Family-owned businesses – time to think about succession?

James Warburton, Investment Director in Endless LLP’s Manchester team, discusses why Transformational Private Equity can be the perfect home for a Family-Owned Business considering whether now might be the right time to sell their business ahead of the Autumn Statement.

In today’s volatile economic and political landscape, businesses face unprecedented challenges. Inflation, interest rates, supply chain disruptions, skills shortages, and wavering consumer confidence all strain profitability and hinder growth. For family-owned businesses, there can also be the added complexity around the future leadership of the business when the current generation retires.

These challenges have meant that for many family-owned businesses, retirement plans may have been put on hold since 2019 or even earlier. Owners are now left thinking “what next?”.

This is especially true when there is a lack of family succession, if a younger generation has chosen an alternative route when it comes to their career. This may lead to an interest in management teams looking to buy out the family owners, should they be able to secure investment. 

Added to this uncertainty is the pending Autumn Statement on 30 October and fears of how tax reforms, including capital gains, may impact on value for shareholders. This brings an additional level of time pressure as to whether now is the right time for owners to consider the future of their business.

For families who are considering selling their business or management teams considering a buyout (or some blend of the two), now really is the time to act.