Buying or putting a property into a UK ltd company

Does any one know the pros and cons of putting a Spanish property into a uk company so as to avoid death duties etc . There is one company that advertises a lot and says the costs are £5300 to action the placement and then £200 a year to submit reports to company house. 

Any thoughts or comments appreciated

douglas

Are you transferring an existing property to a new UK limited liability company or will this be a new purchase by the company, as the rules are very different? The figures you quote are a complete rip-off as you can easily buy a ready-made shelf company with full documentation for as little as £25.00. Some  formation companies will also include a UK bank account if a director is a UK resident. An annual return to Companies House is required and this is a nominal fee cost of £13.00 using the Companies House from no:  AR01. Accounts also need to be filed every year (no charge) and you can use form: AA02 Dormant Companies.

Everything can be done on-line and it is all very simple.

My wife and I have owned the property for 4 years so the deeds would presumably need amending + payment of plusvalia although that may even be negative. 

I understand that either last year or maybe the year before a law was passed that totally negated any advantage of carrying out this scheme. Be careful, be very careful as not only is it against the tax laws to do it but if one tries to surcumvent the tax there are severe penalties for doing it.

Stephen ,

thanks for the words of caution. The company is Wincham Internaional. You have probably come across them before and the scheme does sound very plausible 

I don't know the current situation but I do know in the past that several of the larger financial advisors have sucessfully recommended this strategy.  Many years ago I was involved on the periphery, as a notional director, in one company set up in Gibraltar for a relative who owned a property on CDS.  This was arranged by Blevins Franks who I believe are considered respectable.

I had a quick look at their website - couldn't see much detail, but they do have seminars in Spain which may be worth attending - http://www.blevinsfranks.com/Seminars