Engineering consulting services business Crookes Walker Consulting (CWC) has become 100% employee owned by establishing an employee ownership trust (EOT).
The organisation, which employs more than 50 members of staff across its offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham, received a business loan from OakNorth Bank to support the EOT’s creation. The new structure allows all employees to share in the business’ success and have more influence over the way it is run.
Founders Paul Crookes and Dave Walker will continue to be involved in the day-to-day running of the business and the board of directors has remained unchanged, with Chris Skinner as chief executive officer, Andy Ringland as chief technology officer, and Steve Plant as chief financial officer. The board and trust will work together to deliver continued growth and development, as well as safeguarding the values that underpin the organisation.
OakNorth Bank was introduced to the transaction by accountancy business Beevers and Struthers.
Paul Crookes and Dave Walker, founders of Crookes Walker Consulting, said: “CWC is a knowledge-based business, with a reputation for teamwork and excellence. We are only as good as the people within the practice, and we wanted to ensure that with any succession plan, their future was not just secured but enhanced.
“Setting up an EOT with the support of OakNorth Bank is the ideal way to achieve both goals whilst helping to attract and retain the best talent in the industry. The experience with OakNorth was genuinely delightful – fast, flexible, and focused.”
Stewart Haworth, director of debt finance at OakNorth Bank, added: “By setting up this EOT, CWC is providing clear direction and certainty for the business, its employees, and clients, and rewarding its staff for their hard work and dedication over the last 18 years. CWC is primed for strong future growth that its employees can now benefit from even more.”
