I hold a software product within a Limited Company I’ve had for 7 years and have received an option to sell for approx £250,000 to a company on the continent (so no VAT etc. payable).  Would a non-UK sale open up other issues I'm not aware of?  

Should I:   

• sell the software and then take the money into the company? Or 

• invest the £250,000 into property (eg Buy To Let residential properties) before the end of my current tax year which would then attract no tax liability that holding the cash would thus saving me around £50,000 in corporation tax, or is it different for property and rather than being seen as a stock purchase and thus bringing down the profit figure it doesn’t? Or

• withdraw the money from the Company personally?

Possibly you are making a mistake that unfortunately a number of people make. If the software is held within the company, then it is not your software. Any sale of the software would be made by the company, the cash from the sale proceeds would belong entirely to the company and the company would be liable to corporation tax on the gain. The company may be able to defer the tax by claiming a special roll-over relief where the proceeds for the assets are reinvested in new intangible fixed assets that are capitalised in the accounts. This roll-over relief follows the same rules as the capital gains relief, i.e. the proceeds must be reinvested within one year before and three years after the date of disposal.

Alternatively, you could sidestep all the above by you personally selling your shares in the company to the purchaser. Entrepreneurs’ relief may quite likely be available to you here to reduce your personal capital gain. But most probably the purchaser will not be interested in buying your shares. You may want to consider offering him a discount on the previously agreed purchase price for the software, to induce him to buy your shares instead.