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Family Business

Off to Sweden to examine a Ph.D at 5am Tuesday morning.

In the meantime, I was interviewed for Radio Cymru regarding a new report, launched today by the Institute for Family Business, which has revealed, for the first time, the full extent of the contribution that family firms make to the UK economy.

Key findings from the report include:
  • Family firms produce over 30% of GDP - a huge contribution to UK plc · The sector accounts for over 40% of private sector employment, providing jobs to 9.5 million people - one job in three throughout the UK
  • The family business sector contributes around £73bn pa in taxes to the Exchequer, or 15% of the Government's tax revenues
  • Family firms account for 65% of the total 4.5 million private sector enterprises in the UK economy
  • Family businesses power innovation and enterprise in the UK - firms in the sector act as a crucial breeding ground for entrepreneurial talent and start-ups
  • The family business sector is highly competitive with other sectors - family firms have a turnover of over £1000 billion, over double that of the private equity sector, and employ more people in the UK than all FTSE companies combined
Interestingly, politicians at both Westminster and Cardiff Bay have ignored the importance of family business to the economy, despite the fact that there are quite unique issues regarding taxation, succession planning and the management of such firms.

In particular, given the fact that many areas of Wales are dominated by such firms, it is a shock to find that little is being done by the Assembly to support them.

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