Our highly experienced corporate and commercial team at Ramsdens are trusted Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) solicitors who can advise you on all aspects of EOTs.
Our specialist EOT legal advisors can guide you and your business through the process from start to finish, informing your board and shareholders how the EOT set up process works as well as helping you select a structure that precisely suits your particular organisation.
What is an Employee Ownership Trust or EOT?
An EOT is a trust that enables a company to pass ownership to its employees. It can be set up by a company’s current owners, or by the founders of a new business which they want to be employee-owned. The device is often used as part of an exit or succession planning strategy.
What are the benefits?
The popularity of EOTs has been growing in recent years as they can offer an attractive alternative to a traditional sale. An EOT gives employees a financial interest in their future and increases their opportunities to engage with the business.
This often results in greater productivity and profitability, and can assist in the recruitment and retention of employees. For business owners, there can also be generous tax reliefs associated with an EOT, if it is properly structured. That’s where experienced EOT solicitors come in.
We have advised many owner-managers on the sale of their shares to an EOT, ranging in value from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of pounds. We can help you identify the most tax-effective and appropriate means to achieve an exit from your business, utilising an EOT mechanism to attract, retain and motivate your employees.
By gaining a full understanding of what you want to achieve, and how that fits with your plans for the future of the business, our EOT specialists in Ramsdens’ corporate and commercial team will look at all the available options and help you decide which one is right for you. As a full-service law firm, we can help with any ancillary legal matters too.
