It is tempting to think about legacy in purely philosophical terms — as something that unfolds over time through the natural accumulation of good decisions and strong values. And there is truth in that. But legacy does not simply happen to family businesses. The ones that endure, the ones that are genuinely still recognisable three or four generations on as the businesses their founders built, have almost always made deliberate choices about how to structure, protect, and transmit what matters most. If you want to build a legacy that lasts, it helps to be intentional about it. Document The Story Before It Is Lost One of the most underestimated risks to family business legacy is the simple passage of time. The founders who carry the original vision in their heads, who know why certain decisions were made, who embody the values in the way they walk through the business every day — they will not always be there. And when they are gone, a great deal of institutional knowledge and cultural memory goes with them, unless someone has made the effort to capture it. This does not need to be elaborate. It can be as simple as recorded conversations, a written history of the business, or a set of family stories collected and shared across generations. What matters is that it is done while it can be — while the people who were there are still able to tell it. The families that have neglected this work often find, a generation later, that they are building on foundations they no longer fully understand. Create Governance That Reflects Your Values Good governance is not just a business necessity. In a family firm, it is also one of the most powerful ways of embedding and protecting the values that the family wants to carry forward. A family constitution that articulates what the business stands for, how decisions will be made, and how family members can engage with the business provides a framework that outlasts any individual leader. This does not mean governance needs to be rigid or corporate in feel. The best family constitutions are documents that feel like the family — alive to their particular history, their particular way of doing things, their particular version of what fairness and commitment look like. They are not imposed from outside. They are written from within, with every generation that will be affected by them having a voice in shaping them. Invest In The Next Generation Before You Need Them One of the most common mistakes in succession planning is leaving it too late. The conversation about who will lead the business next, and how they will be prepared for it, should not begin when the current leader is ready to step back. It should begin years, ideally decades, earlier — with deliberate investment in the development of the people who will one day carry the business forward. This means giving next-generation family members meaningful experience, inside and outside the business. It means creating development opportunities that are genuinely stretching, not just titular roles that carry responsibility without real authority. It means being willing to have honest conversations about capability and fit, however uncomfortable those conversations might be. Stay Connected To Your Community The family businesses that endure longest are rarely those that have been most focused on their own interests. They are the ones that have remained genuinely embedded in their communities — as employers, as contributors, as organisations that people trust because the family behind them has earned that trust over time. This is not just good ethics, though it is that too. It is a source of resilience. Businesses that are genuinely woven into the fabric of a community have stakeholders who will go the extra mile when things are difficult. They have a reputation that competitors with deeper pockets cannot simply buy. They have, in the truest sense, a reason to exist that goes beyond profit. Measure What You Want To Protect Finally, if legacy matters to your family, find a way to measure it. Not just the financial performance — though that matters too — but the things that tell you whether the business is still the business you want it to be. Employee tenure and satisfaction. Community impact. The degree to which the values you have articulated are visibly alive in the way the business operates day to day. The families that take legacy seriously enough to measure it are the ones who find, a generation later, that they have actually managed to protect it. Not perfectly — nothing in business ever is — but recognisably, meaningfully, in ways that the people who built it would be proud to see. Legacy is not an accident. It is a choice, made over and over again, in the decisions that matter and the ones that seem small. The family businesses that understand that are the ones that will still be standing a hundred years from now.

There is a particular breed of British manufacturer that combines deep industrial knowledge with the stubborn persistence of a family enterprise. Big Bear Plastic Products Ltd, based in Droitwich in the heart of the West Midlands, is a fine example of that tradition. Over the course of more than a quarter of a century, it has grown from a specialist vacuum forming operation into one of the UK's most respected thermoforming companies, producing large-format plastic components for customers across agriculture, construction, automotive, leisure and beyond. It is a story rooted in the ingenuity of one man, carried forward by the ambition of his daughter, and pointed squarely at the future. The Founder: A Life Dedicated to Plastics To understand Big Bear, you must first understand Gerald Bloom. Recognised by Interplas UK among its prestigious 75@75 list of plastics industry champions, compiled to mark the 75th anniversary of the show, Bloom is a figure who has shaped British plastic moulding over several decades. As Interplas noted in the citation, he dedicated his life to the industry, bringing new technologies and manufacturing processes to the UK across an entirely self-made career. His commitment to the craft was so hands-on in the early days that he built his first moulding machines himself. Before Big Bear, Gerald founded and developed Midland Industrial Plastics Ltd (MIP), a company that became a major Tier 1 supplier of automotive interior trim parts, pioneering a wide range of advanced plastic moulding technologies that were ahead of their time in the UK market. MIP grew to employ around 1,000 people across a variety of manufacturing sites and joint ventures, a remarkable achievement for a business built from scratch. The company was ultimately acquired by Textron Inc., one of the leading US industrial manufacturers, a testament to the calibre and scale of what Gerald had built. Rather than retire on his achievements, Gerald returned to his roots. In 1998, drawing on the technical expertise he had accumulated across a lifetime in the industry and supported by engineering colleagues from his days at MIP, he founded Big Bear Plastic Products Ltd. Building Big Bear: The Early Years The company was established with a clear purpose: to apply the highest manufacturing standards to the vacuum forming and trimming of plastic parts. From its outset, Big Bear positioned itself as a technically capable business with serious industrial pedigree. The team Gerald assembled brought with it many years of experience in automotive plastics, giving the fledgling company a head start that a purely start-up operation would have taken years to earn. The business found its home in Droitwich, Worcestershire, a location that places it at the geographical heart of England and within easy reach of the motorway network, major rail stations and Birmingham International Airport. It is ideal territory for a manufacturer whose customers stretch across multiple industries nationwide. Over time, Big Bear invested in a purpose-built modern factory that now spans 75,000 square feet, housing state-of-the-art equipment and an experienced production team. The company holds both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accreditation and has additional experience of the automotive quality standard IATF16949, reflecting the rigorous quality culture that Gerald Bloom instilled from the beginning. What Big Bear Makes Big Bear specialises in the production of large and complex plastic components using thermoforming technology, encompassing vacuum forming, twin-sheet forming, pressure forming and, more recently, compression moulding. These processes involve heating thermoplastic sheet material until it becomes pliable and then shaping it over or into a mould under vacuum or pressure to achieve precise forms, sometimes at considerable scale. The range of materials the company works with is broad, including ABS, PMMA-ABS, HDPE, HIPS, PC and PE, available in a variety of colours, finishes and thicknesses. Critically, Big Bear can produce moulded parts up to 3.5 metres by 2.5 metres, which places it among a relatively small number of UK manufacturers capable of handling truly large-format components. The products themselves are perhaps more familiar to the average person than might be imagined. Caravan bumpers, bodywork for agricultural and construction vehicles, components for garden ponds, interior parts for mobile homes, aeroplane seat elements and trims for leisure vehicles all fall within Big Bear's portfolio. The company offers a full-service solution, from initial design, development and tooling through to medium and high-volume moulded parts, meaning customers can bring a concept and receive a finished product from a single supplier. More recently, the company has expanded its capabilities to include waterjet cutting, a precision process well suited to the trimming of large or complex components, alongside CNC machining. A Different Kind of Succession In many family businesses, the transfer of leadership from founder to the next generation follows a familiar pattern. A son or daughter who grew up in and around the factory joins the business in their twenties, works their way through various departments and eventually assumes the top role. Emma Hockley's journey was rather different and is all the more interesting for it. Before she had anything to do with vacuum forming or thermoplastic polymers, Emma was building a career at Harrods, the famous Knightsbridge department store. She joined the PR department on a work experience placement and progressed through the organisation to become Buyer for Perfumery & Cosmetics, the largest buying division in the store. One of her notable achievements there was the creation of the Perfume Diaries, an exhibition charting the history of perfume that generated more than £2 million in press coverage, delivered significant sales results and was hailed as ‘the first significant perfume exhibition of recent times with international resonance’. It was a world of high-end luxury brands, glossy campaigns and affluent clientele, a considerable distance from the factory floor in Droitwich. She eventually joined Big Bear as part of the Sales team, bringing with her a sharp commercial instinct and an ability to tell a compelling story about a product. Over more than five years in that role, she worked alongside every part of the operation, from engineering and production to purchasing and finance, learning the business from the inside. In September 2020, as part of a company-wide restructure, she was appointed Managing Director. Emma has been candid about the challenge of making that transition. Moving from a senior position at one of the world's most famous retailers, to leading a manufacturer in a technical sector she had not grown up in, required her to rebuild her professional confidence from the ground up. She has spoken of questioning the status quo and refusing to accept that things were done a certain way simply because that was how they had always been done. That determination and fresh perspective, it turns out, have proven to be considerable assets. The appointment was also a deliberate act of succession planning. As Emma has noted, her becoming Managing Director allowed Big Bear to establish a strong succession plan and map a genuine long-term future for the business. Gerald remains involved as Owner and Chairman, ensuring that the deep technical knowledge and industry relationships he has spent a lifetime building remain available to the company, while Emma shapes its commercial direction and growth strategy. Five Years at the Helm and a £2 Million Investment By the time Emma marked five years as Managing Director in early 2026, Big Bear had been through a period of significant investment and transformation. The company completed a £2 million capital investment programme, installing two CNC machines, a new industrial robot and a waterjet cutter. Alongside the new hardware, Big Bear implemented a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, developed with support from WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) and Made Smarter, designed to integrate operations more efficiently and support new product introductions without disrupting service to existing customers. The next planned step in the company's digital evolution is exploring the practical application of artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency and support employees. Emma has also brought a distinctive focus on internal communications, understanding that a cohesive team with clarity about the company's direction performs better than one left in the dark. She launched a monthly company newsletter and introduced quarterly business updates for the entire staff, ensuring that every employee understands how their contribution fits into the wider picture. The workforce currently stands at between 80 and 100 people; a team of engineers, production specialists and support staff many of whom carry automotive manufacturing experience from earlier careers. Emma has been recognised externally as well, having been inducted into the Great 100 campaign by the Made Group, a programme that celebrates the most influential individuals in UK manufacturing. The Road Ahead Big Bear's ambitions for the coming years are clearly stated. Emma believes the business can achieve and sustain annual sales of more than £10 million by 2027, building on a steady growth trajectory and a strong order pipeline. To get there, the company is targeting sectors that complement its existing strengths while opening new doors. Point-of-sale retail represents one significant opportunity, where Big Bear's capability to produce large, high-quality formed components at volume could serve display and retail fixture manufacturers. Defence is another target market, with the company working towards joining the JOSCAR register, a collaborative platform used by suppliers to the UK aerospace, defence and security sectors. Big Bear already holds ISO 9001 accreditation and has recently achieved ISO 14001, the environmental management standard, both of which will support its progression into more regulated markets. Consolidation in the broader plastics sector is also creating space for well-run, technically capable independent manufacturers. As larger players have merged or withdrawn from certain markets, gaps have appeared that a business with Big Bear's combination of skills, equipment and service ethic is well placed to fill. Emma has spoken of overcoming some of the industry's persistent pain points, including speed of response, material innovation and the achievement of world-class quality at both lower and higher volumes. The company is also paying attention to sustainability and material innovation, areas where customer and regulatory expectations are rising steadily. As the industry navigates wider shifts around the use of recycled and bio-based thermoplastics, Big Bear's engineering capability will be central to its ability to adapt and lead. A Business Built to Last Big Bear Plastics is in many respects an embodiment of the West Midlands manufacturing tradition: technically grounded, quietly ambitious and built on hard-won expertise rather than flash or fanfare. Gerald Bloom built Midland Industrial Plastics into a thousand-person business from scratch, pioneered manufacturing processes that advanced the UK plastics industry and then started again to build something new and lasting. What he created in 1998 has, in the hands of his daughter, evolved into a confident, modern manufacturer with its sights firmly set on the next phase of growth. Emma’s story is one of the more unusual in British manufacturing, a woman who arrived from the world of luxury retail with no engineering background, learnt an industry, built a team, made significant investments in technology and emerged with a clear strategy and the credibility to carry it out. The transition between generations at Big Bear has not been without its challenges, but it has produced a business that combines the founder's technical heritage with a fresh commercial energy. For a company that has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, there is a pleasing sense of just getting started and we look forward to seeing the next stages in the journey with Emma at the helm.

If you ask most family business leaders whether succession planning is important, the answer is almost always yes. Ask them whether they have a plan in place, and the response becomes considerably more hesitant. Ask them when they intend to start, or to revisit what exists, and the conversation tends to drift towards the horizon: when the time is right, when things settle down, when the next generation is ready, when they themselves feel ready. The gap between knowing that succession planning matters and actually doing it is one of the most consistent and consequential patterns in family business life. And it is a gap that costs businesses, and families, far more than most people appreciate until it is too late to do much about it. Why The Conversation Keeps Getting Deferred Understanding why succession planning gets avoided is not difficult. It requires confronting a set of questions that are, by their nature, uncomfortable. Questions about mortality, about relevance, about whether the people you love are capable of carrying what you have built. Questions about your own identity and what comes after a role that has defined you for decades. Questions about fairness between siblings, about the place of non-family managers, about what happens to the business if the plan does not work out as intended. These are not small questions, and they do not have easy answers. It is entirely understandable that busy leaders, facing the daily pressures of running a business in a demanding economic climate, find reasons to put them off. The problem is that deferral has a cost that is not immediately visible, and by the time it becomes visible, the options available have narrowed considerably. Succession planning is not a single conversation to be had at some future point when everything is in order. It is an ongoing process that, ideally, begins years, sometimes decades, before any transition actually takes place. The families who handle it well are not those who found it easy. They are those who started early enough that they had the time and space to get it right. The Difference Between A Plan And A Process One of the most common misconceptions about succession planning is that it is an event, a document to be drafted, signed, and filed, rather than a living process that evolves alongside the business and the family. A succession plan that was written five years ago and has not been revisited since is not a plan. It is a historical record of intentions that may no longer reflect the reality of the business, the readiness of the next generation, or the wishes of the family. Effective succession planning is iterative. It involves regular conversations, between the current generation and the next, between family members and their advisers, between the family and the board if one exists. It tracks the development of potential successors over time, identifying strengths, addressing gaps, and testing readiness through progressively greater responsibility. It revisits the governance structures of the business to ensure they are fit for purpose for the next phase of ownership and leadership. And it remains genuinely open to outcomes that were not anticipated at the outset, including the possibility that the best person to lead the business into its next chapter is not a family member at all. That last point is one that many families find genuinely difficult to sit with. But the businesses that are willing to ask the question honestly, and to make the decision based on what is right for the business rather than what is comfortable for the family, tend to be the ones that thrive across generations. Starting Earlier Than Feels Necessary The single most common piece of advice offered by families who have been through a successful succession is also the simplest: start earlier than you think you need to. Not because the transition is imminent, but because the process of preparing for it, developing the next generation, building the governance structures, having the family conversations that need to happen, takes far longer than most people anticipate. Developing a successor is not a matter of handing over a job description and a set of keys. It involves years of deliberate exposure to different parts of the business, to external experience that broadens perspective and builds credibility, to the kind of mentoring and coaching that transfers not just knowledge but judgement. It involves building the confidence of the individual being developed and the confidence of the wider organisation in their leadership. None of that happens quickly, and none of it happens without intention. Starting the process early also changes its emotional texture. When succession planning begins at a point of relative calm, when the current leader is healthy, engaged, and has no immediate plans to step back, it feels less like a confrontation with mortality and more like an investment in the future. The conversations are easier, the options are wider, and the decisions are made from a position of strength rather than urgency. The Role Of The Next Generation Succession planning is not something that happens to the next generation. It is something they need to be active participants in, and that participation needs to begin long before any formal transition is on the horizon. This means creating genuine opportunities for the next generation to contribute, to lead, and to be tested. Not token roles designed to keep them engaged, but real responsibilities with real accountability. It means being honest with them about the timeline and the criteria — what readiness looks like, what the business needs from its next leader, and how they are progressing against that picture. And it means listening to what they actually want, rather than assuming that because the business exists, the next generation's role within it is predetermined. Not every child of a family business founder wants to run the business. Some would rather own it than lead it. Some would prefer to pursue a different path entirely. A succession process that ignores these realities in favour of an assumed outcome creates resentment, installs reluctant leaders, and stores up problems that will surface eventually, one way or another. The families that handle this well create space for honest conversations about individual ambition and aspiration, and they build structures flexible enough to accommodate a range of outcomes. What Happens Without A Plan The consequences of inadequate succession planning are well documented, but they bear repeating, because the statistics tell a story that too many family businesses are still writing for themselves. Many family firms fail to successfully transfer to the third generation and beyond. The reasons are multiple and complex, but the absence of structured, timely succession planning is a thread that runs through a disproportionate number of those that do not make it. When a leader exits unexpectedly, through illness, death, or a relationship breakdown that forces the issue and without a plan in place, the consequences can be severe. The business faces a leadership vacuum at the moment it is least equipped to handle one. Family relationships, already under strain, are tested further by decisions that have to be made quickly and under pressure. External stakeholders including customers, suppliers, lenders lose confidence. The value built over a generation can erode with alarming speed. None of this is inevitable. All of it is avoidable, with the right preparation. The Best Time To Start There is a well-worn saying that the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, and the second best time is today. It applies to succession planning with particular force. If the process has not yet begun, the most useful response is not regret about the time already lost but a decision, made today, acted on this week, to begin. That beginning does not have to be grand or formal. It might be a conversation between the current leader and their most trusted adviser. It might be a family meeting that puts the question openly on the table for the first time. It might be the appointment of an independent board member whose brief includes supporting the succession process. What matters is not the scale of the first step but the fact of it, because the alternative, another deferral, another quarter in which the plan remains a future intention rather than a present reality, is a choice with consequences that will eventually have to be reckoned with. The businesses that thrive across generations do not leave succession to chance or to circumstance. They plan for it, invest in it, and treat it with the same seriousness and strategic intent that they bring to every other decision that determines the long-term future of what they have built. It is never too early to start. It is, however, possible to start too late.

Nottinghamshire drivers are now in pole position for electric driving after the all new Kia EV2 arrived at NK Motors in Chilwell for the first time. The highly anticipated EV2 made its local debut during a successful three-day First Drive Weekend from Thursday, May 21 to Saturday, May 23, with customers invited to get behind the wheel and experience Kia’s newest electric vehicle up close through exclusive walkarounds and personal test drives. As Kia’s most compact electric SUV to date, the EV2 has already generated major excitement thanks to its bold design, urban practicality and impressive technology. Designed specifically for modern city lifestyles, the EV2 combines compact dimensions with a surprisingly spacious cabin, flexible interior layout and up to 362 litres of boot space. Drivers visiting the launch were also introduced to the EV2’s advanced technology package, including Kia’s latest infotainment system, wireless smartphone charging, adaptive cruise control and advanced driver assistance systems. Premium models also feature Harman Kardon audio, flush door handles and Kia’s signature Star Map lighting design. The EV2 offers up to 281 miles of electric range depending on specification, while rapid charging capability allows the battery to charge from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes, making it ideal for both everyday commuting and longer journeys. Customers can also benefit from a £1,500 Electric Car Grant, helping make the switch to electric driving even more accessible. Managing director at NK Motors, Sanj Kumar said: “The EV2 has really accelerated interest in electric driving across Nottinghamshire. Customers are looking for an EV that feels stylish, practical and achievable, and the EV2 delivers on every level.” He added: “There was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the launch weekend, and the response has been incredibly positive. Once customers experienced the space, technology and performance for themselves, it was clear the EV2 is going to be a real game changer in the compact EV market.” The first edition EV2 is available now at NK Motors Chilwell, with additional models expected later this year. For more information, please visit here.

A Dorset funeral director is warning businesses and consumers about the growing problem of fake and misleading online reviews. Nick Douch, managing director of Douch Family Funeral Directors, which runs seven branches across Dorset, said dishonest reviews are harming reputable businesses and misleading people at their most vulnerable. The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into the practice after concerns that some companies are publishing fabricated or manipulated reviews to gain an unfair advantage. Nick said: “Most businesses are honest and reviews are from genuine customers, but there are some who are simply making them up. This is dishonest, it is potentially fraudulent and it disadvantages every business that plays by the rules." “In our sector this matters more than most. When someone is arranging a funeral they are going through one of the hardest times of their life. They need to know they can trust the business they are turning to." “Across our seven branches we have built up over a thousand genuine 5* reviews and we are proud of every one of them." “We fully support any investigations into the sharp practice of fake reviews and while the platforms hosting them do their best, it is can be difficult to weed out the fake reviews.” The CMA has issued guidance to help consumers identify fake reviews. It advises that people read the full review rather than simply looking at the star-rating. It also warns customers to be on their guard against AI-generated reviews and that if a review ‘feels a bit too slick, reads like it's been perfectly crafted’ it may not be real; ‘Trust your instincts,’ it adds. Douch Family Funeral Directors runs branches in Wimborne, Ferndown, Corfe Mullen, Parkstone, Blandford, Wareham and Swanage. It also runs an award-winning funeral plan. About the Douch Family Funeral Directors - have been helping families with funeral arrangements for over 100 years. Branches include Douch & Small, A E Jolliffe & Son, Albert Marsh, James Smith, Ives & Shand and Lesley Shand Funeral Service. They’re based in Wimborne, Ferndown, Wareham, Poole, Swanage, Blandford and Corfe Mullen.

The Manor House Golf Club’s position among Europe’s premier golf destinations has been recognised within a new industry ranking of the continent’s most luxurious venues. The Golf World 'Top 100 Luxe Resorts Europe', a new wish-list of resorts guaranteeing long-weekend luxury, ranked The Manor House in 27th place in Europe and within the top five resorts in the UK and Ireland. This is further proof that The Manor House is delivering Golf on another level. The Cotswolds venue forms part of Exclusive Collection, the collection of country house hotels, spas and golf destinations across the UK. In recent years, the group has invested heavily across its golf and hospitality offering, helping strengthen its appeal among travelling golfers from the UK, Europe and the United States. Alongside The Manor House, properties including Pennyhill Park and Royal Berkshire are positioned within easy reach of many of Surrey and Berkshire’s world-renowned golf courses, further enhancing Exclusive Collection’s growing reputation within the luxury golf travel market. The latest ranking reflects the increasing international profile of both The Manor House and the wider collection as destinations for golfers seeking championship golf combined with high-end hospitality and countryside experiences. At the heart of The Manor House experience is the championship course, designed by Peter Alliss and Clive Clark, stretching across 365 acres of rolling Cotswolds countryside, ready to sweep you off your feet in a true countryside retreat. Alongside the golf, guests enjoy luxury accommodation, Michelin-star dining in the Bybrook restaurant, and the exceptional hospitality that defines the Exclusive Collection brand. Just a short distance away, and part of the resort, The Castle Inn complements the whole experience with its relaxed, quintessentially English pub atmosphere, offering stylish boutique rooms and seasonal dining, making it an ideal extension for guests looking to explore more of the surrounding area. The panel described The Manor House as: “One of GB&I’s leading couples’ retreats, golfing or otherwise. A characterful, luxurious hotel with real attention to detail, as well as the Michelin-starred Bybrook.” The Manor House also holds GEO Certification® for sustainable golf operations. As part of Exclusive Collection, a certified B Corp, sustainability is embedded across the entire business, ensuring a holistic and responsible approach to operations. Environmental work across the estate includes biodiversity and habitat management, water conservation initiatives and low-impact course maintenance supported by a new fleet of Kress robotic mowers. Alongside its sustainability commitments, the club has continued to invest in course conditioning and long-term improvements, including an ongoing full bunker renovation programme designed to further enhance the playing experience and presentation of the championship course. Andrew Ryan, director of golf at The Manor House, said: "To be recognised among Europe's leading luxury golf resorts is a hugely proud moment for everyone involved with The Manor House. We've continued to invest in the golf course, the wider guest experience and the long-term future of the estate, so this recognition feels particularly rewarding." "What's especially pleasing is to see The Manor House ranked alongside and ahead of some of the biggest and most established resorts in European golf. It reflects the hard work of the entire team and reinforces the direction we're heading in as a destination."

Ask most family business leaders about risk and they will talk about the things they are actively worried about. Rising costs. Recruitment challenges. Supply chain pressures. Changing consumer behaviour. The lingering uncertainty of an economic climate that has not felt settled for the better part of a decade. These are real risks, and they deserve serious attention. But there is another category of risk that receives far less airtime in family business conversations, one that is quieter, slower-moving, and in many cases more damaging than any of the external threats that keep leaders awake at night. It is the risk of doing nothing. Of waiting for clarity that may never fully arrive. Of deferring the decisions that feel too large, too complicated, or too uncomfortable to make today. In a climate as demanding as this one, inaction is not caution. It is a choice and it carries consequences that compound quietly until they become impossible to ignore. The Comfort Of The Status Quo There is a deeply human tendency to equate familiarity with safety. What we know feels less risky than what we do not, even when the evidence suggests otherwise. For family businesses, this tendency is amplified by the weight of history. The way things have always been done carries the authority of the people who built the business, the decisions that survived previous downturns, the practices that have become so embedded they are no longer questioned. Challenging the status quo can feel like a challenge to the family itself. But the economic environment that made yesterday's approach successful is not the environment that exists today. Input costs are higher. Consumer expectations have shifted. Technology has changed what customers can access and what competitors can offer. The business that was perfectly positioned five years ago may be quietly losing ground today, not because of anything it has done wrong, but because the world around it has moved and it has not moved with it. The status quo is not static. Every day a decision is deferred, the context in which it will eventually be made has changed. Waiting for the right moment is, more often than not, simply waiting. What Inaction Actually Costs The costs of doing nothing are real, but they are often invisible in the short term which is precisely what makes them so dangerous. They do not appear as a line item on the management accounts. They show up later, in market share quietly ceded to more agile competitors, in talented people who left because the business did not feel like it was going anywhere, in customer relationships that drifted away because the offering stopped evolving, in opportunities that were available at a certain moment and then simply were not. There is also a less tangible but equally significant cost to the culture of the business. Organisations take their cues from their leadership. When the people at the top are seen to be hesitating, avoiding difficult conversations, or perpetually delaying decisions that everyone knows need to be made, it sends a signal, about confidence, about direction, about whether the business has a clear sense of where it is going. That signal travels faster and further than most leaders realise, and it shapes behaviour at every level of the organisation. The inverse is also true. When leadership acts, even imperfectly, even in conditions of uncertainty, it creates energy. It tells the business that things are moving, that there is a plan, that the people in charge are engaged and intentional. That energy is not a soft benefit. It is a competitive asset. The Decisions That Cannot Wait Not every decision needs to be made urgently, and good judgement involves knowing the difference between a decision that genuinely requires more information and one that is simply being avoided. But in the current climate, there are categories of decision that family businesses consistently defer at their peril. Succession and leadership transition sit at the top of that list. The average age of family business leaders in the UK is rising, and the gap between when succession conversations should begin and when they actually do remains stubbornly wide. Every year that planning is deferred is a year in which the next generation is not being developed, the governance structures are not being put in place, and the business is more exposed than it needs to be to the unexpected. Investment in technology is another. The pace at which digital tools, including AI, are reshaping competitive dynamics means that businesses which delay adoption are not simply standing still. They are falling behind relative to a moving benchmark. The cost of catching up increases with every passing quarter. Pricing strategy is a third. Many family businesses, particularly those with long-standing customer relationships, have been reluctant to pass on cost increases at the rate that the economic environment has demanded. The instinct to protect the relationship is understandable and admirable. But sustained margin compression is not a sustainable expression of that loyalty, it is a slow erosion of the business's ability to invest, to grow, and ultimately to serve those customers well over the long term. Acting In Uncertainty The reason so many of these decisions get deferred is not laziness or indifference. It is the genuine difficulty of making consequential choices in conditions of uncertainty. Leaders who care deeply about the business, and family business leaders almost always do, are naturally reluctant to act without confidence that they are making the right call. But waiting for certainty in an uncertain world is its own form of magical thinking. The conditions under which the perfect decision can be made with full information and zero risk do not exist, and they are not coming. What does exist is the ability to make the best decision available with the information at hand, to build in mechanisms for reviewing and adjusting as circumstances change, and to move with enough conviction that the organisation can get behind the direction being set. This is not recklessness. It is leadership. And it is precisely the kind of leadership that family businesses, with their long-term orientation, their ownership stability, and their freedom from the short-term pressures that drive so much corporate decision-making, are uniquely well placed to provide. The Opportunity In The Discomfort Economic difficulty is not only a threat. It is also, for businesses willing to act while others hesitate, a significant opportunity. Downturns and periods of disruption have historically been the moments when family businesses, patient, resilient, and unencumbered by quarterly reporting cycles, have made the investments, the acquisitions, and the strategic moves that defined their next chapter. The businesses that emerge strongest from challenging periods are rarely those that waited it out. They are those that used the discomfort as a prompt to look honestly at what needed to change, made the decisions that needed to be made, and moved with enough clarity and purpose that the organisation could follow. Doing nothing feels safe. But in today's economic climate, it is anything but. The hidden cost of inaction is real, it is accumulating, and the moment to address it is not some clearer, calmer point in the future. It is now.

Three female entrepreneurs have launched the UK’s first of a kind clinic dedicated to weight loss will officially open its doors this month, setting a new benchmark for personalised care, an important step forward for the future of integrated health. Reports suggest that more than 1.6 million people in the UK are now using GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro. The latest from the BBC shares that a pill format of weight loss drugs could be used to help people coming off weight-loss jabs to avoid regaining weight – a known risk when coming off GLP-1 injections. This research supports the growing need for wider and ongoing support both during and after medication use. The new clinic in Nottingham has been developed from the personal experience of Mandy Sangha who gained weight through Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) as well as personal tragedy. Rooted in genuine personal experience, the clinic aims to support those navigating medicated weight loss with long-term support and care. The doctor-led clinic, Shape⁸, will be supporting customers with a holistic in-person offering to complement patients on their weight-loss journey. Founded by Mandy and her sisters, Sandy and Saminda Sangha, Shape⁸'s opening marks the first step in the business’s mission to share the importance of incorporating nutrition, exercise, emotional well-being, and lifestyle habits with medication use. Co-Founder Mandy Sangha said, “We are delighted to be officially opening our first in-person clinic which will offer a regulated, trusted and safe approach to wellbeing and medication use." “We’re proud to be sharing our bold mission and our founding story with the weight loss community, to ensure we help people to live happier, healthier and longer lives. The official opening of our clinic is just the first step in our ambitions; we’re also going to be introducing our Shape⁸ Together forums which have been created to provide a safe and supportive space for those on their weight loss journey.” Dr Kamran Amjed, Clinical Lead at Shape⁸ added: “The ethos behind Shape⁸ is what really stands out for me. This isn’t about trends or shortcuts, it’s about creating a space genuinely focused on health, wellbeing, longevity and giving people the tools and support they need to become “What started as a shared vision has now, I’m pleased to say, become reality with a focus centred on helping people take control of their health and improve their wellbeing. A lot of people say they’re going to do things within the healthcare and wellbeing space, but it takes something special to actually make it happen. “Alongside the sisters, our pharmacy team have been instrumental in ensuring everything we do is built and grounded around clinical safety, professionalism and client care. Shape⁸ isn’t simply about weight loss and quick fixes, it’s about health optimisation.” Alongside the Shape⁸ Together in person forums, the business is also hosting regular wellness days, providing the perfect space for education, awareness and support for those navigating their medicated weight loss journey. Partnering with leading collagen, electrolyte and supplement brands, plus several local wellness businesses covering fitness, nutrition, style and coaching, the Shape⁸ team is focused on bringing high-quality wellness solutions to its clients. About Shape⁸ Is a trusted pharmaceutical business aimed at supporting sustained wellness through safe and effective solutions. The business is built on more than 20 years of pharmaceutical and wellness expertise, with its team operating successfully in the pharmaceutical and medical device online sector for more than 15 years. Founded by sisters Mandy, Sandy and Saminda, Shape⁸ fills a gap identified by Mandy’s first-hand experience with GLP-1s. Shape⁸ is committed to providing a holistic offering that incorporates advice on nutrition, exercise, emotional well-being, and lifestyle habits into the journey to ensure healthy, sustained and safe weight loss. The Shape⁸ team has plans to expand its range with additional health and wellness products in the near future.

Strawberry tarts and coffee cream towers are just some of the cakes which have become adorable characters in a partnership between a former art student and beloved Scottish bakery. Illustrator Lauren Morsley, a graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone Collage of Art & Design, part of the University of Dundee, and Dundee and Fife based Fisher & Donaldson have together launched a new range of mechanise. And to celebrate the occasion they are running a pop-up shop selling the new products alongside some of the famous cakes. It is open for one day only, Saturday 30 May, at DJCAD’s Art & Design Undergraduate Degree Show 2026. Lauren, who graduated from DJCAD in 2018, grew up in Kirkcaldy and now lives in Dundee. She said, “It was such a lovely project to be involved with. “I grew up with Fisher & Donalson and have so many memories of going to the Cupar store with my gran and when family came up from England to visit." “It was fun to give the cakes characters and think about what their faces, arms and legs might look like, and how they might interact with each other. It was different to the other projects I’ve worked on." “It’s great to be involved in something which brings together local artists and businesses, and coming back to DJCAD to show the work at Degree Show feels like a full-circle moment.” Established in Fife in 1919, Fisher & Donaldson has been baking for over a century, with a love of the craft being handed down through five generations of the same family. Chloe Milne, Retail Director and fifth generation of Fisher & Donaldson, said, “We're a family business that's always believed baking should bring people together, so collaborating with a local creative like Lauren felt like a natural fit." “We love that Lauren’s designs were all inspired by our customer’s favourite cakes. Her designs bring the bakery's cake counter to life in a wonderful new way." “Popping up at Degree Show will let us celebrate this new range of merchandise and our shared love of something handmade and joyful – we can't wait to meet everyone on the day." The annual Degree Show at DJCAD is an opportunity for final year undergraduate students to exhibit their work, celebrate their time at the University and launch their creative careers. The work of 427 art, design and architecture students is on display throughout the University’s Matthew and Crawford buildings for family, friends and the public to view. Kirsty Macari, Associate Vice Principal (Education) at the University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, said, “We’ve already had hundreds of people come and visit the huge range of artworks we have on display from our exceptionally talented students, and we’re looking forward to welcoming many more." “The Degree Show launches careers as our students graduate into the professional art world and the Fisher & Donaldson pop-up shop highlights the opportunities which are available to them in our communities." “This project exemplifies the value of strong local partnerships, supporting graduates to transition seamlessly into creative professional practice while contributing to vibrant and sustainable local communities.” Degree Show 2026 is open until Sunday 31 May, from 10:00-16:00, with late openings until 20:00 on Thursday 28 May and Saturday 30 May. The Fisher & Donaldson shop will be open on Saturday 30 May only, from 10:00-19:00, or until stocks sell out.

Hendy Group is the headline sponsors of the Steeleford Supercar Show being held at Stansted House in Hampshire on Sunday 31 May, joining a celebration of some of the world’s most iconic supercars. This year Hendy will showcase Alpine’s full ‘dream garage’ line-up, including the French brand’s first full EV, the A290, and its revived A110. The event will also mark the official launch of the Alpine A390, a sporty all-electric C-segment fastback, by the local Hendy Alpine dealership, which is located on Villeneuve Way, Eastleigh. The event has an open-access paddock, giving guests the opportunity to get up close to some of the world’s most recognisable supercars. Alongside the automotive displays, visitors will be able to enjoy live DJ entertainment, premium automotive exhibitors, street food vendors, drinks and picnic areas across the site. Paul Smith, Marketing Director at Hendy Group, said: “Supporting events like the Steeleford Supercar Show is an important part of how we connect with local communities and automotive enthusiasts across the region. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase our partnership with Alpine and introduce visitors to the exciting new A390 alongside the wider Alpine range.” George Ford and Drue Steele, co-organisers of the Steeleford Supercar Show, said: “The Steeleford Supercar Show continues to grow each year, attracting visitors from across the South to experience an incredible line-up of performance cars and premium automotive brands at Stansted House. We’re delighted to have Hendy supporting the event this year as we prepare for another memorable showcase.” To find out more information about Hendy Group, please visit here. About Hendy Group Established in 1859, Hendy Group has been operating across the South Coast for over 165 years. Led by its fifth-generation family member – Paul Hendy, CEO – the business now employs over 1,500 colleagues. The Group is ranked 18th in the AM Top 100, with a 2024 turnover of just over £1bn, and proudly represents 22 automotive brands. It is committed to providing world-class customer service. It is committed to supporting the communities where it operates through Hendy Foundation and has donated nearly £500k to local charities and voluntary groups since it was set up in 2018.

Family Business United is delighted to announce that Rebecca Robins CCMI will deliver the opening keynote at The Great British Family Business Conference 2027, taking place on Thursday, March 18, 2027. An internationally recognised expert in high-performance leadership, cultures of excellence and intergenerational talent, Rebecca Robins will open the conference with an inspiring keynote titled Five Generations at Work: How We Win Together, For Good. At a time when up to five generations are working together for the first time in history, family businesses are uniquely positioned to harness the opportunities that generational diversity presents. In the context of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world, Rebecca’s keynote will explore how family firms can unlock the strengths of multigenerational teams to build more collaborative, resilient and competitive organisations. Rebecca Robins has more than 20 years’ experience working with organisations across Europe, the US and Asia, including senior leadership roles at global brand powerhouses Omnicom and Interbrand. Working across matrixed businesses, family enterprises and founder-led organisations, she partners with leaders and owners to maximise organisational and talent potential. Leadership development is central to Rebecca’s work, delivering bespoke programmes focused on collaborative leadership, high-performing cultures, intrapreneurship and innovation. She is particularly renowned for her high-energy and high-impact work with next generation talent and rising leaders, and teaches at globally respected institutions including Cambridge University, Oxford University and The Defence Academy of the UK. Rebecca also serves in advisory and non-executive roles, including with Quilt.Ai and the Chartered Management Institute, and as Trustee at the EY Foundation. A regular international conference speaker, she has appeared at venues and events including the Times Center in New York, The Kia Oval in London and The Economic Times in Delhi. She is the author of three bestselling books, including the award-nominated Five Generations at Work: How We Win Together, For Good (Wiley) and Meta-Luxury: Brands and the Culture of Excellence (Macmillan). Rebecca is also a sought-after commentator for leading media including the BBC, Financial Times and Business of Fashion. Commenting on the announcement, Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United, said: “Rebecca Robins is one of the leading voices globally on intergenerational leadership and organisational culture, making her the perfect choice to open The Great British Family Business Conference 2027." "Family businesses are uniquely placed to benefit from the strengths that come from having multiple generations involved across ownership, leadership and the workforce. Rebecca’s insight, energy and expertise will provide delegates with invaluable perspectives on how to turn generational diversity into a genuine competitive advantage." "We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca to the conference and know that her keynote will set the tone for what promises to be an inspiring and thought-provoking day.” Speaking ahead of the event, Rebecca Robins added: “Family businesses have an extraordinary opportunity to lead the way in unlocking the power of generational diversity. At a time of significant change and uncertainty, organisations that can bring generations together effectively will be better positioned to innovate, collaborate and thrive." "I am delighted to be joining The Great British Family Business Conference 2027 and look forward to sharing insights, research and practical approaches that can help organisations build cultures where every generation can contribute and succeed together.” The Great British Family Business Conference 2027 will bring together family business owners, leaders and advisers from across the UK for a day of insight, inspiration and networking focused on the issues shaping the future of family enterprise. Further details regarding the conference agenda, speakers and ticket information is available here

Growth is supposed to be the goal. More revenue, more customers, more markets, more people. For most businesses, expansion is straightforwardly good news — evidence that something is working, that the market has spoken, that the hard years are paying off. And for family businesses, growth can feel like the ultimate validation: proof that what was built from nothing, often at considerable personal sacrifice, has genuine and lasting worth. But family business leaders who have been through significant periods of growth will tell you something that the business books tend to underplay. Expansion is not just an operational challenge. It is a cultural one. And getting the operational side right while losing the cultural side is not success, it is a slow, expensive way to become a business you no longer recognise. What You Are Actually Trying To Protect Before any conversation about how to grow well, there is a prior question worth sitting with: what, specifically, makes this business different? Not in the abstract, not the mission statement version, but in the concrete, daily reality of how the business operates and how it feels to work in it and buy from it. For some family businesses, the difference is in the quality of the product or service, maintained through standards that only direct ownership and genuine pride of authorship can sustain. For others, it is the relationships with suppliers, customers, or the local community that have been built over years and are genuinely irreplaceable. For others still, it is the speed and decisiveness of family ownership: the ability to make a call on a Monday and act on it by Wednesday, unencumbered by the committee structures and shareholder pressures that slow larger organisations down. Whatever it is, naming it precisely is the first step. Because you cannot protect what you have not defined, and you cannot scale what you do not understand. The Scaling Trap There is a particular pattern that repeats itself in growing family businesses with uncomfortable regularity. In the early stages, the founder or family leadership is close to everything, the product, the customers, the staff. Quality is maintained because the people who care most about it are personally present. Culture is strong because it flows directly from the family's own values and behaviour. Customers feel the difference because they are dealing, directly or indirectly, with people who have a personal stake in the outcome. Then growth happens. New sites open. Headcount doubles. Management layers are added. The founder can no longer be everywhere at once, so systems and processes are introduced to replace the presence that previously held everything together. And gradually, almost imperceptibly, the thing that made the business special gets processed out of existence, replaced by standardisation, efficiency, and a kind of corporate smoothness that is operationally tidy but culturally hollow. This is not inevitable. But avoiding it requires recognising that the systems and processes introduced to support growth need to be designed to carry the culture, not just the workflow. The question to ask of every new process, every new hire, every new structure is not just whether it is efficient, but whether it is consistent with who you are. Hiring For Fit As Well As Function One of the most consequential decisions a growing family business makes, repeatedly, and often without fully appreciating the stakes, is who it brings in from outside. As the business expands beyond the point where the family can fill every role, external hires become the primary mechanism through which the culture either spreads or dilutes. This is why hiring for values fit is not a soft consideration to be weighed against the harder metrics of experience and technical skill. It is a strategic imperative. A highly capable manager who fundamentally does not share the values of the business will, over time, reshape the part of the organisation they lead in their own image. Sometimes that shift is obvious. More often it is subtle, a gradual drift in how decisions get made, how staff are treated, how customers are spoken to, until the culture has changed in ways that are difficult to trace back to any single moment or person. The families who grow well tend to be rigorous about this. They are clear, in the recruitment process, about what the business stands for and what it expects. They involve family members in hiring decisions for senior roles, not to gatekeep, but to ensure the values question is genuinely being asked. And they are willing, when necessary, to keep looking rather than settle for someone who ticks every professional box but feels like the wrong fit for who the business is. Governance That Grows With You Another area where growing family businesses frequently come unstuck is governance or more precisely, the absence of it. In the early stages, informal decision-making works well enough. The family talks, a view is formed, a decision is made. But as the business grows in scale and complexity, that informality becomes a liability. Decisions take longer because there is no clear process. Accountability blurs because roles have not kept pace with growth. Family dynamics start to influence business decisions in ways that would benefit from a more structured framework. Building governance that is appropriate to the scale and ambition of the business such as a properly constituted board, clear decision-making authorities, independent voices who can provide challenge and perspective is not about imposing corporate bureaucracy on a business that has always prided itself on being different. It is about creating the conditions in which the business can keep making good decisions as it gets bigger and more complex. Done well, good governance does not constrain a family business. It protects it. Growth As A Values Test Perhaps the most useful way to think about growth in a family business context is as a sustained test of values. Every decision made during a period of expansion be it about people, about processes, about which opportunities to pursue and which to decline, is either consistent with what the business stands for or it is not. The accumulation of those decisions, over months and years, is what determines whether the business that emerges from a period of growth is still recognisably itself. The family businesses that pass that test are not those that avoided growth or kept themselves deliberately small. They are those that grew with their eyes open — clear about what they were building towards, honest about what they were not willing to sacrifice to get there, and disciplined enough to make the harder choice when the easier one pointed in the wrong direction. Growth is not the enemy of what makes family businesses special. Thoughtless growth is. The difference, ultimately, comes down to intention and the willingness to keep asking, at every stage of the journey, not just how big, but how.