The UK’s employee-owned sector has notched up another year of growth, adding 332 new businesses – a growth of 37%.
This brings the tally to 1,418 firms wholly or partly in employee ownership, representing another record year of growth.
The Employee Ownership Association (EOA), which produced the figures in collaboration with the White Rose Centre for Employee Ownership (WREOC), says the figures continue a boom enjoyed by the sector in recent years.
The EOA has also released its annual list of the top 50 largest employee-owned businesses in the UK, produced in collaboration with RM2 Partnership. The John Lewis Partnership and Arup Group top the list, with several new businesses also joining the table this year, including EOA member Kingsland Drinks Group.
Between 2020 to 2022, the sector more than doubled in size to over 1,000 EO businesses, adds the EOA. It says growing awareness of employee ownership through high-profile transitions, such as those of retailer Richer Sounds and makers of Wallace and Gromit Aardman Animations, are partially credited with the rise.
It’s also thought that the increasing number of business owners reaching retirement age, coupled by deeper consideration of succession brought about by the pandemic, has also fuelled interest in the model.
James de le Vingne, CEO of the EOA, said: “Employee ownership has incredible power to unlock the potential of UK business. As the sector continues to grow, we want to highlight that EO produces results for businesses, employees, the economy and the planet.”
Riverford Organic Farmers, an EOA member whose founder Guy Singh-Watson recently sold his remaining shares to convert the company to 100% employee ownership, is featured in the Top 50. Charlotte Tickle, its director of people, finance and change, said: “It’s great to see the continued growth of EO across the UK. Employee ownership is now central to Riverford’s culture, and ensures we stay true to our purpose and values.
“We’ve seen first-hand how it can support our business to be more resilient and profitable, whilst giving genuine power to those who have invested in our long-term success, allowing co-owners to be more happy, engaged, and productive by having a real stake and a say in the business.”
