Why family business needs a voice:

“Family businesses generate a lot of income for the government but unlike the heads of big corporates we can’t just pick up the phone and have access to the government or the First Minister on issues when we need to. FBUS gives us a real opportunity to make the family business voice heard.”

On being inspired by other family businesses:

“I found listening to other family business owners at the FBUS conference inspiring. You can listen to their stories and learn something from them. It’s always interesting to hear how people have dealt with situations they have found themselves in…it’s very difficult to manage a family relationship as well as a business relationship.”

On governance in family businesses:

“Governance is very important and I think about it all the time. In a small business of up to 100 people you’re doing everything yourself and you need a broader skills or experience set. You need to find a way to make the principles of good governance that apply to PLCs relevant in a different context where you don’t have lots of people to delegate everything to.”

On bringing in non-family expertise to family businesses:

“To start a business you need the mentality that you’re good at everything whereas in reality you’re probably not. That issue really hit me and now I would think deeply about it. It’s very clear that you have to take three steps back and bring in someone from the outside and get their perspectives. It’s very important to get honest and good value professional advice.”

On working with Craig Corporate:

“I have known Tom Craig for 20 years and I have worked closely with him and the Craig Corporate team for the past six years, I can’t speak highly enough of them.  We have just completed a project to plan the future structure of the family participation in the business. This has been a crucial part of ensuring the long term security of our family wealth.”