Meet the Team
About Neil Owen
Neil Owen BA CTA(Fellow) FSAg AIIT is the founder and managing director of VAT Advisory Services Limited. He has been a full-time VAT adviser since 1990.
Neil entered the world of VAT in 1984, when he joined H M Customs & Excise as a VAT officer. After six years, split evenly between the VAT offices in Oxford and Swindon, he left the department to work for chartered accountants James & Cowper, where he headed up the provision of VAT consultancy services from 1990 to 2002.
From August 2002 to April 2007, Neil was principal of Southern VAT, a consultancy practice based in the outskirts of Southampton, and a freelance speaker. He formed VAT Advisory Services Limited in May 2007, since when he has been providing both consultancy and training services under his own banner.
Neil is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, an Associate of the Institute of Indirect Tax, and a Fellow of the Society of Agriculture. He is the current National Deputy Chairman of the VAT Practitioners Group and a former editor of both the annual book, CCH VAT Planning, and the CIOT journal, Tax Adviser.
About Nicola Gladwell
Nicola Gladwell BSc CTA is a senior consultant with VAT Advisory Services Limited. She has been a dedicated VAT adviser since 1995.
Nicola began her career in VAT in 1993, when she joined H M Customs & Excise as a VAT officer, working out of Reading VAT Office. She subsequently spent 18 years as a consultant with KPMG, still in the Thames Valley, before joining VAT Advisory Services Limited in 2014, where she works on a flexible part-time basis.
Nicola is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and, whilst experienced in all areas of VAT, has particular expertise in international transactions including supply chains, partial exemption, charities, and the retail and education sectors.
About Julian Borley
Julian Borley BA is a senior consultant with VAT Advisory
Services Limited. He has been a dedicated VAT adviser since 1997.
Julian began his working life in VAT as an employee of H M
Customs & Excise, in his case at the Finchley VAT Office in London.
Leaving after four years to become a VAT consultant, he has since had roles in
a Big Four firm, a specialist consultancy and three mid-tier accountancy
practices, in two of which he headed up a small team. Arriving at VAT
Advisory Services in September 2025, he brought the combined consultancy
expertise of the firm to very nearly a hundred years!
Julian works full-time and has expertise across all areas of
VAT, with particularly significant experience in the property and education
sectors and with charities and other not-for-profit bodes.
About Sarah Fairbrace
Coming to VAT Advisory Services with a background in the accounting departments of SMEs involved in diverse activities, Sarah joined the company in 2022 as Finance Manager, bringing a wealth of experience in all areas of finance. Working three days a week, she splits her time between her internal financial responsibilities and the provision of services to clients, including maintaining VAT records, submitting VAT returns, preparing applications for VAT registration and dealing with HMRC on their behalf.
About Alice Anderson
Alice joined VAT Advisory Services in 2025 as Office Manager, having previously worked in a variety of capacities within a medium-sized accountancy practice. Her experience there ideally suits her to her role, which combines running the small office with providing support to clients by way of the submission of VAT returns and the preparation of other applications and notifications to HMRC. Whilst her part-time position overlaps to some extent with Sarah’s, they complement and support each other whilst also having distinct areas of responsibility.
