Our clients Mr and Mrs Mortimer hold all the shares in a trading company Mortimer Ltd which they formed in 1995. It continues to be profitable and owns some valuable plant and machinery although it is not taking on new contracts. Mr and Mrs M formed a trading company (Mortimer Services Ltd) with their son in 2004 holding the shares equally and it is this company which is developing into a very profitable business. The trades in the two companies are complementary with the new company providing many of the services that are also provided by the older company. Mr and Mrs M want to reduce their involvement in the businesses and to begin this process they have proposed that Mortimer Services Ltd (‘Services’) buys all the shares in Mortimer Ltd (‘Mortimer’) using its own funds....
