Driven by animal welfare, quality and service since 1947, the family behind the Soanes name are proud of their traditional values of quality and service and they pride themselves on rearing Yorkshire’s tastiest chickens. From traditional beginnings when they delivered chicken to customers in wicker baskets, they now deliver five days a week throughout Yorkshire and beyond using their own drivers and a fleet of refrigerated vehicles. The wicker baskets may have gone, but their

Packaging Products (Coatings) Ltd is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of non-slip pallet liners, waterproof paper and board serving a wide range of industries home and abroad. With many years experience in the packaging industry, Packaging Products (Coatings) Ltd has occupied the same production and paper manufacturing site in Collyhurst, Manchester since 1841. Paul Andrews spoke to family director Peter Cornford and non-family director Gary McNeely to find out more. In

Cladspray Solutions are a commercial spray-painting family business based in Norwich in the East of England owned by Tom and Kim Carter. Operating from Norwich they have teams available to work nationwide 24/7 to deliver cost effective solutions while never compromising standards of workmanship. Paul Andrews went to meet them to find out more. This is an entrepreneurial family firm that has worked hard from the start to achieve success as Tom explains. “It all began with m

St Maur is a premium elderflower liqueur handcrafted in the Heart of England from responsibly sourced ingredients, with flavours gathered in ancient family owned woodlands and which is gaining an international following. St Maur is the creation of William and Kelsey Seymour, Earl and Countess of Yarmouth, and produced from their farm and woodlands in Warwickshire. Paul Andrews caught up with them to find out more. Arriving at the farm on a beautiful spring day, this fledgling

A vision from an entrepreneurial founder is at the heart of many family businesses and that is certainly the case with the Steggles family. What started out with 10 goats has grown into a destination business with a Farm Shop, Kitchen Goats, Cheese, Skincare Products and much more besides. Paul Andrews spoke to Sam Steggles to find out more. Sam was born on a farm and it is probably true to say that farming was part of his DNA when he was born. Sam loved life on the farm w

In 1996 Chris Salisbury founded Canvasman in the tiny cellar of his Victorian terraced house in Leeds. From its humble beginnings as a one-man-band, the company has since grown to a dedicated team of expert designers, cutters, sewing machinists and fitters, now based in the charming Yorkshire town of Baildon. As well as boat covers, they design and manufacture shade sails, shop canopies, vehicle covers and much more. In fact, this business is all about the canvas so if it

English wine has been an incredible success story over the last decade. There are now almost 900 vineyards in England with production set to double in the next 2 years. England's winemakers produce world-beating sparkling wines and their still white, rosé and red wines are increasingly winning awards at international competitions with an emerging, unique, ‘English style’ of wine. Paul Andrews went to meet Simon and James Hawkins who have set up in business together selling

Lamberts was founded in 1963 by the Grandfather of the current Managing Director, Trina Beare, back in 1963. Paul Andrews spoke to Trina to find out more of their journey as a family firm. Henry Beare founded the business and started what has been a stalwart of the Norwich business community ever since. During the war he was responsible for setting up radar stations on the east coast and worked in Norwich for a business that sold bricks and mortar products before taking on th

A FIC is an investment vehicle with the main benefit being the ability to pass on wealth to the next generation whilst retaining some control. In this article, Rafael Ruiz of Birketts explains more about the investment vehicle and some of the rules around them. The starting point is forming a company with bespoke Articles of Association and a Shareholders’ Agreement. Generally, the directors are the parents and the shareholders are adult children. Day to day management, inv

Every story has a narrative, a history and a journey and The Cleenol Group is no exception. Celebrating 75 years as a family business but with an entrepreneurial journey that dates back to the 1700’s this is an authentic story of drive, determination and plenty of ups and downs too. Paul Andrews spoke to the fourth generation Managing Director, Sam Greaves to find out more. Sam, like generations before him is entrepreneurial in nature with a desire for continuing developmen

The story of JCB is one of innovation, ambition and sheer hard work. From small beginnings building agricultural tipping trailers in 1945, to the global force in manufacturing the company has become today, JCB has constantly pushed the boundaries in their desire to be the best. Today, JCB has 22 plants on four continents and more than 750 dealers around the world. As Lord Bamford explains, “These are exciting times. In just 75 years we have gone from one man in a garage in Ut

Entrepreneurs are more likely to consider property investment rather than a pension to build their wealth, according to research from Brown Shipley, a Quintet private bank. The survey among entrepreneurs and wealthy individuals in the UK found that entrepreneurs are more likely than wealthy individuals overall to have amassed wealth through investment in property, and less likely to have done so through a pension. Almost a third of entrepreneurs (30%) state that property inve

After a tumultuous past two years for businesses, even the smallest increase in supplier or software cost or change in strategy can impact a company’s profitability; every penny counts. Although business owners are familiar with ‘being online’ and tend to dabble with a mix of marketing tactics, experts say businesses should be using digital marketing strategically in order to save costs and raise revenue. Following a 1400% increase in interest for the search term ‘business co

A new report reveals over a fifth (21%) of SME owners are concerned by overseas cyber threats in the midst of heightened cyber security threats from Russian hackers. The annual 2022 business challenges report carried out by card payments specialist takepayments Limited , surveyed SME business owners and decision-makers across the UK to discover the current small business landscape for the year ahead.  Over the past two years, the ICO reports that there has been a steady and s

2020 highlighted the need for digital transformation around the world and in every sector with family businesses that had invested in IT infrastructure being able to keep working when their countries went into lockdown. Companies that hadn’t were left scrambling. Mandatory remote work has proven that digital transformation has very real business benefits. It isn’t a load of buzzwords and IT fads. Companies that hadn’t invested in it in the past are almost certainly doing so r

Organisations have a responsibility towards their staff. The expression "mens sana in corpore sano", usually translated as “a healthy mind in a healthy body,” is truer than ever during this pandemic. In particular, prolonged confinement and reduced socialisation have brought mental health issues to the fore. Manfred Kets de Vries shares his thoughts on mental health in the workplace and some of the signals to look out for amongst staff. Recently, one of my clients told me th

Self-efficacy can be built by developing the emotional flexibility of employees, according to new research from Nyenrode Business University, VU Amsterdam and IE University Madrid. Self-efficacy, or in other words a person’s belief in their ability to succeed, is important to help employees be resilient in a fast changing environment. Developing emotional flexibility helps employees handle changes better and builds stronger mental health. According to Professor Dr. Nick van D

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to protecting family wealth, passing this to future generations in an appropriate way, and at the ‘right time’. Setting up a Family Investment Company (“FIC”) is increasingly a popular choice for successful family business owners as part of their broader succession and tax planning strategy. Planning with trusts has a significant role in protecting family wealth for future generations, however with limitations placed on t

Saxton Bampfylde have recently published their latest thought piece entitled Humanity at the Heart of Digital Prosperity. For this report they have spoken with over 30 executive leaders, in both executive and non-executive roles in some of the UK’s leading businesses, across a range of sectors. They were keen to explore the prominence of digital innovation in organisational priorities. Clearly they couldn’t have foreseen at the end of last year when commissioning this rese

Stories are a great way of connecting with people as good storytelling is emotive. That’s what makes great books and great movies: they tell engaging and emotive stories. Have you ever had feedback that you need to be more motivating or inspiring? If so, storytelling could be the answer. Anne Taylor is an Executive Coach and author of the new book, Soft Skills Hard Results and shares some of the secrets associated with telling a good story. So, what’s the secret of storytell