John and Mary wish to form a business but they wish to keep their affairs secret as far as possible (such as not letting outsiders find out their addresses or details of their business arrangements). They want to use a structure that is low cost to establish and low cost to maintain. (Both John and Mary have almost all of their assets in family trusts that were set up many years ago and the last time property was transferred into their trusts was over six years ago.) They both want to be involved in day to day management of the business.

Which is the best business structure for them to adopt from the following options?

• A general partnership
• A limited partnership
• A trading trust
• A company