You don't need to leave the UK to pay 0% tax.
You need a better structure.
That's what most owners I sit down with lose every ten years. Not through anything they did wrong. Through how it's held.
Profit is taxed on its way to you, before it can go back to work.
The gain lands as one big bill.
Your children inherit it with 40% attached, and nobody knows who decides.
Owners come to me for one of three reasons.
This film follows two owners who sold. If you're building, stepping back or handing it on, your own numbers are five questions away.
I'm Alex Byrne. I show owners what's possible with what they've built.
Same business. Held differently.
Profit goes to work in full.
No tax on the gain, where it qualifies.
Growth outside your estate.
The say stays with you, for life.
Family money kept apart from trading risk.
Who decides, and who comes next.
Not a product. A way of holding everything.
At its core, it's:
What makes it different:
The same business, two ways.
| What changes | As it's held today | Set up properly |
|---|---|---|
| Profit you put back to work | Taxed at up to 39% on its way to you first | Goes to work in full |
| If you sell | 18–24% on the gain | 0% on the gain, where it qualifies* |
| Growth over the next 10 years | 40% inheritance tax on it | Builds outside your estate |
| If you're not there | Whatever the will says | Written rules. Everyone knows who decides. |
| Over ten years | £500k to £5m+ kept |
*Every structure is built around the family's own situation. Illustrations only.
The earlier it's set up, the more stays.
Why they came, and what changed.
See what yours could keep.
Five questions. Your numbers and a first-draft roadmap, unlocked straight away.
Which sounds most like you?
Everyone's at a different point. Your roadmap starts from yours.
Is this legal? Will I lose control? Is it just a family investment company?
Is this not just a family investment company?
No. A family investment company is one room: a company that holds the family's money. It doesn't hold the businesses, it doesn't decide who runs things or who comes next, and many rely on valuation discounts. This brings the businesses, the property, the money and the family's rules into one place, with councils that decide. Nothing discounted, nothing hidden: every pound has a named owner and a written purpose. Most owners who set up a holding company or a family investment company on their own get about a third of what's possible.
Is this legal?
Yes. Ordinary UK company, contract and trust law, built with a City firm of barristers and solicitors. Nothing offshore, nothing hidden. HMRC is asked first where it matters.
Will I lose control?
No. You hold the say for as long as you live. Gifting hands over the value and the control. This hands over the growth and keeps the decisions with you.
Is it complicated?
For us, yes. For you, no. It's built in short steps, each explained and approved by you, and you run the business exactly as you do now.
How is it different from a trust?
A trust usually means handing assets to trustees and giving up the say. Here the family council decides, you sit on it, and the rules are written for your family, not taken off the shelf.
Will my accountant stay?
Yes. Your accountant keeps doing your accounts, and plenty of owners bring them to the call. Most are glad to see it.
What does it cost?
The roadmap and the call are free. If it's worth a proper look, the Case Review is £2,500, all of it taken off the cost if you go ahead. You'll know roughly what the build costs before you spend a penny.
How long does it take?
The Case Review is usually done within two weeks. The build runs in stages, and the biggest benefits usually show from year three.
What if I'm already set up well?
Then I'll tell you. I've sent twelve owners straight back to their own accountant with one question to ask.
Is it only for very wealthy families?
It's for owners with £2m+, or a business making £250k+ a year. Bigger and more complicated is welcome too: more is possible, and that's a conversation.
Is this only for people with tens of millions?
No. The families who keep the most usually set this up somewhere between £2m and £5m, right at the point where the tax starts outrunning the growth. They didn’t get to £20m or £50m by paying full tax the whole way there. If you’re at £2m, you’re not small. You’re just early, and early is the best time to start.
Why does the full roadmap cost £2,500?
Because the thinking is the part that decides whether any of it works. Before anything is built, we work out what you want, what you’ve got, what order it should happen in and what to test first, with the strategists and the barristers. For some families, that’s months of work before a single document is signed. The Case Review is where that work starts. You get your full structural roadmap, with me and the team working through it with you, and if you go ahead and build it, the £2,500 comes off the build.
Illustrations only. Every case is different. Not financial, legal or tax advice. Alex Byrne is Head of Northern Ireland for Mural Crown and may receive payment if you choose a Mural Crown engagement.