The Sovereign Standard

I've been running my own small business for over 15 years now. Just me and my wife as directors, doing simple part-time consulting work. We've been lucky—business has been good, and we've built up a healthy cash reserve in the company account.

But here's the thing: As that pile of cash grew, so did my unease.

I knew all too well that all that money—just sitting there in the bank—would buy me less with every passing month. Worse, it felt exposed. To what? Well, that's what kept me up at night.

Then it hit me—why was I protecting my personal wealth with gold but leaving my business cash exposed?

If you're reading this, I'm guessing you might be in a similar position. Maybe you're a one-man-band consultant, or you run a small business with a partner. You're doing well, generating healthy cash flow, and now you're wondering: "What do I do with all this money in the business account?"

Well, let's see if gold could be the answer for you...

Why would a business want to own gold?

1. Stop losing out to inflation

Let's be blunt: Inflation is a thief, and it's robbing your company's savings account every single day.

That pile of cash you've built up? It's shrinking in real terms, even as the number in your account stays the same.

Gold, on the other hand, has a track record of maintaining its purchasing power over time. It's won't make you rich – but it can stop you getting poorer.

2. Protection against the banks

This one is huge – and it's only when I started networking with other business owners that I realised how common it is for businesses to have their accounts shut down out of nowhere.

A friend of mine runs a compliance consulting firm. Extrmely boring, ultra-legit stuff. One day, he buys a bit of Bitcoin — next thing he knows, his business account is frozen, and the bank won’t even tell him why. One minute, you’re a respectable business. The next, you’re a financial outcast.

Don't get me started on the ethics of this... the way banks feel they can decide what's appropriate for you to do with your own money makes me furious.

But practically – what would you do if that happens? What if your account randomly got shut down just before you needed to run payroll, or pay an important supplier?

Having some assets in gold re-risks you. If you do it the right way, the gold is completely within your control – and there's nothing a bank can do to stop you.

What's more... how much of your money do you really want to entrust to the financial system anyway? I clearly remember the shock of finding out, in 2013, that depositors in Cyprus had lost their money overnight because the government felt they needed it more.

"It could never happen here?" That's been said of quite a few things in the past...

3. Get gold exposure without taking a tax hit

More and more people want exposure to gold as part of their portfolio.

But also, many business owners pay themselves as little as they can get away with. That's because in the UK, they hit you twice—once with corporation tax, then again with 32.5% dividend tax just for wanting to use your own money.

(Again, don't get me started: you pay 20%+ corporation tax, then they want another 32.5% because you have the nerve to want to take your money out and spend it into the economy? Good grief.)

Anyway. The result is many business owners build up a substantial pile of assets in their company, which they don't want to touch personally.

No problem: the business can own the gold, so you get your exposure that way.

(After all, for the type of small business I'm writing this for, business cash and your cash are really one and the same.)

4. Allows... "flexibility"

I'm not saying you should do this. Just that... it's possible.

If the company holds physical gold, and the company is below the threshold for a compulsory audit... then as long as your financial affairs are squeaky-clean, it's highly unlikely that anyone will check whether the gold is physically there or not.

This means that one "could" take that gold and convert it into cash to use personally, then return it later.

Again, I haven't done this personally – but the fact that you can use gold to give yourself more flexibility without messing around with directors' loans might be appealing to some.

Remember, I'm not a financial advisor. I'm just a business owner who's been down this road and wants to share what I've learned. Always do your own research and consult with professionals before making big financial decisions.

But if you're nodding along, thinking this makes sense for your situation, keep reading. I'll break down exactly how to go about buying gold through your UK company—legally and efficiently.

Can a business buy gold?

When I first looked into this, I half expected to find some obscure law preventing companies from owning gold. Turns out, it's perfectly legal.

What matters from an HMRC perspective is why the company owns gold.

If you buy and sell gold regularly in the course of business, this makes it a trading asset and it needs to be accounted for accordingly.

Alternatively, a business could hold gold as a currency hedge – which I believe might make things different again, but I haven't looked into it.

Because most of us will fall into the category of holding it as an investment. That's not to say you can't ever sell it – but there's a clear pattern of you accumulating gold, and holding onto it.

When you hold gold as an investment, it's unbelievably straightforward from an accounting perspective. You simply hold it on your balance sheet at cost. You don't have to mark it to market value each year, which means less hassle and no paper gains or losses to deal with until you sell.

This simplicity is one of the things I love about gold as a company asset. No complex valuations, no accountant scratching their head trying to figure out how to report it. It just sits there, quietly doing its job.

So, yes: any UK business can own gold. And in my experience, it could make sense if:

In my experience, gold ownership makes the most sense for businesses in a specific situation:

You've got surplus cash that you don't need for day-to-day operations.
You're looking for stability rather than high returns.
You want an asset that's easy to liquidate if needed, but not so easy that you're tempted to dip into it regularly.
You're comfortable with an asset that doesn't generate income but preserves wealth.

Don't get me wrong: I'm sure you wouldn't want to do this with all your business cash.

You'll want to keep cash on hand to pay suppliers and your tax bills, and you may well also want to invest in other assets that offer more upside potential.

But if you do want to hold at least some gold on your balance sheet, how you do it matters...

What type of gold should a business own?

I should warn you: I have an extreme purist approach to this.

The first time I held a gold Britannia, I got it. It wasn’t just numbers on a screen—it had weight, permanence, reality. I knew, whatever happened, this was real wealth in my hand.

Most business owners aren't so romantic. They'll just own shares in some kind of gold fund or ETF, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that.

But what bothers me is:

ETFs and gold-backed funds are just paper promises. And when the system cracks, promises mean nothing.
You're relying on a counterparty. If they go bust, your gold claim might be worthless.
Many of these funds use derivatives and only hold a fraction of the gold they claim to represent.

In my view, the whole point of gold is security and independence. It's one of very few assets that you can hold directly, within your full control.

So why throw all that away?

That's why personally, my business owns physical gold bars and coins.

What physical gold should you own?

The best type of gold to hold is gold bullion bars and legal tender coins (like Britannias and Sovereigns).

Gold bars are widely recognised and easy to sell. They typically have a lower premium over the spot price, especially for larger sizes. This makes them straightforward for accounting purposes. However, larger bars can be less flexible if you need to sell only a portion of your holdings.

Coins, on the other hand, offer more divisibility and flexibility. They're easier to sell in smaller quantities if you need to liquidate just a part of your holdings.

Plus, I'll admit, there's something satisfying about holding a gold coin – I know that shouldn't matter, but it does.

The downside? You'll usually pay a slightly higher premium over the spot price compared to bars.

For companies, both have their place. Bars can be cost-effective for larger purchases, while coins offer flexibility for smaller transactions.

Personally, I own some of each.

Where a business should store its gold

Once you've bought gold for your company, the next big question is: where do you keep it?

This isn't clicking your mouse a few times and having "ownership" of some numbers on a screen. It's a physical asset, which is the whole joy of it – but it does come with its own set of challenges.

Vaulted storage

Having someone else take care of the storage is the easy option. When you buy gold from a dealer, you can often have it shipped to the vault of your choice so you don't even need to see it (although seeing it is half the fun, if you ask me).

For someone getting interested in gold for the first time, this has clear advantages:

Security: These facilities are built like fortresses. We're talking top-notch security systems, armed guards, the works.
Insurance: Most vaults offer comprehensive insurance. If anything happens to your gold, you're covered.
Hassle-free: You don't have to worry about safes, security systems, or insurance. It's all taken care of.

It does come at a cost, though: somewhere from 0.1% to 0.5% of your holdings every year.

Personal storage

Personal storage is private, it's free (once you've bought a safe), and – for me at least – it's satisfying.

But it's not perfect. You'll need a serious safe (not some flimsy Amazon junk), and it might not be covered under a normal insurance policy.

For solo consultants like me, the lines between "business" and "personal" can be come blurred, and you ideally shouldn't hold gold owned by different entities within the same safe.

But in practice as long as you keep good records, you're not going to have any issues.

As with bars and coins, I take a "both and" not "either/or" approach to storage: I keep a small amount on my premises for instant access and controls, and the rest in a vault.

Tax on company-owned gold

There's no getting around it: you'll need to take tax into consideration when building your plan to own gold.

VAT

The good news is that investment gold is VAT-exempt in the UK. This applies to gold coins and bars that meet certain purity standards (generally 99.5% or higher for bars, and specific criteria for coins).

What does this mean in practice? When you buy qualifying gold for your company, you don't pay that extra 20% on top, just like you wouldn't pay VAT on buying stocks or bonds.

Corporation tax

As an individual, certain gold coins (like Britannias and Sovereigns) are CGT-exempt. But for a company? No such luck.

From an accounting perspective, gold is typically treated as a capital asset on your company's balance sheet. It's held at cost – you don't need to revalue it each year based on market prices.

Then, when your company sells gold it's been holding as an investment, it's subject to Corporation Tax on chargeable gains – effectively, a form of CGT for companies.

Storage and insurance as business expenses

A silver lining of tax is that the costs associated with owning gold can often be treated as allowable business expenses. This includes:

Storage fees if you're using a vault
Insurance premiums for your gold holdings
Security costs if you're storing it on company premises

These can be deducted from your company's taxable profits, which helps offset some of the costs of owning gold.

How to buy gold

Companies can buy gold from pretty much the same places as individuals can. There are just a few extra things to keep in mind:

Use company funds: This might seem obvious, but the purchase must come from your business account, not your personal one.
Get proper invoices: Ensure the invoice is in your company's name and includes all relevant details (quantity, purity, price per unit, total cost).
Keep all documentation: Store invoices, delivery receipts, and any certificates of authenticity. You might need these for tax purposes or in case of an audit.
Record the purchase in your accounts: Talk to your accountant about how to properly record this on your balance sheet.
Consider a paper trail for high-value purchases: For very large buys, you might want to document the decision-making process (e.g., board minutes, even if "the board" is just you and your partner).
Be prepared to prove who you are. For large purchases, dealers might ask for additional verification. This is normal and protects both you and them.

Company v Personal ownership

Before we wrap up, let's address a question I often get: "Should I buy gold personally, or through my company?" Well, like most things in business, it depends. Here's how I see the trade-offs of company ownership:

Pros:

You can use company funds without triggering a taxable event (like taking a dividend).
Storage and insurance costs can be business expenses.
It's a way to diversify company assets without personal tax implications.

Cons:

Less flexibility – it's a company asset, not a personal one.
Potentially more complex accounting and reporting requirements.
No CGT exemption for certain coins (like you'd get personally).

Remember, you're not limited to one or the other. I do both – some gold through my company, some personally.

Ultimately, whether you buy gold personally or through your company, it doesn't matter. What matters is you’re not leaving your wealth to rot in the bank

Why smart UK business owners are swapping cash for gold