Founded in 1995, Studio Marco Scardeoni & Partners is a historic firm based in Desenzano del Garda, also present in Milan and Dubai, and highly specialised in Italian and international tax planning, corporate reorganisations, extraordinary Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) transactions, management buyouts, generational handovers and internationalisation projects, mainly in the strategic area of Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. An all-Italian excellence, partner of Il Sole 24 ore, which has succeeded in establishing itself both in Italy and abroad, in new strategic markets.
by Roberta Imbimbo
Dr. Scardeoni, what was the mission of Studio Marco Scardeoni & Partners?
The firm was set up with the ambitious goal of becoming an important point of reference in the field of strategic consultancy to SMEs in the tax, legal and labour sectors; a challenge won thanks to a far-sighted vision and an innovative business approach aimed at the centrality of the Client. Over time, in fact, this historical and future-oriented reality in Desenzano del Garda has experienced exponential growth both in terms of organisational structure (today it counts a multidisciplinary team of 8 accountants, 4 lawyers (two civilists and two commercial criminalists), 2 labour consultants, and about 20 highly qualified employees) and geographical expansion with the opening of new offices in Milan and Dubai. The core activity directed at the domestic market focuses mainly on Italian tax planning, corporate reorganisations, the creation of holding companies, extraordinary M&A operations, management buyouts and generational handovers; the activity directed at the foreign market focuses on international tax planning and internationalisation projects, providing all-round support to SMEs, also thanks to strategic partnerships, in their development and expansion into new strategic markets. These are obviously highly articulated and complex matters, in which the firm has gained significant experience and highly specialised know-how, thanks to which it is able to offer strictly tailor-made, qualified and customised advice, tailored to the needs of each individual business.
The firm offers a wide range of highly innovative services, among which the creation of corporate groups and holding companies certainly stands out. Can you tell us about this innovative tool?
Absolutely! The holding company is a corporate organisation tool that is widely used today because it provides undisputed organisational and tax advantages: protection of company assets, reduction of business risks, shared management of assets without affecting the operations of associated companies. However, setting up a holding company is a complex and delicate process that must be tackled in a prospective and customised manner by professionals in the field (each reality has its own peculiar needs and governance mechanisms that require customised and absolutely non-standardised advice). This is why we always start with an analysis of the company’s corporate structure and internal assets, and then go on to identify an optimal reorganisation of the corporate group, including through the constitution of holding companies by means of contribution and controlled realisation operations, or company demergers, rules that make them tax neutral.
More specifically, what are the advantages of setting up a holding company?
The holding company makes it possible to protect the family’s assets through proper estate planning and to better manage the generational transition, ensuring business continuity over time. In fact, the holding company preserves the family’s assets from external attacks and is an excellent instrument at the time of the passing of the baton from one generation to the next. From a financial point of view, it centralises all the dividends of the subsidiaries and thus also the financial management of the group. Above all, it offers numerous tax advantages, such as reduced taxation on dividends; the opportunity to use intra-group financing; the participation exemption (Pex) regime; and the tax consolidation or group VAT regime. Obviously, it is necessary that the procedures comply with the legal rules laid down by the Italian legal system, safeguarding any implications of abuse of law. Those who decide to rely on our experience therefore do so in the absolute knowledge that all the Firm’s professionals work with the aim of achieving concrete and realistic results that reflect the ambitions and needs of the entrepreneur and his family.
