The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Cardiff & District Law Society have joined forces with the ‘Think Employee Ownership’ campaign to promote employee ownership amongst professional advisers in Wales.

The Think Employee Ownership campaign is being delivered by Social Business Wales to raise awareness of employee ownership as an attractive and viable business succession model. With generous tax reliefs available and the Employee Ownership Index outperforming the FTSE ALL Share by an average of 14 per cent per annum, this is the fastest growing form of business ownership in the UK and there is a growing appetite for this business succession model.

The partners are coming together to raise awareness of the important role professional advisers play in informing clients about employee ownership as a business succession model and increase the number of firms offering specialist guidance in this area. Events will take place in September for members of the legal, accounting and banking professions to help them understand more about the growing popularity of employee ownership.

Glenn Bowen, Director of Enterprise, Social Business Wales, which is running the Think Employee Ownership team at Social Business Wales, said:

“Employee Ownership is a concept which is gaining momentum across the UK, the benefit for Wales being that it is a succession option which helps keep jobs and wealth in the community for the long-term, and it also creates higher levels of staff wellbeing and productivity.

“Our partnership with ICAEW and the Cardiff & District Law Society will enable us to raise professional advisers’ awareness of the advantages of this model of business succession. And increasing the number of firms which are able to offer in-depth specialist guidance on employee ownership to their clients will greatly benefit businesses all across Wales.”

Martin Warren, ICAEW Regional Director for Wales, said:

“Employee owned organisations have proven to be highly successful in recent years with the sector growing by 60 per cent between 2010 and 2017. We welcome the opportunity to raise awareness across accountants and advisers in Wales of employee ownership as a potential business structure. Ultimately a business needs to choose the model which helps it achieve its objectives. It is important that accountants are well placed to inform clients on both the risks and opportunities, so they can make the right decision for their business.”

Steve Roberts, President of the Cardiff & District Law Society, added:

“For any business, getting the right advice is essential. We want to ensure that as professional advisers, solicitors in Wales understand the particular needs of employee-owned businesses, as well as any specific challenges they face, and can provide the advice and support to help them thrive in the long term.”

Solicitors, accountants, advisers and business owners can register their interest for the events in September by emailing: [email protected]

For more information about the Think Employee Ownership campaign visit wales.coop/think-employee-ownership or call 0300 111 5050.