Three UK family companies win business honours

Berry Bros & Rudd Ltd, Fullers, Smith and Turner PLC and Robert Wiseman Dairies were winners of the Family Business Honours programme last week, held by JP Morgan private bank and the Institute for Family Business.
 
The winners were chosen for their business success, commitment to social responsibility and strong family governance, along with their positive records of staff retention and work in innovation.
 
Kate Murphy, head of family business at JP Morgan, said: "It is important to recognise the achievements of family businesses who currently employ approximately 9.5 million people and contribute over 30% of UK GDP. There are three outstanding winners who have all shown great tenacity through the recent tough economic times with the financial and social results to prove it."
 
Grant Gordon, director general of the Institute for Family business, said: "These three firms show all that is best in family-owned businesses. They have built successful companies by following principles that are at the core of all high-performing family firms – an entrepreneurial approach to business, sound governance structures and a genuine regard for social responsibility."
 
Berry Bros & Rudd is Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant, now in its seventh and eighth generation of family ownership. The company was the first wine merchant to launch a website with internet capabilities for ordering wine, one of the initiatives that impressed the judges.
 
Members of both the founding Berry and Rudd family work in the business, including chairman Simon Berry and deputy chairman Elizabeth Rudd. (Click here to read Campden FB's exclusive interview with Simon Berry)
 
Traditional brewer Fullers is under the sixth generation of family management from both the Fuller and Turner families, and is the market leader in the UK for organic ales. Founded in 1829, the company today has annual sales of £227 million.
 
Robert Wiseman Dairies was commended for its successful launch of 1% milk, the first dairy to do so in the UK. The company is run by second-generation members of the Wiseman family and provides 30% of the UK's daily intake of milk.

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