Are you a family business?

Nobody sets out to start a family business and yet in the UK today over 75% of all businesses are family businesses. Many of them are household names that have remained in family ownership for generations, however statistics show that only 13% of family businesses survive through to the third generation.

Whether a business is a family business or not will depend on how the family answer questions like these -

  • Do one or more family members retain control of a significant percentage of the voting shares of the company?
  • Are one or more family members working in the firm?
  • Is more than one generation of the family involved?
  • Does the family see themselves as custodians of the business for future generations?

There's no simple definition. A business is often said to be a family business where the family has significant influence over the company and when the business and its owners consider themselves a 'family business'.