Partnership Mediation

The Challenge

The partners involved were siblings who had been estranged and working separately but under the same partnership name for many years from different geographic locations.

The partners wanted to agree a way forward for the business given they were both over 60 years of age and succession was a concern.

The properties from which they operated were held in joint names following being inherited from family members (their parents).

What we did

We used mediation to help agree the parameters for a period of co-operation, recognising the deep mistrust on both sides and allowing the parties to continue operationally severally for a short period of time whilst the longer term goal was worked on with our support in the background.

Our work was based around a series of meetings to ensure communication. It was a classic workplace mediation type scenario i.e. on-going, short meetings and using the mediator to agree the steer and progress. The points of contention between them were managed by the mediators steps to progress matters.

The Outcome

The primary assets of the partnership were properties owned by the family for over 100 years but the parties wished to sell these properties to enable them to create their own portfolio of properties, to continue to trade under two new business names and to separate to make their own plans.

Within 18 months the one partner had merged his office into a larger firm enabling him to partially retire.