The asset management arm of London-listed Close Brothers today begins a tour of a selection of successful UK family businesses.

Close Brothers Asset Management has launched its Family Business Road Trip 2016, a tour of some of the UK’s most successful family businesses, in association with Family Business United.

The tour, which begins today in Hull, Yorkshire, will run for six weeks. It will also cover the Lake District, the Midlands, London and East Anglia. It will meet with families behind a range of UK businesses, including Aspalls Cyder, World Transport Agency, JW Lees Brewery, Shepcote, HMG Paints, Bagnalls and English Lakes Hotels.

In addition, there will be a "Family Business Question Time" event in Manchester on 27 April, "meet the owner visits" at JW Lees Brewery (28 April), Aspall Cyder (10 May) and WTA Logistics (25 May), as well as family business dinners in Cambridge (12 May) and Horsham (17 May).

According to figures from Oxford Economics for the Institute of Family Business, there are 4.6 million family businesses in the UK, employing almost 12 million people. They turn over an estimated £1.3 trillion ($1.85 trillion) each year, over a third of the turnover of the private sector, according to research by Family Business United.

“The importance of family businesses to the UK’s economy cannot be understated, and our Family Business Road Trip is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the essential contribution they make. SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) have witnessed significant change in the last year, whether a reduction in business rates announced in the Budget, or changing dividend taxation for business owners,” said Penny Lovell, head of private client services at CBAM.

Indeed, UK chancellor George Osborne announced in his budget speech last month that small businesses that occupy property worth £12,000 or less will pay no business rates from April 2017. This 100 per cent relief currently applies to properties with a value of £6,000 or under. There will be a tapered rate of relief on properties worth up to £15,000, meaning 600,000 businesses will pay no rates. 

“For family firms, who boast their own unique set of financial circumstances and issues, these changes make financial planning advice even more important...We are firmly committed to supporting family firms and helping them unlock their potential for growth and longevity,” said Lovell.