“I was so pleased I talked to Watsons before I proceeded with the sale of my business. I had no idea that the way the deal was structured could have such an effect on the Capital Gains Tax liability. They literally saved me thousands of pounds!”

 - Diana Brown, owner

Client Industry
Retail outlet

Location
Kent

Background
The client received an offer in excess of £1 million for her business’s goodwill, assets and fixtures.

Problem
As the business was carried on through a limited company, any gain would be chargeable to the limited company at 30%, whereas a sale of the company’s shares would limit the tax liability to 10%.

Watson's Solution
The vendor was reluctant to purchase the shares so we negotiated a reduction in the selling price which ensured the sale was structured in the most tax-efficient way.

Result
By reducing the sale price by £200,000 and obtaining a sale of shares we were able to reduce our client’s tax liability by £260,000, thus increasing her net proceeds by £60,000 and avoiding the issue of double taxation.