🏠 Philip Harrison · Los Romeros Limited Villa, Lanzarote · Sold March 2026
Los Romeros Limited Villa:
Personal Ownership vs Wincham's Advice
A definitive, like-for-like financial comparison. Same property. Same sale price of €315,000. Same Spanish taxes. The only difference is the ownership structure — and the impact on Philip Harrison's final net proceeds is stark.
✓ Scenario A — What Should Have Happened
Philip buys the villa personally
June 2019 · Sells March 2026
£243,358
Net cash into Philip's personal account after all taxes
✗ Scenario B — Wincham's Advice (Actual)
Property held in Los Romeros Ltd
Acquired June 2019 · Sold March 2026
£183,264
Net cash into Philip's personal account after all taxes
The Wincham Financial Penalty
Philip is worse off by this exact amount solely because of the company ownership structure
−£60,094
⚠ The Wincham "Save 16%" Claim — What It Actually Cost
In June 2019, Wincham advised Philip to buy the company shell (Los Romeros Ltd) rather than the property directly, claiming he would save on Spanish purchase taxes. Here is the true financial outcome of that advice:
+£10,702
Spanish ITP purchase tax
saved in June 2019 by buying
the company instead of the property
−£60,094
Additional tax & costs incurred
on extraction due to the corporate
wrapper (Corp Tax + MVL + CGT)
−£49,392
TRUE net financial harm to Philip
after crediting Wincham's
claimed 2019 saving
💧
Where Every Pound Goes — Step by Step
✓ Scenario A: Personal Ownership
Gross Sale Price (€315,000)£273,105
Spanish Agent & Legal Costs−£14,410
Spanish IRNR Tax @ 19%−£15,337
UK Personal CGT (after FTCR credit)£0 — completely wiped
Company / MVL Extraction StepN/A — not needed
Personal CGT on Company DistributionN/A — not needed
PHILIP RECEIVES£243,358
✗ Scenario B: Wincham Company Route
Gross Sale Price (€315,000)£273,105
Spanish Agent & Legal Costs−£14,410
Spanish IRNR Tax @ 19%−£15,337
UK Corporation Tax (net of FTCR)−£8,562
MVL Insolvency Practitioner + CTA−£5,500
Personal CGT on MVL Distribution−£46,033
PHILIP RECEIVES£183,264
Note on Director's Loan (£25,069): In Scenario B, Philip's £25,069 Director's Loan is repaid to him tax-free as part of the MVL process. This is already included in the £183,264 net figure above. It is not a profit — it is the company returning money Philip paid in over the years to cover administration costs that would not have existed under personal ownership.
Money Waterfall — Personal vs Company
Tax Layers — Where Did the Money Go?
Scenario A — Personal: How £273,105 is Distributed
Scenario B — Company: How £273,105 is Distributed
📋
Full Tax-by-Tax Comparison Table
Gross Sale Proceeds (€315,000 @ £0.867)
£273,105
£273,105
Spanish Estate Agent + Legal + Plusvalía
−£14,410
−£14,410
Spanish IRNR Non-Resident CGT @ 19%
−£15,337
−£15,337
UK Corporation Tax (25%, net of FTCR)
£0 — Not applicable
−£8,562
UK Personal CGT via Self Assessment
£0 — Wiped by FTCR credit
N/A at this stage
MVL — Licensed Insolvency Practitioner
£0 — Not required
−£3,500
MVL — Final CTA / Accountant Fees
£0 — Not required
−£2,000
Personal CGT on MVL Capital Distribution
£0 — Not required
−£46,033
🏦 NET CASH TO PHILIP
£243,358
£183,264
Total Tax & Professional Costs Paid
£29,747
£89,842
Effective Overall Tax Rate on Proceeds
10.9%
32.9%
🔬
Why Scenario A Has Near-Zero UK Tax — The FTCR Mechanism
✓ Scenario A — Personal Route (2 Tax Events Only)
1
Spain charges IRNR on the gain
Philip pays €17,689 (~£15,337) directly to AEAT as Spanish non-resident capital gains tax. This is unavoidable in both scenarios.
−£15,337
2
UK Self Assessment — FTCR wipes the CGT bill
UK personal CGT on the gain = ~£15,279. Foreign Tax Credit Relief (TIOPA 2010) credits the Spanish tax paid against the UK bill. Since Spanish tax (£15,337) exceeds UK CGT (£15,279), the UK bill is completely cancelled.
£0 net UK tax
3
Money flows directly to Philip — done
No company. No dissolution. No MVL. No further CGT events. Philip's proceeds arrive straight into his personal bank account.
✓ Complete
✗ Scenario B — Company Route (4 Tax Events)
1
Spain charges IRNR on the gain
Company (Los Romeros Ltd) pays €17,689 (~£15,337) to AEAT. Identical to Scenario A at this stage.
−£15,337
2
UK Corporation Tax — only partially offset by FTCR
CT at 25% on the UK gain = £23,899. FTCR credits £15,337. Net CT bill = £8,562. This cost exists only because of the company wrapper.
−£8,562
3
MVL required to access the money
Funds are trapped in the company. A licensed Insolvency Practitioner must be appointed plus a CTA/accountant to formally dissolve Los Romeros Ltd and distribute the assets.
−£5,500
4
Personal CGT on MVL capital distribution
Philip's receipt of the MVL distribution is a fully taxable capital gains event. On £201,227 taxable gain: 18% × £37,700 + 24% × £163,527 = £46,033 payable to HMRC. No FTCR available at this stage.
−£46,033
📌 The Bottom Line
Both scenarios begin with the same property, the same sale price (€315,000), and the same Spanish tax obligation. The entire difference in outcome — £60,094 — arises solely from the company ownership structure.
In Scenario A (personal ownership), the UK–Spain Double Taxation Agreement works exactly as intended. The Spanish tax paid generates a Foreign Tax Credit Relief that virtually eliminates Philip's UK tax liability. He pays a total tax rate of just 10.9% and keeps £243,358.
In Scenario B (the Wincham company route), the FTCR does reduce the Corporation Tax — but the money still must pass through two further extraction tax events that are unique to the corporate structure: a Corporation Tax top-up and a full personal CGT charge on the MVL distribution. Philip pays a total tax rate of 32.9% — three times higher — and keeps only £183,264.
Wincham's claimed upfront saving of £10,702 (Spanish ITP avoided in 2019) has been eclipsed more than five-fold. The true, net financial harm to Philip Harrison arising from Wincham's advice is approximately £49,392.
Disclaimer: All figures are planning-level estimates produced by an AI tax advisory model. The Spanish IRNR calculation assumes an acquisition cost base of €201,280 (€185,000 purchase price + ITP at 6.5% + AJD at 1% + notary/gestoría fees) and disposal costs of €16,620. UK figures use EUR/GBP exchange rates of £0.867 (March 2026 completion) and £0.89 (June 2019 acquisition). Philip's retirement income is assumed to be near the UK Personal Allowance (£12,570 for 2025/26). All figures require formal verification by a CIOT-registered Chartered Tax Adviser and a qualified Spanish asesor fiscal before use in any legal proceedings, HMRC filings, or AEAT submissions. The UK–Spain Double Taxation Agreement (2013, in force 2014) remains fully in force post-Brexit and governs all cross-border tax credit claims.