In November 2023, Three Blind Mice (TBM) Group made their transition to employee ownership, putting their people and culture first. TBM Group encompasses the brands Jelly and Think Artfully across their US, Europe and UK locations, and are market leaders in creative production from animation direction, illustration, typography and corporate visual communication through to visualising and pre-production animatics.

The business was founded by Chris Page, 30 years ago; his ambition has always been to show that it’s possible to run a business that is both ethical and profitable. Chris will now start to step back from the day-to-day running of the business but will remain in a role as Cultural Ambassador, with Charlie Sells and Nicki Field in place as Joint Managing Directors.

Chris said  “After 30 years of being the owner of TBM Group I had reached the stage in my career where I needed to look at the next steps for me, and at the same time a way of facilitating an evolution for us as a group that meant we could continue our cultural growth in the best way. After weighing up the various options, it became more and more obvious that an EOT was the natural step that was best, not only for myself and the management group, but for the entire team. We have established such a strong ethos and culture over the last few years and the EOT ensures that this is now permanently in place for everyone here.”

Here at Baxendale Employee Ownership, we pride ourselves on providing clients with an ownership succession solution which protects businesses’ identity and culture as they transition into employee ownership.

Project Lead, Simon Everingham said: “We’re proud to have advised and supported TBM Group in their transition to employee ownership – a move that ensures both the long-term growth and independence of the business, as well as protecting their collaborative, inclusive culture by placing ownership in the hands of an employee ownership trust on behalf of all their employees”.

“Ownership via an EOT means that the shares are held in trust for the benefit of current and future employees, meaning that all the employees of TBM Group now have a real stake in the business and its future. It has been a pleasure working with the TBM Group team, and we look forward to them going from strength to strength with their new ownership model.”

If you are interested in employee ownership and would like to know what it could mean for you and your business, please contact us here. Baxendale Employee Ownership provide end-to-end support for businesses’ journeys into employee ownership.

To find out more about employee ownership and employee ownership trusts and how they might work for your business, contact Simon Everingham simon.everingham@baxendale-eo.co.uk