If your focus is on net after tax cash receipts, then now could be the time to initiate a sale process before the "window" closes in March/April 2022.

Earlier this year, prior to the Chancellor presenting his budget on 3 March, there was a frenzy of M&A activity amid much speculation that rates of CGT would be increased. But with the UK's economic recovery in such a fledging state at the time, the economic consensus moved against increases until later in the year, by which time the recovery was expected to have taken hold.

While a final decision on the budget has yet to be made, the Chancellor is being told there is a case for waiting until spring 2022. Given that a successful sales processes typically takes anything from 6 to 9 to 12 months to execute, now could be the time for founders, entrepreneurs and managers to act.