Employee ownership sector to receive £50m boost

Budget 2013: The government has announced it will provide £50 million annually from 2014-2015 to incentivise the growth of the employee ownership sector.

In its 2013 Budget, the government said this will be used to respond to recommendations from the Nuttall Review and other relevant organisations that aim to encourage employee ownership.

Iain Hasdell, chief executive officer at the Employee Ownership Association, said: “We welcome the commitment to provide £50 million per year from next year to fund the introduction of a capital gains tax (CGT) relief on the sale of businesses into employee ownership, and to promote and progress the development of employee ownership ‘in a box’ to make it easier for people to adopt the model.

“While it is great to see this new financial support for organisations that want to empower and engage their workforce, it’s disappointing that we have to wait a year for the promised finance, while the now infamous rights-for-shares scheme begins imminently,” said Hasdell.