Facilities management company Churchill Group has become an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
Churchill Group said the decision to transition to an EOT was taken based on the “multiple benefits to the employees and the opportunity for everyone in the company to benefit from the reward and to put in place responsible succession planning”.
The company also said that the move will ensure it will “remain true to our founding entrepreneurial ethos, and our core values while continuing to grow and evolve for the greater long-term benefit of our employees, customers and communities”.
EOTs do not involve direct share ownership by employees; instead, a controlling interest in the company is transferred to an all-employee trust, which is then held for the benefit of employees.
According to The White Rose Centre for Employee Ownership Survey 2022, the UK EOT sector has doubled in size since 2020.
Churchill Group – which includes Churchill Cleaning, Amulet, Portfolio, On Verve, Chequers, Churchill Environmental and Radish – will continue to be managed on a daily basis by the existing leadership team, with the founders providing support.
James Bradley, group CEO, said: “Our colleagues are what makes Churchill’s specialist businesses so successful, which is why our founders wanted it to be them who should share in the future success.
“When considering ways in which to take the company forward, we were impressed by the benefits that becoming an employee-owned business would bring, including furthering our sustainable purpose with better impacts for people and the environment,” Bradley added.
Churchill Group was supported and advised on the EOT transaction by Grant Thornton UK.
