CH writes: I own four properties, one of which is let to a bookmaker that has become a public company quoted on the stock exchange. I was intending to sell this property, which would have attracted full business asset taper relief (BATR) on my capital gain. Now that the company is listed, will I lose this relief altogether or will BATR still apply to the gain made while the company was not listed?

When a tenant is an unlisted trading company, any capital gain on the sale of the property will qualify for full BATR, writes Michael Snyder, senior partner in Kingston Smith. This has been the case since April 2000. Before then you would have had to hold shares in the tenant to qualify for full BATR. When the tenant’s status changes, BATR is not totally lost as the overall gain will be apportioned between the periods when full BATR applies and when it does not. This means that if you have held the property for some years there could be three different periods for taper relief: before April 2000, and before and after the listing date. Firms quoted on the Alternative Investment Market are treated as being unlisted.