A leading Welsh communications agency is being acquired by its employees. Cardiff-based Orchard Media and Events Group is setting up an employee ownership trust (EOT) and putting the business in the hands of its 70-strong team to protect its future independence.
Orchard has been providing a range of creative communications services to clients, including the Welsh Government, Principality Building Society, Aston Martin and Qatar Airway, for the last 14 years. It also creates corporate and public events for NATO, UEFA, and Johnson & Johnson, as well as programmes for BBC, S4C, Channel 4, and National Geographic.
With the original founders exiting, the ownership of the business will be transferred to Orchard’s staff from October 1st this year via an EOT. Current shareholders will be reimbursed over time, proportionate to the financial performance of the agency, which will also influence the level of bonuses available to employees.
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Orchard co-founder and outgoing operations director Al Wilson said: “When we looked at the options for succession planning, the EOT model stood out for us as a way to repay the hard work and commitment of the team here, and give them this huge opportunity to take Orchard into an exciting future. The ethos behind EOTs aligns well with the values we’ve nurtured in the company, and we know that the leadership and wider team are the people best placed to benefit from its future success.
“We‘re grateful to Andrew Evans at Geldards and Paul Cantrill, a corporate advisor with Cwmpas for their specialist EOT knowledge and invaluable support in getting us to this point.”
Geldards partner Mr Evans said: "Geldards is delighted to be trusted with advising on the transition of Orchard to employee ownership. The shareholders, management team and employees have been very receptive to the idea of employee ownership and a desire to adopt “best practice” in terms of employee engagement to make the transition a success and the basis for future growth in the business.”
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While ownership changes, it’s very much business as usual for the agency, with the current senior management team keeping hold of the reins, and a new group board bringing the skills and experience of a number of senior corporate figures to drive the firm’s strategic direction.
Joint chief executive Jim Carpenter said: “We’ve had a great reaction to the news from the team that’s built the business - they recognise the EOT protects Orchard’s independence, sustains our successful working practices and values that might have been compromised in a trade sale, and avoids businesses coming in from outside to asset-strip the company.”
The Welsh Government is looking to double the number of businesses in Wales that are employee-owned by 2026 (from 2022), and supports the employee ownership Wales service at development agency Cwmpas.