There’s an unrivalled opportunity to drive better livelihood outcomes and resilient sustainable growth in the UK.

As the growing UK employee ownership sector starts to mature, its evidenced benefits for people, planet, and place can be dialled up to deliver greater economic security.

Impacts to Protect and Amplify

The economy and society benefit from a sustainable business model for employee owned businesses (EOBs) that deliver increased productivity of 8-12% and improved wellbeing and prosperity. 

Plus, it offers a succession opportunity for 51,000 SMEs that risk closure because of ownership changes over the next decade, as well as a people powered growth plan for business owners.

As EOBs embed and evolve Great EO practices, they drive up performance and investment:

  • EOBs are 25%+ more likely to have seen profits grow in the past five years
  • EOBs deliver an average 20% performance increase and up to 43% revenue increase
  • EOBS are 50% more likely to invest in R&D 

Employee owners are benefiting from higher wages and profit share, enhanced business knowledge, and wellbeing and from an average of 12% higher investment in training and skills.

  • In 2020, employee ownership trust (EOT) payments put an average of £2,729 in the pockets of employees
  • 73% of EOBs report increased employee satisfaction post-transition to EO

Our Manifesto – a Roadmap of Proposals

Our manifesto charts a course towards a thriving EO landscape and a roadmap for the employee owners we serve, the sector at large, and in our conversations with allies with aligned policy asks.

Dive deeper into each of our proposals by clicking on the titles below. Or download a copy of the full manifesto. 

We’re working to future-proof the EOT and other shares schemes that support employee ownership, as well as how EOBs can be recognised as demonstrating social value in public sector procurement.

We propose measures to make reliefs and investment that support growth more accessible to inclusive and democratic businesses and evolve to maximise people powered growth impacts.

We propose that employee ownership as a succession option is amplified across in key business support programmes and that a wider distribution of knowledge to local and regional advisers is supported.

Our proposals strive to ensure that inclusive and democratic enterprises have a voice in a fresh industrial strategy, all the while ensuring that businesses function more effectively for people, planet, and place.