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OUR SERVICES
Corporate
The Financial Options Group’s comprehensive suite of advisory services has been created to meet the diverse financial and legal needs of company owners and directors and their employees.
CORPORATE SERVICES
Specialist corporate advice for companies across the UK
Our advice and recommendations ensure your business complies with regulatory and legislative requirements. We’ll help you to keep on top of new requirements and on an ongoing basis we will alert you to the tax efficiencies and savings options which may benefit you.
Whether your company employs fewer than five employees or 1,000+, we will work with you to formulate plans built on your current circumstances, while helping you to anticipate future requirements as your business thrives and as new economic and legislative developments arise.
Group pension scheme
Group private medical insurance
Shareholder agreements
Business continuity
Group risk
Business protection
Cross options agreements
Initial review & consultation
CORPORATE PENSION SCHEMES
Specialist workplace pensions and auto-enrolment advice
Our team of advisers offer specialist workplace pensions and auto-enrolment advice to help you satisfy your legal requirements as an employer. Since legislative changes came into effect in 2012, auto-enrolment has been rolled out in stages and will eventually impact every employer in the UK, including charities and small businesses, requiring them to automatically enrol their employees into a workplace pension scheme. Even if you have just one member of staff, auto enrolment is your legal obligation. You are responsible for enrolling all eligible employees into your scheme and contributing to it.
As the employer, you must have complied with the legislation by your company’s “staging date”, which is determined by your PAYE reference number. The employee doesn’t have to do anything to enrol in their new workplace pension as the employer makes all of the arrangements. Any employer which does not comply with the legislation could face significant fines as a result. We’re here to help you and your business prepare for auto enrolment. We will advise you on the legal duties you will have in respect of all your staff, and help you to achieve a workplace pension scheme which suits the needs of your business and your employees.
GROUP RISK
Provide effective financial support and protection at the right time
Group risk benefits are essential as they provide effective financial support and protection at the right time, for both your business and your staff. This could be in the event of the illness, accident or death of one of your employees.
Whether you offer group risk benefits as part of your core employee benefits package or include them in your flexible benefits scheme, we can help you assess what cover you need and find the best insurance policy to meet your specific requirements. We are able to search the whole of the market to make sure we find you an insurance solution with no gaps in cover at the most competitive price.
Registered Group Life
Excepted Group Life
Single Relevant Life Policies
Group Income Protection & Critical Illness
GROUP PRIVATE MEDICAL INSURANCE
Look after the physical and mental health of your employees
With a wide range of plans available, PMI can be arranged to cover spouses or children, paid for either by the company or voluntarily by the employee. Our team of Healthcare specialists can guide you towards the Private Medical Insurance plan that is best for you.
Ensure employees are accurately diagnosed & treated
Support employee wellbeing for better productivity & morale
Accessing a powerful recruitment and retention tool
Managing the cost of short-term illness or injury
Safeguarding your business against employee absence
Offering a highly attractive benefit to your employees
Business Protection
Common ‘What ifs’ that can happen in any business may turn catastrophic without the right cover in place.
Shareholder Agreements
Successful businesses put in place shareholder agreements to protect the shareholders’ investment in the company, to establish a fair relationship between the shareholders and to govern how the company is run.
Shareholder Protection
Our skilled advisers can ensure you are covered, should you be threatened with the loss of control of your company to a third party. This form of insurance helps to protect the business and can minimise stress placed on a company in the event of a shareholder’s passing.
Loss of a Key Person
In the event of losing a key member of staff – usually a director, manager or employee with specified, highly-valued skills – we can provide insurance options that will cover you to ensure continuity of business.
Succession Planning
When you decide you no longer want to continue running your business or circumstances arise which prevent you from doing so, The Financial Options Group can help to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibility with minimal disruption to the business itself.
SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENTS
A formal understanding agreed by all
The expectations of the shareholders can be delineated through a Shareholder Agreement, which becomes a formal understanding agreed by all.
You can determine what will happen in certain eventualities, such as a key person retiring, finance raising/taking on investment or selling the company altogether. Putting an agreement in place minimises the potential for disagreements between shareholders as well as damage to the business if things start getting tough.
Some common ‘What ifs’ that stand to bring devastating repercussions without a Shareholder Agreement in place include:
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What happens if a shareholder dies?
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What happens if a shareholder who is a director loses capacity?
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What happens if a shareholder is made bankrupt?
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What if a Director Shareholder wants to retire?
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What if we want to issue more shares?
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What if we want to take on investment or raise finance?
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What happens if shareholders disagree?
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What happens if the business is to be sold but a minority shareholder won’t sell?
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How is the value of the company to be decided?
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What happens if a director shareholder leaves and contacts my clients?
CORPORATE SERVICES
Cross Option Agreements
The basis of the agreement is straightforward; each shareholder agrees that following his or her death, the fellow shareholders will have the option to buy the deceased’s shares (in some cases this could also include those of his or her spouse). Typically the shares would be made available for purchase at market value and that his or her personal representatives (on death) have the option to sell the shares to the continuing shareholders. If funding the sale/purchase of the shares is likely to be an issue, the shareholders entering into the Cross Option Agreement will take out a term assurance policy.
Any amount that becomes payable under the policy is held in Trust by the remaining shareholders to pay for the deceased’s shares. Structuring the transfer of shares in this way, it is possible to make sure that the deceased’s shares qualify for Business Property Relief. In valid circumstances this would currently provide 100% relief from Inheritance Tax. We understand that for most people their business interests are inextricably linked to their personal and family lives and would therefore always recommend that a Cross Option Agreement should be considered alongside personal Legacy Planning.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Who would look after your business if you were unable to?
A Lasting Power of Attorney enables the person you trust to take over your financial affairs on your behalf without cost or delay if you were to become incapable of dealing with them yourself. You can place restrictions on and give guidance to your attorneys on how they should deal with your affairs. The LPA can be general and can allow your attorney to act on your behalf on all personal welfare or property and affairs matters.
Alternatively, you can restrict your attorneys’ powers or create a specific LPA which will only deal with certain issues such as your business affairs. A business LPA falls under the Property & Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney so as well as specifying business dealings it will also enable you to appoint separate attorneys if required for other assets such as the day-to-day running of your family home.
Free initial review and consultation
We understand that for most clients who run their own businesses that it is inextricably linked to the interests and welfare of their family. It is advisable that the creation of a Business LPA should be done as part of a wider estate & legacy planning process. We provide our clients certainty that their business and personal interests are protected, therefore by referral we offer a full Estate & Legacy Planning Review at no cost.
We refer clients for legal support to a panel of third party providers who are independent of CJP Financial Services.
Auto Enrolment, Employee Benefits & Lasting Powers of Attorney are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Lasting Powers of Attorney are not part of the Quilter Financial Planning offering and is offered in our own right.
Quilter Financial Planning accept no responsibility for this aspect of our business.