Tom Evennett

Spear's Review

Tom Evennett, who became a partner at EY in 2018, is one of the pioneers in the company’s recent merger with boutique tax agency Frank Hirth. ‘Private clients are a real key focus area, both in the UK and globally, for [EY],’ he says. ‘As part of that growth strategy we're always thinking about where there might be excellent teams in the marketplace with good clients and a reputation that would be complementary to our business.’

Evennett looks forward to supercharging EY’s ambition in the private tax space and bringing an enhanced offering to its clients: ‘It’s great for our clients because they get the absolute best, both from a UK but also a UK/US perspective, in the personal tax world.’

Adviser Profile

As a Partner in the private client practice within the UK&I Private Tax team (EY’s specialist offering to High Net Worth individuals and private businesses), Tom Evennett’s current client list comprises everyone from high-growth entrepreneurs to long-standing family businesses and family offices seeking to plan for the future. “It is a privilege to support the complex needs of multi-jurisdictional, multi-generational families,” says Evennett, who was awarded Accountant of the Year at our 2014 Young Turk Awards. Then a rising star in Deloitte’s private tax team, Evennett joined EY as a partner in 2018, before taking a leading role in the firm’s private client services shortly afterwards.

Asked what he finds so rewarding about his current role, Evennett cites the diversity of his clients, not just in their geography (he lists the UK, the US, continental Europe and the Middle East as particular hot-spots) and status, but also in their wider tax and business needs. 'Each stage of the client’s evolution is different, and requires a dedicated, customised team of specialists,' he says.

Evennett is well-placed to draw from an equally diverse pool of specialists around him. 'I sit within a nexus of similar leads in 50 countries,' he says, referring to EY’s Private Tax international network. The initiative is also intended to give private clients a direct route to access the firm’s wealth of specialisms. Within the tax team alone, this includes services associated with owning, managing and preserving privately-owned business and wealth, including tax and structuring advice, asset protection, and succession planning.

Evennett describes the consolidation of the private client team within EY Private Tax and the ambition of the firm in this space as demonstrated by the acquisition of the Frank Hirth (now called EY Frank Hirth) business  last year as a career highlight. The other recent highlight is how the team has performed through the pandemic. 'The resilience of the team and their dedication to delivering exceptional client service has been an extraordinary in this environment,' he says. This tenacity, along with their rigorous standards, makes the firm’s offering particularly attractive  for private clients. 'Having looked after some of EY’s core family office clients in the UK, I know they’ve appreciated the stability and flexibility we have been able to commit to in these challenging times,' he says.

After two decades in the tax world, he is well-acquainted with the ever-changing tax landscapes, both in the UK and elsewhere, and speaks pragmatically about the need for reform. 'The tax code in the UK remains very complex for individuals and their wealth structures,' he says. 'I am very supportive of simplifying the tax system wherever possible.'

Prior to entering the City, Evennett graduated from the University of Oxford, before receiving his Executive MBA from Bayes (formerly Cass) Business School.