For Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

It’s unfortunate that businesses are more likely to fail within the first 12 months after losing a key member of staff. But with foresight and careful planning, the potentially disastrous effects can be mitigated – which is where Franklyn can help.

Having the right protection in place is good for business. It means more certainty when anyone suggests ‘what if…’, helps confidence through having a succession plan and, overall, gives your business a brighter future. Think about the far-reaching consequences of a key staff member leaving, becoming ill or even dying; they could include loans being recalled, the loss of key contacts or clients, reduced capacity and even a loss of profits.

That’s why it’s important to have the right insurances in place, regularly updated as your business changes, to protect you from that risk. Our corporate planning services cover much more too. For example, we can also help plan your ‘exit* strategy’, realise your long-term end goal, whether that’s your retirement, or selling your business. Just talk to one of the team.

*Please note that for certain areas of exit planning, it will be necessary to refer you to an external specialist, which we can easily facilitate for you. Their services will be separate and distinct to our own and those offered by St. James’s Place.

Whether they’re the founders or investors in a business, a company’s shareholders – particularly those with a larger holding – are in a unique position of power and influence. Which means that any business should prepare for major changes in shareholdings. Political differences between shareholders in the boardroom can be well-publicised of course.

But problems can arise in much more simple circumstances too – such as when a major shareholder dies. In such cases the shares can pass to beneficiaries, leaving your board working with partners who may have little or no interest in the business at all.

That’s why it can be wise to put a solution in place that allows fellow shareholders to buy those shares, so beneficiaries can realise their market value if they prefer. Just talk to one of our team to find out more.

A flexible and effective benefits scheme can really help in recruiting and retaining high calibre employees – but which scheme do you choose, how do you best promote it to staff and how can it reduce your National Insurance contributions? Franklyn’s experts have all the answers.

Is salary the best way to reward employees? Or would they appreciate a flexible range of benefits more? For many businesses the latter proves to be a more effective tool in recruiting and retaining staff. Benefits can range from help with child care and cycling to work to private medical insurance and group life, income protection and critical illness cover – and in many cases, a salary sacrifice arrangement can reduce your National Insurance costs too.

At Franklyn, we can help you put together the ideal employee benefits package, based on a cost-effective strategy that dovetails with your business plans. We can offer advice from a range of carefully selected and monitored providers, ensuring you have the flexibility to manage your business more effectively. Just talk to a member of our team for details.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time. The value of any tax relief depends on individual circumstances.

Pensions are an important consideration for any business. If you’re running a successful enterprise, you need it to generate financial security for your retirement; while workplace pensions are a key responsibility to employees. With so much to think about, Franklyn’s expert help can prove invaluable.

They are now even higher on the agenda for businesses as workplace pension auto enrolment has put more responsibility on the employer, existing pension schemes have proved costly and there are more flexible options for employees nearing retirement.

Franklyn’s pension experts can help you navigate your way through your various commitments, use group pension plans as an effective recruitment tool and choose the most suitable pension scheme for your employees, while making sure you and your family are still able to reap the rewards from the success of your business. Talk to one of our team about your business’s unique requirements.

The value of a pension with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.

Auto-Enrolment products are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

For many business owners, building a business is often seen as a way to create capital value in the future, and form part of a retirement plan.

However, realising the value from your business at the right time can be potentially problematic. Having a business exit strategy* in place is worth thinking about, even at an early stage, are you going to sell the business as it is, or hand over to family member, perhaps retaining an interest and some income? We help you to plan so you have a robust exit strategy plan in place helping you with your personal long term financial security, once you have left your business.

*Exit strategies may involve the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place.