Publications Archives - Intelligent Partnership

Tax Efficient A Technical Guide to Business Relief – Edition 5

In changing economic and political times, we’re very proud to bring you the fifth edition of this Technical Guide to Business Relief, continuing to keep you up to speed with the information you need to use Business Relief when it’s most appropriate and to get the best out of it. In this edition, we’re looking closely at the changes to BR announced at the October 2024 and November 2025 budgets and the other modifications that are shaking up the estate planning landscape and impacting existing plans. With varying timing of implementation, comes a range of possible outcomes and windows of opportunity for mitigating potentially increased inheritance tax liabilities.

High-tax environment and inflationary pressures contribute to government and FCA calls for greater investing and risk taking to grow UK wealth.
With so many leaks and suggestions in the press about what the 2025 Autumn Statement has in store, there are plenty of indicators that tax rises could make EIS and VCTs even more appealing planning options.

In this latest edition of the Intelligent Partnership EIS & VCT Industry Update, we get insights from several prominent managers in the space to keep advisers up to date on recent developments in the marketplace.

Given the upcoming expansion of estates for IHT purposes with pensions coming back into scope from April 2027, the need to find a tax-efficient and easy access home for wealth is going to grow exponentially.

Despite the new limits on 100% IHT relief through Business Relief from April 2026, it remains a convenient and effective way for suitable investors to retain access to their money in later life at a time of soaring care fees, while also employing an IHT relief method (assuming they own the BR-qualifying shares at death).

In this latest edition of the Intelligent Partnership Business Relief Industry Update, we get insights from several prominent managers in the space to keep advisers up to date on recent developments in the marketplace.

With the October 2024 budget, Labour introduced arguably the biggest shake up of Business Relief rules in its almost fifty-year history. The new threshold that will apply jointly to the value of assets claimed under agricultural property relief (APR) and Business Relief from April 2026 (BR), will restrict full IHT exemption for qualifying agricultural land, business assets and unlisted shares to £1 million.

In this latest edition of the Intelligent Partnership Business Relief Industry Update, we get insights from several prominent managers in the space to keep advisers up to date on recent developments in the marketplace.

There are still a few weeks left to make applications for open tax-efficient investment opportunities, with the end of the tax year creeping closer. A lot of offers may have deadlines up to 5 April, and some will close before this, so time is of the essence before clients miss the boat. In this latest edition of the Intelligent Partnership EIS & VCT Industry Update, we get the latest insights from several prominent managers in the space to keep advisers up to to date on the latest developments in the marketplace.

This latest Business Relief industry update comes at a critical time following changes from the Autumn Budget. Readers will be able to dive into latest commentary from leading investment managers in the sector to take a look at what some of these changes could mean, as well as what policy has remained unchanged, and what this could mean for BR strategies and investor’s portfolio. In addition, you can find latest insights across the wider sector to take a look at some of the manager’s specific investment approaches.

With the recent extension of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) sunset clause and updates in the Autumn Budget, there has never been a better time to consider investing in these tax-efficient schemes. Celebrating their 30th anniversaries, both EIS and VCTs have played a pivotal role in driving innovation and supporting high-growth businesses in the UK. The sunset clause extension provides long-term certainty for investors, ensuring continued access to attractive tax reliefs, including income tax reductions and capital gains tax deferrals. Meanwhile, updates in the Autumn Budget further reinforce the government’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurial activity and providing robust support for SMEs. As these schemes mark three decades of success, they remain a compelling opportunity for investors seeking to combine tax efficiency with the potential for high returns by backing the next generation of innovative companies.

As we look towards the next Autumn Statement, speculation surrounding mammoth holes in public finances and what the new Labour government might do about them is inevitably mounting. Unsurprisingly, Inheritance Tax (IHT) has once again come under the spotlight as a means of topping up the Treasury’s coffers. This being said, IHT is certainly not going away and nothing is currently confirmed, so when it comes to estate planning, inaction comes with a price. HMRC’s latest statistics show a record IHT take of £5.99 billion in 2021/22, a 4% increase from the previous year, driven by wealth transfers and rising asset values. Projections by the Office for Budget Responsibility suggest IHT could reach £9.7 billion by 2028/29. This latest industry update therefore comes at a critical time to help the financial planning community navigate the landscape with all the latest technical insights and knowledge.

Active investment managers like RBC BlueBay use their experience of reading and interpreting economic data accurately to give direction on the most attractive asset class at any given point in time. In collaboration with Intelligent Partnership and our valued and distinguished contributors, we are pleased to share our latest guide, ‘Opportunities in investment grade bonds’. We delve into some interesting and pertinent areas such as Pointers for IFAs when considering investment grade bonds, Spread differentials in Investment Grade portfolios, The value in Financials and much more.