As per a new study in the UK, almost all family businesses confess they are operating without a strategy for succession, despite knowing full well the issue of generational transition is looming.
A remarkable 97% of family business owners surveyed complained of a lack of direction and purpose for their business and 95% admitted the challenges of achieving a work-life balance contributed to the lack of succession planning. Just 5% have a succession plan in place, and 17% a shareholders’ agreement, despite 9% of the current managing generation admitting they are worried there is no one to pass the business onto.
The study also shows a rise in the number of family firms with ‘blended families’, with nearly a third now having step-children or step-parents involved. It also reveals that more than a quarter (26%) having women as their MD or CEO, six percent higher than in the research findings in 2015.
The findings were published earlier this month in the fourth annual study of UK and international family and owner managed enterprises by Families in Business (FiB). The British support group said it interviewed 250 UK and 1000 global businesses.
Source: CampdenFB