management
Scottish Equity Partners LLP
The PRS REIT plc
J Sainsbury plc
The Edrington Group Limited
John Menzies plc
FreeAgent Holdings Limited
Hansa Trust plc
Hurricane Energy plc
Work highlights
- Provided tax advice to KPS Capital Partners on aspects of their US$ 1.8 bn acquisition of Howden, a Glasgow headquartered multinational group
- Advised Edrington Distillers Limited on the sale of its Cutty Sark Whisky brand to French spirits group La Martiniquaise-Bardinet.
- Structuring the acquisition and financing of a Jersey company owning a property at Gyle Square, Edinburgh.
Burness Paull LLP
Burness Paull LLP is well regarded for its corporate finance and related tax expertise, particularly in relation to private equity and management incentives. The team advises on the complex tax aspects of corporate deals in Scotland, the UK and internationally. Real estate tax matters are another area of focus, with the team providing structural advice at all stages of transactions, ranging from the outset of the transaction to post-completion and the overseeing of LBTT and SDLT. Team head Ronnie Brown is noted for his experience of advising London businesses and Scottish accountancy firms.
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Testimonials
‘Ronnie Brown and John Finnick provided excellent tax advice with a friendly tone.’
‘The team are always responsive and helpful whenever we call on them.’
‘Ronnie Brown has provided excellent advice.’
Key clients
Management of The Foundry Visionmongers
Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc
Murgitroyd Group PLC
SST Sensing Limited
i3 Energy plc
First Mortgage Direct
Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited
The shareholders of McConechy’s Tyre Service Limited
Sword Charteris Limited
Magnesium Capital LLP
Springfield Properties Limited
Work highlights
- Provided tax advice during the takeover of the Foundry by Roper Technologies for £410m in cash from Hg.
- Advising AskBio on the buy-side during the acquisition of Edinburgh-based Synpromics Ltd.
- Advised Murgitroyd on its de-listing and takeover by a special purpose vehicle affiliated with Sovereign Capital Partners LLP.
MacRoberts LLP
MacRoberts LLP’s tax team provides transactional tax advice to corporates and business owners. The firm has recently seen an uptick in instructions from the charities sector, where it advises on mergers and consolidations, and charity tax trading matters. On the property side, the practice handles VAT and SDLT/LBTT issues. It is also experienced in providing tax planning advice to shareholders in relation to entrepreneurs' relief and substantial shareholdings relief. Employee share schemes are another area of expertise. Practice head Ainsley MacLaren sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s Tax Sub-Committee and the Tax Committee of the Scottish Property Federation.
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Testimonials
‘Apart from her wider tax knowledge, Ainsley McLaren is my go to person in Stamp Duties and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.’
Key clients
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC
Breedon Aggregates plc
JPI Media Limited (previously Johnston Press plc)
Dow Investments plc (including Renaissance Care)
Muse Developments
BAM Properties
British Waterways Board/Scottish Canals
Black & Lizars Limited
Douglas Laing & Company
CCHG (trading as Vaporize)
Work highlights
- Provided transactional tax support to the sellers of Cultivate Software Limited, an Edinburgh based Software consultancy business to international food delivery service, Deliveroo.
- Provided transactional tax support to the vendor of J. Thomson Colour Printers Limited in the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to Bell & Bain.
- Provided transaction tax support to the corporate finance team in relation to the acquisition by Douglas Laing & Company of Strathearn Distillery, a Scottish whiskey distillery established in 2013 in Perth.
Shepherd and Wedderburn
Shepherd and Wedderburn has notable experience of undertaking real estate tax matters - including SDLT, LBTT and VAT planning - for charitable clients and developers of student accommodation. Other core strengths include corporate tax transaction advice, bespoke tax advice for individual clients and specialist tax advice for individual shareholders. Rodger Cairns jointly heads up the team with chartered tax adviser Stephen Miller, who is recommended for his experience of the tax aspects of corporate acquisitions, disposals and restructurings. Douglas Sinclair made partner.
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Testimonials
‘Exceptional attention to detail’.
Key clients
JP Morgan Chase
Blackrock
Miller Homes Limited
Taylor Wimpey plc
Sainsbury’s plc
Hermes
British Land plc
Mint Office Properties Limited
BAE Systems
BDL Hotels
Work highlights
- Advised the shareholders of DeltaDNA on the tax aspects of the sale of the company to San Francisco-based Unity Software, one of the largest games engine providers in the world.
- Advised Forsa Energy Limited on the tax aspects of its sale of its 350MW consent portfolio of onshore wind projects to BayWa r.e. UK Limited.
- Advised on the tax aspects of the acquisition of the Mint Building, Leeds, which is the headquarters of airline company Jet2.
DWF
DWF handles a wide range of issues for clients, including tax and share incentive advice, and M&A and private equity-related tax. The firm also provides real estate tax advice to high street brands in relation to Scottish and UK transactions. Professional indemnity is another area of focus, where the team advises on allegations of negligent tax advice and failed tax compliance. The client base includes SMEs and publicly listed companies. Caroline Colliston is the key practitioner in Scotland.
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Key clients
Boost (Bidco) Limited (part of Aliter Capital)
Mowi (previously known as Marine Harvest Scotland Ltd)
Marks and Spencer plc
Custodian Reit plc
Graham’s The Family Dairy Group
LDC and other individual sellers
Perle Hotels
Boston Group (Bidco) Limited (part of Aliter Fund LP)
PSC Insurance Group Limited
Acamar Limited
Work highlights
- Providing tax deal support to Aliter Fund LLP on multiple acquisitions.
- Providing tax deal support to Custodian REIT Plc on acquisitions and tax advice on group reorganisation post acquisitions.
- Acting for LDC and the other shareholders on the sale of CMS Windows to Maven Capital.
Pinsent Masons LLP
Pinsent Masons LLP is well regarded for advising FTSE 100 companies, institutional investors, entrepreneurs and government bodies on the tax aspects of large M&A and public takeovers. The firm generates mandates from clients operating in the manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, financial services and real estate sectors. Practice head Christine Yuill is renowned for her experience of corporate and business tax, employee share incentive schemes and property tax issues, including VAT and SDLT.
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‘Christine Yuill has an amazing ability to translate complex corporate tax issues into understandable, contemporary and bespoke advice that we can actually digest and act on.’
‘Marketing leading knowledge in corporate tax and share schemes.’
‘Christine Yuill is a genuine expert and has always been able to provide us with incisive advice.’
Key clients
Ithaca Energy
Abstract group of companies
JZ
Nevis Capital LLP
CALA Group
Energy Assets Group Limited
CH&Co Limited
Total E&P Limited
Ability Hotels
Lloyds Development Capital
PfP Capital
Work highlights
- Advised Ithaca Energy on its $2 bn acquisition of Chevron’s North Sea business.
- Advised PfP Capital on the formation of a fund being established to invest in mid-market rental properties in Scotland.
- Advised Total on the disposal of their interests in ten assets located in the Eastern North Sea.