Colne Capital Allowances provide a specialist property tax service to a range of clients including landlords, tenants and property funds. With two offices, one in London and one outside Colchester, they can provide advice to clients all across the UK.

Their client focused as opposed to fee driven approach has made Colne Capital Allowances a highly trusted source of capital allowance advice, with their Director, David Nutt, becoming a specialist extension of accounting teams throughout several organisations. However, this was not being as effectively communicated in the branding as it could be. David approached us looking for an identity refresh for the Colne Capital Allowances brand, with a new accompanying website and branded templates to highlight his distinctive approach and expert services.

Website
colne-ca.com

The Client

Delivering specialist services to clients

Colne Capital Allowances are capital allowance specialists with offices based in London and Wivenhoe. They provide services including initial reviews, strategic advice, report preparation and negotiations with tax authorities.

With over 25 years of experience within the field, Colne Capital Allowances pride themselves on their punctual manner and tailored approach. However, founder David Nutt recognised that they needed a refreshed and professional website to demonstrate their expertise further, and that this brand needed to be carried through to the documents he was providing clients with in order to enhance brand recognition. This website required additional content to be written by David, with guidance from the Mackman team regarding search engine optimisation and tone of voice, including keywords to target to ensure that the website would appear in search results for capital allowance services.

The Challenge

The team at Mackman had to make sure that we were placing David’s expertise at the centre of the business, and highlighting his qualifications and experience in the field of capital allowances. However, we needed to avoid the impression of Colne Capital Allowances being a ‘one man band’. Striking this delicate balance was a challenge to be addressed in the positioning of content and the website’s design.

Our Process

Creating a distinctive brand

We began the project with light touch insight into competitors offering capital allowance services. Due to one of Colne Capital Allowances’ offices being based outside of London in the scenic location of Wivenhoe, we decided to incorporate natural elements in the branding to differentiate it from the corporate iconography used by competitors. This resulted in the logo being designed to mimic the contour lines of the River Colne, with which the company shares its name. This fitting logo integrated Colne Capital Allowances’ geographical roots with a minimalistic yet polished design. This approach resulted in an effective toolkit to inform the production of the website as well as the marketing materials.

Our team ran a website audit to inform a document of content recommendations. This enabled us to see how Colne Capital Allowances were performing digitally as well as how they compared to competitors. The report provided us with insight on how to set David apart from the competition and how to shape his written content from his previous website onto the new one. From this stage, our technical and design teams were able to produce marketing templates and a website with the functionality for David to directly input his own content, with support from our content team. The website also included a testimonial archive and case studies from clients of all sectors and requirements to highlight David’s ability to meet a diverse range of requirements regarding capital allowances. The templates that we produced included flyers, business cards, compliment slips, letterheads, and PowerPoint and Excel formats for his presentations to clients.

Brand Facts

Brand Facts

  • Colne Capital Allowances provide specialist property tax services for individuals and organisations.
  • Their client focused approach has led to long standing relationships with clients and a well-respected reputation within the capital allowances sector.
  • Their existing brand had not been refreshed since the business was established, and needed to represent the professional approach they offered. 

Project Facts

  • David Nutt, Director at Colne Capital Allowances, approached Mackman looking for a renewed brand identity and a modernised website with content that reflected his expertise.
  • Mackman worked with Colne Capital Allowances to create a brand that set the business apart from competitors and produce a website and marketing templates for everyday use.
Colne Capital Allowances new logo

The Results

By identifying where Colne Capital Allowances differed from their competitors and what potential clients were searching for, we were able to inform the subsequent branding refresh and website. The resulting brand highlighted the notion that they are not just another big city firm, setting David apart from the crowd and ensuring that his years of expertise were brought to the fore. The website was easy to navigate, modern and clear, whilst still being able to demonstrate the business’s expertise and professionalism, while the bespoke templates created consistency and recognition going forward with the new brand.