Event Round up: Employee Ownership Learning Journey

The third annual 2024 Employee Ownership Learning journey took place 30-31 October. Hosted by Co-operative Development Scotland,  the event showcased examples of effective employee ownership in successful, growing businesses. These companies shared their learning and experience giving helpful pointers of what has worked and what hasn’t in their employee ownership journey. We caught up with project manager Angela Wardrope to find out more

Collage of three photos Photo 1. Man presenting Photo 2 group infront of camper van Photo 3: Group infront of bus.

I have just spent an incredible 2 days at the Co-operative Development Scotland Employee Ownership Learning Journey.

This year, we had 39 participants over 2 days visiting and hearing from employee-owned firms in Edinburgh and Lothians.

I’d like to thank everyone that shared their employee ownership story, hosted at their premises, delivered a workshop or spoke after dinner.  Our contributors were:

  • North Berwick based Jerba Campervans where Simon Poole and the team shared their employee ownership story as well as giving us a tour of their facility
  • Edinburgh based Computer Application Services. where Ken Naismith shared his employee ownership story
  • Ewan Hall from Baxendale Employee Ownership who delivered an interactive workshop on governance
  • Simon Fowler, Chair, Director and Non-Executive Director who concluded day 1 with an after dinner chat
  • John Housego from Aquascot who delivered an inspirational workshop on employee engagement
  • Edinburgh based Edinburgh Designs where Douglas Rogers shared the story from university spin-out to the employee-owned business it is now.
  • Chris Wilson, chartered accountant who has advised on many employee ownership transitions shared why he moved 2 of his firms into employee ownership; Glen Drummond and Sharles CA
  • Livingston based Tepnel Pharma Services where David Scott and the team shared their employee ownership story as well as giving us a tour of their facility
  • Tristan Elliot from Edinburgh based i4 Product Design concluded the day 2 with a presentation sharing their move to employee ownership

New report published examining the role of inclusive and democratic business models

Tripling the number of inclusive and democratic businesses (IDBMs) in Scotland will make a significant contribution to transforming the country’s economy according to a new report published 3rd September 2024.

The report: Developing Scotland’s Economy: Increasing the Role of Inclusive and Democratic Business Models was published after the review was announced in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) report (Scottish Government, 2022) and seeks to provide guidance for increasing the number of Inclusive and Democratic Business Models (IDBMs) in Scotland.

Continue reading

Dispelling the myths of co-ops

We recently carried out some research with business advisors to get feedback around their perceptions of co-operatives and it was both an informative and eye-opening experience. We could see quite a few misconceptions across the piece, so we thought this provided the perfect opportunity to address some of these misconceptions and have created a brand-new video series called Dispelling the Myths of Co-ops. In our latest blog, marketing project manager, Helen Dickson shares the new video series. 

Co-op video Guide Introducing co-op and dispelling the myths. Graphic of scr scrapper, wind turbine, whisky still, bus, shop and solar panels
Continue reading

Delivering real economic impact and commercial success without compromising value or social impact

Key learning from Scottish Government and Quebec Social Economy Policy Exchange


In May, Co-operative Development Scotland team leader, Darah Zahran, was invited to participate in the Scottish Government’s and Quebec Social Economy Policy Exchange Led by Social Enterprise World Forum and hosted by Chantier de L’Economie Sociale www.chantier.qc.ca. We caught up with Darah to find out more about what her key takeaways were from this insightful and inspiring programme.

Continue reading

Employee ownership key to retaining and developing businesses in Northern Ireland

DLD Fund & Chartered Accountants Ulster Society Employee Ownership Breakfast Series – June 2024

Earlier this month, Co-operative Development Scotland employee ownership specialist Glen Dott was asked to speak at a series of breakfast events across Northern Ireland showcasing the success and uptake of employee ownership in Scotland. We caught up with him to find out more about the events and what is happening in Northern Ireland to support the model as a business succession option.

Continue reading

The Scottish Co-operative Discovery Centre to celebrate Scottish Co-operative Movement

A community group in West Lothian are on their way to creating the first centre dedicated to the story of the Scottish co-operative movement.

Group of employees from the Co-op Discovery Centre

West Calder & Harburn Community Development Trust (WCHCDT) plans to create a hands-on, experiential, fun discovery & learning centre based around co-operative heritage that will create a nationally recognised attraction with café and event space, boosting local footfall and creating jobs.

Continue reading

Meet Dave Routledge, a passionate employee ownership advocate

Our employee ownership learning journey to Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire is taking place on 28 & 29 February 2024.

To help give a flavour of what to expect as part of the learning journey we caught up with guest speaker and workshop leader Dave Routledge, a passionate employee ownership advocate for most of his career who has held leadership roles in a number of employee-owned companies, as well as serving on the board of the Employee Ownership Association.

Continue reading

Is starting a co-op right for you?

We’re getting ready to host our first co-op masterclasses next month. In the run up to the event we caught up with co-op specialist Suzanne Orchard to find out more about the new events and what is in store for those who sign up.

Picture of Suzanne Orchard“As Scotland strives to create a wellbeing economy, co-ops can play a critical role in realising that ambition.  They are proven to be resilient and contribute significantly to the economy, by delivering beyond the measure of GDP. They are democratic, fair businesses that place profit on an equal footing to planet and people, delivering positive impacts for the communities they serve.

 

Continue reading

EOA Conference 2023 – Top 5 Takeaways

Collage of event pictures featuring stage with presentation, proudly employee owned logo and Glen Dott.

Our specialist adviser Glen Dott attended the recent EOA Conference 2023 which took place in Liverpool on 27-28 November 2023.  With 2 days of jam-packed activities, from keynote speakers, breakout sessions, silent theatre, fireside chats to the exhibition area, conference dinner and networking opportunities, we caught up with Glen for his top five takeaways from the conference: 

Continue reading

Business Support Needs of Co-operatives in Scotland

Over the summer we issued an invite to the co-op sector to share their insights with us and help us inform our plans for 2023.  With the responses now in and feedback collated, our specialist advisor, Stewart Macgregor outlines some of the key findings in our latest blog article:

Stewart MacgregorAs the only public-sector-funded service in Scotland dedicated to supporting economic growth by increasing the number of co-operatives, Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) must ensure that co-ops have a greater role and voice to inform the areas of support that we provide.

With that goal in mind, we devised the ‘Business Support Needs of Co-operatives in Scotland’ survey to help us understand the key sectors that co-ops are working in, the support that new and existing co-ops have accessed in the last 12 months, and the areas of support they would benefit from over the next 12 months.

Continue reading

Highlights from the Oxford Symposium

The second annual Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership took place last month.  Organised by Graeme Nuttall OBE and Professor John Hoffmire, the aim is to bring together individuals and organisations active in employee ownership policy-making from across the world to share ideas and learning.   The number of nations represented was impressive: there were at least 20 countries attending including Australia, Japan, Denmark, Slovenia, Canada and the US. Co-operative Development Scotland were pleased to report strong Scottish representation and we caught up with Simon Poole of Jerba Campervans who shares his experience in our latest blog article. 

Group of Jerba Campervans employees standing in front of campervan

Continue reading

No Succession-style drama here – Alexander (Scotland) & Co Ltd and Glen Drummond Chartered Accountants make the move to employee ownership

While one trades in Steel and the other in Numbers, two more Scottish companies – Alexander (Scotland) & Co and Glen Drummond Chartered Accountants – have proved they see the value in becoming employee-owned, handing their respective employees a 100% share via the creation of an employee ownership trust (EOT).

It is a choice being made by an increasing number of companies in Scotland as the employee ownership business model becomes more widely understood. We caught up with current owner of Mr Glenn Maclachlan of Alexander (Scotland) & Co and Chris Wilson CA, director of Glen Drummond to find out more about each of their moves.

Group of employees outside Alexander Scotland premisese. Company sign and vehicle visible in background
Employees from Alexander (Scotland) & Co Ltd based in Striling

“Alexander (Scotland) & Co Ltd has been serving steel customers across Central Scotland for almost 75 years. From humble beginnings at a small premises in Stirling, with just a horse and cart for delivery, the company has grown to forty employees with two premises in Stirling and one in Bathgate,” explains Glenn.

Continue reading

An altogether different way to do business- with New Leaf Co-op

This Co-op Fortnight we’re joining with Co-operatives UK and the co-op sector to celebrate how co‑operatives offer an altogether different way to do business. We thought this was a great opportunity to catch up with an established co-op. In our newest blog article, Sally Green of Edinburgh based New Leaf chats to us about why a co-op model works for their members and their customers and how its helping them navigate the challenges of the cost of living crisis.

Sally Green sranding outside New Leaf Co-op with a box of produce

Continue reading

Meet our specialist advisors

Last month we launched our brand-new Inclusive Business Models Video Guide which demonstrates the type of business models our team can support. Each video stars one of our specialist advisors so in our latest blog article, we’re shining a light on them to find out more about who they are and why they love working with employee-owned businesses and co-ops.  

Continue reading

Scotland welcomes three new employee-owned businesses

It was a great start to 2023 for employee ownership as three Scottish businesses implemented an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), safeguarding the long-term future of their companies, retaining jobs, skills and investment. We caught up with Clare Alexander, Head of Co-operative Development Scotland, to find out more.

SVM Glasgow, Stoneywood Care Services in Denny and Oliver Chapman Architects in Edinburgh have all made the move to employee ownership since the start of 2023.  Our team were pleased to be involved in the early stages of the process for each by providing advice and support via a 100% funded ownership succession review and employee ownership feasibility study.

Continue reading

Accountancy pointers for business owners considering an EOT

In advance of the third and final webinar in the Employee Ownership Explained series, we caught up with guest speaker, Linzi Wilson from Consilium Chartered  Accountants, for a few pointers to help business owners considering an EOT make an informed decision.

 

Linzi Wilson is Corporate Finance Partner at Consilium Chartered Accountants. Linzi qualified in 2005 and has over 17 years’ experience in the Corporate Finance sector working with a range of clients, large and small, across a diverse range of industries. Linzi specialises in business sales, financial modelling, raising finance, and sourcing grant funding.

Continue reading

From EO sceptic to EO evangelist

As part of our recent Employee Ownership Learning Journey we had the pleasure of hosting Andrew Lane, MD of Leeds based Union Industries as our after dinner speaker. Andrew shared his 15 years’ experience of employee ownership with the audience and describes how he moved from EO Sceptic to EO Evangelist….

Continue reading
« Older posts

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience during your visit.