Leadership, Ownership & Wealth
Ownership Structures Designed for Generations, Not Just Today
Clear rules for who owns what, how shares move, and how decisions get made — before growth or generational change tests the ambiguity.
What is a family shareholding structure?
A family shareholding structure sets out who holds shares, what rights attach to them, and how ownership transfers between people and generations. It typically covers share classes, voting rights, buy-sell terms and exit mechanisms, and it determines how ownership behaves under pressure.
How We Advise on Ownership Structures
01 — Share Class & Voting Design
Structures that separate control from economic ownership where useful. This is what allows a family to widen ownership across a generation without fragmenting the ability to decide.
02 — Entry, Exit & Buy-Sell Mechanisms
Fair, pre-agreed terms for how ownership changes hands. Terms agreed in the abstract are reasonable; terms negotiated during a dispute rarely are.
03 — Alignment With Governance
Ownership rules that match the family constitution and council mandate. Where the two contradict each other, the contradiction surfaces at exactly the wrong moment.
Who this is for
- Families with multiple shareholder branches
- Families preparing for generational ownership transfer
- Families whose current structure predates the family's growth
Our Process
Structure Review
Mapping current ownership, rights and transfer provisions.
Design Options
Modelling share class, voting and transfer alternatives.
Family Agreement
Building consensus on the structure before drafting.
Implementation
Coordinating with legal advisers to give the design effect.
Have a question?
Answers to what business-owning families most often ask before their first conversation with us.
Usually by separating economic participation from control, so ownership can widen as the family grows without decision-making fragmenting. The right design depends on the number of branches, the family's appetite for liquidity, and the Sharia inheritance framework the transfer sits within.
A buy-sell agreement sets out in advance who may buy shares, at what valuation and on what terms, when a shareholder wishes or needs to exit. Most families need one, and the moment to write it is well before anyone actually wants to sell.
It can, but the terms will be worse and the process slower. Structures agreed while relationships are intact are the cheapest governance a family will ever buy.
Review Your Ownership Structure
Every conversation is confidential. Nothing discussed leaves the room.