Ian jointly heads up the business client division at our Ely office, where he is a resident partner. He helps clients start, run and exit their SME businesses, advising them how to create and protect value. As a self-confessed 'techie', he has developed a particular interest in acting for TechCo's.
Outside of work, now that his rugby playing days are behind him, he likes to spend his spare time on sunny days exploring the Fen waterways in a kayak.
When COVID directly impacted upon the UK in Spring 2020, the Government introduced a range of measures specifically targeted to help SME businesses survive the expected period of financial strain. Such businesses should now be planning ahead for when this support is gradually withdrawn: 21-Jun-21 Deadline for arranging with HMRC when to repay COVID related…
From 1 October 2021, to be eligible to apply for public sector contracts over £5m pa, suppliers must have Net Zero Carbon Reduction Plans in place. These will be required to demonstrate a commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050 in the UK: Taking Account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the Procurement of Major Government…
As we are hopefully now at the start of the end for Covid related business activity disruption, the accounts of local SME’s are now starting to show part of the damage they have experienced through the lock-downs and associated restrictive measures. The overall effect upon turnover for the year-ends of 2020 has not been as…
In what was seen my many as a Budget lacking in ideas to kick start the economy back into life, Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a notional 30% uplift to eligible capital allowances headlined as the proverbial ‘rabbit out of the hat’. The tweaked allowances will give businesses purchasing brand new plant and machinery more tax…
As 1-Jan-21 draws ever nearer what changes should your SME business prepare to adopt ready for Brexit: Exporting Goods to the EU Despatches are renamed exports. Apply for an EORI number (which will look something like: GB123456789123). Check whether what you sell is a restricted good that requires an export licence. Check whether there are…
Business owners who have built up a valuable private investment company (holding cash, private or quoted equity and/or property), accumulated either from scratch or after the sale of a trading company subsidiary, will be all too aware that the lack of entitlement to Business Property Relief (BPR) creates a problematic inheritance tax (IHT) exposure. So…
When the time comes, we can advise on the following business exit options: Succession to the next generation (as a gift or for consideration), An IPO flotation. Trade sale: MBO, Industry related, Private equity related, To the workforce, via an Employee Ownership Trust, Trade cessation, followed by company liquidation or dissolution. As well as reviewing…
When approached by the business general manager who had been given first refusal by the business owners to purchase the company, Whitings assisted him with transaction structuring, tax planning, raising finance and general deal support. The deal was structured with deferred consideration and bank debt, to be totally self funding over 3 years.
After many years of perceived abuse, the Government has announced that they are soon to introduce new laws to require stricter, independent, scrutiny (by an ‘Evaluator’) where connected parties purchase a failed business out of administration (a Pre-pack). In announcing the move, the government said that while pre-pack administration sales are widely considered to be…
Companies with 31 December 2019 year ends will be due to pay their corporation tax on 1 October 2020. If that company is expecting to suffer a loss during the 2020 financial year, perhaps due to COVID-19 related reasons, it should be possible to carry that loss back one year and claim a refund of…
