Family Business Disputes Mediation
That Actually Works
- Resolve family tensions without dragging it to court.
- End long-standing family business disputes in just one session.
- Our expert mediators are available within 2 weeks of enquiry.
- Save time, money, and avoid emotional strain.
- Meet face-to-face or mediate online, your choice.
Family Business Disputes
Running a business with family brings unique rewards, but also complex risks. When personal emotions mix with financial decisions, conflicts can boil over. Whether it’s about succession, ownership, roles, or money, family business disputes can damage both the company and the relationships. Mediation helps resolve issues quickly, privately, and without dragging the family name through court.
Shareholder And Director Conflicts
Shareholder disputes and director fallouts can freeze a business in its tracks. From breaches of duty to unfair prejudice or deadlocked decisions, these conflicts often escalate if ignored. Mediation helps you reach fast, commercial resolutions, protecting the business while keeping sensitive details out of court.
Business Partner Disputes
Disagreements between business partners can break even the strongest ventures. Maybe it’s about decision-making, profit sharing, or future direction. Whatever the issue, things get messy fast without clear communication. A business partner dispute mediation gives everyone space to speak, clarify expectations, and find common ground, without risking the whole business.
Commercial Dispute Specialisms
We handle a wide range of commercial disputes: family-owned company conflicts, shareholder and director disagreements, joint venture breakdowns, Companies Act disputes, partnership issues, breach of contract, and more. If it’s affecting your business, we’ve likely seen it, and helped resolve it before.
FAMILY BUSINESS MEDIATOR VIDEO
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Director, International Commercial & Workplace Mediator & Trainer
Psychotherapist, Coach, Commercial &
Workplace Mediator, Barrister (non-practicing)
Director of Trust Mediation, Commercial Mediator
Commercial Mediator & Accountant
Dentist & Commercial & Family Mediator
Arbitrator, Adjudicator, Med – Arb specialist
Judge, Commercial & Family Mediator
Arbitrator, Expert Witness & Commercial Mediator
Arbitrator, Academic & Commercial Mediator
Our Family Business Mediation Services Have Helped
During a high-stakes expansion phase, disagreements emerged between founding partners over capital contributions, share dilution, and control.
We created a safe environment for partners to express concerns and revisit original expectations. By unpacking financial documents and aligning business goals with personal motivations, the parties were able to shift from blame to solutions.
New shareholding terms were drafted, expansion funding was unlocked, and trust was restored, without heading to court or damaging the company’s public image.
Parties Involved: Confidential
Service: Commercial Dispute Mediation
An Indian company and a European distributor were locked in a contractual conflict involving delayed shipments, differing interpretations of clauses, and cultural misunderstandings.
We navigated time zones, legal frameworks, and expectations to bring both sides to the virtual table. The mediation focused on untangling miscommunication, aligning on contract intent, and finding a path forward.
The contract was re-negotiated to reflect new realities, with both parties agreeing on a revised timeline, compensation clauses, and communication structure.
Parties Involved: Confidential
Service: Cross-Border Mediation
A growing family-run business faced internal tensions during a proposed succession plan. Conflicts between the next generation and founding members risked disrupting both operations and relationships.
We stepped in early, facilitating confidential discussions between family members with different visions for the company. Using neutral frameworks and structured dialogue, we helped everyone feel heard, without turning boardroom issues into personal battles.
An agreement was reached on leadership roles, shareholding, and decision-making authority. Emotional concerns were addressed alongside the legal frameworks, keeping both the family bond and business intact.
Parties Involved: Confidential
Service: Family Business Mediation
This was a dispute between a Sikh Punjabi family, namely the father, his daughter, son in law and grandchildren. The son in law was involved in a gold mining business in war torn Sierre Leon in Africa. For some time, it went well, providing significant returns.
The father excited about this, barged his way into the business even though it was made expressly clear to him, that this was extremely risky, and there was no promise of a specified return if any. Initially the business yielded a return, which impressed the father, when then ploughed some £290,000 into it.
As time passed, little if any returns were being recovered, at which point the son in law had to make the difficult decision to stop trading, namely because it was too dangerous to mine in that part of the world. The father angered at this, demanded his money back. A long dispute ensued, the defendants argued this was always a risk, which was made clear to him. Proceedings were instigated. The mediation took nearly eight hours, was in person, and settled.
The claimants (C) were husband and wife. Their next-door neighbour the defendant (D) was the sister of the first C. In breach of the D’s obligations arising from the Party Wall Act 1996 and without obtaining consent from, or consulting the C’s, the D commenced the construction of a rear-single storey extension.
In doing so she encroached on the land of the C’s. The amount of disturbance and inconvenience caused to the C’s was immense. The encroachment consisted of wrongfully building a wall from foundation level on land properly belonging to the C’s.
The works also involved the construction that adjoined the boundary fence and extended beyond the fence, encroaching on land belonging to the C. Fence and garden tiles, were also damaged. Trespass and a lot of mess being created were also issues in the mix.
£20,000 was being claimed. The mediation took place in person, took eight hours, and was settled at mediation. Read the testimonial here.
After ending a joint venture, two professionals found themselves in a bitter conflict over intellectual property, client ownership, and final payouts.
We met each party individually to understand their underlying needs, then brought them together for structured negotiations. Key focus areas included clarity on past contributions and finding a forward path that preserved reputations.
A settlement was reached that divided resources fairly and avoided months of costly litigation. Both parties walked away with dignity, and a legally binding agreement.
Parties Involved: Confidential
Service: Post-Partnership Mediation
What Did The Family Business Dispute Clients Say?
Mukesh Murria
Managing Director & Solicitor, Birmingham
"My clients and I were impressed with the resilience, pre-mediation preparation by you. I was also impressed with how you focused the parties on a solution."
Read The Full Testimonial
Paul Clarke
Solicitor, Head of Social Welfare Law, Walsall, West Midlands
"Excellent attempts to mediate with a very difficult person. Excellent mediation ability and down to earth style."
Read The Full TestimonialFamily Business Mediation Case Studies
Family Business Mediation Questions & Further Information
A family business dispute happens when disagreements arise between family members involved in the same company. These conflicts can be about ownership shares, roles, salaries, succession plans, or even personal dynamics that spill into business decisions.
Family business mediation is a structured process where a neutral third party helps family members work through disagreements. It’s confidential, non-judgmental, and designed to help you reach practical solutions without going to court
Almost any type, ownership disagreements, shareholder conflicts, succession battles, breakdowns in communication, or issues around employment within the company. Mediation is especially useful when emotions are high but there’s still a desire to keep the business (and the family) together.
That’s actually one of the most common reasons families choose mediation. When trust is broken, mediation creates a safe space to rebuild it. It doesn’t force reconciliation, but it does make honest, productive conversation possible.
Because you’re not just dealing with business issues, you’re dealing with long histories, emotions, and relationships. A fight over strategy might really be about trust. That’s why family business mediation is often more effective than traditional legal action.
Mediation is faster, cheaper, and far less stressful than litigation. It keeps the dispute private and protects family relationships from the damage a courtroom battle can cause. Most importantly, family business mediation helps everyone feel heard and respected.
Yes. Family business mediation is voluntary. But if even one person is open to talking things through, that’s often enough to get the others to the table, especially when they realize it’s a safer, more constructive alternative to court.
The mediation itself isn’t legally binding, but if you reach an agreement, it can be formalized into a legally binding document with the help of your solicitor. The key advantage is that family business disputes often get resolved much more quickly this way, with everyone still on speaking terms.
