Overview
Benedict Jennings is a Partner in the Private Client team and Joint Head of the Tax and Trust Section. He advises trustees, private clients, family offices, landed estates and businesses on the administration, governance and taxation of complex wealth structures. His practice focuses on the day-to-day management of substantial family arrangements, often involving multiple trusts, companies, charitable entities and family estates.
A multi-qualified Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser, and Trust and Estate Practitioner, Benedict works closely with lawyers across the firm to provide integrated advice on trusts, taxation, succession planning, family governance and philanthropic structures. He advises both UK-domiciled and non-UK domiciled individuals and is particularly experienced in the administration of large and complex trust arrangements, helping families manage and preserve wealth across generations.
Languages: English, Italian, French
Expertise
Benedict specialises in:
- Trust administration and governance
- Onshore and offshore trust structures
- Trust taxation and compliance
- Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning and reporting
- Family office services
- Private client taxation
- Succession planning
- Wealth structuring and preservation
- Landed estates and family wealth structures
- Annual trust accounts and reporting
- ATED returns
- NRCGT compliance and reporting
- HMRC disclosures and regularisations
- Business succession planning
- Agricultural Property Relief (APR)
- Business Property Relief (BPR)
- Charitable trusts and philanthropy
- Trust creation, restructuring and winding up
- Family governance and intergenerational wealth planning
- Running and coordinating large and complex family trust structures involving multiple trusts, companies and private assets.
- Advising on the sale and tax-efficient structuring of multi-million-pound land transactions.
- Assisting individuals and companies with complex HMRC disclosures and tax regularisation exercises.
- Advising families on succession planning and restructuring businesses ahead of future generational transitions.
- Advising on the availability of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) within sophisticated private wealth structures.
- Managing large charitable trusts established by private individuals and families.
- Advising on the establishment and winding up of trust structures where commercially and fiscally appropriate.
Qualifications & Accreditations
Benedict has worked in accountancy since 2012, training in Audit and Financial Services before qualifying as an ICAEW Chartered Accountant in 2015 and is now a Fellow of the Institute (FCA).
Following experience with a Top 5 accountancy firm, he specialised in trusts and taxation, working at leading London private client accountancy practices before joining Payne Hicks Beach in October 2019.
Benedict was promoted to Partner in 2023 and leads the Tax and Trust Section of the Private Client Department.
Professional qualifications include:
- Chartered Accountant (FCA)
- Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA)
- Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP)
Awards & Accolades
- Legal 500 UK 2026 – Recognised as a Recommended Key Lawyer for Personal Tax, Trusts & Probate.
- Spear’s Best Accountants and Tax Advisers Index 2025 – Recognised for excellence in private client tax and trust advisory services.
- Promoted to Partner and Head of the Trust Section at Payne Hicks Beach in 2023.
