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We provide accounting, tax and business advice to individuals, family, and owner-managed businesses from across our offices in Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and York.

This article appeared in The York Press on Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Craig Manson, Director

The Press Family Business of the Year Award 2010

By Craig Manson, Director of Garbutt & Elliott and a specialist family business advisor.

Garbutt & Elliott are delighted to sponsor this category for the third year running and look forward once again to celebrating the wealth of talent and success that family businesses contribute to the local economy – it’s worth remembering that family businesses employ over half the work force, and we are fortunate to have a number of great examples here in North Yorkshire.

At Garbutt & Elliott we are doubly fortunate to provide business advice to some of the region’s most ambitious, dynamic and successful family businesses of all shapes and sizes, all of whom share a passionate determination for both the business and family to do well in these difficult times.

So how do we really help families in business?

This is specialised work requiring a great deal of training and study, for instance in one recent example we have advised a successful manufacturing business on the practicalities of bringing two ambitious siblings into the business in such a way as to keep everyone happy and focussed on the best results for the business and the family. This involved a careful consultation process with the family members, followed with the drafting of a detailed family constitution and other supporting operating guidelines that clearly defined the roles and responsibilities expected from all family members along with the establishment of a new family counsel to oversee the ongoing success of the business. I look forward to being involved for many years to come in helping this excellent family business to grow further. This is just one example of the type of practical advice and support that we can offer that hopefully helps to demonstrate our keen interest in helping family businesses. So, how has your family business been fairing in the past 12 months?

What will the judges be looking for?

We know that in difficult times family businesses often succeed better because they pull together and ‘dig deep’ to get ahead, so we want to see how your family has done just that in the past 12 months. Whatever size of family business you own and run – tell us what has made the last 12 months so noteworthy for you and your family, and, as I asked last year – what makes your family business special?