The founder of Charles Tyrwhitt has warned that Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax reforms could force the sale of his family-owned shirtmaking business if he dies after next April, potentially to private equity buyers he accuses of setting companies up to fail. Nick Wheeler, who launched the Jermyn Street-based retailer of shirts, suits, and ties in 1986, said the abolition of full business property relief from April 6, 2026, would leave his heirs unable to meet death duties without selling the company.

He said: “If I die after April next year, this business will get sold. It’ll have to be sold to pay the death duties.“ Mr Wheeler added that the changes had already diverted valuable time from running the business, explaining that he had spent a lot of the last six months looking at restructuring and planning rather than focusing on growth.

The Government recently increased the threshold for partial relief to £2.5 million per estate from £1 million, while allowing surviving spouses to transfer up to £5 million tax-free. However, the 100% relief previously available on trading businesses is being removed, exposing larger family firms to inheritance tax at an effective rate of 20% on assets above those limits.

This backlash is the latest in a series of bruising encounters for Rachel Reeves, whose tenure as Chancellor has been defined by market volatility and fractious relations with the City. Since delivering a Budget containing £40 billion in tax hikes, Ms Reeves has struggled to maintain her “pro-business” narrative.

Her time at the Treasury has been marked by a perceived “U-turn” culture; after initially setting a firm £1 million threshold for agricultural and business reliefs, a wave of protests from farmers and warnings from family-run businesses forced a frantic softening of the policy.

Critics argue this reactive approach has created a sense of instability, undermining the “stability is change” mantra she campaigned on. For a Chancellor who promised to be a “safe pair of hands,” the persistent friction with wealth creators suggests a honeymoon period that ended abruptly.

Mr Wheeler insisted he would never sell voluntarily, particularly to a private equity firm. He argued: “They would ruin it. Private equity will gear it up, stick a load of debt in and then try and force the pace.”

He pointed to retailers acquired during the last private equity boom that later collapsed due to over-expansion. He explained: “People like Cath Kidston or Hobbs, or all those retailers that had 50 stores – private equity came in, they tried to grow it to 150 stores or 100 stores. They all went bust.”

Once founders leave or private equity takes over, businesses lose their spark, Mr Wheeler argued. He added: “They’re not retailers. What they want to do is load it up with debt, and they want to flip it on somebody else, and they want to make a profit.”

According to PitchBook data cited by The Times, UK private equity buyouts rose 3% to 327 in the second quarter of this year, but were down 16% on the same period last year. Deals peaked at more than 1,900 in 2021, involving £152 billion.

Mr Wheeler’s comments seem to underscore mounting anxiety among family business owners over the October Budget changes.