HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TAKING THE FAMILY BUSINESS INTO THE NEXT GENERATION?

Michael Carter

Following the death of our chairman, my father, four years ago we had a big conversation about where we were going and whether we should keep the business, which we decided we wanted to do. Recently we have been doing a big piece of work to support the fourth generation into the business. No one invited them, no one asked them, but they wanted to come and are already proving that they are worth keeping.

Matt Cleevely

When I joined the business, I soon became more ambitious for it than my father and uncle. They were happy to have it ticking over and paying everyone a wage. But the business had potential and I wanted to invest to grow. As a result, my uncle is no longer involved in the business.

Kevin Pope

You can have family employees who are not directors, but we need to ensure our decisions are good for the business, not just the family. We ask ourselves: “Am I making this decision because it’s good for the family, or because it’s good for the business?” If you fall out with family, it can go several layers deep. If I fell out with my brother I’d probably fall out with my mother, my brother’s family and nephews and nieces.

Peter Williamson

My son Paul and I set up the business and thankfully we have a great relationship. But my mentoring of Paul could have got incestuous, so we invited in external mentors. As a result, I have stepped back and Paul is now Managing Director. That input from other people has been vital in our growth.

Alex Rose

While we are a sixth-generation family business, I am the only one in it on a daily basis and welcome the experience of others. I still revert to my mum when I’m faced with new challenges, and she will often be able to reassure me that the same problems have been overcome before. However, I have brought in expertise. Our accountants, Crowe UK, have given us solid financial advice and acted as a devil’s advocate when we’re faced with important decisions.

diverged. Our board is now very professional and the business since 2011 has tripled its turnover and had year-onyear double digit profit growth for the past five years.

Neil Grundon

Working with families can be the same as building a business with close friends. If the business diverges from they wanted, there is likely to be blood on the carpet but undoubtedly with family it’s going to hurt more. We have always had independent directors, as the business passed from my grandad to my dad and me, and we have had to let one of them go too. It was still awful, even when they weren’t family.

Chris Creed

It’s just trying to get people to be realistic. If you can get people communicating and realising that if they take a certain course of action, they will be better off and be taken care off, then it’s likely to work out well. That’s what my brothers and I have done, and we are lucky, it succeeded for us.

Tom Lister

Paul Bence

My father and I get on outside of work, but we have different ideas and views on how the business should be taken forward. Do you get a job because of your surname or your CV? I wanted to prove that I deserved to be here. My brother worked for the business for a short period but left as our opinions

When we looked at succession planning, we looked at family coming into the business, but we also asked ourselves, if we were to sell the business, what is its market worth? We looked down the generations – did they want to be in the business and were they good enough? If the aim of your business is to provide the shareholders with cash, there’s nothing wrong with that. But it keeps it leaner and cleaner if you keep it just with those who are actively working in the business.

Peter Bell

My father started with a shovel in his hand many years ago. He was a grafter – and then he was a businessman. Now he’s got a multi-million-pound company. But like Moreton, there were generational challenges which had to be overcome, including divorcing ownership and management so that I could take over the day-to-day running of the business. My daughter joined the business five years ago and is developing some great initiatives which will benefit the business in the future.

Chris Mould

I worked with a family business which initially would not have these discussions. We finally facilitated an annual off-site meeting. All the shareholders and family came, even if they weren’t involved in the business. All they discussed was dividends, what was in their wills, where would it go, how many children and future thinking.

As a result, some of the family realised what a business burgeoning with family could look like and stepped away for the sake of their children. But without having that structure away from the working day, they would never have spoken about it.

Nick Latimer

Major business decisions are best made when everyone is getting on. And if the family is expanding, it’s essential to set a framework for the business. For all family businesses, decisions can’t be put off just to placate family tensions. These will only get larger the longer they are left.

ROUND TABLE: FAMILY BUSINESSES

Moreton Cullimore

I’m the third generation, the only son of an only son and never envisaged being part of the business, but I knew my father wanted me in it. I dipped my toe in a couple of times but found it difficult working with my father. He could heatedly debate business issues with me and then switch back into being my dad. I found that more difficult.

But I finally did join and there were some frustrating times. I never met my grandfather, he died before I was born, but I always feel I have to live up to their achievements and do even better.

Now I’m running the company and we are not a hierarchical business as I respect my employees and their opinions. For me it’s all about finding people you can trust, and that can be a challenge.