The release of Deloitte Private’s global Family Business Insights Series: Family Business Succession Planning and the Next Generation, 2026 reveals the experience family businesses have with succession planning in today’s environment and the challenges they face in preparing the next-generation for leadership. Based on a survey of 1,587 family businesses with revenues of at least US$100 million across 35 countries and in-depth interviews with 30 senior executives, the researc

For decades, family business owners across the UK could plan their succession around a simple assumption. Build the business, hold the shares, and pass them on at death largely free of inheritance tax. That assumption ended on 6 April 2026. The reform to Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief has fundamentally altered the maths of succession. Qualifying business and agricultural assets now receive full relief only up to £2.5 million per individual, or £5 mi

One of the clearest patterns among leaders who step down successfully is that they begin investing in interests, relationships and activities outside the business well in advance.

A change of Prime Minister, an unsettled tax outlook and a steady drumbeat of speculation about inheritance tax, business property relief and wider reform have left plenty of family business owners wondering whether this is the moment to accelerate succession, delay it, or simply hold their nerve.

There is a particular tension that sits at the heart of many multigenerational family businesses — one that is rarely spoken about openly, but that shapes some of the most consequential decisions a family will ever make.

There is a particular tension that sits at the heart of many multigenerational family businesses — one that is rarely spoken about openly, but that shapes some of the most consequential decisions a family will ever make.

There is something quietly remarkable about a family business that has been trading for a hundred years or more.

The gap between knowing that succession planning matters and actually doing it is one of the most consistent and consequential patterns in family business life.

By the time most family business founders get around to talking about succession, something has already gone wrong.

Letting go is not a sign of weakness or indifference. It is, in fact, one of the most courageous and strategic decisions a family business leader will ever make.

Succession is often spoken of as a single moment - the passing of the baton from one generation to the next. In reality, for family businesses it is much more complex, a process that spans years and demands foresight, negotiation, and a degree of humility.

With emotion, legacy, and strategy all intertwined, successful succession requires foresight, structure, and a willingness to confront difficult truths.

There is a particular weight that comes with inheriting more than a name. For the next generation of family business owners, succession is rarely just a career move—it is a deeply personal crossroads, where legacy, expectation, and identity collide.

Managing the shift in roles and responsibilities during transition can be complex, as family dynamics and emotions often come in to play.

Succession planning in a family business can be challenging, particularly when family members hold divergent views on the future direction of the business

As the inheritance tax landscape continues to evolve, many families are looking more closely at which governance structures best reflects their long-term objectives.

Veritage International has published a new global research report highlighting significant, often overlooked risks facing business families during wealth and ownership transitions.

Most succession conversations default quickly to structure: who gets what, when, and on what tax terms. Those questions matter. But they’re not the whole picture.

The leader who retires in theory but not in behaviour, can be one of the most common and corrosive issues in family-run firms

Passing a family business from one generation to the next requires careful planning, clear communication, and a long-term strategic mindset.