Living Room Trust to Boardroom Precision
Learn the Factors That Impact the Value of Your Client's Private Business
Most IFAs treat their client's business as a black box—acknowledging it exists, but never truly understanding its value. This creates four critical problems:
First, you're leaving business protection on the table. Without knowing the accurate value of the business, you can't properly structure shareholder protection, key person cover, or exit planning. You're guessing at figures that could make or break your client's family if something goes wrong.
Second, your cash flow modelling is built on quicksand. When a client says their business is worth £3 million but it's actually worth £1.2 million, every retirement projection, every investment strategy, every legacy plan you've built is fundamentally flawed. You're planning their future on fiction.
Third, your IHT planning could be catastrophically wrong. Business Property Relief (BPR) is one of the most powerful IHT mitigation tools available—offering 50% or 100% relief from inheritance tax on qualifying business assets. But here's the catch: BPR eligibility hinges on accurate valuation and correct classification of business activities. You need to know not just what the business is worth, but how much of that value actually qualifies for relief.
Fourth, become the trusted advisor. Business owners respect advisors who understand their world. When you can accurately value their business and explain the BPR implications for their estate, you move from the living room to the boardroom. You become indispensable.
Accurate business valuation isn't just a technical exercise—it's the foundation for writing meaningful business protection, creating reliable financial projections, structuring effective IHT planning with BPR, and positioning yourself as the only advisor your client truly needs.
The question isn't whether you should master this. The question is: how much business are you losing—and how much IHT liability are you missing—while you don't?
Learning objectives
By the end of the session you will
1. Know how to better understand business owners as clients & Deliver more comprehensive estate planning advice to business owner clients
2. Understand Business Property Relief (BPR) eligibility and how accurate valuations impact IHT planning
panellists
Jim McLaughlin - Head of UK & Europe, Bizval
Graham Stephen - CEO of Bizval
Business Protection planning for family businesses
Using Business Whole of Life Cover could be essential
This session will help you understand about the planning for the ups and down of family businesses, including those owners where they want to remain in the business in a capacity forever.
We will look at how to approach Business WOL, and when it can and can’t be used and how to go about it.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session you will
1. Learn about succession planning for family businesses to minimise impact on the loss of Family Business Partner.
2. Understand where to use Business WOL for Key person and shareholder protection
panellists
Paula Goodall - Strategic Distribution Manager, Zurich Assurance
Jude Reynolds - Protection Specialist, Zurich Assurance