Unlocking the Untapped Potential of True SIPPs

Published: September 8, 2025

Commercial Property as a Pension Planning Tool

Executive Summary
True SIPPs as a Strategic Tool – Full or bespoke SIPPs remain highly versatile, with commercial property now the primary permissible investment, offering business owners a largely untapped planning opportunity.

Liquidity and Growth for SMEs – Placing business premises into a SIPP can provide liquidity to address cash flow or growth needs while retaining long-term investment potential.

Tax-Efficient Advantages – Property-in-pension strategies offer multiple tax benefits, including relief on contributions and potential capital gains deferral, enhancing both personal and business financial planning.

Full fat SIPPs
True SIPPs—sometimes called full or bespoke self-invested personal pensions—remain remarkably versatile instruments for long-term planning. Over recent years, the universe of permitted investments has narrowed, with non-standard and unregulated assets largely excluded. For the most part, commercial property has emerged as the primary allowable investment.

For business owners, this presents a significant but underexploited opportunity. With access to funds a perennial challenge for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the UK’s 5.5 million private-sector businesses at the start of 2024 often struggle to balance cash flow needs against investment in growth. One solution, not widely appreciated, is to place business premises within a SIPP.

The combination of SIPP tax advantages and the investment case for commercial property offers a compelling rationale. Eligible premises include offices, retail, industrial units, and commercial land—but exclude residential property. Consequently, business owners working from home do not qualify.

Several questions emerge for planners and clients alike:

The Opportunity: How familiar is the business community with property-in-pension strategies? Surveys indicate that roughly two-thirds of business owners own one or more properties, yet the involvement of pensions—SIPPs or SSAS—remains rare. Most acquisitions are funded personally, via business capital, or with bank support, leaving a gap for advisers to highlight a tax-efficient alternative.
Tax Efficiency: Placing property into a pension can unlock multiple tax advantages, from relief on contributions to potential capital gains deferral, enhancing both personal and corporate financial planning.
The Mechanics: A SIPP can create liquidity by allowing business owners to release value from existing premises while retaining long-term investment growth within a tax-favoured wrapper.
The Outcomes: The benefits extend to the business—access to funds without conventional borrowing—while also serving the client’s retirement planning objectives. For advisers, this represents a clear opportunity to add value through strategic guidance.
Suitability: Not all business owners will find this approach appropriate. Eligibility rules, property type, and the broader retirement plan must be carefully considered.

“The financial logic is compelling: a SIPP can provide a tax-efficient avenue for accessing business capital while simultaneously contributing to retirement wealth.”

Despite its potential, property-in-pension strategies remain underused. Most enquiries are client-led, often originating from accountants or solicitors, rather than proactive planning. Awareness is limited, even though the financial logic is compelling: a SIPP can provide a tax-efficient avenue for accessing business capital while simultaneously contributing to retirement wealth.

We consider this a too oft overlooked planning opportunity for clients – our role is to educate business owners on how their commercial assets can serve both operational and long-term financial goals. With careful structuring, true SIPPs can transform dormant property into a dual-purpose asset—serving the business today and the pension tomorrow.

Please contact us on 01483 917644 should you like to discuss how we can optimise the use of business assets in your retirement strategy.

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