Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief

We recently assisted a Yorkshire-based museum with their first Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief claim for a temporary exhibition imported from Canada.

As the exhibition was hired from outside the EEA and this was a significant proportion of the exhibition costs, the client was unsure if the exhibition would qualify for the relief. We were able to review all of the expenditure associated with producing the exhibition and found that there were sufficient costs incurred in the EEA to make a claim.

Public Sector Policy Dispute - Ongoing Litigation

An organisation provided a service to people in the care of a local authority.

The organisation took out an insurance policy to cover litigation costs in circumstances where there was a significant threat to the viability of the company.   

When the local authority threatened to withdraw all its operations from the client, a process of litigation, paid for by the insurance policy, was started.

Claims Management Company Contract Dispute - £200,000+

An entrepreneur sold her claims management business for a sum to be paid in stages over a three-year period, with the consideration linked to the performance of the business and a share of future value upon a sale within a defined period.  During the deferred period, the seller was retained as a consultant by the purchaser.

Production Process and Machinery Hire Contract Dispute - £107,000. Currently being litigated

The claimant installed a bottling production plant into a well-known water retailer, but the system was not commissioned for actual use.

Sports Club Construction Dispute Settlement - £450,000+

A sports club had sold part of its land to a developer in return for the construction of a new clubhouse on the organisation’s remaining land.

As construction costs over-ran, the developer stopped work and refused to resume until additional funds were provided by the sports club.  This resulted in a stand-off that saw lawyers instructed by both sides.

The case got stuck for over 12 months in a legal process that made little headway, other than to highlight weaknesses in the contract that meant each side had some form of potential argument with which to attack the other.

Are you going to pay the right amount of Inheritance Tax?

Losing a family member can be a very distressing time, especially when this comes suddenly and is unexpected.

One of our dairy farming clients faced an inheritance tax bill of over £220,000 on their fathers estate which included 2 working farms. The sons of the deceased individual came to Armstrong Watson as their trusted advisors to review the correspondence they had received from their solicitors and H M Revenue and Customs.

Different level of pro-activity leads to significant tax savings for new Armstrong Watson Client

"By listening to our needs and getting to know the business, Matt, Tom and the team were able to offer us a different level of proactivity that we had not seen before from our previous advisers”
 

Strategic business advice helps increase Oldfield Electrical Supplies turnover past the £10 million mark

“By listening to our needs and getting to know the business, David and the team were able to steer us in the right direction to achieve our expansion goals and increase our number of operational branches within 3 years.”
Matthew Bell, Managing Director, Oldfield Electrical Supplies

Background

Successful protection of interests in law firm closure

Armstrong Watson was engaged by Genus Law Limited to find a firm to acquire the ongoing matters, client relationships and successor practice status; monitor compliance and lead on interaction with the SRA; and to ultimately liquidate the business.

Challenges

Taking your team and setting up on your own – a law firm “MBO”

Armstrong Watson was engaged by a head of practice area who was keen to take his existing team and clients from his current multi-partner firm to create his own sole practice. We were therefore engaged to value his current position in isolation, negotiate an exit value, incorporate a new entity, register the new entity with the SRA, establish lines of financing with bankers and ultimately assist in the ongoing financial compliance of the new business (e.g. in respect to payroll requirements, HMRC etc.).

Challenges