Financial planning before a business sale
2 years
the business asset disposal relief qualifying period, which sets the timetable
gov.uk, Business Asset Disposal Relief
An owner selling a business negotiates the price first. The personal planning has the most options before heads of terms are signed, because two of them close when the company is sold:
A trading company can make employer pension contributions, deductible where they meet HMRC's "wholly and exclusively" test and are reasonable for the work done (HMRC Business Income Manual BIM46035), against an annual allowance of £60,000 for 2026/27 with carry forward of unused allowance from the previous three tax years (gov.uk, Tax on your private pension contributions). Once the company is sold, that route has gone.
Business asset disposal relief needs a two-year qualifying period and charges 18% on qualifying gains from 6 April 2026, with a lifetime limit of £1 million (gov.uk, Business Asset Disposal Relief). Surplus cash and gifts to family also need time. The two-year qualifying period sets the timetable.
The accountant and any corporate finance adviser run the deal: valuation, tax on the transaction, due diligence, negotiation.
The Equity & General financial planner runs the owner's side: what the proceeds must provide, for how long, at what level of risk, and what should happen to pensions, protection and structure before the money moves.
The two meet throughout. Pension funding affects the company's cash and the tax computation. The business asset disposal relief analysis shapes what the planner can do before the sale.
A figure for what the sale needs to achieve for them personally, before negotiations start.
An investment and income plan agreed before completion, so the proceeds have a destination on the day they arrive.
Protection through the deal period, when the business depends most on the owner.
A retirement income that starts at completion.
Exit conversations start in the accountant's office: the approach letter, the "what is it worth?" question, the succession discussion. Introducing the Equity & General financial planner at that point, through the portal, puts both workstreams on the same timetable.
Equity & General holds the FCA authorisation. There is no charge to your firm, and a named partnership director works with you from the first introduction.