Lead Story
Issue No. 29 - June/July 2006
McLachlan succession triggers diversity
Joining prestigious names such as Cooper, Haigh, Rossiter and Robern Menz, the McLachlan family’s Nangwarry Pastoral Company was inducted into Family Business Australia’s Hall of Fame during the FBA-SA annual conference held at the Adelaide Pavilion, Veale Gardens last month.
Former federal government minister Ian McLachlan has been a strong voice in bush politics for decades and the family is often taken for landed gentry, but the agri-businesses based on Nangwarry in SA’s Southeast is a robust example of progressive family enterprise.
And Fergus and Dugald McLachlan, Ian’s sons, now in their mid 30s, have come into something of their own sooner than would be expected thanks to an innovative succession plan.
Rejecting the idea of dividing the family capital, the Mclachlans engineered a succession plan that gave Fergus’ generation the means to broaden the base of the family enterprise.
“It played a large part in the diversification of the business,” he says. “Each of us has our own area of interest and the succession planning has enabled us to explore these areas perhaps earlier than would have otherwise have been possible.
“It is vital for rural families to start the succession planning program early. Due to the capital intensive nature of the business it can take a lot of time to sort out matters of ownership and role.
“No longer can the family farm be split three ways and the parts still be profitable.
“If succession planning is not instigated early enough there is not enough time to sort out ownership or sell down without destroying the business itself.”
Leveraging capital and dividing the business into distinct areas of responsibility also has benefits where corporate governance is concerned.
“Again, each family member has their own area and in that area they are the boss. This is not to say they do not get significant input from other family members, they do,...
