While 90% of family business owners claim they know the value of their assets, this is not based on an independent assessment of the company. Only one in three (32%) have had a recent professional valuation, which leaves an overwhelming majority of 68% of these owner managed businesses do not have an accurate valuation of their assets.

More than half (58%) of owners said they had a ‘informal sense’ of their company’s value, while 8% ‘hadn’t valued the business recently’, and 2% did not know what their business was worth, revealed a survey of 500 businesses by Hymans Robertson.

‘Relying on informal or outdated assumptions risks leaving owners exposed to sudden change,’ warned Jeff Simpson, head of wealth management at Hymans Robertson.