Spear’s Review

David Crabtree is a partner at boutique firm Ostberg Sinclair & Co, where he heads up the firm’s HNW US-UK team. A dual-qualified tax adviser, he works with wealthy individuals, entrepreneurs, business owners and private equity professionals on cross-border tax matters. 

While his practice is ‘tax focused’, Crabtree tells Spear’s that he often takes a broader advisory role; rather than offering ‘simply tax compliance’, he guides clients on ‘anything from business structuring, wealth structuring through to estate planning and succession planning’. 

He places a high importance on knowing his clients’ ambitions, concerns, family dynamics and long-term goals. This entails ‘understanding what the client needs and not just giving them a set solution that may or may not be suitable for them’, he explains. 

The firm’s biggest source of new clients is word of mouth. ‘We’re seen as a safe and steady pair of hands,’ Crabtree notes. ‘It comes from strong technical knowledge in what we do.’