Family Businesses Write To Prime Minister Over BPR/APR Changes
Family Business United (FBU) has written to the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, calling for an urgent and substantive review of the changes made to Business Property Relief (BPR) and Agricultural Property Relief (APR).
The letter, sent on behalf of FBU and family business owners from across the UK, was posted today. Collectively the signatories generate an annual turnover of £2.4 billion, employ 17,162 people and have been trading for a combined 4,278 years, a striking illustration of the depth of experience and economic contribution held within the family business community.
A Sector Too Significant To Overlook
In the letter, Paul Andrews, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Family Business United, sets out the scale of the sector affected by the BPR and APR changes. Family businesses account for approximately 85 per cent of all UK businesses, number around 5 million firms, employ some 15 million people and contribute an estimated £575 billion to the UK economy each year.
The letter argues that family businesses plan in generations rather than in electoral or financial cycles, and that the current rules penalise precisely that long term horizon. Owners are being asked to confront a significant tax liability with no corresponding cash crystallisation event to fund it, and investment decisions are already being shelved as a direct result.
Risk Of Forced Sales And Lost Stewardship
Family Business United warns that many family firms will be forced to borrow heavily or pay dividends simply to meet a tax bill of this scale, diverting funds away from investment, skills and job creation. Others, particularly those that have reinvested heavily in their long term future, will be forced to sell, often to private equity, public companies or overseas competitors that do not carry the same commitment to community, continuity and long term stewardship that family ownership provides.
A Call For Review, Not Confrontation
The letter is careful to recognise the fiscal pressures facing the Government and does not dismiss the need to raise revenue. Instead, it proposes that there are more effective and less damaging mechanisms available, including approaches that capture value at the point of a genuine sale following generational transfer, rather than at the point of succession itself.
Family Business United has asked the Prime Minister to consider reversing the changes or to commission an urgent review of BPR and APR, with a view to designing a system that is fair, proportionate and compatible with the long term future of Britain's family owned businesses. The letter also offers to arrange meetings or business visits so that the Government can hear directly from affected owners.
Commenting on the letter, Paul Andrews, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Family Business United, said: “Family businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, and the families behind them think in generations, not in tax years. The current rules around Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief punish exactly the kind of long term commitment the country should be encouraging."
"We are asking the Prime Minister to pause, listen and work with us on a fairer approach, one that supports growth and continuity rather than forcing families to sell what they have spent generations building.”
The letter represents a coordinated call from across the family business community, backed by owners whose businesses together generate £2.4 billion in turnover, support 17,162 jobs and represent 4,278 years of combined trading history. Family Business United will continue to campaign on behalf of the sector and will update members as soon as a response is received from Downing Street.
Read the letter submitted here:
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