Contractor company to equestrian business

[CantDecide]

I am sure the first advice would be to speak to my accountant - I have and they were not that helpful as deal with contractors only, so I am after a bit of general advice before potentially finding another accountant.

Been a contractor only for a short while but have a Limited company with a small amount of funds in (VAT registered). Will likely be stopping contacting this year and about to develop an equestrian yard which ultimately will have some business use (liveries etc).

So my question is can I do this through my company to save the VAT (which will be quite considerable) and run as a business? I own the land personally so presume I would need to lease the land to the company, I would also need to loan the money for development to the business. Is this viable, can it be done with the existing company or should a new one be set up?

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice!

[jonsp]

You can certainly rent/lease land you own to your company. Obviously at fair market rate, you can't charge some silly amount.

You can also loan money to the company which would be repaid over time.

If you're VAT registered you can of course reclaim VAT on stuff you need to buy to get your business up and running. This would presumably mean the VAT man paying you (purchases > sales) rather than you paying him in the early stages.

If you're starting a new enterprise wouldn't it make things much easier to start a new company for this purpose and register the new company for VAT. Unless there's some good reason you want to do this through your existing company?

[Eric Mc]

Letting of land is normally Exempt from VAT and that can have ramifications if you are trying to recover Input VAT on your costs.

Talk to an accountant - preferably one with a broader spread of knowledge than the one you have at the moment.

[48k]

In terms of admin it's highly likely you will need to change the company's articles of association and SIC code. And re-evaluate your insurance cover.

Regarding the livery yard business, definitely try and find an accountant who has experience in that area. There are some rules around when you can and can't charge VAT to your clients depending on the type of livery services being offered.

[LooneyTunes]

If the land and/or buildings are currently agricultural, take some proper advice from someone who understands this sort of business as the tax treatment (on many fronts ranging from business rates through to IHT) could well be impacted. There are some things horse related that are agricultural but some that are not, so well worth treading carefully.

We have some similar interests but have separated the land ownership, facilities ownership, and operating company (which leases from both of the former and delivers services) in order to deliver what we need. If you go down the route of leasing any land or buildings, get advice and think through whether they should be opted for tax: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/opting-to-tax-land-and...

I am sure you’re aware that liveries will manage to fall out with each other (or everyone!) about pretty much anything imaginable… you’re braver than me if you plan on being actively involved.