Business Succession
Given the significant wealth that is often associated with ones own business it seems incomprehensible that people do not spend anywhere near the time required to plan their business succession. The whole purpose of business succession is to preserve and grow the business’ value.
For many business owners your business is your retirement plan. Ensuring that you maximise the return you derive from your business and are sufficiently rewarded for the time, effort and capital employed over the years can be an extremely satisfying feeling. Unfortunately, however, most business owners, while experts in their particular field of commerce, give little attention to this very important matter and consequently experience a significant level of uncertainty, when it comes time to move on from the business. Failure to plan for this inevitable time in life could potentially lead to significant costs, delays in sales, underachievement of sale value and significant amounts of otherwise unnecessary tax.
For small to medium size business owners, there are a number of significant capital gains tax concessions which can substantially reduce your tax liability, should the time come that you decide to move on from your business. However, access to these concessions is subject to a number of specific and restrictive conditions. Ensuring that the ownership of your business is properly structured and that you can and do utilise these concessions can make a huge difference to your long-term wealth.
Other considerations which business owners should be aware of are:
- Is your business ready for sale?
- Do you need to sell your business to move into retirement?
- What would happen to your business if something were to happen to you or a significant staff member?
Regardless of the size of your business, a UGC adviser will work with you to gain an in depth understanding of your business, your intentions and help you carefully work through all the issues which may hamper your effective transitioning from your current venture to the next.