Home and Garden Lifestyle - February 2021

VEGAN RECIPE SPECIAL

Life yle

Even though veganuary may be over, that is no reason to say goodbye to the lifestyle completly! We have got a number of recipes for you to try in our made with love recipes section.

WHAT WILDLIFE IS THERE TO SEE? It may be cold out there, but February is a great month for seeing wildlife in and arounf your local area. Read on inside to see our guide!

DO YOU DREAD HOMESCHOOLING? With a few more months of homeschooling ahead of us the creative ideas are starting to dry up! We have got P.E. covered with some great games for children of all ages.

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR PENSION? Pension is a scary word to most of us, and one we tend to push to the back of our minds until it is too late. Read our quick guide to pensions for a few tips.

snowdrop

Get outside this February, and enjoy all it has to offer. If you are lucky enough to have your own garden, get your hands dirty and get it ready for spring.

MAKE THE MOST OF FEBRUARY 2021

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We are all looking at a different Valentine’s Day this year and need to find ways to make it special. Try our chocolate cupcakes as a unique thoughtful gift for your partner.

MADE WITH LOVE. . .

Vegan special. Why not switch one meal a week to vegan? With these recipe ideas, it will be easy!

FEBRUARY WILDLIFE SIGHTING It can be a real joy to see wild animals in their natural habitat. Keep an eye out this Febraury and see what you can spot.

POUR YOUR LOVE INTO BAKING THIS VALENTINES

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GET FIT, STAY FIT. Staying fit during lockdown is difficult, but by making your everyday tasks into workout activities, you can get fit without even realising it!

GET IN THE GARDEN THIS FEBRUARY It is nearly springtime, and it’s time to get out in the garden to complete a few jobs. Our checklist should make this much easier.

HOMESCHOOLING PE LESSONS Try out some of our PE lessons to keep your kids entertained this month.

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HOBBIES TO TAKE UP IN LOCKDOWN You’ve got to keep you mind busy in these lockdowns and hopefully some of our activity suggestions will be right up your street.

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO DECOUPAGE

22

MAKE THE MOST OF PENSIONS

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FIREPLACE MAINTENANCE

Decoupage is a very easy way to upgrade any piece of furniture. We have got a great guide to get you started.

It is the dreaded ‘P’ word! Pensions can be a confusing subject for us all - our guide will hopefully add some light to this subject.

Looking after your fireplace is a very important job. Be sure to check your fireplace for twigs this spring.

No material may be reproduced in any way, or translated, without written permission of the publishers.

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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that adverts and articles appear correctly, but Home and Garden cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by the contents of the publication.

Home and Garden is published by iPlus Media.

Editorial: hello@iplusgroup.co.uk Telephone: 01242 312121 | Website: iplusmedia.co.uk Head office: Suite 2, 14 Union Street, Stroud, Glos, GL5 2HE

The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of its publisher or editor.

THIS MONTH ON

MADE WITH Vegan LOVE Special

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHIPOTLE CHILLI WITH AVOCADO:

THE PERFECT TOMATO SOUP:

SERVES 3 (1 HOUR 20 MINUTES)

SERVES 2 (45 MINUTES)

INGREDIENTS - 2 tbsp olive oil - 1 medium red onion, finely chopped - 2 red peppers, chopped - 750g butternut squash, cubed - 3 crushed garlic cloves - 1 tbsp chilli powder - 1 tbsp chopped chipotle pepper - 1 tsp ground cumin

- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon - 1 bay leaf - 800g black beans - 400g chopped tomatoes - 400ml vegetable stock - 2 avocados - 3 tortillas - Chilli flakes to garnish

METHOD Warm olive oil in a large pan and add the onion, pepper and squash. Cook until onions turn translucent before turning down the heat and adding the garlic, chilli powder, chipotle, cumin and cinnamon. Cook until fragrant.

Add in the black beans, bay leaf, tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 1 hour – the squash should be tender.

Slice the tortillas and fry with oil. Serve with avocado and chilli flakes.

INGREDIENTS - 2 tbsp olive oil - 1 chopped onion - 1 bulb fresh garlic, halved - A handful of thyme sprigs - A handful of basil leaves - 2 Thai chillies - 400g tomatoes - 600ml vegetable stock - 200ml coconut cream - Salt and pepper to taste - Pesto and additional coconut cream for a topping

METHOD Drizzle the oil on to a pan before spreading out the onion, garlic, thyme, chillies, basil, tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Put in the oven at 180 degrees for around 30 minutes.

Put all the veggies in a blender with the vegetable stock and coconut cream and blend until smooth.

Strain the soup with a sieve, top with pesto and extra coconut cream. Serve.

THREE INGREDIENT PANCAKES: SERVES 1 (10 MINUTES)

INGREDIENTS - 1 banana - 1 cup oats - 1 cup plant milk - (toppings of choice)

Add all the ingredients (except toppings) to a blender, blend until smooth and combined. Let the mixture rest for five minutes.

Spoon mixture into a hot frying pan and fry at a medium heat for 30-60 seconds on each side.

Serve with toppings of your choice.

BROWINES: MAKES 12 (55 MINUTES)

INGREDIENTS

PEANUT BUTTER CURRY: SERVES 2 (20 MINUTES)

INGREDIENTS - 2 tbsp olive oil - ½ red onion, finely chopped - 2 crushed garlic cloves - ½ tsp paprika - ½ tsp coriander - ½ tsp cayenne pepper - Sprinkle of chilli flakes - 1 tin of chickpeas - 3 tbsp peanut butter - 1 stock cube - 1 tbsp tomato puree - Juice of 1 lime - 1 can coconut cream/milk - Handful of spinach

METHOD Add olive oil to a large pan with the onion, garlic, paprika, coriander, cayenne pepper and chilli flakes. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add the chickpeas (drained) with the peanut butter, stock, tomato puree, lime juice and coconut.

Simmer on high heat 7-8 minutes. Take off the heat and add in the spinach, stir until wilted.

Serve.

- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed - 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped - ½ tsp coffee granules - 80g vegan margarine, plus extra for greasing - 125g self-raising flour - 70g ground almonds - 50g cocoa powder - ¼ tsp baking powder - 250g golden caster sugar - 1½ tsp vanilla extract

METHOD Mix the flaxseed with 6 tbsp water and set aside for at least 5 mins.

In a saucepan, melt 120g chocolate, the coffee and margarine with 60ml water on a low heat. and allow to cool slightly.

Put the flour, almonds, cocoa, baking powder and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl and stir to remove any lumps.

Whisk the sugar into the cooled melted chocolate mixture, and beat well until all the sugar is well dissolved. Stir in the flaxseed mixture, vanilla extract and remaining chocolate, then fold in the flour mixture.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, in a lined square tin at 170C/150C fan/gas 3½, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean with moist crumbs.

Allow to cool in the tin completely, then serve.

FEBRUARY

Wildlife sightings

February is another perfect month to look out for some beautiful wildlife in your area. Winter months can often get overlooked due to the duller, rainy and cold days and many of us just want to wrap up warm and stay at home.

beautiful, small, white flower bulbs that are grown in many private gardens throughout the UK. They are often the first to appear in this country after New Year’s and span over 2500 different varieties!

However, this guide is specially designed to inspire your adventurous side and yearn for the great outdoors!

With lockdown looming over us this month, it is vital that we still get outdoors and make the most of this stressful and uncertain time.

Bonding with people in your home or even going out to get some time alone – this guide is going to help you make some exciting discoveries of the winter world around you.

Primroses are a very popular flower in the UK and were voted the second favourite last year behind bluebells.

They can often be found in woodland areas and are edible!

PLANTS: Snowdrops (a.k.a. Galanthustranslated to ‘milk flower’) are

Violets are another great flower to keep an eye out for this month. They have been around since ancient

Greece and also contain some nutritional value! Have a look for as many different varieties of violets as you can.

better chance of a thriving frog community!

Toads will be breeding slightly later (towards spring), but it is likely that this month they will be returning to their breeding areas.

Grey herons and heronries will begin mating this month too. Their nests are usually located near bodies of water so if you find yourself near any on your outing, keep an eye out for a potential heron courtship dance!

Hazel catkins are very common from December through to April. Each catkin is full of tiny pollen grains that contains millions of male hazel DNA! The tree also produces flowers, the female equivalent.

ANIMALS:

Woodlarks are beautiful birds that often begin their singing very early on in the year. If bird watching is your thing – try and find them in lowland heathland areas.

Roe deer are medium in size with short antlers. Keep an eye out for them in and around woodland and forest areas and potentially farmland.

Many female red foxes are now looking for a place to give birth as their mating season comes to an end.

Look out for any pregnant foxes making a den in your garden!

Many frogs begin to breed early in February so make sure to check ponds on your walk to see a few masses of jelly-like frog spawn! If you have a pond in your garden, try not to bring in any spawn yourself – wait until the frogs find it themselves for a

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PE LESSONS

Have you found that having your children learn from home has meant that they’re constantly full of energy and need some inspiration for games to direct their focus? Well, we have a list of activities perfect for you!

HOME BOWLING:

TREASURE HUNTS:

As regular ten-pin bowling is an activity loved by all – why not try and recreate it at home with your kids!

Almost anything can be used for the pins. Try plastic bottles, toilet rolls, shoes or anything pin-like that won’t get damaged and anything from a small ball to a rolled up pair of socks for the bowling ball.

Everyone loves a treasure hunt! This game can occupy either your home or garden. Hide the target objects away from your children and time how fast it takes to find them all.

Have the children play in rounds like they would at the bowling alley and make it more exciting by adding extra rules or mix it with learning by using the number of pins knocked down as the scale of difficulty for the question for them to answer before the next round.

If you have more than one child, they can compete with each other. If you have one child, then they can compete against their own time.

Make sure to keep track of where the objects are in case they cannot find them!

TARGET PRACTICE Place a bowl or saucepan in the middle of the room and use different markers on the floor to stand and throw a ball or rolled up pair of socks into.

This game is great for refining aim and underarm throwing skills. The markers on the floor can be used as a point system. With the furthest away marker being worth the most points!

THE VIDEO GAME: GO NOODLE: If you have found yourself struggling with juggling usual work and home-schooling, GoNoodle on YouTube has some great activity and dance videos for children that can allow you to carry on with your own activities while simultaneously providing some great instructional videos for your children.

This is a great game to play outside with your kids.

Have them moving around an outdoor space (of any reasonable size) and call out the different instructions of a video recorder.

You coul try fast forward (running), rewind (walk backwards), pause (freeze), record (walk normally) and slow motion (walk slowly). Can you think of any other instructions?

Hobbies

lockdown

TO TAKE UP IN

After 2020 being a year that none of us expected, we are determined to make 2021 exactly what we want it to be. As many of us are now working from home and socially distancing like never before; it is important to remember that we can

still stimulate our minds without having to go out with others just yet.

If you’ve found yourself struggling for ideas this month then look no further! We’ve compiled a list of creative and exciting hobbies you can begin at home.

BRUSHING UP ON YOUR COOKING: Baking is a brilliant way to get creative without having to possess any previous

talent – with the added benefit of some delicious treats for you and your family! It is a skill often overlooked unless you really feel passionate about it.

The same here goes for cooking.

A great skill to have that effects our day to day lives. Consider starting off with one of our Home and Garden Lifestyle recipes – this month is our vegan special!

ART:

Getting arty is a perfect means of self-expression, stress relief and the best way to direct some energy into something beautiful!

There are so many different ways to do this…

If you love home improvement and are not so into detailed painting or drawing, then consider a craft such as candle making, ceramics, photography, interior decorating or abstract art!

These are the best ways to tap into your creative side and allow you to build your skill level along the way.

RUNNING: Exercise is vital now that we have spent so much time at home over the last year. Getting outside for a run or walk can make vast improvements to both physical and mental health!

Running is known to improve cardiovascular health as well as muscle and bone strength. The same can be said for walking! Walking is a form of exercise that has many of the same benefits as running but is much easier on your joints and is not as intense. Even if running or walking is not possible, spending time

outdoors every day is so good for reducing anxiety and promoting self-esteem!

COCKTAIL MAKING: Brushing up on some cocktail making skills will come in very handy for when we can return to hosting parties! Try spicing up your evenings with a different cocktail every week.

YOGA: Yoga is another form of physical movement that is great for our mind, bodies, and souls. It is great for increasing flexibility, toning muscles, balancing metabolism and improves athletic performance in other

areas. Yoga is perfect for beginners and can be done at home!

ONLINE BOOK CLUB: If reading is something you love and have taken back up since spending more time at home; try setting up an online book club! This can be done with your friends over zoom or you can even join one such as The Guardian’s reading group to get talking to some like-minded people!

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO Decoupage can add that little ‘je ne ç'est quoi’ to any piece of furniture.

With such a variety of designs available of the market, it’s usually choosing a design you want to use that’s the tricky bit!

You can decoupage with a number of different mediums - decoupage paper, napkins and even wallpaper to name a few – and, if you’re anything like me, once you get the bug for decoupaging, you’ll be forever squirrelling away napkins into your shopping basket or trawling the internet for hours looking at the plethora of designs and prints out there!

The following is a step-by-step guide to help you create your own decoupage design using Frenchic Finishing Coat and I have used a couple of napkin prints for this example. Using wallpaper will need a slightly different prep but I will add that at the end should you have some fabulous wallpaper left over that you want to use. If you fancy having a go, don’t forget to take ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs and, if you want, send them to us. We love to see what other people create and would love to add your work to our Facebook page (if you’re happy for us to). Any questions, then drop us a line. We’ll happily help where we can and offer advice to give you the best results.

Don’t be disheartened if your paper wrinkles, rips or doesn’t look perfect first time around. Like anything worth doing, it takes a little bit of practice although, if you’re really not happy and want to start again, a quick sand, wipe down and repaint will take you straight back to Step 2!

Bonne chance!

foow the guide

STEP 1

STEP 1 Prep the surface of whatever it is you want to decoupage on to. If it’s not yet painted, give the surface a key with sandpaper and clean with a Sugar Soap solution. Rinse and allow to dry. Paint with whichever colour you so choose although, a word of slight caution, most napkins (as used in this example) are printed on to a white (or light) coloured background. So, for best results, I’ve always found using a light coloured paint allows for a seamless blend between napkin and background. I’ve used Frenchic Ivory Tower from the Original Range for this example.

Don’t forget: If the surface is already painted, just make sure it’s clean (using a Sugar Soap solution), rinse and allow to dry.

STEP 2 Whilst your piece is drying, select what napkin(s) you want to use. I prefer to tear out the patterns as it gives a better blended look between the napkin and the piece of furniture, but there’s nothing stopping you from cutting the patterns out with scissors – it is faster!

Once you’ve got all the pieces you think you’ll want/need, each of these pieces needs ‘splitting’. Napkins are usually ‘three-ply’ and it’s the top, printed layer that you’re after. This will take patience (although a damp finger will often help – just go careful how ‘damp’ you make the napkin as it will rip).

If you’re using decoupage paper then you have none of this to worry about as it’s already suitable for applying straight away.

STEP 2

STEP 3 Once your surface is dry, take a paint brush with soft bristles and dip it into the Finishing Coat. Apply to the area you wish to start at and then take your first ‘cut-out’. I apply with my finger to the middle to ‘stick’ it to the piece of furniture and then, gently and with a drop more Finishing Coat, start your brush from the middle and sweep outwards. You’ll need enough pressure to get the napkin to stick and stay flat, but too much pressure and the napkin will rip.

A word of caution: Don’t be tempted to ‘over-work’ the napkin. Once they become wet with Finishing Coat they will rip if you play with them too much. It’s at this stage that you can easily remove the newly applied piece if it becomes overly wrinkled, rips, or is in the wrong place.

STEP 3

STEP 4 Continue with Step 3 until you have created the look you are after. When you’re happy, set the piece to one side to dry. It’s very important you let it dry fully before going back to work on it otherwise you run a significant risk of damaging all your hard work.

STEP 4

STEP 5 Once it’s fully dry, apply another coat of Finishing Coat across the whole area. The first coats gave the surface adhering properties and ‘sticks’ the napkin down. The next coats (you’ll probably want at least two more, applied only once the previous coat is dry) help seal the surface, stick down any loose edges, and will make the surface waterproof. You can also add more decoupage if you need to, following Steps 3 & 4, then repeat Step 5.

SECRET WALLPAPER TIP: Wallpaper as it appears on the roll is too thick to decoupage with. However, a short soak in warm water (because, let’s face it, sticking your hands in warm water is much nicer than sticking them in cold water!), will allow you to peel and separate the layers of paper, leaving you with just the printed top layer. Once you’ve allowed that to dry off, go to Step 3 and off you go!

STEP 5

WE OFFER

CHIMNEY SWEEPING

It is important that you get your chimney swept on a regular basis. It ensures that your chimney flues remain clear and are safe to use, helping to guard against chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

NEST AND BLOCKAGE REMOVAL

Have you noticed twigs in your fireplace? That is one of the first signs that something is making a home in your chimney. Be sure to get in touch to talk about a safe removal.

CAGES, CAPS AND COWLS These are items placed on chimneys to protect against rain, down draughts, blockages which can cause carbon monoxide problems. If you require this service, please get in touch.

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Our aim is to explore the world of hats with you. Together we can look at styles, reflect on the history and play with ideas.

Hats have a place in our lives, this gives us opportunities to be creative with thought-provoking content, have fun with projects and dabble in hat links.

Now might be the perfect time, contact the experts today.

01242 312121

THE HAT CHANNEL IS THE HUB FOR ALL THINGS HATS. HEAD THERE NOW TO DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE HAT!

POUR YOUR LOVE INTO BAKING

this valentines

With restaurants closed this Valentine’s Day, couples across the country are looking to create a romantic setting from the confines of their own homes.

Why not take this opportunity to test your baking skills for your partner and give our chocolate cupcake recipe, given to us by expert baker, Anna Newman from Sugar Bowl Bakes, a go?

Nothing says ‘I love you’ more than home baked goods, so roll up your sleeves, wash your hands and let’s begin!

YOU WILL NEED: -

Mixing bowl Whisk Scales Cupcake cases Ice cream scoop(or spoon) Cake tin Sieve Spatula Cooling tray About 35 minutes of spare time

THE INGREDIENTS: MAKES 12

For the cake batter: - 150g caster sugar - 150g baking butter/stork - 3 medium eggs - 20ml vegetable oil - 1 tbsp golden syrup - 1 tsp vanilla extract - 110g self-raising flour - 40g cocoa powder For the butter icing topping: - 250g softened unsalted butter - 500g icing sugar - 1 tsp vanillia extract

THE METHOD: For the cake batter: - Pre heat your oven at 160 degrees (electric).

- First beat the butter and sugar together until it becomes light, fluffy, and lighter in colour.

- Weigh out all wet ingredients together in a bowl or jug and slowly add to the butter and sugar mix.

- Sieve the flour and coco together in a bowl, then add to the cake mix a spoonful at a time, ensuring your mixer is set to the lowest setting. Having the mixer on a low speed prevents air being knocked out of the cake batter, and therefore giving you light a fluffy cupcakes.

- Scope your cake batter into your cupcake cases, I use an ice cream scoop, 2 dollops is enough to fill a case ¾ of the way. Smooth over the mixture so its laying flat in the cases using a teaspoon.

- Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes and leave to cool for an hour before decorating.

For the butter icing: - Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. If you need to loosen the texture try adding tablespoon of boing water or milk.

- Now you can pipe onto your cupcakes in any pattern you wish, if you don’t have a piping nozzle and bag, simply spread on top with a knife.

TIP FROM THE EXPERT: When cracking your eggs, if you find any egg shell has fallen into the bowl, the easiest way to scoop it out is using the empty egg shell. The shell attracts it to itself, so you can scoop out without mess!

WEDDINGS | BIRTHDAYS | CELEBRATIONS | PARTIES

AWARD WINNING CAKES IN THE COTSWOLDS Creating beautiful bespoke cakes which taste divine and are every bit as memorable as the celebration itself.

If you have an up coming celebration, get in touch with Anna and watch your ideas come to life!

sugarbowlbakes@hotmail.com | 07769948487 See more creations at

SUGARBOWLBAKES.CO.UK

Get fit,

STAY FIT.

With gyms shut and our outdoor time limited to food shopping and walks; it is important to keep up with our physical fitness in order to maintain our health as well as possible in the current health climate.

It is also vital for our mental health as some form of exercise every day can be great for giving some purpose to our day and releasing all

those great endorphins we would usually get coming back from the gym or the pool.

Even if you’ve found yourself particularly unmotivated for the third lockdown, these tasks will improve your physical and mental wellbeing combined with your surroundings and we guarantee you will feel more at ease participating in these regularly.

GARDENING: If you have a garden, you may find that it takes a lot of effort to look after and maintain. Well, gardening is actually a great way of getting fresh air, moving your body and is found very therapeutic by many.

From a physical aspect, gardening puts you into positions that you wouldn’t normally sit or stand in when working from home. For example, squatting whilst pulling

weeds or carrying watering cans and heavy plant pots.

WEIGHTS WITH HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS:

stairs or side lunges while making the bed. Also try putting your favourite music on for some extra motivation.

ONLINE FITNESS CLASS:

Unless you are fortunate enough to have a set of weights in your home, it is unlikely that you have done much heavy lifting in the past year.

Try getting your muscles toned by using objects such as bags of flour, metal cans or a carrier bag full of heavy things that you’ve collected from around your home.

CLEANING: Many of us never seem to consider the benefits of cleaning on our physical and mental health.

However, giving your home a thorough clean will be working your body hard and will result in a beautiful, clean home!

Try upping the difficulty of your cleaning workout by incorporating some fitness moves into your task.

For example, engaging your core and balancing on tiptoes for high dusting, lunges while vacuuming the

YouTube is filled with creators posting great, PT level at-home training sessions for you to follow along to. Many do not require equipment or lots of space, so it is a really great way of working exercise into your daily routine.

If a HIIT virtual workout class isn’t for you, try an at-home Zumba or yoga class instead!

Fitness at this time of year and in the current climate is so important. Even if you don’t enjoy working out, moving your body and getting fresh air where possible will make a dramatic impact on your mental health and overall wellbeing.

This is a difficult time for everyone and we should all be looking after ourselves and each other in order to make the most of this strange and stressful time.

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GET IN THE THIS FEBRUARY It is already February, and spring is in our sights and with that we have got plenty of gardening jobs to keep you busy this February. We may have some cold weather on the horizon but that shouldn’t stop you from complete some of our February gardening checklist! So wrap up warm, follow our checklist and get your garden ready for spring!

- Cut back wisteria side shoots to three buds from the base, to encourage abundant flowers in spring - Pot up containers with hardy spring bedding, such as primroses, wallflowers and forget-me-nots - Feed fruit trees and bushes by sprinkling ‘sulphate of potash’ fertiliser (you can buy this in most gardening shops, or online) around the base to encourage fruiting - If you can’t brave it outside, this is an inside job you can have a go at! Check if old seed packets are worth keeping by sowing a few seeds on damp kitchen paper, to see if they germinate - Install a nest box with a camera, so you can watch birds raising their broods in spring - Clear away old plant debris from pond margins and scoop out any leaves that have fallen into the water - Clean and service mowers and garden power tools, so they're in good order for spring - Sow mustard and cress in a small seed tray on a warm windowsill for pickings in just a few weeks

MAKING THE

mo OF PENSIONS

Get in touch with Martin Jarvis from Mattioli Woods for more information.

Pension schemes may not always be the top of anyone’s agendas – however, what is often overlooked is the ability to use the additional flexibilities of certain pension schemes to dovetail with business requirements, all whilst allowing the business owner to benefit from the main purpose of a pension scheme and save for their retirement at the same time.

must be at least 1% above the average base rate for the 6 leading high street banks.

Like many things, different pensions offer different flexibilities – ultimately the need for these depends on a person’s objectives.

- Term of no more than 5 years, although can be rolled over once.

Certain pensions, known as Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) and Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS) offer the highest level of flexibility in UK pension legislation, including the ability to lend money back to connected companies, purchase commercial property and even invest in connected company shares.

LENDING: This flexibility is specific to a SSAS, given this pension scheme is established by a company, and therefore has the flexibility of lending up to 50% of its net value back to the employer. There are wider conditions to bear in mind including: - Interest rate should be commercial but

- At least equal annual repayments of capital and interest.

- Security by way of first legal charge on an asset(s) of equivalent value to the loan plus interest.

If all the above can be met, this can be an excellent way of creating an investment strategy for the scheme whilst also assisting a business with a particular project or cash flow need for instance. There is the added benefit in that the interest is typically a deductible expense for corporation tax purposes.

PROPERTY PURCHASE: This strategy is available for both SIPP and SSAS and can work most effectively for a business if they are trading from an existing property they own or are looking to perhaps expand.

In this instance, the pension fund purchases the commercial building, which is then let out to the company.

The market rent is paid into the scheme, again, funding the business owners’ pension as well as (in most cases) being

applicable to the seller.

A word of caution - It is important to note that, although sounding a great idea on paper, sometimes the above may not be the most suitable investment for an individual’s pension scheme.

deductible for corporation tax. Payments into the pension as rent are not subject to income tax. The pension fund can also borrow up to 50% of its net value to assist with financing the property purchase if necessary.

The added bonus here is if the property is sold within the scheme, any gain that is made is free of capital gains tax, like all assets within a pension fund.

SHARE PURCHASE: Dependant on the structure of the pension scheme, and indeed the pension provider, there are different limits in which a pension scheme can invest in a connected business owner’s company via the purchase of shares.

However, the broad premise is this option allows the business to potentially raise cash, whilst the pension fund has an asset from which to benefit from ongoing dividends/capital growth in a tax-free environment. Although it is worth noting stamp duty costs and potential capital gains tax may be

Given the connected nature, this often makes the transactions relatively higher risk than most, for instance what happens if the company goes through a period of difficulty or ceases to trade and there is an outstanding loan/shares owned by the pension scheme? Or if the only pension asset is a property that is then unable to be let if the business does not survive, along with if there is also a debt/ borrowing to service.

These are all questions and risks that need to be weighed up with an appropriately qualified adviser however there is no doubt that the transactions, and pensions in general, can often assist many different types of business as well as enabling owners to grow their own pension pots for retirement.

Gone are the days where a company would cater for an individual retirement with a gold-plated final salary pension – now the responsibility is on the individual. However, this has also led to pensions becoming far more flexible than most believe and therefore often being overlooked when they should be at

least considered as part of a well-rounded financial plan.

Need more help or advice on pensions?

Email: martin.jarvis@mattioliwoods.com

fireplace

MAINTAINANCE

TWIGS APPEARING IN YOUR FIREPLACE?

Spring, when it arrives, is the time of year when our friends the Jackdaws, start to eye up your chimney as somewhere to build their nest.

They start by dropping twigs down the chimney – this is the foundation or scaffolding as we like to call it. Look out for twigs in the grate since this is the first sign that your house chimney has been

chosen for their new home.

Once the twigs are established, the birds build lovely solid nests and lay their eggs. Bird nests in chimneys are much bigger than nests you see in trees. So, don’t just ignore it, or try and ‘burn it out’! However, don’t expect the nest to be removed during the nesting season. Active bird nests are protected by law and anyone who removes one may be

subject to an unlimited fine and even six months in prison.

Once a nest is inactive it should be removed, even if the chimney is not to be used. They hold moisture and stop the flow of air, which can cause damp within your property.

Your local Wilkins Chimney Sweep will be able to legally remove any nest that has been built and provide advice on the type of cowl, bird guard or cap that you require to prevent the problem occurring again.

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DURING THIS SEASON OF LOVE, FOCUS ON LOVING MORE THAN JUST THOSE CLOSEST TO YOU,

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Life yle FEBRUARY 2021