Monday
Following its recent win in the Private Client Law Firm (boutique) category at the 2023 eprivateclient Excellence Awards, eprivateclient sat down with The Burnside Partnership to explore its roots and what it takes to stand out in the private client sector. Della Burnside, managing partner and one-half of the twin sister duo at the helm of the Burnside Partnership, said her firm’s win at the eprivateclient Excellence Awards “will help to promote not only our private client practice as a discipline, but our firm as a whole. In turn, I hope it will attract more advisers to us who align with our approach, and the award gives us an opportunity to showcase how we work and our differentiation with other law firms.”
The Government of St Kitts and Nevis made further changes to its citizenship by investment programme. The new changes, further to those made in December 2022, are aimed at safeguarding the nation’s integrity, making the programme sustainable and preserving the status of being a citizen of St Kitts and Nevis. The changes include the introduction of a new investment option, the Sustainable Island State Contribution (SISC), replacing the previous Sustainable Growth Fund (SGF). Contributions start from $250,000 for one applicant only and increase as a spouse or dependants are added. [Read more]
Tuesday
London law firm Boodle Hatfield reported a fee income increase to £32.5 million for the 2022/23 financial year. This is an increase of £1.8 million, or 5.8 percent, from the year prior. The firm's average revenue per fee earner was £606,000, whilst it stood at £898,000 per partner. These financial results come as the firm closes its 300th year in business – making this the firm’s best year on record. Over the last six years the firm has averaged an annual increase of six percent in revenue and a 12 percent increase in profit. The firm also reported an 80 percent trainee retention rate this year.
The Charity Commission closed its regulatory compliance case into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, concluding that the charity’s activities further its purposes and that there is no further role for the regulator. The commission opened its case to assess whether grant funding provided by the charity towards construction of Club Des Sports Courchevel’s (CDS) ski clubhouse was in furtherance of its charitable purposes. The CDS is a French charity that offers children and young people in Courchevel the opportunity to enjoy alpine sport activities, including skiing, at a subsidised cost. The site is also in part occupied by an exclusive ski clubhouse that charges high membership fees. Between September 2019 and June 2020, the charity provided grants totalling EUR12,500,000 to the CDS toward the construction of the ski clubhouse building which opened in December 2021. The exclusive members club known as the Courchevel Ski Club (CSC) operates from one room at the top of the building. CSC charges EUR25,000 to join alongside an annual fee of EUR6,000. However, the regulator now understands that the high-fee club only uses four percent of the clubhouse and that the CDS receives the income generated from this membership. [Read more]
Wednesday
International law firm Charles Russell Speechlys hired Thomas Snider as a partner and head of its international arbitration practice. Mr Snider joined from Al Tamimi & Co and will be based in the firm’s Dubai office. His appointment forms part of the firm’s plans to further develop its international arbitration practice at a time of increasing globalisation. Mr Snider has over 20 years of experience resolving large-scale, complex disputes across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. His work covers commercial arbitration, investment disputes, state-to-state arbitration and foreign sovereign immunity-related matters. Mr Snider acts for a varied client base and his work spans a wide range of industries, sectors, and types of disputes including construction and infrastructure, energy and natural resources, and retail, consumer, and leisure. Mr Snider is on the panel of arbitrators of several arbitral institutions around the world. He is also on the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and a member of the board of directors of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC).
A jailed fraudster who bought three Spanish villas after stealing from the taxpayer was ordered to pay £1.2 million back or face another seven years in jail. Graham Drury, 71, formerly of Strathalyn, Rossett, Wrexham, was jailed for five and a half years in 2021 after submitting fraudulent VAT returns to HMRC. At a hearing in Mold Crown Court last Friday (28 July 2023), Mr Drury was told to pay a £1.2 million confiscation order within three months or have seven years added to his prison sentence.
Thursday
Saffery Champness made two mid-year promotions in its Geneva office. Siobhan Moret, who was with the private client firm for over three years, was promoted from associate director to client director. Ms Moret will also continue her dual role within the company as marketing director, with responsibility for the marketing activities of the Swiss offices. Ms Moret has a particular interest in digital assets and cryptocurrency, producing thought leadership articles on the subject, playing a role in the production of the firm’s digital asset eBook, and recently sharing her insight as a guest on the Finscale podcast. Katherine Edwards was also promoted from trust officer to senior trust officer. Ms Edwards made quick progression since joining the firm 18 months ago, taking on additional responsibilities and being an active member of the corporate social responsibility team.
Private wealth services provider Suntera Global acquired Guernsey-based boutique Carey Commercial Limited after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. Having been initially announced in May this year, the acquisition forms part of Suntera Global’s ambition to add further scale in Guernsey. With a 45 plus year heritage and a team of 80 specialists, Carey provides a broad range of professional, administrative and accounting services to an international portfolio of fund managers, large institutions, UHNWs and family offices. Carey’s fund administration division also added Guernsey as a new tier one fund jurisdiction for Suntera. The broad fund offering in Guernsey now includes full-service fund administration, directorship services, listing services, investor services, company secretarial and corporate governance, risk and compliance services and international reporting.
Friday
The total amount of capital gains tax (CGT) liability was £16.7 billion for 394,000 taxpayers in 2021/22, HMRC data revealed. HMRC noted that this liability was realised on £92.4 billion of gains. The total take represented a 15 percent increase from the previous year, while the number of taxpayers increased by 20 percent. The data also highlighted large increases in the amount of gains and tax and the number of taxpayers disposing of residential property. Many argued this is due to the combined impact of tax changes and rising interest rates on they buy-to-let market. From this tax year the annual exemption is reduced to £6,000 and it is due to halve again to £3,000 from 2024/2025 onwards, meaning more individuals will be liable for CGT.
A tax avoidance promoter based in The Shard was exposed by HMRC with users warned to withdraw or risk large tax bills. This latest publication of tax avoidance schemes and their promoters came after tax avoidance promoter Hyrax Resourcing was handed a £1 million fine after a legal challenge by HMRC, for failing to disclose to the tax authority the details of the tax avoidance scheme they promoted. These avoidance schemes typically saw users contracted through the scheme and paid National Minimum Wage, with the rest of their wage disguised in a separate payment. Schemes such as these often wrongly promise their users can avoid National Insurance and Income Tax. HMRC has redacted the names of the tax avoidance promoters.