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Five steps to a clean break

Whilst Christmas may feel like a distant memory, it can be a stressful time for many people and it is sadly true that more couples find themselves contemplating divorce or separation in the New Year. We discuss in this article five areas of law and tax that you may wish to consider on separation.

The tax and legal aspects for a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership are essentially the same. Unmarried couples will have different issues and much less legal protection/intervention and this article is not able to cover their issues. 

What will you do differently in 2015?

As many New Years resolutions fade into distant memory, it is an excellent time to reflect on both what went well in your business last year as well as what you could do differently to achieve greater success in 2015.

It is often said that in business, “failing to plan” can amount to “planning to fail”. While that is a fairly dramatic statement there is some truth in it and having a clear plan for the year ahead will give advantage, in what remains a tough and competitive trading environment.

Business travel and subsistence: Getting it right

We are often fielded questions surrounding the correct treatment of business travel and subsistence costs when speaking to clients. Quite often, people have done their homework well and don’t have anything to worry about. However, when it does go wrong, the cost to a business and its employees can be significant. There are many rules surrounding the treatment of business travel and subsistence costs and so it’s not a wonder that people do occasionally get it wrong.

Business are still struggling to raise finance for property or property development

We are finding that despite a general increase in business finance activity, many clients are still finding it difficult to raise finance when it comes to commercial property.

Purchasing new property or investing in property development can often be an essential element in a business’s plan to grow, yet when it comes to raising the finance for this, it can be a difficult and not always successful process.

Should retirees defer their state pension?

A recent survey by LV= found that 65% of over 50s still in full-time employment intend to continue to do some form of paid work during their retirement. This is a growing trend, as the Office of National Statistics revealed in 2013 that the number of over 65s in work exceeded one million.

Putting your foot on the mortgage ladder

The criteria for arranging a mortgage is now somewhat more complicated than it used to be a number of years ago. Whether you’re taking the first step onto the property ladder, re-mortgaging, moving house or capital raising, mortgage lenders now want to be certain that you can afford the repayments.

In the ever changing world of Manufacturing, who is the sounding board for your business?

“There are many things we do not know we don’t know”

This is a well known quote from Confucius that was recorded by Henry David Thoreau in Walden; how appropriate this quote is when it is viewed in the context of manufacturing in the UK.

Many UK manufacturers can trace their history back over a number of generations, as the business has been passed from generation to generation, with each making their mark on the business and in due course handing it over to the next one.

North West's leading wine wholesaler is now a national player

Armstrong Watson’s latest corporate finance transaction sees the largest independent wine business in the North West, EWGA, almost double its size following the acquisition of Heritage Wine Company Ltd, Wickwar, Gloucestershire. The acquisition means that the Carnforth business will now have the capabilities to operate on a national scale.

Freedom and choice in pensions – Maximise your pension

We have previously explored the future of pension savings, but have primarily focussed on the options available when drawing pension benefits, so let’s now look at saving for retirement and how to maximise the payments you make into pensions.

Following the introduction of workplace pensions and auto enrolment there are different ways of saving now. Auto enrolment is a new law which the government introduced to help people save for retirement and it means that employers will automatically enrol their employees into a pension scheme to which they will also contribute.

I don't have time for this!

It has been suggested that time was first measured over 6,000 years ago by viewing the moon, and the importance of time has featured in our lives ever since. It has significant importance, having economic value “time is money” as well as personal value, due to the awareness of the lack of time we all seem to have “where has today gone”.