The founder of Nationwide Fire & Security (UK) ltd, Steve Small and co-owner Jackie Small are handing over control of the successful Fire & Security Company to its employees’ staff, in a move that will give employees cash bonuses and job security.
Steve and Jackie Small have announced to staff that they have transferred 70% of their shares into a John Lewis-style trust.
Steve and Jackie said “We had received several offers from competitors to buy the Company, but were concerned about the future direction of the Company both in terms of the relationship with clients and the future prospects and job security for employees”. This move will give both our employees and clients peace of mind that the Company and its business model will remain in place with no future change in management through any acquisitions or mergers.
The trust will operate according to the principles set by Steve and Jackie over the past 13 years. A board of trustees has been established to represent the interests of employees and shape the company’s future.
Other examples of employee-owned companies
The John Lewis Partnership , which owns the eponymous department stores and Waitrose, is the UK’s biggest employee-owned business with 83,900 employees or “partners”. Pioneering businessman John Spedan Lewis signed away his ownership rights in 1929 to allow future generations to take forward an “experiment in industrial democracy”.
