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Employee Ownership

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Eco-Co-op set for further growth

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One the UK’s most experienced providers of ecological consultancy and contracting is growing and winning larger contracts with a little help from The Co-operative Loan Fund.

Ecosulis is an employee-owned business that employs up to 40 staff during survey season. Their work includes ecological consulting, habitat creation, ecological contracting and biodiversity valuation and research. The business was set up in 1990. The team always worked co-operatively and became fully employee-owned in 2007.

With its head office in Bath (hence the reference to Sulis (Minerva) the primary deity of the Roman temple in Bath) and regional offices in London, Cardiff, Chester and Exeter, Ecosulis provides services throughout the UK.

Major clients include the Environment Agency, local authorities, housing developers, planning consultancies, universities and national rail contractors. Many of the contracts require significant up-front investment, and The Co-operative Loan Fund is helping to provide working capital.

Ecosulis has borrowed several times from the funds managed by Co-operative & Community Finance, and is a satisfied customer.

Suzi Day, Operations Director at Ecosulis, said: “The first loan allowed us to buy out the original owners of the business and become an employee-owned company. That made a big difference. Giving staff a vote is very empowering.

“We put a lot of effort into staff engagement. Because staff are based in different locations we make a point of all meeting at least four times a year for a ‘company day’ in Bath. Staff are also encouraged to make suggestions or express concerns in confidence to an ‘office bot’, and this has led to some significant improvements in working practices.”

Ian Rothwell of The Co-operative Loan Fund said: “This is an established business with an enviable client list and an excellent reputation in a growing market. The staff are very enthusiastic and clearly enjoy their work. We want to help Ecosulis to grow.”

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Awards and growth for care provider

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Award-winning, employee-owned care provider Care and Share Associates (CASA) has completed the first phase of its ambitious plan to more than double its turnover in the next five years. The Co-operative Loan Fund, Co-operative & Community Finance and Big Issue Invest are providing finance following an innovative restructuring of the business.

CASA provides domiciliary care in some of the largest metropolitan areas in the north of England, including Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Warrington, Knowsley and North Tyneside. It works closely with local authorities and commissioners to deliver home-based health and social care services to older people, disabled people and those with learning difficulties.

With over 700 employees and it delivers over 16,000 home visits per week to some 1,000 clients. Its bold business plan for the next five years is to grow from £10.5m to £25m turnover, generating profits of £1.5m a year.

CASA started in 2004 with the aim of replicating the success of Sunderland Home Care Associates, the longest running and possibly best known employee-owned care provider. Until 2014 each CASA base – in Manchester, Knowsley, North Tyneside etc – was an independent company operating as part of a franchise.

During 2014 the whole operation was restructured to create a single employee-owned business which started officially on 1 January 2015.

Managing Director Guy Turnbull said: “By combining the franchises into one company we have a much stronger balance sheet, which means that we can bid for larger contracts. The new corporate structure is also more tax efficient and the governance is more transparent, which is essential for an employee-owned business.”

Under the new corporate structure at least 51% of the shares will always be owned by the Employee Ownership Trust but individual workers can also be rewarded with share incentives.

Guy Turnbull said: “We are convinced that employee-ownership makes for better business. Research by the King’s Fund shows that more engaged employees provide a higher standard of care. Also we’ve found in CASA we have lower than average staff turnover which provides better continuity for our clients.”

CASA and Guy himself were recently recognised in the Great British Care Awards: Marie Hedley and Karl Lamb won regional awards in the category of Home Care Worker and Guy won the Outstanding Contribution to Social Care Award for the North East region. They will go through to the national finals in spring 2016.

Ian Rothwell of Co-operative & Community Finance said: “CASA is an innovative and professional business operating in a difficult and changing market. They have borrowed from us on several occasions to help their business adapt and grow.”

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Behind the scenes at Sutcliffe Play

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Upton based Sutcliffe Play, the UK’s first and only employee-owned playground equipment company, is holding its second Home Show exhibition following the success of its first event last year.

The Home Show exhibition will take place on 8-9 September 2014 at the company’s factory in Upton and will give customers a behind the scenes look at what makes the company tick, let them preview exciting new products and attend seminars led by leading play experts.

As part of the exhibition the company will be installing new play spaces around its factory allowing guests to see first-hand the play value Sutcliffe Play’s innovative equipment brings.

Martin Griffin, Managing Director of Sutcliffe Play comments:

We’ve organised the Home Show to provide customers with a unique insight into the design and manufacture process at Sutcliffe Play. It will allow us to showcase our knowledge and expertise in manufacturing, as well as strengthening our relationships with our valued customers.  We take pride in our work and we’re delighted to be opening the doors to customers from as far away as India and the USA.

During the two days Sutcliffe Play be holding factory tours, visits to local playgrounds and hosting a series of seminars.  Seminars include:

  • Tim Gill, one of the UK’s leading thinkers on childhood and author of  ’No Fear – Growing up in a Risk Averse Society’, will be presenting on ‘Evidence for Play’
  • Simon Carson, Sutcliffe Schools Education Sales Manager, willbe speaking on ‘Fundamental Movement Skills’
  • Tom Matthews, Sutcliffe Play Sales Director, will be touching on ‘Risk Benefit Analysis – Success!’

Martin concludes:

The Home Show is the perfect opportunity for Sutcliffe Play to ensure we are front of mind with all of our customers.  We believe it will place us in an excellent position to build on current relationships and help us to grow the company.

Seminar numbers are limited. If you would like to attend the Home Show please email info@sutcliffeplay.co.uk or call 01977 653 200.

Read more about Sutcliffe Play, and how we helped them, in our case study >>>>

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Newcastle Home Care

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Home Care Staff

The Co-operative Loan Fund helped an employee-owned care provider to smooth the financial highs and lows of rapid growth.  The workload and staffing of Newcastle Home Care Associates (NHCA) doubled since it successfully re-tendered to provide services to the local authority in August 2012.  It is contracted to provide 2,600 hours of care a week.

NHCA is also one of just two care providers in Newcastle to have secured a place on the new End of Life framework which has just been introduced.  This is expected to result in additional work.

The total number of employees has increased from 60 to 152 (both full and part time) in the last 12 months.  The staff will benefit directly from the success of NHCA because it is employee-owned.

NHCA, established in 2006, is one of several employee-owned home care enterprises set up to replicate the expertise and experience of the highly successful Sunderland Home Care Associates.

Linda Robson, Manager of NHCA, said: “The loan has been a great big help.  We’re doing more work but the money doesn’t come in at the same time as we need to pay our staff.”

Ian Taylor of The Co-operative Loan Fund said: “Employee-owned home care businesses are a beacon of best practice in a sector that has a reputation for poor working conditions.  We are pleased that we have been able to help Newcastle and some of the others with loans to help them grow.”

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School Trends

School Trends' purpose-built head office (interior)

One of the UK’s leading suppliers of decorated school uniform, which is employee-owned, has bought back the freehold of its headquarters for less than it sold it for nine years ago.  Co-operative & Community Finance made one of its largest-ever loans to help Sheffield-based School Trends to raise the funds to complete the purchase.

School Trends supplies over 5,000 schools throughout the UK with personalised school uniforms.  The business started in 1988 and grew rapidly. The founders believed in a participative work culture and in 2004 the company became employee owned.

There are now 125 employees mainly based at the company’s office in Westfield near Sheffield which was purpose built in 2003. The building has a 48,500 sq ft warehouse, industrial and office space on a site of 2.22 acres. School Trends sold the building to a commercial landlord in 2004 and then leased it back. Proceeds from the sale helped to finance the employee ownership process.

School Trends has just bought back the building and acquired the freehold and, due to the substantial drop in property values, it has been a positive move. The mortgage and loan repayments are slightly less than it was paying in rent and the business has gained a valuable asset.

Co-operative and Community Finance drew on the ICO Fund plc and the Co-operative Loan Fund, which it manages, to provide finance towards the deposit.

Ian Taylor, C&CF’s Investment Manager, said:“We were pleased to help School Trends complete a purchase which will help the company to benefit from future investment opportunities. The moderate savings made by the purchase are an unexpected but welcome benefit.”

Daran Brown, Managing Director of School Trends, commented: “It’s been great working with a like-minded organisation on this opportunity and we couldn’t have brought the building back without ICOF’s invaluable support.”

Blazers for secondary school students supplied by School TrendsBlazers for secondary school students supplied by School Trends
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Leading Scottish home care business set for further growth

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One of the leading providers of home care in Scotland is set for further growth thanks to a refinancing package involving three ethical lenders.  Loans The Co-operative Loan Fund,  Co-operative & Community Finance, and Big Issue Invest have given Highland Home Carers, an employee-owned business with nearly 250 staff, the capacity and incentive to win more contracts across the Scottish Highlands.

Highland Home Carers provides care and support for elderly, disabled and vulnerable people to allow them to remain in their own homes and retain their independence.  Its commitment to excellence has been recognised by several awards in recent years.  In 2011 it picked up two awards at the Scottish Care National Awards and it also won the Global Energy Award for Excellence in People Development leading the Scottish Social Services Council to comment: “Highland Home Carers are at the cutting edge of the changing face of social care – taking it away from institutions and placing it firmly in the communities where clients want to remain.”

Highland Home Carers started in 1994 and in 2004 became an employee-owned business, with advice and financial assistance from the Baxi Partnership Trust.  In the last two years staffing has increased by over 50% and turnover has topped £3m.

Managing Director Stephen Pennington said: “The new loans have allowed us to repay Baxi.  We are a much bigger business than we were eight years ago, and also interest rates have gone down.  It made sense for us to restructure our finances and we’ll be much stronger for future growth.”

Highland Home Carers remains fully committed to the principle of employee ownership and Stephen Pennington would like to see more employee-owned care businesses in Scotland.  He said: “We believe that if staff have an investment in what they are doing, they are more likely to want to do it to the best of their ability.  Our view is that employee ownership can improve staff recruitment and retention rates in a field in which these figures can be poor.”

Our loan adviser Ian Taylor said: “The sympathetic lending from the Co-operative Loan Fund, Co-operative & Community Finance and Big Issue Invest has enabled this employee-owned business to restructure its finances when other lenders had been unwilling to help.  The new finance package better suits Highland Home Carers’ plans for growth and development, allowing them to tender for new contracts with confidence.”

He added: “I was impressed by the obvious commitment they have to providing the highest quality services.  Highland Home Carers has become the first choice provider for local authorities in the Highlands.  They are brand leaders outperforming the large private companies.”

For more information visit: highland-home-carers.co.uk

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Sutcliffle Play

The Co-operative Loan Fund worked with other specialist lenders to help the employees of a leading manufacturer of playground equipment to buy the business.

Sutcliffe Play, based in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, is well known for its design-led, child-centered, innovative outdoor play equipment. It supplies local authorities and other customers all over the UK and has distributors in various European countries and Japan.

Sutcliffe Play employs 90 people. It was set up as a family firm in 1947, but for many years the chairman and majority shareholder Robin Sutcliffe has been wanting to transfer ownership to the workforce.

“Employee ownership has been a dream for almost 50 years,” said Robin Sutcliffe. “From the day I joined the family business my ultimate aim was to one day hand the reigns of our business to its employees.

In my experience, employees get as much satisfaction out of their jobs through meaningful involvement in a company as they do from financial gain. Employee ownership motivates and provides a level of commitment that is unusual in privately owned companies.”

Co-operative and Community Finance, which manages the Co-operative Loan Fund, worked with Baxi Partnership to co-finance this employee buyout.

Ian Taylor of Co-operative and Community Finance visited Sutcliffe Play and assessed the proposal for the employee buyout in detail.

“I was impressed with everything I saw,” he said. “Sutcliffe Play is a very professional and well managed business and I think it’s going to get even better when it’s employee-owned. It’s my experience that manufacturing businesses in particular benefit from the greater trust and transparency that employee-ownership and co-operative management bring.”

The transfer of ownership was completed on 8 April 2010 after complex legal and financial arrangements. The majority of shares are now held by an employee benefit trust on behalf of all the employees. In addition, most of the employees have personally invested in shares.

The board now includes an employee representative as well as the former directors. There is also a new employee ownership council comprising six elected workers (three shop floor and three office staff) and one representative from the board. The council meets regularly with the board.

For further information about Sutcliffe Play visit: www.sutcliffeplay.co.uk

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West Highland Free Press

West Highlands Free Press has become theUK’s only employee-owned newspaper, after a loan was approved from the Co-operative Loan Fund and ICO Fund PLC to support an employee buyout. With the help of Co-operative and Community Finance and the Baxi Partnership, West Highlands Free Press is now owned by ten of its employees who will ensure the paper continues to remain independent and rooted in the community.

The paper was founded by five friends in 1972 as a left-wing weekly newspaper, but with the principal objective of providing its immediate circulation area with the service that a local paper is expected to provide. It carries the masthead An Tir, an Canan, ‘sna Daoine – ‘The Land, the Language and the People’ and this is something that the five original shareholders wanted to abide by when putting the paper up for sale.

Rather than selling the business on the open market, which founder Brian Wilson explains was “never an option”; they approached the employees of West Highland Free Press to see whether they would be interested in buying the company’s shares.

Ten employees now own and run the business, and the creation of an employee benefits trust will ensure that the paper continues to run at the heart of the community.

Brian Wilson, the paper’s founding editor and still an active contributor to the paper, said:  “This was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. We wanted the paper to remain independent while offering a great opportunity to the employees who have served it loyally.

Paul Wood, Director of the paper said: “The successful move to employee ownership marks a significant achievement for the staff of the Free Press and an apt reward for the hard work, skill and loyalty they have shown the company.”

Ian Taylor of Co-operative and Community Finance said:

“West Highlands Free Press is a fine example to show how employee buyouts can increase the motivation and job satisfaction of staff. For this company, employee-ownership was the only business model which would enable the paper to continue running at the centre of its community and ensure all members of staff job security.”

Staff at the Free Press are excited about the buyout as editor Ian McCormack explains: “We will work to ensure that the main aim of the company remains the publication of a top-class newspaper with first-rate staff writers, photographer, production and advertising and admin people as well as some of the best columnists inScotland.”

In addition to the weekly newspaper, West Highland Free Press also produces an annual publication known as ‘The Visitor’ which provides information about places to see and things to do in theWest Highlands.

For further information about WestHighlandFree Press visit: www.whfp.co.uk