Richard Sowler (1974)
Richard will be joining Chambers in November 2009.
Principal Areas
of Practice
Tax Planning and Structuring
Banking and Capital Markets
Mergers and Acquisitions
Financial Services
General Chancery
Professional Experience
Taxation
Richard has extensive in-depth experience of tax mitigation techniques, in particular in the areas of asset and loan finance, mergers and acquisitions and corporate and trust structures, both onshore and offshore. In the 1980s he negotiated with the Inland Revenue on tax mitigation schemes devised by the Rossminster Group and others, and appeared in the courts, including the Court of Appeal, both for and against scheme providers. He also has experience of appeals against Council Tax decisions and advocacy before the Special Commissioners, the VAT and Duties Tribunal and the new Tax Tribunal. He is an accomplished draftsman of tax-efficient trusts, wills and company documentation and commercial contracts. He is also qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (where he serves on the International Tax and Corporate Tax Technical Committees), a member of Revenue Bar Association, the Shadow Treasury Team's Panel of Tax Experts and of the International Tax Planning Association.
Banking & Capital MarketsTaxation
Richard was formerly Head of Tax and Accounting at the Finance and Leasing Association and made representations to the Inland Revenue and H M Customs and Excise on successive Finance Bills. While at Price Waterhouse in the mid-1990s, Richard was in the Banking and Capital Markets Team and advised Compaq on the securitisation of its UK computer lease portfolio. He was part of the team auditing Lloyds and Barclays Bank and the American financial conglomerates, GE and Prudential Bache.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Richard advised in high-profile, high-value M & A transactions, such as the sale by Sea Containers of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and the purchase by Ford of Land Rover. While at Richards Butler he was involved in high-value property transactions for Land Securities Trillium, as well as many major private company acquisitions. Most recently, he has spent much of his time on sales and purchases of owner-managed companies, a significant client being the Cooperative Society.
Financial Services
Richard has recently been senior independent director of the Nottingham Friendly Assurance Society Limited and Chairman of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees. He has represented financial advisers before regulatory tribunals and is a member of the Financial Services Lawyers' Association.
Civil Litigation
During the course of his career Richard has undertaken a wide variety of civil litigation, with concentration on landlord and tenant, building contracts, boundary and easement disputes, town and country planning, company governance and winding-up and contentious probate.
Publications/Lectures
Richard has written 'The Taxation of Leasing Transactions' and (with Dr Giles Clarke) 'Tax and Tax Planning' as well as numerous articles on a variety of subjects, largely related to tax. He lectures on lease taxation and on a variety of subject for the International Tax Planning Association.
Education
University College, Oxford (Jurisprudence)
The American University of Beirut (International Relations)
The Inns of Court Law School
Private study for the Fellowship of the CIOT (Thesis Prize 1992)
Interests
Politics (former Councillor and Parliamentary Candidate)
Territorial Army (Territorial Decoration)
Shooting
