Private Banking & Wealth Management
Our cross departmental private wealth team advises a number of ultra-high net worth clients, family offices, owners of closely held businesses, fiduciaries, trusts and banks across a broad spectrum of private banking and wealth management matters.
Our team encompasses lawyers from our Banking & Finance, Real Estate, Corporate, Dispute Resolution, Tax, Immigration and Private Client practices. Together, we understand the various assets owned by, and needs of, our high net worth clients and can provide them with bespoke advice on a wide range of matters including:
- art sale/purchase and finance;
- Dispute Resolution (including trustee litigation);
- Real Estate sale/purchase and finance;
- investments – including investments in funds, companies, business and property;
- Tax (including inheritance tax planning, stamp duty land tax and value added tax);and
- traditional Private Client and estate planning work.
On the private client side, our Private Client lawyers regularly prepare bespoke estate plans (employing the use of UK and/or international tax structures) to assist UK and non-UK domiciled individuals and their families in managing and protecting their worldwide assets. In addition, for clients who are non-UK domiciled, we often employ simple offshore planning and structuring techniques to ensure they benefit from the significant mitigation of UK inheritance tax liability.
We also have significant experience in advising international families and residents on wealth management and estate planning matters including, in particular, clients from Scandinavia, Israel, the Middle East and the US. In providing this advice, and in putting related estate and tax planning structures in place, we work closely with our clients’ personal accountants and other independent advisors to ensure all matters are properly considered and co-ordinated.
Representative Private Banking & Wealth Management Work
Examples of our team’s private banking & wealth management work include:
- Advised a family office in relation to a £37m loan facility from Deutsche Bank in connection with the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of a BVI company holding real estate in London.
- Advised on the establishment of offshore trusts for minor beneficiaries and the mitigation of related taxes in multiple jurisdictions.
- Advised clients in connection with the purchase of art from a variety of galleries.
- Advised numerous non-domiciled clients on structuring UK and overseas assets to mitigate UK inheritance tax.
Key contacts:
Biography
Phil joined Teacher Stern as a trainee in 1980 and is head of the Legal 500 ranked real estate finance team. He is an expert in real estate finance with heavyweight experience in acting for a spectrum of lenders and borrowers.
He is very well regarded by his clients for providing sound commercial advice as well as having the technical knowhow. Clients have commented that he is “business orientated and pragmatic”. Phil is very proactive in driving deals towards closing and identifying complex issues, which have the potential to delay or even break the deal, at an early stage and finding solutions to overcome them.
Phil is listed as a recommended lawyer in the Legal 500 2021 and 2024 rankings.
Representative Experience
Phil has:
An expert in property finance, Phil acts for banks and building societies on commercial property matters and both advises on, and drafts, security documentation.
- £430 million acquisition of a mixture of offshore and onshore companies owning 180 Shell petrol stations
- £101 million sale of a City building via JPUT
- Refinancing of shops and offices in Kensington, London to the value of £97 million
- £37 million acquisition of an industrial portfolio via four JPUTs
- Purchase of 42 snooker clubs via JPUT, worth £30 million
Testimonials
Legal 500 2024
‘Phil Berry and Claire Gibson both offer a wealth of knowledge in their field. Clients are central to the team’s work ethos, and they are undoubtedly people you want to have in your corner.
Legal 500
‘Phil Berry has years of experience, making him the type of lawyer you always want in your corner.’
Year qualified
Solicitor, 1980
