Meet our Team

The FBS Team

A truly multi-disciplinary team sharing a broad spectrum of skills , knowledge and experience in areas such as management, psychology, listening, mediation, governance, finance and tax; access to some or all of which will usually be needed to tailor practical solutions for clients.

All members of the team have gained an in depth understanding of why and how complex issues develop within family business systems , through a combination of formal learning and many years of practical experience gained through either working within family businesses or advising them.

Liam Entwistle

Liam hails from a Dispute Resolution background - in the past he would have been called a "Litigator", but realised that there were better ways to resolve conflict than slogging things out in a Court, where only legal advisers benefit.

Adept at resolving disputes efficiently and cost effectively, he is a qualified workplace mediator, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and became attracted to the area of Family Business Consulting after studying the nature and effect of conflicts in a Family Business.

Realising that Conflict in a Family Business will almost invariably lead to the fracturing of the Business, and possibly also the Family, he became convinced that Consulting using the FBS model was the best way to ensure harmony and success down the generations, and he is now a passionate advocate of the benefits of a well governed and regulated Family Business”

t: 44 + (0)141 222 2820 | f: 44 + (0)7747 768000 | e: lae@ukfbs.co.uk

Susan Hoyle

Joined FBS as a consultant in 2008
Qualified as a lawyer in 1986 and prior to joining FBS was head of tax at Dundas & Wilson LLP
Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

While Susan can help business families with the issues they may face at any stage, her background is particularly helpful when working with businesses which are transitioning between the generations and where succession planning is key.

George Stevenson

30 years’ first hand experience of family issues and their impact on business performance as managing director and son-in-law within a complex 3^rd/4^th/5^th generation family business
With the help of FBS in the late 90’s, navigated the business and the family through many changes, including family members joining and leaving the business, professionalising the board, creating a family council and bringing in outside directors and investors.
Studied Family Business Governance for 3 years (1999 -2002) at the Glasgow Caledonian Centre for Family Enterprise
Founded (2005) the Scottish Family Business Association ( www.sfba.co.uk )in 2005 to ensure that advice and guidance on family business issues is available to every family business in Scotland. Currently Chairman of SFBA.
Joined FBS as a consultant in 2007
Managing Director of FBS since April 2013

Specialist skills

Although capable of assisting business families at any stage of their development, his depth of experience as a business leader is particularly helpful when working with growing businesses transitioning between the 1^st and 2^nd generations

Sought after as a speaker on family business issues at conferences and workshops.

t: +44 (0)141 222 2820 | e: gbs@ukfbs.co.uk

More information

What Next?

Our Client Feedback

Our planning for the future had become stuck in lots of technical detail and it felt that we were not making enough progress. The way FBS went about their work guided the family firmly but sensitively through the process of making key decisions; the big picture ones that then make it easier to deal with the detail. Their process for doing this kind of work is markedly different from the way other advisers operate and we can vouch for the advantages of getting both generations involved in the process.
Morris Hamburger Searchlight Electric Ltd
Family Business Solutions was asked to advise on constituting the family interests in a much-loved landed business. The prospect of greater financial success, and the passing of interest through the generations, required a more formal structure. It was a long, detailed and sometimes tense process -but FBS guided us through it with great skill, patience and discretion. Without that guidance, it would not have happened. And now the family governance is on a completely different level.
Artordinsh Estate company Ltd and Raven family
Family Businesses are complex and emotional organisations. It is amazing how many professional advisors try and separate the business from the family and fail to comprehend the many layers of power and control involved. It is refreshing and comforting to know that there is a truly world class expert available in the FBS team who can understand and deal with the complexities of family businesses and also calmly and logically work out solutions . Their knowledge of family business is outstanding and enlightening and their approach is very professional, amiable and ultimately achieves outcomes. They are able to keep the process on track and that is important. I have a great deal to thank the FBS team for and will be back to see them when it is time for the succession planning in the future.
Jane Wylie-Roberts
FBS worked with both generations of our family and the board of directors to help us develop a Family Constitution. This now helps guide us in many areas of importance to the family and the business. There’s a lot of work involved in creating a constitution and it was essential for us to have the right information and advice to ensure that ours would last for a long time.

The work FBS did with the next generation of our family was hugely helpful.
Jim Walker – Walkers Shortbread Ltd
I have known FBS since their inception and have watched them develop and hone their expertise for over a decade. Aside from their outstanding consulting services, they have an amazing depth of knowledge and experience that they share generously with the family business world through training and publishing.

FBS is a world-class resource.
Martin Stepek, Chief Executive, Scottish Family Business Association