Greengauge, a building and engineering consultancy specialising in sustainable, low energy design based in Huddersfield in Yorkshire and Bradford upon Avon in Wiltshire, has become employee-owned.
Its founding directors, Hannah Jones and Toby Cambray, have recently taken the bold step of transferring ownership of the company to an Employee Ownership Trust for the benefit of its employees.
This means the employees have a greater say in the business, its strategy and direction as well as the opportunity of financial benefits. John Lewis is probably the best-known example of employee ownership in the UK.
In making this move, Greengauge, which has 16 staff, will enable its employees to have more involvement in how the company works, while also ensuring that the business retains its unique culture and ethos into the future.
Hannah Jones, Managing Director of Greengauge, said: “This is an exciting next step in Greengauge’s journey, ensuring that staff will be integral to the company’s decision-making and benefit from any profits.
“Starting 14 years ago from a houseboat, we have grown exponentially, with our portfolio of services now ranging from MEP design, Passivhaus and AECB design through to certification along with more specialist hygrothermal risk analysis and complex 3D thermal bridge modelling.”
The transfer to an Employee-Owned Trust was supported by Jeremy Kirk of SouthWestFD, which provides financial management and strategic input to Greengauge, along with the legal team Stephens Scown, led by Gavin Poole, and Forth Accountancy, led by Claire Forth.
