Their names rarely appear above the door or in the board minutes. But in many of the world's oldest family businesses, it is the matriarch who has kept the family – and the firm – from coming apart.

Ask a family business owner what their company does and the answer comes easily. They make furniture, run hotels, farm the land, distribute food or build homes. Ask them why the business exists, and the answer often takes longer. Not because there is no answer, but because it has rarely been put into words. It lives in the founder's instincts, in stories told at family gatherings and in decisions that simply feel right or wrong. That unspoken sense of why is the purpose of th

2026, SimpsInns marks 30 years as one of Ayrshire’s leading family owned hospitality groups.

Kays of Mauchline has been making curling stones for more than 175 years, and its story is one of family enterprise, family conflict and, ultimately, renewal.

Many new business owners assume profit should be the immediate goal, but cash is the real lifeblood of a business, and even profitable businesses can fail if they don’t pay close enough attention to their cashflow.

New report asks the world’s family business advisers one question: what single trait helps a family business last for generations?

More and more family businesses now have a succession plan. Far fewer have a succession that works. The difference between the two is where legacies are won and lost.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere. It is in the headlines, in board papers and increasingly in the questions the next generation asks around the family table. For many family business owners, it also brings a quiet worry: that everyone else understands it, and they have somehow been left behind.

From the Quaker chocolate makers of the nineteenth century to the countless family firms quietly supporting their local communities today, giving back has long been woven into the fabric of family business.

Succession planning challenges are often described as technical problems, ownership structures, tax considerations, legal documents, or timelines. All of those matter, but they’re rarely the real reason family businesses struggle with succession.

A transition might make commercial sense, but what does it expose in the executive leadership and the organisation that will now have to deliver it.

Family Business United has launched the fourth issue of Bitesize, its official digital magazine dedicated to delivering timely insight, inspiration and practical thinking for the family business community. Designed to be insightful, relevant and easy to digest, Bitesize celebrates the diversity and strength of family enterprises while exploring the opportunities, challenges and experiences that make them distinctive. Issue 4 brings together a collection of features that shine

Aussie rules football can provide a great metaphor for the world of generational family business advisory work.

Small and medium-sized businesses face fresh uncertainty over how future business rates changes could affect their plans for growth, investment and recruitment.

For the generation that built the business, stepping back is rarely just a career decision. It is a change of identity, and it deserves as much planning as any handover of shares.

Sibling rivalry is as old as families themselves, and in a family firm it has a stage, an audience and real money attached. Handled well, the competitive energy between brothers and sisters can drive a business forward. Left unchecked, it can split a company that took generations to build.

When a family business passes from one generation to the next, the assets are only part of the inheritance. Alongside the buildings, machinery and shares come a history, a reputation and expectations that can be difficult to escape.

Legacy is not something you leave behind. It is something you build, quietly and consistently, every single day.

But history has weight. For every family firm that draws strength from its past, there is another quietly held back by it.

That simple act of putting your name on a business carries more meaning, and more responsibility, than many owners ever stop to consider.