DUBAI – Sixty 60 percent of family businesses reported revenue growth of at least 5 percent in the prior year, a research released Wednesday by the Credit Suisse Research Institute and Ernst & Young revealed. The findings highlight that as other businesses struggle to create revenue, the family business model remains more robust in the face of slow economic activity and the eurozone crisis. Furthermore, by operating a different management style focused on long-term investment, family businesses are outperforming public companies, thus proving to be very successful. The research is based on a unique survey of members of the Family Business Network International (FBN-I) from across 33 countries. Richard Kersley, Head of Global Research Product, Credit Suisse Investment Banking, said “we believe that now is an ideal time to cast the spotlight on family businesses, given their recent performance. As further evidence of this, the Credit Suisse Family Business Index has now outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 8 percent.” The research found that the following characteristics contributed to family business success: – Performance and resilience: Family businesses have to date coped relatively well in the current environment with close to 60 percent reporting revenue growth of 5 percent or more in the prior year. – Coping with the eurozone credit crisis: The survey reveals that the eurozone debt crisis is low on the list of concerns of family businesses. Only 15 percent of companies registered it as a major concern. External markets are not closed to family businesses. – Long-term perspective: This robustness appears supported by their long-term, ‘quality first' approach, particularly in the longer generation firms. – Sticking together: Where succession is concerned, families are sticking together – there is a strong desire to pass on to the next generation and they highlight the priority to plan early. – Sustainability: Sustainability – financially and socially – is a key issue for family businesses. – SG
