We are pleased to announce with immediate effect the launch of BTG Tax.BTG Tax is the new brand name for the firm's tax practice, and incorporates the former BTG Financial Partners, Shaws and Coyle Clarke. All other names will no longer be used with the exception of Coyle Clarke in Northern Ireland.

We believe this provides us with an ideal brand with which to go to market and grow the tax practice.

The business is headed up by Andrew Shaw as National Tax Managing Partner, Steve Bold becomes National Tax Executive Partner and Geoff Hill will be non Exec, linking with the plc Board and responsible for acquisitions. Andrew previously was Managing Director of Shaws a tax consultancy business based in Birmingham and London.

BTG Tax advises individuals and businesses on a wide range of tax issues, with a large part of the business coming from smaller firms of accountants, lawyers and IFAs. These people refer in their most difficult tax client issues, in the sure knowledge that as BTG Tax are not Auditors or generalists we will not seek to take clients away from them. Usually our engagement is with the introducer, thus allowing them to earn premium fees by helping us implement our solutions for their clients.

BTG Tax have 53 tax experts across 4 locations (Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cyprus), together with some 12 support staff. The group's expertise includes Tax Investigations, VAT, Corporate Transactions, HNWI tax planning, Sports, Media and Entertainment, and International Tax. In fact the more complicated the tax issue the better. Most of the Senior Management Team have BIG 4 tax experience and many have also worked for HMRC. There are currently 8 partners in the business and 8 Directors.

Andrew will be supported by Ian Mackay as Director of Tax Business Development, Richard Shaw as Tax Operations Director and Jill Inns as Tax Personnel Manager, all of whom are based in Birmingham.

BTG Tax is currently an £8m turnover business, with approximately half of this derived from Birmingham, where there are a total of 43 staff. BTG Tax hope to be able to assist all parts of the Begbies business by delivering answers to difficult tax situations, whether it be for Insolvency partners or for the corporate finance teams. The group's extensive network of contacts will enable us to refer work in to other parts of the business and we have considerable evidence of this in just the first few months as part of the Group.

The professional tax advisory firm Shaws, based in Edgbaston, Birmingham has been acquired by Begbies Traynor Group plc (the Group), a quoted specialist professional services organisation.