Readers forum: Order of phoenix

Order of phoenix

A client has been operating A Limited a successful trading company for a number of years during which it accumulated large cash reserves. The client approached us with a proposal which in effect aims to liquidate A Limited extracting cash reserves as capital (with £1m possibly under business assets disposal relief). Following this he plans to recommence similar activities by way of a newly incorporated company B Limited. This appears to be the type of arrangement that is caught by the anti-avoidance provisions in ITTOIA 2005 s 396B et seq – commonly referred as the ‘phoenixing provisions’. Indeed given that the provisions mostly refer to a ‘winding up’ I am wondering whether the position would alter at all if the client was to sell A Limited. This could be either to his wife or to an unconnected...