An historic building housing a leading London barristers’ chambers has been given a facelift.

The chambers at 1 Gray’s Inn Square – a grade II listed building used by between 60 and 70 barristers on a hot desking basis – underwent minor alterations, a general refurbishment and electrical installation in a three-month project that also involved fitting bespoke furniture and storage systems.

The work was carried out by Saracen Interiors. The company’s joint managing director Michael Page said on 27 April that after working on a number of projects for investment banks and other financial organisations, “it’s good to exercise our expertise across other professional services”.

Senior clerk at Gray’s Inn Square, Matthew Wildish added: “The project ran smoothly with an outstanding result at the point of final handover.”

There is currently some uncertainty over future levels of the annual investment allowance (AIA), which was increased in the 2014 Budget to £500,000 until the end of 2015. The allowance – which enables barristers and other businesses people to invest in plant and machinery and deduct the cost from taxable profits – had previously been increased from £25,000 to £250,000 for a two-year period starting on 1 January 2013.

In the March 2015 Budget, Chancellor George Osborne said that the Autumn Statement – usually in December – would be a better time to address future levels of the AIA.

Chambers thinking about major capital investments now have a limited time to act to take advantage of the higher AIA limit, ahead of a potential reduction later this year. Milsted Langdon can provide expert advice on maximising the tax efficiency of capital investments as well as assisting with raising finance. For more information, please contact us.