On Monday 20th February 2023 the partners at Baxendale Employee Ownership welcomed me into the partnership following a very rewarding and successful 7 years as Membership Development Manager at Employee Ownership Association (EOA).

When I joined the EOA in 2016 employee ownership was in its infancy and I was part of a small team supporting approximately 300 member organisations. Quickly I became familiar with the models of ownership and started to support business owners make the transition. It wasn’t long before I realised I had a passion for employee ownership, a mechanism that to me enables employees to have a meaningful stake by receiving a share in the company’s successes whilst ensuring that the governance structure allows for employee participation and representation.

Our sector has seen unprecedented growth since the introduction of the EOT model and tax incentives introduced in the Finance Act 2014. The number of EO businesses and employee owners in the UK is growing faster than ever. I remain fascinated that prior to the pandemic there were only 370 employee-owned businesses, earlier this year the EOA indicated that there are now over 1,300! An impressive 251% increase in just under 3 years with no signs of the growth declining.

Over the last 7 years I have had the pleasure of supporting several hundred business owners and employee owners. Helping them to understand the models, introducing them to their peers via the EOA network and working closely with employee owners to help them understand their roles and truly bring employee ownership to life.

There have been many achievements during my time at the EOA, memories that I look back on fondly. Joining Baxendale Employee Ownership is privilege, not only have I become employee owner (we refer to ourselves as partners) I am now taking a step forward in my career to advising  businesses exploring and transitioning into employee ownership as well as supporting employee-owned businesses post transition.

If you would like to get in touch and find out more information, you can contact Hannah Welch hannah.welch@baxendale-eo.co.uk

 

At Baxendale Employee Ownership we offer start-to-finish support, drawing on the legal and commercial experience of our expert team. As well as creating the financial, legal and governance structures for a transition into employee ownership; we also work with employees, to help them understand the changes that are taking place and what employee ownership will mean for them.  

We have a 20 year track record in providing specialist advice and support on employee ownership. We’re employee owned ourselves, so we know the benefits first hand.  

You can click here to read the 10 key benefits of employee ownership