Turning a family business into family wealth

Meet Ian Luckett

Selling up is a major transition for any business owner – even more so when you’re the third generation of your family in charge.

For Ian Luckett, his family’s coach-travel business represented a lifetime’s hard work for himself, his brother, his father and grandfather – as well as the financial security of their loved ones. With the support of his financial adviser, Ian was able to realise the rewards of that hard work and secure his family’s future.

But it meant a big change. Founded by his grandfather, Lucketts Travel had always been a part of Ian’s life. He has fond memories of playing in the yard as a child with his older brother – and, later, co-director – Steve. Although he initially had no intention of joining the family firm, after leaving school he found himself assisting with some admin in the office.

“As with most small family businesses, it wasn’t long before I was engaged with all aspects,” says Ian. “We were growing quickly, so I needed to understand how everything ticked.” He and Steve took over the reins from their father, David, in the mid-1990s.

They first sought financial advice when setting up a pension scheme for the directors. Ian turned to an adviser he knew personally, who helped set up a workplace pension scheme for Lucketts Travel.

Ian needed an expert adviser who could take a holistic view – someone who could advise on the technical aspects of structuring his finances but also understood the personal stakes involved.

When his first adviser moved to a St. James’s Place Partner Practice based in the New Forest, its lead Partner, Adam, took over handling Ian’s affairs. As a pension specialist, he first advised on an alternative scheme for Lucketts directors’ pension. “Adam has done a really good job for us and really knows what he’s talking about. He’s attentive and always coming up with ideas for what we could be doing with our money,” says Ian.

“I'm not an expert, and that’s why I want experts around me. Things can change quickly – as we saw in the October 2024 Budget, when the government announced that pensions would be subject to Inheritance Tax in the next few years – so it’s vital to have experts looking out for our best interests at all times.”

Directors' pension 

As a director of a limited company, you can pay into your pension from your salary or through your company. Making pension contributions from the company could reduce your business’s taxable profits – and therefore your Corporation Tax bill.

Growing the business was the priority for Ian and Steve, who preferred to reinvest profits into the company rather than take a larger personal income. Under their leadership, they opened new markets and increased the fleet of vehicles. “In 1996, we started our own coach-holiday business, which ended up as one of the flagship products,” Ian says.

Despite the business going from strength to strength, there wasn’t a clear line of succession. Although both Ian and Steve had children, none of them showed an interest in getting involved in the company. “We decided we needed to build a strong management team around us so that, should the opportunity for a sale arise, there would be a strong business to pass on,” explains Ian.

He believes it can be difficult for business owners to know what is enough. Many spend their lives accumulating wealth without taking the time to enjoy it, he says.

“National Express was a significant customer and was looking to diversify its operation. They approached us to see if we would be open to a sale. It made good sense for the family and for the business,” says Ian.

They sold Lucketts Travel to National Express in February 2020. By that time, the business had 160 vehicles operating trips across the south of England, turning over £27 million a year.

Five years after the sale, Ian likes knowing that someone’s looking after his money for him, so he can concentrate on living life. Adam makes sure all personal tax allowances – such as Capital Gains, dividends and savings allowances – are taken advantage of, so Ian and Julie don’t pay any more tax than necessary.

“We were keen not to be a small, forgotten customer of some mega-corporation,” says Ian. “Whilst St James’s Place is one of the biggest wealth managers in the UK, their adviser network does offer that close, trusted feel, which is essential to investors like me.”

Adam and his team are always approachable, and the pair have regular review meetings to monitor their portfolio and talk through various investment options. “He has helped us re-adjust to our new lifestyle. He helped us get our heads around our long-term capital and income requirements so we could continue living in the manner we wanted to,” says Ian.

The family still own the four commercial properties that Lucketts used to operate from. The income from these provides Ian and Julie with enough to live on, so they haven’t needed to touch the investments from the sale.