Corporate tax in West Midlands

At DLA Piper, the Birmingham tax practice has particular strength in the fields of real estate structuring and corporate reorganisations. Mark Burgess is extensively experienced in matters of national and international significance; he leads the firm’s international tax structuring group. Senior associate Nick Hinton is carving out a prominent reputation for his work on M&A transactions and employee incentive share option arrangements.

The key pillars of DWF’s tax workload in the West Midlands are M&A, share schemes, private equity and a wealth of transactions referred from London, both national and international. Jon Stevens, a lawyer thoroughly experienced in real estate funds and cross-border M&A, is the key name locally and also spearheads the firm’s national practice; he is supported in Birmingham by associate Deborah Payne who has assumed the responsibility of developing the group’s share scheme practice.

Gowling WLG is best-known for its work on multi-jurisdictional projects and reorganisations. Practice head Lee Nuttall’s practice spans the full range of commercial taxation affairs including a distinguished level of expertise in tax efficient designs for private investment funds. He is supported by Zoe Fatchen, a specialist in private equity investment structuring, equity-based incentives and tax disputes, as well as real estate tax lawyer Chris Nyland, particularly adept in SDLT and VAT matters. Clients include local, London-based and international private equity investors, private and listed funds and major corporates, among others.

Parisi Tax LLP, ‘an elite boutique tax firm’, is jointly led by Lisa Stevenson and Becky Rees; the former is a star name for the tax aspects of M&A, private equity and group reorganisations while the latter counts debt restructurings, employment-related securities and the implementation of executive share incentive plans among her core strengths. The pair are praised as ‘excellent lawyers, at the top of their game’, as are Jon Robinson and Patrick Allan who provide the team with property-related tax expertise, working on matters such as SDLT, VAT and stamp tax considerations, as well as management share incentive structures. The group deliberately targets smaller businesses and start-ups, in addition to larger corporates, and has worked on a large number of EIS and SEIS incentive matters over the past 12 months.

Browne Jacobson LLP's team handles a broad variety of tax matters; supporting corporates on major M&A transactions, including those with a cross-border elements, while also acting for retailers, investors and developers on the pertinent aspects of property deals, including SDLT and VAT advice. Practice head Andrew Noble, notably a qualified charted tax advisor, is also a specialist in respect of employee and management share incentive schemes and regularly caters to local authorities and schools, among other public sector and not-for-profit entities, on matters such as public-private joint venture tax issues. Other fields of activity include EIS and SEIS work for start-up companies and tax disputes stemming from corporate transactions.

Mills & Reeve LLP's tax practice advises on a wealth of matters including M&A and banking transactions, employment-related tax matters and property tax structuring. The team is particularly active in the education, sports, charities and not-for-profits sectors and is co-led by Neil Pearson, a specialist in venture capital, social investment and employee share ownership matters. Dual-qualified charted tax adviser Kevin Lowe is Pearson’s co-head and also fronts the firm’s corporate and commercial group.

At Higgs LLP, practice head Susheel Gupta is the key contact at partner-level; he is an expert in representing owner-managed businesses and is particularly knowledgeable of tax planning structures, contentious corporate reconstruction matters and employee incentive schemes. At the more junior end, Craig Thomas supports on capital gains, income and corporation tax matters while Jonathan Hunter is developing a reputation for his corporate restructuring work.