Sarah Farrow

Spear’s Review

Sarah Farrow is at the helm of EY’s ultra-high-net-worth tax team, the private client offering emerging from the acquisition of Frank Hirth by EY in 2021.

Farrow has more than two decades’ experience in the complex tax issues that HNWs, businesses, family offices and sophisticated investors face. She recalls advising a Middle Eastern client who approached her for help after inadvertently under-reporting their UK tax after ‘years of miscommunication between the client’s bankers and their former tax advisers’.

‘The numbers were very large, and it took three months just to calculate the tax due,’ recalls Farrow. ‘We agreed on the amount with HMRC without them raising any queries, which is unusual.’ She remarks that the client successfully saved £350,000 as a result.

Adviser Profile

The past few years has been a very exciting time for Farrow. Following EY's acquisition of the Frank Hirth tax practice (now known within EY as US/UK Cross Border), her deep-seated skill set was quickly acknowledged, with her and her UK-focused team leading on the integration with EY. Farrow now co-heads the UHNW team.

‘I keep the planning and advice I provide as simple as possible,’ she says. ‘The more complex the structuring, the more likely something will be misunderstood, and this can lead to expensive tax mistakes.’

EY’s US/UK Cross Border team (formerly Frank Hirth) has been specialising in tax advice for those with a US nexus for over 40 years. She describes the acquisition of Frank Hirth by EY in May 2021 as very exciting and notes the huge benefits to her clients of being able to access the many services provided by EY worldwide. ‘This is a real benefit for international clients who move assets, such as yachts, planes, all over the world and often need tax advice in different jurisdictions at short notice,’ she says.

She has extensive experience in advising very wealthy multinational families, entrepreneurs and highly sophisticated investors from private equity and hedge fund backgrounds on structuring their worldwide affairs efficiently.

She sees a noticeable increase in clients deciding to move to the UK or move back to the UK. As many of these clients hold wealth via structures, without advice they can become UK resident on a move to the UK. She tries to advise clients before they arrive in the UK to avoid problems and unforeseen tax at a later stage.

The tax adviser previously trained with KPMG and is a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Prior to embarking on a career in Tax, Farrow read Law and has a Bachelor’s degree along with a Master’s degree from Bristol University.