Company farmhouses

A farming company is controlled by our client (father) and his son is a minority shareholder. Father wants to give some shares outright to his son. The company balance sheet includes a considerable amount of farmland that the company farms in its own right.

The company also owns two farmhouses – one of which is occupied by father and one by his son and naturally there is considerable private use of the houses. Benefits in kind on the annual value are declared and paid on their occupation of the houses.

The company has owned the farms for many years and the reason there are two farmhouses is that originally two separate farms were acquired by the business.

The question posed is in relation to capital gains holdover relief under TCGA 1992 s 165...