Cottons Group appoints Luke Prout as an equity Partner as tax team shortlisted for national award
Cottons Group is pleased to announce that Luke Prout has formally joined the firm’s partnership as an equity partner after initially joining as a salaried partner in June 2024.This marks a key milestone in the growth of the firm’s tax advisory function.
The announcement comes as Cottons Group tax team is shortlisted for Tax Team of the Year at the 2025 Accounting Excellence Awards – just 12 months after Luke began spearheading the tax function.
Will Smart, Managing Partner at Cottons Group comments: “Luke has brought a fresh perspective and a clear strategic vision to our tax offering. His ability to lead, innovate, and collaborate has had a profound impact on the business. The award shortlisting is a well-deserved recognition of the team he’s built and the value they’re delivering to our clients.”
“It’s an honour to join the partnership as an equity partner,” said Luke. “We’ve worked hard to create a tax team that not only delivers strong technical advice but does so in a collaborative and commercially relevant way. To be recognised nationally in our first year shows we’re building something special – I’m incredibly proud of the whole team and what we have achieved is only partly down to me, the whole team deserve the credit.”
The ‘Tax Team of the Year’ award celebrates technical excellence, innovation, and meaningful client service. For Luke, it reflects a culture of integrity, clarity and practical support:
“We focus not just on getting the answer right, but on ensuring it’s practical, timely, and adds value for our clients. We provide bespoke tax advice and sensible options – not off-the-shelf products.”
Luke has led a wide range of improvements to the firm’s tax function including internal tax briefings across offices, clearer referral processes, and technical resources to support complex advisory work.
The team has also begun building sector-specific expertise, particularly in property, construction, creative industries, and technology, while enhancing internal documentation and training to support consistency and quality control. “From the outset, my priorities were to enhance the technical depth of our advisory offering, embed a more collaborative approach across service lines, and finetune our internal processes,” Luke explained.
“We saw an opportunity to offer advice that goes beyond compliance – to support long-term planning, restructuring, and succession strategies.”
Cottons Group tax team is now particularly well-placed to support:
- Owner-managed property businesses
- Family-run enterprises exploring succession and wealth protection
- Technology and engineering firms accessing R&D and Patent Box relief
- Charities and not-for-profits with particular focus on VAT and Corporate tax matters.
- Mid to large corporate clients including foreign owned companies operating in the UK and internationally and the complex tax issues that can arise.
Internationally, the team is preparing to join a global network to strengthen its cross-border capabilities. Luke started the process of selecting an international network within weeks of him joining Cottons Group in 2024 and this partnership will be announced in the coming weeks. “We have significant experience dealing with international tax issues,” said Luke, “and we want to offer an alternative to the larger firms for globally active clients.”
For more information, or to book your free advisory appointment, please contact us at enquiries@cottonsgroup.com.
For media queries, contact Ana Dima, Head of Marketing at marketing@cottonsgroup.com.
