Clegg Group sells majority stake to employee trust

A total of three of Nottingham, UK-based contractor Clegg Group’s main shareholders have sold a 51% stake in the business to an employee ownership trust.

The group, which also has offices in Leeds and Cambridge, comprises trading subsidiaries Clegg Construction and Clegg Food Projects, the latter of which specialises in the design and construction of food and drink buildings and has completed projects worth £700 million.

Clegg Construction, which was established in the 1930s, delivers public and private sector work and operates across a range of sectors including education, accommodation, commercial, mixed use, framework, industrial, public sector, retail and car showrooms, leisure and healthcare.

Keith Anderson, Simon Blackburn and Stephen Giltrap, who are the previous major shareholders and were involved in a management buyout of the business back in 2007, will retain a minority holding and continue their operational roles within the group, which employs more than 100 members of staff.

The trust will be represented by a corporate body, which will be led by an independent trustee and representatives from the employees and the board. The group was advised by law firm Browne Jacobson and accounting firms network RSM.

Group commercial director Anderson explained that the employee ownership route will allow the business to provide opportunities for succession from within the internal management team over the coming years, which is an ethos that has been encouraged within the group over the past 50 years.

He explained that the group has weathered the past 18 months well and is in a good position to capitalise on the levels of trading currently being experienced.

“The group will post a strong set of results to December 2021 based on an expected turnover of £115 million. Carry forward workload into 2022 is also looking particularly positive, and expectations are that revenue will increase to around £130 million,” Anderson said.