90% of family business owners are confident they understand the value of their business, yet as little as a third (32%) have had a recent professional valuation, showing there’s a distinct gap between confidence and certainty, according to a finding in, Protecting what you’ve built: family business resilience, a report by Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth. The gap between perceived understanding and verified insight could affect financial planning, resilience, and long-term family strategy, it warns.

Valuations are the basis of key business decisions such as tax and succession planning. As the survey found that over half (52%) of owners were concerned over tax and policy change, and around three quarters (74%) are planning for succession, the lack of recent valuations is reason for concern. An informal understanding of the value of their family business, can limit business owner’s ability to foresee the size of implications of change and may negatively impact the future longevity of the business, warns the financial wellbeing firm.

The report explores the challenges to family business resilience in the UK and highlights where confidence is strongest and uncertainty is felt the most. The firm wanted to understand key barriers, from balancing commercial growth with family values, to planning succession and managing wealth across generations.

Commenting on the importance of understanding the value of their business, Jeff Simpson, Head of Wealth Management, says: “Family businesses play an essential role in the UK economy. Yet many owners are navigating extended periods of growing uncertainty. Shifting tax policy, rising operational costs, and the complexities of succession and intergenerational wealth transfer mean owners are being asked to make bigger decisions, often faster than they would like.

“Our report shows that while confidence in understanding business value is high, this confidence isn’t always backed by a recent professional valuation. Relying on informal or outdated assumptions risks leaving owners exposed to sudden change. Without an accurate, up to date view of what their business is worth, it becomes much harder to anticipate the scale of potential tax liabilities, manage wealth effectively across generations, or plan for the future stability of the business.

“Understanding the business value sooner provides an important reference point that can act as an anchor for decision making when uncertainty arises. It can similarly allow for proactivity in planning rather than reactive decision making under pressure, especially as more than half (52%) express trigger points to be sudden policy change.

“With succession clearly on the agenda, as three quarters (74%) are putting plans in place, the need for a formal reference point only grows. A strong valuation won’t only inform financial planning, it supports continuity, clarity in inheritance discussions, and helps ensure the business is best positioned to thrive for future generations. In many ways, it is the foundation for resilience and brings some confidence in a landscape where the only constant is change.”