Owner managed and family businesses

Owner managers face a constant challenge balancing business needs with personal and family priorities. We work to understand your goals, so we can make the right recommendations for you.

The challenges that exist in all commercial environments are magnified in owner managed and family businesses. Issues affecting your business also impact you and your family. From the other side, relationships, divorce and family disagreements could affect your business, if not managed properly.

We have in-depth experience of helping owner and family managers achieve their long-term ambitions, for their business and themselves. Everyone we work with has different aims and their business follows different paths to success. So we build a long-term strategy to ensure we can help make the best decisions at every stage. We take a holistic view.

Our team combines private wealth and business lawyers who work extensively with owner managed and family owned businesses across a wide range of sectors.

Our experience

When you need to grow, finance or sell your business, we’re here. Equally, when it comes to succession planning, protecting wealth, providing for future generations or even handling a divorce, we can offer the advice that’s right.

Here's just one case study:

Mills & Reeve and the leadership team at Ridgeons have worked together for over a decade, with the long-term aim for the family to exit the business at the right time. Our team has helped the building merchants grow by assisting with everything from employment queries for their more than 850 staff, to NED agreements, and site acquisitions.

For the family themselves, the Mills & Reeve team has assisted with personal affairs, protecting their wealth to set up will and trust arrangements at the time of a de-merger.

The multi-million pound sale of the company was a complex project requiring expertise from across Mills & Reeve – from property to pensions to private wealth. Key to the family was to only to sell to people with the same culture and values, who would ensure employees continue to be treated well and receive a fair pension. Mills & Reeve successfully negotiated these terms.

Our clients

We have vast experience working with fast-growth start ups, multi-generational family businesses and established international owner-managed businesses across their lifecycle.