Reflective of Shoosmiths’ large real estate and conveyancing practices, our specialist tax team advises institutional investors, real estate funds, commercial developers, house builders and corporate occupiers to charities, housing associations, as well as high-net worth individuals.
The team provides expert advice on all taxes relevant to property transactions including stamp duty land tax, VAT, capital gains tax, income tax, corporation tax, ATED, capital allowances and the application of the construction industry scheme.
The team also regularly advises on structuring real estate transactions and corporate transactions involving real estate (such as pre-sale reorganisations or business transfers involving property).
The team has particular expertise in advising on the acquisition and development of student accommodation and care homes, having acted on some of the largest transactions in these sectors in the last few years.
Recent experience includes:
- Advising on the tax implications for a ground-breaking development of a major new hub for tech, digital and creative industries in Manchester and the subsequent sale of the development to an institutional investor for more than £300m;
- Advising a major international engineering group on the tax implications of its major letting of its new London headquarters, enabling the group to consolidate its 1,000-strong London staff into a single location;
- Regularly advising a specialist student accommodation developer on its portfolio of sites across Southern England, in particular ensuring that its “forward funding” arrangements can be implemented in a tax-efficient manner.
“Shoosmiths' real estate tax team “deliver complex advice in a pragmatic and understandable way and their knowledge of the commercial angles enables them to tailor advice accordingly".
