Wates Group named ‘Best UK Family Business, £25m+ turnover category’

And the winner is’……. Construction and property development company from Leatherhead scoops National Prize for Family Business.

Surrey based, construction and property development company, ‘Wates Group’was last night awarded ‘Best UK Family Business, £25m+ turnover category’, at the Coutts 2006 Prize for Family Business. . In a category with entries from a variety of industries including, catering, convenience stores and truck rentals, the family competed in the final stage of the competition against car retailer, Meteor Group and WTA International Freight Management, to take home the top prize from the ceremony held at the Coutts headquarters in London. 

Established in 1897, Surrey based Wates Group is one of the largest privately owned construction and development companies in the UK, operating through five strategic business units across market sectors including: education, retail, interiors, affordable housing, public sector, commercial, property and housing development. The company is a third / fourth generation family business and was nominated by Ruby Parmar of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

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

·Exceptionally well thought out and well structured family governance including regular meetings of a separate family forum where family issues can be discussed and adoption of a family charter that forms the basis of the relationships between the voting shareholders;

·An emphasis on ensuring a balance between business performance, career goals and life goals as part of the process of fostering family harmony;

·The selection of non-family members to key senior management and non-executive positions within the company as part of the process of ensuring a meritocracy and a programme for buying out all those family members not actively interested in the business;

·A substantial contribution to the community as one of the top 100 companies included in the Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index, in addition to the many causes supported by the family charitable foundation and the wide involvement of family members in the Wates Foundation making donations of over £1 million per annum;

·Detailed relationship management plans for every customer going beyond the core work involved; and

·Adoption of nearly every recommended best practice for internal management and open communication.”

Mark Evans, Head of Family Business at Coutts, commented: "Up to 75% of businesses in the UK are run by families and they account for a large share of UK GDP and employment.  They also enter each and every one of our lives far more than we realise, from the wine we drink and the cars we drive to the offices and homes we work and live in. Yet even today, much of their work goes largely unrecognised by society and they get very little help with tackling the unique challenges they face in areas such as business succession.”

“The Coutts Prize for Family Business is the only regional and national awards programme in England and Wales celebrating the overall best performing small, medium-sized and large family businesses. With a 300 year history of working with family businesses, we have an established track record in providing a range of private, commercial and charity banking services to this essential industry.”

The Coutts Prize recognises firms in three turnover categories (£1-5m, £5-£25m, £25m+) that demonstrate a combination of best practice in family and corporate governance, business succession, business strategy, innovation and charitable giving. Entrants must be companies or firms where family members have control of more than 25% of the voting shares and think of themselves as a family business.

More specifically, the independent evaluation committee judging the Prize, has looked for examples of best practice, such as ethical standards reflecting family values, effective planning for succession of top family management and non-family members, a means of returning wealth to shareholders and a track record of innovation in products, services, technology and ways of doing business.

Each of the three winners, will choose between the opportunity to have the story of their family business written by Matthew Boyden, author of the Rough Guide to Opera and seven other books including biographies, or a photographic portrait or photo album by Dwayne Senior, a portraiture photographer, designed to capture the essence of the family and the business.

Mark Evans added: “Working within a family business can bring many valuable benefits such as putting you in control of your own destiny and wealth creation but it can also bring with it many hurdles, for example training the next generation and separating ownership and management control. We wanted to give the winners something that can be treasured now but that could also be passed down through future generations in recognition of their outstanding achievements.”

Over 250 people attended the awards and International cabaret act, Kit and the Widow performed a Cabaret Revue about all of the finalists. Inspired by the winners' good work, Coutts created a philanthropic finale to the evening by donating £5,000 to one of the family businesses, for the company to donate to a small independent charity or community organisation of their choice. To select which family would receive this donation, 250 envelopes were hidden beneath guests' seats and at the end of the ceremony, all attendees were asked to search for the winning envelope. The envelope was found by Ginette Hughes from MHI, an architectural and engineering design consultancy family business, based in the East Midlands. Ginette and her husband, Rodney, will be making a joint decision, alongside their staff on which small and local charity the money will be donated to.

The Independent Evaluation Committee is overseen by Roger Pedder, until recently chairman of C&J Clark (Clarks Shoes) Ltd, one of the UK’s largest private family companies. The National Committee Members were: Lucy Armstrong, Chief Executive, The Alchemists (Northern) Limited; Simon Berry, Managing Director and Chairman, English Lakes Hotels Limited; Simon Bower, Managing Director, Pollards Tea & Coffee Limited; John Freeman, Partner, Business Analytics; Libby Gibson, Partner, Piper Private Equity; David Harvey, Chief Executive, Society of Trust and Estate Practioners (STEP); Michael Maslinski, Director, Maslinski & Co; Harry Moore, Managing Director, Moore Fleming; James Newitt; Co-Director, M Newitt & Sons Limited and Sir Robert Worcester KBE DL, Founder, MORI.

Nomination packs for the ‘Coutts 2007 Prize for Family Business’ will be distributed between 1 September – 31 October 2007. To reserve a pack email sarah.moriarty@coutts.com.

For further media information on Coutts contact:

Jo Thorne, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co on 0207 957 2650 or mobile 0776 6070 859 or e-mail: joanna.thorne@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

·Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.

·Coutts manages the wealth of 100,000 high net worth clients worldwide through a network of over 40 offices globally.

·The first Coutts regional office to be opened was Eton in 1961. Today, Coutts has regional offices in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Eton, Guildford, Hampshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford and Tunbridge Wells.

·Coutts offers clients a range of products and services covering sophisticated investment products together with expertise in trust and fiduciary services and UK tax and banking services.

·Coutts & Co is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Coutts & Co Registered in England No 36695Registered Office 440 Strand London WC2R 0QS.

·Calls may be recorded.

www.coutts.com

Coutts Prize for Family Business £25m+ turnover, nominations and winners

Northern England Region	Southern England and Wales Region	London and Home Counties
Pindar	Dawsongroup Plc	Chemilines Limited
The Kerfoot Group Limited	Fresh Direct (UK) Limited	Kenneth Green Associates
Meteor Group*	Simon Smith Group	MLS Group
The Cains Beer Company	Wates Group*	Pharmaceuticals Direct
	Watkin Jones & Son Limited	WTA International Freight Management*
	Wyke Farms

*Regional winners.