A family-run holiday park is having to sell properties and potentially lay off staff due to Labour’s inheritance tax reforms. Ian James, owner of Coast and Country Holiday Parks, called it a “massive blow” to the holiday industry. Ian, also the national chairman of the British Holiday and Home Parks Association, said his son Chris will be forced to sell some of the parks in order to cover the tax when he dies.
He told the BBC: “At the moment, the Government gives 100% business property relief, so there is no tax on a trading business being handed down to family.” Coast and Country Holiday Parks have locations in Brean, Somerset, Lynmouth, Devon, St Anns Chapel, Cornwall, and Saltash, Cornwall.
Ian added: “We’re a group of four holiday parks, we employ just under 30 people.
“With the current situation the way it is, then probably two of the parks would have to be sold in order to cover the tax liability which would mean that they wouldn’t be family-owned parks.
“We don’t know what would happen to them but they wouldn’t be run the same, they probably wouldn’t employ the same people as they do now.
“It would mean almost certainly job losses and cutbacks if corporates came in and took over”.
Under changes announced by Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget, inherited business assets worth over £1 million will be taxed at 20%from April 2026.
This is due to affect farms, manufacturers, retailers, and other businesses past down through families.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Most estates claiming Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will be unaffected by the changes.
“The latest data shows that over half of Business Property Relief, worth £553m, goes to the wealthiest 4% of estates. The money raised [by the tax changes] will go towards public services we all rely on every day instead.”
