Family businesses form the lifeblood of the UK's economy. There are a great number of reasons why family businesses are a fantastic venture – they usually have stability, enjoy lang standing tenures from employees, loyalty and commitment running right through their core and have intrinsic cultures that large businesses often struggle to match.
However, there are a number of risks to consider when setting up a family business – specifically how to avoid a total breakdown of the business if a key relationship crumbles such as a director or shareholder that can have a significant impact on how the business can be run going forward or could impact it's ability to continue trading in some scenarios.
Head of Family Law Marilyn Bell and Head of Corporate Law Chris Wilks share their thoughts with SME Online, an online source of information for UK businesses, about how family businesses can avoid a total breakdown of the business is a key relationship fails and what not to do, including failing to document agreements e.g. when promising children a stake in the family business.
