The RM2 Partnership provide employee share schemes, share options, share purchase schemes and employee share trusts

News Update

Budget boost for EMIs

Thu 13th March 2008

Alastair Darling announced that, from 6th April 2008, the upper limit on the value of shares that can be offered under an EMI scheme...

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Research backs EMI effectiveness

Fri 29th February 2008

Nearly 80 per cent. of employers offering employee share options under the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) say that the scheme...

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New CGT rules and share schemes

Fri 25th January 2008

Alastair Darling's new CGT rules offer some crumbs to small business owners but have little effect on employee share schemes.

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£12m SAYE bonanza for HBOS staff

Fri 11th January 2008

HBOS has announced a payout of approximately £12m to its workforce of almost 14,000 staff following the maturity this week of its...

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More companies to escape options audit

Wed 9th January 2008

Regulations coming into force in April will allow more companies to qualify as "small", and thus escape the requirement to expense...

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No equity? I'm leaving!

Tue 8th January 2008

Leading City firm Close Brothers is suffering defections by senior staff as rumours grow of an imminent takeover bid. Five member...

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Revised ABI Guidelines

Mon 10th December 2007

In recent years the ABI have chosen the month of December to issue revisions to their guidelines for executive remuneration.

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Non-execs favour pay in options

Wed 28th November 2007

A big majority of non-executive directors at unlisted companies think they should receive shares or options as part of their pay,...

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Practitioners lobby for end to tax trap

Thu 8th November 2007

The Employee Share Ownership Centre and Clifford Chance are leading calls for a change in the tax rules that apply to share schemes...

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New CGT regime - implications for share schemes

Fri 19th October 2007

In the pre-Budget statement on October 9th 2007, the Chancellor announced that the previous capital gains tax regime would be abolished...

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SAYE bonus rates increased

Sat 15th September 2007

The Treasury has raised the bonus rates on Save As You Earn (SAYE) share option schemes. This reflects a general rise in interest...

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Share scheme returns go on-line

Fri 15th June 2007

We understand from HM REvenue & Customs that, within the next two years, they will require most employee share scheme returns...

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Share scheme returns go on-line

Fri 15th June 2007

We understand from HM REvenue & Customs that, within the next two years, they will require most employee share scheme returns...

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Research backs EMI effectiveness

Fri 29th February 2008

Nearly 80 per cent. of employers offering employee share options under the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) say that the scheme helped them retain key and/or skilled employees and improve staff motivation, according to research commissioned by HM Revenue & Customs from Ipsos Mori. The research also found that more than two thirds of employers offering EMI options said that the EMI had helped improve company performance.

Four in five employers who have offered EMI options will continue to do so - many of the remainder are prevented only because they have grown to the point where they are no longer eligible. Employees, meanwhile, feel that the EMI’s main impact is in engendering a feeling of ownership as well as providing tax efficient rewards.

None of this comes as surprise to our share scheme designers at RM2 who regularly receive positive feedback from employers about the success of the Enterprise Management Incentive. Much of the scheme's approval derives from its flexibility and the ease with which employee understand the benefits. There is little or no sign that proposed changes to capital gains tax rules (see previous post) will discourage companies from offering tax-advantaged employee options such as the EMI or approved company share option plan (CSOP).

Free factsheets on the EMI, CSOP and other tax-advantaged employee share incentives can be found at http://www.rm2.co.uk/factsheets. Alternatively call us free at 0800 043 8150 and ask us as many questions as you like!