Category: BLOG (Page 1 of 13)
Leading integrated consultancy, Aspect: The Strategic Communication Experts is the latest company to move into employee ownership transferring 100% of shares into an employee ownership trust (EOT) on behalf of the firm’s employees.
We caught up with Andrew McCallum, Founder and CEO and June Boyle, Chair of the Aspect Employee Ownership Trust to find out more.
Andrew told us “The success of our business is built on the expertise, creativity and energy of our talented people. What we’ve achieved over the past five years would not have been possible without them and I’m
Andrew told us “The success of our business is built on the expertise, creativity and energy of our talented people. What we’ve achieved over the past five years would not have been possible without them and I’m very
grateful for their continued support as I lead the firm into this exciting new chapter.
“We’re proud to have created an open, collaborative and supportive culture where people can develop and thrive. Becoming an employee-owned business empowers our team to actively shape Aspect’s future and share in its continued growth and success, now, and for many years to come.
“From repositioning brands for the net zero future and shaping the policy landscape to unlock sustainable growth, to helping organisations define their purpose and vision and delivering integrated communication, marketing, digital and public affairs strategies – our work has impact and consequence.
“I believe this unique combination of employee ownership, inclusive culture, and purpose-led work for our ambitious clients creates a platform for the future.”
June added, “Aspect is an excellent business with a strong team and impressive client portfolio in the UK and internationally. In my experience, businesses with a progressive culture where employees are engaged and involved in the direction of the company deliver better performance.
“In my role as Chair of the Trust Board I look forward to seeing Aspect go from strength-to-strength as an employee-owned business and I will work with my fellow Trustees to make sure the company continues to develop and grow in the best interests of employees.”
Under the leadership of Founder and CEO Andrew McCallum, Aspect’s revenue has grown by more than 250% since recruiting its first employee in 2019, accelerating through and beyond the global pandemic to deliver revenues of £3.1 million in 2023.
Andrew will remain as CEO, with fellow Board Director, Yvonne McCallum, continuing to lead the firm’s finance, commercial and legal functions. They’ll work closely with the leadership team – Digital Director Ewan Duthie, Marketing Director Jenny Adams, Communication Director Leona Minellas, and Public Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement Director Peter Smyth.
From its offices in the heart of Aberdeen and on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Aspect’s talented team of 22 employees advise clients globally in complex, issue-rich sectors from energy, infrastructure and sustainability to technology, life sciences and the natural economy.
Aspect was advised by Blackadders LLP, Cactus Consultants Limited, Ownership Associates UK and Reference Point Advisory Limited.
Access support
If you are considering employee ownership as a succession solution for your business please get in touch with Co-operative Development Scotland team.
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.
Myth 1: A co-op is just a convenience store.
This is a myth we come across a lot from business advisors, talking to clients and in social media comments. As the Co-operative is a well-known brand with a presence in retail, banking, and insurance, a lot of people assume that is purely what co-ops are about.
However, it’s a much wider term used to describe a type of business that is owned by and run by its members. Watch the full video here:
Myth 2: Employee-owned businesses and co-ops are the same thing.
Co-operative Development Scotland provides support to those considering moving to employee ownership or setting up a co-op. Quite often, particularly with our partners that provide business support, we see confusion across the differences between these models.
There are some similarities, and some employee-owned business will identify as co-ops but not all. This video provides a simple overview:
Myth 3: Co-ops are not businesses.
Co-ops can absolutely be businesses. Co-operative Development Scotland have helped set up co-ops across a wide variety of sectors including energy, food and drink, tourism hospitality and digital. Find out more here:
Myth 4: Co-ops are not for profit.
Co-op businesses do make profit. It’s just what they do with that profit that makes them different. Check out the full video as we explain this key difference between co-ops and other business models.
Myth 5: You must choose between being a co-op or a social enterprise business model?
This is where things can get a little bit more complicated, but the key message is that being a co-op is around how the business is governed, with this model compatible with most business structures including a social enterprise. This video provides a great summary.
Myth 6: Co-ops are more relaxed than other businesses and don’t have effective management processes.
Co-ops are democratic businesses and governance is robust. Like other business they have a board of directors. Find out more about how they operate in our final myth video.
Next steps
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
It seems to come round quicker each year but as we rapidly approach 2024 and thoughts turn to plans for the next 12 months, we always like to take time to reflect on what has been achieved in the previous year. And it’s certainly been a busy one! We caught up with some of our team members and asked them to share what their highlights of 2024 have been.
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:
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:
As 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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
Dunkeld, Perthshire based Land Rover Experience Scotland has become the country’s latest employee-owned business after giving staff an 83% share in the company via the establishment of an employee ownership trust (EOT). We caught up with Director Will Cox to find out more about why Employee Ownership was the right succession option for the company.
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.
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.
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.
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….
Our Employee Ownership Learning Journey covering Aberdeen, Tayport and Perth was the first face-to-face employee ownership event hosted by the Co-operative Scotland Team since the pandemic. Response was fantastic and very quickly all spaces were booked and we had to close registrations. Over 40 people attended at various parts of the two-day event: a good mix of current employee-owned companies, those considering employee ownership, advisers and other interested individuals. Seven employee-owned business shared their employee ownership story, in what has been described as an “invaluable and enjoyable” event