Paul is a solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser specialising in corporate transactions, property transactions and share schemes. He advises on a wide range of projects, from tax-efficient structures, mergers and acquisitions and tax covenants through to suitable vehicles for property investments and developments using UK and international structures.
Paul has extensive experience of the tax issues involved in the interaction between companies and their shareholders, including advising on restructuring, demergers, shareholder exits and the introduction of new shareholders (including use of share schemes and EIS/SEIS).
Paul also advises on Stamp Duty Land Tax and VAT on the acquisition of UK property and other Stamp Duty-related matters.
Expertise
- Corporate acquisitions and disposals
- Tax-efficient structures
- Share schemes
- Enterprise Investment Scheme
- Tax covenants and indemnities
- Vehicles for property development and investment
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and VAT on property
- Restructuring of business interests including demergers and incorporations
- Succession planning
Experience
Corporate Tax
- Demerger of large NI-based retail business to separate NI and Scottish activities into distinct corporate groups
- Implementation of CSOP scheme for manufacturer of heavy plant
- Pre-sale restructuring and eventual sale of manufacturer ultimately owned by offshore trust, including EMI and part-paid share scheme planning
- Advising on cross-border refinancing of significant tourism sector enterprise
- Internal restructuring of large demolition and construction group
Property Tax
- Tax-efficient incorporation of large care home business originally carried out via a number of discrete partnerships
- Advising property developers on SDLT implications of site fine arrangements
- Acquisition of Luxembourg company holding UK commercial property, including advising on right-sizing of target debt at completion and use of brought-forward tax losses
- Acquisition of Jersey SPV holding recently developed residential property in Belgravia, addressing corporation tax, VAT and SDLT issues
- Restructuring of property investment group to separate properties into suitable vehicles to allow separate security arrangements to be made by different lenders
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Career
Paul qualified as a solicitor in 2003. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2021, he worked at the following firms:
- BDO (Northern Ireland)
- Herbert Smith Freehills