73 results for year: 2017

Employee ownership is the antithesis of broken capitalism

As we welcome yesterday's policy paper from IPPR which looks to redress the in balance of wealth and its effects on the UK economy it joins the voices of many across business, society, the media and politics that capitalism MUST start to deliver more than simply financial value to senior executives and corporate shareholders. Those organisations with behaviours focused on generating short term, executive wealth, rather than protecting long term business health, are increasingly being called out as examples of 'broken capitalism'. The questions about the current structure of capitalism include; Who should benefit from it? What does good capital...

EOA welcomes policy paper on widening ownership in UK economy

The EOA enthusiastically welcomes the IPPR’s policy paper Capital Gains – Broadening company ownership in the UK Economy launched today (Thursday 21 December). The EOA’s main objective is to grow employee ownership in the UK because of the benefits that the business model offers in terms of the individual, the performance of the business and in sustaining businesses along with their ethos, values, employees, customers and supply chain in its locality long after those who set up the business are no longer around. Both the IPPR report and the outcomes of the EOA-led Ownership Effect Inquiry which will be shared in 2018 show that employee ...

Bigger Thinking Series 1 – Mastering Corporate Governance and Engagement

This year I had the pleasure of chairing the UK Employee Ownership Awards, which recognise employee owned companies that have set their markets alight and delighted their customers by effectively engaging their employees via an ownership stake and culture. It's been a privilege to hear first hand these success stories, from various industries, including start-ups and seasoned SMEs, and including household brands - each delivering meaningful and memorable customer experiences. However, in contrast to this very positive experience, the media has had cause throughout the year to report a very different story for some other leading companies. In fact, ...

5 lessons I’ve learnt from my first 5 years

Today (1st December 2017) I celebrate 5 years with the Employee Ownership Association (EOA). And whilst 5 years is not necessarily an anniversary normally celebrated (unless my husband is reading this, in which case, our upcoming 5th wedding anniversary IS to be celebrated!), reaching this milestone has caused me to reflect and consider what have I learnt in that time. #1 - It’s a team game Leading a not for profit membership organisation is the biggest team game ever! The EOA is not just a small but perfectly formed executive group of Oli, Keely, Lisa, Hannah, Alex and Annabelle, we are blessed with the expert direction of the EOA Board, ...

Philip Baxendale Fellowship Award: Spin out pioneer rewarded for legacy

As co-founder of the UK’s first health spin out, Professor Jo Pritchard MBE ventured where no-one had before and in doing so has left a legacy of thousands more employee owners in the UK. It is her role as a pioneer, paving the way and supporting the transition of hundreds of public sector spin outs at the same time as leading CSH Surrey to grow and thrive as a social enterprise that has seen the judges award this prestigious accolade to Jo as she retires after 11 years leading the first-of-its-kind business she co-established. Jo believed that a different model, an organisation owned by its employees operating as a social enterprise, could be ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: Purpose is key to success

More than 95% of staff were engaged in the decision for Provide CIC to be formed as an employee owned social enterprise as it spun out from the NHS in 2011. The theme of engagement and empowering staff has continued with 89% employees saying they would recommend their services to friends and family and 92.4% feeling a sense of pride in their job. Judges were impressed with Provide CIC’s strategy and purpose that has seen its 1222 employees who provide community services across Essex, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Waltham Forest and Redbridge innovate and offer excellent care. Responding to changes in the commissioning model for its ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: EO resilience drives rapid recovery

Golder Associates was highly commended by Judges as a great example of how employee owned businesses can deal with tough decisions and situations. The global design and construction services consultancy has been employee owned for 57 years and employs 6500 worldwide, with 120 people in five offices across the UK in Bourne End, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Nottingham. Golder has enjoyed a long and successful history, with a strong and differentiated market position but saw its fortunes challenged in 2014/15 with a decline in the natural resources sector causing the firm to experience its first ever operating loss. By revisiting the purpose of ...

UK EO Awards Winner: Business gives everyone something to smile about

Empowering employees has caused business performance to rocket for a dental service that treats some of the most vulnerable people in society. Community Dental Services (CDS), spun out of the NHS 6 years ago when more than 70% of its employees voted to become the first wholly employee-owned dental social enterprise in the UK. CDS provides dental services via 36 clinics across eight different counties throughout Bedfordshire, Luton, Suffolk, Thetford, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Essex and Lincolnshire. Delivering clinical dental and Oral Health Promotion services, it deals with NHS referrals and prides itself in being manage almost any dental ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: Social dentistry saves NHS funds

Smile Together Dental CIC was Highly Commended, with judges citing it as astounding example of offering a positive impact. The team of 102 operating in Devin and Cornwall, became a staff-owned Community Interest Company in 2016, providing both NHS and private dental care. Smile provides “dentistry with social impact” which has seen it invest surplus funds to tackle huge social problem in the health of teeth in adults and children by targeting those who are least likely to access dental services. Smile has treated double the number of those with special needs, provided oral hygiene advice in over 30 schools and has also reached out to ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: Surplus resources drive community impact

The energy and commitment in driving a wide reaching impact at East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) was Highly Commended by the awards judges. Serving Norfolk and Suffolk, ECCH has been employed owned for 6 years, employs 880 staff and has an impressive rating of 98% of its customers saying they would recommend its services. ECCH is one of the first providers to introduce Out of Hospital Teams so patients can be treated in their own homes and has also developed health coaching for 300 staff from 32 partner organisations to help provide better care. The business has also supported schemes that have been funded through surplus resources ...

UK EO Awards winner: Huge social benefit to redesigned service

Radical changes to services to those with memory problems in Brighton and Hove has seen service provider Here win Employee Owned Innovation of the Year. The not-for-profit business, which was established in 2008 and employs 150 people providing community care, redesigned its service after taking in a broad range of feedback that demonstrated that the organisations KPIs for its Memory Assessment Service (MAS) were not what mattered most to those that the service was caring for. As part of this redesign, they refocussed their service, moving away from an approach which was based on asking clients ‘What’s the matter?’ to a service which was ...

UK EO Awards highly commended: Building an impressive recovery

The Homebuilding Centre (NSBRC) has had a challenging, yet very impressive start to its employee ownership life. When employees turned up to a locked office it was the courage of just six people that saw the potential to focus on and grow parts of the business that has seen it come back from the brink to be a successful employee owned business now employing 11 people. Since this dramatic change of ownership in 2014, the centre has welcomed 16,349 individual self-builders to the exhibition centre and 10,266 conference delegates, increasing conferencing revenue by an impressive 75%. The judges were very impressed by the story of this modest ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: Employees feel reward of ownership

Judges felt that Highly Commended Alfa Leisureplex Group gave a great account of how they brought EO to life for employee owners. Alfa Leisureplex Group, which comprises 21 hotels and is also a tour and coach holiday operator in the UK and Europe, employs 700 people and became employee owned 2 years ago as part of succession planning from a family owned business. With a big drive to embed employee ownership, Alfa has seen employees vote in the first three elected employee trustees, introduce employee engagement surveys and mini surveys, a new intranet area, a program of 23 Employee Ownership roadshows and a network of 25 workplace representati...

UK EO Awards winner: Rowlinson manufactures a tight-knit workforce

Since becoming employee owned two years ago Rowlinson Knitwear has driven a culture change that has ticked every box for success. After being Highly Commended in the Rising Star Category in 2016, Rowlinson has gone from great to outstanding in engaging not just its employee owners but also its customers. Established in 1935, Rowlinson Knitwear which employs 50 people, manufactures knitwear for the schoolwear and corporate wear markets. Moving to employee ownership has given Rowlinson greater control over its future and a renewed focus and confidence to empower and support employees to drive improvements which have contributed to a huge ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: It’s not what you do…

While having a project that recognises and develops internal talent in itself is not new – the judges felt that this was a case of ‘its not what you do it’s the way that you do it’ when they read Care Plus Groups submission about their development of their own bespoke ‘Aspire’ programme. The Aspire programme pulls together a blended learning programme across coaching, team building, project management and learning styles in which participants identified and worked on actual projects that benefited the organisation. Part of the organisation’s plan to empower employees, retain and grow talent from within and grow an understanding of ...

UK EO Awards Highly Commended: Cullinan has designs on future technology

Judges were really impressed with how Cullinan Studios inspired its young people and engaged with other organisations to design a new innovation called BIMspace. The collaborative meeting space was the result of Cullinan’s Innovate UK supported project, led by employees which concluded in them designing a large multiscreen set-up that brings data sets in front of decision makers helping to streamline design and construction process, saving cost in the process. Judges were impressed with how Cullinan’s employees were really thinking outside of the box to lead the innovation, working with partners the University of Warwick, The Hyde Group and ...

Winner UK EO Awards: Huge social benefit to redesigned service

Radical changes to services to those with memory problems in Brighton and Hove has seen service provider Here win Employee Owned Innovation of the Year. The not-for-profit business, which was established in 2008 and employs 150 people providing community care, redesigned its service after taking in a broad range of feedback that demonstrated that the organisations KPIs for its Memory Assessment Service (MAS) were not what mattered most to those that the service was caring for. As part of this redesign, they refocussed their service, moving away from an approach which was based on asking clients ‘What’s the matter?’ to a service which was ...

Highly Commended: Going for gold to empower employees

Judges also Highly Commended Nicola Ryan, Head of People’s Services at Rowlinson Knitwear for her ‘transformative policies’ that have helped to drive the success of Rowlinson as an employee owned business which included spearheading a cultural revolution that centred on being employee owned, embedding strong values and demonstrating exceptional care for all employees. Through setting up an Employee Council as a hub for ideas, implementing an open door management style and providing a raft of engagement opportunities, Nicola has driven the businesses vision to be a ‘great place to work for and work with’. This has seen an increase in ...

UK EO Awards Highly commended: Duo the cornerstone of culture change

Highly commended for Employee Owner of the Year are Ali Jennings and Simon Drewett from East Coast Community Health. Ali, a qualified nurse of 33 years, and Simon, a Training Officer, were elected by employee shareholders to join the board to represent the interests of the shareholders. East Coast Community Health became employee owned, after spinning out of the NHS 6 years ago, and has more than 880 employees. Judges were impressed with Simon and Ali’s accomplishments as employee shareholder representatives including helping to raise the number of shareholders from 55% to 80% of employee. They were also impressed by their work to drive a 90% ...

Winner UK EO Awards: Owner inspires as leader and advocate during difficult times

A young leader whose colleagues cited as “inspirational, supportive, positive, and passionate” has been named UK Employee Ownership Awards Employee Owner of the Year. Lucy Farrow, a Consultation and Engagement Team Leader at OPM Group, was nominated for the award by her fellow employee owners for being a consistent, articulate and passionate advocate for employee ownership values. This was especially valued during a very challenging period for the group as it underwent significant restructuring to respond to deep budget cuts in some of its key market. Lucy joined Dialogue by Design, which later merged with OPM, 7 years ago in a junior role ...

UK EO Awards: People focus drives community impact

A housing provider with a focus on people not just houses has become the first ever winner of the Employee Owned Positive Impact of the Year Award. Spinning out from the council in 2012 with a housing stock that needed significant investment, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) became an Arms Length Management Organisation separate from the council, before Chief Executive Gareth Swarbrick embarked on a journey to make RBH the UK’s first tenant and employee owned mutual housing society. With a vision of ‘people succeeding together to provide better places to live and work’ RBH’s 590 employees now do much more than manage property and ...

Lush announces 10% move to employee ownership at EOA Conference

At the EOA Annual Conference in Birmingham Lush announced the launch of its Employee Benefit Trust. 10% of new shares in the business have now been issued into the trust to be held on behalf of all permanent Lush Group employees. On the same day as the government launched it’s industrial strategy focussing on people, place and innovation there is a clear fit for the ownership effect of employee owned businesses having real benefit on the UK economy. Lush hopes this will protect the values of the company, its independence and prosperity and in turn recognises with gratitude, the significant contribution the employees make to its success. K...

New member GlenWyvis distils multiple benefits for Dingwall community

GlenWyvis is the world’s first employee-owned and community-owned whisky distillery. GlenWyvis employs five people who are ‘members’ alongside those who have invested in the project and each has a voice and vote in the running of the business. The aim of the business is to help rejuvenate the historic town of Dingwall and the wider local community by reinstating the traditional industry of whisky distilling following a gap of 90 years, and also has its sights set on being a dual production distillery also producing gin from early 2018. Established in 2015 by John Mckenzie, known as The Flying Farmer as he also flies helicopters for ...

Dream It, Dare It, Do It – a message to the Chancellor

Having recently attended an EOA member's event, entitled, ‘Dream It, Dare It, Do It’, I was left wondering what I might dream the Chancellor could dare to do in his budget this week to enable more employee ownership in the UK. As we seek answers to the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’, there is stubborn inequality in prosperity between London and the rest of the UK, and the corporate behaviours of some of the UK’s largest businesses continue to disappoint, the Chancellor has a unique opportunity in this week’s budget to make a difference. Undeniably, Government’s voice is important and is listened to. Therefore, a signpost in the ...

Aerospace engineers STAR-Dundee transition to employee ownership and join the EOA

STAR-Dundee, a world leading provider of spacecraft on-board data handling network technology for the aerospace industry, has joined the EOA as it celebrates completing its transition to employee ownership. The business, which employs 25 people and has offices in both Dundee and Barcelona, has created technology that is now being used across the world on more than 100 spacecraft which are monitoring the Earth, exploring nearby planets and asteroids, mapping out and sensing the far flung parts of the galaxy. STAR-Dundee was established 15 years ago primarily because several organisations wanted to use technology developed by the University of ...

Member news: An employee-owned future for freight company Espace Europe

European freight forwarding firm, Espace Europe Ltd, moved to an employee ownership model to secure the long-term future of the business. The business, which has its headquarters in Lichfield, Staffordshire, handles international freight operations across a number of sectors, including automotive, aerospace, plastics and packaging. After trading for over 17 years, Espace Europe has decided to switch to an employee ownership model to secure the longevity of the business and reward its 15 staff members, many of which have been with the business since it started. Espace Europe opted for the transfer of shares into an Employee Ownership Trust, ...

Member news: Managed Service Providers Network ROI become employee owned

EOA member Network ROI has become employee owned - one of the UK’s first fully employee-owned Managed Service Providers. Major shareholder and Managing Director, Sean Elliot has signed over ownership of the business he formed in 2003 to all 32 employees. Sean will remain as Managing Director and will continue working with and developing the leadership team to guide Network ROI towards “a prosperous and exciting future as an employee-owned business”. Sean said: “In the technology industry, it is common for small and medium-sized companies with the regional expertise to be bought by larger organisations and then those operations are ...

Member news: MindWorks Marketing transitions to employee ownership in 20th year of business

EOA member, Hampshire-based marketing agency, MindWorks Marketing, has become employee owned. Now in its 20th year with clients including Suzuki, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Royal Navy, Ford and Wiggle, it has announced its team of 34 have become owners of the business. Mindworks Managing Director, John Harris-Burland, has sold his majority shareholding to a combination of the senior management team which will be held in Trust on behalf of all the employees, meaning all employees will share directly in the profits of the company. John said: “Over the years, we have built a strong caring ethos at MindWorks. This is driven by our company values ...

CEO Blog: To be trusted, businesses must be trustworthy

I have written previously about the danger of the promulgation of the ‘fake news’ message and how it risks undermining public trust. And as a Commissioner on the Vibrant Economy, I was delighted to contribute to Grant Thornton’s Business Case for Trust publication which highlights the importance of trust in business. More than ever, it is clear that trust in business is not just a matter of economics, but is now a matter of survival. Without trust, there can be little belief or confidence in an organisation by its employees, its suppliers, its customers or the communities in which it exists. A business that is not trusted will not develop ...

New data finds employee-owned businesses are perceived as more trustworthy than businesses not owned by their employees

Results of a recent YouGov survey published today reveal that nearly 60% of those surveyed view employee-owned (EO) businesses as more trustworthy than businesses not owned by their employees. The survey, which was commissioned by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) with support from Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS), evaluated the UK’s perception of trust and ethical practices in business. A timely analysis, given the recent political and societal focus on corporate governance and employee representation on boards. The research revealed that 58% of respondents think employee-owned businesses are more trustworthy than non-employee...

Tickets for Annual Conference selling fast

The EOA is warning that tickets are selling faster than ever for the EOA Annual Conference 2017, with half of them already being snapped up. We are urging those wishing to attend to book early so they don’t miss out on their opportunity to be involved, be informed, be inspired at the full two-day conference with 4 key note speakers, 5 dedicated networking sessions, 27 workshops and seminars and the EOA Gala Dinner featuring the presentation of the UK EO Awards. An expected 700 delegates from aspiring and established employee owned organisations, along with industry experts, will network at this unique event, taking the opportunity to learn ...

Sponsor viewpoint: Capital4Colleagues

"The UK economy undoubtedly faces a number of challenges over the coming months and it’s times like these that result in questions being raised again about productivity, innovation, good governance and employee representation. So it’s good to know that we already have a robust business ownership model in place that is proven to deal with these challenges well – the Employee Owned Business (EOB). Such companies typically ensure their employees have a meaningful stake in their business and the managers pay close attention to how people are engaged in the running of the business. Research tells us that these EOBs are more productive, ...

Sponsor viewpoint: Baxendale

“Employee ownership in the UK is in impeccable health. 17 years after Baxendale launched our mission to create more EO businesses, each month that goes by sees the sector’s strength in depth grow – and we expect and hope to see that reflected in the 11th annual EO Awards in November. In 2017 alone, Baxendale has already worked with more than 40 clients either moving to employee ownership or looking to get the most out of their existing employee ownership. Our clients say they like working with us because of the sheer extent of our experience (not only having helped so many clients on their journeys, but having been EO ourselves since we ...

UK EO Awards – 50 days to go register now!

With 50 days to go until nominations close for the UK EO Awards we’re urging your business to apply before you fly or at least register before many of you pack you cases for the summer holidays. The Awards, which close for entries on Thursday 7th September soon after summer holidays conclude, have more profile than ever and celebrate the significant contribution and impact employee owned businesses make to the UK economy and recognise the productivity, innovation and excellence driven by teams and individuals in employee owned businesses. Managed by the Employee Ownership Association, the Awards are sponsored by leading EOA member Baxendale, ...

Thanks a million for reaching out on EO Day

From cakes, food, picnics, BBQs, business events, quizzes and challenges to hi-5s and expressions of what it means to be an employee owner, EO Day was a great success at making noise about employee ownership. In fact via Twitter your news and messages reach out to more than 1.03 million followers on twitter – that’s more than 600 tweets, with combined shares of more than 1200 shares, more than 440 photos and videos were shared using the EO Day Photo Prop Pack which received and more than 2,500 likes. Thousands more were reached through Facebook, Linked in and media coverage. We had 57 recorded events on our EO Day map, and from those events ...

CEO viewpoint moving employee ownership into the mainstream – a marathon not a sprint

When we set ourselves big ambitions, it is the planning at the outset that is most important. When I decided I might just be able to run a marathon, it was running for 30 mins without stopping that was my first significant achievement.  Before I knew it, I was running for 90 minutes, then 120 and then… 6 months later and after 4 hours 30 mins, I completed that first marathon. I am now more convinced than ever that getting to a point when employee ownership is an every day occurrence will be a similar marathon feat, but that the early signs of us reaching those key milestones on our plan are now more evident. So whilst we remain some way off ...

The Ownership Effect call for written evidence – deadline extended

While we have been busy touring the UK hearing verbal evidence on the opportunities for Employee Ownership to support the UK economy we have also been calling on you to help evidence The Ownership Effect through our Call for Written Evidence. We have now extended the deadline by a week and we’re urging representatives from employee owned businesses and advisors to employee owned businesses to complete the online form. The Inquiry, which is led by the EOA in partnership with the John Lewis Partnership and the eaga Trust, chaired by Baroness Sharon Bowles and supported by Cass and Manchester Business Schools, is THE most significant opportunity ...

New members, transitions and successes

This month we welcome new members, celebrate three transitions and celebrate some member successes. New Members P4P Creative is a digital and design agency employing  8 people in Glasgow. Pillar Software is an IT software developers in Newent with  8 employee owners. Member transitions Flowstore - The business transitioned to employee ownership on EO Day 2017. The business, a specialist in applying Lean Manufacturing solutions for customers, provides custom built materials handling and storage equipment for manufacturing and distribution operations was established in 1984 with just 2 people, and now has 50 employees covering the UK, ...

Member spotlight: Unity Trust Bank

Unity Trust Bank, the EOA’s latest Trustee Member, is looking to embrace employee ownership from both inside the business and beyond. Unity Bank’s relationship with the EOA began almost 25 years ago when they became its bank. The bank has recently become a Trustee Member and is committed to fostering a deeper and broader relationship going forward. Unity's employee ownership is currently enabled  through an ESOP scheme, introduced in 2012 where staff receive 100 shares on their first and tenth year of working with the Bank. However, the ambitions of the bank are to expand its employee ownership as it continues its transition so all staff ...

EOA launches call for written evidence for The Ownership Effect Inquiry

The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) has launched the call for written evidence from businesses and individuals as part of the next stage of the Ownership Effect Inquiry – a national, business-led inquiry into the impact of employee ownership on businesses and the UK economy. All contributions will be considered, along with the oral evidence being gathered in a series of hearings around the UK. This evidence will then be used to develop a final report, which will include valuable recommendations of how to further support the growth of employee ownership. The written evidence deadline is 21 July 2017 and can be filled out here. Four ...

Employee Ownership Association marks 5th annual EO Day with the release of new industry data

With events taking place all over the country, the EOA has released new research showcasing the strength of the sector and the profound and positive impact of employee-owned businesses on the UK economy. Employee Ownership Day (EO Day) takes place on June 30 and is celebrating its fifth Birthday with hundreds of events taking place across the country. To mark the occasion, The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) is also publishing a new suite of research illustrating the role of the sector as both an economic and social enabler. EO Day is the national celebration of employee ownership and annually sees the sector raising awareness of the ...

EO Day case study Flowstore transition

Employee Ownership Association (EOA) affiliate member Flowstore will celebrate the national EO Day 2017 on June 30th by actually transitioning to employee ownership. The business, a specialist in applying Lean Manufacturing solutions for customers, provides custom built materials handling and storage equipment for manufacturing and distribution operations. It was established in 1984 with just 2 people, and has now grown to 50 employees covering the UK, Ireland & Benelux. Owners Simon Dennis, MD for 30 years, and his wife Alison, had been wondering how to plan their exit from the business. Their journey to Employee Ownership began in early ...

EO Day case study Turley

For EO Day co-owners from Turley’s 12 locations are taking a half day to help 10 charities at 10 locations to celebrate its 10th company conference year. The list of activity includes supporting Southampton’s Naomi House and Jacks Place by sorting donations, a beach litter pick with the Marine Conservation Society in Scotland, helping the London LandAid Grenfell Tower Appeal and Crisis with a Triathlon and ‘bring a dish’ event to help fundraising as well as helping a night Shelter in Bristol, a reading scheme in Birmingham, The Cardiff Autistic Society, the Christie in Leeds and Manchester and the Belfast Alzheimer’s society. Turley is ...

EO Day Case study National Self Build & Renovation Centre

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre (NSBRC) will be celebrating EO Day with an Employee Company Update & Business Masterclass event with networking and a virtual ‘Afternoon at the Races’. They expect over 40 business owners & leaders to attend the event which includes an employee ownership masterclass with specialist investor ‘Capital for Colleagues’, featuring representatives from other employee-owned businesses such as the John Lewis Partnership. Other highlights include Sales and Marketing masterclasses and guest speaker Piers Taylor, a renowned, award winning, architect, broadcaster and academic, who will be ...

EO Day case study Agilisys

Agilisys will celebrate with its 1,500 employee owners at its 17 sites across the UK on EO day 2017. EO day will help raise awareness of the employee owned sector and will endorse Agilisys’ employee owned status. Highlights from the day will include Agilisys West London  “Owners Day”, the launch of the South West Offices employee ownership week, volunteering in the local community in the North West and employee engagement activities in Scotland. The West London “Owners Day” at Agilisys’ Hammersmith office will include over forty employees volunteering with Shelter in the local Hammersmith shop and collecting donations at local ...

EO Day case study Cambridge Weight Plan

The sponsors of EO Day 2017, Cambridge Weight Plan, are planning to celebrate the day by officially opening a new building at their site in Corby. The business has enjoyed growth of more than £6m over the last couple of years, which has generated a pre-tax profit of £10.1m and created 27 new jobs at its head office. The additional space is required to support the expansion of the business, and to sustain future growth. It also underlines the business’ commitment to the local area and continued investment for the future of the Employee Owned Business. The inventor of the Cambridge Diet, Dr Alan Howard, who the building is being named ...

EOA Summer Dinner launches a manifesto of employee ownership

The EOA Summer Dinner attended by more than 150 members of the EOA enjoyed an address from Baroness Sharon Bowles of Berkhamsted, on Thursday Jun 8. Held in the Palace of Westminster, Baroness Bowles addressed the room talking about the political journey of employee ownership and her commitment to revealing the evidence for employee ownership as an economic and social enabler in her role as chair of an inquiry, led by the EOA, The Ownership Effect. Baroness Sharon Bowles said: “Ethics, culture, governance and responsibility have been at the heart of my own career, the legislation that I helped create, and also the things that I have been ...

One month to go to EO Day

With just one month to go to EO Day we are really enjoying hearing your plans that are coming in to the EO Day inbox. We’ve started to add them to the EO Day Celebration Map on www.eoday.co.uk Here are some things that can help get ready for EO Day 2017: Get familiar with our EO Day Photo Prop Pack In early June you will receive your EO Day Photo Prop Pack with speech bubbles, circle message and stickers. Take a look at the pack through the link below and get some ideas about how your team might use them in either pictures or videos to share on social media. Tell us how you plan to Hi 5, Tell 5 or Take 5 EO Day celebrations come ...

Results published for EOT survey

The results of the latest EOT survey have today been published, reporting on the businesses to share information on their transition to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Administrated by RM2, in partnership with the EOA and John Lewis Partnership, the evergreen EOT Survey, was introduced in 2015 to measure the take-up of EOTs which offer capital gains tax relief for those selling the company as well as the option to give income tax free bonus to employees. As RM2 now prepares to take a snapshot of EOT take-up for 2017, which will be shared in November, the partners in the survey - the EOA, RM2 and John Lewis Partnership - are urging businesses ...

EOA Membership Council holds first meeting

The new EOA Membership Council will provide an important voice for all EOA members and we’re delighted to have recruited 15 representatives from within the membership to represent members of all sizes from across the entire UK. At is first meeting in early May, the Membership Council agreed its role to provide  additional support and insight to the EOA as it continues to develop its services in line with members’ needs. Membership Council Chair, Alden Whittaker-Brown, of Arup, tells us his thoughts and hopes after the first meeting: "The first meeting of the EOA Membership Council confirmed that we have assembled a capable and enthusia...

Member spotlight: Konditor & Cook

At the 2016 EOA Conference Konditor & Cook were announced as the winners of the 2016 Investment Award , sponsored by John Lewis Partnership. The businesses’ compelling story with fans of their cakes including Nigella Lawson and their mission to “bring joy” to all through its luxury cakes, bespoke bakes, its cake school experiences or its day to day customers looking for a hot lunch alongside its need for a succession plan that was a fit it’s values, rewarded the hard work of their staff and ensured the future of the brand built up over many years shone through. Six months on the company is engaging its employees in a culture change ...

New members, milestones and successes in May

This month we welcome more new members to the EOA, celebrate some key milestones and celebrate member successes. Firstly, its welcome to new members Combined Flooring and David Narro Associates. Combined Flooring is a specialist in industrial flooring offering consultancy and flatness surveying. The business has 11 employee owners and is based in Hampshire. David Narro Associates is a Consulting Structural and Civil Engineers. The business has 49 employee owners and is based in Edinburgh And it’s also ‘Happy employee ownership Birthday’ for our members who celebrated milestones in April and May. WATG celebrated its 1st ...

More employee ownership is essential for economy and society in post-Brexit UK

From when the Industrial Strategy Green Paper was launched and then as the snap election prompted manifestos from the main three parties, I have not hidden my disappointment that they do not fully acknowledge the role Employee Ownership plays and the impact it could have in supporting the UK economy. In the Conservative manifesto, the party announced its plans for representation of workers on company boards. Whilst these plans may force listed companies to either create stakeholder advisory panels, designate an existing non-executive director as the employee representative, or directly appoint a worker representative to the board, these commitments ...

The UK Employee Ownership Awards 2017 are open for entries

The UK Employee Ownership Awards, which celebrate the significant contribution employee owned businesses (EOBs) make to the UK economy, are now open for entries. And this year they’re back with a new award The Employee Owned Positive Impact of the Year which celebrates pioneering, positive or lasting impact generated by employee owned businesses, over and above their financial performance. This adds to the 5 UK EO awards which recognise the productivity, innovation and excellence driven by teams and individuals in EOBs, which demonstrate how employees having a stake in the business teamed with a robust culture of transparency and employee ...

Employees from businesses from across UK recruited to new EOA Membership Council

The EOA has a recruited 15 representatives from businesses across the UK to its new Membership Council, which will have its first meeting today (Tuesday May 16). The representatives from the EOA membership have been recruited to the Membership Council, which will be chaired by EOA Board Director, Alden Whittaker-Brown, of Arup, to provide additional support and insight to the EOA as it continues to develop its services in line with members’ needs. CEO of the EOA Deb Oxley said: "We are really excited by the opportunity of the new EOA Membership Council and we look forward to working with its members.  Having the voices of employees from ...

Lecture inspires the quest for a ‘new normal’ of businesses doing well while doing good

More than 190 people gathered last week for the annual Robert Oakeshott Lecture, in which Sacha Romanovitch, CEO of Grant Thornton LLP, inspired the audience with her lecture on why the world was ready for a 'new normal'. In the prestigious surroundings of the ICAEWs Chartered Accountants Hall, Sacha shared her journey so far leading Grant Thornton’s move to shared enterprise and its purpose of shaping a Vibrant Economy, which focuses on restoring trust and integrity in business, unlocking the potential for dynamic business to grow and creating environments where business and people thrive. Attendees heard how Sacha’s journey is not an easy ...

Events update: Lecture, Summer Dinner, Conference and Awards

The EOA Summer Dinner is now fully booked, with 150 of our members reserving a place. A wait list is now in operation. The event, this year sponsored by Mott McDonald, the UK’s largest employee-owned global engineering, management and development consultancy, will once again be held in the impressive surroundings of the Members' Dining Room at the Palace of Westminster on the 8th of June. Pre-dinner drinks will be very kindly sponsored for the fifth year by MyCSP, the leading employee owned civil service pensions administrator. This year the guest gift will be sponsored by Postlethwaite, an employee-owned firm of UK solicitors focusing on ...

March: member transitions, milestones and successes

In this month’s EO Today we are able to celebrate three transitions, four employee ownership birthdays and a success story that congratulates employee engagement in an employee owned business. Transitions TensCare, which provides, develops and distributes tens machines for pain relief or muscle rehabilitation and employs a team of 17, transitioned on March 1 and heralded the news on it’s website as a “a positive alternative to more traditional ownership models and offers real advantages to both the employees and the prosperity of the business”. Ethos Imaging, which employees 5 people and provides print office equipment and software, ...

Welcome to new members

We’d like to thank our member Unity Trust Bank, which has become a Trustee member of the EOA for this additional level of support. Unity supports organisations and businesses that aim to create community, social or environmental benefit in a financially sustainable way. We’d also like to say welcome to Tens Care, The Biodiversity Consultancy Ltd, The Enterprise Tax Centre, Tithegrove Limited, Bright Ascension Ltd, Perrett Laver Ltd and Collective Architecture Limited who add to our membership’s huge array of sectors and specialisms. TensCare, is Europe’s largest distributor of TENS machines worldwide and also provides electro muscle ...

Member spotlight: BMT

BMT is an international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, working principally in the defence, energy, environment, marine risk & insurance and ports & logistics sectors. Formed in 1985 from the merger of the UK’s British Ship Research Association and National Maritime Institute, the company is at work on projects in 35 countries - from one of the world’s biggest coal ports in Australia to ice breakers in the Caspian Sea. The Royal Navy’s future aircraft carrier is a BMT design and the company is the world’s leading independent expert in submarine design and development.  Some of the world’s most iconic ...

CEO Blog: Employee ownership is the real deal

The new narrative of ‘post truth’, ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ should not be viewed as simply a harmless evolution of modern vocabulary. These new phrases are seeping into society and are gradually starting to undermine public trust; in everything from the business of news reporting, the opinions of experts, the role of politicians and even the decisions of the judiciary. In a world of social media, instant communication and Presidential tweets, the impact of this new narrative is hugely concerning, as a society without trust is a broken society. So it is reassuring to know that there is a counter balance to this phenomenon...

Come together to celebrate the 5th EO Day

Employee owners and those interested in employee ownership are being urged to make some noise for the 5th national Employee Ownership Day. The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) and EO Day 2017 sponsor Cambridge Weight Plan are urging employee owned businesses and their employees to celebrate their ownership structures as part of raising awareness of the economic benefits of employee ownership. EO Day 2017 will take place on Friday 30 June and is the opportunity for employee owned businesses to join forces to celebrate their ownership and their  business triumphs over the past year. As the UK faces continued economic uncertainty, employee ...

EOA welcomes Lush employee ownership announcement

The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) welcomes the news that the high-street retailer Lush will bring an element of employee ownership to its business, after setting up an Employee Benefit Trust for its staff members. As a lobbying organisation that aims to grow the size and economic impact of the employee ownership sector, the EOA applauds Lush’s success at the same time as positioning its business as a force for good, which contributes to the government’s objectives for a more productive, fairer society and an economy that works for all. Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA, said: “We welcome the news that Lush is to bring an element of ...

We can do better; shining a light on corporate governance in employee owned businesses

In inviting responses to the Corporate Governance Reform Green Paper, government has reignited an important debate to consider the impact of the current structures of corporate governance of the UK’s listed or quoted businesses on society and the economy. At a time when trust in many of the UK’s biggest and most important institutions is at rock bottom, the economy is experiencing uncertain times, and with an urgent need to maintain consumer confidence, the publishing of this Green Paper opens up a much-needed dialogue about how business can do better. Ask any of the people you know best, your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues, what ...

EOA Corporate Governance Reform response shines light on fairer ways of doing business

Responding to the Government’s Corporate Governance Reform Green Paper, the EOA has shone a light on the outstanding examples of corporate governance from within the employee ownership sector. The EOA’s response includes evidence from employee owned organisations from a range of sizes and sectors including professional services, manufacturing, retail and distribution and health and social care. The response demonstrates a high level of positive examples of where employee owned businesses are structured to have the cultural norms relating to the transparency and checks and balances of executive pay and pay ratios and of how employee voice is ...

EOA is recruiting for new Membership Council

The EOA is now recruiting to its new Membership Council. The opportunity to join the council is open to representatives from across the EOA’s membership including affiliate, supporter, partner and trustee members. The 15 successful candidates will contribute to the development of the EOA member proposition in making sure it is in line with members’ needs and wishes. The EOA is now seeking nominations for this from suitable candidates who have to be employees of current EOA member companies. The council will be chaired by EOA Board Director, Arup’s Head of Group Management Services Alden Whittaker-Brown of Arup. Deb Oxley, CEO of ...

Sacha Romanovitch to give Robert Oakeshott lecture

The EOA is delighted to announce that Sacha Romanovitch, CEO of EOA Supporter Member Grant Thornton UK LLP, is to deliver this year’s Robert Oakeshott Lecture exploring the theme of the ‘potential to do well while doing good’ in business. Sacha is leading Grant Thornton in its purpose of shaping a Vibrant Economy, which focuses on restoring trust and integrity in business, unlocking the potential for dynamic business to grow and creating environments where business and people thrive. Sacha follows in the footsteps of the four previous speakers; leading influencer Will Hutton, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sir Charlie Mayfield, and ...

EOA Membership Council recruitment

The EOA has changed its governance and will soon be recruiting members to join the new  EOA Membership Council, which will be a key platform to gather member views and support in developing the membership proposition. This change,  approved by the EOA Board in January, will see members  recruited to work with the EOA team on building the member offer and driving member excellence, one the EOA’s strategic priorities. We will update members shortly on timescales and a recruitment process.

Looking to build on an excellent 2016

Most of you will have now have had sight of our annual review which gives an overview of successes and a focus for work in 2017 – if not you can read it here. 2016 was a fantastic year for the EOA as we continued on our journey of developing the size and impact of the employee ownership sector on the UK economy. Throughout the year, many members shared their success stories and spread the word far and wide as they continued to enjoy accelerated growth and prosperity. There is an exciting year ahead for the EOA and the team looks forward to hearing about the exciting plans our members have in place to make sure they build on their successes ...

Congratulations and happy new year to new employee owners

We’d like to congratulate our member successful brand realisation company Novograf which saw in the New Year by becoming employee owned bringing 63 new employee owners into the sector. Read their story here And January sees us celebrate another EOA member NSBRC who transitioned two years ago on January 1 and we wish  them a happy EO anniversary. Novograf is one of a growing number of professional services companies to become employee owned with our other members BB Partnership and ADP, both architects, very close to announcing their transitions this week. Meanwhile our member Kindness & Co launched its healthy eating Café in Chelte...

Member spotlight: Barnard & Westwood

Austen and Michele Kopley, former owners of a majority stake in Royal Warrant holding company Barnard & Westwood, dedicated many years to developing and growing their printing and book-binding business. The company which exhibited examples of their products at the EOA exhibition as part of the EOA conference 2016 has worked with Postlethwaite Employee Ownership Lawyers on succession planning for its future. As the company approached its centenary, they wished to explore ways they could pass on the company whilst protecting both the loyal and experienced team of employees and the integrity of the business nurtured over several generations ...

CEO viewpoint: ‘The ownership effect’

I recently had the pleasure of presenting at the Co-operative Party conference, ‘In our interest; building an economy for all’, where the topic was responsible business. Obviously, this is something close to the heart of the EOA as it is a phrase frequently used to describe the way in which businesses that the EOA represents, those that are employee owned. The sector, which employs over 300k people, and contributes around £30bn to the economy each year, that’s about 4% of GDP,  is growing at pace - at about 10% per annum, as entrepreneurs use the model to attract the best talent at start up, business owners adopt it as they plan their ...

Review sums up a successful year for EOA

The EOA’s review of 2016 and focus for activity during 2017 has been released. The EOA continued to pursue its purpose of developing the size and impact of the UK employee ownership economy last year. In 2016 profiling the EOA was a high priority through a series of blogs, national media pieces as well as partnering with members in regional and trade press on stories linked to milestones and successes achieving more than 100 pieces of coverage. Alongside this our Chief Executive became a commissioner on Grant Thornton’s Vibrant Economy Commission and spoke at the IPPR’s fringe event at the Conservative Party conference and at the ICAEW’s ...