Can employee ownership protect independent brewers?

Tim and Mark have decided to transfer ownership to an Employe Ownership Trust (EOT).

The trust owns the company and the profits are put back into the business where employees control how those profits are spent, rather than paying shareholders.

It also provides a 50% capital gains tax relief for shareholders disposing of their shares into the trust.

And, for employees. it means they can receive tax-free cash bonuses each year. It is also designed to allow employees to have a say in the future of the business and a feeling they have a bigger stake in its success.

Toby Grattidge, co-managing director of Abbeydale Brewery in Sheffield, which became employee-owned in 2024, said staff turnover had dropped since the change.

“Fundamentally not much has changed at the business but how people approach work and their effort has improved,” he said.

Abbeydale has a board, which includes two elected employees who stay in the roles for two years.

“People are more committed, it’s their money,” said Toby. “From staff feedback, we have since introduced free private healthcare and increased paternity leave. We are a very open book.”

Marya Besharov, from the Said Business School at the University of Oxford, said an EOT “doesn’t guarantee anything”.

She added: “But having a diversity of perspectives and having the people at the front lines of the organisation having a stake in the business are both very powerful ways of generating high performance.”