FAMILY businesses are viewed by the Scottish public as the most trustworthy companies, research has revealed.
They were rated as the most trustworthy by 23.5% of people north of the Border in research commissioned by the Institute for Family Business (IFB) and conducted by pollster Censuswide.
Employee-owned businesses ranked second, with 17% of the Scottish public viewing them as most trustworthy. Firms backed by venture capital were rated most trustworthy by 10% of people in Scotland, PLCs (public limited companies) by 8%, and private equity backed companies by 5%. The remainder of those polled said they did not know, on the trustworthiness question.
People in Scotland thought family firms looked after their employees most, compared with other types of businesses, with 30% rating them top on this measure.
More than one-fifth of respondents across Scotland associated family companies with the phrase “have great customer service”, the research found.
Around 500 family businesses will gather this week at the IFB National Family Business Conference at the Voco Grand Central Glasgow, which starts tomorrow.
It is the first time the conference has been held in Glasgow, the IFB noted.
At the three-day event, family firms of all sizes and from a wide range of sectors, from throughout the UK, will discuss the future of the family business model and how such enterprises innovate and invest.
The IFB said that, in Scotland, there are more than 280,000 family businesses. It noted this equated to around 84% of all businesses in Scotland. Family businesses in Scotland employ around 874,000 people in total, the IFB noted.
IFB chief executive Neil Davy said: “For too long, political, industry and business decision-making has taken a restricted approach to investment decisions that responds to priorities of non-family business PLCs, whose priority is to meet shareholder demands for short-term returns on investments.
“The UK needs to formulate a growth strategy that encourages and incentivises businesses to focus on longer-term investment opportunities and returns for stakeholders, the environment, and the UK’s role and place in the wider world.”
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