An ambitious property entrepreneur had been operating successfully for five years. However, frustrated that his efforts were not increasing his personal wealth in the way he expected, he approached Jeffreys Henry for advice. In particular, he was alarmed at how much tax he was paying, but was unsure as to what could be done to reduce his tax liabilities.

The client was involved in a mixture of property activities. Part of his property portfolio was held as a long-term investment, while the rest was for development and then sale. In addition, he was operating without any corporate entity, with all activities being carried out in his own name.

We created a corporate structure that separated the investment activities from the trading activities. This reduced tax on both his rental income and development profit. We were able to structure the shareholdings so as to minimise future inheritance tax for his family and even managed to secure a large VAT refund on his development costs.

Being able to reinvest the tax savings has provided a great opportunity to expand his property portfolio.

Jeffreys Henry advise on dozens of portfolios worth up to £250 million and offer a comprehensive service to private landlords, property investors, developers and related businesses such as chartered surveyors, architects, consulting engineers and estate agents.