The Adapt IHT Service is popular with clients looking for a more efficient and straightforward estate planning solution. Clients can invest to achieve IHT relief after just two years (and provided investments are still held at time of death).

The Service focuses on underlying investments qualifying for Business Relief (BR) in turn delivering IHT relief. This contrasts with traditional estate planning methods – such as gifts and trusts – which require a seven-year wait for full IHT exemption while also being costly and complex to manage. 

The Adapt IHT Service invests in firms operating across renewable energy generation, property development finance, asset-backed lending and forestry. As well as offering important portfolio diversification, this flexible investment structure lets us make decisions that suit the current investment landscape, gives us additional opportunities to capitalise on important investment trends, and helps to ensure the investments achieve their target returns.

Clients retain access to their capital and are able to make full or partial withdrawals should their situation change. Clients can also take a regular payment from their investment or leave the capital invested.

Click here to find out more about the Adapt IHT Portfolios.

Our Adapt AIM Portfolios are a discretionary service where investors hold shares in Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed companies that meet the qualification requirements for BR. These can deliver a swift two-year 100% IHT relief for investors, while ensuring clients maintain control over their assets and benefit from the return potential offered by investing in AIM.

Investing in smaller companies, including those on AIM, requires a great deal of skill and expertise. As AIM shares are eligible to be held in ISAs, the Adapt AIM Portfolios combine the attractive tax benefits of an ISA with IHT relief due from investing in companies eligible for BR.

The Adapt AIM Portfolios offer the choice of an Income or Growth Portfolio. These differ in both the selection of underlying investee companies and the treatment of any dividends received into client accounts.

Click here to find out more about our Adapt AIM Portfolios.

Blackfinch has developed a corporate investment solution which is designed to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for surplus capital held within a business. It targets a competitive return of 4-6% p.a. yet with no upper limit.

In delivering the Corporate Management Service, we work under a management agreement with business owners to make excess cash work harder from within their company. As the capital stays within the business, the owners remain in control.

Under this agreement, Blackfinch helps business owners to develop a trading strategy – based on both asset-backed and property development lending – which can be tailored to their own risk profiles and return expectations. While owners focus on day-to-day operations, Blackfinch works alongside them to ensure the trading strategy and business plan can be achieved.

The service enables business clients to maintain attractive tax reliefs. As surplus cash within a trading company may be deemed an ‘excepted asset’ for BR purposes, by trading this cash into a qualifying lending trade it could also help restore BR on the capital and reduce IHT charges. The service can also help to increase the availability of Business Asset Disposal Relief (formerly Entrepreneurs’ Relief) and lower Capital Gains Tax charges.

Click here to find out more about the Corporate Management Service.

The Blackfinch Ventures EIS Portfolios are our latest offering as an established EIS investment provider, fully aligned with updated government requirements. They bring access to EIS tax benefits along with the prospect of significant returns from investments high-growth firms with technological potential.

The Ventures team identifies innovative EIS-qualifying firms across sectors, investing in disruptive businesses with strong founding teams. By spreading investments across a multi-sector portfolio of ten companies, investment risk can be reduced, mitigating the effect of companies that underperform or fail. In this way, we are able to focus on companies with the potential to succeed, targeting a 3x return and aiming to deliver this over timeframes of four to seven years.

Our team of experts in early stage investing brings major differentiators in the form of privileged deal flow and active support for companies, from investment to development to exit, focused on strong exits for investors. Our close involvement with companies helps to reduce risk. We also co-invest alongside investors, further ensuring alignment of interests. The portfolios have received accreditation from MJ Hudson Allenbridge.

Click here out more about the Blackfinch Ventures EIS Portfolios.

The Blackfinch Spring VCT forms part of our suite of tax-efficient solutions. It brings exposure to the technology sector, enabling clients to further diversify their portfolios. This is along with access to VCT tax benefits, including 30% Income Tax relief, and the prospect of tax-free dividends. The VCT has received accreditation from MJ Hudson Allenbridge.

The VCT invests in a diversified range of technology-enabled companies at a growth stage of development, so bringing a higher chance of success. Blackfinch has announced it is paying its first dividend in 2024, with an intention to continue to pay future annual dividends, along with special dividends, where appropriate, from the proceeds of successful exits of portfolio companies that are not reinvested. Clients can also consider whether to reinvest any dividends for further 30% Income Tax relief.

Blackfinch co-invests alongside investors. The VCT is differentiated by the Blackfinch Ventures team of experts in early stage investing, which includes entrepreneurs and technology specialists. Focused on high-quality deal flow, the team sources firms using extensive networks, cutting-edge research platforms and stringent criteria, all of which set the Blackfinch Spring VCT apart.

As the Ventures team advises on investments for both the Blackfinch Spring VCT and Blackfinch Ventures EIS Portfolios, this brings the advantage of deep knowledge, experience and past data on companies.

Click here to find out more about the Blackfinch Spring VCT.