A Nottingham project focused on theatre, film and audio has received a cash donation from a global packaging firm. Hothouse is a charitable organisation based in Bakersfield Community Centre in Nottingham. Formed in 1998, it has provided a range of creative projects for young people and adults in the area. Now, thanks to a charitable donation from home-grown family business The Wilkins Group, it has added £1,000 to its funds, helping Hothouse continue delivering creative projects for the local community. Guy Jones, of Hothouse Theatre, said: "This donation will help us continue offering creative opportunities that build confidence, skills and community connections for people in Bakersfield and beyond." Over time, Hothouse has evolved to provide and promote a range of creative projects. It set up its first Film Club on the Brickyard Estate thanks to funding from Children in Need, has since staged fringe productions through Hothouse Theatre, publishes an online magazine, and supports community projects through film-making and promotional video production. Guy said: “We work with individuals of all ages and abilities, as well as with community projects. We use the creative process involved in producing theatre, drama, film and audio pieces to help develop confidence, aspiration, and skills, and to address issues within the community.” Justin Wilkins, joint managing director of The Wilkins Group, said: “Hothouse is an inspiring organisation. When we heard about the work it does, we knew it was a charity we wanted to support with a donation." “The charity’s work is inclusive, empowering, and a little different, which is what makes it so special. We love that there is freedom to try new things, build confidence and share their ideas through a range of creative projects. It's a fantastic charity that’s making a lasting difference.” This is the second year that The Wilkins Group has pledged to support different local charities every month for a year. So far in 2026, the Colwick based business has donated a total of £7,000 to creative charities including, Robin Hood Theatre Company, Nottingham Youth Orchestra, Carlton Operatic Society and Young Creatives Nottingham, as well as giving to St John The Baptist Primary Academy. The Wilkins Group is a family run business which has grown from humble graphic design beginnings based in a rented building in Talbot Street, Nottingham, to a global firm. Remaining true to its founder’s ethos, it still has its UK headquarters in Nottingham, making it one of the East Midlands’ major employers, while also prioritising giving back to the community and workforce that has helped build the firm’s reputation and success. Dedicated to improving the environmental impact of industry, the business creates packaging designs and innovations that aim to reduce and ultimately eradicate single-use plastics within the industry. It is already leading the way in alternatives including the use of compostable materials and oven safe board trays for food packaging. The Wilkins Group produces food packaging for brands including Pukka, Pizza Express, Harrods and Cadbury. It also is credited with producing bespoke and award-winning items such as eco-friendly coat hangers and the iconic M&S light-up glitter gin bottles. For more information on The Wilkins Group, visit here. For more information on Hothouse Theatre, visit here.

There is a particular kind of pressure that comes with inheriting a family business as a daughter. It is not the pressure of acquisition or ambition. It is something quieter, more complex, and considerably harder to talk about. It is the pressure of proximity: of taking over something that is not just a commercial enterprise but a life's work, a source of identity, and in many cases the thing that shaped your entire childhood, for someone who is still in the room. Most leadership transitions are clean by comparison. A new CEO arrives with a mandate, a fresh perspective, and no obligation to manage the emotional legacy of the person they replaced. The daughter who inherits has none of that. She carries the weight of the past into every decision she makes, and she does it while trying to demonstrate that she is fully capable of leading something forward. That combination of inheritance and expectation is unlike anything else in business. And yet it is almost entirely absent from the leadership development programmes, the MBA curricula, and the business media that shape how we think about what good leadership looks like. How It Begins: The Question Of Whether You Were Chosen Or Simply Next For many daughters who inherit, the transition does not begin with a board decision or a formal announcement. It begins much earlier, in the accumulation of small signals: being brought to the office on weekends, being asked what you thought over the dinner table, being told by a parent that they always imagined you taking this on. Sometimes the path is explicit. Often it is assumed, by the family, by the business, and eventually by the daughter herself, long before anyone sits down to discuss it properly. That ambiguity about how the decision was made carries consequences. Because one of the first things a daughter who inherits has to contend with is the question, from others and sometimes from herself, of whether she earned it. This is a question that male successors face too, but the gendered dimension adds a particular edge. There is still a cultural assumption in many industries that a business passed to a daughter represents a softer choice: a family keeping it in the family rather than appointing the strongest available leader. That assumption is wrong. It is also persistent. And the daughter who inherits often spends the early years of her leadership quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, working to disprove it. The healthiest response to this is not to pretend the question does not exist, but to become clear in your own mind about what the answer actually is. Did you come into this role through genuine merit, through family expectation, through a combination of both? Most inheritances are a combination. Owning that clearly, rather than either overclaiming your credentials or minimising your capabilities, is the foundation of a leadership identity that will hold up under pressure. The Relationship With The Person Who Built It Nothing in the transition is more defining, or more delicate, than the relationship with the parent who hands over the business. And for daughters specifically, that relationship tends to carry a particular charge. The father-daughter dynamic in a family business succession is one of the most written about in family business research, and one of the most mishandled in practice. The father who built the business has usually done so over decades of personal sacrifice, shaped it in his own image, and derived much of his identity from it. Handing it to his daughter involves a level of trust and vulnerability that many men find genuinely difficult to express, particularly in a professional context where they have spent their careers projecting confidence and control. What this can produce is a succession that looks complete from the outside but is not quite real from the inside. The daughter has the title. She may have the shares. But the calls still go to her father. The senior staff still seek his approval. The major decisions still get filtered through his opinion before they are made. And she is expected to navigate all of this without appearing to resent it, because to resent it would be to seem ungrateful for the extraordinary thing she has been given. This dynamic has a name in family business literature: it is called the invisible incumbent, and it is one of the most common and most damaging features of poorly managed successions. The parent who cannot fully step back does not always intend to undermine their successor. Often they genuinely believe they are being helpful. But the effect on the daughter who is trying to establish her own authority is corrosive, because it sends a signal to everyone in the organisation that the real decisions are still being made elsewhere. Managing this requires courage and honesty in equal measure. It requires the daughter to have a direct conversation with her predecessor about what full handover actually means in practice, not just in principle, and to hold that line even when it creates discomfort. It requires her to be clear with the business about who is leading and to create structures, through the board, through governance processes, through her own visible decision making, that reinforce that clarity. And it requires her, frankly, to be willing to disappoint her father sometimes. Because a daughter who never makes a decision he would not have made is not really leading the business. She is managing his legacy on his behalf. Those are different jobs. The Mother-Daughter Dimension The father-daughter relationship gets most of the attention in family business succession writing. The mother-daughter dimension is discussed far less often, and it deserves more. Where the business was built by both parents, or where the mother has played a significant informal role even without a formal title, the daughter who inherits steps into a web of relationships that is even more complex than the single-parent succession. Her mother may have views about how the business should be run that she has never had the platform to express formally. She may see her daughter's succession as an opportunity to have those views heard at last, through her daughter. Or she may feel, for the first time, genuinely sidelined from something she helped to create. Where the business was built by the father and the mother's contribution was primarily relational and emotional, the daughter may find herself being held to an expectation of warmth and accessibility that her predecessor was never required to demonstrate. The idea that she should lead in a way that keeps the family together, that prioritises relationships over hard decisions, that remains emotionally available to everyone in the business, is an expectation that lands differently on a daughter than it would on a son. None of this means the inheritance is the wrong decision. It means that the inheritance comes with relationship work that is every bit as demanding as the operational and strategic work, and that it is rarely acknowledged as such. Establishing Authority In An Organisation That Knew You As A Child One of the practical challenges that distinguishes family business succession from almost every other leadership transition is the presence, often in significant numbers, of people who have known the new leader since she was young. The long-serving operations director who joined when you were ten. The finance manager who remembers when you used to sit in the corner of the office doing your homework. The warehouse team who knew your father when he was the same age you are now. These relationships are an asset. They represent institutional knowledge, loyalty, and a depth of connection to the business that no external hire can replicate. They are also a source of complexity, because the authority you are trying to establish sits awkwardly alongside the familiarity that already exists. Some of those long-serving employees will be genuinely delighted by the succession. They chose to work in a family business precisely because of its relational character, and they will extend to you the same loyalty they extended to your predecessor. Others will take longer to update their mental model of who you are. They will continue, consciously or not, to treat you with the slightly protective benevolence they showed you when you were younger, rather than the professional respect you are now entitled to. Navigating this requires patience and consistency more than it requires assertion. Trying to command authority through forcefulness rarely works in an environment where people have known you for years. What works is demonstrating, repeatedly and over time, that your judgment is sound, that you follow through on what you say you will do, and that you hold both the business and the people in it with genuine care. Authority earned through that kind of track record is considerably more durable than authority that comes from a title alone. It also requires you to be honest about what you do not yet know. The successor who arrives with all the answers is a much less compelling figure than the one who asks good questions, listens carefully, and shows that she has the confidence to acknowledge gaps in her own experience. Intellectual honesty, particularly in a business where your predecessor may have been a dominant and sometimes infallible figure, is itself a form of leadership. The Question Of Style: Do You Lead Like Him, Or Like Yourself? Every daughter who inherits faces a version of this question, usually more than once. The business was built by someone with a particular leadership style, a particular way of managing people, a particular set of values and instincts that became embedded in the culture over years. Some of that is worth preserving. Some of it may need to change. And the daughter who inherits is often the first person in a position to make that distinction honestly. The temptation in the early stages of succession is to mimic the predecessor. To make the decisions they would have made, to communicate in the way they communicated, to manage in the style they managed, because that feels like the safest way to signal continuity and avoid unsettling the organisation. This is understandable. It is also, in the medium term, a mistake. Because the daughter who leads exactly as her father led is not bringing her own capabilities and perspective to the role. She is acting as a custodian of someone else's approach rather than an architect of her own. And at some point, often when the business faces a new kind of challenge that the predecessor's instincts were not equipped to handle, the limitations of that approach become apparent. The more sustainable path is to understand, clearly and deliberately, which aspects of the culture and the way of doing things genuinely reflect the values you share and want to continue, and which aspects were a function of the predecessor's personality rather than something essential to the business. Then lead from your own strengths while being transparent with the organisation about what you are continuing and what you are choosing to do differently, and why. That transparency is important. People can handle change. What they struggle with is change they do not understand and that they were not prepared for. A daughter who can say clearly: this is what I am keeping because it is at the heart of what we are, and this is what I am changing because the world has moved and we need to move with it, is giving the organisation something it can work with. Ownership, Equity, And The Conversations That Do Not Happen The transition of leadership and the transition of ownership are not the same thing, and they do not always happen at the same time or in the same way. Many daughters who inherit the running of a family business do not inherit full or equal ownership of it, at least not initially. The equity may be distributed across siblings. The founder may retain a significant shareholding. The structure may have been put together years ago without much thought about what it would mean in practice. These structural realities matter enormously, because they shape the actual authority of the person who has been asked to lead. A daughter who is running the business but does not have a controlling share, and whose decisions can be overridden by siblings who are not involved in operations or by a parent who retains voting rights, is in a genuinely difficult position. She has the accountability of leadership without the full authority that leadership requires. This is a conversation that families often avoid having explicitly, because it touches on money and fairness and the unspoken question of whether all children are truly equal in the eyes of the parent. It is also a conversation that tends to become significantly more complicated once the succession has happened and the business is in motion, compared to having it in advance when things can be structured thoughtfully. The daughters who navigate this best are usually those who insist, often against considerable family resistance, on having the ownership conversation at the same time as the leadership conversation. Not because equity is more important than the relationship, but because the relationship cannot be protected in the long run if the structure underneath it is unclear or inequitable. Siblings: The Relationship That Shapes Everything Else In families with more than one child, the succession of one daughter to the leadership of the business reshapes every sibling relationship in the family, whether or not the other siblings are involved in the business at all. The sibling who is also working in the business and was not chosen faces a particular challenge. The relationship between the two of you was formed long before either of you had titles or responsibilities, and now it has to function within a structure of reporting lines and professional authority that sits uncomfortably alongside its original equality. Managing that requires more explicit conversation than most siblings are comfortable having, and more forgiveness on both sides than either of them usually expects to need. The sibling who is not in the business but has an ownership stake has a different kind of complexity to navigate. She or he has a financial interest in decisions they have no part in making, and a relationship with a sister who is now, in some sense, accountable to them as a shareholder while also being their sister at Christmas. The governance structures that manage that dual role, family councils, shareholder agreements, independent boards, are not just procedural formalities. They are the mechanisms that make the relationship survivable. And then there is the sibling who feels that they should have been chosen. That wound is real and it does not resolve itself simply because the succession has happened. The daughter who inherits may spend years managing, with great care and considerable emotional labour, a sibling relationship that has been permanently altered by a decision that was not entirely hers to make. What Success Actually Looks Like The daughter who inherits is not trying to be her father. She is not trying to prove that a woman can do what a man did. She is trying to be the best possible steward of something that matters enormously to her family and to everyone who works in it, while also being a leader in her own right. Success in that context is not just measured in revenue or headcount or market position, though those things matter. It is measured in the health of the family relationships that the business sits within. In whether the next generation, if there is one, has a business worth inheriting and a family worth belonging to. In whether the values that made the business worth building in the first place are still present and still genuine, even as everything else has changed. That is a more demanding standard than the one applied to most leaders. But it is the standard that family business succession imposes, and the daughters who rise to it are doing something genuinely remarkable. They deserve to have their experience taken seriously, their challenges named honestly, and their achievements recognised for what they are: not family decisions that happened to work out, but leadership earned under conditions that most people in business will never fully understand.

Family Business United has announced the publication of its latest insight guide, Creating a Family Charter: A Practical Guide to Building Stronger Family Governance, a comprehensive new resource designed to help family businesses establish clear governance, strengthen relationships and prepare confidently for the future. Written by Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United, the guide explores one of the most important, yet often overlooked, aspects of family business success – creating a shared framework that defines a family's values, expectations and approach to decision-making across generations. As family businesses grow and ownership becomes more complex, the informal understanding that often exists in founder-led businesses can become increasingly difficult to maintain. The guide demonstrates how a Family Charter can provide clarity around issues such as family involvement, governance, succession, communication and conflict resolution, helping families navigate change while preserving both relationships and business continuity. Rather than presenting governance as a legal or administrative exercise, the publication focuses on the conversations that every enterprising family should have long before significant decisions need to be made. Packed with practical guidance, reflection questions and a step-by-step approach, the guide is intended to help families build consensus and create a Charter that reflects their own unique values and aspirations. Commenting on the launch, Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United, said: "Family businesses are built on trust, shared values and a long-term commitment to creating something that lasts." "In the early years, much of what makes a family business successful exists in conversations rather than documents, but as families grow and generations evolve, those unwritten understandings need to become clearer. A Family Charter isn't about creating rules; it's about creating clarity." "Over the years I've spoken with countless family businesses that instinctively know what they stand for, yet have never found the time or opportunity to capture those principles in a way that future generations can understand and build upon." "This guide is designed to help families start those conversations with confidence. It isn't about creating the perfect document; it's about creating stronger communication, better governance and a shared vision for the future." The publication is suitable for family business owners, directors, shareholders, next-generation family members and advisers working with enterprising families. Whether a business is preparing for succession, establishing formal governance structures or simply looking to strengthen family communication, the guide provides a practical starting point. The launch forms part of Family Business United's ongoing commitment to providing practical resources that help family firms address the opportunities and challenges unique to family ownership. It joins a growing library of insight guides covering governance, succession, leadership and other issues affecting family businesses across the UK and beyond. Creating a Family Charter: A Practical Guide to Building Stronger Family Governance is available now as a digital publication from the Family Business United website here

Family Business United (FBU), the leading independent platform for the UK family business community, today announces the launch of The Family Business Glossary, a comprehensive new reference guide bringing together over 240 terms covering governance, succession, ownership, family dynamics and leadership. Family business is a world with its own vocabulary. Terms such as charter, cousin consortium and third generation curse are used often within the sector, yet they are rarely explained in one place. FBU developed the glossary to close that gap, giving family members, next generation leaders and advisors a single, accessible resource to draw on when navigating the sensitive and often complex conversations that come with family ownership. The glossary spans established governance frameworks, such as the family council and the three circle model, alongside legal and technical terms, and the values and behaviours, such as loyalty, trust and integrity, that shape family business life. It also includes a number of terms specific to the lived experience of family business, including imposter syndrome, leadership loneliness and short trouser syndrome, a term describing the tendency of family members to keep seeing a successor as the child they once knew rather than the capable adult they have become. “Families who communicate well, and who share a common language for the issues they face, tend to navigate the challenges of ownership and succession far more successfully than those who do not,” said Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United. “This glossary brings that language together in one place. I hope it gives families the shared vocabulary they need to have the right conversations, at the right time, with confidence.” The glossary opens with a foreword from Paul Andrews and an introduction setting out how the terms are organised and how the guide is best used. The introduction also addresses an observation made during the glossary's development: that some terms, particularly those relating to values and behaviours, are more contextual than others, and are best used as a starting point for family discussion rather than as fixed definitions. Family Business United worked with a number of friends and partners in developing the glossary, including John Broons, David Twiddle Daniel Trimarchi, James Munn, Nick Di Loreto, Paul Hunt, Rob Davies, Ellie Milner, Allie Taylor PhD, Jane Cowley and Victoria Robinson. The Family Business Glossary is available now from Family Business United.

Wealthy UK-based families are increasingly considering the Channel Islands as a “near-shore, offshore” option as they reassess where they live, work and structure their affairs following the abolition of non-dom status, according to Rathbones’ offices in Jersey and Guernsey. New statistics from HMRC this week, the final publication under the old regime, showed a fall in the number of non-domiciled and deemed domiciled taxpayers, down to 81,900 in 2024/26, with combined tax and National Insurance liabilities of £13.6 billion, a 9% year-on-year increase, underlining the economic significance of this internationally mobile group. The prospect of higher taxation and greater complexity is prompting some high net worth individuals to look again at where they plan, manage and preserve their wealth. Research by Rathbones earlier this year showed that nearly 6,000 entrepreneurs left the UK between 2024 and 2026. Rathbones Investment Management International, part of Rathbones Group, said the data release should be seen in the context of a broader shift in global wealth planning. Tax remains important, but families are also weighing political stability, legal certainty, safety, education, healthcare, connectivity and quality of life. Marc Nightingale, Senior Investment Director in Jersey, said: “The latest non-dom statistics are a useful moment to take stock of how international wealth is moving, but they are not the full story. The end of the UK’s non-dom regime has sharpened conversations about mobility, but tax is only one part of the decision." “Families are thinking more broadly about resilience, optionality and where they can build a secure base for themselves and the next generation. For some, that may be the Channel Islands; for others, it may be another international hub. The common theme is the need to bring tax, investment, succession, governance and lifestyle considerations together.” While a number of destinations have become known for welcoming the internationally mobile, Jersey actively seeks to attract entrepreneurs, business owners and investors who can make a long-term contribution to the island. Through its High Value Residency programme, applications are assessed not only on financial criteria but also on the prospective economic and social contribution individuals can make to the community. Rob Broughton, Senior Investment Director in Jersey, said: “Jersey is a good example of how priorities are changing. Clients expect a well-regulated international finance centre, but what often matters just as much is connectivity, schools, safety, lifestyle and access to high-quality professional services." “We are seeing entrepreneurs, business owners and investment professionals who want to remain internationally active while building a better long-term base for their families. The decision is rarely about one factor; it is about how wealth, work, family and future plans fit together.”

Award-winning Scottish hospitality operator Buzzworks has announced that The Bonnie Badger will return to its historic name, The Golf Inn, as the much-loved Gullane venue prepares for a major transformation. The venue will continue to operate until later this year, when it will close for refurbishment. Works are expected to take place across autumn and winter, ahead of reopening in spring 2027. Returning the venue to The Golf Inn name celebrates an important part of Gullane’s heritage, with the historic inn having served generations of local residents and visitors long before becoming The Bonnie Badger. The move reflects Buzzworks’ commitment to preserving that legacy while investing in the venue’s future. The Golf Inn will become part of Buzzworks’ signature House Collection, offering a stylish pub, restaurant and rooms experience where guests can eat, drink and stay while enjoying everything Gullane and the wider East Lothian coastline has to offer. The project also represents another step in Buzzworks’ expansion into accommodation. Once reopened, the venue’s bedrooms will provide an ideal base for golf breaks, coastal escapes, family visits and business travel in one of Scotland’s most popular destinations. Led by internationally acclaimed designer Jim Hamilton, the transformation will enhance the venue’s existing character while introducing the timeless, stylish and comfortable design synonymous with Buzzworks’ House Collection. Throughout the closure, The Bonnie Badger team will remain part of Buzzworks and be offered roles at the nearby Bass & Barrel in North Berwick, before having the opportunity to return to The Golf Inn ahead of its reopening. Kenny Blair, CEO at Buzzworks, said: “Returning this much-loved venue to The Golf Inn name feels like the right way to mark the beginning of its next chapter." “The Golf Inn holds a special place in the history of Gullane and remains a name that means a great deal to many people in the community. As we invest in the building, we want to recognise that heritage while creating a venue that will serve locals and visitors alike, whether they are popping in for a coffee, enjoying a meal with family or staying overnight." “This investment is about building on everything that has made the venue so special over the years. We want The Golf Inn to remain a place local people are proud of, while creating a memorable experience for guests visiting Gullane and the surrounding area. We look forward to welcoming everyone through the doors when The Golf Inn reopens.” The venue will offer four room types - snug, comfy, spacious and sumptuous - with each bedroom combining boutique styling and thoughtful touches including premium linen, statement artwork, Roberts radios and rainfall showers. The largest rooms will also be suitable for families. Buzzworks is a B Corp-certified business and has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Companies to Work For for ten consecutive years. The group currently operates 25 award-winning bars and restaurants across Scotland and was named Best Managed Pub Company in the UK (under 51 sites) at the 2025 Publican Awards. To find out more, visit here.

Family Business United is delighted to celebrate the success of family-owned dairy producer Tims Dairy, which has secured new accolades at the 2026 Great Taste Awards, further cementing its reputation for producing exceptional Greek-family dairy products. Tims Dairy has been awarded a prestigious 2 Star Great Taste Award for its Greek Family Vanilla Kefir, one of the highest honours presented by the internationally recognised Great Taste Awards. Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, the Great Taste Awards are regarded as the world's most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme. Products are judged solely on taste by a panel of more than 500 expert chefs, buyers, food writers and food critics, making a two-star award a significant endorsement of quality and flavour. The latest success means that both of Tims Dairy's Greek Family Kefirs have now achieved 2 Star Great Taste Awards, highlighting the family's commitment to producing premium kefir with a rich, creamy texture, a gentle cultured flavour and the added benefit of being naturally lactose free. Adding to the celebrations, the company's popular Greek Family Blackcurrant Yogurt has also received a 1 Star Great Taste Award, recognising its outstanding taste and further demonstrating the consistency of quality across the Tims Dairy range. Founded on family values and generations of dairy expertise, Tims Dairy continues to champion traditional methods alongside innovation, using fresh British milk and family recipes to create products that are both delicious and nutritious. Commenting on the awards, the team at Tims Dairy said: "We are absolutely thrilled that our products have once again been recognised by the Great Taste Awards. To see both of our Greek Family Kefirs achieve two-star status, alongside a one-star award for our Blackcurrant Yogurt, is a fantastic achievement and a tribute to the passion and care that goes into everything we make." "We would like to thank everyone who chooses Tims Dairy and the Great Taste judges for recognising what matters most – outstanding taste." Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United, added: "Family businesses are renowned for their commitment to quality, craftsmanship and consistency, and Tims Dairy is a wonderful example of that ethos in action." "These awards are thoroughly deserved and reflect the passion, dedication and attention to detail that family-owned businesses bring to everything they produce. Congratulations to the entire team on this fantastic achievement." The latest awards reinforce Tims Dairy's position as one of the UK's leading producers of premium Greek-family yogurt and kefir, with products that continue to win over consumers and industry experts alike through exceptional flavour and quality.

GAP Hire Solutions, the UK’s largest independent hire company, has again been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). This achievement recognises nine consecutive years of Gold-standard health and safety performance. GAP is proud to receive this year’s award in the 70th anniversary year of the RoSPA Health and Safety awards, a milestone marking seven decades of progress, leadership and life-saving work. Internationally renowned as the symbol of excellence in workplace safety, RoSPA Awards recognise organisations, teams and projects for their unwavering commitment to setting the benchmark for safety across their sector. Sustaining Gold-level recognition for nine years running reflects a safety culture built into every part of GAP’s operations, from depots to major project sites nationwide. The award demonstrates GAP’s long-standing record of excellence, built on its dedication to high safety standards and the wellbeing of employees, customers and communities, values that have underpinned the business since 1969. Allister Maxwell, Head of Safety & Risk at GAP, commented: “Safety is core to GAP’s culture. Nine consecutive RoSPA Golds is a testament to every colleague across the business for making safety their responsibility every single day. To be recognised in RoSPA’s 70th anniversary year makes this award mean even more special.” GAP Hire Solutions leads the UK's equipment hire industry, offering an extensive range of construction equipment for all sectors. With our specialist divisions and over 200 locations nationwide, we provide reliable solutions in Plant, Tools, Welfare Services, Non-Mechanical Plant, Pump, Power & Environmental Services, Trenching & Shoring, Tanker Services, Lifting Services, Survey & Safety and Event Services. As a family-owned business with over 55 years of experience, GAP reinvests a higher percentage of our turnover into our fleet than our competitors, ensuring customers benefit from access to world-class equipment. Our independence allows us to make quick, long-term decisions, delivering effective solutions.

Inheritance Tax liabilities have passed £7bn for the first time, according to new HMRC figures out today which show the growing pressure on families, business owners and high-net-worth individuals. The latest Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics show that tax liabilities created in respect of the 2023 to 2024 tax year reached £7.03bn, up £330m, or 5%, on the previous year. The proportion of UK deaths resulting in an IHT charge also increased to 4.72%, the highest level since 2006 to 2007, although the total number of taxpaying estates fell by 1,100 to 30,400. The average IHT bill paid by taxpaying estates increased by 9%, rising from £212,000 to £231,000. The figures also show that the combined value of Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief set against assets rose to £5.96bn, up 13% on the previous year. The value of BPR rose by 15% to £3.85bn, while APR rose by 9% to £2.11bn. Andrea Jones, Partner and National Head of Private Client Advisory at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Inheritance tax has passed another major milestone, but the real story is the growing complexity families now face." “For higher-value estates, the figures show how quickly the position can change. Once an estate exceeds £2m, valuable allowances start to taper away, which can leave families facing a much higher effective tax burden than expected." “The figures also provide an important pre-reform benchmark for business and agricultural reliefs. Almost £6bn of relief was set against assets in the latest year, showing how central these reliefs have been to succession planning." “But the landscape has now changed. Families with businesses, farms, AIM portfolios or other qualifying assets should not assume plans made under the old rules will still achieve the same result." “With unused pension wealth also due to come into scope from 2027, estate planning needs to be reviewed now, not left until it’s too late.”

Family Business United has congratulated Andy Burnham on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and has called on the new administration to place the family business community at the heart of its plans for economic growth. Mr Burnham was appointed on Monday 20 July 2026, succeeding Sir Keir Starmer, who stepped down as Labour leader and Prime Minister in June. The former Mayor of Greater Manchester, who won the Makerfield seat in a by election in June, has pledged to bring stability back to British politics and has made the rebalancing of economic power across the regions and nations of the UK a central theme of his leadership. A Community Ready to Engage Family businesses account for the overwhelming majority of private sector firms in the UK, employing millions of people and contributing hundreds of billions of pounds to the economy every year. They are found in every sector and in every constituency, and they are particularly significant employers in the towns and regions beyond London and the South East, the very communities that the new Prime Minister has spent much of his career championing. Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United, said: "On behalf of our family business community we would like to extend our congratulations to Andy Burnham on his appointment as Prime Minister. We look forward to positive engagement with the new Prime Minister and his team in the weeks and months ahead." "Family firms are the engine room of the UK economy. They are the businesses that stay, that invest for the generations that follow and that keep their people and their communities at the centre of every decision they make. That long term outlook is a national asset and it deserves to be better recognised, understood and supported by government." "What family businesses need now is a policy environment that helps them get on with the job. That means action to reduce the cost of doing business, greater certainty and stability in the tax and regulatory landscape, and a clear commitment to backing investment in skills, technology and productivity. Give family firms the confidence to plan for the long term and they will deliver growth, jobs and prosperity right across the country." Call for a Review of the Inheritance Tax Changes Family Business United has also renewed its call for the government to review, and ideally reverse, the recent amendments to Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief, which have caused widespread concern among families in business and in farming. As Paul continues: "There is one area where we would urge the new administration to act quickly and that is the changes to the inheritance tax rules affecting families in business. The reforms to Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief have created real anxiety across the community and are already influencing decisions about investment, succession and, in some cases, whether to continue in family ownership at all." "We recognise the fiscal pressures that any government faces, but this is a measure that risks raising very little whilst doing lasting damage to the businesses and farms that underpin our regional economies. We would respectfully ask the Prime Minister and the Treasury team to look again at these provisions, to engage properly with the families affected and to find a way forward that protects the ability of family firms to pass from one generation to the next. "Family Business United stands ready to work constructively with the new government, to share the evidence and to make the case for the family business sector. Our door is open and we hope theirs will be too."

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published its latest statistics on workplace pension participation and savings trends. Commenting, Rebecca Williams, Financial Planning Divisional Lead at Rathbones, one of the UK's leading wealth and asset management groups, says: “The latest workplace pension figures are a timely reminder that automatic enrolment has been one of the UK's most successful pension reforms. Since its introduction in 2012, it has helped millions more people start saving for retirement while benefiting from valuable employer contributions that might otherwise have been missed." “The fact that around nine in 10 eligible employees are now saving into a workplace pension is a significant achievement. With employers accounting for more than 60% of workplace pension saving, automatic enrolment continues to play a vital role in improving long-term financial security." “However, the conversation now needs to move beyond participation and focus on pension adequacy. Getting people into pensions was only the first step. The bigger challenge is ensuring they are saving enough to achieve the retirement they want." “Our research suggests today's Generation Z could require pension wealth of more than £3 million for a comfortable retirement, or around £2.4 million when applying the 4% withdrawal rule. While these figures may seem daunting, they reflect the reality of longer life expectancy, inflation and rising living costs over time." “It's also notable that opt-out rates have edged higher. Cost-of-living pressures continue to squeeze household finances, making long-term saving harder for some people to prioritise. Meanwhile, lower participation among some groups and employees working for the smallest businesses shows there is still work to do to make retirement saving truly universal." “Too many people still treat pensions as a 'set and forget' product, despite them often being among their most valuable financial assets. Automatic enrolment has normalised pension saving. The next step is to normalise pension engagement, helping people understand whether they are on track, review contributions regularly and make informed decisions throughout their working lives. Otherwise, too many risk reaching retirement only to discover they have saved too little, too late.”

The future of a popular North Curry village pub has been secured after St Austell Brewery acquired The Bird in Hand, with local operators Ravi Keshri and James Eyre remaining at the helm. The independent South West brewing, hospitality and drinks wholesale company has purchased the pub as part of its growing presence in Somerset, ensuring one of the village's most important community assets remains thriving for years to come. For many residents, the news marks another chapter in the remarkable revival story of The Bird in Hand. Just over a year ago, the pub stood closed and deteriorating before Keshri and Eyre stepped in and brought it back to life. The pair, who run other award-winning pubs in the local area, were inspired to act after seeing first-hand how much the closure affected North Curry residents. After discovering the pub had been sold subject to contract, James Eyre wrote a letter to the owner and left it on a car windscreen in the hope of opening a conversation. The gamble paid off and, in January 2025, the pair took over the site and began transforming it. Community backing was immediate. During renovations, villagers flocked to a temporary trailer operating from the pub car park, where drinks and street food were served while work took place. Hundreds of people queued across successive weekends, eager to support the return of their local. Today, The Bird in Hand has once again become a focal point for village life, serving locally sourced food, supporting community groups, sponsoring sports teams and helping with local events. The pub is operated by NNI Management Limited - with day-to-day operations led by Rebecca Tilleray and her team - who remain committed to delivering excellent service and creating a welcoming experience for guests while continuing to support the local community. Gareth James, Operations Director, St Austell Brewery, said: "As we continue to pursue the right acquisition opportunities, The Bird in Hand is a great strategic fit, and exactly the type of quality pub we look for within our 120-plus strong leased and tenanted estate. It's a thriving community local in an area of Somerset where we see real opportunity to strengthen our presence." "Ravi and James are exceptional operators. Their passion for pubs, the local community, and delivering great beer and food aligns perfectly with our values. We're delighted to be working alongside them – as well as Rebecca and her team - and look forward to supporting The Bird in Hand’s continued success for many years to come." James Eyre said: "One of the biggest attractions for us was the opportunity to partner with a business that genuinely understands and supports great pubs. St Austell Brewery has an outstanding reputation, a fantastic beer portfolio and a model that allows operators like us to continue doing what we do best while benefiting from the strength of an established South West company.” Guests visiting The Bird in Hand will now be able to enjoy St Austell Brewery favourites including Tribute Pale Ale, Proper Job and korev alongside the pub's existing offer. The operators are also looking to the future, with plans to restore an historic outbuilding as a traditional skittle alley, creating another space for local people to come together and helping preserve an important part of Somerset's pub heritage.