Meet our consulting team

Andy Royce

R&D Tax Manager

With a background in law, Andy worked in legal insurance for several years, before pursuing a career in tax. His most recent role was tax manager for the UK’s largest specialist R&D credit agency. Andy plays a vital role in communicating R&D tax strategies to ensure optimal client value, whilst providing practical solutions to highly technical tax legislation. His proactive approach is key to us remaining ahead of the curve, keeping the team constantly active in learning new skills and expanding our knowledge.

In his spare time, Andy enjoys walking the dog, writing geography-related quiz questions and spending time with his daughter.

Olly Newman

R&D Senior Technical Consultant

Olly studied at the universities of Warwick and Oxford and has over a decade of technical-writing experience, beginning his career writing instruction manuals for smartphones and devices. Olly has worked in specialist R&D claim preparation for over 5 years, including direct support for businesses of all sizes in their correspondence with HMRC.

His role involves providing claim support and specialist expertise surrounding the R&D legislation. He also takes a lead role in the team’s ongoing technical training.

Vishnu Pillai

Senior R&D Tax Consultant

Vishnu joined Kene Partners having completed his studies of Materials Science and Engineering MEng at Imperial College London. His areas of specific study included: Nanotechnology, Structural Ceramics, and Advanced 3D modelling.

His current role as an R&D tax consultant involves working closely with multiple clients and project teams predominantly in manufacturing, engineering, construction and software.

Max Braham

Senior R&D Tax Consultant

Max has a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Surrey and has previously worked as an Account Manager for a national banking facility. His R&D knowledge covers a range of different specialisms, including engineering, printing, construction, software, and food.

Outside of work, Max enjoys getting involved in a wide variety of sports including football, golf, and skiing.

Ben Conry

R&D Tax Consultant

Ben joins us from one of the world’s leading consultancy firms, where he submitted R&D claims for some of the largest companies in the UK. Ben has experience in several industries, ranging from biotechnology and cybersecurity, to heavy engineering and defence.

Whilst studying for a degree in Law, Ben managed a number of restaurants and cocktail bars and has a keen interest in the hospitality and food and beverage sectors. Ben is also a member of the London City Athletics Club where he trains in 60-200m sprinting.

Fergus Watson

R&D Tax Consultant

Having started out at one of the Big Four accountancy practices for several years, Fergus has extensive experience with R&D tax claims. His focus is on the financial side of claim preparation, obtaining and calculating all relevant expenditure to ensure these are accurately captured in each client report before submission.

As our finance guru, Fergus also provides financial training to the rest of the team and supports our internal finance operations. He has efficiently optimised our internal structure to ensure benefit payments are instantaneous.

When not working, Fergus enjoys long walks in the country and exploring different cities.

Jack Howley

R&D Tax Associate

Jack has a background in Chemical Engineering, completing his Master’s degree in 2019. Before joining Kene Partners, Jack worked for KPMG as an auditor.

Since joining us, Jack has worked on a variety of clients, ranging from construction to software, each with exciting and pioneering projects.

In his spare time, Jack enjoys running and boxing as well as watching sports such as cricket and football.

Dr Winnie Leung

R&D Tax Associate

Winnie joins us with a MSci and PhD in Chemistry from University College London. Since joining Kene Partners, she has been excited to learn about different R&D projects and help businesses to claim eligible tax relief.

To date, Winnie has worked on multiple interesting projects across different sectors to match her diverse skillset. A few of her favourite projects include Spanish Latte-in-a-can, a custom-built mobility scooter and party staging with a twist.

Winnie is an adventurer at heart and loves to travel. She also likes to spend her free time exercising, cooking and painting.

Dr Arwyn Evans

R&D Tax Associate

With experience from both academia and industry, Arwyn joined Kene Partners from an agri-tech start-up using materials science. Prior to this role, he graduated with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, having worked on an industrial project funded by BP-International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM).

Using his core expertise, Arwyn has extensive experience preparing claims for our construction clients, with an unrivalled ability to grasp technical language to fully quantify relevant R&D activities.

During his spare time, he enjoys running or can be found following any form of rugby, football or cricket.

Saniya Assembek

R&D Tax Analyst

With a background in civil and environmental engineering, Saniya won first place for her design and operational planning of a Soil Treatment Plant, part of the 6th Korea-Kazakhstan International Seminar on Energy and Industrial Cooperation.

At Kene Partners, Saniya is highly focused on writing technical R&D tax claim reports for clients of all shapes and sizes, crafting bespoke narratives that hold up under HMRC scrutiny.

A keen dancer for over 10 years, Saniya also played the position of point guard on the women’s basketball team at university. Her other hobbies include reading and drawing.

Mina Yakubova

R&D Tax Analyst

Mina is an enthusiastic and highly motivated member of the team, recently graduating in Political Science and International Relations. Based in Kazakhstan, Mina was one of our first international employees, demonstrating her excellence in technical writing, financial analysis and teamwork.

Excited about the R&D tax system and the value it brings to UK businesses through science and technology, Mina believes that such governmental incentives would be great practice in all countries around the world.

Mina loves doing sports (she has a brown belt in karate), drawing and roller/ice skating in her leisure time. She also has a deep interest in psychology.

Riley Robinson

R&D Tax Analyst

Riley has a background in Theoretical and Computational Physics, completing his MSc in the subject at King’s College London. His specific areas of focus include: Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Computation, Numerical Modeling and Simulation. During the course of his degree he had the opportunity to work with the Rosaland super computer cluster as well as investigate solutions to PDE’s involved in Electromigration using random walk methods.

In his free time he enjoys exploring London, and when he returns to his hometown Devon enjoys surfing and longboarding.