Lloyds veteran joins Deloitte's Scottish VAT advice operation

Deloitte, the accountancy firm and business adviser, has hired former Lloyds Banking Group tax director Nigel Roberts to drive the expansion of its east of Scotland VAT practice.

During his four-and-a-half-year tenure at Lloyds, Roberts was responsible for operational taxes and helped steer the group's initial response to changes in US legislation. He also led "high-level" negotiations with HM Revenue and Customs.

Roberts, who has more than 20 years' experience as a VAT adviser, will be based in Deloitte's Edinburgh office, providing VAT advice as part of its regional financial services tax team.

Carole McGregor, VAT partner for Deloitte in Scotland, said his appointment would mean more projects could be run from Scotland instead of having to rely on London-based experts.

She said: "Nigel's credentials speak for themselves and I am very pleased to welcome him to Deloitte as we look to grow our VAT practice in the east coast."

She said the firm plans to double its VAT business in the area over the next two years, using Roberts' experience in financial services and knowledge of the Scottish business community.

She said the recent rise in the rate of VAT had hit financial services companies hard as they could not recoup the tax in the way other sectors did, and many were seeking to use other changes to minimise their VAT bills.

Roberts said: "VAT evolves continuously - for example, recent announcements regarding the introduction of a cost sharing exemption in the UK create significant opportunities for the finance and public sectors, amongst others.

"I look forward to working alongside the full team of specialists at Deloitte in assisting the country's businesses to navigate the latest developments."

The appointment comes just weeks after Deloitte announced the promotion of 63 new partners in all four of its key business areas - audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance - and in offices throughout the UK and in Switzerland.