In The Media

Succession Plus will unify its UK and Australasian divisions transforming it into a global business with former UK CEO Darryl Bates-Brownsword to lead.

With over 30 years’ experience in business coaching, business strategy and succession planning, Mr Bates-Brownsword welcomed the opportunity to work across both markets.

Craig West breaks down how to buy an established business, how to value a business, and how to plan for a successful business exit.

Craig West is the CEO and founder of Succession Plus who provides focused and strategic advice for SME business owners in business succession and exit planning. Craig is a successful entrepreneur who has helped over 600 business owners maximise the value of their business and achieve a successful exit.

i2C Architects has launched its Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP), an innovative ownership model that will nurture company culture and help to retain studio talent.

Through the implementation of the ESOP, i2C employees will earn ownership through their performance. Eight Senior Associates are expected to earn shares of i2C by the end of the year, providing the practice achieves its profit targets.

ARCHITECTURE and design firm i2C Architects are launching an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP), that will see employee performance translated into share ownership.

The ESOP will see performance earning ownership through performance, in an effort by i2C  to retain and attract talent and shape its company culture.

In the prevailing tight labour market where non-cash remuneration is a key tool employers can use to attract, retain and motivate key employees, the stalling of the federal government’s Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) draft legislation, could not come at a worse time.

While SMEs are scrambling to recover from the pandemic, startups are also now hampered in the ability to implement an ESOP to reduce the burden of cash, and lower the barrier of attractive and retaining quality staff.

Either way, recovery and innovation in Australia are

With an ever-increasing number of Australia’s business owners nearing retirement age, it is vital that accountants add succession planning to their professional repertoires.

At the current rate, there are over 5,000 people turning 65 per week in Australia, with this number projected to increase over the next seven years. For these individuals, successful succession planning is at the forefront of their minds, as they aim to retire knowing their employees are cared for, their business can continue without them, ensuring suppliers, customers and family members in the business are looked after.

Australasia’s largest succession and exit planning advisory firm, Succession Plus is building its international presence with Capitaliz, a digital tool designed to service the baby-boomer generation seeking to unlock value in their businesses prior to retirement.

Capitaliz was launched in September 2021 following a 2020 capital raise by Succession Plus. The launch of Capitaliz converted the 21-step business succession and exit planning process and Business Insights Report, into a real time online platform for unlisted mid-market businesses.

The New Year is a time of reflection, re-evaluation and resetting, both in our personal lives and at work. If you own a business, it’s often a time for reviewing the strategy that saw you through the last 12 months and making changes for the year ahead. And after the torrid couple of years we’ve all just experienced, some business owners may be asking themselves whether now is the right time to sell.

Advice firms are being called on to put more stock into their advisers.

In a recent opinion piece published on ifa, Craig West – chief executive and founder of boutique consulting and advisory firm Succession Plus – highlighted a number of strategies for finding and retaining advisers.

“Financial advisers are in a ‘people business’ – clients trust their adviser and that’s why they stay, not because of the firm’s brand,” Mr West wrote.

You’ve seen the headlines and – if you own or manage an advice firm – you’re probably feeling it. The labour market is extremely tight. Wages are rapidly increasing and, due to border closures during the pandemic,  there aren’t enough skilled workers to fill the roles.

People start businesses for myriad reasons. It could be that they are following a passion or wish to take control of their lifestyles and schedules. Perhaps there's a level of demand for their products or services.

Also, unlike working for a boss, you are not dependent on others to either run the show or pay you for your efforts. At the same time, you have the flexibility to decide how much effort you'll put into your business and, hopefully, how much you'll earn.

Employee share schemes — or ESSs — are a legal arrangement set up by businesses to allow their employees to own equity in the business. They are also known as employee share ownership plans, employee equity plans, employee options plans and phantom share plans.

They are suitable for small businesses through to the big end of town. In fact, many privately-owned businesses are surprised to learn they don’t have to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange to offer shares to their employees. There are different types of employee share scheme plans to consider depending on the size and structure of the business and what the owner hopes to achieve from offering one.