Family Firms

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies.

Family businesses are the backbone of economies all around the world - indeed, the majority of firms are family-controlled, from the millions of modest firms, to commercial giants such as Ford and Wal-Mart. And yet less than a third survive to the second generation. Evan Davis and guests explore the possibilities and pitfalls of the family ownership model.

In the studio are Ian Maclean of luxury knitwear company John Smedley; Julie White of drilling and demolition firm D-Drill; Tim Wates of construction and development group Wates.

Producer: Ben Crighton Editor: Innes Bowen.