50
BUSINESS FAMILY
by Ged Henderson
Mathew Hall THE GENERATIONS GAME
For four generations members of the Hall family have been producing their award- winning farmhouse cheese against the backdrop of Lancashire’s rural splendour.
Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses can trace its history back to 1932. And like many family concerns in Lancashire it is proud of that heritage and well aware of the DNA that sets it apart.
Longevity comes to these businesses through a range of attributes. They include resilience, innovation and the speed of their response to challenges and opportunities.
Matthew Hall is the fourth-generation owner of Butlers. He says: “Our people, our products and our pioneering spirit sit at the heart of our longevity.
“Family businesses are unique. It’s about having people who really care about what they are doing and the impact they have – and that really resonates with our customers.
“They get quality products made with love and we focus on development and innovation because it is the right thing to do for our customers, our people and our community – not because it’s something a shareholder in the City needs.”
In common with long established family firms across Lancashire, heritage and authenticity are important ingredients in the cheese-
maker’s recipe for success. Matthew says: “As a manufacturing-based family business, we have our own farms and so we have provenance and real and genuine connection to our product – there’s no fakery.
“You get a lot of manufacturing-based businesses which operate as a sales and marketing company and have someone else manufacture their product for them, so there’s a real disconnect with where the product comes from.
“While sustainability wasn’t a word that was used in the early decades of our business, my great-grandparents would say, ‘keep that, it might be useful one day’ and that still feeds through into our business today.”
He adds: “Family business to me means opportunity. We have very strong foundations, a rich history and a product that’s well-known.
“We take those foundations and break boundaries out of Lancashire into national and international markets – and that delivers an entire set of new opportunities. That’s very exciting.”
Mark Adlestone has in his office an “enormous” family tree which goes right back to his great grandfather who arrived in Britain from Russia in the 1880s.
A family business since 1919, Fylde coast headquartered jewellery group Beaverbrooks
can trace its roots right back to Mark’s grandfather and brothers. The group has recently reported a record turnover and hailed a year of investment, posting £225m turnover for the year ending February 2023.
Our structure means that we can make decisions quickly
It has grown its number of stores to 87 across the UK and is set to move head office from St Annes to bigger premises in nearby Lytham, another sign of continued ambition.
Mark says one of the defining features of a family business is its focus on the long term. “We keep looking to the future,” he adds.
“We are not beholden to our shareholders and the structure means we can make decisions quickly. We don’t have to go to the City or talk to a lot of analysts to explain why we are doing what we do. That is quite liberating.”
There are challenges. Mark says it is important to manage the number of working shareholders as the generations grow. He explains: “Family businesses can’t be for every member of the family, it is just not possible.”
Having taken opportunities to buy back shares from family members over many years he says Beaverbrooks is now owned by his “immediate”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70
