Fred Done Moves Property Group to Jersey Before Rachel Reeves Tax Change
Fred Done moved the Fred Done Property Trading Group to Jersey on March 24, less than two weeks before Rachel Reeves changed inheritance tax rules for family-owned businesses. The property business, which develops and sells residential and commercial real estate, is now held through a trust.
Lawyers cited in the report said the structure could save tens of millions in taxes. The company is understood to remain a UK taxpayer, and Done and his family remain UK taxpayers for inheritance tax purposes.
Rachel Reeves and business relief
Before April 6, family-owned businesses were exempt from inheritance tax under Business Property Relief. Since April 6, the Treasury has capped that exemption and charges inheritance tax on assets above £2.5 million at a reduced rate of 20 percent. The Fred Done Property Trading Group would likely have qualified before the rule change.
Christopher Groves, a partner at Withers, said “a number of clients are looking to make similar moves to Mr Done as a result of the Labour government's changes to the business property relief exemption, or to leave the UK entirely”. He also said “some businesses cannot withstand the financial burden of their founders dying under the new rules”.
Done family tax position
Fred Done and his brother Peter were the largest taxpayers in Britain last year, paying £400 million in tax. About half of that bill came from gambling duty on Betfred betting shops. The family’s net worth is estimated at almost £3 billion, while Betfred operates more than 1,600 betting shops across the UK.
Groves also said “certain clients face a tax charge so large it is uninsurable, and the consequences for their businesses are so significant that they cannot afford to remain in the UK” and that “the concern is not about what the tax saves the deceased, but about what it would do to the business they spent a lifetime building”.
Manchester financing link
The property group’s projects include a 41-storey apartment-and-hotel complex in Manchester, developed by Gary Neville’s Relentless Group. Done’s company provided financing for the project. For family-owned businesses weighing similar restructurings, the immediate question is whether ownership changes made before April 6 can shield future inheritances from the capped relief now in force.
