IT will be a huge family gathering for businesses in York and North and East Yorkshire.

York accountants and advisers from Garbutt & Elliott of York are holding a meeting next month to help family businesses plan for the future.

Guest speaker at the firm’s Family Business meeting at Hazlewood Castle, near Tadcaster, on April 29 (5.30pm for 6pm) will be Sonia Davis from the International Centre for Families in Business, who will share her experiences as consultant to a number of family organisations.

The theme of the meeting will be on how to mentor and motivate the next generation in the family business, exploring questions such as when to first employ younger family members, how to financially reward them, how to decide roles and how and when to let go.

It will also be an opportunity for family businesses in the region to meet and share their experiences.

Craig Manson, a director at Garbutt & Elliott, said: “We have been running these meetings for two years now, providing a platform for family businesses to meet and gain the tools to help their businesses to thrive into the next generation.

“Research has revealed 75 per cent of all businesses are family businesses and they employ around half the entire workforce, yet relatively few survive in the longer term. Only 15 per cent survive to the third generation. To improve this survival rate, families need specialist family business advice”.

Mr Manson said that succession planning within a family business was the key. “Whether the aim is to pass control on to the next generation or to sell to an outsider, the earlier this is planned for, the better”.

Anyone wishing to attend the seminar should contact Rebecca Green at rmgreen@garbutt-elliott.co.uk or phone 01904 464156.