Employee ownership trust
32
MENTIONS
10
EPISODES
9
PODCASTS
Search complete. 32 mentions across 10 episodes found for "Employee ownership trust".
Nov 9, 2026
Kevin HarringtonGUEST
Yeah, that's good.
Kevin HarringtonGUEST
We've seen this and it's getting effectively the employee ownership trust and the leadership team are the new people running a business.
Kevin HarringtonGUEST
Can they do it? So the thing to focus on, I'm a big fan of the OTs and the MIs.
Kevin HarringtonGUEST
They're not for everyone, but done properly, they're hugely valuable.
Mike PalmieriHOST
Along the way, we also discuss the stakeholder and its evolution, opportunities to connect employee ownership with other movements focused on changing how businesses operate, and some of the challenges that we see on the horizon, including the implications of artificial intelligence for workers and business ownership.
Mike PalmieriHOST
As I mentioned at the top of the show, Mark is a returning guest to the Owners at Work podcast, having previously joined us for a discussion on employee ownership trusts.
Mike PalmieriHOST
His background spans community development, impact investing, public policy, and academic research.
Mike PalmieriHOST
Now, I've known Mark for several years, had the opportunity to collaborate on a number of projects with him, and he's always someone who's thinking about where the field is heading and how we might expand its reach.
Mike PalmieriHOST
Promise to all the listeners this won't be a love fest, though me and Mark do both enjoy each other, enjoy our work, so it'll be a great episode.
Mike PalmieriHOST
Mark, I think you are one of our few returning guests in the Owners at Work universe, so thanks again for coming back on.
Mike PalmieriHOST
I think the last time you were on, you were on the episode about Employee Ownership Trusts and the Purpose Trust Ownership Network, so definitely encourage anyone listening now to...
Mike PalmieriHOST
Go back into the archives and check that one out.
Matt HelmerHOST
So we've got two worker-owned cooperatives in the care sector, so we're doubling down on care work because None of us would be here without the important work that care workers do.
Matt HelmerHOST
And then finally, we have Kati Yanez, the People Lead at Elk Aquatic Swim School and Employee Ownership Trust out of Florida.
Matt HelmerHOST
So I'd like to get started by having you all just tell me a little bit, tell the audience a little bit about your company, what you do there.
Matt HelmerHOST
And, you know, I think to like start, maybe tell us a little bit about what you tell your family, friends, or people maybe you've just met about what it means to be an employee owner.
Kati YanezGUEST
We have five indoor warm water beautiful facilities in Miami and about 150 team members.
Kati YanezGUEST
We have been teaching swimming lessons to babies, children, and adults since 1994.
Kati YanezGUEST
And in March of 2024, we became 100% employee-owned through an employee ownership trust.
Kati YanezGUEST
And we're also certified as a big corporation.
Barry HornerHOST
Harriet is a trailblazer in ethical business and was the first designer globally to be certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council and spearheaded the launch of Fairtrade Gold.
Barry HornerHOST
After building a highly respected brand over two decades, in 2025, Harriet made a visionary move to secure its long-term future by transitioning the business into an employee ownership trust.
Barry HornerHOST
a former chair of the National Association of Jewellers and a fierce advocate for creative entrepreneurship, Harriet continues to champion the artisan sector whilst mentoring the next generation of business owners.
Barry HornerHOST
In this episode, we will explore the unique intersection of creativity, craft, and business governance.
22 MINS LATER
Harriet KelsallGUEST
And so those things were kind of rumbling around in my head.
Harriet KelsallGUEST
And then I thought, you know what, maybe I just need to look at this more seriously.
Harriet KelsallGUEST
And then I searched the internet and um and found a webinar um by somebody uh emily from baxendale and then um ali price who's an accountant who coincidentally had been our accountant three years previously and then she left the firm and they were talking about employee ownership trusts and i thought oh my goodness there we were thinking about this and i've literally been put in front of somebody i know and trust who is an expert in this right now? And so we phoned and got in touch and then learned more about it.
Harriet KelsallGUEST
So that's sort of how it all came about.
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
Or eventually it could become I know in your in your business.
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
In your community, EOT, Employee Ownership Trust, is an option.
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
EOT and Management Buyout or ESOP is Employee Stock Ownership Plan managed by our government regulations.
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
And so there's options on the second exit, but it's sort of like...
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
What I see is in the chessboard or checkerboard, people are only taking one step.
13 MINS LATER
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
Yeah.
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
Could be a private equity group, et cetera.
Laurie BarkmanGUEST
Could be an EOT is a mechanism of a financial transaction and then a financial buyer.
Peter NowakHOST
That voice off the top there was Craig Busch, owner and founder of Bush Systems, a company based in Barrie, Ontario that makes commercial recycling and waste containers.
Peter NowakHOST
In February this year, Bush began transitioning his company into an Employee Ownership Trust, or an EOT, a relatively new business structure in Canada that allows owners to sell their companies to their employees via a trust.
Peter NowakHOST
There are many ways these trusts can be organized, but for the most part, they exist to allow current employees of a company to own shares and benefit in the success of that company without having to buy those shares outright directly.
Peter NowakHOST
Bush Systems is just the seventh Canadian company to convert into an EOT, but many more are expected.
Robert PostlethwaiteGUEST
I don't think anyone can explain it.
Robert PostlethwaiteGUEST
The then chancellor of the ECFCA, who was in charge of making tax changes, created a budget in November 2025, which changed the tax incentive so that instead of paying 0% capital gains tax, you paid 50% of your gain will be subject to the tax.
Robert PostlethwaiteGUEST
I don't actually believe she knew she was making that change, possibly didn't even know what an employee ownership trust was.
Robert PostlethwaiteGUEST
But she had people in her team who told her that this needed to be done because the government was looking for every possible way it could to increase their tax revenues.
Miren OcaGUEST
I didn't want this to be done when I was done.
Miren OcaGUEST
And the one instrument that really checked all those boxes for me were the Employee Ownership Trust.
Loren FeldmanHOST
Well, let's go through the others first.
Miren OcaGUEST
Yes.
7 MINS LATER
Miren OcaGUEST
So I really like that.
Miren OcaGUEST
And that ultimately is what got me to go that route.
Loren FeldmanHOST
Obviously, not everybody knows what an employee ownership trust is.
Loren FeldmanHOST
They do not have the awareness level that ESOPs do.
Barry HornerHOST
My guest today is a strategist, facilitator, coach, and the founder of Diga Strategy and Communications, a leading communications agency working with some of the most influential nonprofits, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Chatham House.
Barry HornerHOST
Amy's a former journalist for The Times and The Mail on Sunday, who spent over a decade building Diga into a powerhouse for social impact storytelling, before in 2023 selling 75% of the business to an employee ownership trust.
Barry HornerHOST
Having successfully completed a seamless leadership transition in 2025, Amy now serves as chair of the board whilst running her own strategic coaching practice at amybarry.com.
Barry HornerHOST
In this episode, we'll discuss Amy's firsthand experience in navigating the emotional and practical realities of succession planning, what it takes to protect a company's mission, and how an EOT can unlock a team's true collective potential.
FranziskaHOST
So along this journey, you've made some really ballsy decisions.
FranziskaHOST
And one of them is that you moved your company into an employee ownership trust.
FranziskaHOST
Yes.
FranziskaHOST
Two years ago.
Miren OcaGUEST
I did it on our 30 year anniversary and I transitioned 100.
Miren OcaGUEST
I sold 100% of my business to a trust.
Miren OcaGUEST
the Employee Ownership Trust.
Miren OcaGUEST
And I could have taken out bank financing or gotten a loan for the note, but instead I chose to hold 100% seller financing.
Nick WrightHOST
Yeah.
Ryan WilkinsonGUEST
So an EOT is an employee ownership trust, which is effectively a succession vehicle for trading businesses.
Ryan WilkinsonGUEST
Often one of the main reasons that people want to use EOTs is because it allows the culture and the team.
Ryan WilkinsonGUEST
There's not, there's not effectively new owners that come in and can change-
Ryan WilkinsonGUEST
... a controlling interest.
Ryan WilkinsonGUEST
Um, and they hold those shares for the benefit of the employee workforce.
Ryan WilkinsonGUEST
And the i- it's, the idea of the employee ownership trust is that all employees benefit on the same terms in, in a relatively fair-
Nick WrightHOST
Yeah