Property business owners are increasingly using 'freezer and growth' share structures to manage succession and transfer value to the next generation. This approach allows founders to separate control, income, and existing capital value from future growth, addressing challenges not solved by simple incorporation.
A conventional company with a single class of ordinary shares combines control, dividend income, existing capital value, and all future growth within the same shares. This can force founders to choose between retaining full ownership and control, or transferring wealth and control earlier than intended to their children, potentially exposing those assets to future personal difficulties.
The 'freezer and growth' structure offers an alternative. Founders typically hold 'freezer shares' (often A and B shares) which carry full voting rights, discretionary dividend rights, and a fixed capital entitlement based on the company's value when the structure is established. This means the founders retain control, the value they have already created, and the ability to receive dividends.
Separately, 'growth shares' (such as Q shares in some structures) carry no voting or dividend rights and no entitlement to the existing capital value. Their rights are limited to participating in residual capital above the amount reserved for the founders, crystallising upon a sale or winding-up of the company. This ensures that future capital growth can be shared without transferring existing wealth or control prematurely.