A future worth handing over.
Third Acre Advisory advises family enterprises and closely held businesses on succession, ownership decisions and the responsibilities of boards and family councils.
Family ownership priorities
Consider income needs, ownership continuity and how family members take part in major decisions.
Business leadership priorities
Consider investment needs, management authority and the information owners need from the business.
Select a perspective to explore the discussion between family owners and business leadership. The percentages show illustrative emphasis, not equity holdings or a recommended allocation.
Ownership decisions, examined closely
Explore four areas of advisory work. Each begins with the owners’ objectives and the decisions the business needs. The planning illustration raises questions for discussion; it does not prescribe legal terms.
Family ownership and succession
We clarify what a transition needs to achieve for family owners and business leadership. The work maps decision rights, successor responsibilities and questions for the family’s legal and tax advisors.
Decisions over time
Explore how a voting threshold and planning horizon change the questions owners need to discuss. Illustrative inputs are not legal recommendations.
Who can approve a major decision, who can block it, and what happens when the required agreement cannot be reached?
From objectives to working governance
An assignment can address a single decision or a wider ownership transition. We agree on the work with the people responsible and coordinate specialist advice where it is needed.
Understand the position
Ownership, obligations and current practice
We review the ownership structure, existing agreements and the way decisions are made. Discussions with owners and management identify unresolved expectations, information gaps and dependencies that could affect a transition.
Income and reinvestment
We help owners compare distribution expectations with investment and liquidity needs. The discussion records priorities and the decisions that require further financial, legal or tax advice.
- Assumptions behind distributions and reinvestment
- Questions about owner liquidity and transfers
Management authority
We distinguish decisions reserved for owners from decisions management can make. The resulting responsibility map gives both groups a basis for reporting and escalation.
- Defined authority for day-to-day decisions
- Agreed reporting and escalation routines
Develop the working arrangements
Decision documents and specialist coordination
We turn agreed objectives into a governance brief, responsibility map and implementation agenda. Attorneys, tax advisors and other appointed specialists prepare or review legal documents and the consequences of a proposed structure.
Family governance brief
Record who participates in family decisions, what requires agreement and how successors prepare for ownership responsibilities.
Business separation brief
Map shared services, operational dependencies and decisions needed when a business unit may move to separate ownership.
Escalation and resolution
Define how a disagreement reaches the right decision-makers and when independent facilitation or legal advice is needed. Counsel determines any formal dispute provisions.
Board governance
Board routines and accountability
We help owners define the board’s role, identify gaps in its skills and establish reporting and review routines. Appointments and authority remain decisions for the business and its owners.
Clarify how the chair, owners and management prepare decisions and address unresolved questions.
Identify which management and employee perspectives are needed for the decisions under review.
Review the information, agenda and follow-up used for major investment and leadership decisions.
A place for considered decisions
Third Acre Advisory works with family owners and business leaders on decisions that need both a personal and an operating perspective. An assignment starts by identifying the decision, the people with authority and the information they need.
Meetings can bring owners, management and existing advisors into the same discussion. We agree the scope and information-sharing arrangements before detailed work begins.
Ownership and succession inquiries
Start with the ownership or governance question, the people involved and any approaching decision. Detailed records can follow once the appropriate arrangements are agreed.