Succession planning for business families
Introduction
Planning how ownership and leadership of a family business pass to the next generation, while the founders can still shape it.
Succession has two parts that are often confused: who will own the business and who will run it. Ownership passes under the Islamic rules of inheritance, which fix each heir's share, while leadership depends on governance, capability and the family's agreement. A plan has to address both.
The tools are well established: a family charter under Article 11 of the Companies Law, a holding company that keeps the business together, shareholder arrangements that govern how heirs join, gifts during the founder's lifetime, a will within the third that Sharia allows, and endowments (waqf) where the family wants to dedicate assets permanently.
We work with founders and the next generation to map ownership, heirs and the business, agree how control will pass, and put the documents in place while there is still time to settle questions by agreement.
How we help
What the work covers
Mapping
Ownership, heirs, assets and the roles family members play in the business.
Ownership plan
Holding structures, gifts, wills and waqf within the rules of Sharia.
Leadership plan
Preparing the next generation and separating ownership from management.
Documents
The family charter, articles and shareholder arrangements that hold across generations.
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