Exit and Capital Gains
50 articles on exit and capital gains for UK limited company directors, contractors, sole traders and small businesses.
Exit and Capital Gains
Good exit planning starts two to three years before completion, not the month you decide to sell. This guide sets out the exit routes, the tax runway that locks in Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18%, the EOT 50% timing lever after 26 November 2025, and a year-by-year plan to make your business genuinely sellable.
Exit and Capital Gains
Employee ownership trusts still offer a clean, phased exit and a strong culture story, but the tax case changed on 26 November 2025 when CGT relief was cut from 100% to 50%. This is an honest, up-to-date weigh-up of the real advantages and disadvantages for a UK owner-director deciding how to exit.
Exit and Capital Gains
At the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 the Capital Gains Tax relief on a sale to an Employee Ownership Trust was cut from 100% to 50%, with immediate effect. Half of the gain is now taxable at the point of sale, BADR cannot rescue it, and the other half is held over onto the trustees. Here is exactly how the new charge works, with the numbers.
Exit and Capital Gains
Accountancy practices are priced on gross recurring fees, not profit, and most of the price is held back against client retention. This guide covers the GRF multiple, how clawback works, and the CGT, BADR and EOT position at 2026/27 rates.
Exit and Capital Gains
Care homes are valued differently from most trading businesses: on EBITDARM against a yield, or per registered bed, with the freehold often the largest single asset. This guide covers how a care home is priced, who buys them, the CQC registration and property traps that sink deals, and the CGT position for 2026/27.
Exit and Capital Gains
Construction businesses sell on lower, lumpier multiples than most sectors: typically 2 to 4 times EBITDA, propped up by net assets and work in progress. This guide covers what a contractor is worth, who buys them, and the CIS, retention, novation and latent-defect traps that decide your final price, plus the tax on exit at 2026/27 rates.
Exit and Capital Gains
Ecommerce businesses are valued on a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings, usually 2.5 to 4x for smaller stores. The deal lives or dies on whether the buyer can actually take over your Amazon, Shopify and ad accounts. Here is how to value it, who buys, the platform-transfer trap, and the CGT, BADR and EOT position for 2026/27.
Exit and Capital Gains
Selling a law firm turns on things a normal trade sale never touches: SRA change-of-control approval, six-year PII run-off cover, unbilled WIP and disbursements, and the client account. Here is how firms are valued, who buys them, and what tax you pay at 2026/27 rates, including the EOT relief that was cut to 50% on 26 November 2025.
Exit and Capital Gains
Manufacturing businesses are valued on earnings and on their assets, and the two rarely agree. This guide covers the 4 to 6x EBITDA multiple, how plant and freehold are valued separately, the diligence traps unique to manufacturing (capital allowances, contaminated land, TUPE, customer concentration), and the CGT, BADR and EOT tax position for 2026/27.
Exit and Capital Gains
What a UK recruitment agency is really worth, why a temp and contractor book sells for more than a perm desk, the diligence traps around consultants, covenants and invoice finance, and the tax on exit at 2026/27 rates.
Exit and Capital Gains
Setting up an Employee Ownership Trust means meeting strict qualifying conditions, building a compliant trustee structure, valuing the company and funding the sale from future profits. This guide walks through each step, the 3 to 6 month timeline, typical costs, and the tightened trustee rules that now apply.
Exit and Capital Gains
A practical, do-it-yourself walkthrough for putting a defensible number on your own company before you speak to a buyer or adviser. Adjust your profit, pick a method, apply a sensible multiple, then bridge from enterprise value to what actually lands in your pocket, with a full worked example at 2026/27 figures.