Blog
Retirement Estate Planning Inheritance
Growing your business – with an exit route in mind
Amy Woolliscroft19th May 2026
If you are a small or medium enterprise (SME) owner, you have weathered your fair share of storms in recent years, from Brexit to Covid-19, and with the new global landscape causing further uncertainty and increased business costs for your rural or farming business.
Despite the considerable headwinds, we’re pleased to report that many business owners we work with can still see the green shoots of growth - or at least imagine a scenario where those shoots will be making an appearance soon - reports Joe Moricca MSc FPFS, Chartered Financial Planner at Accession.
Joe says: “The silver lining of the past six years of volatility for businesses has been that many have become much leaner, more data-driven, and more professional, which in many cases puts these SMEs in a strong position to grow.
“Of course, we are hearing a lot of concerns about the future with rising fuel, energy, staffing, fertiliser and other input costs, but it’s important to remember that many of these are out of our control, whilst there is an awful lot in our hands that we can impact positively to drive growth and prepare your businesses for the future.”
Whilst as business owners you are focusing on what you need to do to realise growth and innovation, it’s important you have clarity on what the end goal is – what does your exit plan look like?
You need to know where you are getting off before you can plan the journey.
Our ‘Sell once. Keep more. Retire confident’ guide linked below has Joe’s key considerations for a successful exit strategy, to ensure you leave a meaningful legacy while protecting your own retirement. And critically, that this strategy is in place before you take your business to the next level.
How can we help?
Both retirement planning and exit planning are a key part of the financial planning advice we offer our clients, working with other professionals (solicitors, accountants, etc.) to ensure the correct approach is being taken for your business. We also specialise in providing protection advice to ensure that you have the correct cover in place should critical illness or key personnel death impact your business. We provide high-quality, face-to-face financial planning and wealth management for farmers and rural businesses across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and the surrounding counties.
All three Accession financial advisers – Emma Wilcock, Joe Moricca and Richard Jones - are Chartered Financial Planners and Fellows of the Personal Finance Society, accolades held by a very small number of financial advisers in the UK and meaning we are fully equipped to help you with all aspects of financial planning. They are also all Top-Rated Financial Advisers with VouchedFor, the independent review platform for professional services.
If you or someone you know would benefit from speaking to one of our advisers about retirement planning, please do contact us on 01832 279170 or accession@sjpp.co.uk to discuss your requirements and get an appointment in the diary.
Please note that advice with regard to exit strategy planning may involve the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James's Place.
SJP Approved 18/5/2026