Capital allowances advisors

Construction claim assessment

Capital Allowances is a technical and specialist activity that requires an optimal blend of knowledge, experience, and attitude.

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Our services are provided by senior advisers that have performed at the highest level across a variety of service platforms. Accounting, surveying and property consultancy experience blends together a considered and mature approach to claim solutions. We assume a thorough approach is required in all client requests but wherever possible we adopt simple, clear and disclosed services.

We believe capital allowances are an essential aspect in any project armoury and an invaluable value engineering tool. The inclusion of capital allowances estimates to project viability, feasibility, and financial modelling studies is paramount to enable our clients to fully consider project scope and returns. Maximising capital allowances then becomes an intrinsic project element, providing confidence to clients, and all stakeholders and interested parties.

Having a range of understanding through plant and machinery allowances, general plant, integral features, super deductions and first year allowances, structure and buildings allowances, contributions, grants, repairs, etc requires a holistic experienced approach to evaluate the best approach required.

Strategic acquisition advice

Our consultants have 20 plus years of advising on large and complex transactions through proactive planning and negotiation.

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Best practice and a high level of understanding underpin capital allowances transaction strategies, whether in selling or buying scenarios. Adopting a bespoke forward-thinking strategy establishes a competitive advantage over the opposing transacting parties, and in this respect capital allowances is no different to client investment and negotiation advice. A little proactive planning using foresight and judgement goes a long way to providing knowledgeable and maximised tax outcomes.

The building fixtures environment has evolved many times over the last 20-30 years, with finally, in the last 5 years at least, HMRC achieving a greater level of control and transparency. Significant opportunities remain however, for both sellers and buyers through an understanding of seller structure and positioning, protection and creative use of allowances both unidentified or identified, or knowing the right information required at the right time out with the standard CPSE enquiries. The key to success is in engaging the right expert early.

Sectorising allowances

All industry sectors are unique but require a tailored and transferable approach of core disciplines.

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Our cross trained senior surveying and tax experts have a unique set of skills which are required to assess, evaluate, review and document optimised capital allowances claims for our clients. We believe that core capabilities are essential to maximise savings in all industry sectors including offices, hotels and leisure, healthcare, manufacturing and so on. Whilst some industries require a more truly specialised approach such as the water industry or previously sports stadia and grounds (safety at work), we are also firm advocates of establishing expert knowledge in our client sectors.

Years of experience in listening to our clients business ideas and aspirations has taught us where best to place our focus in building strategies to increase allowances and savings. Existing building alterations may throw up a high degree of incidental assets, hotel projects will include a significant amount of embellishments and finishes, and healthcare builds will contain a high incidence of protective and clean assets. We listen, we learn, and we understand to how best develop our services to serve our individual clients.

Land remediation relief

An extremely rewarding tax relief that necessitates a highly specialised level of qualitative due diligence.

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Capital allowances advice requires a good degree of technical due diligence and entitlement considerations, and a high focus on analytical cost skills. However, the extremely valuable land remediation relief requires an opposing approach. To secure this relief It is fundamentally important to carry out a thorough understanding and review of all relevant client, transaction, property, environmental considerations, remediation strategy, and relevant costs to advise clients property. Failure to do so could be very costly.

A full review of this tax relief by HMRC several years back resulted in higher levels of legislative entitlement to focus the financial benefit where previously intended. Robust due diligence is key and must be enacted with the both the client’s and project consultant’s assistance to enable full disclosure of all relevant case facts. Our consultants are highly motivated to ensuring all client’s take advantage of this valuable project saving but with the correct, detailed approach.

Key capital allowances contacts

Peter O'Brien

    • Principal & Managing Director
    • Valuation Advisory Services
peter.o'[email protected]
Peter O'Brien

News and updates

The Autumn Statement and what it means for Property

Houses of Parliament 23 November 2023

The Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday announced his Autumn Statement. For the property world, there were some benefits but they were relatively modest.

Thanks to the UK avoiding recession during the winter 2022/23, as the Office for Budget Responsibility had previously predicted, the Chancellor had some fiscal headroom for tax cuts and additional spending. The emphasis in the Statement was on improving productivity, and promoting sunrise industries in life sciences, technology and green energy.

Pro-business measures included:

  • The ‘super deduction’ whereby businesses can offset investment in machinery and equipment against Corporation Tax was made permanent.
  • Business rates benefits and support measures already in place (which are focussed on small businesses, plus retail / hospitality firms but capped at £110k) will be extended by another year.
  • Measures were announced to speed up the planning process for infrastructure and commercial schemes, including a new premium service based on a fee.
  • The tax relief for free ports is to be extended from five to ten years. Four new investment zones were announced – in Greater Manchester, East and West Midlands, and in North East Wales.
  • £4.5 billion was pledged for investment in strategic manufacturing, such as EV vehicle and battery plants. £750 million is to be invested to scientific research and development (R&D). £500 million to support the development of the UK’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
  • £110m to be spend on the protection of waterways from pollution which could clear a path for the development of 40,000 new homes.

Pro- worker / households measures included:

  • Class 1 National Insurance to be cut from 12% to 10%, and this will apply from 6th January 2024. For the self-employed: Class 2 National Insurance is to be axed, and Class 4 reduced from 9% to 8%.
  • The National Living Wage is to rise by 9.8% to £11.44 per hour for workers over 21 years old from April 2024.
  • The state pension is to rise by 8.5%, while benefits are to increase by 6.7%.

Our reaction:

The steps announced to speed up the planning process are to be welcomed as a move in the right direction. However, many of the measures presented as tax cuts for businesses are in fact extensions of existing reliefs (or making them permanent), so in reality this is the cancellation of upcoming tax rises. Also, the increase in the living wage will be welcomed by low paid workers, but correspondingly it will add to the costs of many firms during an economic slowdown.

On business rates, while the government is continuing to protect small businesses, the vast majority of medium to larger companies across England will be experiencing the full CPI inflationary 6.7% increase, with the standard Universal Business Rate and supplement rising from £51.2p to £54.6p. This level of increase is the highest for 32 years.

Turning to the tax cuts for workers and the self-employed, there is an element of the Chancellor giving with one hand and taking with the other. Previously, the Treasury froze the thresholds for the tax bands, so pay growth is gradually lifting a greater proportion of our incomes into higher tax bands, an approach known as ‘fiscal drag’. So, while the Chancellor has cut the National Insurance rate, the overall tax burden on workers is rising. This will leave households with less to spend, which will have negative implications for consumer-facing real estate, such as shops and restaurants.

Meanwhile, the measures to improve the pipeline of new housing starts, while welcome, are unlikely to greatly add to supply for some time to come.

Nevertheless, the extension of the free port tax benefits will help further develop new regional business hubs, creating long-term property investment opportunities and new leasing demand. Also, the measures to support the rise of sunrises industries like AI, advanced manufacturing, green energy and scientific R&D are also positive news for the property world. These new sectors are a fast-rising source of demand for business space, and encouraging their growth will create further opportunities for the property sector.

+44 (0)20 7911 2580