We act for many of the UK’s largest privately owned property companies as well as UK REITs, real estate funds, global investors, SMEs and entrepreneurial businesses. As well as commercial and residential clients, we advise on specialist situations such as student accommodation, care homes and hotels.

We guide clients when buying, selling, developing and asset managing property portfolios. Our tax services cover tax structuring, SDLT and VAT, capital allowances, equity and debt financing, joint ventures and corporate streamlining.

 

Real Estate Funds

We advise both regulated and unregulated real estate funds across the entire spectrum of investment styles. Our experience covers both open-ended and closed-ended fund arrangements invested in a wide range of asset classes.

Our real estate fund tax services include structuring funds, dealing with the issues associated with the termination of funds and return of capital to investors, as well as fund compliance including managing the ongoing taxation reporting functions.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

BDO has specialist knowledge of Real Estate Investment Trusts, having advised a large number of property companies launching REITs or converting to REIT status. Our deep knowledge and technical experience is reinforced by strong relationships with key specialists at HMRC, complementing our ability to deliver value through all stages of the REIT lifecycle.

We provide ongoing audit and tax compliance services to meet regulatory obligations.

 

Specialist capital allowances

To optimise clients’ tax outcomes, our capital allowances services are integrated within our wider tax solutions offering and is led by experienced specialist surveyors who are dually qualified in tax.

This means that each client’s final tax outcome is carefully planned from the outset, reducing the overall cost and resource requirement. Our services include:

• Acquisition claims: identification of tax breaks on property acquisitions, including capital allowances, overage claims on integral features and, for new expenditure, Enhanced Capital Allowances (green technologies)
• Review and preparation of CAA 2001 s198/s199 elections to meet obligations under fixed value requirement and mandatory pooling legislation
• Preparation of contract wording to maximise entitlement to contribution allowances
• Assessment and preparation of capital allowances and land remediation relief claims for new build, fit out and refurbishment projects
• Preparation of portfolio samples to identify the level of allowances available on a percentage basis across the portfolio, taking into account recent changes in legislation, construction technologies and processes to agree percentages with HMRC over a pre-agreed period
• Preparation of pro-forma documentation for ongoing refurbishment, maintenance and build programmes where claims are prepared in-house
• Planning and design audits at project feasibility stage, which can optimise the best design options to ensure that capital allowances are maximised without detriment to a project’s commercial viability. This approach has been proven to significantly enhance the level of capital allowances available for property developments
• Advising on works qualifying for Business Premises Renovation Allowances (BPRA)
• Submission of fully supported and referenced claim documents, reconciling to our clients’ accounts
• Negotiation and agreement of queries raised by HMRC

 

General

We have extensive experience advising on many aspects of real estate tax, including;

• advising on the most appropriate finance arrangements
• advising on recoverability of VAT, and other VAT matters
• advising on Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Land Tax reliefs and structures.

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