Three quarters of businesses in the health and social work sector are family owned, a new report shows.
Making up a sizeable contribution to the UK economy, these family-owned businesses employ almost 900,000 people.
There are 272,000 family-owned businesses in the sector, making up 75% of all private sector firms.
‘Family businesses are at the heart of communities across the country,’ director general at the Institute for Family Business (IFB) who carried out the report, Elizabeth Bagger, said.
‘This report shows they are a vital force in our economy – and how their continued growth will benefit the UK.
‘Health and social work family businesses create a substantial proportion of employment.
‘Family firms clearly have the appetite and ambition for growth.
‘They’re investing in skills and looking to the long term.
‘As a country we need to help more of our smaller family firms to overcome the barriers they face, and support them in scaling up and successfully transferring ownership through the generations.’
More female leaders
Family businesses contributed £598 billion to UK GDP in 2017, making up 28% of the whole UK economy.
Across the UK, family firms have increased their employee headcount when compared to a year ago.
The report also shows family owned SMEs are more likely to have female leaders (81%), compared with non-family owned SMEs (58%).
‘The family business sector offers so much potential for long-term growth,’ Ms Bagger says.
‘Championing and supporting our mid-sized firms, and helping smaller family businesses to scale up, must be a priority as we look at what our economy will look like in the years ahead.’
Strong growth
Christie & Co predicts demand for dental practices will remain strong through 2019 in its latest Business Outlook 2019.
Chris Day, global managing director, launched ‘Business Outlook 2019: Navigate, Innovate, Accelerate’, which reflects on 2018 and forecasts what 2019 might bring.
The dental sector grew by 5.2% in 2018, down from 12.3% in 2017.
‘Last year was another strong year in the transactional market,’ Simon Hughes, managing director – medical at Christie & Co, said.
‘Although price increases were more moderate than in previous years.
‘We expect 2019 to be equally good with a better supply of dental practices coming onto the market.’
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