Iain Wright

Iain Wright is the founder and Managing Director of Claritas Tax Limited, a UK independent tax advisory boutique he launched in September 2012. He is a Chartered Accountant (FCA, ICAEW) and Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA, Chartered Institute of Taxation) with more than 25 years in the tax profession, and holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Birmingham. Before founding Claritas he spent over 13 years at KPMG UK advising on domestic and international transactions, and later held senior roles including Tax Director at RSM Tenon and Tax Partner at Friend LLP. His core specialism is M&A and corporate tax — he has advised on numerous corporate and private-equity transactions and on companies expanding overseas.

He started Claritas as a one-person venture in Birmingham in 2012 with the aim of bringing "big firm" expertise to mid-market, privately owned and PE-backed businesses and their owners. The firm has since grown into one of the UK's largest independent tax consultancies, reported at roughly 100 people across eight UK offices, with leadership including Debi Osborne (Director of Operations), Justine Dignam (Director of Tax Incentives and Reliefs) and Simon Day (Head of Funding).

An important accuracy note: the available public record describes Iain Wright as a tax-advisory firm founder, not as an angel investor making seed-stage equity investments. No verifiable angel/seed investments under his name were found. Where his work touches startups and entrepreneurs, it is in an advisory capacity — corporate transactions, R&D and tax incentives, EIS/funding structuring, and employee share schemes — rather than as a personal cheque-writer. Founders treating this profile as an investor lead should calibrate accordingly.

• Primary activity is advisory, not equity investing. Claritas positions itself as a director-led tax adviser to entrepreneurs, owner-managed businesses and private-equity-backed companies — i.e., it advises on and around deals rather than investing in them.
• Transactional and incentives focus: M&A and PE transaction tax, international expansion, R&D tax relief, the patent box, and staff/equity incentive structures are recurring themes in his public commentary.
• In his own words: *"I love talking to clients about their businesses, solving problems and helping them take advantage of opportunities."* He adds that while "tax shouldn't dictate business strategy," it is central to major commercial decisions — facility location, M&A activity and staff incentive design.
• What gets engagement: entrepreneurial, growth-stage and PE-backed UK businesses facing a transaction, a funding round, or an incentives/reliefs question — the scenarios where his M&A-tax background adds value.