Garbutt & Elliott Sponsor Family Business of the Year Award

David Dickson Chairman

David Dickson, Chairman of Garbutt & Elliott introduces this brand new category for the York Press Awards 2008.

Family businesses are crucial to our local and national economy.  About three quarters of all firms are family businesses, and they employ half the entire workforce.

But over time, family businesses can face particular difficulties in maintaining that success from generation to generation and the most recent available estimates suggest that only one in eight of them survive to make it through to the third generation and beyond.

Several years ago, we realised here at Garbutt & Elliott that we were advising many family businesses on a daily basis on accounting, tax and general business advisory matters, but were perhaps not always in tune with some of the more complex inter family or inter generational issues that can arise.

And often we found it was these family issues that actually drive where the business is going in the longer term. It is also true that family businesses do not always get the attention and support they deserve relative to their importance to the economy.  We therefore decided to invest a good deal of time and effort into adding skills and expertise within our firm that would provide greater support to our family business clients.

As part of this process we have become actively involved with the International Centre for Families in Business and have developed a good working relationship with John Tucker from the centre, widely regarded as one of the UK’s foremost experts on family businesses.

This has led onto our now taking a leading role in establishing a new Yorkshire branch of the Institute of Family Business Advisors.

In addition, three of my fellow directors, Craig Manson, Jeremy Oliver and Russell Turner are currently completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Family Business Advice awarded by the University of Gloucester, which is the first such academic qualification of its type.

We are seeing that this intense learning process is adding considerably to our knowledge and understanding of how families cope with all sorts of major issues such as governance and succession and we ourselves are getting a lot of satisfaction in gaining a better understanding of all shapes and sizes.

Hopefully this all helps to explain our commitment and willingness to sponsor this exciting new category of Family Business of the Year.

Our research shows that the vast majority of family businesses in our region are in good health, looking forward to the future with confidence, and are proud to promote themselves as family businesses.

All families will have stories to share that can help and inspire others to go and do great things – so what are yours?

I call on all you families in business out there to enter – and to tell us what has happened to you this past 12 months, and how you have moved your business forward.  What makes your family business special?

To enter The Press Awards or for further information please visit http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/business/awards/introduction/

The closing date for entries is 18 July 2008.