Outdoor furniture supplier Bramblecrest has announced it has become an employee-owned business.

The Gloucestershire firm, which has a workforce of almost 60 staff, said the majority of shares in the company were now held by a newly established employee ownership trust. The Stroud-based business said the sale, financial details of which were not disclosed, would allow it to remain 鈥渋ndependent, resilient, and sustainably financed鈥.

Its founders, Hugo Douglas-Pennant and Martyn Bell, will keep a minority stake in the business and said they were planning to remain 鈥渁ctive directors鈥 during the transition. The pair added: 鈥淲e are working to ensure that the growth and success we have benefited from to date, is the foundation for further expansion in the years to come. It鈥檚 therefore business as usual as we focus on continuing to do what we do well.鈥

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They added they hoped the move would create 鈥渇resh opportunities and a new energy鈥 at the firm they established in 2000. In its most recent set of financial results, filed on in March, Bramblecrest reported a pre-tax profit of 拢9.6m, as turnover rose by a fifth to 拢51.4m during the year to November 2022, amid 鈥渃ontinued high demand for garden furniture鈥.

The company, which has its headquarters at Aston Down Business Park, sells its range of products through stockists in the 海角视频 and Europe, as well as online.

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