FAMILY BUSINESS

This savvy businessman is finally taking some time off, to smell the flowers and watch his youngest grow up - but with no heir apparent to his empire, he is finding it difficult to know what to do with the business.

PETER McNEILL enjoys the reputation of being a successful, self-made businessman in his native Co Cork. The son of a small farmer, he has built up a local business empire that now includes a hotel, a car dealership and several shops.

He has also assembled an impressive property portfolio, ranging from holiday homes in southern Greece to apartments in Manhattan. There is no doubting his business acumen.

Now, as the market looks to be heading for more difficult times once more - though nothing as bad as what McNeill experienced in the early 1980s - he feels that the time has come to take a back seat.

A recent mild stroke gave him a scare, causing him to rethink and re-evaluate his priorities in life.

McNeill has three children from his first marriage to Yvette, and an unexpected - but very welcome - fourth with his second wife, Caroline, who is 15 years younger than him.

Yet for all the joy that family and business success has brought him, he finds it difficult to combine the two. It is something that keeps him awake at night.

McNeill has never felt this anxious about any business deal. He is not afraid of conflict, having closed loss-making businesses and made hard decisions throughout his working life.

However, deciding how the business should be shared between the family, or who should take control, is turning into a nightmare. Every time he thinks about it, he feels apprehensive and tired.

Four children, a wife and a former wife: each one will want a slice of the business. Yvette had managed one of his most successful shops, Boutique Y, for years before their divorce.

His two older children currently work for the firm: Sarah, who is 24, works in the hotel and Sean (22) in the car dealership.

Both have indicated an interest in taking over the business. The problem is, Sean is not making a good job of the car business while Sarah has been known to abuse her position as daughter of the owner, especially in her heavy-handed dealings with staff.

They both joined the business straight from school, having achieved rather mediocre results in their Leaving Certificate exams. Third-level college was not an option for either of them.

His third child, James (17), who is doing much better at school, is determined to go to university and establish a career outside the family business. He says he does not want a role in the McNeill empire, despite proving himself as a diligent worker and good organiser during summer jobs in the hotel.

The fourth child, Leo, is only six - and that's another reason for McNeill to step back from day-to-day running of the business. He wants to spend time with this child and see him grow up - something he never got a chance to do with the others.

While it would be wonderful to hand over the business to an ambitious and successful heir, he knows that the two children already involved in the business are just not up to the job at present.

James, who shows the most potential, does not want any part of it. The other family member involved in the business is Caroline, who was the manager of the hotel when he met her and still holds that position, although she delegates much of the work to her deputy.

One thing for certain, however, is that unless he sorts it out now, there will be a bloody battle for control of the business and all his assets after his death, between the various children and, most likely of all, between Yvette and Caroline.

What haunts him the most is the fact that his life's work and legacy could end up in tatters, with the business being divided up between them after acrimonious wrangling.

In that case it would be the lawyers who would effectively inherit the bulk of his estate, fighting over every crumb until there was little left for the family after all the legal fees were paid for.

He has to set out a succession plan for the whole business and try to make sure the various elements within his family accept it.

All the businesses are held under four companies: two registered in Ireland, responsible for his foreign properties and for his trading enterprises respectively; one registered in the US for his property interests there; and McNeill's overall holding company registered in Jersey. None of the family members knows the full details of the firms or their accounts.

Different people are directors in the various firms, except for McNeill, who is a director of them all.

Each company has a separate accountancy firm and the majority shares in all these businesses are owned by a holding company. This rather complex format evolved over time as McNeill never trusted one accountant or solicitor to advise him on the entire business.

Now, however, he needs sound legal advice. What entitlements do the various family members have to his estate? How can he protect his businesses from being mismanaged? Can he set up a trust for young Leo?

The divorce from his first wife was settled years ago, but McNeill reckons that she would go back to court if she saw that Caroline was getting a slice of the businesses.

Obviously, the key would be the person who was in control of the holding company. Can he leave that to an outsider and, if so, to whom?

His business has always functioned as a one-man operation, and he has worked by never letting too many people into too many of the details.

But he knows that, unless he devises a plan for choosing his successor, or else appoints one now, his businesses will be split up and all his hard work of building a legacy wasted within a matter of years.