Everything starts with a vision
I am delighted to write today in my new role as Chair of Family Business UK. I assume this responsibility during a period of enormous uncertainty, change, growth and renewal for family businesses across the country - including my own family business, Rigby Group. This year our business celebrates its 50th year. As one of the UK’s largest private businesses and a global 500 family business, supporting the success of others in the sector is very close to my own heart. what I do and I approach FBUK as I would when working with any business. Everything starts with a vision, a North Star, building around a great team with clear objectives. Building companies that flourish is The conditions for building and growing a family business, such as my own, have become more difficult in recent times. The changes to Business Property Relief (BPR) announced in last October’s budget, present us with a clear challenge. The government has miscalculated the importance of BPR, opting to impose a tax which will raise inconsequential revenues but will result in long-term damage to our sector, the economy and regional communities across the UK. Whilst recognising that in order to represent you with government, FBUK must do more than campaign on this one issue, BPR will remain front and centre of our agenda. We have one more budget to effect a change to this damaging policy and influence a review before it comes into force. Encouragingly, our cause will be supported in this endeavour by both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats who have stated they would reverse this policy when there is next a change in government.
The North Star of FBUK is to become the leading voice for private and family business in the UK. In recognition of the significant contribution of our sector, our voice should carry the same weight in Government as other leading business groups including the CBI, the British Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses. We have made great strides in the past year increasing our government engagement and building key relationships with policy makers and we intend to continue to build on this in the years ahead. To help us to become a more powerful voice for your business we have strengthened the Board with some heavyweight appointments. These include Lord Iain McNicol, formerly General Secretary of the Labour Party, Alison Philips, former Daily Mirror editor, and a new chair for our tax committee Chris Romans, former Partner at EY. We also welcome Rupert Heseltine from Haymarket Group and Sarah Naghshineh from RCP Parking to the Board. Charlie Field, a long-standing member of the Board, will become Deputy Chair. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to the previous Board and its retiring members led by Sir James Wates for their support, commitment and achievements for the sector. They will remain friends and ambassadors for FBUK. Internally, the FBUK team, led by our CEO Neil Davy, is being strengthened with a new policy team, a new public affairs consultancy and new roles across the team to bolster our communications and engagement with key
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