Clapham October 2026 Meeting

Is your refurb work on property Capital or Revenue tax deductible - Mark Barrett 

The often-asked question of what refurb, repair and renovation costs can be offset against trading profits will be explored in detail in this presentation. Getting this right will massively affect your tax liability but getting it wrong will expose you to Tax Enquiry, interest and penalties!

HMRC’s unhelpful explanation is “There is no single, simple test that can be applied to decide which items are capital expenditure and which are revenue. This can only be determined by reference to the relevant facts that applied at the time the expenditure was incurred. In addition the classification of items as capital or revenue expenditure is intrinsically linked to the particular circumstances and the exact nature of the trade.”, but in this presentation, Mark Barrett, leading property tax specialist will make this all a lot clearer.

This Deal looked profitable…until it wasn’t: What Every Property Investor misses - Melissa Lewis

Melissa will share her journey from buying her first property in Essex to building a portfolio and working closely with Investors across a range of deals including Flips, BTLs, HMOs and Development opportunities. Along the way, she began to notice a common pattern - many property deals that looked profitable on paper didn’t always perform as expected in reality.

In this 25-minute talk, Melissa will break down how her thinking has evolved over time, moving beyond simple headline numbers to a more structured and risk-aware way of assessing Property deals. Using real case studies, including a high-performing HMO and a Buy-to-Let that looked strong on paper, she will walk through what actually happens beneath the surface of a deal and where investors can go wrong.
During Melissa’s presentation you will learn:

• Why ‘good deals on paper’ can still fail in reality
• The hidden risks most investors overlook when analysing deals
• How to assess cashflow, effort, risk and exit more effectively
• The difference between a deal that works and one that simply looks good
• A practical framework you can use to stress-test your own deals

By the end of the talk, you will have a clearer understanding of how to approach Property deals with greater confidence, avoid costly mistakes, and make more informed investment decisions.