M&A activity in SME sector up 500%

M&A activity in Scotland is up by about 500% on last year ahead of the 80% rise in CGT next month

Written by AccountancyAge.com

Edinburgh law firm Lindsays has experienced a huge increase in the number of business owners seeking to offload their companies to avoid an 80% hike in their capital gains tax next month.

William McIntosh, Lindsays' corporate partner, told The Scotsman that merger and acquisition activity in the SME sector, in particular, was running ‘massively ahead of the norm’.

‘Since the chancellor's announcement, we have had many clients coming to us looking to complete company or business sales and management buy-outs before the new regime takes effect,’ he said.

’We are running something like 500% more than the same time last year. While many may already have been considering a sale, the tax change seems to have focused minds on an early exit.’

Further reading:

Private takeovers to top £5bn before CGT change

HMRC backlog holds up co sales pre-CGT change

Read story in The Scotsman

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