Scottish Enterprise on track to meet 2030 employee ownership target

A new census commissioned by Scottish Enterprise has revealed that it is on track to meet the Scottish Government target of growing Scotland’s employee-owned business (EOB) community to 500 companies by 2030.

Conducted by academics from the University of Leeds, University of New South Wales and the White Rose Employee Ownership Centre, it is the second commissioned by the agency, with the first taking place in May 2022.

Since then, the community in Scotland has grown by 47% or 91 companies – an average of 45 new EOBs per year. If this trend continues, Scottish Enterprise will meet the 2030 target, which was set out in the 2021 Programme for Government.

Latest figures show there are currently 286 EOBs operating in Scotland – up from 195 in 2022 – comprised of 177 Scottish-registered EOBs, 25 Scottish-registered workers’ cooperatives and 84 EOBs with trading/production operations in Scotland, but which are registered elsewhere.

Scottish-registered EOBs and worker cooperatives have a combined turnover of £1.47bn and employ 7,593 people. This is a 113%, or £780m , increase in turnover and a 42.5%, or 2,265, increase in employment since the 2022 census.

Minister for Employment Tom Arthur said: “These businesses provide unique benefits to the people and places in which they operate, generating increased levels of productivity and resilience, which in turn drive profitability, as evidenced by a huge 113% increase of the total turnover across the sector in the past two years.

“These companies are also more inclusive places to work, with nearly all Scottish-registered EOBs using our Fair Work policy guidance to invest in workforce development and create channels for effective voice.”

Darah Zahran leads the Co-operative Development Scotland team – the Scottish Enterprise unit responsible for growing employee ownership. She said: “Employee ownership is an attractive succession option when an owner is retiring or moving on, it gives remaining employees a meaningful stake in their organisation, a genuine say in how it’s run, ensures consistency for customers and anchors the business in its community for the long term.

“EOBs are also proven to be more resilient in times of economic crisis, more profitable and more productive – all key measures of business success. It’s great to see that more and more businesses are recognising these advantages and embracing employee ownership.”

Companies supported by Scottish Enterprise to transition to employee ownership in the last two years include Alexander & Co steel merchants in Stirling and Bathgate, and Glen Drummond chartered accountants in Livingston.

Chris Wilson, director at Glen Drummond, added: “Employee ownership allows our customers to continue getting a quality service from the people they know and trust for years to come.”

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