UK family investment company (FIC)
A family investment company is an ordinary UK private company, funded by a founder and owned partly by the next generation, that invests for the long term. Its main advantages are that most dividends it receives are exempt from corporation tax, profits are taxed at corporation tax rates rather than personal rates while retained, and growth can be passed to children without an immediate inheritance tax charge. It remains UK resident wherever the founder goes, which is both its strength and its limit for people leaving the UK.
- UK-resident families with a substantial portfolio who want to reinvest income at 25% rather than 45% and pass growth to children with control retained.
- Founders after an exit who will stay in the UK and want a long-term vehicle for the proceeds.
Reviewed 2026-09-29. Research, not advice.