Phillip Barnett Senior Consultant Solicitor

Phillip is an experienced corporate lawyer with a long-standing professional background specialising in complex corporate and tax matters. He advises on a wide range of transactions, working with businesses, investors and stakeholders to deliver commercially effective outcomes across a variety of sectors.

Areas of expertise

• Company mergers, sales and acquisitions
• Taxation aspects of sales, acquisitions and investments, including tax clearances, Investors’ Relief, Substantial Shareholding Exemption (SSE), stamp duty reliefs and Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR)
• Share schemes and incentives, including EMI, CSOP, SIP, SAYE and Growth Shares
• Seed and early-stage funding for start-ups and SMEs, including SEIS/EIS investments
• Acquisition and investment finance, including venture capital and private equity fundraising
• Reorganisations and de-mergers
• Share issues, conversions and share buy-backs

Approach to work and clients

Phillip takes a solutions-based, commercially focused approach to his work, always seeking the most effective way to achieve his clients’ objectives. He is known for his ability to navigate complex legal and tax issues while maintaining a clear focus on practical outcomes.

He particularly enjoys tackling complex transactional matters, where he can apply his expertise to find clear, workable solutions to challenging problems.

His recent experience includes advising on the reorganisation and sale of a privately owned insurance brokerage group to a publicly listed company, acting on a joint venture for a high-profile online pharmacy, and advising an angel investor on multiple private company and start-up equity investments. He has also acted for a multinational organisation in establishing a UK Share Incentive Plan (SIP).

Outside of his legal practice, Phillip has served as both an executive and non-executive director on various company boards, further enhancing his commercial insight and understanding of the strategic challenges businesses face.