Update: Research, Policy and Practice
This latest update from the Family Business Research Foundation summarises the charity’s activities and key outputs from January 2026 - July 2026, with links to freely available reports, briefings and articles
FBRF Conference - 15 September 2026 (Guildhall, York)
We’re pleased to announce that the Family Business Research Foundation and the University of York are working in partnership for our next conference on 15 September at The Guildhall, York. James Reed, Chairman and CEO of the Reed family of companies, has been confirmed as the keynote speaker.
Request for proposals: Sector reports 2026-27, 2028-29
We're inviting proposals from researchers and research organisations to lead the next two cycles of our flagship Family Business Sector Report across the 2026–27 and 2028–29 reporting cycles.
Deadline for proposals: Friday 7 August 2026
New Working Paper: Management and Wellbeing Practices in Family Firms in Family workplaces in Britain
New research from the Family Business Research Foundation, drawing on the Government's 2018–19 Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey, compares around 1,700 family and non-family workplaces and finds a consistent pattern.
The clearest difference was not whether family-business workplaces supported their staff, but how: they were consistently less likely to rely on written policies, formal consultation and recognised trade unions - and much of this gap remained even when workplaces of the same size were compared.
Business Property Relief: research update
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) is nearing completion of its study into the impact of the reforms to Business Property Relief (BPR), implemented this April, on the UK family business sector. The findings will be collated into a report, due for publication later this year, which is expected to make a valuable contribution to the policy debate.
Building a UK Family Business Index
FBRF is developing a UK Family Business Index: an objective measure of how many UK companies are family owned and what distinguishes them, built by applying artificial intelligence to bulk business registry data, commercial business datasets, and other publicly available sources rather than relying on businesses describing themselves as family owned.
A new framework to underpin research and practice in the family business field
Our new Research Framework sets out the full range of effects family involvement can have on how a business is run and governed, on its economic contribution, on the communities around it, on the owning family itself, and on how it engages with policymakers and regulation. The framework also captures how all of these interact, reinforcing one another or creating trade-offs.
A companion article walks through real examples of each, from long-term thinking in governance to family firms' role in local communities, and shows why looking at family businesses through this wider lens matters for owners, advisers and policymakers alike.
Britain’s Hidden Champions: Uncovering the Social Impact of Family Mid-Sized Businesses
We’re pleased to announce the Family Business Research Foundation (FBRF) has commissioned Lancaster University and the Università G. d'Annunzio Chieti-Pescara to assess the social effects of family mid-sized businesses, following a competitive request for proposal process. This research examines the unique social role of UK mid-sized family businesses (MSBs), with a focus on their integration into local communities, and community resilience.
Article: “Family Fortunes: a long-run perspective on the value of family leadership”
Dr Michael Aldous and Prof John Turner (Queen’s University Belfast) have written an article for our insights page, based on their new book The CEO: The Rise and Fall of Britain’s Captains of Industry
The article covers the changing role of CEOs and the relationship between the role of CEO and family businesses, from a historical perspective
Research and Guidance from our partners: WIFU
The Family Business Research Foundation (FBRF) is pleased to share a small selection of research studies and practical guides from WIFU, the Witten Institute for Family Business at Witten/Herdecke University in Germany. WIFU carries out research, teaching and practice transfer on the distinctive features of family businesses and business families. This selection forms part of a collaboration between WIFU and FBRF and is intended to make a number of relevant WIFU studies and practice guides more easily accessible to a UK audience.
Partnership with York University
A pilot is in place with York University to establish a Centre of Excellence on Family Business. This will allow FBRF to continue to expand its research output and focus on in-depth, long term research on family businesses and their impact on the economy and society. Meetings have started to take place with stakeholders on the future of the Centre. If you are interested and would like to arrange a meeting with FBRF and York University to discuss our plans for the Centre of Excellence, please do get in touch info@fbrf.org.uk
Get involved and stay in touch
We are keen to continue working with family businesses, policymakers, academics, practitioners, advisers and members of business-owning families to deepen the understanding of the UK family business sector.
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