Head of M&A Tax - Advisory in Manchester

Performance based incentive of up to 50% of basic salary. Potential total earnings of £150,000–£195,000.

This is not a role built around maintaining a narrow technical remit or reviewing transactions from a distance. It is an opportunity to lead live M&A work, advise successful entrepreneurs and help build a specialist service within an independent advisory firm that is developing its offering around what clients actually need. Led by a founder recognised in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe, the firm has doubled its revenue in each of the past four years. Its growth has been driven by bringing tax, strategic advisory and wealth management closer together around the wider commercial and personal decisions faced by successful business owners.

That approach is now being developed through four specialist tax departments: M&A Tax, Corporate Tax, International Tax and Private Client Tax. Each department will have its own Head of Department, reporting to the Tax Director and supported by Managers, Assistant Managers and Associates. M&A is already a live and growing area within the firm. An established tax advisory team is delivering complex work for existing clients, including four live transactions involving businesses with turnover ranging from approximately £10 million to £60 million.

The next step is to appoint a Head of M&A Tax who can lead that work, develop the department and help connect it to the wider advisory platform being built around the firm’s clients.

A network that creates real advisory opportunities. As part of the wider advisory platform being built around the firm, its owner is currently launching a paid, selective private members’ club for successful founders and entrepreneurs. Membership is for business owners whose companies generate at least £1 million of EBITDA, and the club already has a waiting list. Membership includes direct access to the tax advisory team, alongside private dinners, high-profile speakers and exceptional UK and international experiences. This is directly relevant to the M&A opportunity.

The club is creating trusted relationships with business owners who may need advice on acquisitions, investment, restructuring, sale and the next phase of their personal wealth. The M&A team will sit within those relationships, with its advice connected to the wider commercial decisions those founders are making. The firm also has an established partnership with a private wealth-management business overseeing approximately £4 billion of assets. That relationship adds another important dimension to the advice being developed around successful business owners, their companies and their personal wealth.

The founder has personally created and organised an exclusive upcoming event on Sir Richard Branson’s private Necker Island. It sold out within two weeks, generated an extensive waiting list and will bring together entrepreneurs representing approximately £3 billion in combined wealth. The scale and quality of these relationships are important because they create access to the people behind the businesses. For the M&A team, that means working with founders who are acquiring companies, raising investment, restructuring groups, preparing for sale or deciding what comes next.

This sits alongside significant investment in a wider Strategic and Business Advisory team, with further Corporate Finance and Debt Advisory capabilities also being developed. Together, these services are creating a connected advisory platform capable of supporting founders through growth, investment, acquisition, sale and the decisions that follow.

The opportunity: You will lead complex acquisitions, disposals and restructuring projects, advising founders and business owners on the tax implications of important commercial decisions. Your work could include buy-side and sell-side tax due diligence, transaction structuring, valuation and pricing risks, pre-sale planning, agreements and covenants, deal protections, funds flows and management incentive arrangements.

The expectation is that you understand the commercial objective behind each transaction, identify the important tax issues and turn complex technical analysis into advice that helps the client move forward. Alongside client delivery, you will own the direction, development and performance of the M&A Tax department. You will help shape its proposition, technical standards and pipeline, while working closely with the Corporate Tax, International Tax, Private Client Tax and wider Strategic and Business Advisory teams.

Work with founders on important commercial decisions. The clients are privately owned and founder-led businesses, often alongside high-net-worth individuals whose personal and commercial interests are closely connected. They are acquiring businesses, preparing for investment, restructuring groups, considering a sale or planning what comes next. The work is technically demanding, commercially relevant and directly connected to the decisions they are making.

You will work with decision-makers who value clear judgement and practical advice. The role combines technical transaction tax work with the opportunity to become a trusted adviser to the people behind the deal.

Why join at this stage? The department is being built around live client demand, an active transaction pipeline and a wider network of entrepreneurial clients. The team structure will grow around you which means there is an opportunity to build a specialist M&A Tax service with the backing of an established tax team and direct access to senior leadership.

Who this could suit: This appointment is exclusively for a tax professional with experience gained in an accountancy practice. You will bring substantial M&A or transaction tax experience, strong technical judgement and the ability to advise confidently on complex deals. If you want your next move to offer interesting clients, greater influence and the opportunity to help shape what comes next, please get in touch for a confidential conversation.