Carlyle Family Business Dinner

We were delighted to host a recent dinner for family business leaders at the Bonham Hotel.

With a sizable element of our client base being privately or family owned, the team at Carlyle have gained significant experience over the years of the unique aspects that come with running a successful family business. Some of these points were debated and explored round the table.

With family businesses contributing around £205bn in taxes in the UK and employing over 14 million people there is significant emphasis on how these businesses need to be nurtured for growth. Some of the key themes discussed were:

• Succession planning is important in any business, however in family businesses this brings its own set of both challenges and opportunities.
• Ensure a regular review of the Board make up in terms of family and non-family members to assist in diversity of thought around the board table. Carlyle are advising some of our clients with Board Effectiveness reviews to be able to support this.
• We discussed the various structures and the use of family councils and forums. An area Carlyle have been assisting a number of clients with recently, especially around the generational shift.

Thank you to Ben Walker, Carol-Ann Searles and Fraser Lyle for co-hosting this dinner as part of our Family Business dinner series.