Nicholas Fairbairn is an Associate at ENS in the Tax practice. 

Nicholas regularly advises corporates on South African / international tax considerations relating to mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations, funding and deal structuring, employees’ tax, employee share incentive schemes, multijurisdictional investment structures, trusts and more.

He acts for clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including property, retail, advertising and financial services.

His experience includes advising on corporate restructuring (such as asset-for-share transactions, unbundling transactions and other corporate tax rollover transactions), the taxation of trusts and trust distributions (in respect of South African and offshore trusts). He also assists with the establishment of trusts with the view of obtaining tax-exempt status under the public benefit organisation regime, drafting voluntary disclosure programme, advance tax ruling and exchange control applications.

In addition, Nicholas is also experienced in tax litigation/dispute resolution, international tax planning for corporates, HNW and ultra-HNW individuals.

Nicholas is a member of a dedicated ENS team specialising in the commercial, financial, legal, tax and regulatory aspects relevant to employee and management remuneration, benefits and incentives. This team services blue chip South African corporates in the listed and unlisted space, designing and implementing incentive plans to achieve their desired commercial outcomes. The team also advises numerous international specialised services and law firms on an ad hoc and annual basis in relation to their multinational clients operating incentive plans across the African continent.

Nicholas is a member of the Legal Practice Council.