Packaging supplier Invopak, part of the Involvement Group, has recently announced that they have become a colleague-owned business through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). It makes a refreshing change in an era where private equity buy-outs, conglomerates and venture capitalists are the norm.
One of the main drivers behind the move is that it ensures that colleagues remain at the heart of the business. As CEO, Arjen Cooper-Rolfe explains, “The transition to colleague-ownership is the ultimate next step for us, as a people-first business. Our parent name, "Involvement", means to be involved or participating in something! So being an EOT is the natural extension of our belief in empowering people.”
It is a business model famously adopted by well-loved brands such as John Lewis and The Entertainer, and marks a significant moment for the family-owned company. As Arjen continues,
“We’ve been on a radical transformation journey already, moving from what was a traditional family-owned business to one where we’re more people-led and team-led. This change is also very important to me because it helps to secure the business for the future. It means that we can protect everything that we’ve built over the last 15 years, and it means that the business has to be run with colleagues' long-term interests at heart.”
“An Employee Ownership Trust means that the ownership structure is secure for the long term, and another really important point is that it secures the way we work, so our approach to our teams, our purpose and our values. It secures that way of working.”
“It’s more of an evolution rather than a revolution, so all the work that we’ve been doing around creating an ownership mindset within the business and people taking on more ownership of things, well this I would see as one of the major benefits because now we’re not just talking about it, we’ve actually done it as well. My colleagues who are now colleague-owners of the business have never been more committed to delivering exceptional customer service and strengthening our supplier partnerships.”