In summer 2018, the Castle made a bold decision: to become an employee owned business.
How’d it all start?
In 2018, the Employees Benefit Trust (EBT) was established by Steve Taylor, the Chairman of the Castle. This decision fits in with our long-standing commitment to sustainability and longevity as a business – both environmentally and socially. In its first year, the EBT has focussed on staff welfare, progressing upgrades to the staff room, setting up a hardship fund for those who find themselves in need, and representing staff interests at board meetings. At the end of 2019, they will be distributing dividends from the shares that the EBT hold within the company.
How Does It Work?
Currently, the EBT has a 2% share. The Castle gifted the funds to allow the EBT to buy this initial 2% share from existing shareholders. This has allowed the EBT to begin its work. We’re starting this process slow and steady, but each year more and more shares will be bought by the EBT. The goal is that this figure will to rise to 30% employee ownership.
The EBT gathers staff opinions regularly, from surveys to the trustees engaging with staff regularly, to ensure they’re acting in the interests of the majority of employees.
Who is it?
Currently the Employee Benefit Trust is managed by six trustees who are all Castle employees: Victoria Power, Gordon Wright, Leona Waite, Duncan Exley, Anna Beam and Steve Taylor, the Chairman of the Castle. Gordon Wright is also the EBT Director, meaning he is an elected representative to sit on the board of the Castle.
Employee Trustees will generally be elected by the Castle staff and re-elections will occur every 2 years.
Why is it important?
The purpose of the Trust is to ensure that the people who make the Castle great, whose hard work ensures its success, get to share the benefits. It puts the staff and the people front and centre, protecting and promoting their interests. Ultimately, it preserves the ethos that the company was built on and ensures a positive legacy for everyone who contributes. Through the trust, everyone who works here knows they have a stake in the company – they are all owners!
