- At Budget 2025, the government announced various measures related to tax-advantaged employee share schemes as detailed below:
- It was announced that the company eligibility criteria for Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) will be changed, enabling some larger companies to offer EMIs to their employees. The employee limit will increase from 250 to 500 full-time equivalent employees, the gross assets test will increase from £30m to £120m and the maximum value of shares that a company can grant under EMI options will increase from £3m to £6m. The limits will remain as before for Northern Ireland companies.
- The maximum exercise period for an EMI option will increase from 10 years to 15 years. The intention is for this to be applied retrospectively to existing EMI contracts as well as new grants.
- As previously announced, it was also confirmed that EMI and Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) options granted before 6 April 2028 could be amended to include a sale on a Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) platform as an exercise event. The shares obtained on option exercise need to be sold as soon as reasonably practicable on the PISCES trading event.
- Timing: The EMI eligibility criteria and maximum exercise period changes all apply from 6 April 2026. Amendments to EMI and CSOP options to permit a PISCES sale could be made from 15 May 2025.
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