Same Street Different Ownership
SSAS (Small Self-Administered Scheme in the high street)
What if the real issue with our high streets isn’t so much demand… as who owns the assets?
What if too many properties are held by landlords with no real stake in the local economy - and that’s why we see empty units, short-term thinking, and a lack of identity?
So here’s a more provocative question:
Why aren’t more business owners using SSAS to take back control?
For those unfamiliar, a SSAS (Small Self-Administered Scheme) is a pension set up by a company where the members (typically directors) also act as trustees, meaning they control how it’s invested.
In simple terms:
• Your company contributes into the pension (with tax relief)
• The SSAS can invest in assets like commercial property
• The pension owns the property — not you personally
• Rent (from your business or others) is paid back into the pension, tax-efficiently
So in theory, you could be paying rent… to your future self.
That sounds compelling, but let’s not pretend it’s perfect.
There are real considerations:
• It’s more complex than a standard pension
• Strict rules (especially around transactions and valuations) must be followed
• Liquidity can be an issue - as we all know, property isn’t easy to sell quickly
• Professional setup and ongoing costs can be higher
• Get it wrong, and the tax consequences can be severe
So again…the question:
If the mechanism exists to put high street property back into the hands of local business owners…
Why isn’t it being used more widely?
Is it lack of awareness?
Adviser hesitation?
Or are we simply more comfortable with passive ownership structures that don’t really serve our communities?
Because if more business owners owned more of their high street:
Would we see fewer empty shops?
More independent businesses?
Stronger local economies?
Or is that too optimistic?
hashtag#HighStreetshashtag#SSAShashtag#PropertyInvestmenthashtag#OwnYourHighStreethashtag#Entrepreneurshiphashtag#LocalEconomyhashtag#TaxEfficiencyhashtag#SmallBusiness