Provider of tax advice to CN on sale of The Bay and Lakeland Radio stations

We were very pleased to assist as tax advisors to CN on the sale of its two radio stations – The Bay and Lakeland Radio.

An extract from Radio News says

“The Bay covers North Lancashire and South Cumbria and reaches 85,000 listeners every week from its broadcast centre in Lancaster. Kendal-based Lakeland Radio transmits across the South Lakes with 16,000 weekly listeners.

Ashley Tabor OBE, founder & executive president of Global, said: “I’m pleased to announce our acquisition of The Bay and Lakeland Radio. This deal will give us coverage in new areas of the UK and means we can take our radio brands to more listeners.”

Robin Burgess OBE, chairman of CN Group, said: “We believe that both The Bay and Lakeland radio stations’ future growth and success is best placed in a focused radio operation. We are delighted Global has seen the success, and future potential, the staff and management team have built thus far. Through Global’s scale and expertise, we believe both stations have a bright future and we wish them the very best for the future.”

The deal is expected to complete at the end of November 2017.”

PRTC GOES TO RADIO 2 IN THE PARK

Gallery

This gallery contains 10 photos.

Our guests had a great time at the ‘Radio 2 in the Park’ festival – aka a one-day Glastonbury for Radio 2 devotees. Rod Stewart was billed as the ‘headline act’ and certainly wooed the crowd with his energetic Celtic … Continue reading

WEST HAM UNITED PLAYER AWARDS 2014/15 – A HAMMERS NIGHT TO REMEMBER

West Ham Utd Player Awards Programme

West Ham Utd Player Awards Programme

Oh what a night…6th of May in 2015!  Our guests all had a fantastic time at the West Ham Player Awards dinner in the convivial surroundings of the London Hilton on Park Lane Hotel.  We were here to celebrate a good season’s work and see the players receive their awards. And there was lots of wonderful video footage to admire – I shall never tire of seeing Adrian rip his gloves off before converting his penalty to clinch an FA cup win against Everton!

The event was wonderfully hosted by Ben Shephard.  The auctioneer, Jonny Gould had our table in stitches as he managed to insult the auction bidders, cajoling them into parting with large amounts of cash.  I managed to make a successful bid for ‘Matchday announcer for the day’ at Upton Park – that should be great fun!

The PRTC table at the awards

The PRTC table at the awards

Cheikhou Kouyaté and Diafra Sakho were delightful guests on our table. They were both affable and friendly and we all had lots to talk about (some of it was done in French!).  Interesting to quiz Diafra on his strongest defensive opponents this year!!

We were proud sponsors of the ‘Best Individual Performance’ of the year – there were so many contenders who had put in ‘great shifts’ – but the winner was one of our ‘table guests’ Cheikhou for his all-round display against Manchester United which included a ‘wonderfully skilled’ goal.

Waiting to present Best Individual Performance Award to Cheikhou

Waiting to present Best Individual Performance Award to Cheikhou

Presenting Best Individual Performance Award to Cheikhou

Presenting the Award to Cheikhou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The official West Ham Utd photo of me presenting the award to Cheiko

official photo at WHU Player Awards

Diafra Sakho inevitably won the “Top Goalscorer’ of the season award.

Diafra Sakho... top goalscorer

Diafra Sakho…top goalscorer in 2014/15

There were waves of sad emotion as the late Dylan Tombides award was presented to Reece Oxford by Dylan’s mum. He will always be remembered with affection.

Admiration swept the room as the legendary Martin Peters MBE came up to receive ‘The Lifetime Achievement Award’ to a standing ovation – what a shining role model of a footballer he is.  Loved his impromptu speech (as he had not planned to speak) – which ended with a great line “If you don’t support West Ham, then don’t come!”

Martin Peter's says a few words...

Martin Peter’s says a few words…

Ben Shephard  told us that the votes for The ‘Hammer Of The Year’ were extremely close this year…but the winner was Aaron Cresswell.  He has been consistently superb all season.

Aaron Cresswell coming up to receive his 'Hammer Of The Year' Award

Aaron Cresswell coming up to receive his ‘Hammer Of The Year’ Award

I shall cherish the memories of this evening forever..West Ham is a great family club! Thanks to everyone involved at the club for putting together a slick and entertaining event.
Here are some other random photos…

Proud sponsors....

Proud sponsors….

Amita with Cheikhou

Amita with Cheikhou

New signing for next season (Patricia!)

New signing for next season   (Patricia!)

Host Ben Shephard

Host Ben Shephard

Photo opportunity with the legendary Martin Peters

Photo with the legendary Martin  Peters

James Collins selfie

James Collins selfie

Ben Shephard surrounded by two beauties...

Ben Shephard surrounded by two beauties…


ENTREPRENEURS’ RELIEF BLOCKED ON GOODWILL SALES

It is probably fair to say that the removal of entrepreneurs’ relief (ER) on business incorporations came as a complete surprise to everyone. I received calls from a number of accountants after the Autumn Statement 2014 querying whether this in fact was true! Sole traders, partnerships and LLPs had been able to do sell their goodwill at a 10% CGT rate on incorporation for well over a decade now.

It is well known that HMRC did not particularly like this form of tax planning, which effectively enabled owner-managers to extract profits from their businesses at very low tax rates. In recent years, HMRC have only really been able to attack the goodwill valuation itself. Many will testify to long running correspondence with HMRC – Shares and Assets Valuation, which often appeared to adopt a stance of slowly ‘grinding’ the taxpayers into submission for a much lower valuation. HMRC also resisted the sale of personal goodwill on incorporation.

Furthermore, the ability to enjoy corporation tax relief on the amortisation of the purchased goodwill charged against the company’s profits has also now been blocked. Before 3 December 2014, the corporate intangibles rules enabled the company to receive tax relief on its goodwill amortisation in such cases, provided the unincorporated business had started trading after 31 March 2002. However, businesses that had already incorporated (in such circumstances) can continue to claim goodwill amortisation relief and are not affected by the new rules.

Those businesses that were decisive and had already incorporated will have breathed a huge sigh of relief. On the other hand, those businesses that were still dithering about incorporating must be kicking themselves. This golden opportunity has now passed!

A PERFECT DAY – RADIO 2 IN THE PARK – Sunday 14 September 2014

Jeff Lynne with ELO spaceship backdrop

Jeff Lynne with ELO spaceship backdrop

It really does not get much better than this. This year’s Radio 2 In The Park offered a fantastic line-up and certainty appealed to our guests’ musical leanings.

We were treated to a line-up that included legends such as Chrissie Hynde, Blondie, Billy Ocean, and Jeff Lynne’s ELO. And they all treated us to the very best of their musical catalogues.

My personal favourite was the new girl on the block – Kacey Musgraves – whose wonderful voice combines with a very refreshing and reflective style of country music and she certainly wowed the Hyde Park crowd (I can recommend her new album – Same Trailer Different Park).

Jeff Lynne topped the bill with over an hour’s worth of ELO’s hits, including Evil Woman, Telephone Line, Livin Thing, Turn To Stone, Showdown, and of course, Mr Blue Sky.  His various colourful ‘backdrops shone beautifully against the night sky.  His encore ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ sent everyone away with that special ‘feel good factor’ that comes from a such a memorable experience.  As one of our guests remarked, “We had a brilliant time – ELO were the icing on a very nice cake”.

Our lovely friends at AR Events gave us a great ‘viewing’ table, close to Radio 2’s presenters’ platforms and we did not waste the opportunity of ‘schmoozing’ with them.

Thank you to all at AR Events for a wonderful VIP experience and great food!

Selection of our photos for the day

David, Patricia, Peter & Joey

David, Patricia, Peter & Joey

The PRTC table

The PRTC table

A dodgy selfie with Ken Bruce

A dodgy selfie with Ken Bruce

Chris, Kim, Ru and Martin enjoying birds eye view of Blondie...

Chris, Kim, Ru and Martin enjoying birds eye view of Blondie…

The Hyde Park Crowd awaiting the next act

The Hyde Park Crowd awaiting the next act

Hello Sara Cox - can I have a photo?

Hello Sara Cox – can I have a photo?

Blondie bringing back the memories

Blondie bringing back the memories

The wonderful Kacey Musgraves

The wonderful Kacey Musgraves

Anneka Rice being briefed

Anneka Rice being briefed

 

My VIP pass and mini programme

My VIP pass and mini programme

 

WEST HAM UTD V UC SAMPDORIA – A GRAND DAY OUT

I was very lucky to have been awarded second place prize at the West Ham Utd Player Awards dinner in May (see previous post).  The prize was being guest of West Ham’s joint chairmen for the pre-season friendly vs UC Sampdoria (and I could also bring along my partner, Patricia and my brother Ian and his son – Michael (both lifelong Hammers fans).

As part of the Prize, I got to choose the man of the match and present the award.  I choose one of our most reliable players – Mark Noble – who was a pivotal part of our display.  Peter Rayney Tax Consulting Ltd was also featured on the screen as the Match Day sponsor.

We thoroughly appreciated the kind hospitality shown by everyone at the club, especially chairmen David Gold, David Sullivan, Jill Moore, Julie O’Leary, and Charley Harding, for making it a magical memorable day…

Here are some photos from our adventure…

Presenting Man of the Match award to Mark Noble

Presenting Man of the Match award to Mark Noble

Pitchside with David Gold and nephew Michael

Pitchside with David Gold and nephew Michael

Sitting in Big Sam's hot seat in the dug-out (with Patricia)

Sitting in Big Sam’s hot seat in the dug-out (with Patricia)

Cross arms 'Irons' pose with David Gold and David Sullivan (and Brother Ian)

Cross arms ‘Irons’ pose with David Gold and David Sullivan (and Brother Ian)

Brother Ian and son Michael with Mo Diame

Brother Ian and son Michael with Mo Diame

WEST HAM UNITED PLAYER AWARDS DINNER – 6 May 2014

Sam At West Ham Dinner

Our guests all had a hugely enjoyable night at the West Ham United Player Awards Dinner held at the Grosvenor Hotel on Park Lane.

West Ham Group

The event, hosted by TV personality – Ben Sheppard – was very entertaining, and it was great to be ‘rubbing shoulders’ with David Gold, David Sullivan, Karen Brady, Big Sam and the first team squad.

The auctioneer, Jonny Gould, had everyone in stitches as he cleverly managed to extract cash with the subtle use of personal guilt, setting-up strong competitive battles, and down-right cheekiness.  He even managed to secure £10,000 from Andy Carroll – his prize being to play a game of FIFA on the big screen at Upton Park with up to 50 friends!

There were a number of awards which included Hammer of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year – both of which were deservedly picked up by Mark Noble.  It was perhaps not surprising to see first choice goalie, Adrian, take the Save of the Season award!

It was lovely to see Sir Trevor Brooking pick up the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’

West Ham dinner ticketOur guests particularly liked having their pictures taken with the players.

Trevor Brooking_May 2014 It was a great personal privilege to meet the legendary Sir Trevor Brooking

Radio 2 In The Park – 2013

For me this was the best ever BBC Radio 2 in the Park I’ve been to…probably because the line-up was an excellent eclectic mix and I really loved most of them.

All our guests enjoyed the lively up-beat performances by Jessie J, Jamie Cullum, James Blunt, Manic Street Preachers, Simple Minds, and Texas who all produced great numbers from their back-catalogues. Our hospitality providers also served up a sumptuous lunch and delightful snacks.  There was an endless supply of Pimms and Wine but most of our guests went for the hot tea and coffee!

My personal favourites were Josh Groban and Smokey Robinson. Josh’s haunting wonderful voice sent tingles on the back of my neck, particularly with his haunting rendition of Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Believe When I Fall In Love (It Will be Forever).  The headline act, Smokey Robinson, also showed that Motown still retains its magical quality. He completely blew us all away with his emotional reworking of Ooh Baby Baby and Tracks of My Tears. What a legend!

Again, the weather was kind to us – only a few odd showers that did not really rain on our parade!

A collection from the photo gallery…

Patricia, Sara, & Paul

Patricia, Sara, & Paul

Patricia & Me_Radio 2 In The Park

Patricia & Me – Radio 2 In The Park

Jo, Patricia and David...a small shower between the acts!

Jo, David and Patricia…a small shower between the acts!

Elaine Page & Me_Radio 2 InThe Park
Elaine Page & Me

Lunch time in the VIP Marquee

Lunch time in the VIP Marquee

 

Advanced Corporation Tax issues – 2013

I have recently had a number of requests for a copy of the ‘Advanced Corporation Tax issues – 2013’ handout that was prepared for my talk to the Chartered Institute Of Taxation – South West England branch…so here goes – please feel free to download!

Advanced CTax issues handout_2013_May 2013 copy