Financial planning for business owners, directors and landlords
Your business or your portfolio is your biggest asset, your main income and the thing that keeps you awake. And because running it takes everything you have, your own planning is usually the last thing to get any attention.
The questions business owners bring to us
Almost every owner and director we meet is asking some version of the same four questions. What happens to my income, and to my family, if I cannot work? What happens to the business if something happens to me or to a co-director? Am I taking money out of the company in the most efficient way? And what does life after this business actually look like, in numbers rather than intentions?
Landlords ask a version of the same thing. An asset that produces income, a tax position that keeps shifting, and no clear plan for what happens when you want to slow down or pass it on.
None of these can be answered in isolation. They sit exactly where your personal finances, your business and your future meet, which is the part your accountant does not cover and most financial advice never reaches. That is where we work, with owners, directors and professional landlords across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
How we help
Protecting your income and your family
If you could not work for six months, what would happen to your income and to the people who depend on it? Most owners have insured the van, the premises and the stock, and not themselves. We put income protection and life cover in place so illness or injury does not undo what you have built.
Protecting the business itself
If you or a fellow director died, what would happen to the shares? Usually they pass to that person’s family, who may not want them and cannot easily sell them. Shareholder protection and key person cover let the business carry on and your family receive fair value rather than a stake they are stuck with.
Making the most of what it generates
Salary, dividends, employer pension contributions and the timing of each all change what you actually keep. For landlords, Capital Gains Tax planning and how a portfolio sits alongside pensions and investments matters just as much. We work through it with your accountant rather than around them.
Planning the exit, whenever it comes
Sell, hand it on, or wind it down: the decisions that shape that outcome get made years earlier. Planning three to five years out gives you options. Planning six months out gives you constraints. We help you work out what you need the business to be worth, and what happens to the money afterwards.
Exit strategies may include the referral to services not provided by SJP. Protection plans do not acquire a cash value. The cover provided will cease if premiums are stopped.
Built around your diary, not ours
A short call
Thirty minutes, no obligation, early or late if that is easier. Bring the problem, not the paperwork.
Both sides of the picture
Business structure, how you draw income, existing cover, pensions, property, and what you want the next ten years to look like.
A written recommendation
Costed, prioritised, and written so you can hand it to your accountant or your co-directors without translating it first.
Reviewed as the business changes
New director, new property, a good year, a hard year. The plan gets revisited rather than filed.
A practical starting point
If you are not sure where the gaps are, our short questionnaire is a good place to begin. A few minutes, and a clearer view of where your personal and business finances are in decent shape and where there is work to do.
Questions owners ask us
What is shareholder protection?
It is an arrangement that allows the surviving owners to buy a deceased or seriously ill shareholder’s stake, funded by insurance, under an agreement signed in advance. Without it the shares usually pass to that person’s family, who may have no interest in running the business and no easy way to sell.
Am I taking money out of my company in the most efficient way?
Often not, and it is one of the most common gaps we find. The mix of salary, dividends and employer pension contributions has a real effect on what you keep. We look at it alongside your accountant rather than in isolation, because the right answer depends on your wider plan as well as this year’s tax position.
Do you work with landlords as well as company directors?
Yes. The questions are similar: an asset that generates income, tax to manage, and a plan needed for what happens when you step back or pass it on. We advise on Capital Gains Tax planning, protection, and how a property portfolio fits alongside pensions and investments.
When should I start thinking about an exit?
Earlier than most people do. The decisions that shape what a sale or handover looks like are usually made years in advance, so planning three to five years out gives you options. Planning six months out mostly gives you constraints.
Do you work with my accountant?
Yes, and it usually produces a better result. Your accountant knows the numbers and the compliance; we look at where the business and your personal finances meet. Neither view is complete on its own.
Let’s start with a conversation
Thirty minutes, no obligation, and we will tell you honestly whether there is anything worth doing. Early mornings and evenings are usually easier for owners, and that is fine by us.