If you are in business, you are in finance
Most business owners do not know their real financial exposure until something forces the question. We work with owners and their teams to find the tax efficient routes that lift the bottom line.
Money that works
Corporate funds sitting in a bank account lose ground to inflation. We put them to work instead.
People are the asset
Keyperson and partnership cover protect the profitability that rests on a handful of individuals.
A holistic view
Staff, costings and the variables that keep moving in a growing business, all taken together.
Guidance that keeps pace with the business
“If you are in business then you are in finance” is a very apt saying, and consistent, accurate guidance from a professional financial planner matters enormously here. Many business owners are simply not aware of their own financial exposure.
We enjoy working with owners and their teams on exactly this. There are many tax advantageous routes a business can take to increase its bottom line, and most of them go unused.
Corporate funds sitting in a bank account depreciate over time. With our guidance you can put that money to work. We take a holistic view of the business, taking in staff, costings and the many other variables that keep moving in a growing company.
Four things every business should have settled
Each one protects something the business would struggle to replace at short notice.
Investment strategies
Putting reserves to work in a way that matches the risk the business can actually carry.
Business buyout plan for directors
A funded agreement so a departing director’s share does not destabilise the company.
Keyperson insurance
A pre agreed lump sum if the person the business depends on is suddenly not there.
Business sale and exit strategy
Planning the exit long before it happens, so the value built up is not lost on the way out.
Life assurance and the legal agreement
A partnership insurance arrangement has two essential parts, and both have to be in place for it to work.
- Each partner takes out a protection plan on their own life for the benefit of the other partners.
- All participating partners enter into a legal agreement setting out exactly what each partner’s estate is entitled to on a death.
Without the agreement, the policy proceeds and the entitlement to the departing partner’s share can end up pointing in different directions, which is precisely the situation the arrangement exists to avoid.
Keyperson assurance
Every business, large or small, leans heavily on one asset above all others: its people. It is people who build a successful business, not plant or machinery. So what happens if one of those key people dies or becomes seriously ill?
Profitability can be interrupted almost immediately. With keyperson assurance in place, the company receives a pre determined lump sum on the death or diagnosis of a specified illness of the person insured under the policy.
The company is free to use those funds however it chooses
Pay off outstanding bank loans
Clear the borrowings that would otherwise fall due at the worst possible moment.
Repay directors’ loans
Return money the individual had put into the company, without straining cash flow.
Recruit a successor
Buy the time and the budget to find the right replacement rather than the available one.
Invest back into the business
Steady the business and fund the recovery while it finds its feet again.
Hit your growth targets with strategic planning
When you partner with us, this is the work that follows.
Cash flow management
Managing inflows and outflows for day to day operations while keeping enough liquidity in reserve.
Financial forecasting
The numbers behind bigger decisions, including mergers and acquisitions, before you commit to them.
Investment planning
Allocating capital across the right instruments to meet your growth and profitability goals.
Tax planning
Minimising the business’s tax liabilities while maximising income after tax.
Employee benefits planning
Benefit schemes, retirement plans and commercial health cover that help you keep good people.
Financial reporting
Accurate records and reports, kept right for legal compliance and regulation.
We work with clients ranging from start ups and small enterprises to well established brands. Whatever stage you are at, the aim is the same: a business that is financially steadier next year than it is this year.
The Owner Is Usually the Plan
We advise owner-managed businesses of every shape: contractors, agri businesses, medical and dental practices, hauliers, hospitality, professional services and the long tail of suppliers that sit behind the larger employers.
What they tend to have in common is that the owner is the plan. If that one person stops, the whole thing stops with them. Directors’ pensions, keyperson cover and a succession arrangement that has actually been written down are what turn the business into something that survives without you. Come and talk it through; the first meeting is free.
Find out where the business is exposed
A short consultation is enough to map the gaps: cover, reserves, succession and the reliefs that are being left on the table. No charge and no obligation.
