With the 2024 Olympics having started last week in Paris, we decided to sit down with our very own Martin Smith, Head of Sports at HW Fisher.
Martin joined the firm over 20 years ago, and now manages an impressive portfolio of over 350 clients across personal tax and limited companies in the sports sector. As well as some of the world’s most renowned sportspeople, Martin also works closely with some of the world’s top sports lawyers, sports agents and IFAs.
In this Q&A, we speak to Martin about the exciting work that is carried out within his department, the unique aspects and challenges of working with international sportspeople, and his team’s excitement for this year’s Olympics as they gear up to watch their clients bring home the gold medal.
How do you support clients?
As you can imagine, sportspeople can earn large amounts in a relatively short space of time. The earnings window for most is around 20 years, if they are lucky, and so our focus is helping them preserve their wealth during their sporting lifetime.
As retirement comes much earlier than most professions, it is paramount that we ensure there is enough kept aside to support a similar standard of living after retirement. The majority of our work is to advise and set up tax structures to minimise the tax burden, both within the sportspersons trade and for wider business endeavours, as well as assisting with planning for the future.
Can you tell us about an interesting project you’ve worked on?
We have been involved in a number of high-profile football clients moving to Europe, which in itself has presented many tax, commercial and logistical challenges, involving lengthy discussions and multiple back and forth.
The main challenge has been addressing the overseas tax issues whilst minimising the tax impact in the UK. This process has been made easier with the help of our local partners.
Is there a specific sport that you specialise in?
A large proportion of our client base consists of professional footballers, spanning all leagues. We have a deep understanding of the business side of football due to our client base but it doesn’t hurt that myself and the team are all also avid football fans!
What common challenge do you encounter when working with sportspeople, and how do you overcome it?
Working within several sporting industries, we are required to have an understanding of when best to approach our clients. Being sensitive to the client’s schedule and working around that is a particularly unique aspect of working with sportspeople. More often than not, the phrase ‘timing is key’ is communicated in some form amongst the team.
What do you think sets our firm apart when it comes to providing services to the sports sector?
We pride ourselves on first rate client service and value to our clients. We carefully listen to our clients and through an understanding of their position, we work alongside their wider professional team to deliver a timely and tailored service. We have a large network of other professional advisors and add value to our clients where we can for a seamless end to end service.
Are you looking forward to the Olympics?
Absolutely. I will be heading over to Paris for the Olympics for a few days and will attend a number of events, which I am super excited about. As a team, we will be eagerly watching some of our clients in action and we are expecting to see a number of our talented clients among the medalists.
If you are interested in learning more about Martin and the sports teams work, please get in touch here.
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