In November 2025, Excello Law advised on the successful completion of a reorganisation of shares held by a family in one of the UK’s most successful privately owned companies, with a total value of more than £100 million. The transaction involved setting up new trusts to hold shares in order to mitigate the upcoming changes to Business Property Relief in April 2026.
Excello’s team set up the discretionary trusts and advised across the private client and corporate law elements of the reorganisation. The Excello team comprised partners James Browne (Finance & Corporate) and Geoff Billington (Private Client), who worked closely together to deliver the reorganisation within extremely tight timescales.
James Browne comments:
“The changes to Business Property Relief coming into force next year have changed the succession planning landscape for business owners and individuals with substantial business assets.
In April 2026, the current uncapped relief will be replaced by a £2.5 million cap for full relief. We are encouraging all our clients to get in touch with us or their trusted accountants to discuss succession planning requirements. Doing nothing could result in an unexpected (and potentially very significant) tax bill in the future.
We are pleased to have achieved such a favourable outcome for our clients, thanks to the hard work of all involved.”
