Tax & Accountancy across Greater London.

The economic geography of Greater London

Greater London is not one market — it is several. The economic geography matters when matching tax advice to local realities. Inner-East London boroughs (Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Lewisham) host a high concentration of buy-to-let portfolios bought between 2008 and 2018, many of which are now hitting Section 24 hardest. South London (Croydon, Bromley, Sutton, Kingston) skews toward established owner-managed businesses, professional services and family-owned trading companies. North London (Camden, Islington, Haringey, Enfield) blends inner-city startups with substantial property wealth. West London (Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing, Hounslow) hosts the airport-adjacent logistics economy and large media businesses.

The outer boroughs (Havering, Bexley, Sutton, Hillingdon) and the M25 corridor host a different profile entirely — distribution, light manufacturing, construction subcontractors, trades businesses, and a substantial population of skilled-trade self-employed taxpayers. Many of our clients in this band are sole-trader landlords managing 3-8 properties around their main business, often with both Self Assessment and corporation tax exposures running in parallel.

This variety means a “London tax adviser” should not approach a Croydon construction company the same way as a Hampstead media partnership or a Tower Hamlets landlord. The right adviser knows the difference and structures the engagement accordingly — including knowing when to refer to our sister firm Fernside Accounting for clients who are best served by lower-cost packages.

Who we typically work with

Recent Greater London client profiles, by borough cluster — anonymised:

• Croydon-based recruitment business — limited company, £2.4m turnover, 14 staff. Work covered standard CT compliance, R&D claim for a candidate-matching software project, salary-sacrifice pension scheme review, and an upcoming exit-planning engagement.
• Hackney BTL portfolio — 11 flats in E5/E8/E9, held personally by a higher-rate-taxpayer couple. Section 24 was costing them roughly £18,000/year. We modelled incorporation including SDLT partnership-relief planning, recommended a phased two-year approach.
• Enfield owner-managed manufacturing company — £6m turnover, family business across two generations. Work covered standard CT plus a structuring review ahead of bringing the next generation into management, including a share reorganisation.
• Bromley solicitor’s practice — three-partner LLP, four salaried solicitors. Work covered partnership taxation, salaried-member rules check for the senior associates, and a pension contribution strategy for the partners.
• Wimbledon-based film production company — limited company, single shareholder-director, £1.2m turnover. Work covered standard CT plus an audio-visual relief claim and an EMI option scheme for two senior crew about to be promoted to producer.
• Hounslow logistics operator — multi-vehicle haulage business, £4m turnover. Work covered standard CT compliance, capital allowances on fleet expansion, and corporation tax planning around the upcoming structures and buildings allowance changes.

Greater London is genuinely diverse, and good tax advice has to be too.