Author: CDS Admin (Page 1 of 11)

Leveraging Ownership event follow up

Last month Scottish Enterprise held a webinar on Leveraging Ownership at which participants gained valuable insights into the evidence underpinning employee ownership and its impact on business performance and employee engagement.

Drawing on practical lessons and experiences from Sheffield-based Gripple and the Basque Country’s Mondragon Corporation, the webinar demonstrated how employee ownership in its different forms can support a pervasive culture of accountability, self-management and employee-driven innovation.

Following on from the event, we asked Dr Peter Totterdill, Director of Workplace Innovation Europe, to write a blog based on the findings from the event including a Q&A with Ed Stubbs, MD of Gripple and James Sallows, Chair of GLIDE, the Employee Ownership Trust that holds shares on behalf of workers at Gripple, about their model of employee ownership.

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Aberdeen IT firm marks tenth birthday with employee ownership transition

North East IT provider ITWORX has announced its transition to employee ownership, with 17 staff given a stake in the business.

Established in 2010 by Philip Mowatt and Jill Ross, ITWORX provides tailored IT and communications services and solutions to a range of clients. The firm is headquartered in Aberdeen and has recently expanded into Dundee and Angus, however many of its clients have a global footprint. With 50 years of combined experience, a host of prestigious awards, and a customer retention rate of 98%, ITWORX prides itself on providing an exceptional quality of service. Last year, the firm turned over £2.6m.

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Reset and Rebuild video

As part of our Reset and Rebuild campaign, we have created a video featuring a wide range of experts on inclusive business models, including Darah Zahran, Sarah Deas, Jaye Martin and Carole Leslie, as well as the businesses themselves such as The Community Carrot, Merlin ERD and the John Lewis Partnership, discussing why they think the models can help rebuild the economy post-Covid-19 and help create a stronger, fairer and more democratic economy.

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Can inclusive business models help us achieve a stronger and fairer economy in a post-pandemic world?

Head of Co-operative Development Scotland Clare Alexander explores further.

Along with the Scottish Government, we want to help create a more progressive Scottish economy that contributes to increased prosperity and equity, creating better opportunities for everyone and spreading the benefits of economic success more evenly. COVID-19, with its proven ability to target and highlight inequality, has made this a more urgent task.

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Employee Ownership Explained – Making Employee Ownership Work

The final webinar in the Employee Ownership Explained series took place on Wednesday 18 November. This month, the focus was on ‘Making Employee Ownership Work’. Having worked in the employee ownership sector for 16 years and supported over 60 companies move into an employee ownership structure, Carole Leslie of Ownership Associates, talked through the process of moving to an employee-owned structure, and how to achieve the best outcome for the sellers, the employees and the business.

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Tangram becomes employee-owned

Edinburgh-based contemporary furniture and interior design company Tangram Furnishers Limited has announced its transition to employee ownership.

The company, which operates from a showroom and office in Edinburgh city centre, specialises in the premium end of the market and works with clients, designers and architects to specify and supply contemporary furniture, lighting, blinds and rugs.  Its wide variety of projects includes work for both private individuals and commercial sites such as restaurants, offices and museums.

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Employee Ownership Explained – The Role of the Legal Adviser in the EOT Transaction

PA square logo2

The latest webinar in the Employee Ownership Explained series took place on Wednesday 21 September. This month, the focus was on the role of the legal adviser in employee ownership transactions. Having worked on a number of these transactions himself, Bruce Farquhar of Anderson Strathern gave an insightful overview of the process from a legal adviser’s perspective.

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New campaign to showcase the role inclusive business models can play in the recovery of the economy launched

CDS Inclusive Model Businesses

We’ve launched a new campaign to showcase the role inclusive business models can play in supporting the Scottish Government with its aim to create a fairer, stronger and more democratic economy, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.

To launch the campaign we commissioned a new survey which revealed that half of Scots (48%) agree the pandemic has provided an opportunity to make Scotland’s economy stronger and fairer, with under 35 year olds more even more likely to agree (59%).  64% also said that the pandemic has already made their business more socially responsible.

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Shore becomes employee-owned

Scotland’s largest product design company Shore has become employee-owned, with over 30 members of staff given a stake in the business.

The company, which operates from Leith in Edinburgh, designs, engineers and develops class-leading drug delivery products, diagnostic devices and medical training products. It has a huge global customer base with over 80% of its customers in the USA, EU, Switzerland and Japan.  Its clients include some of the world’s biggest medical and pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Smith & Nephew, Eli Lilly and Ypsomed.

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Employee Ownership is the way forward for civil engineering consultancy MHB

Civil engineering firm MHB Consultants has become employee-owned, with 40 members of staff given a stake in the business.

Founded by managing director Hendrie Barbour in 2006, MHB Consultants is an engineering design consultancy specialising in bridge design, civil and geotechnical engineering, temporary works and land surveying. Together with fellow directors Fergus Aitchison and Alistair Gray, Hendrie has grown the firm organically to 40 staff, with headquarters in Glasgow and regional offices in Edinburgh and York. Clients include construction firms, transport agencies, local authorities, engineering consultants and private clients throughout the UK.

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Celebrating women in employee ownership

Angela Wardrope hi res

Research carried out by Women’s Enterprise Scotland shows that the contribution made by female-owned businesses to the Scottish economy continues to grow. The GVA of the sector grew from £5bn in 2012 to £8.8bn in 2015 – a 76% increase – while it is now responsible for creating 231k Scottish jobs – up from 153k in 2012.We have also seen a rise in the number of female-fronted businesses in the employee ownership sector, with several of the businesses transitioning to employee ownership being owned or run by women.

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Five Steps to Collaboration

Collaborating with others can be a highly effective way for a business to drive growth and innovation whilst sharing the associated costs and risks.

However, when it comes to forming or joining a consortium, what should a business consider? How does the process work and what are the specific benefits that can be delivered?

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STORNOWAY MEDIA PRODUCTION COMPANY MACTV BECOMES EMPLOYEE-OWNED

Stornoway-based production company MacTV recently joined the growing number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland, with 18 employees given a stake in the business.

Established in 2001, award-winning MacTV is the largest independent TV company in the Highlands and Islands. Specialising in factual documentary, arts and music programmes in both Gaelic and English, the company is one of the biggest producers of programming for BBC ALBA. Its main production base is in the Hebrides, with staff also in the central belt, and in recent years the company has also been involved in a variety of international co-productions, working with companies in Canada, Ireland, Iceland and Wales.

When managing director Bill Morrison began to look ahead to his retirement, there were a number of considerations, including a preference to try and ensure that the business remained based in Stornoway, and that the company’s positive community ethos and culture remained at its core. Bill identified employee ownership as a potential ideal solution, and he subsequently got in touch with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to explore the option in more detail. From there, he was introduced to Co-operative Development Scotland.  We caught up with Bill to find out more.

MacTV Group 1

“In the 18 years since it was established, the hugely talented and hardworking team at MacTV has helped build a highly regarded production company which is recognised at both a national and international level for producing important and compelling programming with Scotland’s unique spirit at its heart. With a workforce truly rooted in the community, the passion, skills and local knowledge of our staff is vital to the quality of our output.

“A traditional trade sale may have seen us bought by a competitor, potentially risking job security and compromising our offering. Employee ownership ensures that the company is owned by and run for the benefit of those most close to it, while providing ongoing economic benefit to the area by anchoring the work and jobs in the local community. Our new employee owners now have an increased stake in their own future, with a say in the business, empowering them to shape its direction and drive growth.”

An Employee Ownership Trust has been formed which will hold 90% of the shares on behalf of the employees. The process was managed by 4-consulting, with legal services provided by Blackadders and accountancy support from Mann Judd Gordon.

If you have a question or you want to talk about how employee ownership can help you, please get in touch with us here using the ‘expert support’ option.

GLASGOW CARE FIRM ASPIRE STRENGTHENS COMPANY ETHOS WITH EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP

Glasgow-based care provider Aspire recently joined the growing number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland, with 186 social care employees across the organisation being given a stake in the business.

Aspire provides a range of services including Self-Directed Support, Intensive/Complex Home Care, Homelessness Emergency Accommodation and Resettlement, Alcohol-Related Brain Injuries Housing Support, Care at Home, Criminal Justice and Young Care Leavers Services. Since 2011 Aspire has annually won a raft of Scottish Care National Awards.

Aspire was established in 2002 by Peter Millar, who has over 47 years’ experience in social work and community care including planning, commissioning, senior management, and developing and delivering services within Local Authorities and the NHS in Scotland.  We caught up with Peter to hear more about his decision to sell the company to its staff.

Portrait of Aspire Chief Executive Peter Millar.

“Employee ownership is wholly consistent with Aspire’s ethos and values.  We are all about empowering people to achieve a better life and a more self-directed and optimistic future. Whilst that approach fundamentally underpins our work with the individuals we have the privilege of working alongside and supporting in the community, it is also highly applicable to our relationship with our employees. 

Employee Ownership enables us to elevate the status of our employees, enhance their opportunities to be more involved in contributing to the growth and development of Aspire, and allows all of those employees to equitably share the benefits from Aspire’s future successes.

“Employee Ownership therefore provides Aspire with a stronger, more inclusive, collaborative and equitable model. In addition to giving all employees a real stake in the organisation, it also secures Aspire’s position as a high quality provider of social care services in Scotland and an organisation that consistently makes a positive difference to individuals’ lives and to their local communities.

“I’m delighted that Aspire Housing and Personal Development Services is in the hands of our committed and highly talented team who have been overwhelmingly positive about this important development for our organisation and are now even more enthusiastic about it. We have a superb senior management team and excellent employee trustees and staff and we are all really excited about the future.”

Staff at Aspire

Some of the Aspire team

Aspire now has a Trust board which includes two elected employee trustees, Euan Jessiman and Cameron Gilchrist.

Cameron added: “On behalf of the whole team, I’d like to give a huge thanks to Peter for giving us the amazing opportunity to share the ownership of Aspire – which has such a positive impact on so many lives – and there’s something very meaningful, for both the whole team and the people we support, in becoming employee owned.”

If you have a question or you want to talk about how employee ownership can help you, please get in touch with us here using the ‘expert support’ option.

SECURING THE FUTURE OF FAMILY BUSINESSES

For family businesses, planning for succession is one of the biggest challenges they will face and an effective succession solution is critical to their long-term success. While research indicates that approximately 73% of family businesses want to keep the business in the family, this isn’t always possible. Only 12% of family-owned businesses in Scotland are passed down to the second generation and just 7% remain in the family for three generations or more. Despite these figures, less than half of Scotland’s family-owned businesses have a succession plan in place.

Glen Dott, an employee ownership adviser at Co-operative Development Scotland, discusses some of the issues family businesses need to consider when looking at their succession options, and why employee ownership can sometimes be the most effective solution.

Glen Dott

“Sometimes family business owners can bury their heads when it comes to the daunting task of planning for their exit. Yet, it is a vital decision which ultimately determines the company’s future. Rather than viewing it as a necessary evil, business owners should start to recognise succession planning as a potential opportunity for their company to evolve and grow.

“Employee ownership is one solution which offers these opportunities and can be an excellent fit for family businesses for a number of reasons. First of all, it enables the vendor to exit on their terms, giving them a fair price and allowing them substantial control over the process.

“Secondly, it roots the business in its community, keeping skills in the area and retaining jobs locally for workforces that are often long-serving and loyal. Thirdly, by handing control over to those who know it best, the values and ethos on which the company was founded, frequently at the heart of family-run businesses, can be preserved for generations to come.

“Finally, evidence demonstrates that employee-owned companies benefit from a more engaged workforce, which can boost productivity, encourage innovation, and ultimately drive growth and profitability. It can be encouraging and comforting for founders to feel that the businesses they have spent years of their lives building with their families will continue to go from strength-to-strength into the future, and that the employees will reap the rewards of this. 

The past couple of years have seen family-owned businesses including Auchrannie leisure resort in Arran, Harvey Maps in Doune, North Berwick-based Jerba Campervans and Beauly institution The Priory Hotel all move to employee ownership after recognising the suitability of the model as a succession solution and its potential for driving future business success. We expect take-up of the model will continue to accelerate in future years, as more and more businesses throughout Scotland’s business community become aware of the benefits.

The Priory Hotel staff

The Priory Hotel team

Succession planning should not be overlooked and family business owners looking for a smooth exit which secures the best possible future for their business should seek professional advice on their options at an early stage.”

To learn more about EO and whether it could be right for your business, check out our resources page, listen to our podcast or get in touch with us here using the ‘expert support’ option.

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