67 results for year: 2016

Merry Christmas from the EOA – office closing

The EOA team wishes you a Merry Christmas. Our office will be closed from close of play on Thursday 22 until January 3. See you in 2017.

Welcome to our new members

We’d like to welcome our new members from over the past two months our affiliate member and Investment Award winner Konditor & Cooke, partner members employee owned businesses Trust Inheritance and Laser Scanning, and supporter members Buzzacott, Santander and Rickett Mitchell. Konditor & Cook is a luxury bakery and provider of quality hot food, at one of its 6 London-based shops and online. Trust Inheritance is an independent will writing and bereavement support service that can guide you through planning your funeral, inheritance tax planning, protecting assets and power of attorney. Laser Scanning provides comprehensive Laser ...

Regional Network Focus: South West

Garry Davis has worked as the network coordinator for the South West EOA Regional Network since the beginning of 2016. In seeking to derive maximum value for those attending the regional meetings he is able to reflect on his considerable experience of employee ownership having spent 25 years at John Lewis in a variety of HR and employee engagement roles. He currently works freelance with a wide variety of organisations including in this role with J Gadd Associates. Q How would you describe South West EOA Regional Network meetings? A A really engaging and evolving group of individuals who come prepared to share their successes and challenges, ...

Top tips: working with the media by Martine Croxall

Here's some of her top tips: Journalists are time poor so the more you can feed them what they need the easier it is to get your story covered. They are looking for anecdote, emotion, opinion and case studies that illustrate the story, statistics and facts from research and surveys and success stories. When trying to get your story covered you may need different things for different mediums, for example something more visual for television items, to bring the story to life: Newspapers - you need quotes from relevant spokespeople and photos or options for a photo to be taken. Online: think of quotes, photos, and also embedded ...

Conference Spotlight: Savant

Savant is this year celebrating 15 years as an employee owned company and is a great example of successful business succession. But proving that there is always something to learn to do things better or find out something new, two employee representatives attended the EOA conference. Savant, which was set up in the late 70s as a family owned company to promote the works of James Martin, one of the foremost thinkers in Information Technology (IT), and has been delivering software engineering since 1986 from its base in Cumbria, was taken over from the retiring founders in an employee buy out in 2001. Rachel Wood, Employee Benefit Trust ...

Conference spotlight: Riverford Organics

Riverford Organics founder Guy Watson started his business as one man and a wheelbarrow and has grown it to an award-winning organic delivery company. It now employs 550 staff to help provide and deliver around 47,000 food boxes a week to homes around the UK from its regional farms. Guy has made no secret that he is looking into employee ownership as part of his future succession plans, driven by what he calls 'leftie views' but which currently chime with the government’s narrative around better businesses that benefits everyone not just the few. To further his understanding of the best model of employee ownership for his company and to ...

More opportunities to experience Great Game

Following on from Jack Stack’s key note speech and Great Game Workshop sessions at the EOA Conference, the team at Great Game UK is running a series of workshops starting this month and throughout 2017. The Great Game Experience The Great Game team will be at Stellar Europe, in Irvine, Ayrshire, winner of the  Great Game of Business; Best Open Book Management Company in the UK for three years running, for 5 dates in 2017. You can see what it takes to become the UK’s Best Open Book Management Company, learn the fundamental principles and practices of open-book management and discover how The Game can be adapted to fit any organisation. ...

A tale of two cities; reflections on the Autumn Statement

Having returned to my desk after our Annual Conference, on the day of what we now know is to be the last Autumn Statement, I was struck by the stark contrast in the two events. At our Conference in Birmingham I was in the company of almost 650 wonderful employee owners who were optimistic, collaborative, passionate and purposed about how to deliver better business. This annual gathering is the highlight of the employee ownership year, and is the biggest opportunity each year to focus attention on a part of the economy worth over £30bn, and at 4%, makes a larger contribution to GDP than agriculture. Tuning in to view coverage of the Autumn ...

Biggest EOA Conference yet amplifies success of business that works for everyone

The EOA Conference 2016, sponsored by Capital for Colleagues, was not only a big success with more than 625 delegates, but also at making a huge noise about why employee ownership is better business. Through the 3 key note speakers, 37 seminars and workshops, the 5 EO UK Award winners stories, and the EOA Investment Award winner, the stories of how the sector delivers success through giving employees a voice, having checks and balances on executive pay and greater employee representation in businesses chimed with the current political narrative from the Prime Minster. As a result both during the conference, and after on the release of the ...

EOA welcomes Millennials research

The EOA welcomes research that shows there is a good match between millennial attitudes and the ethos of employee ownership. Busting the Millennial Myth – the Power of Purpose - shows that employee ownership works well to meet the aspirations of the generation, and reveals that millennials value many characteristics of the employee ownership business model, such as profit sharing and personal development, more than previous generations did. Launched in November by EOA members Fieldfisher and the eaga Trust, the research  was co-authored by Peter Neville Lewis, founder of Principled Consulting, and Dr Ruth Yeoman, research fellow at Kellogg ...

Congratulations to UK EO award winners

More excellent success stories were shared at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016. The awards, delivered by the EOA, celebrate the success of the employee ownership sector, and in 2016 were sponsored for a second year by leading EOA member Baxendale. Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference Gala Dinner on Monday 21 November, attended by 580 people, saw the 5 winners crowned: Union Industries, Innovation of the Year; RISE CIC, Rising Star of the Year; Childbase Partnership, Employee Owned Business of the Year; Lucy Humphrey of Leading Lives, Employee Owner of the Year and the winner of the Philip Baxendale Fellowship Award, David Erdal....

EOA welcomes Green Paper on Corporate Governance Reform

The EOA welcomes the publication of the Government's Green Paper on Corporate Governance Reform and is discussing its response to the consultation. Our CEO Deb Oxley gave her views on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday 29th of November, the day the paper was released, during an interview with Steph McGovern on how employee owned businesses are already exemplars for fairness and transparency on executive pay, that have strong mechanisms for employee voice and corporate governance and that support a better way of doing business. As the only organisation that has a membership full of real life experience linked to many of the proposed policies, the EOA ...

Investment Award brings a slice of business joy for bakery employees

Baker to the stars and quality caterer Konditor & Cook has had its mission to explore a transition to employee ownership boosted by winning the 2016 EOA Investment Award. Presented at the EOA Conference 2016, the £10,000 Award was sponsored by the John Lewis Partnership, allocated by its employees from fundraising for Employee Ownership Day. The award was open to any entrepreneur who is about to create an employee owned business. The company, which will use the money to engage experts to explore which model delivers best value and to communicate the transition to Employee Ownership with its staff, was established in 1999 by pastry chef ...

David Erdal wins Philip Baxendale Fellowship Award

Chairman of the Employee Ownership Trust and Chancellor’s Assessor at The University of St Andrews, David Erdal Is one of five winners at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016 David Erdal was declared the winner of the Phillip Baxendale Fellowship Award at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016on Monday 21st November. The awards, delivered by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), celebrate the success of the employee ownership sector, and are sponsored by Baxendale. Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference, this award recognises the achievements of an individual who has in the past made, or is currently making, an outstanding ...

Union Industries announced national winner of ‘Innovation of the Year Award’

International manufacturer, headquartered in Leeds is one of five winners at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016 Union Industries has been declared winner of the Innovation of the Year award at last night’s UK Employee Ownership Awards. The awards are delivered by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) to celebrate the success of their sector, and are sponsored by Baxendale. Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference, this Award recognises exceptional innovation within an employee owned organisation, which actively enhances the services and products it offers and plays a key role in the achievements of the business. The judges ...

Leading Lives chair crowned ‘Employee Owner of the Year’

Social enterprise company Leading Lives, headquartered in Maidstone and Ipswich, is one of five winners at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016 Lucy Humphrey from Leading Lives was declared Employee Owner of the Year at the UK Employee Ownership Awards last night. The awards are delivered by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) to celebrate the success of the employee ownership sector, and are sponsored by Baxendale. Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference, this award celebrates an individual, irrespective of their seniority and whether they operate on the front line of the business or not, who has done the most to promote and ...

RISE Mutual CIC awarded Rising Star of the Year in UK EO awards

RISE Mutual Community Interest Company, headquartered in Camden is one of five winner at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016 RISE Mutual CIC awarded the title of Rising Star of the Year at last night’s UK Employee Ownership Awards. The awards, delivered by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), celebrate the success of the employee ownership sector, and in 2016 are sponsored by leading EOA member, Baxendale. Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference, the award recognises the achievements of businesses that have recently made the transition to the employee ownership model, and are already celebrating the success of the structure. ...

Childbase Partnership crowned Employee Owned Business of the Year

Childbase Partnership has been crowned Employee Owned Business of the Year at last night’s UK Employee Ownership Awards. The awards, delivered by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), celebrate the success of the employee ownership sector, and in 2017 are sponsored by leading EOA member Baxendale. Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference, this award recognises the achievements of a well-established employee owned business that is demonstrating outstanding performance in the sector. Already rated by the Sunday Times as one of the UK’s top 100 Best Companies to work for - Childbase Partnership runs 44 nurseries in the UK, and has a ...

Employees on boards? We’re already on it.

In the immediate aftermath of the prime minister’s brave call for more ‘employees on boards’ I was saddened, but not altogether surprised, by some of the immediate defiance to the idea. For businesses in the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) membership, the response has, unsurprisingly, been far more positive.  It reinforces what many of them know – that having employees engaged at every level of business operation is a hugely positive thing to do. As revealed in a recent survey of employee owned businesses, conducted by the brilliant Professors Andrew Pendleton and Andrew Robinson, 45% of respondent employee owned businesses already ...

New EOA members

We extend a warm welcome to our latest new members Alterity, Grant Thornton and Stephens Scown. Alterity is an independent provider of business and academic services, specialising in informed strategy, innovation, change and leadership processes and practices. Grant Thornton is one of the world's largest professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities. Stephens Scown LLP, which converted employee ownership in May (see our member spotlight), is one of the largest law firms ...

We want your view

We are reaching out to a number of EOA Members to complete a short survey to help us understand the demand for specific training and development. By participating in a very short survey you will help us identify the most sought after employee ownership related training, learning and development. The results of the survey will be used to help inform the EOA’s planning of priorities for 2017 and will be shared at the EOA Conference 2016. For those of you who have been selected to participate, you can expect to receive your email on Wednesday 5th October. We thank you in advance for taking part and we look forward to receiving your feedback.

Member spotlight: Stephens Scown

Stephens Scown, which has a diverse client offer including property, corporate, family, litigation, dispute resolution and private client services, became employee owned in May this year. The firm employs more than 290 legal professionals based in offices across Devon and Cornwall. Their move to employee ownership followed several years of planning and discussion on establishing an employee ownership model that reflects the culture of the firm; that every employee, in every role, plays a significant part in its success. The scheme an indirect model, which means the company is wholly owned by an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), was necessary ...

Our duty to become more relevant and important

The post-holiday injection of enthusiasm and energy that autumn normally brings, is boosted for me this year with even more hopeful anticipation and expectation. Whilst the political and economic landscapes have changed dramatically in the last three months – as I proposed in the last edition of EO Today this change is something that the employee ownership sector can and must capitalise on. The prime minister’s new narrative of inclusive capitalism outlined in her recent speech, combined with society’s higher expectations and demands of how business should behave, described so fluently by our friend Maggie Pagano, and the oppositions’ ...

Top Tips for Business and Share Scheme Valuation in a move to Employee Ownership

One of the primary questions most business owners have with respect to a potential sale of their business to their employees is how to assess its value. Here our experts provide some top tips for owners wishing to establish the worth and value of the business and that of the future employee shares.

Sponsor viewpoint: conference sponsor Capital for Colleagues

We’re really pleased for a second year running to have the opportunity to be the EOA Annual Conference sponsor.

On to a winner with keynote Jack Stack

One of the key features of the EOA conference is the quality and calibre of our keynote speakers and we’re certain that we’re on to a winner with author of The Great Game of Business Jack Stack.

EOA Network Focus: North

By Rory Ridley-Duff, Reader in Co-operative and Social Enterprise at Sheffield Business School

Member spotlight: Lindum Group

The Lindum Group is a Lincoln based construction firm with offices in Peterborough and York and with the majority of employees as shareholders.

Comedian to bring improvisation to networking sessions

The EOA’s Speed Networking event at the 2016 Annual Conference will get a touch of improvisation from ‘king of the key message’ Neil Mullarkey.

Book your session at our expert clinics

New to our conference in 2016 is the chance to meet the exhibitors on a one to one basis in our new EOA Clinics.

Sponsor viewpoint: Baxendale UK Employee Ownership Awards

Ten years ago, our company created the Philip Baxendale Awards in order to give a growing community of Employee Owned (EO) businesses a chance each year to take stock, inspire one another and celebrate their successes.

Comedian to bring innovation and improvisation to EOA conference

The EOA's Speed Networking event at the 2016 Annual Conference will get a touch of improvisation from 'king of the key message' Neil Mullarkey.

Employee ownership – the proven model to deliver Theresa May’s ‘Better Britain’

Now in its third year, the EOA Top 50, launched in conjunction with RM2, analyses the business performance of the UK’s 50 largest EO organisations, to chart the sector’s year-on-year progress and in support of its move into the business mainstream. Where the top three positions continue to be held by the John Lewis Partnership, Mott MacDonald and Arup, respectively, 2016 sees five new entrants to the Top 50: Agilisys, Locala, Alfa Leisureplex Group, The Nuttall Group and Leading Lives. This year’s results highlight the increasing contribution employee-owned businesses make to the UK economy, and how wide adoption of the model can ...

Top Tips for Tax and Accounting in a move to Employee Ownership

Kindly provided by EOA Supporter member Pett Franklin.   Think about tax   If you are the business owner, consider your own tax position. You might consider selling a majority share of your business tax free via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) or qualify for Entrepreneur’s Relief of 10% and sell less than 50%. Of course you should always seek guidance from a professional and clearance from HMRC to ensure your plans are in line with the latest tax rules. In considering the tax incentives for employees, it should also be remembers that if an EOT is used, the company can additionally pay a tax free bonus annually to its employ...

Entries for the EOA Investment Award now open

As some of you will already be aware, we announced the launch of the second EOA Investment Award at this year’ annual Summer Dinner. Kindly sponsored by the John Lewis Partnership, the £10,000 award offers valuable financial support to a business looking to adopt the employee ownership model – be it as a start-up enterprise or by restructuring an existing business. For last year’s winner, Dowding Precision, the Investment Award’s value stretched far beyond its financial benefits, as Mary Antcliff, Company Secretary, explains: “Dowding Precision has long been committed to the idea of employee ownership as a viable exit strategy ...

Member spotlight: TTP Group

Company name: TTP Group plc Number of employees: 400 Headquarters: Melbourn Science Park, Cambridge EO established: 1987 TTP Group plc is Europe’s leading independent technology and product development company. Through three principal operating companies, it combines the strengths of science, engineering and business enterprise to develop new technologies, new products, and new businesses across core sectors, including healthcare, communications, printing and consumer products. An integral feature of the company culture, employee ownership has been embedded at TTP since its founding in 1987. With the business originally funded by a ...

EOA’s ‘campaign for change’ announced at annual Summer Dinner

Taking place at the Palace of Westminster ahead of what has been a highly divisive EU referendum announcement, this year’s Summer Dinner saw more than 150 EOA members come together to reflect on the passing year in employee ownership and consider the challenges that lie ahead. At a time of great political and social unrest, change, it seems, has become the new constant and the evening’s proceedings opened with a rousing call to action from Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA, who revealed the EOA’s three core objectives of its ‘campaign for change.’ Firstly, for every accountancy firm to have at least one specialist accountant who can advise ...

EOA Network Focus: Scotland

By Jacqui Martin, EOA Scotland Regional Network Coordinator I’ve been delighted to facilitate the EOA regional networking meetings in Scotland this year. Having worked with employee owned for companies for over 6 years I know how much value can arise from getting together to discuss issues that are specific to the world of employee ownership. Regular attendees include Scott & Fyfe who manufacture industrial textiles in Tayport, Network ROI in Edinburgh who provide IT support, consultancy and installation services and John Lewis, the UK’s largest employee owned company who have stores in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. This mix of ...

New EOA Members: July 2016

Our membership continues to grow! Get to know some of the newest members of the Employee Ownership Association:       Stewartry Care is a social enterprise committed to supporting its local communities providing care services for older people and people with disabilities.           Black Light, an employee owned business provides a comprehensive range of light, stage, sound and AV services.         Charnwood Accountants are leading independent firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors.         L...

Looking ahead; looking up

“Change is the only constant” is a famous quote by a Greek philosopher – and how true that has turned out to be for the UK in recent weeks. It’s doubtful that any of us could have predicted that, by the middle of 2016, the UK would be about to start a journey to forge a new relationship with the world from outside of the EU, or that we would have a new prime minister who has placed development of the UK’s industrial and economic strategy at the top of her agenda. For many businesses, this change is concerning, but for others it’s also a chance to look positively and confidently to what opportunities might lie ahead. The EOA ...

Member spotlight: Agilisys

Company name: Agilisys Number of employees: 1,900 Headquarters: Hammersmith, London EO established: 2nd April 2015 Agilisys has almost two decades’ experience using technology-driven transformation to help public sector partners reduce cost, increase revenue and improve their services for millions of citizens across the UK. After trading for over 15 years, the Agilisys Board began to consider alternative ownership structures as a means of preserving its employee-focused ethos and ensuring the future of the company remained firmly in the hands of those people who shared the same values and visions of its co-founders. As a result of ...

Public Service Mutuals Conference July 2016

Minister restates support to the continued growth of the public service mutuals marketplace The public service mutuals marketplace came together last week at a unique conference managed by the EOA which was addressed by the Minister for Cabinet Office, Matt Hancock MP. Coming at the end of a fortnight of celebrations of EO Day 2016, 140 delegates from a range of employee owned businesses delivering health, social care and other public services were joined by commissioners, civil servants and private sector delegates to learn, share and network together at the Fieldfisher sponsored one day conference. Chaired by Santander and supported by the ...

Annual EO Day celebrations take social media by storm

  As the fourth year of EO Day celebrations come to a close, we wanted to say a huge thank you to everybody involved in making 2016 such a success. We have been completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of events that have taken place up and down the country in celebration of EO Day and you continue to impress us with your imaginative ideas to promote our sector. From sports days and balloon releases, to team lunches and MP visits, we were once again delighted to see your images, videos and press coverage flood our social media channels. Together, our combined efforts have enabled us to spread our message to more than 25,000 people ...

All change – what the EU Referendum might mean for the growth of employee ownership

Politicians are debating. Lobbyists are championing. Commentators are pondering. Business leaders are worrying. And the majority of the population are still somewhat confused, wondering whether there will be any sudden clarity before the EU Referendum to help us cast our vote with more confidence. Whilst there are different scenarios being described about the likely impact of the result, the honest truth is that no one knows for sure what the outcome of the vote next week will mean – to the UK, to business or to the individual. However, what most people do agree is that whatever the outcome of the vote, this will be new territory for the ...

Employee ownership recognised as a force for good by Minister for Trade and Investment

Lord Mark Price, the newly appointed Minister for Trade and Investment, applauded the employee ownership community as a key ingredient of a more sustainable economy at this year’s Employee Ownership Association (EOA) Summer Dinner. Hosted in the impressive surroundings of the Palace of Westminster, this year’s Dinner welcomed guests from across the country to enjoy drinks and dinner in the sumptuous Members’ Dining Room. Supported by EOA members, CH2M and MyCSP, the Dinner was amiably compered by Simon Fowler, Chair of the EOA and Partnership Registrar of the John Lewis Partnership. Keynote speaker Lord Price regaled the audience with ...

Summer Dinner 2016 Address

A real highlight of the EOA’s events calendar, our annual Summer Dinner – my first as CEO – took place on Thursday 9th June at the Palace of Westminster. As part of the evening, I had the pleasure of addressing more than 150 of our members and felt very lucky to be doing so in such wonderful surroundings and, of course, at such a momentous time.  You could almost smell the anticipation of what might happen there on 23 June. Whilst the EU referendum campaign has been polarised – and in most people’s opinion, too-often negative – the one thing that most commentators do agree - is that no-one can predict the outcome and that life after ...

Flying the flag for employee ownership

By Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA As I watched the BAFTAs earlier this month, I was struck by how many of the presenters and winners used the awards as a platform to air their support for the BBC whilst it wrestles with the renegotiation of its Charter. With many of those fortunate to be on stage choosing this broadcast celebration of film and television as the chance to add their voice to a campaign they feel passionate about, their efforts not only highlighted the power of the media, but the power of a shared voice. I was reminded of the strong parallels with the employee ownership community; that our collective voice is strong and if we take ...

Celebrate your own success with the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016

The annual UK Employee Ownership Awards are the most sought after accolades for all those involved in the employee ownership in the UK. The Awards are managed by the Employee Ownership Association and are sponsored again in 2016 by leading EOA member, Baxendale. Entering for one or more of the five Awards is an excellent opportunity for you to reflect with your team on the successes within your business and to celebrate your achievements. Last year’s award winners were great examples of the sectors’ best – with leading businesses including Gripple, Remploy, Quintessa and Green Light Pharmacy receiving well-earned recognition for their ...

EOA Network Focus: South East

By Jamie Pyper, EOA South East Regional Network Coordinator It’s YOUR Network Becoming a member of the EOA seemed like a natural step for Conscious Business People (CBP). We were already employee owned and were working closely with other companies transitioning towards becoming employee owned, so, five years ago, we joined this hugely supportive and inspiring business community. We naturally wanted to be more involved once we became a member and were delighted to be asked to lead the coordination of the EOA Regional Network in the South East. This was a couple of years ago now and the Network is going from strength to strength. Our ...

Be inspired and enthused at the EOA Conference 2016

Now in its eleventh year, the EOA Conference remains the preeminent event for anyone involved or interested in employee ownership. With an expected 550 delegates, the 2016 conference will be the biggest so far – and the EOA team and Board look forward to welcoming delegates from established employee owned businesses, those curious to explore how employee ownership might support their own businesses, industry experts, academics, government officials and the media to the biggest employee ownership party of the year! Over a two-day period, the Conference celebrates employee ownership, informs and inspires those keen to learn more about it, and ...

Let the countdown to EO Day commence!

As you all know, the fourth annual EO Day, which will take place on Friday 1st July this year, is fast approaching, with everything firmly in place to make the 2016 celebrations the biggest yet. Many of you have already shared details of your plans with us and we’re delighted to see what was once a one-day event grow into a full fortnight of member-led activities. To support the celebrations, we will, once again, be distributing goody bags – this year themed around ‘flying the flag’ for the sector. We’ll be asking all EOA members to get involved in some group semaphore and to share your efforts via social media using #EODay to raise ...

EO Today Member Spotlight: Remploy

   Winner of the Rising Star category at last year’s UK EO Awards, find out how a public service spin out into employee ownership enabled Remploy to fulfil its mission by delivering ‘profit with a purpose’ As the UK’s leading provider of disability employment since 1946, Remploy’s mission is to successfully support disabled people in achieving sustainable paid work in order to achieve economic and social independence. After 70 years as a government-owned, not-for-profit organisation, Remploy felt that its commercial growth was being significantly impaired by its public sector status and began to explore the option of a ...

EO Today Member Spotlight: Gripple

From its headquarters in Sheffield, designer and manufacturer of precision engineering products, Gripple, supplies a range of patented products to the agricultural and industrial sectors in more than 80 countries worldwide. In 1994, Gripple introduced the opportunity to buy shares in the business as a means of advancing the highly inclusive and innovative culture already embedded in the company. Understanding that better business performance equals a better dividend, which in turn generates a higher personal share value, Gripple felt this direct ownership model would allow all 500 employees to financially benefit from their combined teamwork, ...

Telling the story of your ownership

Great marketing should always tell a compelling story that strives to evoke an emotional connection with your customers in order to encourage buy in to a brand, its vision and its values. For you, employee ownership is an intrinsic part of that story. Not simply because it is a dynamic business model that stimulates growth, or because a transition provides an economically viable succession plan – these things matter very little to the average customer, it’s much more about what that status says and how it makes them feel. With clever, strategic positioning, your EO status can immediately tell your clients who you are as a business and the ...

New EOA Members: May 2016

Our membership continues to grow! Get to know some of the newest members of the Employee Ownership Association:         Bevan Healthcare is a social enterprise that is committed to helping people get the health care that they need. They provide responsive NHS General Practice services to people who are homeless or in unstable accommodation; those who have come to Bradford as refugees or to seek asylum; and others who find it hard to access health services.     “Greenshires is one of the largest suppliers of sophisticated printed marketing material and fulfilment solutions in the UK, providing a ...

EO Today Member Spotlight: KB2

EOA member KB2 was established by founder Ken Brown in 1982 with the aim of providing skilled, sensitive and collaborative approaches to structural engineering for architects, developers and others involved within the construction industry in the southern part of the UK. KB2 has worked on a number of projects in a wide variety of areas within the industry, whether new build projects or the sensitive conservation of historic buildings, and their success has been clear to see, with KB2 winning a whole host of awards including a Civic Trust Award, a Brick Development Association Award, and a RIBA Regional Award.  Most recently KB2 were part of the ...

EO Today Member Spotlight: ESP Projects

Sheffield based ESP Projects was founded in 2002 to service the need in the third sector (i.e. charities and not-for-profit organisations) for cost effective I.T. solutions. Initially focusing on website support, the business has since expanded its service offering to become a full and comprehensive I.T. support service, including the installation and maintenance of telephone systems and other hardware. Starting life with a small element of employee ownership (less than 5%), currently 45.8% of ESP Projects is owned by its 26 employees under a direct share ownership model, with a further 4.6% of the company’s shares reserved to provide dividends ...

EOA Network Focus: Midlands

By Philippa Meaden, EOA Midlands Regional Network Coordinator Since being involved with the EOA, my experience of being part of the Midlands Regional Network meetings has only been a positive one - not only from an involvement perspective, but also from being able to gain valuable knowledge and an opportunity to build a valuable network. Little did I know a year later I would be responsible for co-ordinating these network meetings. This February saw the first EOA Midlands Network meeting of 2016 in fantastic surroundings as our hosts were Classic Motor Cars Ltd. The event proved to be a superb opportunity for all members to build on what ...

Can we get better than ‘Win/Lose’?

By Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA UK voters will shortly be presented with what is being heralded as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future of the UK’s relationship with the European Union. This responsibility is likely to be the most important national decision many of us have been involved in.  And therefore it is not just disappointing, but also hugely frustrating, that the debate has already descending into ‘Project Fear’ - a politically influenced, accusation-rich, public slanging match, fuelled by the media which leaves most people confused and no better equipped to understand the issues they are expected to vote on. Across ...

New EOA Members: March 2016

Our membership continues to grow! Get to know some of the newest members of the Employee Ownership Association:   Go Tools Go Tools specialise in excellent precision tooling delivery within the north of England, and pride themselves on the experience and passion of their staff to deliver quality and value to customers. Their dedicated team has a combined 185 years of experience in design and build of precision tooling and producing quality products for our customers   IS Oxford IS Oxford is the designer and supplier of Heritage Library Management System Software, primarily in the UK and Ireland, and is the result of ...

Will Hutton calls for the repurposing of enterprise at the annual Robert Oakeshott Lecture

Broadcaster, journalist and writer Will Hutton used his address at the Employee Ownership Association’s annual Robert Oakeshott Lecture to call for employee ownership to figure centrally as part of a national conversation about repurposing the UK economy. Reflecting on stalled economic growth, growing wealth inequality, a lack of innovation and low levels of productivity, over 150 guests gathered at Cass Business School and heard the author of recent best-seller ‘How Good We Can Be’ make a plea for UK business to clarify their purposes, in order to develop more trust and better engagement of employees, customers and communities. Stating ...

EO Today Member Spotlight: Space Syntax

Leading urban planning, transport, building design, social interaction and spatial economics specialists Space Syntax was founded at University College London in 1989, and has recently made the transition to employee ownership. Based in London, the business operates as part of a group of companies with offices in Barcelona, Beijing, Brussels, Syndney and Tokyo.  It  works for a wide range of clients both internationally and domestically, on projects as diverse as a major public infrastructure project in the Middle-East, and acting in an advisory capacity with the UK Government on the 50 year future of UK cities. After hearing a piece on ...

EO Today Member Spotlight: Ecomerchant

New EOA member, Ecomerchant, is an independent builder’s merchant based in Swindon, servicing the self build, custom build and SME builders with sustainable building materials, renewable energy products, and landscaping and groundwork materials. Previously owned by WT Burden Ltd, who were themselves an employee owned business, the decision was made in 2014 by Will Kirkman, Managing Director of Ecomerchant, to make the move towards employee ownership. The business adopted an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) model, with 30% of the ordinary shares held for the benefit of all employees. Ecomerchant was supported in the transition by EOA Specialist ...

New EOA Members: January 2016

Our membership continues to grow! Get to know some of the newest members of the Employee Ownership Association:   Agilisys Agilisys is one of the UK’s most innovative and fast growing digital technology and service providers, helping to transform customer service interactions through a suite of citizen-centric platforms as well as centres of delivery excellence around the UK. Working for both the public and private sector, we have earned a strong reputation and hold deep domain expertise delivering transformational services in particular within local and central government.   BMT Group BMT is an international design, ...

Conference Fever 2015

Conference fever hit the EOA at the end of 2015 as once again the EOA Annual Conference,  the largest gathering of UK employee owned businesses, attracted over 550 delegates from an array of organisations and industries who all descended upon the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham for two days of immersion into employee ownership. Sponsored in 2015 by Capital for Colleagues, the conference continues to be the most important annual event for the employee owned sector, bringing together business owners, public sector representatives and entrepreneurs aspiring to become employee owned to benefit from the exclusive opportunity to learn from, and ...

Less New Year and more New Dawn?

By Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA At the start of each New Year, most of us look with optimism and hope at what the next 12 months might deliver.  And with the usual excesses of the season behind us, we make promises and set targets to stop doing things – don’t eat certain things, don’t smoke, don’t drink (at least for a while!).  Unfortunately most of these big promises fail as they are too ambitious, forcing us to make too many big changes all at once, and they are about not doing the things we are used to doing. An alternative way of thinking might be that, instead of seeing the 1st January as a monumental date where we make commitments ...

EOA Annual Review 2015

The EOA would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and to provide you with a copy of the EOA Annual Review of 2015. 2015 was another highly successful year for employee ownership in the UK and you will see from the Review that the EOA once again was at the heart of every significant development. All that we do to grow employee ownership is only possible with the support of our Members and we thank you for your continued commitment. I hope you enjoy reflecting on last year. Please do share the Review with your colleagues and any would-be employee owners in your networks. We will gladly send to you printed copies of the Review on request....