VAT claim for purchases made before VAT reg & sole-trader business incorporation as GC

Gabriela123

I have a new client that has an established sole-trader business.
1) he just (8-May) reached the £85k threshold and needs to register for VAT (probably using the Flat Rate Scheme)
2) he wants to claim VAT back for the purchases made prior VAT registration
2) he wants to incorporate his business into a ltd company (that he already formed).

What is the right order to do these things in?

I) Push through with the incorporation and then register for VAT directly on the ltd (the ltd would need to be vat reg from day one as the sole trader business that's incorporated from was required to register) as there's probably enough time to complete the incorporation before the end of June when required to inform HMRC about needing to register. Would the ltd be able to claim the VAT back for the purchases made (by the sole-trader business!) before the VAT reg in this scenario?

OR

II) Is it better to not rush things and just follow the natural course of events: inform HMRC that the sole-trader needs registering, then register for VAT and, on the first return, claim VAT back on the purchases prior to VAT reg ... and then, later on when valuation etc is ready, incorporate the sole-trader business & try to transfer the VAT number etc?

Many thanks,
Gabriela

Gabriela123

the amount of VAT claim here is quite small, ~5k