Barclay case exposes ‘recurring vulnerability’ in family businesses A High Court dispute involving the Barclay family has become a cautionary tale for advisers to wealthy families, highlighting the risks of informal assurances and blurred lines between personal and commercial liability

A “big adjustment” is how Jeff Schmidt describes his first month of retirement after decades of running his family’s century-old Waterbury hardware store.

Updated Jan 23, 2026, 3:59 PM GMT David Heacock left his job to run the family business. Courtesy of David Heacock David Heacock's grandfather founded a machinery business in Alabama. His dad told him not to work in the family business, so he became a trader. He changed the company's core business and grew its revenue. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with David Heacock, CEO of Filterbuy. It has been edited for length and clarity. I swore I would never get into the family

With early planning (at least two years in advance), you can align tax strategy, estate planning, family priorities and investment decisions to create flexibility before a buyer enters the picture.

As Americans enter the "Great Wealth Transfer," with an estimated $84 trillion or more expected to pass to younger generations over the next two decades, family business owners face critical decisions regarding business succession and continuity. This advisory outlines four principal strategies for family business succession planning: intergenerational succession planning, minority investment, insider sales and third-party sales.

The most important investor may be your own successors. Investor readiness supports smooth transitions, builds trust, enhances enterprise value, and keeps strategic options open—whether you sell, recapitalize, or stay independent.

7 ways to use the game-changer to boost revenues, efficiency and enjoyment at work.

As Prince Andrew showed, one person’s behavior can become everyone’s problem. Families must set expectations, outline processes, and provide clarity before emotions take over.

Rather than inherited like family heirlooms, values are shaped and re-shaped by interactions between the generations at the family firm. 

Adopting all or even some PE investor strategies can add value and enhance competitiveness, especially when a successor takes over or the company may be sold. 

Mark Hirschberg's grandparents started making pet toys in the 1950s. His father took over the company and talked about business all the time, he said. Mark's three grown kids now work for a related pet toy company that he started.

Vitaliy Skorodziyevskiy, Hanqing Fang and Jim Chrisman write about the unique ways in which family businesses succeed.

There were plenty of fireworks in major stock markets during 2025. Wall Street plunged after US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff barrage, only to end the year near a record high while Tokyo’s Nikkei index surged through the 50,000 mark. It…

Small and family businesses are the engine room of Australia’s economy but too often, they’re tangled in regulatory, compliance and reporting ‘tape’ that stifles their spark and inhibits their enterprise. ASBFEO, Bruce Billson calls for a better way.

A New Year and a Clean Sheet of Paper It’s early January, which has many people looking ahead with a fresh perspective, and hopes for a great year ahead. There isn’t necessarily anything magical that happens when the calendar changes years, but it’s as good a time as any to take stock and think about […]

Government lifted the threshold at which 20 per cent death duties will apply to family-owned businesses and farms from £1million to £2.5million.

'I'm the accountability partner for families to have the intentional conversations that are often not had,' says the third-generation Saputo

Family firms are the lifeblood of our communities and our economy. A Government that wants to support growth should be straining every sinew to support them.

US-made device planned by end of year hit by recent government shutdown affecting shipments

How Family Governance Is Like a Home Reno Each week here I love to try to find new and useful (and entertaining) ways to talk about my favourite subjects, i.e. the challenges faced by families who are preparing an intergenerational transition. Whether they still own an operating business or not, there are a variety of […]

Billionaire founder ‘unable to pass firm to his children’ because of Chancellor’s inheritance tax raid

Britain can’t afford to lose the few successful companies in the country