Entrepreneurs & Exits: Navigating an Exodus

Panel Discussion Reveals 16,000 Millionaires Set to Leave UK as Investment Migration Programmes Reshape Global Wealth Flows

The Manchester Conference's most sobering session came during the mid-morning panel on "Entrepreneurs & Exits: Navigating the Current Environment," where a distinguished group of advisors painted a stark picture of Britain's wealth exodus whilst offering practical guidance for those staying and those departing.

The panel brought together Stuart Stobie (Director, Mosaic Chambers), Lee Ramsden (Chartered Financial Planner, Mosaic Wealth UK), Adam West (Partner, Gateley Legal), and Andrew Perchtold (Associate Director, Henley & Partners), who collectively represent the front lines of entrepreneur advisory services across tax, legal, financial planning, and investment migration.

The Scale of the Challenge

Andrew Perchtold delivered the session's most striking statistic: "Beginning of the year, we had a number that was reported around about 10,000 millionaires would be leaving the UK. We fast forward to today, we're probably predicting about 16,000 now. This is the biggest outflow of all nationalities across the world from the UK."

Perchtold described clients in their 60s and 70s, three generations deep into family businesses, planning liquidity events with private equity firms over the next three to five years—but deliberately ensuring those transactions don't take place in the UK. "It's stark how many really wealthy—and it is the very wealthy—are getting out," he emphasised.

The Stay-or-Go Dilemma

For entrepreneurs considering their options, Adam West outlined the current position for those staying: selling a business today yields 14% tax on the first million under Business Asset Disposal Relief, with everything above taxed at 24% on a pure cash sale. "Not too bad in the grand scheme of things," he noted, though far worse than several years ago.

However, West revealed sophisticated deferral structures increasingly being deployed. By establishing holding company structures before a sale, entrepreneurs can potentially defer capital gains tax until they cease being UK tax-resident, creating optionality for future migration.

Stuart Stobie emphasized that many entrepreneurs who stay do so not from tax considerations but because "they still want to grow the company. They still have an affinity with this country." Family ties prove decisive in many cases, with Stobie recounting countless conversations where enthusiastic exit plans collapse when spouses refuse to leave established social networks and children's education.

The Broken Welcome Mat

A particularly frustrating theme emerged around UK immigration policy. While the Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime introduced from April 2025 offers genuine advantages—allowing newcomers to dispose of offshore businesses tax-free during their first four years of UK residence—getting into the country proves nearly impossible.

"The problem is these individuals can't find a way to get in," West explained. The Tier One Investor Visa, which required £2 million investment, was "shut down overnight" several years ago. Rather than improving due diligence, the government simply removed the programme entirely.

Perchtold reported that the UK Innovator Founder Programme exists but proves impractical upon examination. “Anecdotally, if the UK were to offer one thousand citizenships by investment, staggered over five years, 200 applications per year, with an investment of £10m, the industry would likely fill all 200 spots every year,” he stated confidently. Perchtold’ s intention with this “hypothetical” example was to highlight the lost revenue opportunity for the United Kingdom.

“Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the top 10 countries attracting wealthy millionaires all offer investment migration options to attract foreign direct investment”.

Meanwhile, Stuart Stobie noted potential investors from Hong Kong and mainland China, who once viewed the UK as a safe haven jurisdiction, now perceive they're "not welcome to a certain extent."

The Exit Process

For those determined to leave, the panel provided a masterclass in tax-efficient departure. West emphasized the importance of the Statutory Residence Test, which offers relatively black-and-white guidance but requires ongoing monitoring. One client maintains "the most amazing spreadsheet with different colours" tracking hours worked in the UK to ensure compliance.

The standard requirement: five full tax years of non-residence to avoid UK capital gains tax on business disposals, though split-year treatment can apply for those going overseas for full-time work.

Perchtold outlined the bifurcated approach many clients now take: using the UAE for quick tax residency establishment (achievable within two months) whilst simultaneously pursuing

European Golden Visas in Portugal or Italy for long-term optionality. “UAE is used as a

stepping stone, but most of my clients do UAE along with pursuing a European mobility solution,” he explained.

Pre and Post-Exit Planning

Lee Ramsden emphasized the critical importance of engaging 12-24 months before an exit. "We act as the glue with the professional advisors," he explained, working closely with corporate finance advisors, corporate lawyers, and tax advisors to link transaction planning with life after business.

Post-sale structures typically involve three layers: liquidity for short-term spending, longer-term investment plans (potentially including offshore bonds if emigration is contemplated), and pension funding. For wealthy clients staying in the UK, Family Investment Companies have become increasingly popular.

Ramsden also highlighted the often-overlooked emotional dimension: "Entrepreneurs like to control the money. When they're in their business, they have some control and understand it. Suddenly you talk about putting money into global financial markets and diversification, and they don't like it."

A Counterproductive Circle

Perhaps the session's most damning observation came from Perchtold, who noted the profound irony of the current situation: "You've got tax advisers, UK-based tax advisors sitting on the panel here, who if they're advising their client would be advising that offshore structures are the most efficient way to utilise these structures for transactions."

The tax advice from intermediaries on the ground in the UK is, if doing clients justice, to advise utilizing offshore structures—requiring residency or citizenship elsewhere. "We've got clients who want to generate UK revenue, want to keep transactions in the UK, but the advice from the actual advisors is to shift the transaction outside of the country. It's counterproductive."

As the panel concluded, the message was unambiguous: Britain's policy choices are accelerating capital flight whilst simultaneously making inward investment difficult, creating what one attendee later described as "the worst of all possible worlds" for wealth retention and economic growth.