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
- Advised on Tax law matters, including corporate acquisitions, transactions and tax efficient structures for a global provider of AI-based edge video analytics, IoT technologies, and cybersecurity, in an acquisition of a global provider of video analytics technology, and supported the notification of the deal under the NSI Act.
- Advised on the tax matters for life sciences compliance software company, Ennov on the UK aspects of its strategic acquisition of CALYX’s Enterprise Technology division.
- Advised on tax law matters, including corporate acquisitions, transactions, and tax efficient structures for the acquisition of the technology of Sequeestor Limited, a cross-border acquisition by a NASDAQ company of the intellectual property rights of a UK-based global provider of video analytics technology.
- Advised on tax matters for one of the leading providers of turnkey productivity solutions, on its acquisition of multiple assets in a liquidation asset sale.
- Advised on tax matters for one of the world’s largest systems suppliers in the proposed share sale of the company, and its subsidiary environmental consultancy company to a strategic buyer
- Advised on tax matters for the owners of a flooring company, in the sale of its entire issued share capital to a private equity consortium.
- Advised on tax matters for the shareholders of Integrum Power Engineering Ltd on its sale to the utility and energy resources company, OCU Group Limited (OCU). OCU is backed by Triton Partners.
- Provided advice on various tax aspects to certain shareholders of a specialist data, analysis and advisory firm on the sale of their shares
- Provided assistance on various corporate transactional aspects to tech start-up which is developing Web3, blockchain and NFT technologies to create the next generation brand, fan and commerce experience to deepen consumer experience on its founder shareholder agreement
- Provided assistance on various commercial property and tax aspects to the UK partners of a US private equity business on the best structure through which to trade and remunerate themselves in the UK.
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
- Provided advice on various corporate and tax aspects to a founding partner of an internal architectural LLP who was seeking to exit over a period of two years from the practice
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