More than half of small trade businesses rely
on spouses to help run their companies, according to research from
Direct Line for Business (DL4B), the business arm of insurer Direct
Line.

More than half (51%) of the owners and
managers of businesses (with five employees or fewer) surveyed said
they rely on spouses and partners to help run their companies.

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Nearly half, 48%, of this number complete
general business administration, 19% work as receptionists and 14%
provide legal and / or accounting services.

The study of 200 UK trades people, interviewed
on behalf of DL4B in May, also revealed nearly a third of small
trade business owners do not pay their partners for the work they
carry out.

Two-thirds of partners who help out in small
trade businesses are also employed in other businesses, with one in
four working elsewhere in a full-time capacity and two-fifths
working part-time.

Family business

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DL4B’s research also showed that on average,
partners have been helping each other for over four-and-a-half
years.

Jazz Gakhal, Head of Direct Line for Business
said it was “clear that small trade businesses are seeking
voluntary help from their partners to avoid high legal, secretarial
or IT support fees.

“It is vital that these businesses ensure
their partners are adequately covered in event of an accident.”


Allan Ross, head of First Independent Finance, SME specialist asset
finance broker, was positive about the involvement of spouses,
and wider family in business.

“Family businesses tend to be businesses
where, once you’ve built a relationship, it’s more valued,” Ross
told Leasing Life.

Ross said that credit worthiness is often
better in family-run businesses but suggested the DL4B figures
could be skewed by the tax benefits of employing spouses as company
directors.

“No more than 30/35% are actually employed in
the business,” said Ross, based on his experience.