State of the Nation: UK Family Business Sector 2021-22

This report from the IFB Research Foundation and Oxford Economics takes an in-depth look at the UK Family Business Sector. Data from UK business surveys are used to assess the contribution that family firms made to the UK economy in 2020. The report seeks to assess the performance of family firms during the COVID 19 pandemic and the strategies they used to adapt to the harsh economic conditions during this difficult period. As well as profiling the sector as a whole, the report looks at the future expectations of family firms and how they see future challenges and opportunities as the UK economy emerged from the pandemic.

A Westminster Hall debate on the contribution of family businesses to local communities in the UK took place on 18th December 2022, following publication of the Sector Report commissioned by the Family Business Research Foundation. The debate featured evidence from our 2021-22 State of the Nation report. A House of Commons research briefing summarises some of the key evidence discussed in the debate and includes a list of useful additional resources relating to the role that family businesses play in local communities.

This study made use of data from ONS’s Management and Expectations Survey (MES) to compare management practices in family firms with non-family firms. A report from Administrative Data Research UK discusses the impact of the research and the use of data from the MES: https://www.adruk.org/our-mission/our-impact/the-state-of-the-nation-the-uk-family-business-sector-2021-22/