Introduction
Dear clients and other readers,
The Spring edition of our quarterly
Review is all about ‘change’, of which
there certainly is plenty in the air. By
the time you read this we may well
be on the other side of the election
and – depending on where you stand
– rejoicing in, or coming to terms
with, the outcome of what looks like
the least predictable political battle in
decades. Whichever way it goes, there
are major funding issues to deal with
which rely on growth in productivity, or
GDP, to generate taxable income and
taxable wealth to fill HMG’s coffers.
As the old saying goes, the only
certainties in life are death and taxes!
The recent removal of the limits on
what can be withdrawn from pension
plans are expected to release a fair
amount of cash into the economy. For
many people, access to such funds will
mean an increase in the value of their
assets on divorce or death, meaning
that a conversation with their lawyer
may be timely. We are delighted to say
that we have recently recruited Fiona
Gould as an additional specialist lawyer
to our Asset & Wealth Protection team
in Woking.
And speaking of Woking, have
you been there recently? The
transformation of that town from the
Woking that I knew 25 years ago is
astonishing. The town is clearly on a
mission to become a serious location
for business, benefiting as it does from
a very fast rail connection to London
and is succeeding in attracting the
head-quarter locations of significant
and well known companies. We
are delighted to be there, right in
the centre, and in keeping with the
theme of ‘change’ and mindful of the
opportunity to do our bit towards
growing GDP, will soon be freshening
up our offices there. We look forward
to seeing you soon!
With best wishes,
Bernd Ratzke
Managing Partner Client Services
The Review - Spring 2015