26 Acquisitions Listings Continued from page 25


Go-Ahead Group has acquired Hedingham Omnibuses, the Colchester-based bus company with depots in five other towns, for undisclosed terms. 7-March


George at Asda is to acquire the fashion sourcing division of GAAT from Turkmen Group of Turkey. 7-March


Compass Group has acquired NKS Kabushiki Kaisha, the Japanese food service operator with 1,200 staff. 7-March


UTV Media has acquired Simply Zesty, the Irish social media agency with 22 staff, for £5m. 7-March


Amtico, the Coventry-based flooring manufacturer, has been acquired by Mannington Mills of the US for £127m. 6-March


TDX Group has acquired the assets of Credit Account Management, the debt management firm with 12 staff, from Interlaken Group for undisclosed terms. 6-March


Colt Car Company has sold its Colt Car Retail chain of 11 Mitsubishi car dealerships to VT Holdings of Japan for undisclosed terms. 6-March


Ashfords Solicitors has merged with Rochman Landau of London to create a combined law firm with 450 staff at six offices. 6-March


Avonside Group Services has acquired Letchworth Roofing, the Hertfordshire-based roofing firm with about 150 staff. 1-March


RFM Group has acquired Greenwood Estates & Property Maintenance, the Leeds-based facilities management firm. 1-March


St Ives has acquired Incite Marketing Planning, the London- based market research firm with 40 staff, for an initial £11m. 1-March


Edinburgh Woollen Mill has bought 388 Peacocks fashion stores and concessions out of administration, but a further 224 stores will close with the loss of 3,100 jobs. 23-February


TVS Logistics is to sell Globe Transport Products, the Oswestry- based commercial vehicle motor factors business with seven branches, to a former executive. 23-February


Aegis Group is to acquire Roundarch, the US digital agency with 250 staff, for an initial £79m. 23-February


Deben UK is to acquire the assets and trade of KE Developments, the Cambridgeshire-based manufacturer of electron microscopy accessories, for £0.3m. 23-February


Centaur Media has acquired Profile Group, the digital information business for media, PR and marketing professionals, for £8m. 22-February


Flying Brands has agreed to sell its Flying Flowers and Flowers Direct gifts division to Interflora for £2.4m. 22-February


Avingtrans has acquired Composites Engineering Group of Buckingham, including Delta Composites, Alpha Composites and Orion Machining, in order to create a new group called Sigma Composites. 22-February


Oyster Marine, the Ipswich-based luxury yacht firm with 400 staff, has been acquired by HTP Investments of the Netherlands for undisclosed terms. 22-February


Tyseley Electrical, the Birmingham-based electrical maintenance firm, has been sold in a pre-pack administration to a new company called Dicecom. 22-February


Filtrona has acquired Securit World, the London-based supplier of desktop personal identification card systems, for £6m. 22-February


Changes to the informal winding-up process you should be aware of


stopped trading. Owners of companies that just want to wind up and extract residual cash at a low rate have benefited from what is known as the Extra Statutory Concession (ESC) C16. For years this concession has helped company directors to informally wind up their businesses while reaping the tax benefits of doing so.


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This concession has been applicable to solvent firms ceasing to trade through the informal winding-up process and has helped shareholders extract the companies’ assets without having to pay 25 per cent or more in income tax on the cash. Those who have assets tied up in their business have been realising the benefits of the C16 concession and have instructed their accountants to help them through the process in large numbers, ensuring they reap the benefits of Entrepreneurs’ Relief.


However, as of 1 March 2012, the ESC has been incorporated into legislation that automatically allows the informal winding-up process to take place, but also introduced a £25,000 limit on the assets that can be extracted from a business and still be classed as capital rather than income.


In brief, the informal process allows a solvent business to be wound up without the use of an official liquidator. In addition, the assets also pass to the shareholders as capital distributions rather than as income distributions. This means that the assets received are taxable as capital gains rather than income.


Providing entrepreneur’s relief is available, most company directors will be able to extract the assets while paying just 10 per cent tax, as opposed to at least the 25 per cent that would be payable if the assets were to be taxed as income.


There are now, however, some restrictions and limits in place that will affect whether a business owner opts for the informal winding-up process. For example, as of 1 March 2012, if the assets are distributed to shareholders before its dissolution, only the first £25,000 will be classed as capital. If the assets being extracted come to more than £25,000, a formal winding-up process should be deployed to ensure that the money could be extracted as capital, rather than income.


One of the most obvious benefits of the informal process is the reduction of professional costs involved, and a charge of just £10 from Companies House. Those who opt for the official winding-up process, however, will have to pay considerable professional costs and the process is likely to be more complicated and time consuming.


Most business owners who are considering winding up their companies, and have assets of more than £25,000 that they want to extract, will need to weigh up the benefits of the capital classification against the costs and complexities of the formal winding-up process. Those with in excess of £25,000 to extract can still opt for the inexpensive, informal process, but the shareholders will be liable to pay income tax on the entire amount being extracted.


BUSINESS SALE REPORT - THE UK’S LEADING SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON COMPANIES FOR SALE


lthough selling your company is usually the most desirable outcome after years of hard work, it may not always be possible – especially if the business has


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