HUNDREDS of family businesses across Dorset are to be quizzed about the particular challenges they face.

Princecroft Willis (PcW) has launched its second family business survey amid signs that family-run companies have coped better with the downturn than other sectors.

The chartered accountants and business advisers sponsored the Family Business of the Year category in the latest Dorset Business Awards. According to PcW, the number and range of entrants suggested that family businesses have proved particularly resilient during the recession.

Nick Love, Family Business Partner, said: “We were delighted with the response, both in the quality and diversity of entries. It’s made us wonder if Dorset is different from the country as a whole.

“The economy has seen unprecedented changes since we carried out our last local survey in 2007 and we’re keen to see how family businesses have adapted to the changing economic environment.

“Our gut feeling is that family businesses have weathered the storm better than their non-family counterparts. However, the only way to find out is to ask them, hence the survey.”

Nationally, 3m businesses, or 65 per cent of the private sector, are family run. One in three people works in a family business.

The PcW family business survey in 2007 was believed to have been the first of its kind in the south.

Key findings included:

• 27 per cent of participants had reached the third generation or beyond

• The top business driver was to increase profitability followed by providing for the needs of the family

• 40 per cent had begun planning for retirement but only nine per cent had written down a succession plan.

Nick said: “While there are plenty of national statistics there has been very little local research which is why our family business survey is such a useful exercise.”

To take part in the survey, click on the link on the home page of PcW’s website: www.princecroftwillis.co.uk