To sell or not to sell: The question of the moment
Business leaders have been pushed to a tipping point in Gloucestershire with many are considering one thing – getting out.
Dear reader,
Welcome to the first edition of The Raikes Journal of the week.
If you are off to Cheltenham Racecourse today, we wish you the very best of luck. And if you live and work in Cheltenham, hold on tight!
And ‘yes’, we know, as first glance the lead story for today’s edition doesn’t appear to have our usual cheery, positive vibe, but looks can be deceiving!
If you own a business, run a business, want to own a business, have an interest in a family business, own shares in a business, the below article could be of interest.
Is there a happy ending?
The truth is, we don’t know yet, but the firm who told us the tale give a pretty strong hint at how to make that so.
Certainly what we could be seeing is the beginning a seachange to the owner-run business community on a scale we’ve not witnessed in recent memory, as well as a massive opportunity emerging!
And if the advice below is heeded, there could well be a lot of people ‘getting out’, but also sitting very pretty in the near future - and a lot of fresh, new faces at the reigns with a clear picture of where they are going. The times, it seems, are changing.
Let’s hope, for everyone involved, that the story comes true.
Remember, for every person you refer to The Raikes Journal’s email service you get points towards a free membership allowing you to see beyond our paywalls. Please do sign up (free or otherwise), send the referral link to a friend or colleague, and help us grow.
Andrew Merrell (editor).
If you have a story, an issue, a news item, a charity or an interview you want us to write about or investigate, challenge the powers that be about, then please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
NB: We believe Raikes now publishes probably the best-read business-related email ‘newsletter’, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire.
Charity of the week: Emmaus Gloucestershire
David Jones, of Evans Jones, somehow found time on social media last week to big-up the efforts of members of Ride to Rugby 2025, a group of keen road cyclists who raise money for good causes every year. Last week, together with Jones, the MD of Evans Jones (the Chetlenham-based chartered surveyors and planning consultants), the team took on the challenge of riding from Gloucestershire to Dublin, Ireland, in time for Saturday’s Ireland V France Six Nations game in the Aviva Stadium. That’s 220 odd miles. Their efforts have (so far) raised more than £18,400 for the charity Emmaus, which supports people who have experienced homelessness, not least with work experience. The intrepid team for 2025 includes the original pair Kelan Loughnane, of Mack Group, and Rory Sweeney of Firmacore, who are joined by returning teammates Olan Hodnett, of Ardagh Management, Adam Teakle, Rob Berry and Josh Ashwin. The support crew is headed by John Loughnane and Pascal Finn. Details.
Your briefing notes…
🏗️ Raikes reported some time ago that there were plans afoot by energy giant EDF to return huge swathes of farm land at Awre in the Forest of Dean to salt marsh. Apparently EDF drew the scheme up as an alternative to its plan to install an acoustic fish deterrent system at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, where it is building the next generation of nuclear power plants. Villagers on both sides of the Severn have apparently welcomes the French-owned firm’s decision to shelve the plans.
🏗️ Constructing Excellence Gloucestershire Club is due to host a networking breakfast with special guest speaker Andrew Bates, the chief financial director for Gloucetershire College. You are welcome along to listen, learn, join in the conversations and enjoy a “hearty breakfast” when the event takes place on Thursday, 20 March at Pittville Pump Rooms, Cheltenham.
🏗️ After eight years and £1.4 million spent, Stroud’s local plan - the document that lays out how the district will be developed, has been recommended for withdrawal by inspectors. Concern has been expressed about the blueprint for 12,000 homes as laid out in the document. The inspectors are concerned about the capacity of the M5 junction 13. A spokesman for the Green Party, which leads the council, said a detailed technical response to the points made by the inspectors was being prepared.
Diary dates…
All week from now! Cheltenham Festival…
Wednesday: A reminder about… Neurodiversity at work: challenges, strengths and legal considerations - a webinar is aimed at directors, HR professionals, legal advisors and business owners, due to take place on Wednesday 12 March at 10am staged by Willans Solicitors and NeuroThive People Solutions. Find out more here.
Thursday: For those looking to learn how to build value into their business offering, The Growth HUb in Cirnecester has the answer. Gill Smith, of The Business Kitchen, is due to deliver this special free session aimed at business owners and managers between 10am and 1pm, at The Alliston Centre, Stroud Road, Cirencester. Details.
Friday: Martin Thorne, of software firm Joist, is staging another Laptop Friday at Fox’s Kiln, West Quay, 10 Commercial Rd, The Docks, Gloucester GL1 2LG, a co-working session for businesses and freelancers, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
* The Raikes Journal is a community interest company. Everything you read by us is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne, our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
If you subscribe and invite friends to The Raike Journal you will earn rewards towards complimentary membership (three referrals will get you one month, 10 will get you three months, and 25 will win you six months).
If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We are dedicated to delivering quality journalism for Gloucestershire, to championing the county, in particular its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to helping create an even stronger community. If you upgrade to paid you will be able to see past the paywalls often put on our second and third email editions of the week, that lock all our archive after two weeks and lock our rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You will be able to comment on our stories too. You’ll be helping make this CIC sustainable to deliver more original articles on our county.
You can sign up to receive your two extra editions a week and see past all our paywalls for just £2.30 a week - or £1.80 a week if two or more people sign up at once. Or go all in and become one of our Founding Partners or Founding Members!
"We want out" say Gloucestershire business owners
Business leaders have pushed to a tipping point in Gloucestershire, with professional services telling Raikes many are considering one thing – getting out.
By Andrew Merrell.
If you had to make a snap judgement about the vehicle carrying us all forward – that being Gloucestershire’s economy – it would be interesting to know how you thought it was performing.
Since October’s Budget there’s been a lot of talk about National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage rising, plus changes to inheritance tax, Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR), Investors’ Relief (IR), and the impact that will all have. And we’ve covered some of that here on Raikes.
Compared to the rest of the UK you might think Gloucestershire plc is doing okay. Lift the bonnet to get into the detail and the diagnosis gets more complicated.
Professional services firms tell us they are working harder than ever to keep those at the wheel on the road. But they also tell us many of those ‘at the wheel’ have been telling them one thing – that they want out.
Is it a picture of burnout, of the end of the road, of doors closing on previously thriving companies, of frustration at political policies curtailing the careers of hard-working businesspeople?
No one is feeling sorry for themselves, it seems.
According to one of the county’s best-known firm of accountants, which drew our attention to the current climate, if people play their cards right this could actually go down as a period of opportunity.
Will Abbott, a partner at accountants Randall & Payne, which has its headquarters in Shurdington, near Cheltenham, said: “People are making decisions about whether to carry on or not.
“They are looking at themselves and asking if they will be around in five years’ time or not and what they want to do about that.
“Post-Budget, there has been an impact. Companies know they will have to pay more when the national minimum wage goes up. It will have a knock-on effect. And the increase in National Insurance is an extra cost for them to absorb.”
The national minimum wage is currently £11.44 an hour, but will increase to £12.21 in April 2025. At the same time the threshold above which employers will pay national insurance contributions (NIC) on an employee’s earnings falls from £9,100 to £5,000 and the rate rises by 1.2 per cent to 15 per cent.
“I think a lot of people thought about early retirement post-Covid (19 pandemic),” said Abbott.
“This is the final straw for a lot of people who were already talking about exiting their businesses.
“But that’s also because of tax changes around business assets.”
How many businesses feel like this?
“We are taking more calls about it than ever,” was Abbott’s response.
All of which might sound negative, and there is definitely a sense that a number of straws have broken the camel’s back, but apparently that’s the wrong way to view it all.
What this has triggered is not a whole load of business sales, but the start of a process - and that is why Abbott and the team at Randall & Payne is so busy.
And the process many are now rushing to is something the firm thinks others should embrace too, because even if they are not looking to sell now – all of the challenges above have delivered a critical opportunity to get a handle on your business, on your affairs, and to capitalise. Be that now or in the future.
“People still have to work through the consequences of selling their business and any sales that might result. That sale could be now or in the future,” explained Abbott, partner and head of management and business advisory services at Randall & Payne.
“If they look at it now they can understand what they need to do to get to the point at which they can retire. That is invaluable knowledge.”
And, as he pointed out, if one person is selling or looking to move on, it opens to door to those looking to step up.
Which means the next generation of leaders may never have had such a golden opportunity to step up, be they wannabe management buyouts, family members coming through, or entirely new owners.
And if those selling heed the right advice and put their houses in order in readiness to maximise the value of their assets, those taking over could inherit the keys to some pretty sound businesses too.
Management buy-out options, passing shares to young family members, to the next generation - that’s all part of the equation, said Abbott.
The starting point, it seems, is to put your business under the microscope – and that means a valuation.
According to Randall & Payne, this is precisely what the smart ones are doing right now.
Which is where Ollie Newbold comes in.
Newbold leads Randall & Payne’s corporate finance team, responsible for sales and acquisitions.
“We are seeing a peak in valuations. They are critical to understanding what you should do and can do.
“We are able to offer valuation work for businesses, but also to put that in the context of inheritance tax, capital gains tax, and a lot around strategic planning for companies.
“Through valuing a business, you understand what parts of it are creating value and what parts are potentially eroding value.
“You can then focus on the business pre-exit or pre-succession ahead of the next valuation – in three to five years – bookmark your performances against key competitors and understand how they are performing.
“That all helps strategically focus the business. It’s about understanding your key overheads, your margins, where you can improve,” said Newbold, stressing the value of the process, no matter what timescale you were working to.
“We are doing a lot of work around inheritance tax challenges too,” he added
“There is a significant impact of that change in terms of IHT that might be payable.
“It’s about understanding how any changes might impact you and understanding your options – in terms of a tax perspective, in terms of gifting shares, for example, to family members and how to mitigate any risk.”
Under the Chancellor’s proposed changes, from April 2026, inheritance tax reliefs available to farms and family businesses will be restricted.
At the moment APR (agricultural property relief) and BPR (Business Property Relief) are available at a rate of 100 per cent or 50 per cent (based on eligibility criteria) with no cap on the total amount of relief.
From April 2026, inheritance tax relief for business and for agricultural assets would be capped at £1 million, with a new reduced rate of 20 per cent being charged above that (rather than the standard inheritance tax rate of 40 per cent). The tax would be payable in instalments over 10 years interest free.
“No matter what people decide to do, we see this as an enormously good tax planning opportunity.
“It is about getting clarity of purpose. You can then move forward with purpose for the next three, five, 10 years.
“You can then get a feel for what 10 years’ time might look like, rather than just arrive there and realise you have missed your opportunities.”
Rob Case, who oversees the tax department at Randall & Payne and its specialisms, said: “The key thing for businesses is to understand things so they can influence the things they can control.
“It is important to make sure you are tax efficient and make sure you are aware and take advantage of the opportunities that avail themselves to you.
“There will be an opportunity for everyone, regardless of whether you are a high earner, own a small business or whatever your situation.
“If you do nothing there will almost undoubtedly be huge opportunities missed.”
If you are considering selling, there are recent changes to bear in mind.
“The big thing is changes to business asset disposal relief, capital gains tax on assets,” he said.
Chancellor Rachael Reeves Budget also increased capital gains tax (CGT) rates, with the headline change for shareholders in private, family and owner-managed businesses being the rise of Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) and Investors’ Relief (IR) from the current 10 per cent to 14 per cent from 5 April 2025, and increasing again to 18 per cent from 6 April 2026.
All of which has also changed how Randall & Payne is delivering its services to business too. It’s not just the individual departments that have gone into overdrive.
Abbott has for years been staging quarterly boot camps - peer-to-peer workshops designed for owner-managed businesses.
The workshops bring together groups of business leaders with all levels of experience to create a space where they can ‘work on their business, not in their business’, work on strategy, share ideas, discuss challenges with others facing similar challenges.
“We are increasing that to monthly,” said Abbott. “It’s pretty much due to demand. What you find is people come in, begin to address the issues that interest them, walk away with some action points, but then get swept up in the day-to-day again.
“If we meet more regularly they will have to be more accountable to themselves and hopefully have more of an impact on their businesses.”
Dates are to be announced, but expect it to be the first Tuesday of every month from April. You can find out more here.