Pete Hackleton

Partner, Saffery Champness

Pete advises a range of corporate and individual clients, primarily in the sports and entertainment sector. His major clients include both international and national governing bodies of sport, clubs, major venues, rights holders, other sports businesses and individuals

Pete regularly speaks at industry conferences about the key taxation issues in sport, as well as appearing in all forms of media. He is well known as a trusted adviser to major stakeholders across the sports industry.

He also provides tax advice to companies and individuals across the wider entertainment sector, including film, television, music and theatre.

In addition, Pete also has a strong client base in the entrepreneurial and owner-managed business space, focusing on providing commercially driven tax-efficient solutions in this sector.

Pete spent over 10 years at Deloitte, initially as a general corporate tax specialist in Manchester before moving to London in 2005 to lead the tax side of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group. He moved to RSM Tenon as an Associate Director in 2010, before moving on to the Sports & Entertainment Group at Saffery Champness in 2011.

Patrick Way QC

Field Court Tax Chambers

Patrick Way QC has strong advocacy and advisory practices. He has successfully represented clients at all levels of the UK court system and he acts for both taxpayer and HMRC alike in cases where the tax at stake may run into hundreds of millions of pounds. He has also advised on some of the biggest UK takeovers. His clients include major corporates as well as famous celebrities, charities, wealthy individuals and businesses of all types whom he has advised in relation to virtually every form of UK tax.

He has been listed in Accountancy Age’s Top 50 Financial Power List and has been The Times’ Lawyer of the Week and Counsel magazine’s Barrister of the Month.

Patrick has written and edited books and chapters on the taxation of commercial transactions including in particular the taxation of corporate groups, on joint ventures, the Business Expansion and Enterprise Investment Schemes, inheritance tax and capital gains tax planning for individuals and on stamp duty and stamp duty land tax.

Before being called to the Bar he was a solicitor during which time he was an equity partner in two leading London law firms, first becoming a partner at the age of 31.

He aims to bring to clients an approach which is both practical and pragmatic. Practical, since, having been a commercial solicitor he is well aware of the realities of business transactions and the need for sensible advice; and pragmatic since his court experiences have shown him the way in which courts are likely to react and he factors this experience into his advice.

Throughout his career he has only ever appeared as lead or sole counsel.

Outside work he is keen on contemporary art. He also follows the fortunes of Richmond (Rugby) Football Club where he is a director. In the past, he coached young Richmond teams, taking them to three finals at Twickenham and watching them win all round Europe, South Africa and Australasia.

Nick White

Partner, Couchmans

Nick White heads up the IP and digital teams at Couchmans. He also has experience and expertise in broadcasting, sports marketing, computer games and e-sports, defamation / privacy, data protection (including the proposed new regulation, the GDRP), betting and gaming, sports financing, disputes and regulatory matters. Alongside his expertise in sports, Nick is seeing an increased workload in the food and beverage industry.

Nick advises sports personalities including Mo Farah, Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Clive Woodward, governing bodies including FIFA, the International Tennis Federation and Basketball England and brands such as Rapha and Skins.

Nick co-wrote the UK chapter of the book "Sports Image Rights in Europe" and is the author of the UK chapter of "Players' Agents Worldwide: Legal Aspects". He has lectured widely on topics such as ambush marketing and image rights and is a former director of the British Association of Sport and the Law. He has been recommended by the Chambers and Partners, Legal500 and Who's Who directories.

Chris McLeod

Partner, Elkington & Fife

Chris McLeod is a registered trade mark attorney and an authorised representative at OHIM, with over 25 years’ experience in the field of trade marks, designs and copyright.  He was the president of ITMA, the UK Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, and has been active in ITMA for over 15 years.  He has extensive experience of managing large trade mark and registered design portfolios in many sectors, including fashion, sports, healthcare, publishing, foodstuffs and beverages and has represented numerous charity clients on a pro bono basis.  Chris is a regular conference speaker on IP issues and a frequent press, radio and TV commentator on trade marks and related matters.

Roy Saunders

Founder and Chairman, IBSA

Since qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1967, Roy Saunders has accumulated a wealth of commercial experience working independently in commercial property, international tax, advertising and other industries. He is the Chairman of IFS, a boutique international tax practice based in central London. Academically, he is known throughout the world for his many books and publications, the foremost being his red book, International Tax Systems & Planning Techniques published by Sweet & Maxwell. Roy has also taught an MA Course on International Taxation at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.

Roy is very proud of the fascinating client base of entrepreneurial individuals that he has built up at IFS. He feels strongly about the role that ethical tax structuring plays in the growth of an economy, and that this needs to be better understood by the public at large. Roy founded the IBSA to enable business professionals around the world to discover new business relationships and promote best practice by creating sustainable business structures compliant with international transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.