Succession Roadmap
A multi-month engagement that turns an unspoken handover into named roles, timed share steps, and a written plan the family can follow.
Who it is for
Owner-managers of privately held New Zealand firms—often second or third generation—who know a leadership or ownership change is coming within three to seven years, yet still lack a written path. Typical clients run manufacturing, wholesale, horticulture, construction, or specialised trade businesses with family shareholders.
Result you can expect
By the end of the roadmap you hold a dated succession plan covering: who steps into which operating role, how voting and economic ownership move, what happens if a successor declines, and how non-active family members stay informed without blocking decisions.
Scope
Included
- Discovery interviews with owners, key successors, and (when useful) a trusted non-family manager
- Mapping of current roles, informal decision habits, and shareholding
- Two facilitated family sessions focused on options and trade-offs
- Draft succession roadmap with milestones, dependencies, and open legal/tax questions flagged for your solicitor and accountant
- One refinement round after family feedback
Not included
- Legal drafting of constitutions, trusts, or share sale agreements
- Valuation opinions or tax filings
- Mediation of active litigation between shareholders
We coordinate with your existing legal and accounting advisors; we do not replace them.
How we work
- Discovery call — 45 minutes to confirm timing, generations involved, and whether a roadmap is the right vehicle.
- Interviews & fact base — We gather how the firm actually decides today, not only what the constitution says.
- Options workshop — Family members weigh leadership-only versus ownership-and-leadership paths.
- Roadmap draft — Written plan with dates, role changes, and share steps.
- Close-out — Final session to lock near-term actions and hand open items to your professional advisors.
Duration and place
Most engagements run four to six months with fortnightly touchpoints. Meetings happen at Level 6, 22 Customs Street East, Auckland 1010, or at your premises when travel makes sense for North Island clients.
Preparation
Before kickoff we ask for a simple pack: current organisation chart, shareholder list, and any prior letters of wishes. Successors should block time for interviews without the founding generation in the room for part of the conversation.
Pricing basis
Fixed project fee from NZD 18,500, confirmed in a written proposal after discovery. Travel outside Auckland is quoted separately. See Fees for estimate factors.
Next step
Request a discovery call and tell us which generation currently holds day-to-day control.