flyer61 wrote:A bit late to this thread. In 2002 on the advice of my accountant I set up a Limited Company which would specialise in investment properties. For IHT purposes the staring point was my children would each have an 8% stake in the business. The business has grown over that time and we are about to start gifting some of our shares to them as I can see the mother of all IHT bills when the Mrs and I are gone. An advantage of the Limited Company route is that my Wife has been a wage earner through it and this has allowed me to build a decent pension pot for her.
Subsequently my brother and I started a property joint venture in 2017 and again have used a Limited Company as the vehicle. My Company owns half the shares and his family trust the other half. Between us we have 7 children and this Company is with a view to any grandchildren we may have. So the property investing here is esoteric with an uber long term horizon.
It is probably time I took some professional advice about structure/ownership etc.
Yes, you really ought to have taken professional advice before you even created the company in 2002- starter for 10, how are you going to gift further shares to your children without tripping a personal CGT bill ?(given holdover will likely not be on point)