Latest News

Get serious about growing your business

Do you want to take your business to the next level? Think about the following questions and statements and how that ties in to what you have done, plan to do, or just haven’t even thought about yet…

Inheritance tax and ensuring tax-efficient succession of the family business

If you are planning to pass on your family business you will need to consider the most tax efficient way of doing so and much will be determined by the availability of Business Property Relief (BPR).

The 100% rate of Business Property Relief (BPR) from Inheritance Tax (IHT) has been with us now for many years – though its continuation cannot be guaranteed for the future. However, not all businesses will qualify - and certain business assets will only attract 50% relief.

A new face in Carlisle to support farming businesses through uncertain times

Armstrong Watson is delighted to announce that Jonathan York has relocated to join the agricultural team in Carlisle, bringing with him over 20 years’ experience in working with farmers and supporting them in their businesses.

Jonathan’s knowledge will be invaluable in supporting farming clients across Cumbria on a wide range of subjects, with a strong background in IHT, tax planning and securing business property reliefs he is well used to bringing the right advice for agricultural clients.

We're recruiting! Charity football tournament for Hospice at Home West Cumbria

The date has been set as Friday 16^th June 2017 (the day before the Cumberland Show), when we hope to make a chunk of money for Hospice at Home West Cumbria’s, 30 for 30 appeal. 

Our vision is a 6-a-side football competition, comprising of at least 10 teams; with entries from Armstrong Watson and other professional contacts.

Cockermouth School are kindly providing the venue for free, and with the entry set at £100 per team, we hope to see a considerable profit for the charity.

Kick-off will be at 6pm and we anticipate the tournament will end by 9pm.  

A new Partner to support business growth in Cumbria

We are  delighted to announce the appointment of Kevin Engel who has joined us as Audit and Assurance Partner. 

Kevin comes from Grant Thornton in Edinburgh where his previous role as Managing Partner means he has worked with,  and developed businesses to be the very best they can be, with great success. 
With experience in all kinds of family owner managed businesses, he is confident that his natural ability to understand what makes businesses tick and in helping businesses grow, will benefit Cumbria’s businesses community.

Hunting Growth

I once asked a successful business owner which was the best type of customer.  The answer was “a client who is experiencing growth”*.

But how can business owners find or switch-on “growth”? Lots of companies want it, but not all attain it. If it was easy to achieve, then everyone would be at it.

HMRC collected extra £3.3bn in unpaid VAT from SMEs

HMRC has collected an extra £3.3bn in unpaid VAT over the last year, following investigations into SMEs. Such successful returns from these enquiries means more are likely to follow, and business owners should ensure that tax affairs are in order as a result.

The extra tax was collected by two newly created specialist HMRC teams, the Individuals & Small Business Compliance unit and the Wealthy & Mid-sized Business Compliance unit.

Is the Lifetime ISA for you?

The Lifetime ISA (LISA) became available to investors under the age of 40 from 6 April 2017. The design of the account has specifically been for a dual purpose:

1. to provide a deposit for a first home (worth up to £450,000) and/or;

2. to save for retirement

The average income in retirement

According to new research from Prudential, people planning to retire in 2017 expect to receive an average annual income of £18,100, but how realistic is it to achieve this figure?

Those relying exclusively on the State Pension to fund their lifestyle in retirement will find themselves some way short of expectations - the maximum level of state pension is rising to £159.55 per week from April (£8,297 per annum) - assuming that they receive the full entitlement, so most will need to make additional provisions to plug the gap.

Proactive succession planning

We recently published our Family Business Insight for 2017 and one of the key highlights was that 38% of businesses are now surviving into 2nd generation and the same number, 38%, plan to pass their businesses on directly to family members. Coincidence?… probably not.

Businesses which proactively plan a succession strategy, involving and engaging with family members, will almost certainly have a far better chance of survival than those that are forced into an unwanted or unexpected strategy.