Page 39 - Fisherman's Friend Teaching Note

Succession Planning

Nothing succeeds like success, but for family businesses

the key to maintaining this success usually lies in passing

the business on to their offspring. However, for LOF

succession planning is more traumatic.

Every company that wants to pass on its business to the

next generation needs a business succession plan.

Sooner or later, everyone wants to retire or dies.

However, determining what happens to the business can

be as important as ensuring that you have enough

money to retire on. Who's going to manage the business?

How will ownership be transferred?

With family businesses, succession planning can be
especially complicated because of the relationships and

emotions involved and because many people are not
comfortable discussing topics such as aging, death, and

their financial affairs.

Generally, family-owned businesses are led by unique

entrepreneurs who strive to leave a legacy for future

generations of their family. The problem is that few

family business owners are doing a good job preparing to

turn their enterprises over to the next generation. (1)

Doreen Lofthouse is certainly a unique entrepreneur.

However, given the ages of the Lofthouse family and with

no obvious successor, if Duncan Lofthouse takes over or

inherits from his mother, the issue of succession does

raise its head.