Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Selling the family business: a practical guide for legal advisers on timing, ownership options, risk, valuation, negotiations, warranties and indemnities, trustees, employment, property and family buyouts

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate expert

Practice notes

Choosing whether to sell a family business, and deciding on the moment to do so, are among the weightiest calls a family may encounter. Some set out in enterprise with a future sale as the ultimate aim from the outset, while others arrive at this possible end to their commercial journey because they cannot see any other practical response to the question, ‘what comes next?’ However a family reaches the stage of debating a sale, the steps outlined below can support them in reaching the soundest possible conclusion for their circumstances.

Timing

External market conditions can, to a degree, shape when the decision is reached—for example, a buoyant deals market or consolidation within a sector. Yet internal dynamics are just as significant for effective planning, and they tend to lie more directly under the family’s control.

Ownership matters

What if the next generation are neither inclined nor equipped to assume leadership—does that render a sale unavoidable? If the family would not view it as a ‘family’ business without a relative at the helm, then when no-one both able and willing is available to take the role, perhaps the time has come to sell. The other option, in such circumstances, would be to recruit...

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Ken McCracken

Ken is recognised as one of the leading family business consultants in Europe. His work focusses on helping family businesses and family offices create the type of governance that will help them to achieve their version of success. Ken is also actively involved in advocacy to improve the overall awareness of the economic and social contribution made by enterprising families. He a Fellow of the Family Firm Institute (FFI), the leading international organisation for family business professionals and academics and is the author and teacher of the Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). He is a past recipient of the FFI Award for Outstanding Interdisciplinary Achievement and the STEP Award for Family Business Adviser of the Year. ...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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