Business transition

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10 points when considering business transition

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Possibly the most important business decision you will ever make. And almost certainly the toughest

For a family business, transition is a once-in-a-lifetime decision. Perhaps no challenge has as much potential to exacerbate the special stresses—or, conversely, highlight the special advantages—of operating a family business.

And as if the business, emotional, legal, and technical issues weren’t thorny enough, consider this daunting fact: only about 30 per cent of family businesses survive into a second generation.

As reluctant as many families may be to tackle the issue, the health and longevity of a family business depend on careful transition planning—and on communicating the results of that planning to the right stakeholders at the right time. Doing so will increase the likelihood that your business will endure well beyond the leadership transition, delivering lasting value to your family.

Turning generational change into success

At PwC’s Family Business Services, we have an experienced team, arrayed across our global network of firms, dedicated to helping family business owners develop and execute each step in their succession plan, so that the whole process runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

• Come Think With Us. What are your most important goals—both commercial and personal—in thinking about your business transition? What are your business’s key value drivers? We start by selecting the right people to discuss these issues with you, and the challenges you’ll need to navigate along the way.
• Succession strategy. We then use the findings of these Come Think With Us sessions to clarify a clear succession plan—including timing, future ownership and management shares, and issues of capital.
• Sale of the business. If a sale is the best option, we work with you to get the best price for your business by identifying the right buyer, while respecting your confidentiality.
• Tax-efficient structuring. Regardless of the transition vehicle you chose, we can help you negotiate a commercially optimal, tax-efficient solution to transfer the ownership of your business when the time is right.

Transition planning is one area where your leverage tends to diminish with time. The decisions you make will affect the future of your business, customers, employees—and, most importantly, yourself and your family. Therefore it is often wise to solidify a business succession plan sooner, rather than later.

We invite you to contact us to explore how we can help you turn your moment of biggest challenge into one of your biggest opportunities to create a legacy of success.