A businessman who experienced the pain of a family business failure is delivering a seminar in Perth this week giving advice on how to avoid the pitfalls.
Martin Stepek will talk candidly of his experiences. He worked in the business started by his father, who came to Scotland from Poland at the end of the second world war.
J. Stepek Ltd was one of Scotland’s top 500 companies, comprising retail chains of electrical appliances and travel agencies, a property portfolio, repair and maintenance of electrical goods and financial services.
Martin was one of 10 siblings, all with a stake in the business, but the family had not been well advised and unequal distribution of shares to the second generation led to disunity and friction in what had been a powerful and united sibling group.
“Midway through these family difficulties we were also hit by a banking crisis and a major tax problem,” said Martin. “The business lost the will to live and went into administration in 2002. That galvanised me into wanting to help others not to have to go through the same thing.”
He is now chief executive of the Scottish Family Business Association which offers specialist help, support and skills to family businesses to enable them to grow and flourish over successive generations.
“It’s inevitable that family businesses, with their mix of generations, active and inactive shareholders, family and non-family employees, will face complex conflicts which, if not addressed skilfully, may destroy both the business and the family,” said Martin.
His seminar will focus on the Stepek family and business case study, examining the challenges that were faced by their next generation.
The workshop is on Wednesday at 2pm in the Business Gateway, Robertson House, Whitefriars.