Entrepreneurs Relief is a scheme that is open to directors who own 5pc or more of a company, and which allows them to enjoy a 10pc tax rate on capital gains up to a lifetime limit of £10m. This compares with the 28 percentage rate of tax payable without the relief.

For example you receive £10,000,000 for the sale of your business. CGT at 28% would result in £2,800,000 being paid in tax. With ER the tax from the £10,000,000 proceeds would be £1,000,000. A saving of over £1,800,000.

Be careful however, there is a criteria that you must meet in order to be eligible for tax relief.

There is no correct answer to this commonly asked question. With all things in business there are many different variables that can influence the outcome, these include the number of bidders, market appetite, company profitability and the seller’s expectations.

Our M&A advisory partner Freight Mergers recently releases information that suggested in their last 20 transactions the average process took 10 months.

Mergers and Acquisitions are a part of many organisations growth strategies for a number of reasons:

►  They provide an opportunity to grow market share

►  They provide an opportunity to enter new markets

►  They provide an opportunity to capture human capital that may be difficult via traditional recruitment

“Due Diligence” – a comprehensive appraisal of a business undertaken by a prospective buyer, especially to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential.

“SPA” – Sales and purchase agreement (SPA) is a legal contract that obligates a buyer to buy and a seller to sell.

“Heads of Terms “ – Also known as letters of intent, memoranda of understanding, heads of agreement, letters of potential interest, term sheets or protocols. A document which sets out the terms of a commercial transaction agreed in principle between parties in the course of negotiations.

“Excess Working Capital” – Excess working capital means that the working capital of a company is higher than the norm. Working capital means the amount of current assets that exceed the current liabilities of a company.