Scottish company acts to give staff a voice
A Scottish company that is near 150 years old has revealed a move to employee ownership, flagging the effect of retaining independence and “safeguarding” staff in a sector in which it noted many businesses are acquired by larger competitors or outside investors.
Scottish premium bakery and confectionery ingredients supplier R&W Scott, based at Carluke in Lanarkshire, was the subject of a management buyout by its current leadership team from
Real Good Food in 2018.
The company said yesterday that this team had “delivered on their five-year growth plan to arrest losses, safeguard employment, and achieve annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of £2 million”.
R&W Scott announced that, from July 8, it “will be operating under an employee ownership trust”, declaring: “Under this new structure, all the company shares are acquired by the EOT for the benefit of employees – allowing R&W Scott staff to participate in and influence the company’s future direction without having to directly own or buy shares.”
It added: “The decision to create this new structure was driven by the desire to sustain the company’s independence and recognise that R&W Scott’s success was built upon the hard work and commitment of employees.”
Clare Mcneil, commercial director of R&W Scott, said: “Many businesses in our sector are acquired by larger competitors or outside investors as they grow. To safeguard employment here and continue to deliver sustainable growth, we’ve created the R&W Scott Employee Ownership Trust.
“Since we bought the business in 2018, we’ve delivered year-on-year growth, and our plan is to maintain that trajectory for the long-term benefit of our employees.”
R&W Scott said that, operationally, its senior leadership team, including managing director Stephen Currie, Ms Mcneil and finance director Michael Hewitt, will continue to oversee the day-to-day operations.