CG53119 - Substantial shareholdings exemption: the trading company/group/subgroup requirements - surplus trading property

Property owned by a company and surplus to its immediate business requirements should be considered in light of the facts.

The following would not necessarily be regarded as indicating a non- trading activity:

letting part of the trading premises;
letting properties that are no longer required for the purpose of the trade in question, where the company’s objective is to sell those properties;
subletting property where it would be impractical or uneconomic in terms of the trade to assign or surrender the lease. For example, the benefit derived from disposing of the lease may be outweighed by the reverse premium payable;
the acquisition of property (whether vacant or already let) where it can be shown that the intention is that it will be brought into use for trading activities.

Capital Gains Manual