Philip Ridgway
Philip joined chambers when he returned to the Bar in June 2007.
He advises on all areas of revenue law, both corporate and personal, but has a particular interest in corporate tax matters including, acquisitions and disposals, reconstructions and demergers, MBOs, returning capital to shareholders, s425 schemes, SDLT, stamp duty and SDRT.
Insolvency Tax
Philip has a special expertise in the taxation of insolvent companies, members' voluntary liquidations (including s110 schemes) and bankruptcy, and lectures regularly to R3 and is a member of the R3/HMRC liaison group which meet regularly to discuss issues of conflict between insolvency law and tax law. Over the years he has been involved in advising on the tax aspects of some of the UK's major insolvencies including Maxwell, Pollypeck, BCCI, Olympia and York, Mayflower, ITVdigital, MFI, Allied Carpets, Borders, Farepak and Lehman Bros. He is a Member of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (MABRP) having passed the JIEB examinations.
Recently, Philip has increasingly been asked to advise on the financial aspects of HNWI divorces.
Following his call to the bar by Middle Temple in 1986 and pupilage in insolvency chambers (3/4 South Square) and tax chambers (Pump Court) Philip joined Paisner & Co (now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) before moving on to Allen & Overy. In 1993 he joined Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) and then in 1996 Deloitte, where he was made a corporate tax partner in 1999. Philip believes that this broad experience of professional services firms enables him to understand the needs of both the lay client and instructing advisers and equips him to have a commercial approach to the problems they face.
Education, Professional Memberships and Appointments
Philip is a Fellow and former Council member of the Chartered institute of Taxation, Past-Chairman of its education committee and a member of both the corporate and property technical committees. He also supports the Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG) and is a volunteer for Tax help for Older People (TOP) a registered charity which provides free advice to those over the age of 60 with incomes of less than £15,000 a year.
Philip was a visiting lecturer at City University where he taught International Tax and EU Tax on the Commercial Law LLM programme. He annually teaches VAT on the Oxford University MSc in Taxation.
Directories - Professional Recommendations
"Excellent in providing timely and concise advice." "A man who can make a huge difference to a case." "Philip is very responsive and provides practical advice." - Chambers UK 2025
"Philip is on top of his game - he has an encyclopedic knowledge of tax law. A brilliant tax barrister for the most complex case. Bright and articulate and thoroughly prepared". - Legal500 2025
"Philip demonstrates a strong understanding of the relevant laws and their application, and deploys his arguments expertly to the benefit of the client." "A pleasure to work with, he's a barrister whose commercial understanding is backed up by his precise knowledge of corporate tax law, particularly all matters relating to corporate reconstructions and insolvency. " - Chambers UK 2024
‘Understanding of both tax law and accounting issues and bringing these to his opinions.’ - Legal500 2024 (Ranked: Tier 2)
"Practical, commercial and extremely knowledgeable, he is easily able to explain complex matters simply." "Philip is very commercially focused and understands the client's needs; his level of expertise, particularly in the context of debt restructuring, is very strong." Chambers UK 2023: Tax
"Strength is his commercial and practical approach. He is also friendly and easy to discuss matters with" - Legal 500 2023 (Ranked: Tier 2)
"Extremely technically proficient and pragmatic, he is able to cut quickly to the root of the issue." "He is very focused and has a very good reputation." - Chambers and Partners 2022: Tax
"Philip can always be relied on to give robust, practical advice. Has a real understanding of the tax and legal issues in the context of the client's business. Particularly good on corporate restructurings and insolvency matters. " - Legal 500 2022 (Ranked: tier 2 Corporate tax)
"Extremely technically proficient and pragmatic, he is able to cut quickly to the root of the issue." "He is very focused and has a very good reputation." - Chambers and Partners 2021: Tax
‘Philip is technically excellent, but as, if not more importantly, is creative, commercial and extremely practical. He is prepared to delve into the detail of the practical application of any advice that he gives.’ - Legal 500 2021 (Ranked: tier 2)
"Stands out for his technical excellence, calm considered approach, congenial character." - Legal 500 2020 (Ranked : tier 2)
"Really user-friendly. He makes tax understandable and clients really warm to him. He's incredibly bright." "Very thorough and very proactive." - Chambers and Partners 2019: Tax (Ranked: Band 1)
"He is calm and decisive. He plans his strategy in advance, and always has a plan B. He has the ability to dissect an argument put forward by the opposition - he goes through it atom by atom and dismantles it piece by piece."
Publications
Philip is co-author (with Tim Sanders) of Bloomsbury Professional's Tax Indemnities and Warranties (3rd Edition).
He also contributes the tax chapter to both Lightman and Moss: The Law of Administrators and Receivers of Companies (6th ed.) and Totty, Moss & Segal: Insolvency. Philip is a member of the editorial board of Insolvency Intelligence.
Other Experience
He is well known on the conference circuit and regularly lectures for MBL Seminars Ltd. Details of upcoming seminars can be found here.
Additional Information
When he is not dealing with tax issues Philip follows the (mis)fortunes of Sheffield United and purports to play blues guitar although he accepts this is more likely to describe the effect on the listener than be a reference to the musical genre.
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