Adding EOTs to your practice
The UK now has close to 3,000 employee-owned businesses and around 500 more transition every year, yet most owner-managed companies are still advised by firms that only know trade sales and private equity. That gap is a niche, and it is one an existing practice can add without building a low-volume, high-complexity capability from scratch.
The market, briefly
- Close to 3,000 employee-owned businesses in the UK, about 460,000 employee-owners, and roughly 500 transitions in 2025 (Employee Ownership Association register, September 2026).
- The tax gap widened, then narrowed, but did not close. Business Asset Disposal Relief rose from 10% to 14% to 18%; the EOT relief was halved to 50% in November 2025. A qualifying seller still pays an effective 12% against 18–24%.
- The small-company segment is under-advised. ICAEW’s own commentary has described owner-managed businesses being poorly advised on employee ownership as an exit, and expects EO to become a normal part of the succession discussion alongside trade and private equity.
- Complexity went up. The 30 October 2024 reforms added conditions a generalist has to master — or partner for.
What the niche looks like inside a practice
Revenue you currently refer away
Every succession conversation that ends in a referral to a corporate-finance boutique is a fee — and often a client — leaving the building. EOT delivery keeps both.A reason to be chosen
“We can take you through every exit route, including selling to your own team” is a differentiator most local firms cannot make.Work that continues
An employee-owned client needs trustee support, bonus-scheme administration and compliance every year. That is recurring work, and it stays with the firm that did the deal.
What it needs from you
Less than you might think:
- Someone who can spot the conversation. An owner in their late fifties with no successor, a capable second tier and a profitable, cash-generative business is an EOT candidate. Your partners already know who those clients are.
- A basic working understanding. Enough to explain the structure, the 12% position and the process. We can brief your partners and managers so you can do that credibly.
- A partner for the delivery. Valuation, trust deed, legal coordination, HMRC, employee comms and aftercare are what we do — behind your name if you want.
Training and CPD
We can run a practical session for firms adding EOTs to their offer: the structure, the tax as it stands after the 2024 and 2025 changes, how to spot a candidate, how feasibility works and what to say to the client. In your office or online, for partners and managers. Ask about a session.
Got a client this could fit?
A 20-minute call about your firm and the client you have in mind. You keep the client whatever happens.
- Fixed fees, agreed split
- Your name on the work
- No marketing to your client
No volume commitment. Most firms start with one client.
Written by Parag Patel | Strategy and Tax Planning Consultant
Parag leads the Exit Better team at JLA Accountants, advising owners on employee ownership, succession and the tax that comes with both.
About the team