Altus Media – Chancery (UK) LLP – EIS Schemes

The UK government set up the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) in 1994. EIS are investment schemes designed to encourage investment in small or medium sized companies. They do this by offering tax reliefs to individual investors who buy new shares in a company. The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is much newer than EIS, having been set up in 2012. It is very similar to EIS but designed for investing in even smaller companies, and providing even more generous tax breaks.

However, the schemes must comply with stringent HMRC rules. If they don’t, the investor can find themselves facing considerable financial losses and exposure to HMRC.

Altus Media’s EIS scheme was promoted by Chancery (UK) LLP (now in liquidation) and was usually recommended by accountants to their clients with the accountants receiving a payment if their clients invested. The Altus Media schemes have since been investigated by HMRC and all EIS relief has been denied. This leaves the investors in the Altus Media schemes with worthless shares in the EIS companies and with an unexpected liability to HMRC.

FS Legal specialises in advising clients who have received negligent tax advice from their accountants. We have recovered multi-million pounds settlements and we act for the vast majority of our clients on a fully contingent (“no win, no fee”) basis. Our specialist lawyers are top-ranked nationally in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. We can help you to recover your losses from your accountant’s insurers. However, strict time limits apply to these claims. Those who invested in these EIS schemes in the last 6 years should take urgent advice on how to protect their position and preserve any claims they may have against their accountants’ insurers.

To discuss your specific circumstances in more detail without charge or obligation please call Julia Norris at our Manchester office.

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We provide expert lawyers recommended and recognised as ‘Leading Individuals’ by Chambers & Partners who note the firm’s “pragmatic, practical and efficient approach” and “determined litigators with a very good sector knowledge” Legal 500 notes “FS Legal is a firm that punches well above its weight and is particularly strong in the areas of financial services, pensions and tax schemes” adding that the team has “a deservedly good reputation for providing a top-quality, commercial service“.

Funding

We understand that, whether it’s a personal or business matter, funding is a key concern. We have a variety of funding options available to seek to remove the risk and cost from our clients. Unlike most firms, we are able to operate the vast majority of our cases on a contingent (‘no win no fee’) basis. FS Legal will be working on a full ‘no win no fee’ basis for victims of these schemes.