![Surge in business owners looking to sell for fear of Labour tax raid](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/10/11/TELEMMGLPICT000396708252_17286303725190_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq4i5A2wqgncmHGVw9K8HLMp-UUejnh7SIms3OGdT6Yqw.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
Surge in business owners looking to sell for fear of Labour tax raid
The TelegraphEvelyn Partners said that 23pc of business owners had brought forward their exit plans in the year before the election. Laura Hayward, a tax partner at Evelyn Partners, said: “We have been contacted by an increasing number of business owners worried about what the Chancellor will do to capital gains taxes and inheritance tax.” She added: “The Prime Minister’s statement that the upcoming Budget would be ‘painful’ has put owner-managed businesses on edge and this has prompted many to want to exit as quickly as possible.” The rush to sell comes after Ms Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer came under fire for being too gloomy ahead of the Budget. Ms Hayward said: “The business environment for many owners has already been tough enough in recent years as they have worked hard to rebuild their businesses after the pandemic, against a backdrop of cost of living pressures and high inflation. “Add to that the potential for unfavourable tax changes in the upcoming Budget and it’s completely understandable that some are hoping to realise the gains of their successes sooner rather than later.” Family succession is the most popular option for business owners looking to retire, according to the wealth manager. Ms Hayward said: “Speculation is rife that the Chancellor will curtail business relief, which can help to soften burdensome liabilities, and we have had conversations with many business owners who want to fast-track succession plans while this valuable relief is still available.”
History of this topic
![Hundreds of business owners threaten to leave UK in event of Reeves tax raid](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/10/18/TELEMMGLPICT000397928422_17292605196340_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDyn_kzCs85o7bFJrmLDpe7eHsZFrEmHQDi0eQN40zhg.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
Hundreds of business owners threaten to leave UK in event of Reeves tax raid
The TelegraphDiscover Related
![Reeves’s build for growth strategy in doubt because of impact of inheritance tax changes](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/13/12/59f1c4991e513c86473cab5c8bf977efY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM0MTc3ODg5-2.78473238.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Business confidence tumbles to two-year low following Reeves’s raid on employers](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/09/14/SEI232594120.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![I'm so angry, I want to ban Rachel Reeves from my grocer shop: After that controversial Budget, how business owners in her own backyard REALLY feel about the Chancellor](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/01/14/92671239-0-image-m-77_1733065172766.jpg)
![Labour's tax bomb budget causes business confidence to crash to lowest levels since Covid as entrepreneurs accuse Rachel Reeves of undermining growth](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/01/16/92672367-0-image-m-28_1733070069764.jpg)
![UK business confidence lowest since COVID pandemic, IoD says](https://images.livemint.com/img/2018/12/28/1600x900/Companies_-_News_1545993790355.jpg)
!['Labour are treating businesses like a cash cow to be milked': Anger against Rachel Reeves' £40 billion 'tax-bomb' Budget grows - despite Chancellor ruling out further tax rises](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/25/22/92475315-0-image-m-81_1732573125860.jpg)
![Rachel Reeves brushes off business: Chancellor tells angry business chiefs nobody has any 'alternatives' to her massive Budget tax raid - despite half of firms warning of job cuts](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/25/16/92464099-0-image-a-6_1732552711433.jpg)
![CBI chief hits out at Reeves after firms face ‘heavy burden’ from tax rises](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/25/11/f01277d8adfa3a3a820386ed6b07279aY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMyNjE3Mjg2-2.78306778.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Reeves gives tax boost to Aldi and Lidl in battle with British supermarkets](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/25/TELEMMGLPICT000402560252_17325243046250_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqwMpl-Jpdv5EMZZkofEupHOyEA__MmDc0hQxjdbkS2u8.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Never have business leaders fallen out of love so fast with a government](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/14/11/2184000212.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Job losses and price hikes inevitable, warn UK’s biggest firms in stark message to Rachel Reeves over Budget](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/13/22/7afedbc78b4e41a98b013d08c90bde5eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMxNTk2OTU2-2.78126107.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Reeves accused of business ‘betrayal’ as top bank warns over tax hikes](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/11/18/SEI228337631.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Shops and restaurants to cut opening hours after National Insurance raid](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/11/TELEMMGLPICT000400449266_17313542794860_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqbeTk1B19-5_yTGXWVqBUJ4D1USqzsg7PrHSjzJ9EDMw.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Pubs and restaurants tell Reeves they face closures and ‘drastic’ job cuts after tax raid](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/10/TELEMMGLPICT000398301414_17312601509120_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqfTCWBQ5pcVqNtVYH0DiOslPIfxOifxIUocZe3xdsyy8.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Hotel tycoon scraps £20m investment after Reeves’s tax raid](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/10/TELEMMGLPICT000401328798_17312519843220_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq14xkPZnPVC4kq_mBpcAQ84q2JlghIefvCgVRPc12WeU.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Rachel Reeves driving up prices with tax and spend Budget, warns Bank of England](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/07/TELEMMGLPICT000400736376_17310091116030_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Reeves’s tax raid warning wipes £300m off house building giant](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/06/TELEMMGLPICT000388256960_17308991892150_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqN7kF8Fb6ID_G1m99xXXMy0CnEi70FT3IFGbURfHNNqo.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![The 'final nail in the coffin' for small businesses: Owners consider shutting up shop after Rachel Reeves' tax bomb budget as firms put a stop to hiring staff due to crippling NI hike](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/05/13/91692533-0-image-m-15_1730812935248.jpg)
![Sir James Dyson says Labour ‘killing off family businesses’ with inheritance tax](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/04/12/9cc61d0d55fccc37abdafcc2b5dd2154Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMwODA4MDM0-2.10200301.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![James Dyson condemns Rachel Reeves’s Budget ‘tractor tax’ as ‘spiteful’](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/09/13/0a52f040802af5c7e7b82184a700e3aaY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzIwNjEzODYx-2.33689876.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Three quarters of British food will be hit by Reeves’s tax raid, warn farmers](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/04/TELEMMGLPICT000400218509_17307424515040_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Rachel Reeves is warned a generation could abandon farming as she defends Budget inheritance raid](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/03/15/91615887-0-image-a-18_1730648545460.jpg)
![How to beat Rachel Reeves' buy-to-let crackdown - the little-known tax reliefs to maximise your returns](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/02/11/91587721-0-image-a-9_1730546055401.jpg)
![US employers rethink plans for UK after Reeves’s £25bn jobs tax](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/11/01/TELEMMGLPICT000399978235_17304735587900_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJweqM6CxDWAPMVhIsyZ6WJrU.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Taxes 'are going to be high for 10 years'... and Rachel Reeves may have to come back for more, warns think-tank](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/11/01/00/91535797-0-image-m-21_1730419268496.jpg)
![How farm tax could be a political issue after Rachel Reeves’s Budget](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/30/17/8e14f9ad6d4083b00c49c7f378d8f7b9Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMwMzkzNDQz-2.75943890.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Rachel Reeves admits tax hikes will hit working people as IFS accuses chancellor of ‘undermining trust’](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/31/13/SEI227858891.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![The farmers left fearing for their future: Labour is accused of a 'disgusting land grab' as budget's inheritance tax raid threatens to 'destroy communities forever' by forcing family farms to sell up](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/31/16/91518095-0-image-m-39_1730391792661.jpg)
![Farmers will have to stump up hundreds of thousands of pounds, Tories claim](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/31/11/b2e9e2f0670809d10a6ee5cfdfac6d34Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMwNDU5NjI1-2.58563686.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Brits will end up being paid less after Labour's Budget, admits Rachel Reeves as she refuses to rule out MORE tax hikes and economists warn growth will be crushed record burden](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/31/08/91500239-0-image-a-15_1730362523549.jpg)
![Labour's £40 billion tax bomb leaves Britons £300 worse off](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/30/22/91486713-0-image-a-22_1730327281962.jpg)
![DAILY MAIL COMMENT: This was a painful budget - with worse to come](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/31/01/91464173-0-image-m-38_1730337462885.jpg)
![Rachel Reeves' plan to hike capital gains tax 'will bite into the profits of investors'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/31/00/91490683-0-image-m-89_1730333275655.jpg)
![Shoppers told to expect higher prices after ‘shameless’ tax raid on farmers](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/10/31/TELEMMGLPICT000400130105_17303971160250_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqYS1acP-ch22p5qESP2v6g_SVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Labour's tax bomb leaves Britons £300 worse off: UK faces highest tax burden ever, businesses are battered by the Budget, wages will fall and inflation will rise](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/30/22/91486713-0-image-a-22_1730327281962.jpg)
![Reeves uses first Budget to hike taxes, increase borrowing and boost spending](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/30/18/657adb3b12685e08a058e15263d34ee0Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMwMzk2MTgy-2.78022842.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Rachel Reeves drops £40BILLION 'tax bomb' in Budget: Chancellor hammers firms with £25bn NICs hike as she targets inheritances and landlords in one of biggest EVER raids - but blames the Tories](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/30/12/91460933-0-image-a-21_1730291906670.jpg)
![Aston Martin’s losses narrow amid ramp up in new car models](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/30/08/c706b56a53be1eeb4e57591fd5549ef2Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMwMzYwNzc5-2.77651707.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)
![Millions of working people will suffer from Reeves’s first Budget, warns OBR](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/10/30/TELEMMGLPICT000399991652_17303064378460_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqA7N2CxnJWnYI3tCbVBgu9T0aesusvN1TE7a0ddd_esI.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Axing tax breaks for AIM stocks in Budget 'will leave small UK firms vulnerable to takeover'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/28/15/91376095-0-image-a-64_1730130688862.jpg)
![What are the chances of Rachel Reeves hitting YOUR wallet at the Budget? National insurance, capital gains and inheritance all in the crosshairs as 'tax bomb' looms](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/10/28/10/91361873-0-image-a-18_1730112813282.jpg)
![Reeves: Budget tax raid not enough to fix NHS](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2024/10/28/TELEMMGLPICT000399747690_17301498294570_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqb8bQrYT_NYcsTLFUxlVq2qm-fbppOv8V8RXF5zN8uUw.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Reeves tax raid risks £84bn black hole in public finances, say Truss-backed economists](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/business/2024/10/21/TELEMMGLPICT000398779741_17295346183630_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqD3d2dmOlWYuQkR76XZjLQKOylOV7i1cNNz18XOj47vE.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)
![Budget backlash intensifies as Rachel Reeves warned over inheritance tax hike](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/10/17/00/57ff4fba6e7f605dc9a07a52480069dbY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI5MTg0NTk1-2.77567291.jpg?quality=75&width=1200&auto=webp)