Lyneal Group, which operates employee benefits firms mystaffshop.com and myhealthxtras.co.uk, has formed the Lyneal Group Employee Ownership Trust in a £10.5 million deal.
The trust will have ownership of the entire issued share capital of Lyneal Group, with all 28 employees having a beneficial interest. It was advised by KMBA, Claritas Tax and Jamie Hawley at Aaron and Partners throughout the transaction.
Current managing director Jon Pardoe will remain in an advisory capacity until December, while the existing senior management team (pictured above) of Jonathan Breakell, David Cartlidge, Gemma Googan and Martin Jones will remain in place. Cartlidge and Jones will be joined by an independent trustee, Lord Taylor of Goss Moor, as chair, as well as Ian Mclean of Gee 7 Wealth and an employee representative.
According to the group, the trust offers staff the sense of having a real stake in the business' direction and growth, while being accountable to each other. Employees within the trust can benefit from an annual tax-free bonus of up to £3,600.
Cartlidge, who has been with the firm since its inception in 2011 when he built the original My Staff Shop website, said: “Years of dedication and innovation has made our company the success it is today. It feels fitting that the current employees will now be the beneficiaries of that hard work, providing world class benefits packages for our clients' employees. This really is the ultimate employee reward programme, for employees, by employees! We can already see the impact of bringing the team closer together.”
The business currently offers its employees gym discounts, an employee assistance programme (EAP), a health and wellness insurance plan, employer-funded 6% pension contribution, birthdays off, holiday trading, a Cycle To Work scheme, more holiday days after three years of service and bi-annual away days.
