Some positive statistics for family businesses

There are many headwinds affecting family businesses, so it makes a nice change to focus on the positives coming out of a survey of 1,000 businesses published by Smart Energy GB in April 2025.

Whilst the focus of the survey was the challenges in relation to energy costs, the wider findings are interesting reading.

These findings reveal the thinking of family businesses on key topics such as the value of cross-generational participation, what the future holds for family businesses and the importance of sustainable practices.

The strength of a cross-generational workforce

The key statistic here is that 82% of those surveyed thought that the multigenerational nature of their business, and the differing skill set each generation brings, is key to growth.

This is something seen in many businesses but has a particular potency in family businesses given the greater depth of relationship across the generations.  The perceived different contributions will not come as a great surprise to most families.

The younger generations bring tech savviness (45%), innovation (44%) and social media and digital marketing expertise. The older bring stability and reliability (48%), industry expertise (47%) and mentoring (44%).

In summary, the youngsters know how to do stuff, particularly in the world of tech, but their parents and grandparents have a better handle on what will work based on their knowledge of the business.  If each properly listens to the other, then the synergies are powerful.

The future of family businesses

Family businesses have been buffeted by changes to tax rules, employment rules and the regulatory environment, but they remain positive.  Of those surveyed over 80% believed that the younger generations would take over the business and only 7% foresaw the business closing or being sold outside the family.

The only slightly worrying statistic being that only 26% indicated that they were dedicating time to succession planning.  Such planning is critical when it comes to any family business surviving, and indeed hopefully thriving, on the transfer to a new generation.

Sustainable practices

Family businesses by their nature tend to have a longer-term perspective.  Accordingly, family business owners value the things that sustain a long term enterprise such as reputation (40%), teamwork (36%) and the role of their business in the local community (26%).

These values chime with many in the younger generations, who have grown up in an era of climate change concerns and political instability and are turning away from the disposable, fast fashion culture in favour of an approach that is sustainable in the longer term.  This shared culture can be a powerful platform for business stability and also business growth.

These concerns are directly reflected in the energy sphere, with 85% of those surveyed agreeing that sustainable practices should be integrated into their business operations, a third saying they are prioritising recycling and 29% focusing on energy management.

Conclusions

The press release in relation to the survey contains a quote from Deborah Meaden, who honed her business skills in the family amusement arcade business.  She describes family businesses as being “the backbone of the UK economy, providing stability, innovation, and a sense of community across generations”.

Whilst there is no doubt that family businesses face many challenges, this survey shows that these important elements remain at the heart of many family businesses and will, it is hoped, help them ride out political and economic storms and remain a backbone of the economy.

How we can help

If your family business needs help with succession planning or any other legal matters, then please contact our team of experts who will be happy to talk about how we can help.