Bennett Oakley’s 25 employees are now the custodians of the firm and own 100% of the business through an Employee Ownership Trust. We are part of a growing group of businesses that are employee owned. What is driving this trend?
In employee owned businesses, employees have a significant stake in the business and a say in how the business is run. There are different models of employee ownership and at Bennett Oakley we have opted for an 100% Employee Ownership Trust, with all eligible employees enjoying an equal stake and say in the business.
Employee ownership is on the increase. The Employee Ownership Association reported that 200 businesses opted to become employee owned in 2021, which is estimated to be around 5% of all corporate transactions that year.
The benefits of employee ownership are felt by employees, the business and its customers, as well as the wider economy.
Benefits for employees
There is a financial reward for employee owners as they can enjoy a share in the business’s profits. At Bennett Oakley, once a year we will share profits among all of our employee owners.
There is also much more job satisfaction knowing that you work somewhere that genuinely cares about your ideas and values the contribution that everyone makes to the business. Employee owned businesses don’t just pay lip service to their employees’ views. Employees have a say at Board level through an Employee Ownership Trust.
Benefits for employee-owned business
The Employee Ownership Association (EOA) reports that employee-owned businesses are more innovative and resilient because of the new ideas that energised and engaged employees bring.
The EOA also highlights that becoming employee owned helps businesses become more successful, competitive, profitable and sustainable.
Benefits for the economy
Companies which are employee owned, or who have a large and significant employee ownership stake, now contribute £30 billion to the UK’s GDP.
This is an exciting time for us at Bennett Oakley and we’re looking forward to reaping the benefits of our transition to employee ownership.
