Creative, Media & Technology

Why haysmacintyre?

The Creative, Media and Technology industries are evolving and converging at an unprecedented rate, with digital innovation transforming the way companies work. That’s why it’s vital to have specialist advisers who understand the unique challenges you face and can offer a service that suits your style.

We advise some of the UK’s most exciting entrepreneurs and creative businesses. Our clients include technology companies, digital and media agencies, film companies, fashion and ecommerce businesses and media personalities. They work with us because we are knowledgeable about developments in their industry and have a friendly, responsive and down-to-earth approach. We specialise in advising growing, changing, entrepreneurial businesses and as such we understand their needs and have the breadth of expertise to advise across the range of services they require, to transition from early stage, growth, build and on to an event.

How we can help you

We help you avoid any pitfalls, exploit opportunities and improve your commercial success. As specialists in your field, we will give you the most relevant, up to date advice and always be available to answer your questions. 

Acting for many clients across their lifecycle, we offer a suite of services that will best address your needs at any point in time, whether that’s maximising an R&D tax credit claim, structuring the most tax efficient investment for inward investment, performing due diligence on a strategic acquisition, incentivising key team members, expanding internationally or supporting a successful tax efficient exit.

Doing business overseas

Through our co-founded, award winning international alliance, MSI Global Alliance, we provide local expertise wherever you plan to grow your business. We lead the relationship for our clients ensuring that they receive a global perspective for their business as we can collaborate with 250 legal and accounting firms in more than 100 countries.

We’re experts in your industry

We run seminars, workshops and events on a broad range of topics and our CMT team regularly write for sector publications. We are closely involved in a number of sector initiatives and events including FinTech Connect Live, Young Guns, Startups Awards, Angel Academe and British Fashion Council.

Our services

We can support you across a breadth of sector requirements. You can combine any of our services to suit your business; our rates are competitive and we agree fees upfront providing transparency.

  • Bookkeeping and management accounts reporting
  • Company Secretarial
  • Payroll
  • VAT and duty advice
  • Employment taxes and benefits
  • Year end accounts
  • Corporate tax
  • International and corporate tax planning
  • International expansion 
  • Share options
  • R&D
  • Patent box
  • EIS and SEIS
  • Corporate finance including acquisitions due diligence, M&A, IPOs and share valuations
  • Transaction support
  • Financial modelling
  • Cash flow management
  • Personal tax planning and compliance
  • Personal wealth management

Case Studies

Outsourcing - helping a digital marketing company outsource their entire accounting function

Our client, a digital marketing company, outsourced their entire accounting function to us. We provide an end to end solution, to include:

  • Raising invoices Chasing debtors
  • Processing all payments and receipts
  • Processing payroll and all related reporting
  • Reconciling all bank and control accounts
  • Advising on supplier payments
  • Production of management and year end accounts

As part of haysmacintyre’s outsourcing service, our client also benefits from access to other experts across areas including employment taxes, VAT and tax planning as required.

Lifecycle advisers

We began acting for our client, a leading distributor of broadcast quality advertising and new music to UK and Ireland’s radio and TV stations, when it was turning over less than £500k. Throughout our 15 years of acting for them, we provide comprehensive advice and support including:

  • An AIM listing An MBO and a delisting Overseas expansion into multi-territories
  • The due diligence process of two strategically excellent acquisitions
  • Implementing share options R&D tax credits
  • A significant private equity exit

Our client was well prepared at the negotiation stage for all transactions which enabled them to agree the best deal.

EIS and SEIS

Our client, a video conferencing group with main activities outside of the UK, was raising funds under a private placement. At the time the group would not have qualified for EIS due to the parent company being outside of the UK with UK activities undertaken by its UK subsidiary. We advised the client, obtaining clearance from HMRC on the basis that the UK subsidiary would hive up to the parent company prior to receiving investment. This involved reviewing all the relevant qualifying conditions including liaising with both the client and lawyers on the terms of shareholders agreement. We prepared a note detailing the benefits of EIS for the prospectus being sent to prospective investors and ensured the hive up was actioned correctly. The company was subsequently able to secure EIS for its investors on the £1.1m raised and we prepared the relevant paperwork, including the EIS1 forms and EIS3 certificates.

R&D

Our client, a fast growing biotech company, had no history of making R&D tax claims. We advised them that some of their activities would qualify for the relief. We discussed the claims process and qualifying conditions with both the finance director and CTO, considering the impact of both state aid and non state aid grant funding. We worked with the company to make a historic and current year claim going back two years under both the SME and large company schemes (for subsidised expenditure) which resulted in our client receiving a repayment of £120,000.