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Ashcroft News & Views
January 2021 - Issue 4
Partner Views | Guest View | News
The Ashcroft team have started the
new year with a surprisingly positive outlook!
We're ready for a busy and productive 2021 – whatever it may hold! We've asked our
partners and trusted colleagues at Green & Purple and The Private Investment Office
to make some predictions about what they see happening in their sectors over the
course of the year.
Here are their thoughts:
Tom Gallop - Partner
Corporate Finance
tom.gallop@ashcroftllp.com
M&A activity is likely to recover strongly in 2021, fuelled by two factors in
particular and in spite of the continuing challenges of the pandemic. First,
widely anticipated increases in capital gains tax may prompt many
vendors to bring forward or accelerate transactions; and in addition, huge
amounts of capital has been raised by private equity firms and will need
to be invested. Competition will be fierce, and multiples strong, for good businesses in growing
sectors.
Adrian Wilson - Partner
Private Client
adrian.wilson@ashcroftllp.com
I’d say that the Government will repeal the Fixed Term Parliaments Act
and immediately call a snap General Election to take advantage of Labour
not yet having got its act together under Keir Starmer. This would buy the
present Government an extra two years in office to sort out the economy
and get the necessary tax increases through the system so that, by 2026, things may be looking up.
Richard Crane - Partner
Business Services
richard.crane@ashcroftllp.com
For many agribusinesses and farms, 2021 is off to a much better start
than 2020. Crops are largely in the ground and prices are higher. Brexit
has finally arrived, and the Agriculture Act has been passed. As subsidies
fall and tax changes loom large we are here to work with you and your
team to plan and adapt your land use and farming structures – both
commercially (the need to make some money) and with regards to succession planning (hang on to
what you have built up).
Angie Sleat - Partner
angie.sleat@ashcroftllp.com
Family Office
Covid may be keeping us all at home for the moment, but it doesn’t seem
to be stopping our clients from pushing on with their plans! We are as
busy as ever with supporting our clients in a wide range of areas such as
corporate restructuring and inheritance tax planning, and we are
expecting to grow the Ashcroft team by 10%-15% in 2021.
Dominic Anthony - Partner
Business Services
dominic.anthony@ashcroftllp.com
Perhaps a little more of a wish list than a prediction from me - Mainly, the
year to end better than it started! That must be doable…
Tax rises to be modest or delayed, we need our GDP to recover before we
start to pay the piper and most of all I hope for some targeted support for
the leisure and hospitality sector. Like many they have borne an uneven burden of this pandemic and
even with a pent-up desire to eat out, the sector will need some significant help to survive and begin
to rebalance its books.
Lee Maughan – Director of Green and Purple
Green & Purple are part of the Ashcroft Partnership group and provide a
CFO led virtual finance team
www.greenandpurple.net
info@greenandpurple.net
My prediction for 2021 is an increased focus on “social purpose” coming
from start-up and growth businesses as part of their Covid-19 recovery.
People are increasingly wanting to work for, buy from and invest in companies that have “impact” and
the last ten months have only accelerated that desire.
Guest View: The year ahead
Tim O'Connor- Joint Managing Director and Wealth Manager
The Private Investment Office provides integrated wealth planning, bespoke investment management
and private banking services to entrepreneurs, private individuals and families.
www.tpio.co.uk info@tpio.co.uk
EMERGING FROM THE STORM
Economic waters are still choppy, but strong tailwinds are finally here due
to the UK/EU trade deal, exceptional economic support from the
Government, and the Coronavirus vaccinations rollout. During this
(hopefully final) lockdown, as experienced investors we look to the future
and see an economy in recovery. For the year ahead our primary focus is
on which countries, sectors and asset classes will rebound the strongest
and fastest to maximise returns.
DON’T BLINDLY FOLLOW THE CROWD
The assets hardest hit by the crisis should recover strongly as the situation reverses. Successful
investment is as much about understanding market positioning as it is the economic cycle. We know
most global investors have been slow and are still hiding out in “last year’s trades”, but we favour a
shift towards the more cyclical and “value” style stocks which should perform best as the global
recovery takes hold.
THE CASE FOR UK EQUITIES
Though we manage global multi-asset class portfolios, new opportunity exists closer to home.
Publicly-listed UK equities have underperformed their US peers by 50% since the 2016 referendum.
Now, the UK/ EU trade deal removes much of this uncertainty and enables the UK to emerge as a
dynamic, independent and attractive place for investment and expansion. Global investors will start
buying discounted UK assets and foreign companies will increasingly capture value in the UK through
M&A (which will ultimately drive up market values).
POSITIVE FUTURE
With unprecedented government-backed money printing this capital is looking for a home. Media
coverage may emphasise pandemic-related economic damage, but market fundamentals indicate a
positive future. As Warren Buffett says, “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others
are fearful!”
Ashcroft News: What's happening here.
HMRC TAX EXTENSION
Whilst the team at Ashcroft continues to work incredibly hard to help our clients meet their filing obligations,
it may come as a welcome relief to some that HMRC have effectively extended the tax return filing deadline
until 28 February. A late filing penalty will not be charged where the tax is submitted before the end of
February. Read more on the Ashcroft LinkedIn page.
LOCKDOWN THREE
Lockdown three sees us reverting to the vast majority of the team working from home, with a skeleton staff
in the office but with our experience over the last year we can continue to deliver what our clients need from
us. We continually update our Covid-19 advice so do keep checking or get in touch for help.
SUCCESS STORIES
Our students continue to make the most of their enforced spare time by cranking out exam passes – well
done Raven, Megan, Harry, Cameron, Ryan and Mathilde.
DAYS AWAY FROM THE MOVE
Whilst we know how to make lockdown work – indeed we launched Ashcroft in the midst of the first one – it
really has made us understand that we are better together and so, despite what may look like bucking the
trend for remote working, we are pressing ahead with our office move into bigger and better space in
Cambridge on 8 February. It’s taken a long time to find the perfect space. We will be sending all the details to
you all closer to the time, you don’t need to update any details yet.
Meanwhile, we are rising to the challenge of an office fit out and move with full Covid security measures. It’s
still a very exciting time - even though we don’t yet know when we will all be in the space to enjoy it – as we
create a different kind of workplace where both we and our clients can thrive. We are aiming for a space that
feels energising, inspiring and everything but bland. We’re installing an excellent coffee machine as a priority
and we can’t wait to welcome everyone there as soon as we can.
There is more, lots more. Please do get in touch – and join our community.
How we can help?
If you have questions about any of the items mentioned above or would like assistance,
please get in touch with your usual Ashcroft contact.
Email us: info@ashcroftllp.co.uk or
Visit: www.ashcroftllp.com
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