Good adviser team
No family office. You use a solicitor, accountant or tax adviser, financial adviser or investment manager and perhaps a private bank.
- Lowest complexity.
- You coordinate much of it yourself.
- Very sensible for many £1m–£10m+ winners.
What a family office is
Think of it as the control room for a very wealthy family's life
Imagine you win £50 million. You now have a solicitor dealing with your will, an accountant watching tax, an investment manager looking after the portfolio, a private bank, two properties, family members you want to help and perhaps staff at home.
Without coordination, you become the person in the middle of all of them.
A family office puts somebody else in charge of keeping that picture joined up. You still make the important decisions. The office makes sure the right people know what they need to know, paperwork is tracked and things actually get done.
Your investmentsWhat you own, who manages it, what it costs and how it is performing.
Your tax and legal workMaking sure advisers speak to each other before decisions are made.
Your familyGifts, loans, houses, education, inheritance and who gets what help.
Your property and billsInsurance, household staff, large payments, records and administration.
Your privacyWho gets access to you, your information and important documents.
What a family office does
What would it actually do on a normal Tuesday?
This is where the idea becomes easier to understand. It deals with the boring, complicated bits around the exciting life.
You want to buy a £4m house
The right people can check cash availability, ownership, tax, insurance, security and the wider plan before the money moves.
You want to give each child £1m
Legal and tax advisers can look at how to do it before an emotional promise becomes a permanent arrangement.
You receive an investment pitch
You do not have to decide whether it is brilliant or nonsense. It goes through an agreed checking process.
Your accountant needs information
You should not have to spend a weekend finding statements from five banks and managers. The records are already organised.
Family requests start arriving
You can have a clear policy for gifts and loans rather than deciding every request in the moment.
You go away for six weeks
Insurance, property bills, payroll and financial administration can carry on without your holiday becoming an admin department.
This is the enjoyable part of getting the structure right: the money starts giving you freedom instead of giving you another full-time job.
What a family office is not
It is not a bank account, trust, company or magic tax trick
These terms often get bundled together, but they do different jobs.
| Term | What it is | How it may fit after a win |
|---|---|---|
| Family office | People and systems coordinating the family's wealth and affairs. | Organises advisers, reporting, family decisions, property and administration. |
| Private bank | A banking service for wealthier clients. | Can help with banking, lending, large payments and sometimes investments. |
| Wealth manager | A firm or adviser mainly focused on financial planning and investments. | May manage part of the fortune without running the wider family administration. |
| Trust | A legal arrangement where trustees hold assets for beneficiaries. | Can serve specific family or estate goals but has separate tax and legal rules. |
| Family investment company | A company that can hold family investments. | May be considered for succession planning but is still a company with tax rules. |
Family office types
Four sensible levels — and only one means building your own office
Most winners who ever need family-office help will sit somewhere in the middle.
Virtual or outsourced family office
One lead person or firm keeps the overall picture together while specialists remain external.
- No large permanent staff.
- Can add reporting and admin.
- Useful when wealth becomes complicated before it becomes enormous.
Multi-family office
One professional organisation provides family-office services to several wealthy families.
- Shared infrastructure.
- Potentially broad expertise.
- Usually cheaper than employing a private office only for you.
Single-family office
A dedicated organisation working only for your family, potentially with its own finance, investment and administration staff.
- Maximum control and privacy.
- Highly tailored.
- Very large investable wealth is normally needed.
Family office by lottery win size
How big a win makes family-office help worth considering?
There is no official threshold. These are practical guide ranges for a UK lottery winner, not rules. The amount left to manage after property, gifts and spending matters more than the original jackpot.
| Approximate win | What most winners are likely to need | What could move you up a level |
|---|---|---|
| £1m–£5m | Usually no family office. Good financial, legal and tax support where needed. | Complex business ownership, cross-border issues or difficult family/legal circumstances. |
| £5m–£15m | Still normally no dedicated office. A coordinated private-client team is usually enough. | Several children, major gifting, multiple properties, household staff or public exposure. |
| £15m–£30m | A virtual family-office style arrangement starts becoming useful for some families. | Trusts, businesses, philanthropy, property portfolios or heavy administration. |
| £30m–£75m | Virtual or multi-family office becomes a credible option. | Consolidated reporting, a gatekeeper, staff, businesses or several advisers. |
| £75m–£150m | Serious family-office support is increasingly reasonable, but a full private office is not automatic. | Multiple family branches, direct investing, cross-border assets, philanthropy or intense privacy needs. |
| £150m+ | A single-family office becomes a realistic option if much of the wealth remains investable and complexity justifies it. | A simple family may still prefer a multi-family or outsourced model. |
Why these are ranges rather than rules: Deloitte cites around US$100m of investable assets as a common benchmark for considering a single-family office. EY's guide is more conservative, saying a stand-alone full-service office can cost US$500,000–US$3m or more each year. Different families need very different amounts of infrastructure.
Use the money left after the dream purchases. If you win £100m and spend £25m on homes, family and lifestyle, the economics of supporting an office should be judged against the money and complexity that remain — not the original headline.
When circumstances change the answer
Two £30m winners can need completely different levels of help
You may need more coordination sooner if…
- several children or family branches need support
- you own businesses as well as investments
- you have homes or tax connections in more than one country
- you employ household staff or manage several properties
- you want trusts, structured gifting or long-term inheritance planning
- you plan serious philanthropy
- you are a public winner with heavier privacy/security work
- you already have several advisers with no clear leader
You may need less infrastructure if…
- you remain anonymous and low profile
- you have one main home and a straightforward lifestyle
- most money is in a well-diversified portfolio
- your family and gifting plans are simple
- you have no operating businesses or complicated private investments
- everything is in one country
- one adviser team can still give you a clear picture
A family office should remove complexity, not create it. If it gives you more staff, meetings, bills and paperwork than the problems it solves, you have probably gone too far too early.
Lottery winner examples
Five wins — and five different answers
These examples show why the jackpot is only the starting point.
£3m win
Couple, one home, two children
They pay the mortgage, replace the cars, help parents and invest the rest.
Likely answer: no family office. A good adviser, solicitor when needed and tax/accounting support should be enough.
£12m win
Family of five, new house, generous family help
They spend £2.5m initially and want to help siblings and parents without every family event becoming a money meeting.
Likely answer: still no full office. A coordinated adviser team plus a clear gifting policy may be plenty.
£28m win
Public winner, three adult children, two homes
There are investments, family gifts, insurance, property costs, privacy questions and requests for help.
Likely answer: a virtual or multi-family office could genuinely make life easier.
£65m win
Several properties, charity plans, staff and private investments
The family has direct business investments, adult children and serious charitable goals.
Likely answer: strong case for professional family-office support, but not necessarily a large private office.
£160m win
Large family, international assets and long-term legacy
Several generations may benefit, there are homes in different countries and direct business investments.
Likely answer: a dedicated single-family office is now a serious option.
£160m win — different family
Private couple, no children, simple portfolio
One main home, travel, cars and a professionally managed portfolio. No business empire and little family administration.
Likely answer: they may still prefer an outsourced or multi-family office. Having enough money to build one does not mean you need one.
Family office costs
A proper single-family office can cost as much as running a small business
This is why the amount of investable wealth matters.
EY cost range
EY says a stand-alone full-service single-family office can cost roughly US$500,000 to US$3m or more each year.
UBS operating-cost data
UBS's 2025 research projected pure operating cost at about 41.8 basis points for offices managing US$100m–US$250m. At US$100m, that is roughly US$418,000 before separate asset-management, banking and external-structure costs.
Staff are the expensive part
UBS found staff represented 67% of projected pure family-office operating costs in 2025.
Do not build a £1m-a-year machine to solve a £100,000-a-year problem. Outsourcing can often provide most of the useful coordination without permanent payroll and infrastructure.
UK family office tax and regulation
In the UK, “family office” describes how things are organised — it is not a special tax status
Trusts have their own tax rules
A family office may coordinate a trust, but it does not make it tax-free. Many relevant-property trusts can face entry/exit charges and ten-year charges of up to 6% under current IHT rules.
Companies pay company tax
A family investment company is a company, not a family office. The current UK Corporation Tax main rate is 25% for profits above the main-rate threshold.
Check regulated financial activity
The words “family office” do not prove that investment advice or management is FCA-authorised. Check the actual firm and legal entity providing regulated services.
The FCA says a genuine family investment vehicle using internal family capital and not raising outside money may fall outside the alternative-investment-fund definition. That does not mean every service around a family office is unregulated; the actual activity still matters.
Questions before paying for family office services
Ask what problem they are actually solving for you
1
What do you actually do?Investment management, reporting, tax coordination, bill payment, family administration — or which of those?
2
Who is my main contact?Someone should understand the overall picture instead of forwarding you between departments.
3
What is done in-house?Know which services they provide and which are outsourced.
4
Who gives regulated advice?Check the FCA-authorised firm and permissions rather than the brand name.
5
Who holds my money?Coordination does not automatically mean the family office should custody your assets.
6
What will it cost in pounds each year?Include investment, banking, legal and outside-provider fees.
7
Can I leave easily?Your records and relationships should not become trapped inside one provider.
8
Do I need this yet?A good provider should be willing to say when a simpler team is enough.
Lottery winner family office questions
Family offices after a lottery win: FAQs
What is a family office in simple English?
It is the people and system that keep a wealthy family's financial life organised. That can include investments, tax, legal work, properties, bills, family gifts, reporting, staff and privacy. A small version may be one coordinator working with outside advisers; a large version may employ its own team.
Do most lottery winners need one?
No. Most winners will never need a full single-family office. Even many people with £10m or £20m can be well served by a strong solicitor, tax/accounting support, a regulated adviser or investment manager and good banking.
How much money do I need?
There is no official number. Around US$100m of investable assets is a commonly quoted benchmark for considering a dedicated office, but the answer depends on cost and complexity. Outsourced family-office support can make sense much earlier.
Does a £100m win automatically mean I need one?
No. Look at how much remains after property, gifts and spending, then look at family and asset complexity. A simple private family with £100m may need less infrastructure than a complicated family with £30m.
What is a virtual family office?
It is an outsourced version. One coordinator or firm pulls together your solicitor, accountant, tax adviser, investment manager, bank and other specialists.
What is a multi-family office?
It is an organisation that provides family-office services to several wealthy families, sharing infrastructure rather than building a private office for each one.
What is a single-family office?
It is a dedicated organisation working only for one family, potentially with its own finance, investment and administration staff.
Can a family office save tax?
Better coordination can prevent poor tax decisions, but a family office is not itself a tax shelter. Trusts, companies, gifts and investments each follow their own rules.
How much can a full family office cost?
It varies enormously. EY says a stand-alone full-service single-family office can cost around US$500,000 to US$3m or more a year.
Who should I speak to first after a very large win?
Build a trustworthy core team before deciding whether you need a family office. See How to Build a Wealth Team After Winning the Lottery.
Family office, cost, tax and regulatory sources
Sources used for the family office guidance
Wealth ranges are shown as guides rather than rules because published family-office benchmarks differ by service model, country and family complexity.
- KPMG UK — family office definition and virtual approach
- Deloitte UK — Family Office Handbook
- Deloitte — US$100m investable-assets benchmark
- EY — family office models and costs
- UBS — Global Family Office Report 2026
- UBS — 2025 family office costs and staffing
- FCA — checking authorised firms
- FCA Handbook — family investment vehicles
- HMRC — relevant-property trust ten-year charges
- GOV.UK — Corporation Tax rates