What defines a family business? On paper, it is an organization in which ownership and management are linked to the same family. But its uniqueness goes far beyond this theoretical definition. Family businesses are also more resilient, longer-lived, more inclusive, and more rooted in the territory.
Companies capable of maintaining, over decades and generations, an intact and discreet light of their own, which rarely makes headlines, often reserved for large corporations, innovative startups, and unicorns. A light, despite everything, persistent: capable of traversing generations, resisting crises, and staying lit when other models fade away.
Far from being just a symbolic image, this unique light can be confirmed with data and reports: family businesses represent 92.3% of the Catalan business fabric, generate 76.9% of private employment, and contribute 70.3% of gross added value. These are some of the main conclusions of the report Family Business in Catalonia: Contribution and Continuity, promoted by the Catalan Association of Family Business (ASCEF) and prepared by the five Family Business chairs in Catalonia —CEU Abat Oliba University, University of Barcelona, University of Girona, University of Lleida, and International University of Catalonia—.
The report, presented during the ASCEF Annual Partners' Assembly, which brings together 150 Catalan family businesses, updates a sector overview that had not been revised for almost a decade. A work that highlights the sustained contribution of these companies to the productive fabric. "What would Catalonia be without these companies that have contributed so much to its economy?" reflected Miquel Sàmper, conseller of Business and Labor, during the Assembly. This is because family businesses not only represent the majority model of the Catalan business fabric —also in the province of Barcelona, where they represent 92% of companies—, but also consolidate as one of the main drivers of employment and wealth generation.
"But their contribution to the territory goes beyond the figures," emphasized the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa. "It is also reflected in the ability to preserve and transmit values such as the way of doing business, commitment to well-done work, and a unique culture. It is, in short, a model more rooted in the territory and the country," he added.
Precisely on this own light with which family businesses shine and the values that are transmitted from generation to generation, the annual Assembly of partners has been structured. "Contribution and continuity are the two principles that define the DNA of these companies: the contribution of generating value today and the continuity of thinking about tomorrow", summarized Rosa Tous, corporate vice president and Reach & Relevance Officer of Tous and president of ASCEF.
When patience becomes an advantage
In fact, the great singularity of the family business is that it thinks differently. While large organizations move conditioned by annual or even quarterly financial statements, family businesses usually make decisions with a view that spans decades and, often, generations. This long-term view is, probably, one of the main characteristics of this business model.
A capacity that Rosa Tous, president of ASCEF, defines as the ability to connect the past —the received legacy—, the decisions of the present and the responsibility of projecting the project towards the future. And this way of understanding continuity has also been made visible in the chosen setting for the annual Assembly, which does not seem casual: the Núria Pla House Museum, a living testimony of the passage of time and the transformation of the legacy. A legacy initiated by Dr. Ramon Pla Armengol, pioneering pharmacist and tuberculosis researcher, and continued by Núria Pla, one of the first female doctors in the history of Spain. "A woman who reminds us that business and soul can, and even should, go hand in hand," Tous recalled.
But this long-term view is not only its main characteristic; it is also, probably, the key that explains its capacity for resistance. The report shows that family businesses are more resilient than non-family businesses: their survival rate is almost six points higher: 79.3% of the family businesses analyzed in 2017 were still active in 2024, compared to 73.6% of non-family businesses. A capacity for resilience that was also evident during the pandemic: while family businesses had already recovered pre-Covid-19 turnover levels in 2021, non-family businesses did not achieve this until a year later, in 2022.
The study confirms, in fact, that the more mature a family business is, the stronger it tends to be. Those that have surpassed the second generation generate more employment and more gross added value, while presenting lower debt levels and higher solvency.
But reaching the second generation is not always easy. The report indicates that one in five Catalan family businesses is still in the entrepreneurial phase, with less than ten years of existence, while almost 40% are still in the first generation, with between 10 and 25 years of operation. In contrast, only 2.1% have surpassed fifty years of history and can be considered long-lived companies. And this is where the main challenge for family businesses lies: continuity.
Among the exceptional cases, Sagalés stands out, a bus transport company with a history dating back to 1641, when the first routes were established for farmers to sell in different markets. Those beginnings were linked to the figure of the "paraires" —those in charge of buying and preparing wool— and, later, to the transport of ice extracted from the wells in the Moià mountains to Barcelona. In time, motor vehicles would arrive.
Four centuries later, the company continues to operate, consolidated as one of the longest-lived in all of Catalonia, with an annual turnover exceeding 85 million euros, more than 1,800 employees, and a presence beyond Catalonia, with activity also in the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands. "The keys to surviving almost 385 years? The capacity for adaptation," summarized its CEO, Ramon Sagalés. "Adversities cannot be foreseen, but one can decide how to act in the face of them," he added.
An adaptation that has not always been easy. For example, during the Civil War, the company was collectivized. His grandfather, in hiding, sent instructions for the company to continue operating and, once the conflict ended, he tried to rebuild it practically from scratch.
The great challenge: passing the torch
For these companies, generational succession remains the main challenge. "The family business faces the same challenges as any other company —such as the irruption of artificial intelligence or the uncertainty of the economic context—, but, in addition, we add the complexity of family management," remarked Eloi Planes, executive president of Fluidra —a Catalan company of pool solutions founded in 1969, with a global presence and an annual turnover exceeding 2,184 million euros— and new president of the Family Business Institute for a two-year term.
Planes, a lover of poetry, illustrates it with a cinematographic metaphor: "The family business is like a great television series. The first season must manage to build strong characters and hook the audience. But shooting the second, third or fourth season also requires a high level of involvement and values."
Generosity and courage are Planes' two recipes for facing a good generational succession. "Generosity to take steps back when it's time to hand over leadership. And courage from the next generation to assume the legacy and make it evolve," remarked the executive president of Fluidra.
Because the legacy must not only be maintained, but also know how to evolve, to make the company grow. "Before accepting the position, I made it clear that I would ask for advice, but that I would not always follow the same direction," exemplified Marc Puig, chairman of Puig. "This philosophy has allowed us to make bets that, otherwise, would have been very difficult." One of them was to sell a consolidated division to bet on another that was not yet generating profits.
The company founded in 1914, today with more than 13,000 employees worldwide and a turnover exceeding 5,000 million euros, is currently facing the transition between the third and fourth generation through a singular decision: the stock market debut (May 2024). "We didn't do it because we needed money," warned Marc Puig. "We wanted to send a clear message: the family continues to lead the project, but we also want to incorporate external perspectives." In fact, with the stock market debut, the Puig family has maintained 71.7% of the shareholding and 92.5% of the voting rights.
All these examples end up answering the initial question: what truly defines a family business? Beyond ownership and management, it is a model based on continuity generation after generation, in which legacy and values are not only preserved, but transformed and projected into the future, while maintaining their own light.