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The tax team at Loyens & Loeff is large for a law firm. Xavier Clarebout heads a team of eight partners and 28 associates.The group has the largest indirect tax practice among Belgian law firms. Thierry Charon is cited for his work in this area. The ... [more]

The tax team at Loyens & Loeff is large for a law firm. Xavier Clarebout heads a team of eight partners and 28 associates.

The group has the largest indirect tax practice among Belgian law firms. Thierry Charon is cited for his work in this area. The indirect tax team advised a large fashion group on a new structure covering five companies established in Belgium to reduce the VAT paid. Charon, Christian Chéruy and Marc Dhaene advised Besins Healthcare on its restructuring, which involved both international tax and VAT issues.

The practice has done a lot of corporate tax work this year, including the restructuring of the Carrefour group. Loyens also has a number of clients in the pension funds, renewable energy and real estate sectors.

PwC's tax team is one of the strongest of the big-four. Frank Dierckx leads a team of about 300 professionals, many of whom are singled out by their peers as leaders in their particular field. Dierckx himself is described as a "giant in international tax". Ine Lejeune, who is PwC's global head of indirect tax is often mentioned, while Isabel Verlinden is described as "at the top end of the market" in transfer pricing.

The team provides a full range of tax services to its clients. This year has seen a closer integration between a number of services offered to better meet the demands of their clients. They were the first member firm of the PwC global network to combine their transfer pricing and international tax services which has helped attract more clients.

This year has seen a pick-up in structuring work since many companies that had delayed projects because of the poor state of the economy have become more active. This year the group advised a consumer products group on the sale of their business to a private-equity house. The group also advised another company on their supply chain reorganisation, using Belgium as the location for a holding company.

The group advises multinationals and Belgian companies going outbound. A large portion of their work is still in the industrial sector, though work in the financial services is starting to increase.

Loyens & Loeff is viewed by the market as one of the best tax law firms in Luxembourg. The team comprises 36 fee earners and is led by Jean-Pierre Winandy, who is considered to be one of the best tax professionals in Luxembourg. "He is a big name in ... [more]

Loyens & Loeff is viewed by the market as one of the best tax law firms in Luxembourg. The team comprises 36 fee earners and is led by Jean-Pierre Winandy, who is considered to be one of the best tax professionals in Luxembourg. "He is a big name in the Luxembourg market and has a good reputation with clients, and deservedly so," said one tax partner.

Ayzo van Eysinga joined Stibbe this year after it opened a new office in Luxembourg. Otherwise, the team remains largely unchanged and has added about four new associates have joined in the last year. The group is well-known for its experience in international corporate tax matters including structured finance, tax related fund practice, M&A, VAT and tax litigation.

A number of their professionals are also highly involved in activities beyond their tax practice. Winandy is chairman of the board of the Luxembourg section of the International Fiscal Association and also serves as assistant professor at the University of Luxembourg.

Loyens & Loeff has continued to grow this year and consolidated its place as the Netherlands law firm with the biggest tax practice. The group has more than 280 fee earners in the Netherlands, a slight increase on the previous year. Guido Dercx is "widely ... [more]

Loyens & Loeff has continued to grow this year and consolidated its place as the Netherlands law firm with the biggest tax practice. The group has more than 280 fee earners in the Netherlands, a slight increase on the previous year. Guido Dercx is "widely seen as a very solid and knowledgeable tax adviser", while Paul Simonis "stands out as a top specialist".

Tax partner Maarten van der Weidjen is also the managing partner of the firm. Ronald Wijs heads the Amsterdam practice; the team in Rotterdam is run by Michiel van Kampen and Bart Rubbens. Jan Bart Schober was appointed partner in the international tax practice group this year. A number of their tax professionals as seen as leaders in the market.

The group has a strong international focus to their work. They advise multinational clients on all tax matters up to and the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Loyens is already well-established in the US and other European countries, but the last couple of years their focus has intensified on emerging markets.

Wijs and Etienne Spierts advised Corio, a property investment company, on the €1.3 billion ($1.84 billion) acquisition of an operational portfolio from Multi Corporation, a German multinational. Wijs and Jochem van der Wal also worked on the merger of Nieuwe Steen Investments and Vastned Offices, two real-estate investment trusts. This was a complex deal which involved issues to do with property transfer tax and the fiscal unity regime.

Other transactions Loyens worked on this year include the acquisition of Lloyds Nederland, the Netherlands operator of the pharmacy chain Lloyds Apotheken, by Brocacef Holding and Phoenix Pharmhandel, and the acquisition of a 61% stake in ATC Group by HgCapital, the UK private equity firm.

Other clients Loyens have advised this year are Sara Lee, France Telecom, Capgemini, ST Microelectronics, Vitol Group, ING, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Alpinvest.