How to remove land asset prior to sale of business

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By Ruddles
30th Jul 2018 15:25

Your accountant is on his holidays, so you thought that you'd come here and ask for the advice, that he would no doubt have charged you for, for nothing?

Did that moose's head fall on you again?

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By Accountant A
30th Jul 2018 15:25

Basil_Fawlty wrote:

I do have an accountant but he is away on his hols, hence my need for help.

How long is he away for? It's not fair on him to start taking advice elsewhere. He's the one who knows you and your affairs. No-one reputable can give advice without going through the relevant formalities to take you on as a client.

Your solicitor sure as heck won't turn around the acquisition in a few days. Get some heads of agreement drafted to discuss when your accountant returns.

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By Basil_Fawlty
30th Jul 2018 16:22

Thanks for the replies.

1. My accountant would not have charged me to discuss the issue

2. He would not be remotely concerned that I was looking for help/advice or different opinions elsewhere.

Looking through this site, many of the subjects have differing answers to questions, hence why I was looking for some input.

Google searches kept bringing up threads from this site, hence why I thought I would post.

I've clearly misjudged the site and will delete my post.

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Replying to Basil_Fawlty:
By Ruddles
30th Jul 2018 18:37

Your accountant is a plonker, then.

As are those that delete their questions.

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By Accountant A
31st Jul 2018 00:35

These were the OP's questions. Shame to lose his contribution:

How to remove land asset prior to sale of business

Hi all,

Apologies if this has been asked before, I have spent hours trawling the internet and my head is ready to explode. I am looking to purchase a company that has been runinng for over 50 years in my home town. On paper, the business looks poor, it has been poorly run of late but I can see the potential and believe I can turn it around. It is a plumbing and heating company that sits on a small plot of land with an office. Here is the background:

1. Owned by father and son who are both directors. Father wants to retire and the son wants to move abroad. Father has7 shares, son 13.

2. Father has a £42k directors loan balance (credit)

3. Company has £12k overdraft secured on the land

4. Son/father want to keep the land and therefore remove it as a company asset ( there may be an option to build flats, hence why they want to keep it)

5. Father keen to keep company name going in the town and keep the existing two members of staff employed

6. I have offered to buy the company shares at £1 each and to also make a £12k payment for the business which will be used to clear the overdraft.

I will also have first refusal on the plot of land as and when it is sold.

The issue is therefore on how best to deal with the directors loan and the land. Can anyone advise on the most straight forward or tax efficient way in which to do this? Is moving the land asset into a holding company an option? The director is happy to waive the loan btw but I understand that this income would then be taxable?

I know the sellers should be doing all the leg work but they are so laid back it would drag on forever.

Again, apologies for lack of knowledge. I do have an accountant but he is away on his hols, hence my need for help.

Any help, greatfully received.

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Replying to Accountant A:
ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
31st Jul 2018 08:00

“These were the OP's questions. ”

How do ppl manage to see these once it’s been deleted?

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By paulwakefield1
31st Jul 2018 08:06

" Shame to lose his contribution"

And a shame he didn't get any answers.

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Replying to paulwakefield1:
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By Justin Bryant
31st Jul 2018 15:54

You essentially mean a shame there are trolls on this site and elsewhere that spoil things for everyone else and furthermore that they do not get banned.

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Replying to Justin Bryant:
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By paulwakefield1
31st Jul 2018 16:13

I mean that, in the past , such questions would often produce interesting high level debate and occasionally shoot off down some intriguing byways. The questioner rarely raised ire because the question was itself of interest or the topic in general was of interest where there was too little detail in the question to provide a precise answer.

Sadly these days it just seems easier to take it out on the OP. And so we lose a useful reference source generated by those on here who often have an impressive depth of knowledge and grasp of the issues.

I learnt a lot from those earlier debates; often they were not in my field and so held only general interest but it widened my knowledge and frequently allowed me to look at problems from a different angle or with greater knowledge of the risks and pitfalls.

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Replying to paulwakefield1:
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By WhichTyler
31st Jul 2018 22:07

He did. Accountant A said 'start talking to your lawyer and wait for your accountant to get back from hollibobs'

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By Marion Hayes
31st Jul 2018 15:40

This doesn't sound like our Basil at all - anyone able to check?

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Replying to Marion Hayes:
By Ruddles
31st Jul 2018 16:34

It's not - 'our's goes by the name of F_B, not B_F :)

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