Director promotion for personal tax expert at Saffery

Longstanding Leeds based personal tax expert, Simon Armitage, has been promoted to director at Saffery.

Simon has spent the past two decades advising clients on all types of personal tax issues and worked in London before relocating to Leeds in 2007. He joined Saffery’s private client and personal tax team in 2018.

From the firm’s Wellington Place office in Leeds city centre, he now specialises in advising entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals, as well as their families, on all types of tax related issues.

These can include family investment companies, trusts, share schemes, business structuring, succession planning and tax reliefs. In addition, a large part of Simon’s work now involves advising on inheritance tax after Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the new Labour government’s first budget last October.

Simon explained: “Since the budget, inheritance tax has been a hot topic, as we help people identify what the changes mean for both them and their families, as well as re-evaluating their succession plans. This looks set to continue in 2025, especially as the legislation and guidance around some of the changes becomes clearer over the coming months.

“Ultimately, my role is to advise clients on all aspects of personal tax to ensure they organise their affairs so that they are as tax efficient as possible. We work with a wide range of clients who might have cash in the bank, or in many cases are asset-rich due to owning properties, businesses, shares or other types of investments.

“This makes it fascinating work and it’s rewarding to be the first port of call for a client when they want professional advice and I’m looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead as we continue to grow our client base.”

Sally Appleton, partner in Saffery’s Yorkshire office, said: “Simon joined our team more than six years ago and he’s extremely popular with both our clients and his colleagues, who both appreciate his first-class advice, expertise and ability to simplify issues that are often complex.

“Crucially, he’s adept at winning new clients and identifying areas where we can support existing clients, thanks to his thorough understanding of everything related to personal tax, so there’s no doubt he thoroughly deserves this promotion.”

Saffery employs an 84-strong team in Yorkshire, which includes 12 private client and personal tax experts, as well as five experienced partners leading on every client.

Established services that Saffery now offers from its offices at Wellington Place in Leeds city centre, include audit and accounting, corporate tax, VAT, business advisory and personal tax. Saffery also has dedicated sector experts spanning owner-managed businesses and entrepreneurs, private wealth and family trusts, agricultural and rural businesses, and charities and not-for-profit organisations.