Succession and sale
Almost every owner knows they will leave their company one day. Fewer have decided how, and fewer still have told the family.
3Led by Eleanor Hale. Direct line 0115 496 0140.
Start earlier than feels necessary
There are broadly three ways out: the company passes to the family, it passes to the people who run it, or it is sold. Each has a different tax result, a different effect on the wider family and a different length of runway. Our first job is usually to set them side by side, with real numbers, so that the owner can see what each would mean for their retirement and for their children.
Then comes the unglamorous preparation. We tidy the shareholding, take property out of the trading company where that makes sense, build a management team that does not depend on one person, and put two or three years of clean figures behind the business. The relief available on a sale and on a death both depend on how a company has been run before the event, and the rules have changed lately, so this is not work to leave until the last year.
When the moment arrives we act alongside your solicitor: valuing the company, negotiating with a buyer or structuring a management buyout, and working out the tax for everyone concerned. Quite often the hardest meeting of all takes place around a family table, and we are glad to chair it.
What this covers
- Exit and succession planning01
- Company valuations02
- Family shareholdings and share reorganisations03
- Management buyouts04
- Sale preparation and financial due diligence05
- Capital gains and inheritance tax on transfer06
Who looks after it
Eleanor Hale leads this work. You can call Eleanor on 0115 496 0140 or send a note. You may also find this useful: Salary, dividends and loans: taking money out of a company.