Mary Perham and Edward Robinson write for Wealth Briefing on why Family Investment Companies deserve a fresh look
There is a quiet shift underway in wealth structuring. For years, trusts have been the bedrock of succession planning, valued for their flexibility, asset protection and inheritance tax efficiency. Trusts remain valuable and they will continue to have a key role in succession planning, but with the government now pressing ahead with reforms to Business Property Relief (BPR), many are having to think more laterally.
As currently drafted, the changes due in April 2026 will impose a £1 million ($1.34 million) cap on 100 per cent relief, with only 50 per cent relief available above that threshold. For business owners who have long relied on BPR to pass down trading interests tax-free, the implications are acute.
On death or trust transfer, many estates will now face substantial IHT liabilities, even where the underlying assets remain squarely within productive enterprise that would currently be fully relieved.
It is partly in this context that FICs are re-emerging as a credible alternative; not a tax shelter, but a governance tool for families seeking long-term stewardship of capital.
A FIC is a private company established to hold and grow family wealth, often funded via founder loans or subscriptions, with shares distributed among family members or trusts. Critically, it allows founders to retain meaningful control, as directors, as voting shareholders, or via bespoke articles of association. Where trusts can feel opaque and remote, FICs offer business owners a familiar lexicon: dividends, share classes, board resolutions.
In an article for Wealth Briefing, Mary Perham (Senior Associate in the Private Client team) and Edward Robinson (Legal Director in the Corporate team) examine the renewed relevance of Family Investment Companies in the light of the UK government’s changes to Business Property Relief.
Read the full piece in Wealth Briefing here.
