Tapestry Compliance > London, England > Firm Profile
Tapestry Compliance Offices
The Stanley Building
7 Pancras Square
LONDON
N1C 4AG
England
Tapestry Compliance > The Legal 500 Rankings
Employment > Employee share schemes Tier 1
Described by clients as a team that ‘lives and breathes share plans’, Tapestry Compliance assists a ream of blue chip clients, including Volvo, Unilever and Trip Advisor with ‘everything from day-to-day operational queries right through to complex transactional queries’. The team is co-led Hannah Needle, who is an authority on the design and implementation of new employee share plans, and Chris Fallon, whose expertise extends to employee benefit trusts. Bob Grayson is well placed to advise on matters concerning the Japanese market. Suzannah Crookes has recently leveraged her broad knowledge of share plans to assist with lobbying the government on the use of tax-advantaged plans in the context of the cost of living crisis. Lorna Parkin, Sally Blanchflower and Matthew Hunter are further names to note.Practice head(s):
Hannah Needle; Chris Fallon
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The Tapestry team is well organised and each member has professional knowledge and skills in dealing with long-term incentive matters.’
‘The team at Tapestry provide pragmatic, commercial advice in a timely. They are also great fun to work with!’
‘Chris Fallon is technically excellent but has the ability to distill that knowledge into layman’s terms and provide pragmatic solutions.’
‘The entire team is just so competent. They really know their stuff.’
‘Hannah Needle provides pragmatic and to the point advice. She is very good at highlighting where we might be getting too stuck in the weeds in our planning.’
‘The team as a whole is knowledgeable and pragmatic.’
‘The team has excellent specialist knowledge of employee share plans and has strong connections with local counsel globally.’
‘Sally Blanchflower is our key contact at Tapestry and has provided excellent service over the years.’
Key clients
The Coca-Cola Company
Dell
Aviva
Trip Advisor
HSBC
Sony
Tesco
Unilever
Rolls-Royce
Dr. Martens
Work highlights
- Advise Unilever on its discretionary and all-employee awards, as well as a number of their corporate spin-offs and the impact on incentive awards.
- Advising Volvo in relation to new executive and all-employee share plans and their global implementation.
- Advising Morgan Stanley on their global executive incentive arrangements and assisting with the roll-out of a new all-employee plan across 33 jurisdictions.
Tapestry Compliance > Firm Profile
Tapestry is a multi-award-winning boutique law firm specialising in global executive and employee share schemes and incentives. We offer excellent legal service to clients whilst maintaining our ethos of agile working and value for money. We provide insight-driven global solutions, and leading UK technical-expertise.
We have celebrated our second anniversary as an employee-owned business following the formation of an Employee Ownership Trust. Whilst always up against large City firms, the strength and quality of our offering means we continue to enjoy substantial growth, both in team size and client roster. Our clients have access to specialist, experienced, lawyers for significantly less; providing all-round better service.
Team
We are the largest incentives team in any UK law firm, providing the breadth of expertise and experience to match any of the big law firms.
Our partner-equivalents (Hannah Needle, Chris Fallon and Suzannah Crookes) lead the team, providing thought-leadership and a wealth of industry expertise.
Our other notable lawyers, all with certain specialisms (see individuals’ supporting information), include Sarah Bruce, Lorna Parkin, Sally Blanchflower, Emma Parker, Matthew Hunter, Steve Penfold, Paul Abthorpe and Tom Parker.
Bob Grayson’s consultancy brings immense practical expertise and longstanding industry relationships.
Margaret Rankin recently joined from EY. Becky Moore has just joined after 9 years at Clifford Chance, where she was included in Chambers/Legal 500.
Clients
We advise many of the world’s leading companies. We are the year-in, year-out trusted adviser on global incentive arrangements, fostering long-term relationships and repeat instructions on plan implementation, documentation and legal/tax compliance, including from Unilever, Sage, Rolls-Royce and The Coca-Cola Company. Flagship clients have remained with us since inception, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. This is complemented by many recent wins from other top firms this year including Tesco, Getty Images and Experian.
We advise many banks, insurers and asset managers (including HSBC, Aviva and Schroders) on a range of remuneration and regulatory topics, including for fund-based incentives, globally.
We also support our clients on the impact of corporate actions on their incentive plans.
Industry-leading
Tapestry is well-known for its thought-leadership and proactivity in industry organisations including the Global Equity Organisation (GEO, of which Hannah Needle sits on the Board of Directors), ProShare (for whom a number of our team lead on their industry Focus Groups), Share Plans Lawyers Group (SPLG, in which our lawyers hold Chair, Secretary and Committee positions) and National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) and support for those organisations with government/HMRC lobbying. Hannah has also recently been appointed to the Practical Law Share Schemes & Incentives Consultation Board, highlighting our pre-eminence in the industry.
Technology is a key strength of ours; developing new ways of providing easily-accessible, cost-effective legal services. OnTap, our innovative online database, provides legal/tax information in 150+ countries, helping companies manage incentives compliance more efficiently. Our webinar and roundtable programme (offering unrivalled guest access to industry policy-makers) facilitates critical peer-to-peer best practice discussions.
We have developed and deliver the UK’s only professionally-recognised qualification in our industry, the Chartered Governance Institute’s Certificate in Employee Share Plans. We now have 1,000+ alumni.
We were invited to a Buckingham Palace reception with the King, to recognise small businesses that have contributed to the UK economy. This year, we have also won the following awards showcasing our continued recognition in the industry: Global Executive Share Plans Law Firm of the Year in England 2023 by Corporate INTL; Employee Incentives Advisor of the Year by SME News Legal Awards 2023, and Compliance Consulting Law Firm of the Year (UK) by the International Elite 100 Awards 2023.
Culture
Tapestry has shown that it is possible to establish a firm where lawyers get to work with some of the world’s biggest clients, and lead on stimulating and challenging work, in a more sustainable way.
Our EOT structure shows our commitment to the principles of inclusion and diversity, and we can show a tangible positive impact on how we demonstrate that commitment. Traditional law firm structures have indirectly discriminated against those who take a career break or work part-time, often preventing them from holding Partner status. We’re proud that our business structure allows for everyone in the team to have the opportunity to be an owner in the business, from the most senior lawyers to support staff.
Great value and great service
As a specialist firm, our clients have access to experienced lawyers and our rates are significantly less than the big firms; providing all-round better value and quality than many of the City-based firms.
Training
We provide the UK’s only professional qualification in our industry, the Certificate in Employee Share Plans (accredited by the Chartered Governance Institute UK and Ireland). As well as teaching the technicalities and providing attendees with a solid knowledge foundation, our unique offering shares market knowledge and best practice. The course is run annually in two parts with an exam after each part. With over 1000 alumni in total and up to 100 participants each year, the course also has supported career development for many in the industry.
“presented by a highly knowledgeable team, helping to unravel the complex world of share plans.”
(Tom Goodman, GSK)
“Brilliant course led by experts with a wealth of share plans knowledge to tap into.”
(Alex Couter, Smith & Nephew)
“Overall, probably the best training course I have been on, thank you Tapestry.”
(Georgia Derbyshire, Abcam)
Technology
Our use of technology to provide additional legal services has always been a key strength of the firm. We continue to develop OnTap, our innovative online database providing legal and tax information in 150 countries. This specialist service helps companies manage their share plan compliance, keeping them up-to-date with regulatory changes. Our database is the strongest product of its type in the market, and we continue to win subscribers from competing providers.
“OnTap is an excellent resource! The information available and the ease of navigation make it an obvious choice for us to keep a handle on the legal and tax compliance of our global plans”.
(Elena Petrou, Aviva)
Value-add initiatives
We run a programme of regular virtual roundtables and webinars to enable clients to discuss topics such as current issues clients are facing and global developments. This programme expanded and moved virtually during the Pandemic. It was very well received, so we have continued to run the events, in particular to facilitate the open discussion of timely topics between senior industry players. Some in-person events have returned, but we are now using the technological learning and tools we gained during our pandemic response to increase the clients we can reach, in a hybrid, more sustainable way. Most recently, guest speakers have included the Head of Institutional Voting Information Service (IVIS), who was able to share insights and take questions on the expectations of the UK’s biggest institutional investors on UK plcs. The opportunity to hear from and engage with such influential people in our industry is unique and would not be easily accessed elsewhere.
Addressing key topics in our e-alerts such as investor reactions and guidance, key developments in certain sectors and the global ever-changing local legal and tax regulations, we have also shared our knowledge with our community through LinkedIn and other online industry forums, making them available for all.
[We] “have been enjoying the updates and webinars – Tapestry pretty much always first out of the gate!”
(Jane Richards, Hastings Insurance)
Diversity
Tapestry has always been proud to boast of a majority female workforce, with women comprising a majority of senior positions in the firm. The firm is a champion of diversity: currently, over 60% of staff at all levels are female; the wider leadership team is majority female and includes disabled and LGBTQ+ members; a high proportion of our staff have a diverse educational and social background, including being the first generation in their family to attend university.
We have a modern and progressive approach to work and have always been committed to providing a stimulating and enjoyable environment for all our team members. We have applied agile working practices which represent a cultural shift from traditional firms.
It takes time to develop a fully diverse team. As a boutique firm we recognise that our people are the key to our business. In addition, the nature of our global work ensures we strive to understand and value cultural differences. As we continue to expand our business, our aim is to attract talented individuals regardless of their beliefs, background or lifestyle choices. No two people have the same flexible working pattern, we agree arrangements as needed by our colleagues.
Tapestry recently became a 100% employee-owned business. The formation of an employee ownership trust, which holds all the shares in Tapestry for the benefit of all Tapestry’s employees, ensures that everyone in the team can be an owner in the business. We are very proud of our new employee ownership structure – we are now ‘walking the walk’ in the area of employee share ownership! This new business structure puts us is a relatively unique position as an adviser to understand more personally the needs of our clients.
“Unilever’s vision is a truly diverse and inclusive workforce… We aim to promote gender balance and developing an inclusive culture by respecting the contribution of all employees regardless of gender, age, race, disability or sexual orientation. As one of the signatories of the General Counsel Diversity & Inclusion Statement of Support…we’re happy to work with Tapestry who embrace a culture where agile working is available for women and men to have a healthy work/life balance whilst also providing great and cost-efficient legal advice when we need it.” (Unilever)
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Director, sits on Board of Directors | Hannah Needle | hannah.needle@tapestrycompliance.com | |
| Legal Director, sits on Board of Directors | Chris Fallon | chris.fallon@tapestrycompliance.com | |
| Senior Associate, sits on Board of Directors | Lorna Parkin | lorna.parkin@tapestrycompliance.com |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
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Paul Abthorpe | Paul is a Senior Associate and has a broad range of experience… | View Profile |
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Sally Blanchflower | Sally is a Senior Associate who advises on all aspects of global… | View Profile |
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Sarah Bruce | Sarah is a Senior Associate with 14 years of experience specialising in… | View Profile |
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Suzannah Crookes | Suzannah is a Legal Director (Partner equivalent) at Tapestry. Suzannah has extensive… | View Profile |
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Chris Fallon | Chris is Legal Director (Partner equivalent) and is Tapestry’s “UK Counsel”, both… | View Profile |
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Bob Grayson | Bob has spent his career advising on the global aspects of employee… | View Profile |
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Matthew Hunter | Matthew is a Managing Associate with broad experience in advising clients on… | View Profile |
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Hannah Needle | Hannah is Legal Director (Partner equivalent) and advises many leading global companies… | View Profile |
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Emma Parker | Emma is a Senior Associate who leads on a broad range of… | View Profile |
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Tom Parker | Tom is an Associate who advises on the legal, regulatory and tax… | View Profile |
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Lorna Parkin | Lorna is a Senior Associate with particular expertise in advising global companies… | View Profile |
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Steve Penfold | Steve is a Managing Associate who advises companies on tax-qualified employee share… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of UK partners : 4 Number of other UK fee-earners : 22Diversity/Community
Tapestry Compliance
Tapestry Compliance is a dynamic, multi-award winning boutique law firm specialising in all aspects of employee share incentives. Built on an ethos of flexible working, we offer interesting and challenging work, with a more sensible approach to working hours than in the larger firms.
We recruit and retain the very best people from a diverse range of backgrounds, recognising that they are our key asset. The nature of our global work ensures we strive to understand and value cultural differences.
Tapestry’s legal team, which is over 60% female, comprises those who combine home and office working as well as flexi-hours. Our agile working practices represent a cultural shift from traditional firms and is offered to both men and women. With a leadership team which is currently 67% female, we are committed to providing a stimulating and enjoyable environment for all our team members.
We ensure that all appointments for the firm are made on merit. As we continue to expand our business, our aim is to attract talented individuals regardless of their beliefs or background. We treat all our people fairly, promoting best practice in recruitment, retention and career progression, and are committed to a working culture that is fair and inclusive.
Tapestry complies with Equal Opportunities legislation and Codes of Practice and does not conduct or condone any unlawful discrimination.
Client Testimonials
CLIENT: Margot M. Fransen, Chief Counsel Employment and Remuneration
COMPANY/FIRM: Unilever
TESTIMONIAL: Unilever’s vision is a truly diverse and inclusive workforce with everyone empowered to bring their authentic self to work. We aim to promote gender balance and developing an inclusive culture by respecting the contribution of all employees regardless of gender, age, race, disability or sexual orientation. As one of the signatories of the General Counsel Diversity & Inclusion Statement of Support we aim, amongst others, to encourage and partner with our law firms to adopt best practices in diversity and inclusion. We’re happy to work with Tapestry who embrace a culture where agile working is available for women and men to have a healthy work/life balance whilst also providing great and cost efficient legal advice when we need it.
CLIENT: Elena Petrou, Head of Share Schemes, Group Secretarial
COMPANY/FIRM: Aviva
TESTIMONIAL: Aviva have been working with Tapestry for a number of years. Tapestry supported us through the challenging launch of our first global all-employee plan and continues to be our legal share plans partner for our complex range of plans and support us through our Directors Remuneration reporting. With great client service, we have found their expertise invaluable, especially recently as we navigated the revised UK Corporate Governance framework. OnTap is an excellent resource! The information available and the ease of navigation make it an obvious choice for us to keep a handle on the legal and tax compliance of our global plans. Over the years, members of our share schemes team have also completed the Certificate in Employee Share Plans course finding it informative and up-to-date. Tapestry have made the effort to get to know us as a business, know how we work and suggest changes that are appropriate for us in a language we understand.
CLIENT: Hayley Stock, Manager, Share Plan Operations & CHQ Reward
COMPANY/FIRM: Rolls Royce
TESTIMONIAL: We engage with Tapestry on all aspects of both all employee and exec share plans – from plan design to challenging compliance issues. Having dedicated points of contact who are familiar with our plan rules and our company culture, as well as having a vast industry, regulatory and compliance knowledge is invaluable. We have confidence that we will always get a quick and relevant response to any urgent questions raised, and well informed guidance on any regulatory or compliance driven changes. Recent changes to Tapestry’s online tool – OnTap – has saved us a lot of time with due diligence activity, with the new reporting functionality enabling quicker and more efficient reporting across all jurisdictions.
CLIENT: Robert Douglas, Global Stock Plan Manager
COMPANY/FIRM: Shell
TESTIMONIAL: [Tapestry’s Certificate in Employee Share Plans] This is a fantastic course that will that will give you the practical skills to recognise and avoid the real issues faced by a business. Not only did the material reinforce and match my learnings from 15 years implementing global share plans, it also filled in some of my knowledge gaps. Highly recommended.
CLIENT: Tom Goodman, Corporate Governance Advisor
COMPANY/FIRM: GSK
TESTIMONIAL: [Tapestry’s Certificate in Employee Share Plans] An interactive course presented by a highly knowledgeable team, helping to unravel the complex world of share plans.
CLIENT: Janet Bawcom, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
COMPANY/FIRM: Ingredion Inc.
TESTIMONIAL: Tapestry Compliance is a valued partner that is responsive to our needs and provides practical legal advice. They maintain the level of quality you would expect to find at a large international law firm, while being a more cost-effective and efficient option.
I love the “vibe” Tapestry has, I love how just plain good your team is at what they do
Client Testimonials
CLIENT: Margot M. Fransen, Chief Counsel Employment and Remuneration
COMPANY/FIRM: Unilever
TESTIMONIAL: Unilever’s vision is a truly diverse and inclusive workforce with everyone empowered to bring their authentic self to work. We aim to promote gender balance and developing an inclusive culture by respecting the contribution of all employees regardless of gender, age, race, disability or sexual orientation. As one of the signatories of the General Counsel Diversity & Inclusion Statement of Support we aim, amongst others, to encourage and partner with our law firms to adopt best practices in diversity and inclusion. We’re happy to work with Tapestry who embrace a culture where agile working is available for women and men to have a healthy work/life balance whilst also providing great and cost efficient legal advice when we need it.
CLIENT: Elena Petrou, Head of Share Schemes, Group Secretarial
COMPANY/FIRM: Aviva
TESTIMONIAL: Aviva have been working with Tapestry for a number of years. Tapestry supported us through the challenging launch of our first global all-employee plan and continues to be our legal share plans partner for our complex range of plans and support us through our Directors Remuneration reporting. With great client service, we have found their expertise invaluable, especially recently as we navigated the revised UK Corporate Governance framework. OnTap is an excellent resource! The information available and the ease of navigation make it an obvious choice for us to keep a handle on the legal and tax compliance of our global plans. Over the years, members of our share schemes team have also completed the Certificate in Employee Share Plans course finding it informative and up-to-date. Tapestry have made the effort to get to know us as a business, know how we work and suggest changes that are appropriate for us in a language we understand.
CLIENT: Hayley Stock, Manager, Share Plan Operations & CHQ Reward
COMPANY/FIRM: Rolls Royce
TESTIMONIAL: We engage with Tapestry on all aspects of both all employee and exec share plans – from plan design to challenging compliance issues. Having dedicated points of contact who are familiar with our plan rules and our company culture, as well as having a vast industry, regulatory and compliance knowledge is invaluable. We have confidence that we will always get a quick and relevant response to any urgent questions raised, and well informed guidance on any regulatory or compliance driven changes. Recent changes to Tapestry’s online tool – OnTap – has saved us a lot of time with due diligence activity, with the new reporting functionality enabling quicker and more efficient reporting across all jurisdictions.
CLIENT: Robert Douglas, Global Stock Plan Manager
COMPANY/FIRM: Shell
TESTIMONIAL: [Tapestry’s Certificate in Employee Share Plans] This is a fantastic course that will that will give you the practical skills to recognise and avoid the real issues faced by a business. Not only did the material reinforce and match my learnings from 15 years implementing global share plans, it also filled in some of my knowledge gaps. Highly recommended.
CLIENT: Tom Goodman, Corporate Governance Advisor
COMPANY/FIRM: GSK
TESTIMONIAL: [Tapestry’s Certificate in Employee Share Plans] An interactive course presented by a highly knowledgeable team, helping to unravel the complex world of share plans
CLIENT: Janet Bawcom, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer
COMPANY/FIRM: Ingredion Inc.
TESTIMONIAL: Tapestry Compliance is a valued partner that is responsive to our needs and provides practical legal advice. They maintain the level of quality you would expect to find at a large international law firm, while being a more cost-effective and efficient option.
I love the “vibe” Tapestry has, I love how just plain good your team is at what they do
- Employment > Employee share schemes