Working closely with the Corporate Finance Department, the Transactional Tax team provides sophisticated tax solutions to businesses and their owners. The partner in charge is Nick Byfield, who together with the Corporate Finance team, brings a unique blend of technical excellence, commercial acumen and creative flair to the full range of transactions supported by HMT.

Advising on transactions requires more than technical excellence, it requires the commercial acumen to understand the dynamics of the wider picture, and the creative flair to resolve otherwise deal-breaking issues. The transactional tax team at HMT are all experienced practitioners with "Big 4" accountancy firm backgrounds, and have advised on the full range of transactions from owner-managed business deals to multi-national cross-border transactions. Our focus is on pure transactional work, which means that the client can rely on a dedicated resource that will not be distracted by other client work, and will bring you the expertise unique to transactional tax.

Key areas of focus include:

• Pre-deal - assessing options before committing to a transaction will highlight both opportunities and potential pitfalls. Typically, the need to reorganise or demerge a corporate group to reduce the tax exposure on disposal, or select an appropriate acquisition vehicle can be identified and implemented.
  
  
• Acquisition - in addition to advising on optimal acquisition vehicles, cross-border tax issues may apply. Equally, planning to harmonise incentives for key employees may highlight the need for share option schemes or other tax efficient incentive plans.
  
  
• Disposal - whether a corporate vendor or an individual selling a share of a business, clarity of the tax position and the planning opportunities available should be expected, together with a risk assessment of any actions contemplated.
  
  
• Tax due diligence - working closely with the Transactional Support team to identify and quantify tax exposure on a potential deal and suggest clear and practical solutions to resolve issues identified.
  
  
• Valuation - whether for tax or other purposes, the Transactional Tax team has considerable experience in agreeing business valuations.
  
  
• Negotiation - we consider an engagement to be finished only when it has been completed to the satisfaction of the person instructing us. In addition to planning and implementing creative tax solutions, our client will be engaging one of the region's foremost tax negotiating teams.

Working closely with the Corporate Finance team, our key delivery standards encompass the following:

• Commercial - by understanding the dynamics of a deal and appreciating the wider picture, we are able to apply our expertise to provide a negotiating edge to the lead advisor.
  
  
• Clarity - the client should be clear about their tax position, the risk, the return and the down-side if the planning is challenged. We do not hide behind jargon, but appraise our clients in straightforward terms, and provide a clear view.
  
  
• Confidence - our clients can be confident that their affairs are being reviewed by senior practitioners, all with extensive experience, who specialise in transactional tax work.
  
  
• Communication - our clients will have access to an HMT tax adviser who will stay with a deal through to completion. By building a close relationship alongside the other advisers, clear channels of communication can be achieved which facilitate a smooth transaction.
  
  
• Certainty - although no tax expert can provide certainty that the Inland Revenue will agree a particular tax position, our clients can be certain that they are dealing with a leading Transactional Tax team.