Expert Financial Advisers for Business Owners

Financial Planning help and advice for business owners, directors, the self-employed and entrepreneurs.

Specialist Financial Advice for Successful Businesses and New Businesses

Running a successful business can be a time-consuming and complex affair requiring your undivided attention. So, finding time to focus on your personal financial and wealth planning can be a real challenge. Even when starting a new business venture you will need specialist financial advice to ensure you make the best decisions, this is where Redwood Financial can help.

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Our Financial Advisers have over 20 years of experience and expertise helping business owners to grow, protect and enjoy their wealth. We’ll work with you to understand your financial goals and objectives to create a financial and wealth plan that is structured to deliver the most tax-efficient return and protection for your business, your personal hard-earned wealth, and your legacy.

Our Financial & Estate Planning Services

Our advisers have a wealth of experience in Financial & Estate Planning. We can help all our Business Clients with the following advice:

Protecting your business and personal wealth

As a business owner, it is all too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operation of your business and not give a thought to what might happen if you or a business partner should die.

We can help you to ensure your Will & Estate Planning are correctly drafted to protect your business and your wealth against Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Care Fees, Divorce, and Bankruptcy.

We can explain and execute Cross Option Agreements, Business Wills, and Lasting Powers of Attorney so that you and your business partners are fully protected.

Protecting your loved one’s inheritance

We all want to leave a financial legacy as well as a legacy of a life well-lived for our loved ones when we are no longer alive. That is true for business owners and non-business owners alike.

If you are a business owner, however, then the risk or wealth erroring to your Estate can be far greater without the right advice and Estate Planning. Our expert financial advisor for business owners will guide you through the right Estate and Financial Planning solutions to meet your unique needs.

Cross Option Agreements for business partners

When you are a business owner with other partners or shareholders, an unexpected and unplanned for death of one of you can lead to considerable issues for the surviving partners.

A Cross Option Agreement should be entered into by all shareholders of a private limited company, under which each shareholder grants to the other shareholders the right to purchase their shares, exercisable on their death, and take out life insurance policies, which are written in Trust for the other option holders.

These agreements are vital to the continued smooth operation of the business. It can also help your loved ones greatly. Perhaps they have no interest in inheriting your share of the business and taking on the role of running or helping to run it.

What if you as the deceased were the main shareholder and now your spouse had to run the business? Maybe you were the minority shareholder and the majority shareholder died. Would you want to carry on running the business with someone who knew little about it and yet continued to take a larger share of the profits?

Redwood’s Estate & Financial Planning expertise can help you find the right solutions to protect everyone with an interest in your business and Estate to minimise and mitigate unnecessary Inheritance Taxation, Capital Gains Taxation, and future wealth erosion risks like relationship breakdowns and divorce.

Business Wills & Powers of Attorney

If you die without leaving a Will in England and Wales, your property, money, assets, and possessions will be shared out according to the Rules of Intestacy. That’s the legal term which means that the state will decide who inherits what from your Estate, in what order, and by what percentage split. This can include your share of any business you own!

The result of this process can be that the elements that make up your Estate can pass to someone you hadn’t intended to be a recipient, or that someone you want to pass things on to receives nothing.

We would always business owners to put both a Personal Will and a Business Will in place to fully protect their loved ones, their business partners, and the business itself from unnecessary wealth erosion.

While a Will is there to protect others when you are no longer here, a Lasting Power of Attorney is there to look after you when you no longer have the physical or mental capacity to do so yourself.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is currently one of the most important documents you could ever create as it is the only way to ensure your health and assets can be managed how you would want them to be, should you lose capacity during your lifetime.

If you are a business owner, you and your fellow business owners should consider putting Business Powers of Attorney in place to allow the other shareholders to make the right operational and financial decisions for the continued successful future of the business. This might include for example decisions around finances, management, investments, income, assets, services, planning, and business expansion.

Mitigating unnecessary Capital Gains Tax and 40% Inheritance Tax on your Business

Let’s consider that Director A and Director B own a 50/50 share of a business valued at two million pounds and that Director A suddenly dies in a road traffic accident, leaving a spouse and two children.

The surviving spouse decides they don’t want anything to do with the business and so agrees to sell the share they have inherited to Director B. Now they have one million pounds in their own Estate which is liable to Capital Gains tax and eventually when they die, Inheritance Taxation at 40%!

With the right financial planning and the use of the right Trusts, our Advisers can help you to mitigate these risks and protect the business wealth for those you intended to be the recipients of your hard-earned wealth.

Your Pension & Retirement Plan

The vast majority of business owners love their business and are passionate about working within it. However, there comes a time in life when most want to take things a little easier, or maybe hand over the reins to an adult child, perhaps to even sell up and enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Whatever exit route you are considering from your business, robust financial planning will be key to delivering a successful Retirement Plan. The sooner you start to think about and implement a Retirement Plan the greater the chances are to achieve it.

Redwood Family Wealth & Estate Planners Limited are Chartered Financial Planners and can provide a wealth of expertise and advice around Pensions, Investments, Tax management, personal and business finances, Insurance, income planning, and wealth management.

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and have over two decades of experience helping our Clients to grow, protect and enjoy their wealth.

Personal Investments

Our Investment Advisors are Certified Financial Planners who are qualified to provide investment advice and can recommend a wide range of retail investment products that could meet your Financial Planning needs and objectives.

Our qualified Investment Advisors are able to advise on products that are not available from the traditional high street banks and building societies, which means we can help long term investors invest into the stock market to maximise their growth opportunities from their investments, whilst also advising you on how to improve the taxation and charges in your Investment Portfolio.

We do this by firstly understanding and establishing your investment goals.

What are you building your wealth for? When do you need to achieve this goal by?
What level of growth do you need or are looking to target?
Do you need capital growth, income, or both?
Do you need access to capital and if so, how quickly?
How much risk are you prepared to take to reach your goal?

Only once we have established a clear investment objective and goal with you, can our Investment Advisors start to analyse your existing investments and create an Investment Recommendation Plan designed to meet your goals, whilst reducing your costs and charges, improving the tax efficiency of your investment, and deliver your targeted returns in line with your attitude to risk.

Why is using a Financial Advisor important as a business owner?

Most people do not want to gamble with their life savings on stocks and shares in a market they may know little about. Long-term investments should be about growing your money to get the best return at the lowest risk. A good Advisor will provide you with professional, unbiased financial advice to help you get the returns you need to achieve your financial goals.

Our Investment Advisors will guide you through the options and explain the risks and benefits of different investment products and opportunities. They will even tell you about ones you never knew existed!

Our Chartered status as a Financial Planning provider, coupled with the fact that we are registered, authorised, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority gives you the confidence that we are a professional and trusted financial services provider.

Do you need a Financial Advisor?

We would always recommend that you take professional advice before you decide to invest your money. If you are looking at any financial products, which are not simply held in cash, it pays to get professional, qualified advice from an Investment Specialist. This fully advised route also gives you the most consumer protection, should anything with your Investment go wrong. For more information please see our post on when’s the best time to hire a Financial Advisor.

Free Business Owner Estate Planning Webinar

We are pleased to offer you access to our fast-paced Business Owner Estate Planning Webinar free of charge and obligation.

You might not realise that running your own Business can dramatically change your Estate Planning needs, as well as your Inheritance Tax position.

In this FREE Business Owner Estate Planning Webinar you will learn:

The pitfalls of failing to plan and what happens to your share of the business if you die
The critical importance of Cross Option Agreements for joint business owners
What happens to your share of the business if you don’t have a Will
The risks to your Estate from Divorces, Marriages and Relationship Breakdowns without the right Planning
The importance of Business Wills and Business Lasting Powers of Attorney
How to mitigate paying unnecessary Capital Gains Tax and 40% Inheritance Tax on your Business
How to use your Will to protect your home and money against Care Fees Assessment

Talk to Redwood Financial

At Redwood Financial, we believe in treating Clients as people, not just as a number. This “family” philosophy makes our company unique amongst many other financial advisers and is something we are very proud of.

What makes us different is our ability to work with individuals, business partners, and in particular families as we believe helping families is the most important and rewarding thing we can do.

Our experts are ready to help secure your legacy for your loved ones and your business partners.

Just fill in our website contact form!

Contact Us

Do you have a question you would like to ask us? Please complete our website contact form:

Free Business Owner Estate Planning Webinar

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Trusted by our clients

Google Rating

4.9

Based on 83 reviews

Redwood Financial, Droxford, Hampshire

4.9

Bernard C.

Great service and professional advice from both Jasmine and Steve - also from the rest of the team at Redwood. More than happy to recommend them!

Ian B.

Very helpful and people that know what they're talking about.Definitely recommend Redwood Financial.

Nick T.

Thank you Steve, for tea and meeting this afternoon on a couple of issues, which you made clearer.

Martin P.

So far so good with service we are receiving from all the team at Redwood. Complex issues explained clearly and we do not feel any pressure to rush into any decision. well done

Colin E.

I had a complimentary will review with Steve and he offered extrmely good advice. He quickly identified what I needed in my will and directed me as to the best course of action to take. I have also worked with Jasmine on my pension portfolio and that experience has been excellent too. Redwood have provided good service and offer good value for money.

Jacqui F.

G P

Excellent consult with Steve for estate planning advice .Honest and relevant .Strongly recommend .

Neeraj P.

Steve was fantastic and is very knowledgeable and gave us very useful information. Will be coming back for our 2nd consultation.

Graham F.

Always professional and makes you feel at ease and explains everything clearly

Maggie F.

Jasmine was amazing, so professional, put John (who has learning difficulties) at ease with his writing his will. Very kind. Stuart said myself would use and recommend jasmine and Redwood Financial to all our family and friends. Thank you jazz

Rob Med4th (.

Steve took us through everything and explained thoroughly

Debbie M.

Very thorough and an excellent service

Dan M.

Very friendly and good explanation of topics

Paul W

Tom D.

We sort of "inherited" Redwood when our previous IFA retired. We have found their service and their estate planning to be really helpful, responsive, and easy to digest. The services they provide are well worth taking advantage of.

John

Steve has done an excellent job in explaining estate planning to us, a lot of information to take in. So we found the Wills, Trust & Estate Planning Webinar very useful.You can take in the information at your own pace.Would highly recommend Redwood Financial Services.

Pearl C.

Steve and Jasmine and the Redwood team are amazing. Redwood having been at our side for a number years now providing pension and investment guidance and we are very happy with their services, professionalism and kindness. Redwood are now helping us to navigate through the minefield of estate planning and securing the arrangements we need. I have slept better since our last meeting with Steve! Can't thank you enough for all your help. Really invaluable!

Natasha N.

We are grateful for Steve’s candid advice and wisdom. In a sea of questions, it was a relief to get a clearer understanding of the factors affecting our decision making process, and a referral to another expert on topics outside of Steve’s wheelhouse.

Klaus L.

An absolutely professional and enjoyable experience! Jasmine Lambert introduced me to Redwood Financials’ Services and guided me through the entire process of choosing the right investment strategy and setting up my pension accounts. It turned out to be easy to understand and I feel safe with the decisions I made and the fact that Redwood Financial are taking care of my investments from here on. At the same time, I have all the control and information I need to stay in control of my portfolios.

Adrian J.

"I cannot recommend my financial advisor enough! They are truly personal, trustworthy, and passionate about helping their clients achieve their financial goals. From the moment I started working with them, I felt like they had my best interests at heart. They took the time to get to know me and my financial situation, and they provide me with personalized advice that has helped me make smart financial decisions. I trust them completely and feel confident that they are always looking out for my best interests. If you're looking for a financial advisor who truly cares about their clients, look no further.

Antony J.

This morning I had a really useful meeting with Steve, he guided me through the maze in clear and simple approach to a complex situation. Much appreciated, will be in touch again soon.

Tim W.

Excellent care and attention

Lloyd T.

Fantastic to deal with. Steve and his team took great care with our family and have always provided nothing but brilliant advice and support.

Amanda O.

I have been supported by Redwood Financial for about twenty years. Initially with my investments and more latterly with my Estate Planning. They are always very responsive and proactive, ensuring that I receive the best guidance in a timely manner. I trust them explicitly and have recommended them to my parents and brother who have also benefited from their services.

Ben H.

Neither my wife nor I have any experience of dealing with investment finances but we have been given great service by Redwood and made to feel very comfortable about how to proceed.We have just had our annual review and everything was explained very clearly. Obviously, such things as Covid and the (in)famous mini budget have caused real problems in recent months but our own problems have not been as great as they might have been if people with real expertise had not been 'looking after' us. I would recommend Redwood without reservation to anyone looking for expert help.

Clare P.

My husband and I have used the Redwood team for personnel and business services for years now and find them very professional and love the way they always make us feel so comfortable and supported. We always recommend them to our friends and family.

Emma R.

Steve and the team at Redwood have been and continue to be thoroughly professional, polite and patient in helping our immediate and wider family in the delicate matter or Wills and estate planning. Thank you.

Jim S.

I have been working with the team at Redwood both on a personallevel for my own affairs as well as advice and guidance with my company matters. They have been extremely professional in every respect, and I would be more than happy to recommend anybody needing help with wills, Estate, Pension or Financial matters to contact them.

Bob P.

Different to so many other people today, Steve always knows what he is talking about and his clarity on money issues,combined with the personal understanding of our individuals need, is remarkable. Always feel refreshed and secure after reviewing our financial position with Steve

Paul J.

Visited Redwood this week for my annual review. Steve gave some great advice and helped me make decisions about my investments and saving.Thank you Steve and the team.

Michael M.

Friendly, yet highly professional service for our wills and an equity release. We would thoroughly recommend Redwood.

Jane P.

Redwood has looked after my Mothers financial affairs for many years and always provide her with excellent professional advice and customer service. Highly recommend.

Andrew B.

Excellent 6 month review with Nicola. Everything well prepared and comprehensive answers to all questions.

Peter B.

My partner and I have been supported by Redwood for about the last 12 years. Throughout this period they have given a great service, marked out by how they work very hard to get to know you as a person and support you accordingly. I have been approached a few times by competitors but have zero interest in moving my business. I recommend anyone considering using an independent financial adviser to speak with Redwood first.

Monica P.

Steve has been advising us on our financial situation for over 20 years and I feel that he has never imposed his thoughts on our decision making.He is knowledgeable, helpful and very professional.We have recommended several friends and acquaintances who have all been very happy with the direction in which their finances have grown. Well done Steve and your team.

Thomas M.

Would recommend, Steve has been really helpful with answering my queries. Thanks!

Michael P.

I have been receiving financial advice from Redwood during the past year and have found the company ti be highly professional, knowleadgeable and friendly in the services that they provide. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone seeking a range of financial planning services. Mike Pinard

R C

Excellent first meeting: Friendly and informal. but thorough and business-like. Eye-opening information provided in down-to-earth language. Financial planning can be enjoyable, it seems!

Jos

Me and my husband had our first meeting with Steve this week to discuss our Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning. I cannot tell you enough how he opened our eyes to many things we’d not thought of or have not thought through properly before. He explained things in such a way it was really easy to understand and made complete sense to us and we realise now exactly what we need. He was very professional, friendly, (and patient when my internet wouldn’t connect) and he explained the process and next steps for us. We have received our post meeting letter & documentation already. We are very impressed and we are very happy with our decision to continue all services with Redwood. Highly recommend, thank you so much!

Sarah C

Been a Redwood customer for a several years, the team is efficient and professional, complex issues are addressed with a personalised approach and explained in easy to understand language..all jargon is clarified enabling informed decisions! Steve and Jasmine certainly know their stuff and lead this family business with care and credibility.

Mary L.

Great conference as always, everything I needed.

Jacqui W.

Recently, we had our Annual Review with Redwood Financial, which was more in depth than usual because of potential significant changes to our financial plans due to age. As always, Steve was excellent utilising his expertise of the financial world to layout practical options.We have been with Redwood for very many years and advice has always been sound and given without any pressure to adopt any specific product. The advice always being tailored to our needs and current resources.Everyone at Redwood treats us with courtesy and all enquiries are dealt with expeditiously. The company has our complete trust and we would recommend them to anyone seeking honest, expert and impartial advice on financial matters.

Mark A.

Could not recommend Redwood more highly. Having children was the trigger for us to ensure our affairs were in order, and with expert, clear but understandable advice from Steve, Julie and the team we put our wills and estate planning in place. We now have peace of mind that should anything happen to either or both of us, the rest of our families will be looked after. We feel totally confident that we have the right solution in place for us, and that is testament to the service we have received throughout from the Redwood team. The quality and professionalism of the team was matched only by their friendly and approachable manner, and I would recommend a visit to their website to watch their estate planning webinar if nothing else. It shocked us and many of the friends & family we have recommended. Thank you Redwood and if you're reading this wondering whether or not to use their services, do it and you won't be disappointed!

Ajay J.

Good all round advise and help. Good follow up and communication.

Lynn F.

It was great to be invited to a Redwood Informal coffee morning on 29th October. Good covid precautions in place. It was a comfortable area to have a coffee and useful chat with Steve. Had previously attended a Redwood Estate Planning seminar. Both these encounters with Redwood convinced me of them being a professional and capable company to deal with. In addition I am impressed by the accessibility of information on their web site.Thanks to Chloe too.

Elaine E.

Let me put it plainly - Redwood Financial is the only place I will ever go to for information on all financial and legal matters.They spend time with you explaining all the relevant information and answer any questions that you need to ask.What I best like is going into the offices and being welcomed by the staff who know my name and ask me how I am.I have been with them for many years when they started off and had a little office in Cosham.Its a wonderful establishment - very family orientated - and have a wealth of information amongst their team.I rate them 150% and can recommend them without hesitation.Keep up the excellent work - love coming into the office to see you all.

Mark S.

We recommend Redwood highly. We have been taken through the complex estate planning process with care, clarity and diligence. Given that we work in the legal sector ourselves, our decision to place our estate planning in the hands of professional colleagues who specialise in the work, rather than trying to do it ourselves, should speak for itself.

Bernard W.

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Dealing with Jasmine and her firm has been an absolute pleasure. Practical, sensible and kind advice, in sometimes difficult circumstances, with total efficiency and dedication. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone else who needs some help with their financial circumstances.

Excellent friendly service with positive advice. Made us feel relaxed and at ease with sorting out our pensions. Everything taken care of and explained in detail that was easy to understand. Would recommend.

Practical down to earth advice, no pressure, and very supportive. I now have a set of plans in place that have ensured my estate will be well managed in the future in the way I would wish it to be, for the benefit of my family.

I cannot thank the staff at Redwood enough, especially Sophie as she has been so patient and caring to my needs. I have found them to be highly professional and efficient in executing their often delicate and personal work. Would highly recommend their services.

Throughout our dealings with the firm, all the representatives we have dealt with have been very courteous, patient and friendly, which has made the experience a pleasure; in fact, nothing has been too much trouble for them and at no stage have they made us feel inadequate in asking too many or too simple questions, or in requiring too obvious explanations.

Steve Blofield and his team are excellent! Friendly and helpful advice is readily at hand and has opened my eyes to the importance of estate planning. A brief phone conversation is always followed by a comprehensive email. This firm deserves its awards and excellent reputation.

Jasmine Lambert

Jasmine was awarded the British Young Practitioner of the Year in 2018. She is a qualified Chartered Financial Planner and full member of Society of Will Writers.