Is Ali Sarikhani growing another major tax boutique ? Latest hire is Nicholas Hughes from BDO

Saffron Tax Partners LLP has hired Nicholas Hughes as a new partner to the firm, with effect from 1 July.

Karen Spencer-Smith, Saffron’s Managing Partner, commented : “We are committed to providing the highest calibre specialist advice to our clients to enable them to make fully informed decisions. I am delighted that Nicholas has agreed to join us”.

Nicholas qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and has advised private clients in relation to trust and estate planning matters ever since, in recent years as a non-practising solicitor. Nicholas was a Director at the Chiltern Group and more recently a Partner of BDO LLP. Nick is a member of STEP advises UK and international clients on a wide range of trust and tax issues.

Saffron Tax Partners is a boutique tax partnership,  providing a proactive personal service to Private Clients. The Firm launched in 2009 and in 2011 announced the acquisition of the private client tax compliance business from Kleinwort Benson.

Although run by Karen Spencer-Smith, Saffron Tax Partners is backed by serial tax entrepreneur Ali Sarikhani. Mr Sarikhani is a qualified Chartered Accountant, having trained in practice with what is now Ernst & Young. He was made a Partner of the Tehran practice in 1976 at the age of 29 and subsequently, in 1980, set up his own practice in London. The business was acquired by UBS in 1986 and grew organically by the acquisitions of Williams Jeffery Barber Limited in 1987 and Chiltern Limited in 1997. In 1997, following a buy out from UBS, the group was re-launched as Chiltern Group plc and grew to 350 people servicing around 10,000 clients. In 2005 a divestment program was initiated which has resulted in the sale of the business via a series of disposals. Most of the senior team at Saffron come from Chiltern (via BDO).