Private individual or trust

Deborah is an extremely knowledgeable accountant, having joined Wenn Townsend in 1980 and become Partner in 1989. She particularly loves working with schools, colleges and university partnerships, and with families in the agricultural world or with landed estates, getting hands-on with the practical problems they face. Deborah recently set up and ran an estate management reporting system to control a development/farming/property letting/woodland/leisure business; while in another case she rationalised monthly systems for a university partnership including payroll, pensions, budget preparation and reporting to the Charity Commission. Outside of work Deborah enjoys skiing, walking and cottage gardening.

An outstanding accountant, Lee came aboard with Wenn Townsend in 2004 and swiftly made Partner in 2005. His real enthusiasms lie in holistic tax planning for families and private individuals, corporate tax work in connection with business sales and purchases, and share and business valuations. In one such case he advised on a share buy-back within a corporate group to allow the withdrawal of the controlling persons from the group business operations, addressing issues caused by the group holding insufficient distributable reserves. Outside work Lee enjoys travelling Europe, listening to music (and attempting to play guitar), cinema and theatre-going, and is an avid reader.

Helen has been our expert Private Client Tax Manager since 2008, specialising in personal taxation, capital taxation, residence and domicile issues, some foreign tax issues, FATCA and offshore disclosures, and VAT matters inside and outside the UK. She recently advised an Italian client wanting to invest in UK property, advising where his tax liability would be and the ramifications of the Double Tax Convention. She has also helped clients who have been approached by HMRC about unreported foreign income. Outside of work Helen loves all things history, art, detective stories and travel.

Charles Gurr has been our resident corporation tax expert since 2017, deeply knowledgeable in areas including corporation tax, capital allowance claims, R&D claims, Creative Industry Tax Reliefs, and company valuations. He recently helped with the valuation of an owner-managed company with a view to employee share ownership, and in another area assisted a charity client in making claims under both Theatre Tax Relief and Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief schemes. When he isn’t in the office Charles enjoys reading, Lego, board games and films, and is a passionate OUFC season ticket holder.

Matthew is our trusted, unflappable Trusts and Estates Tax Manager, ably assisting trustees, personal representatives, high-net-worth individuals and self-employed individuals with tax compliance and tax planning in the areas of trusts, deceased estates, capital taxation, personal taxation and business taxation. He also prepares accounts for trusts and deceased estates. He recently advised the personal representatives of a deceased estate on how they could reduce their rate of Inheritance Tax from 40% to 36% by arranging for the beneficiaries to sign a deed of variation - the Inheritance Tax liability was thus reduced by over £80,000. Outside of work Matthew enjoys cinema, sport (as a long-suffering supporter of Hull City AFC), art and music.

Andrew has been a highly trusted and dependable part of Wenn Townsend since 1988, managing over 160 client payrolls from 1 to 500 plus employees. He takes great pride in providing clients with everything from full bureau service to ad hoc advice on benefits-in-kind, year-end procedures and HMRC compliance visits. His specialist expertise covers final salary pension schemes and a variety of auto-enrolment schemes. He is vastly experienced in assisting clients with all staff pay issues including tax-efficient remuneration packages and termination payments, and he also enjoys looking after a varied portfolio of private tax clients. Andrew also acts as Trustee, Executor and Power of Attorney to a number of our clients. Outside of work Andrew can be found either in the Frewen Club where he is an active member and assistant Treasurer, or at his cottage in North Norfolk.

Marilyn has been a trusted member of our Payroll team since 2016, previously certified as a Practitioner in Payroll Management and experienced in running payroll for a huge variety of clients and sectors. She genuinely loves dealing with different pension schemes and understanding their varying regulations, and liaising with HMRC on payroll matters. Marilyn takes great pride in meeting strict deadlines, and enjoys getting to know clients and their individual needs. She excels when dealing with irregularities in payroll, including when dealing with the impact of Coronavirus and the rules and regulations regarding furlough for our clients. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time on travel, restaurants, theatre and jigsaws.

Jasmine became an invaluable member of our Payroll team in 2019. Having completed her CIPP Foundation Degree Year 2, she continues to provide support processing a whole variety of payrolls ranging from one-man bands to companies of over 500 employees. She is confident liaising with HMRC and many different pension schemes to ensure all information is updated and accurate, and gets great satisfaction from setting up PAYE schemes and implementing new payrolls on software such as Pegasus, Earnie, Star and Basic PAYE tools. More recently, Jasmine has played a significant role in helping clients with their Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims. When she is not working or studying, Jasmine enjoys reading, baking, and travelling, and is a dedicated Gloucester Rugby supporter.

Holly joined our Oxford office in 2019 and is a much valued member of the team and has recently completed her Level 4 AAT qualification. She is proficient in processing all aspects of payroll including sick pay, statutory payments, and pensions using a variety of software, including Pegasus Opera, Xero, Sage, and HMRC Basic Tools. She ably completes CIS returns each month, and executes manual accounting jobs and basic tax returns. She excelled whilst gaining new experience processing furlough payments in line with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. When she’s not working or studying Holly enjoys cooking and eating out, horse riding, and walking her dog in the countryside.