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EFES NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 2025
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Employee
ownership in SMEs in 2025
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In some parts of Europe, we are fast approaching the
figure of one employee-owned SME in ten.
In 2024 in the UK, eight out of every one hundred business
transfers were going to the employees, so the level
of one in ten is very close. Every day, almost two SMEs
are transferred to employees, and in most cases, it's
a 100% transfer. There are far fewer cases where former
owners choose to retain a stake in the company. The
average company size transferred to employees was 58
employees in 2024, compared with 69 previously. As a
result, the model is winning over increasingly broad
categories of SMEs.
Will the proportion of 1/10 be reached by 2025, or even
exceeded? We'll be keeping a close eye on this.
What is certain is that, for the first time in the world,
employee ownership in SMEs is no longer a matter of
experimentation, system designers, Professors Calculus,
or other gurus. To the museum with all that! No longer
a fringe phenomenon, no longer an anecdote, employee
ownership is now being established as a pillar of the
mass economy, that of SMEs as a whole.
This success is based on a very specific employee ownership
formula, the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). The EOT
is by far the best choice, thanks to its simplicity
and adaptability. It's not just one model, but a whole
range, with a multitude of options. Clearly, that's
its strength.
If we compare the number of business transfers to employees
in 2024, we can see that in Great Britain alone, there
were twice as many transfers in the form of EOT as in
the USA in the form of ESOP plans (even though the British
economy is much smaller than that of the USA).
In Europe, many countries already have legislation enabling
the formula to be applied (in France it is called a
“fiducie”, in Belgium a “fondation privée”, in Denmark
a “fonden”, etc.)
To be continued in 2025.
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Press
review
A
selection of 23 remarkable articles in 8 countries in December
2024: Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Italy, Norway, Slovenia,
UK, USA.
Bulgaria: How Central European Countries Are Supporting
ESOPs? A Deloitte Study.
Czech Republic: Pressure from startup organizations
is focusing on Central European countries.
France: New employee share plans for Axa, for Spie,
for SEB Group, for Stellantis. Business rescues in the form
of employee cooperatives. New website dedicated to employee
share ownership at Axa.
Italy: New employee share plan for Fiera Milano. The
Netherlands in a good position after the UK for employee ownership
in SMEs.
Norway: New employee share plan for GoodTech.
Slovenia: Draft law inspired by ESOP/EOT models, the
debate swells.
UK: Thanks to the Employee Ownership Trust formula,
two new SMEs are transferred to their employees every day
now. This month, among others, the case of: Tibard Group manufacturer,
Hoop Recruitment, Brandnation marketing agency, Expert IT
Solutions, Apex Traffic Management, Orchard Media and Events
Group, The Design Solution, Derwent Windows & Doors.
USA: How it works: the necessary steps to ensure a
smooth business transfer to an employee stock ownership plan.
With the FAS, for science and property.
The full press review is available
on:
https://www.efesonline.org/PRESS
REVIEW/2024/December.htm
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A
political roadmap for employee ownership in Europe
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