The Bosch Aymerich Foundation and UIC Barcelona have joined forces to establish the Bosch Aymerich Family Business Legal Chair, with the aim of conducting an in-depth study into the problems involved in bequeathing a family business.  The Chair will form part of the Faculty of Law at UIC Barcelona and has been set up with the intention of outlining proposals for legal reforms that help strengthen the legal status of family businesses, paying particular attention to the complexities of business succession.

Currently, family businesses represent 88.8% of the country’s productive economy, 57.1% of GDP and 66.7% of jobs. A critical moment for their survival is succession, the moment different legal mechanisms, implemented to ensure a successful handover, are put to the test. For this reason, the Chair will study the legal security and intricacy of business succession from a civil, commercial and tax point of view, in order to avoid endangering the company’s survival.

The research project will be led by Dr Jordi de Juan and will be comprise two phases: first, the group will analyse the current context of family companies in Spain and identify areas for improvement, after which they will proceed to study solutions adopted in other countries to see if they can be adapted to the Spanish system.

Representatives from both institutions attended the event held to mark to signing of the agreement: secretary of the Bosch Aymerich Foundation, Antoni Bosch; manager of the Foundation, Rafael Faus; UIC Barcelona rector, Xavier Gil; dean of the Faculty of Law, Pilar Fernández Bozal, and director of the Chair and lecturer from the Faculty of Law, Dr Jordi de Juan.