Member Article

Tower Street Finance targets inheritance delays with £15m funding line

Harrogate-based Tower Street Finance has secured a £15m funding line and is targeting inheritance delays with products that make it easier and quicker for people to access their inheritance.

Its Inheritance Tax (IHT) Loan helps the thousands of families each year who are denied access to their loved-one’s legacy because they can’t afford the tax bill; and its Inheritance Advance is a product for beneficiaries who want to access their inheritance more quickly than the 9 to 12 months it usually takes.

Both products, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, are unique in the Probate sector because there are no credit checks, personal liability, monthly payments or charges over assets, and are repaid from the Estate, not by the borrower.

Tower Street Finance managing director Andrew Bartle said: “We identified a gap in the market for products that help beneficiaries and executors facing inheritance and Probate delays, which have been exacerbated this year because of Coronavirus.

“Our Inheritance Advance provides beneficiaries with access to a proportion of their inheritance well before the lengthy legal process required to distribute the assets is completed.

“And we estimate around £2bn (1) a year is tied up in estates each year leaving thousands of families in a catch-22 situation. They can’t access their inheritance until the tax bill has been paid but they don’t have the money to pay it until they’ve received their inheritance.

“Our IHT Loan provides a risk-free way for these families to unlock these estates, without them taking any risk or personal liability.”

Property and assets can pass between married couples and those in a civil partnership without attracting a tax bill on the death of the first person.

But each year around 25,200 deaths result in an IHT bill that is charged at 40 per cent of the value of the estate that falls above the nil rate band, which is currently £325,000 for a single person. In the 2019/2020 tax year the average IHT bill was around £200,000.

Tower Street Finance offers two inheritance loan products, its award-winning (2) Inheritance Advance for beneficiaries and its IHT Loan, which is paid directly to HMRC to settle the tax bill, for executors.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Learoyd .