Member spotlight: Lindum Group

Lindum Group, a Lincoln based construction firm with offices in Peterborough and York, has the majority of its employees as shareholders. The company, which has mostly skilled and practical trades people amongst its 600 staff, has twelve trading divisions.

The company is about to celebrate its 60^th year in the building sector, delivering on a wide spectrum of projects, ranging in scale from £100-£20million in value. Established in 1956 the group now directly employs over 600 employees across its three sites in York, Peterborough and Lincoln.

The Lindum Group has retained the core values and ethos it was founded on, with a strong focus on looking after its employees.  Giving staff the option to buy shares of the business is just one example of this focus in action.

The Group has been employee owned for over 20 years, with an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) in place working as a market maker for buying and selling of shares, by its employees. The company was the only building firm to feature in the 2016 EOA Top 50 Employee Owned Businesses.

The vast majority of employees own shares, many of which are purchased through a tax efficient Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme.

As the company grew over the years, so did the philosophy of shared success, ownership and recognition. The move to employee ownership was the natural evolution of this culture within the Group, and has played a key role in developing and improving employee engagement within the business.

The company’s commitment to taking care of its staff is reflected in their employees’ efforts to provide exceptional levels of customer service. The success of this service-led approach is demonstrated in the growth of the organisation, and the growing demand for repeat business from loyal customers.

Robbie Kok, group finance director of The Lindum Group said, “If you own something you take better care of it, whether that’s a house or a car or a share in a business.  That’s why we try to encourage share ownership and what we believe has made a valuable contribution to us over the years”.

Internal engagement is a core part of operations at The Lindum Group. As part of a wider framework of employee communications throughout the year, the company hosts an annual general meeting that is open to all shareholders and employees, to provide updates, take the time to engage with employees and take on feedback and suggestions for the coming year.

This commitment to delivering the highest standards for employees as well as customers has been reflected in the company’s twelfth consecutive appearance in The Sunday Times ‘Top 100 list of companies to work for’. The Lindum Group were ranked as the top building company and 22^nd overall in 2016.

Robbie Kok continued: “It’s about a sense of ownership. Our employees know they have a genuine ownership of the business and can influence its success and future direction.

“Being employee owned means people are willing to put the extra effort into something they feel proud of. If we deliver a good job, it is as part of the Lindum Group, and if they own a piece of that group then they feel good about that.”