Coutts 2006 Prize for Family Business National Winner

Sarah, Richard, Nicola, Andrew, Jean, Bill

Active Assistance
Winner Best Family Business
Turnover Category £1-5m

Established in 1992 by William Allan, Active Assistance is a second generation specialist care provider for people with high-level spinal cord injury (tetraplegia), now managed by William’s son Andrew Allan. The company was nominated by Robert Lovitt, Greenaway Chartered Accountants.

Roger Pedder, chairman of the Independent Evaluation Committee, commented: “Active Assistance is a good example of what the Coutts Prize is looking for in a family business. The things that impressed the evaluation committee about Active Assistance included:

  • the emphasis given to quality and innovation by continually raising standards of care rather than growth for growth’s sake, yet with a cumulative growth rate of 30% over the last five years;
  • the collaboration of the family in writing a shareholder’s agreement and the implementation of disaster recovery management in the hand over from first to second generation;
  • the policy of remunerating staff in the upper quartile (top 25%);
  • the setting of new standards in the provision of live-in services for adults and children and the creation of a new web site for clients and staff to communicate more effectively; and
  • a strategic use of philanthropy to supporting two charities, one that is involved in lobbying and another that is involved in rehabilitation for people with spinal injuries, as well as making significant donations to both.”

To read the press release please click here.