Tag: Co-operative Development Scotland (Page 2 of 6)

What do Co-operatives mean to you?

What words spring to mind when you think of co-operatives? Do you think of a specific business model or company? Perhaps you think of the business benefits? Maybe you reflect on your own experience?

We asked our team for their suggestions and compiled the answers into this word cloud – which we think is a terrific summary.CDS word cloud

What would you add to the list?

 

Employee ownership on agenda for professional advisers

Graeme Nuttall smlA recent CDS seminar saw professional advisers gather in Glasgow to hear from Graeme Nuttall OBE, author of the Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership.

Here, Graeme – partner of Fieldfisher – discusses the growing enthusiasm for the model, the important role played by CDS, new tax reliefs and Scotland’s success stories.

I was delighted to be invited to speak to an audience of professional advisers in Glasgow and was hugely impressed at the level of interest and enthusiasm that exists for employee-owned business structures.

There can be no doubt – the case for employee ownership has been made. A few years ago, a company owner looking to explore employee ownership would likely have been dissuaded from this path by their adviser. Now, advisers are much more likely to present employee ownership as a feasible succession option for their clients.

Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS), under the leadership of Sarah Deas, must take some credit for this achievement. CDS has been instrumental in building the employee ownership community in Scotland, and engaging with professional advisers to help them recognise the role these individuals and firms play in the development of employee ownership.

Advisers will know about the tax advantaged share plans designed to increase individual share ownership amongst a firm’s employees. These have been around for almost 40 years. In the Nuttall Review, I wanted to give greater priority to the trust model of employee ownership.

This is a simple model and gives employees a collective ownership of the company. I was delighted that as a result of the findings of the Nuttall Review a new tax regime for “employee-ownership trusts” (EOTs) was introduced last year. Briefly, there are two main new tax exemptions:

  • From 6 April 2014 there is an exemption from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on gains on certain disposals of shares in a trading company (or in a holding company of a trading group) that provides an EOT with a controlling interest in that company; and
  • From 1 October 2014 there is an exemption from Income Tax (but not National Insurance contributions) of £3,600 per employee per tax year for certain bonus payments made to all employees of a company or group where an EOT has a controlling interest.

The CGT exemption has attracted attention to employee buy outs as a succession solution. Instead of a sale of shares being taxed typically, for owner managers, at an effective rate of 10% after entrepreneurs’ relief, there is an unlimited exemption from CGT.

The Income Tax exemption means there can also be a tax benefit for staff in this business model. In most cases dividends otherwise payable to the EOT as a majority shareholder are waived by its trustee and are paid out instead as bonuses to all staff – tax free up to £3,600 per employee per tax year.

This is a key concept – instead of external shareholders receiving dividends and staff bonuses being paid simply at the discretion of a board of directors, the EOT model provides staff with an economic stake.

However, tax should not be the driver of employee ownership. It is important that attention is paid to the business case. Scotland has more than its fair share of success stories.

Page\Park Architects, recently appointed to restore the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Building, is a superb example of a trust owned model of ownership. Stewart Buchanan Gauges, a business where 85% of the workforce live within a five mile radius, represents the hybrid model of trust and direct employee share ownership. There are many more, and increasing all the time.

It’s always rewarding working through a transaction to completion. With an employee ownership transition, there is an additional bonus in that the relationship extends beyond the deal. The average life of a Standard & Poor’s listed company was apparently 60 years in 1958, around 30 years in the 1970s and was down to 15 years by 2014. Obviously businesses have to evolve and markets change but I like the idea that companies I help convert to employee ownership many years ago are still in existence in contrast to their competitors.

It was a real pleasure visiting Glasgow, especially speaking to so many advisers already convinced of the benefits of employee ownership. We do need more champions, and with advisers onside I trust we’ll see even more employee buyouts in Scotland over the next few years.

To read the speech Graeme gave during his presentation at Ernst & Young Glasgow, click here.

Avarix – a model approach?

Gavin Tosh1Inspired by a “Hackathon”, a novel consortium made up of IT students and business consultants is helping build fledgling careers and establish reputations across the world.

Linked to the University of Strathclyde, Avarix has already worked with some of the world’s largest companies. Here, Gavin Tosh of Clerwood Legal Services looks at how they’ve achieved that success.

Avarix is a consortium comprising computer science students at the University of Strathclyde and business consultants with their own companies who work part time for the university’s Enterprise Hub.

The initial idea for Avarix came from a cross-university “Hackathon”, where several universities collaborated to tackle a real-life technical challenge for an external organisation using video conferencing.

The success of this collaboration prompted an approach to Co-operative Development Scotland to form a formal consortium. With the help expert advisers – myself and Gill Joy of Intend Business Development – the consortium successfully formed and was incorporated on 31st January 2015.

This model helps Avarix capitalise on the significant technical talent amongst the computer science students by allying them with external business expertise in one commercial entity.

avarix logoWhile work for external customers was being undertaken by individuals already, including for big name companies such as JP Morgan, Barclays, VISA, Amazon, SkyScanner and the Mozilla Foundation, the experts did not have the capacity to handle multiple requests or more complex jobs. Being part of the consortium removes this constraint and offers greater capacity for work.

The consortium has already delivered several benefits for members. In the first three months of trading alone, Avarix secured orders worth over £150k.

Bringing together the varying skills of members means Avarix can pursue wider business opportunities and bid for different kinds of work. To help cope with peaks in demand and grow the customer base, the core group wanted to be able to formally involve other students in the business.

The consortium co-operative provided a flexible membership structure, allowing students to both carry out work and potentially join the consortium as associate or full members.

Inevitably some student members will need to leave for various reasons, such as gaining full-time employment out-with Scotland. The consortium cooperative makes this process easy, unlike say a company limited by shares.

Having access to funding and reduced operating costs provides a stable financial base and student members benefit from good business experience. Combining resources means members have a greater overall marketing budget, which has helped attract new business.

The external consultants will share in the commercial success of the team but can still manage and grow their own businesses independently.

With early signs of success, more clients in the pipeline and students keen to be a part of Avarix,

could this be a model which can be replicated in other Scottish universities and colleges in sectors other than IT/computer science?

Employee ownership could be the best thing for your business

SCTRecently, Alan Spence, a founder of hydrocarbon accounting firm Accord Energy Solutions, told us why he was eager to share his thoughts on employee ownership (EO) when he spoke at the National Economic Forum in Dundee last month.

Here, in the second of his two-part feature, Alan discusses how employee ownership and investing in staff has helped his company succeed.

As a company, Accord’s goals are very simple; we want to be a successful business with a long-term future. To achieve this we need to provide our clients with a quality service at a competitive price and we rely on all of our people to ensure this happens.

We pay competitive salaries and provide a good benefits package but we recognise that these things alone won’t necessarily allow us to attract, retain and develop the best people. There has to be something more.

For us, it all starts with knowledge and understanding. Every month we get together for a staff meeting. We meet in the office or join in by conferencing and desk-top sharing. We examine and discuss every aspect of the business.

From admin and IT, through to the monthly management accounts and new business opportunities, we take time to cover it all. I think it’s fair to say that every employee knows enough about the business to understand how we’re performing and why the management team makes the decisions it does.

We also believe our staff should have significant control over their own personal development. Each individual has their own annual training budget (currently £1,800) they can spend on whatever training they feel they need.

For some, the training can be job specific – developing a deeper understanding of a familiar concept or learning about a new technique or process. Others may want to know more about business processes; accounting and finance or benefits and taxation. Not only does this help the employee grow and develop it also benefits the business by increasing our overall capability in so many different ways.

As a company with aspirations for a long-term future and a strong presence in the local community, we believe it’s important to contribute to the community. We do this in two different ways; by sponsoring local sports organisations – such as Garioch Sports Trust, Curl Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire Cricket Club and Ride the North – and by supporting local and national charities that are nominated by employees.

Beyond this, we think it’s important that employees play a major part in the key decisions. Recently our employees determined how bonuses should be paid and they are now in the process of deciding how we develop the company so it meets their current and future aspirations.

We will all be meeting in Aberdeen next month to work through this process together. Our plan is to shape our company in a way that benefits all of us and stands the business in good stead both now and in the future.

Any or all of these things and many more can be done by any company – you don’t have to be employee owned – and will result in improvements across the board. I say this based on my experience in both small local and large multi-national companies, and after hearing first-hand the experience of people like John Reid at Michelin Dundee.

However, when you’re ready to take things beyond this to the next level you may want to consider employee ownership, it could be the best thing you do for your business.

Can Scotland learn from the Basque experience?

Jim_Maxwell,_Business_Development_Manager,_Co-operative_Development_Scotland_resizedThe Mondragon Corporation – based in Spain’s Basque region – has evolved from humble beginnings to become the country’s tenth largest company.

Here, Jim Maxwell of CDS discusses how a recent visit to the area highlighted the benefits of the worker co-operative model.

Equality and a fairer society are at the heart of our new economic strategy for Scotland so in a recent visit to Spain I was keen to see how those same goals are being addressed in the Basque Country.

Started in 1956 by a local priest motivated to reduce poverty in three narrow, steeply sided valleys south of Bilbao, the Mondragon Corporation has evolved into a ‘mega-co-operative’, providing work for 74,000 people in 110, mainly industrial, worker-owned co-operatives.

View over Mondragon’s many co-operatives

View over Mondragon’s many co-operatives

Mondragon’s mission is the creation of wealth in society, delivered through a system of membership, rather than just employment for its workers. In return for a small input of initial capital and monthly contributions, each member receives a good salary and an excellent range of social and welfare benefits.

Equality and fairness are central to this system. The highest salary is no more than six times that of the lowest, all are entitled to the same benefits and no-one is paid overtime.  At the end of each year resources are transferred between companies to help strengthen those in difficulty and preserve jobs.

Job security is a hot topic in Mondragon at present. Following the closure last year of one of the member co-ops, Fagor Electrodomestico, all but 223 of its 2,000 workers have now been redeployed to jobs elsewhere in the group or have taken early retirement. A supreme effort is being made to find posts for the remaining 223, all of whom continue to receive 80 per cent of their salary.

Most surprising is the speed at which all this has been achieved.  The Mondragon Corporation took its present form only in 1992. Its overarching structures – a bank (‘Caja Laboral’), nine technical research institutes, the Mondragon University and a central co-ordinating body – have all been created within just a few decades.

Such rapid growth has been possible because of the highly engaged workforce and Mondragon’s treatment of capital as primarily a resource for the creation of sustainable employment and the improvement of people’s lives.

Mondragon Corporation's Training and Development Centre

Mondragon Corporation’s Training and Development Centre

The visionary model is impressive, but Mondragon has to be judged by its achievements.  Collaboration between the member co-operative companies has enabled all, with one exception, to survive the recession.

There have been virtually no lob losses among members across the group and a good standard of living has been provided to all. The Mondragon Corporation’s focus on creating ‘wealth in society’ has resulted in the Basque area having the most equal redistribution of wealth in Europe, as measured by Eurostat.

But a word of caution, the Mondragon model may not transfer easily to other places. What evolved south of Bilbao was in direct response to local needs and opportunities – poverty, weak state services, a strong sense of ‘national’ identity and a collective will to expand underperforming industries when the Franco regime ended in 1975.

So what can Scotland learn from all this? In Mondragon we have the clearest possible view of how the worker-owned business model can succeed. More than this, it shows how striving for socio-economic (not simply economic) outcomes can help create a fairer and more equal society.

This might be just the right moment to consider how worker-ownership could play a bigger part in shaping the future Scottish economy.

Free workshops on tendering together

Gill headshot 2

A series of free workshops on Tendering Together will be held by the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) from next month.

Here, Gillian Cameron, programme manager at SDP describes why the workshops will be a major help to Scottish business.

Our two part course, starting in May, is designed for companies and third sector organisations which have a good level of tendering experience and are looking to increase their market through collaborative bids.

Businesses can choose to attend the first part of the course in May – either in Falkirk on May 19, Glasgow on May 21 or Edinburgh on May 28 – with all delegates then able to attend the second day in the Lighthouse, Glasgow on June 4.

Topics include:

  • Why collaborate – opportunities and barriers
  • Types of collaboration
  • Finding and assessing partners, early discussions
  • Preparing a joint proposal/tender – tips and templates
  • Consortium agreements, legal documents

This is a unique opportunity for SMEs to get expert training on what it means to work collaboratively together.

There are a number of fantastic business opportunities coming up in Scotland for 2015, including Glasgow’s City Deal. By working collaboratively SMEs can ensure they are best placed to benefit and compete within the market place.

Places are limited and companies interested in attending should reserve their free place via www.sdpscotland.co.uk.

For more information contact info@sdpscotland.co.uk

Bright future ahead for Collaboration Prize winners

Adventures in LightAt the end of March, we announced the winners of our Collaboration Prize. One of those winners was Adventures in Light, an Edinburgh-based consortium which triumphed in our tendering category.

Here, chairwoman Cristina Spiteri discusses the group’s excitement at being named a winner and how they plan to use the prize money.

This is a hugely exciting time for Adventures in Light. There are three individuals in our group – a 3D artist, filmmaker and carpenter – and we have big plans and are ready to shine.

While we are individual businesses, we have been collaborating together for two years. In fact, we’ve already enjoyed a number of successes and have so far worked with the Edinburgh Science Festival, T in the Park, The Tinderbox Orchestra and Scottish Dance Theatre.

Adventures in LightBut when we found out there was a way for us to form a business from our collaboration, we were really excited. It’s absolutely perfect for us and we were already naturally working in that way.

Winning the Collaboration Prize will open up so many doors for us. Our vision is to create dynamic projected installations for musical and cultural performances.

Adventures in LightWe also have a focus on utilising projection mapping for brand promotion and interior design, something which is currently not available from one company in Scotland. And thanks to CDS and the Collaboration Prize, we can engage more prospective clients.

By working as a consortium, we can pool our expertise to allow for seamless ideas from creation to execution. The prize money will allow us to purchase more advanced equipment and embark on more ambitious installations.

It makes sense for clients to talk to one body rather than three individual businesses. It also means we can grow to involve other companies and artists to go for bigger jobs. Forming our official consortium is so exciting and offers so much growth potential for us.

Want to keep up-to-date with Adventures in Light? Follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Vimeo.

Eyes on the Prize: Scottish Mountain Bike Consortium

The big day is almost here – next week, we will be announcing the winners of this year’s Collaboration Prize.

Over the past weeks, we have revisited some of our previous winners including The Wee Agency, Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland and Screen Facilities Scotland.

Now we turn our attention to the Scottish Mountain Bike Consortium, who won the prize in 2013 after submitting an idea to capture a slice of Scotland’s cycling tourism market.

Six businesses from the Tayside, Fife and Angus area make up the consortium, which aims to develop family friendly cycling events across the country.

They used the £10,000 prize to buy new equipment and fund marketing, copywriting, website development and the making of a promotional video.

Stay tuned to cdsblog.co.uk next week for full details on this year’s Collaboration Prize winners.

Eyes on the Prize: Screen Facilities Scotland

In just under two weeks, we’ll be announcing the winners of this year’s Collaboration Prize.

Over recent weeks, we’ve been looking at past winners including The Wee Agency and Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland. Now, our focus turns to Screen Facilities Scotland (SFS).

SFS, winners of the competition in 2012, is a collaboration of Scottish-based film, television and commercials facilities companies.

Before joining forces, members felt that many lucrative contracts were being won by businesses based outside Scotland – particularly in the south-east of the UK.

By forming a consortium co-operative, they would be able to pitch for work in a more efficient and cohesive way. In the process, they could increase core business and help to grow the Scottish film, TV and commercials production sector.

They would also become a voice for the industry, pressing the cause for more support and facilities for production companies across the country.

We’ll be looking at a previous winner of the Collaboration Prize each week on CDSblog.co.uk, ahead of our big announcement…

Eyes on the prize – Music Co-OPERAtive Scotland

As we inch closer to the announcement of this year’s Collaboration Prize winners, we’re looking back at past successes.

We first showcased The Wee Agency and this week we turn our attention to Music Co-OPERATIVE Scotland.

In 2011, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera moved from full-time to part-time working. Keen to ensure a positive future, members chose to form a consortium co-operative to sell their services.

They entered the Collaboration Prize in 2012 and were selected as one of the winners. And with our support, they were able to make their collaborative dream a reality.

We’ll be looking at a previous winner of the Collaboration Prize each week on CDSblog.co.uk, ahead of our big announcement…

Diversifying together could be the new way of working…

Jaye Martin 03A recent event, organised by the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) in conjunction with Robert Gordon University’s Business School in Aberdeen, illustrated that the offshore wind market represents a big opportunity for Scottish SMEs who currently operate in oil and gas.

CDS specialist adviser Jaye Martin was there to share her expertise on how collaborative working could be the key to making a move in to this new area a reality…

The ETP – the largest power and energy research partnership in Europe – organised this event to help equip Scottish SMEs to make the move from oil and gas into offshore renewables.

With three new wind farms recently gaining consent and an imminent decision expected on the contract for a further wind farm, there has never been a better time to take advantage of this developing market.

Delegates at the workshop listened to first-hand experiences from Scottish businesses that have already successfully ‘straddled the divide’, such as Seaway Heavy Lifting and Ecosse Subsea Systems.

There were also discussions on the regulatory and contractual landscape of offshore renewables compared to oil and gas and the supply chains and alliances pertinent to the offshore wind sector.

The various funding opportunities available for SMEs looking to diversify were showcased, including Scottish Enterprise’s Offshore Wind Expert Support, Enterprise Europe Network Scotland, Interface and new SMART/R&D grant funding for alliances.

I featured as one of the workshop’s ‘three-minute wonders’ which gave me a small (but perfectly formed) opportunity to talk to the audience about CDS and the support we can provide for companies considering collaborative working as a means to enter new markets.

Throughout the afternoon words such as partnering, alliances, consortia were commonplace and it was clear the audience had an appetite for trying something new in an industry which has yet to standardise approach.

CDS looks forward to working with more SMEs in this sector as they look to conquer new markets, we can add real value with our business models to diversify for success.

Eyes on the Prize – The Wee Agency

It’s almost time to reveal this year’s Collaboration Prize winners!

But before we unveil the lucky consortia each receiving  £10,000 to make their collaborative dream a reality, we wanted to take a look at some of our past winners who have gone on to great things.

First up is The Wee Agency, a collaboration between design specialists 2bcreative, IT company Alchemy+ and PR and digital marketing consultancy, Muckle Media.

They won the Collaboration Prize in 2013 and have since gone from strength to strength, working together to tender for contracts under one banner.

We’ll be looking at a previous winner of the Collaboration Prize each week on CDSblog.co.uk, ahead of our big announcement…

The power of collaboration

Gavin Tosh1Working together can help businesses reach the next level, but the need to form a legal entity can sometimes be seen as off-putting.

Here, Gavin Tosh of Clerwood Legal Services discusses how forming a consortium is a simple option for companies looking to reap the benefits of collaboration.

Many businesses work together. This can be for a variety of reasons, but lack of formalisation can limit how far this goes.  Should they want to open a bank account for joint funds or enter into contracts, it is likely an identifiable legal entity will need to be created.

For some, this may sound like a costly commitment. However, there is a model which allows for the formation of the necessary legal entity with minimal financial or legal commitment:  the consortium co-operative.

Consortiums offer an ideal solution for businesses looking to collaborate while retaining their own independence. Members can be limited companies, partnerships or individuals, with membership any size from two upwards.

The benefits are numerous:

  • Reduce costs of doing business
  • Share the risks when exploring new markets
  • Jointly tender for contracts
  • Buy, sell or market on behalf of members
  • Share facilities such as back offices or premises
  • Attract funding
  • Employ staff

Clerwood Legal Services has worked in conjunction with CDS for a number of years, delivering training to SMEs on collaborative tendering techniques. Now, along with Intend Business Development, we are serving as specialist advisers, helping businesses through the process of forming consortium co-operatives.

Navigating towards employee ownership – now is the time to get on board

Glen DottThis week, law firm MacRoberts will host seminars in Dundee and Glasgow on how employee ownership (EO) can improve a business. CDS specialist advisers will be on hand to share their experiences of being a business’ ‘first mate’ on the EO voyage. 

Here Glen Dott shares his thoughts on sailing safely in to the unknown…

My job is to work with businesses in Scotland, helping them plot their journey to employee ownership and eventually sail off into the sunset.

Over the years I have worked with many different types of businesses on their transition to EO and one thing is most definitely true – EO is the perfect vessel to develop an entrepreneurial and innovative culture within a business.

When employees have a vested interest in the business as a whole they become enthused and engaged in finding ways to make it more successful.

Many EO businesses reap significant rewards from this increased participation, giving them an advantage over competitors which, in turn, leads to greater profit.

It is this camaraderie and entrepreneurial spirit that helps most EO businesses establish an inspiring ‘we’re in this together’ culture – charting the unknown in search of new successes.

Not unlike sailors navigating the open sea, each EO business needs a brave captain and a willing crew. Together they plot their course making sure the journey is safe and one which is filled with discovery.

At CDS, we welcome the captains and their crews with open arms. And I am honoured to be ‘first mate’ to help them navigate their way towards effective employee ownership of their business.

The MacRoberts’ seminars, Employee Ownership – Making Your Business Better, will be held in Dundee on Tuesday, 17 February and Glasgow on Wednesday, 18 February.

You can find more details on their events page.

A Valentine’s message

As we are celebrating Valentine’s Day today, we asked members of the CDS team to tell us what they love most about co-operative working.

Gillian Kirton: I love the “we are all in it together” attitude we often hear from employee owned companies – it makes the staff go that extra mile!

Carol Boden: Employee ownership helps make the business world a fairer place through empowerment and engagement of all staff members.

Jaye Martin: I love co-operatives because the consortium model can be a great way for small businesses to collaborate and compete with larger companies.

Cathy McCready: I love the fact that cooperatives work together to grow together.

What do you love most about co-operative working? Why not tweet us, @cdscotland.

Director up front on employee ownership

Director magEmployee ownership features on the front cover of the influential Director magazine this month, thanks to an interview with John Lewis Partnership (JLP) chairman, Sir Charlie Mayfield.

JLP is the UK’s largest employee-owned business, employing 90,000 staff, known as partners, across its 42 stores.

In the article, he says the model is key to JLP’s success. Not only does profit-sharing motivate the partners, but it ensures better staff retention than can otherwise be seen in the retail sector.

Employee ownership also allows the business to take a more sustainable, long-term approach, he says, going on to discuss why he’s advocating the model as a satisfying and successful succession strategy for business owners.

Sir Charlie was speaking before the inaugural InspireEO conference, which saw 350 delegates from businesses and public bodies travel to the West Midlands to hear first-hand how employee ownership helps large businesses like JLP as well as SMEs operating across different sectors.

You can read the full interview in the February edition of Director.

Inspiring day to drive growth in employee ownership

Glen DottNearly 350 delegates from businesses of all sizes visited the West Midlands last week for the inaugural InspireEO conference, hosted by the John Lewis Partnership (JLP).

Several high-profile speakers addressed a large audience which included prominent government and business figures. Not only did it motivate businesses – it has set the tone for a Scottish event of its own, as CDS specialist advisor Glen Dott explains.

Sitting among the hundreds of entrepreneurs who had gathered to participate in the first-ever InspireEO conference, you couldn’t help but feel motivated and excited for the future.

Gathering in the West Midlands were representatives from businesses across the United Kingdom, keen to hear the benefits of employee ownership (EO) from one of its most well-known proponents.

In hosting InspireEO, JLP provided a platform to promote employee-owned business models of all types. They used their own approach as an example to demonstrate the benefits EO offers both the company and its staff. EOA0037

Supported by several high-profile sponsors, the event underlined the widespread and growing endorsement of EO to exiting owners, advisors and the public sector.

Productivity in EO businesses grew 4.5 per cent last year while others flat-lined, demonstrating the value of the model for sustainable growth. People who work in such businesses are happier and healthier, taking less time off sick.

Business advisers were also in attendance and helped sponsor the event. Not only does this highlight the increasing interest in EO from businesses, but it demonstrates there is growing recognition among the advisor community of the model.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, the chairman of 80,000 partner-strong JLP, was joined by Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office. Both addressed the audience and in doing so demonstrated just how important EO is to business and the economy.

Sir Charlie Mayfield

Sir Charlie Mayfield

So inspirational was last week’s gathering that we are preparing to have a similar conference in Scotland later in the year.

Awareness and support for employee ownership is growing in Scotland and we are hoping to attract a large audience.  An engaging programme of activity is being prepared, along with some truly inspirational speakers to demonstrate why EO offers a bright future not just to Scottish businesses, but to Scotland as a whole.

We’ll be announcing full details later in the year. Hopefully I’ll see you there.

‘Poster Girl’ role for CDS’ Sarah Deas

Sarah Deas Games Poster

A new exhibition celebrating the contribution of volunteers at last year’s Commonwealth Games has opened at Glasgow Green – with CDS’ own Sarah Deas featuring on the posters to promote it!

Hosted by Glasgow Life, the gallery features hundreds of photographs of the Host City Volunteers who came together to help make the event a tremendous success.

With people coming from all across the country to take part, working together to show Scotland at its’ best, it’s no wonder it was described by many as ‘the Co-operative Games’.

For more information on the exhibition, which runs until August, click here.

Tourism co-operative’s ambitious plans for 2015

Port Appin

Hosting international events such as the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup in 2014 put Scotland firmly in the global spotlight as a top visitor destination. With such opportunity, many businesses are considering how to best take advantage of this new-found fame.

Carron Tobin, development manager of Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative (ATIC), explains why being part of a consortium is helping many of Scotland’s west coast tourism businesses capitalise on the country’s time in the limelight.

Last year was an unprecedented one for Scotland, with sport, politics, the Homecoming gathering and historical anniversaries giving the country international attention like never before.

Not only did it cement our reputation as a land of spectacular scenery and a friendly welcome, it established Scotland as a vibrant and contemporary tourism destination that has the capacity to wow as much as it does charm.

This offers a tremendous opportunity for tourism businesses – and when it comes to having a competitive advantage, we believe being part of our co-operative consortium really helps us stand out from the crowd.

Coll beach

When we formed in 2012, businesses of varying sizes across the area pooled finances, contacts and industry knowledge to create an umbrella brand and marketing plan to set Argyll and the Isles apart from the rest of Scotland and the UK as an unmissable tourist destination.

By offering a range of attractive products that tour operators can sell to their customers, we have enjoyed real success, reaching more markets and potential customers than we would ever have managed individually.

This year though – more than ever – we can see the true value of being part of our co-operative as we prepare to launch our most ambitious bid yet to attract more tour operators to our area and our businesses.

For the first time, we will exhibit at three major international trade shows in a single year, supplementing our usual stand at VisitScotland’s EXPO in April, with trips to the Best of Britain & Ireland and Explore GB trade shows.

Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative’s board. From left, Carron Tobin, David Currie, Calum Ross, Niall Macalister Hall, chairman Gavin Dick, Iain Jurgensen, Andrew Wilson, Brian Keating and Fiona McPhail.

Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative’s board. From left, Carron Tobin, David Currie, Calum Ross, Niall Macalister Hall, chairman Gavin Dick, Iain Jurgensen, Andrew Wilson, Brian Keating and Fiona McPhail.

These events are vital to engage with tour operators across the world and have potential to attract thousands of new customers for our businesses, taking advantage of Scotland’s incredible 2014.

Quite simply, we couldn’t have done this as individual companies or local marketing groups. By working together, we have given our region a genuine competitive edge and delivered a significant boost to members’ trade – underlining just how effective being part of a consortium co-operative can be.

Memorable year for co-operative working

Sarah Deas resized2014 has been a busy year for Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS), with interest in co-operative working higher than ever.

Here, CDS chief executive Sarah Deas reflects on the year and looks ahead to what 2015 may bring.

As we hurtle towards the end of 2014, it is a natural time to look back on the past 12 months. Last December, I remember fondly writing how the eyes of the world would be on Scotland throughout the year – and that certainly proved to be the case!

One shining moment was the XX Commonwealth Games, held in the always-friendly city of Glasgow. I was proud to serve as a Host City Volunteer at this spectacular event which will live long in the memory as an example of what can be achieved when we work together. CDS was delighted to contribute to Glasgow City Council’s (GCC) business event held during the Games. In fact, one of the highlights of the year was seeing GCC and its counterpart in the capital progress their commitment to be Co-operative Councils.Sarah Deas

This is a significant endorsement of co-operative working, which CDS is supporting through the provision of specialist advice. Co-operative working is now recognised as a means of achieving competitive advantage by businesses in a wide range of sectors and there is also growing interest in employee ownership – specifically as a succession solution – helped by the new tax incentives.

To tap further into that growing interest, we held five ‘successful succession’ events during the year. Kindly hosted by employee-owned companies – Aquascot, Galloway & MacLeod, Page\Park, Stewart Buchanan Gauges and Scott & Fyfe – these sessions gave those interested in the ownership model the opportunity to see how it works in practice.

We also engaged with Scotland’s professional advisers through our expert briefing sessions, tackling subjects including funding the employee buyout and employee share ownership.

David Narro Assoc 09

David Narro Associates celebrated becoming employee owned in August.

CDS helped a wide range of businesses across the year, including Fitwise and David Narro Associates, both of which made the transition to employee ownership. Scotland has a host of new employee owners, and hopefully they will find the newly-formed EOA Network Scotland useful – one to watch in 2015.

I was also grateful for the opportunity to visit Quebec for the International Summit of Cooperatives, a truly insightful conference. We heard from the Mondragon Corporation, often seen as an example of best practice when it comes to co-operative working. It is worth noting that the Basque region, where Mondragon is headquartered, is now looking to learn from the UK. Just last month, I welcomed a delegation from the Gipuzkoa province who visited some of our well-established employee-owned companies.

Finally, we once again offered companies in Scotland the chance to win £5,000 in cash and £5,000 in support to make their collaborative ideas a reality. The standard of entries to the Collaboration Prize this year was high, and all of us at CDS are excited to see who will follow in the footsteps of past winners the Scottish Mountain Bike Consortium and The Wee Agency.

In 2015 we anticipate interest in co-operative working to continue to grow as the benefits for staff, business and the economy are further demonstrated. While awareness is most definitely increasing, our job is to keep that momentum going. The growing desire for fairer, more inclusive approaches to working is an opportunity to further underline the virtues of the models – and we will continue to shout about it.

The year began with Kim Lowe, a managing director at John Lewis, calling for more businesses to consider a co-operative approach. I think it is clear that many have done just that, but more can and will be done in 2015.

2014 has been a memorable year in many ways, and I wish you all a happy, healthy and successfully prosperous 2015.

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