Employee Ownership is where the whole or part of a Company is owned by, or on behalf of, its employees. The government introduced some new and relatively generous tax reliefs for employee-owned companies in 2014 and since then Employee Ownership Trusts (“EOTs”) have...
Hawsons Corporate Finance had the pleasure of supporting Custom Made Kitchens Limited (“CMK”), a well-established manufacturer of bespoke kitchens based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, during its transition to an Employee Ownership Trust. The exiting shareholder, Keith...
Hawsons Corporate Finance are delighted to announce that they acted as Wilson Field’s lead advisor in a £4.8m sale to FRP Advisory Group. Sheffield headquartered restructuring and debt advisory services firm Wilson Field have now been acquired by the listed, national...
Deal Completed – 2023 Hawsons Corporate Finance had the pleasure of supporting Caring Hands (Care Services) Limited (“Caring Hands”), a well-established domiciliary care business, with their transition to Employee Ownership. Based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, the company...
Why has the qualifying criteria been put in place? The economic contribution of employee-owned businesses in the UK is significant and growing. Greater productivity and higher levels of innovation whilst being more resilient to economic turbulence are some of the...
EOTs and Tax-Free Bonuses In this article, we discuss the tax-free bonuses that employees could benefit from in an employee-owned company. Under a qualifying EOT structure, as indirect owners, the employees are eligible to receive a share of the profits of the...
In this article, we are going to discuss the benefits to employees of a company owned by an EOT, compared to a more traditional limited company or partnership. What does being in an EOT mean for an employee? Employees of a trading company (or group) owned by an EOT do...
Who are the trustees of an employee ownership trust? The trustees are the directors of the corporate trustee company which holds the shares in the trading company/group. Their role is to ensure that the company is being managed (by the directors of the trading...
Accounting treatment of an EOT The EOT becomes the owner of the company, usually via a corporate trustee company (“the Trust”) set up to hold the acquired shares. The trust is administered by trustees on behalf of the employees, these trustees are statutory directors...
How are profits distributed following EOT ownership? EOT’s are a form of indirect company ownership and as such dividends would not get paid directly to employees should they become payable. When profits and cashflow allow, a contribution can be made to the trust...
Disadvantages of EOTs for business owners EOTs are still a relatively modern concept and one which may seem quite overwhelming to some business owners. If not structured correctly, an EOT disposal could see exiting business owners waiting too long for their...
If you are considering selling your company to an EOT, we would always advocate the use of a Lead EOT Advisor on your transaction but what is one and what do they do? What does it mean to be Lead EOT Advisor? The Lead EOT Advisor will oversee and manage the entire...