Brickhunter Is Now An Employee Owned Business

On 16 June 2023, after lots of research and reflection by our founder and Managing Director Kev Severn, Brickhunter Ltd was acquired by an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). 

This important decision about the structure of our company was made to protect Brickhunter's values and ensure its future independence. We feel like now is the right time to share the reason behind this decision with our customers, suppliers and partners as we continue to grow into this exciting chapter in the story of our business. 

What this means - at a glance

⦿ We're still here, first and foremost, to help people buy and sell bricks happily - how we do it is just a little different now.

⦿ Our leadership team model remains the same and we're prouder than ever to play our part in keeping Britain building.

⦿ Founder Kev Severn remains Managing Director of Brickhunter Ltd and will continue in his current role providing valuable support and guidance for the future.

⦿ 100% of Brickhunter is in an EOT, benefiting all employees equally.

We're still here, first and foremost, to help people buy and sell bricks happily - how we do it is just a little different now

What is an EOT?

An EOT is effectively an indirect form of employee ownership in which a trust holds a controlling stake in a company on behalf of all its employees. Employees will not directly hold shares in the Company, but they will become beneficiaries of the trust.

When the Government introduced Employee Ownership Trusts in 2014, the legislation was intended to encourage more businesses to adopt the 'John Lewis' ownership model. The John Lewis model gives each employee part-ownership of the company, along with a share of its profits and a say in how the company is run.

An EOT is set up by way of a Trust Deed and is run by a Trustee Company. The Trustee Company has been specially formed with the sole purpose to act as Trustee of the EOT. It has a board of nominated Trustee Directors with an overriding duty to act in the best interests of the employee beneficiaries of the EOT. 

Why employee ownership?

Employee ownership is a gathering movement, seeing growth of around 60% since 2010. Done well, it has demonstrable benefits for staff and business, including higher productivity, greater staff morale, and less debt.

On 16 June 2023, Brickhunter moved into employee ownership. Founder and Managing Director Kev Severn has long seen Brickhunter's purpose as more than just helping people buy and sell bricks happily; since launching the first Brickhunter website in 2006, he has challenged business norms and pushed to change the face of our niche corner of the multi-billion pound construction industry.

And while 100% of the company is now owned by an Employee Trust, it's Kev's goal to have a very active role in the next phase of the Brickhunter journey.

Why it's right for Brickhunter 

Prior to this change, Brickhunter was owned by two shareholders. They have sold all of their shares to the EOT, which was specially formed for the purpose of acquiring those shares, to hold them in trust for the benefit of Brickhunter’s employees.

For Brickhunter, employee ownership is a really positive move. The benefits to our business and its people are:

1 To protect Brickhunter's values - forever

The trust model Brickhunter is adopting locks in the values that the business was founded on and has pursued for over 20 years, notably:

⦿ Giving a fair deal to staff, suppliers, customers and partners

⦿ A commitment to helping people buy and sell bricks happily

⦿ Long-term relationships of trust with all of our stakeholders

2 To ensure long-term independence

Brickhunter's model of employee ownership makes it virtually impossible for the business to be sold. The overriding intention behind setting up the EOT was to provide a long-term structure for employee-ownership; the main aim, going forward, is for Brickhunter employees to continue to nurture and grow the business.

With his working-class roots, commitment to innovation and deep-rooted responsibility to his people, Kev has never aspired to risky exponential growth for Brickhunter. Instead he has focussed on growing the business steadily, organically, with minimum debt and 100% devotion to its underlying values and brand consistency. 

Maintaining our independence will help us continue to do the same - together - for the long term.

3 To retain and attract the best people for the job

Brickhunter's employees are the people who are most passionately interested in its values - after all, they are best placed to achieve the commercial success necessary to promote those values. Therefore, they are the people who should also reap the rewards.

But don't worry, we haven't gone all 'touchy-feely' here - that's not really the Brickhunter way! Our belief (supported by extensive research) is that employee ownership can deliver commercial as well as emotional benefits: higher productivity, lower attrition, better morale, greater resilience, and less debt.

There is plenty to play for in our industry today, and we are very much here to compete.

Brickhunter's employees are the people who are most passionately interested in its values - therefore, they are the people who should reap the rewards of its commercial success

What it means for our culture

Employee ownership has created a culture where we’re driven to think bigger and empowered to challenge convention. At Brickhunter, we’re not afraid to rewrite the rule book when it comes to creating the best solutions for our partners and customers - so why should it be any different when it comes to our own people?

Core EOT principles have been rooted at the heart of Brickhunter since we were founded in 2006. Our vision was to create a workplace where people are consistently inspired to do their very best for our business, for our customers and suppliers, and for each other.

This mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can – and often do – achieve.

Our relatively flat structure and intrinsic entrepreneurial spirit creates an environment where our people are free to be the best version of themselves. It's helped us attract some of the best people our industry has to offer so far, and we know that this new business model will help us continue on the same path.

The business bit

Since 2010, employee ownership has seen growth of around 60%; there are now more than 2,000 employee-owned businesses in the UK. And, according to the European Federation of Employed Shareholders (EFES), 1,756 UK companies have passed ownership to their 124,000 employees via EOTs as of July 2024. The EFES also reports that about 6% of UK business transfers 2024 were through EOTs. Half that growth has been since 2014, when the government introduced Employee Ownership Trust tax incentives. 

Like around half of all UK businesses going into employee ownership, Kev, working with the Board and a staff representative, opted for a trust model - where shares are held in trust for all staff equally - rather than a direct ownership model.

Brickhunter's board is currently made up of a group of trusted appointed, employee and independent Trustee Directors, who are responsible for acting as guardians for the employees interests within Brickhunter Ltd. Their purpose is to ensure that the company is run in a way that benefits its employees, and operates with the aim of long-term business sustainability.