By William Lees-Jones

Family businesses are woven into the fabric of Britain.

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They run the pubs on our high streets, the factories in our towns and the farms and workshops that anchor rural communities across the country. They employ millions of people and take a long-term view of growth that is increasingly rare in a world of quarterly results.

As managing director of JW Lees Brewery, a seventh-generation family business employing around 1,600 people, I see every day what that commitment looks like. We invest for the decades ahead, not for the next financial quarter. We reinvest profits back into the brewing business, pubs in the communities and into developing our workforce. And like many family firms, we carry our name above the door - which focuses the mind wonderfully.

But today, the future of many businesses like ours has been thrown into uncertainty by changes to inheritance tax relief announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her first Budget.

For decades, Business Property Relief (BPR) has allowed family businesses to pass from one generation to the next without facing a crippling tax bill. That relief recognised a simple truth: most family companies are asset-rich but cash-poor. Their value is tied up in buildings, equipment and people - not piles of spare cash.

From next month, however, the rules will change. The government plans to cap the relief and apply an inheritance tax rate of around 20 per cent.

Ministers argue that raising the threshold above which the tax will apply from £1million to £2.5 million - following a fierce backlash - protects most smaller firms; indeed, it takes about a third of companies out of scope. But many mid-sized and larger family companies will still be caught in the net. Sadly, I’ve been to funerals of family business owners where it’s been said in the eulogy that "at least he or she beat the taxman by dying before the changes to inheritance tax came in".

Even MPs have told me they are sure these changes will not affect companies like JW Lees, when, sadly, they will apply to every significant UK family business. From April, they will be significantly disadvantaged when compared to overseas companies operating in the UK.

These are precisely the firms that drive employment, investment and growth in regional economies.

Why would a government disadvantage its larger family businesses in an increasingly international world of commerce?

The practical problem is simple. When a founder or major shareholder dies, their successors may face a tax bill running into millions of pounds. Yet the money to pay that bill often doesn’t exist in cash. The result is obvious: businesses will be forced to sell assets, borrow heavily, or sell the company outright.

And when those sales happen, it’s rarely another British family waiting in the wings. More often, it’s private equity or overseas investors with very different priorities.

That isn’t just a theoretical concern. Research cited by business groups suggests the reforms could threaten tens of thousands of jobs as firms cut investment or restructure to manage the new tax burden.

I’ve already seen the chilling effect. Business owners are delaying expansion, pausing recruitment, setting up new businesses overseas and reconsidering long-term investment plans. When policy creates uncertainty around succession, the natural response is to pull back.

This matters because family firms are not fringe players in our economy. They account for the vast majority of UK businesses and employ well over half of the private-sector workforce. When they hesitate, the consequences ripple across the labour market.

That’s why a legal challenge now heading to the High Court matters so much.

On March 17 and 18, senior judges will hear a judicial review brought by business owners and campaigners who argue that the government failed to properly consult before introducing these changes. The case will be heard over two days at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Whatever the legal outcome, the case highlights a deeper issue: policy affecting thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs should never be designed in isolation from the people who will live with its consequences.  Government needs to work with business, and in this case, there was absolutely no consultation before the announcement 16 months ago, and the judicial review is taking place just two weeks before the new changes in legislation are due to come in.

No government gets every decision right. But a government that says its priorities are growth and jobs should be willing to rethink policies that risk undermining both.

Family businesses are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for recognition of the role we play: building companies that last for generations, supporting communities and creating stable employment.

If Britain wants more long-term investment and more enduring companies, it should be backing family firms - not putting them in jeopardy.

There is still time before the reforms take effect. The government should pause, consult properly and find a solution that protects the businesses that quietly power our UK economy.

William Lees-Jones is Managing Director of JW Lees Brewery.

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