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Prisk: UK govt backs British family businesses

By Attracta Mooney

The British government is “firmly on the side of enterprising family businesses”, according to business minister Mark Prisk.

In a letter to lobby group the Institute for Family Business, Prisk said the government recognises the important role family businesses play in the British economy.

He also acknowledged that a recent article printed in the Daily Telegraph, which called family businesses Britain’s “weak economic link”, was “not particularly helpful”.

The article was based on research by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, which was highlighted by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as part of its mid-sized business growth review in November.

According to the study, second and third-generation family firms generally had weaker management than non-family-run businesses.

“It is very important to stress that the policy recommendations offered in the report are that of the report’s authors at CEP and not automatically accepted by the government,” said Prisk, who was responding to a letter he received from the IFB in December.

The IFB and the government are currently working together on a series of seminars aimed at supporting the growth of British mid-sized family firms - businesses with revenues between £25 million (€30 million) and £500 million.

Almost half of the country’s 10,000 medium-sized companies are under family control.  

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