For some business owners, selling all their shares to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is the complete solution to their succession worries.  Key benefits of selling to an EOT Sellers pay no capital gains tax if they sell a majority shareholding to an EOT.  This means that...

Many businesses understand the importance of incentivising their staff, and will often invest significant time (and money) in designing and setting up an employee share plan such as Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI). An EMI plan can play a central part in attracting, motivating and retaining staff. ...

Does my company really need an EMI valuation agreement from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) before granting EMI options?  That’s a reasonable question, especially for companies working with limited budgets.   It is true that it is not a legal requirement for an EMI valuation of the...

Every year the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) holds an annual conference aiming to bring together business owners who wish to celebrate or are considering employee ownership. It also includes businesses such as RM2 that specialise in helping them turn their vision into reality. This year’s...

As summer holidays come to an end, business owners often start thinking about getting an employee share plan in place for a New Year launch.  With that in mind, it feels like a good time to go back to basics and think about the first...

Government has published draft legislation to extend the time limit for notification of the grant of EMI options.  Currently, companies must notify HM Revenue & Customs of an EMI option grant within 92 days of the date of grant.  This limit will be extended for...

Employee share plans are a wonderful way to attract new hires, incentivise key directors and motivate your staff.  There is plenty of choice as to what kind of scheme you can use, and it isn’t always obvious which is the best one to choose.  Before...

Contrary to popular belief, us share plan lawyers don’t really like making things complicated just for the sake of it.  So over the past couple of years, we’ve been delighted that the powers that be have taken the time to consider how tax-advantaged employee share schemes...

Companies with employee share plans in place have until Tuesday 6 July to file their annual returns with HM Revenue & Customs on their Employment Related Securities portal. If you have granted options to your employees, or given them shares, or let them buy shares –...

Many private companies use employee share option plans, including Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) and Company Share Option Plan (CSOP), to deliver a reward to employees when the company is sold.    If you’re considering selling your company, it’s important to make sure your share plan is in...

Selling your business to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) doesn’t necessarily mean that the commercial operation of the business will change significantly after transition.  Of course, the company will still need to operate profitably, particularly if you’re still going to be paid out of post-tax...

When business owners come to us to ask about share plans, the first port of call is almost always the ever popular Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) option plan. EMI is very flexible and tax efficient and will work for many smaller companies.  But there is an...

The end of the tax year means that it’s time to make sure all your employee share plans information is up to date.  If you’ve got an employee share scheme, you’ll need to file a return on HMRC’s Employment Related Securities portal by 6 July...

It’s crucial for any company to retain their staff members, ensuring that the most talented employees stay for the long term, as opposed to moving on.    Why retention is important This isn’t just about being kind to employees.  Keeping your employees for a longer period can...