5 deliberate steps. One partner across the entire journey.

The first call is a 90-minute exploratory session, conducted by a senior partner or principal, not a junior associate. The objective is to understand your structure, citizenship, revenue profile, existing advisors, and immediate trigger events—such as an upcoming exit, relocation deadline, or pending audit notice.

You should come prepared with:

• Current residency and citizenship of all beneficial owners and key directors
• Simplified org chart showing holding companies, OpCos, and IP entities
• Revenue and payroll split by jurisdiction (even approximate)
• Existing advisors: who handles your tax, legal, and accounting in each country
• Specific trigger or deadline: exit timeline, visa expiry, HMRC enquiry, IRS notice

We will not ask for financials or sensitive documents at this stage. Instead, we map decision nodes—points where a structural choice (incorporation jurisdiction, residency programme, treaty application) creates material downstream tax or compliance consequences.

Common outcomes from this call:

• Proceed to paid assessment: your situation is complex, multi-jurisdictional, and requires detailed modelling (most common).
• Decline engagement: you have a purely domestic question better served by a local firm, or your structure is already optimal and no intervention is warranted.
• Referral to specialist: for example, if you need US immigration (EB-5, E-2) or litigation defence, we refer you to vetted counsel and remain available for tax coordination.

This consultation is complimentary and confidential. No obligation to proceed. You will receive a summary email within 48 hours outlining our preliminary view and recommended next steps.

Link to book your consultation

If we proceed, the strategic assessment is a paid, time-bound engagement—typically four to six weeks—that produces a written report and a prioritised action roadmap.

What We Analyse

We examine:

• Tax residence and substance: whether current arrangements satisfy HMRC's statutory residence test, IRS substantial presence rules, or UAE 183-day thresholds; CFC and PE exposure.
• Entity structure and treaty eligibility: holding company jurisdiction, withholding tax optimisation, qualification for EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, UK-US treaty benefits, or OECD MLI modifications.
• US-person implications: Subpart F (passive income), GILTI (>10% stakes in CFCs), PFIC reporting (Form 8621), FATCA (FBAR, Form 8938), exit tax exposure under IRC §877A.
• IP and royalty flows: transfer pricing adequacy, DEMPE analysis (development, enhancement, maintenance, protection, exploitation), OECD Pillar Two implications if consolidated revenue >€750m.
• Personal wealth and estate planning: inheritance tax (UK), estate tax (US), forced heirship in civil-law jurisdictions, trust structure viability post-ATAD.

Deliverables

You receive:

1. Written assessment report (30–50 pages): current-state diagnosis, risk quantification, and 3–5 alternative scenarios with tax modelling.
2. Decision matrix: trade-offs between scenarios—e.g., [UAE Golden Visa](/residency/dubai-golden-visa) + UK non-dom vs. Portugal NHR vs. Irish remittance basis.
3. Implementation roadmap: sequencing, estimated timeline, third-party dependencies (legal opinions, notarisation, apostilles).
4. Risk register: known points of friction (e.g., HMRC challenge to non-residence, IRS audit of transfer pricing, permanent establishment in client's country).

What We Require from You

You provide:

• Incorporation docs, shareholder agreements, prior three years' tax returns (personal and corporate), passport copies, proof of current residence.
• Access to your accountant and corporate counsel for verification calls.
• Responses to clarification queries within five business days (SLA).

The assessment fee is fixed (typically £8,500–£15,000 depending on complexity) and credited toward the main engagement if you proceed to execution.

See example case studies

Once the assessment is complete, we issue a formal engagement proposal and draft letter of engagement. This document specifies scope, fees, responsibilities, and termination terms.

Fee Structure

We use three models, often in combination:

1. Fixed-Fee Mandates

For defined deliverables—incorporating a UK LLP, drafting transfer pricing documentation, preparing a residency application (UAE, Portugal, Greece)—we quote a fixed fee. You know the total cost upfront; no surprises.

Typical range: £12,000–£40,000 depending on jurisdiction and entity count.

2. Retainer + Variable

For ongoing projects (multi-country restructuring, staged exit planning, tax audit defence coordination), we charge a monthly retainer (£4,000–£8,000) plus variable fees for discrete tasks (legal opinion procurement, filing amendments, liaison with revenue authorities).

This model suits engagements with 12–24 month horizons where the scope evolves—e.g., you initially restructure, then later add a US subsidiary when you secure Series A from a Silicon Valley fund.

3. Success or Value-Based Fee

For tax optimisation mandates where the benefit is quantifiable—reducing exit tax by securing treaty relief, obtaining advance clearance from HMRC, restructuring to reduce WHT from 20% to 0%—we may propose a success fee equal to 15–25% of first-year tax savings, capped.

This is always transparent: we model the counterfactual, agree the baseline, and document the outcome.

What Is Excluded

Our fees do not include:

• Government filing fees, notary fees, apostille costs, visa application fees.
• Third-party counsel: if we retain a Portuguese advogado for NHR registration or US immigration attorney for O-1, you pay their invoices directly (we negotiate the rate and manage the work).
• Accounting and corporate secretarial: annual accounts, VAT/GST returns, payroll. We can introduce providers or coordinate with your existing firm.

Termination and IP

Either party may terminate on 30 days' written notice. You own all deliverables upon payment. Work product remains confidential under the terms of our mutual NDA.

Download sample engagement letter (redacted)

Once the engagement letter is signed and the first invoice paid, we move into execution. This phase is project-managed using a shared tracker (Notion, Asana, or Monday.com) with visibility into tasks, dependencies, and owner.

Typical Timeline by Mandate Type

Weekly Cadence and Milestones

You receive:

• Weekly progress email every Monday, summarising completed tasks, items awaiting your input, and blockers.
• Fortnightly video check-in (30 min) to discuss open questions, adjust sequencing, or escalate issues.
• Milestone sign-offs: before moving to the next phase (e.g., filing company formation docs, submitting visa application), we seek your explicit written approval.

Your Responsibilities

You are accountable for:

• Timely provision of documents: passport scans, utility bills, bank statements, notarised POAs.
• Liaison with existing advisors: we often need sign-off from your auditor or CFO; delays here cascade.
• In-country actions: attending biometric appointments (UAE), opening bank accounts in person (Switzerland), signing before notaries (Spain, Portugal).

We manage the process, but we cannot sign on your behalf or bypass regulatory requirements (e.g., in-person KYC for most residency programmes).

Confidentiality and Data Security

All client data is stored in SOC 2–compliant document repositories (Box.com or ShareFile) with two-factor authentication. We do not use consumer cloud services (Dropbox, Google Drive). Email encryption (TLS + S/MIME) is standard for sensitive correspondence.

Read our Information Security Policy

International structures require ongoing maintenance: annual tax filings, treaty documentation renewals, monitoring regulatory changes (OECD BEPS updates, new DTAs, UK non-dom reform), and liaison with local advisors.

We offer annual maintenance retainers for clients who prefer continuity. Alternatively, you may engage us ad hoc as issues arise.

What Annual Maintenance Includes

• Quarterly regulatory watch: we monitor HMRC, IRS, OECD, and EU legislative developments that affect your structure and flag action items (e.g., new CbC reporting thresholds, changes to UAE corporate tax exemptions).
• Annual compliance calendar: we produce a 12-month timeline of filing deadlines (Self Assessment, Form 5471, CbC Report, WHT reclaims, residence certificate renewals) and coordinate with your local accountants.
• Ongoing advisory access: up to 10 hours per year for ad hoc questions—e.g., you are considering a new entity in Singapore, or HMRC has sent an "aspect enquiry" letter about your UK LLP.
• Substance and PE review: annual check that directorship, management decisions, and employee presence still satisfy substance tests and do not create unintended PE.

Service-Level Agreements

Our standard SLAs:

We do not offer 24/7 support; our operating hours are UK business hours (Mon–Fri, 9:00–18:00 GMT/BST) with some accommodation for Asia-Pacific and US East Coast time zones.

When Maintenance Is Not Needed

If your structure is static—single-entity, domestic business, no cross-border transactions, no anticipated exit—annual maintenance may be overkill. In that case, we provide a handover pack to your local accountant and remain available for ad hoc queries on a time-and-materials basis.

Explore retainer options

We turn down engagements regularly. Being explicit about when we are not the right fit saves you time and money.

Red Flags That Suggest Another Provider

1. Pure Domestic Tax Planning

If you operate exclusively in one country with no cross-border revenue, no foreign shareholders, and no intention to relocate, a local Big Four or mid-tier firm will serve you better and cost less. Our expertise is in multi-jurisdictional friction points—treaty arbitrage, substance, CFC rules, WHT optimisation. Domestic R&D credits or capital allowances are not our focus.

2. Compliance-Only Needs

We do not prepare tax returns, file VAT, or handle payroll. If you need a compliance factory, engage a local accountant. We can introduce specialists in every major jurisdiction and coordinate their work, but we are not the filing agent.

3. Aggressive Planning or Opacity

We do not design structures that lack commercial substance, evade disclosure requirements (CRS, FATCA, DAC6), or rely on "grey-area" treaty interpretations. Post-BEPS and with OECD Pillar Two approaching, transparency and defensibility are non-negotiable. If your priority is minimising tax at any cost, including audit risk, we will decline.

4. Budget Mismatch

Our engagements start at £12,000 and often exceed £50,000 for multi-jurisdictional restructurings. If your tax liability is <£20,000 annually or your business generates <£500k revenue, the cost-benefit usually does not justify boutique advisory fees. We will refer you to competent mid-market firms.

5. Unrealistic Timelines

Residency applications, HMRC clearances, and treaty-based restructurings have inherent lead times governed by government agencies. We cannot expedite a Golden Visa application that normally takes 10 weeks to 10 days, nor can we force HMRC to respond to a clearance in under six weeks. If you have a hard deadline <4 weeks away, we are likely unable to help.

What We Excel At

We are the right fit when:

• You have revenue or operations in 2+ countries.
• You face US-person complexity (Subpart F, GILTI, exit tax) or UK CFC/transfer pricing exposure.
• You are a founder or partner in a high-growth company planning exit, relocation, or secondary sale.
• You want proactive, strategic advice, not just compliance.
• You value senior-level attention and direct access to principals.

If that describes you, the initial consultation (complimentary, 90 minutes) will clarify whether we are a mutual fit.

Book your initial consultation or read client case studies to see how we have structured engagements for similar profiles.