Small shareholders should remember to avail of their capital gains tax allowances before April 5th. Since the Budget, the CGT rate has fallen from 40 per cent to 20 per cent, on all profits in excess of £1,000 for a single person and £2,000 for a married couple. After April 5th, shareholders' allowances will fall to £500 per person with no automatic doubling for a married couple.

The lowering of this allowance, means that from next April, many small investors will have to pay CGT for the first time on any gains in excess of £500. For a married couple, it may be worth considering moving the shares into joint names or to give half of them to a spouse to avail of the full threshold available. This would incur stamp duty of around £10.