The Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) has launched a segment of family companies listed on the WSE, to which 178 companies from the WSE Main Market have been qualified. The average capitalization of a company in this segment is PLN 835 million, with the largest number of companies from such industries as real estate, investments, as well as clothing and footwear. The classification of companies into the segment results from the guidelines of the European Commission: a listed company is a family company if the person who established or took over the company, together with family and descendants jointly hold at least 25 percent of votes at the company's General Meeting of Shareholders.

"A family company on the stock exchange is a combination of the best elements from two worlds. On the one hand, we have a family that builds an enterprise for generations, and on the other, a listed company can easily and flexibly raise capital by issuing shares or bonds. building relationships with customers and suppliers at home and abroad, especially in the US. Historically family businesses have achieved very decent valuations with relatively low volatility of exchange rates. We want to show this specificity to investors by creating a new segment – the segment of family businesses. We appreciate family businesses on our market, which play an important role in the Polish economy. We also hope that greater investor interest will translate into even more frequent use of the public market in the process of succession of family businesses. This is a challenge not only in Poland but also in the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe. reduce friction in the family related to succession," Marek Dietl, President of the WSE Management Board, said.

A study by the WSE and the consulting company Grant Thornton shows that in times of economic prosperity, family companies bring investors similar profits as other listed companies. However, the advantage of family companies was noticeable during the Covid-19 pandemic, when family companies showed higher profitability than other listed companies.

(WBJ)