Tax Manager in Reading

We are working with a highly regarded, mid-market accountancy and business advisory firm to recruit a Tax Manager with a strong interest in M&A and transactions tax. This is a superb opportunity for someone who enjoys deal work and wants more variety, ownership and progression. You will join an established corporate tax team that works together with an award-winning Corporate Finance and transaction diligence practice, supporting a diverse client base across a wide range of sectors.

The opportunity: You will be part of a successful tax team that has advised on numerous high-profile and mid-market transactions, including:

• Acquisitions and disposals
• Management buyouts (MBOs) and private equity-backed deals
• Group reorganisations and demergers
• Cross-border and international structuring

Work is primarily UK-based, which means you genuinely get to own the tax and advisory work, rather than spending most of your time on project management or coordination. The transactions are sector-agnostic and include:

• Tech and data-led businesses
• University spinouts and R&D-heavy companies
• More traditional industrials, services and consumer businesses

Key responsibilities:

• Lead or play a key role in tax due diligence assignments for buy-side and sell-side transactions.
• Advise on transaction structuring, including tax-efficient acquisition and disposal structures.
• Support on international tax aspects where relevant, working alongside internal specialists.
• Advise on employment-related securities and other transaction-linked tax issues as required.
• Work closely with the firm's Corporate Finance and transaction diligence teams, as well as other tax specialists (e.g. VAT, employment tax).
• Build strong relationships with management teams, private equity houses and other stakeholders, explaining complex tax issues in a clear, commercial way.
• Contribute to training, coaching, and developing junior team members.

What we are looking for:

• Qualifications: ACA or CTA qualified (or equivalent), with strong corporate tax technical skills.
• Experience: Solid experience in corporate tax, with demonstrable exposure to transactions tax (M&A, due diligence, structuring or PE-backed work). Brand is less important than capability and attitude. Experience can be from Big 4, Top 10 or strong mid-tier/regional firms.
• Mindset & personality: Genuinely comfortable with the pace and peaks/troughs of deal work; quiet periods followed by urgent deadlines. Commercial, pragmatic and able to tailor advice to owner-managers, PE investors and corporates alike. A clear, confident communicator who is comfortable dealing with stakeholders at all levels.
• Team player: Enjoy collaborating with corporate finance, other tax specialists and wider teams across offices.
• Eligibility: You must have existing UK right to work; the firm cannot provide new sponsorship for this hire.

Location, hybrid working & travel: The firm's core offices for this role are Reading, Oxford, Newbury, or Southampton, with a marginal preference for Reading because that's where Corporate Finance is based. Hybrid working once probation is passed typically 2-3 days a week in the office on average, applied flexibly depending on workload. During the first three months, they expect you to be in the office most days to build relationships and learn the deal processes. Occasional travel between offices to work with colleagues and clients. They are particularly keen on candidates currently commuting into London who live within reach of Reading/Oxford/Newbury/Southampton and would value a shorter local commute.

Culture & progression: This firm is big enough but not too big: Large enough to have specialist teams (employment tax, VAT, corporate finance, restructuring, etc.) and to run firm-wide events. Small enough that you are known by name, can make a visible impact, and don't feel like a tiny cog in a huge machine. Friendly, supportive environment. Good work-life balance, even in transactions; this is not a culture of routine late nights and weekends. Strong retention; once people join, they tend to stay. Clear career progression, with genuine scope to move from Manager to Senior Manager for the right individual.

Other benefits: Discretionary annual bonus based on contribution and going above and beyond.