The Sunday Times 8th Feb 2015

The Sunday Times Business Section, 8 Feb 2015

We all deserve a slice of the company cake

Productivity and profits rise when owners give their staff a financial stake by Kiki Loizou

After owning their thriving cake business for 16 years, Emma and Matthew Goss-Custard are ready to share a large slice of it with their staff.

"We have always thought about becoming an employee-owned business because we want to build something for the long term," says Emma, 42. "The dictatorship that you often get (in a business) doesn't suit us at all."

She and Matthew, 45, are keen to explore how to give their growing team a stake in the company, which supplies gluten-free goodies to retailers including Waitrose and John Lewis.

Revenues for the Dorset-based business have grown at a steady 15% annually for seven years, and the couple expect to add six more staff to their 28-strong team during 2015.

They are joining the growing band of business owners who are giving equity to workers. Research by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) suggests there was a near-10% rise last year in the number of companies with shares held by staff.

(Extract from full article)