Chris Bates is a tax lawyer based in London. He leads our European VAT Group. He also has extensive experience advising on the taxation aspect of asset and project finance, structure finance, media, telecommunications, securitisations, derivatives and VAT.

Chris has extensive experience advising banks and users of finance in the asset finance and project finance sectors with a particular focus on shipping, oil and gas assets, aviation and rail. He also advises on a wide range of structured finance transactions and on the use of financial instruments.

Chris has extensive experience of negotiation with HMRC on behalf of a wide range of clients, including in particular financial institutions, shipping companies, airlines and operators of offshore assets.

Chris is highly regarded in Chambers 2018 as having "particular experience advising on project and asset financing. His practice also includes work on securitisation and derivatives-related matters, as well as in relation to VAT".

The Legal 500 also credits Chris as being "another key contact and has experience of advising financial institutions on a range of structured transactions".

Chris qualified in 1984 and became a partner in 1996. He is a member of the Corporation Tax Committee of the City of London Law Society. Chris is an accredited mediator with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) and a member of the CEDR sponsored Tax ADR Hub.