Ask your accountant about Family Investment Companies (FICs) and BTL

For years, we Mortgage Advisers nudged landlords towards a vanilla SPV because it gave access to a bigger mortgage market.

That is still true, but the gap is not what it used to be.

Mortgage Advisers now have lenders who are comfortable with Family Investment Companies (FICs). In the right case, we can arrange a 5-year fix at 5.94% with no product fee, subject to lender criteria and product availability.

That matters because many landlords like the idea of a FIC, but for years have been told the financing will be impractical and expensive.

An FIC is neither very special nor a new invention. It is a limited company used for family wealth planning. Usually, the parents keep control through voting shares (A Shares). Future growth can then sit with other family members or trusts (B Shares), depending on the structure.

It can help with succession planning. It can help parents retain control while moving future growth outside their estates to mitigate inheritance tax.

However, A FIC is not a quick tax hack.

If you move existing properties into one from a personal name, CGT and SDLT can bite. If trusts are involved, inheritance tax charges may arise every 10 years.

If you like the planning benefits of a FIC, do not dismiss it because of the mortgage side.

If you are considering an FIC, speak to your accountant first. Then speak to a broker who knows which lenders will consider them.

Why People Use FICs

• You give away the assets for IHT.
• You keep control (via A shares/votes).
• You keep access to income (dividends + tax-free loan repayments).
• All future growth is moved outside your estate.
• Can be done on new SPVs.
• Can convert existing SPVs.
• Can "incorporate" personal portfolio into FIC (CGT+SDLT)

Best for people in their 50s–70s with reasonable life expectancy and estates £1.5M–£2M+ (especially property portfolios).