The Birmingham office of commercial and private law firm Else Solicitors has expanded the legal support it provides to the city’s family-owned businesses by becoming an Exclusive Partner of Families in Business (FiB).
Under the partnership, the firm, founded by Partner Chris Else in 2003, will exclusively provide legal services to family run and owned businesses based in Birmingham.
FiB, which is headquartered in the West Midlands, works exclusively with family businesses and professional advisers throughout the UK. Else Solicitors joins FiB’s growing national network of professional service firms, which in Birmingham also includes business advisory firms Smith Cooper and Barnett Ravenscroft Wealth Management (BRWM).
The West Midlands region is home to more than 200,000 family businesses, accounting for almost two-thirds of the region’s privately-owned firms, according to FiB’s latest research. Jointly the East and West Midlands is the base for almost 15 percent of the UK’s three million family businesses that provide 9.2 million jobs.
“With the vast majority of our clients being family businesses, we frequently see the positive impact these have on our local and regional economy, and we strongly believe family businesses are the lifeblood behind the growth of UK business,” commented Jonathan Tyson of Else Solicitors. “Family businesses are recognised for their entrepreneurship and strong presence, many of which are powerful exemplars of British industry.
“As a family business ourselves, we understand the many complex issues that are involved with running a family business. We often see the same problems arise in all businesses, but those where family members are involved need specialist advice and experience to guide them through challenges that often require difficult decisions to be made. Our family business advisers have considerable personal commercial experience, and an understanding of how a business can flourish, given the different family dynamics.”
Dani Saveker, FiB’s CEO and founder, added: “Else Solicitors is a great addition to the FiB community. Aside from the fact that the firm is itself a family business, the team at Else has a real appreciation for the challenges that family-run businesses, and their stakeholders, face. Their openness and approach can only benefit family business clients.
“We look for a certain ‘DNA’ within our Exclusive Partners, and as the FiB team has developed the relationship with Else, it has become clear they really want to focus on long term relationships and make their clients needs a top priority, which is vital for a family firm.
“You can’t fool family businesses,” added Dani. “They need genuine advisers they can turn to during both good and very difficult times, and Else is committed and able to respond to this need.”
Jonathan Tyson continued: “Having started the firm’s life as a very small family business, we can appreciate what a lonely place it can be if there are no trusted advisers on hand to ask for advice and support. By becoming a part of the FiB community, family businesses don’t have to spend vast amounts of time searching for trusted advisers. FiB enables all aspects of advice to be found in one place and we understand too well what great value this can be.
“We see the FiB community providing an invaluable service that brings together a support network of local and regional trusted advisers that are happy to see family businesses and provide advice at a time that works for them, and jumped at the chance to be a FiB Exclusive Partner and continue to support family businesses further still.”