What's the best way to transfer money from a UK account to a Swiss to:
a) get the best exchange rate and
b) avoid paying a hefty tax penalty on the amount once it's here?
The sum is less than 30k CHF and I know the exchange rate is pretty poor at the moment, but we need the readies for a flat purchase with in the next 6 months or so.
Many thanks

Scroll down to the bottom of this page and have a look at the similar threads discussing this topic.

these guys are pretty good:

http://www.wechselstube.ch/index.php?id=167

probably mentioned below.

1. a SEPA transfer (if sending bank and receiving bank can handle it)

2. www.xe.com

Comparison shopping is worth it.