The substantial shareholdings exemption was not available on a company’s disposal of shares in a subsidiary as those shares were owned by a company in a group for less than 12 months. 

Summary 

The substantial shareholdings exemption (SSE) was not available on a company’s disposal of shares in a subsidiary as those shares were owned by a company in a group for less than 12 months. 

Background 

The appellant company, which was wholly owned by an individual (PJ), traded as a stand-alone company prior to 29 June 2015. In 2015, PJ started to receive interest from potential buyers of the business and, therefore, decided to take advice as to the most tax-efficient way of structuring the sale. 

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