Machine headache

A family-owned trading company client was short of funds in 2006 so it decided to sell and finance lease back some of its mobile heavy plant and machinery for about £50 000.

In 2007 it found that it no longer needed the majority of the leased assets and thought it had found a third-party purchaser. The finance company sold the assets to my client 'as agent' and walked away but unfortunately the third party purchaser also went away and it appears that my client has been left with the assets to sell. My client is trying to find other buyers for the assets piecemeal as cash is no longer so tight but this could take time. Presumably any profit my client now makes on a sale is taxed as a trading profit and if they are not sold by the company's year-end how should...