Evidence
Client stories
Voices from owners and successors who worked with us on succession planning, ownership transitions, and governance — including the parts that felt uncomfortable.
“The succession planning engagement forced us to put dates on Dad’s step-back from the packing plant. We had talked about ‘soon’ for six years. Having a written 14-month sequence — and a clear role for my sister on the owners’ council — stopped the drift.”
Elena M., food manufacturing, Lincolnshire“I valued the readiness report on my son more than the polished plan. It was not all praise; it said he still deferred too quickly to long-serving managers. That stung, but it gave us a coaching focus before any shares moved.”
David R., specialist engineering, Midlands“Ownership facilitation was slower than I hoped. Two workshops were not enough for my brother and me, so we added a third. Still, we left with a decision log our solicitor could actually use, instead of another vague family agreement.”
Priya S., retail group, Greater London“The governance workshop sounded soft until we hit employment rules for cousins. Writing down that a relative must interview like anyone else saved us a Christmas argument. The charter is pinned in the tea room, which feels right for us.”
Owen H., builders’ merchants, SuffolkExtended story: Haulage firm, Essex
A third-generation director asked us to help after his father announced a wish to “ease off” without naming a successor. Two siblings worked in the firm; a third held shares but lived abroad. Over twelve weeks we mapped routes of authority (who signs hire-purchase, who speaks to the bank), ran readiness conversations with both active siblings, and facilitated an owners’ session that agreed a staged transfer of voting control over three years, with a put-option path for the non-working sibling.
The awkward moment came when the father wanted to keep the managing director title while living abroad for half the year. We pushed the family to separate honorary chair duties from operational authority. They accepted the distinction — not eagerly, but clearly — and their solicitor later reflected it in the shareholders’ agreement amendments.
Extended story: Clinical practice partnership
Two founding clinicians and their adult children needed a path that protected patient continuity while allowing one founder to retire. Our work focused less on brand and more on clinic rotas, partnership capital accounts, and who could block a sale. The family chose a next-generation clinical lead with a non-family practice manager — a structure they had resisted until the readiness interviews made the skills gap plain.