Cheshire planning consultancy concludes MBO which began five years ago

Stephen Harris (main) with Caroline Payne and Rawdon Gascoigne

The board of Macclesfield independent planning consultancy, Emery Planning, has completed its management buyout, a process which commenced in 2016.

The board is now led by three senior directors, Caroline Payne, Stephen Harris and Rawdon Gascoigne, who have each been with Emery Planning for between 16 and 20 years. Stephen Harris has been appointed managing director.

Also on the board is Ben Pycroft and John Coxon, both made directors in 2019, and Emma Bennion who has been promoted to operations director as part of the MBO.

Nick Smith and Gareth Salthouse have been promoted and join Helen Leggett and Jill Naylor as associate directors

Emery Planning Partnership was founded in 1985 and now has 19 consultants providing national town planning services including applications, appeals, appraisals, development promotion and project management of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for private clients and developers in all sectors.

Denise Emery is confident the company is in safe hands. She said: “I could not be entrusting the business to a more capable team. Emery Planning is a partnership in every sense of the word, and the talented individuals now at the helm have helped made it the success it is today.

“At the heart of our business are the relationships we create with our clients, relationships formed from mutual trust and respect. As Emery Planning embarks on a new chapter, these relationships remain at the forefront of our operation and we will continue to provide the same high quality professional service that has been our strength since we set up the company in 1985.”

Emery Planning said it bucks the trend in modern businesses for staff turnover with long service achievements ranging from nine to 20 years. Collectively, the directors of the business have clocked up an impressive 81 years of service.

Stephen Harris said: “Denise and Peter were early advocates of flexible working at a time when no one was entertaining it as a concept. They established Emery as a business that looks after its people and created a working environment that respects an individual’s need for personal and family life.

“They recognised that truly happy and motivated staff, whose individual needs are accommodated and respected, thrive and perform to the very best of their capabilities.”

He added: “Caroline, Rawdon and I have invested decades of our lives with Emery for this very reason.

“To be able to achieve a work/life balance and to truly enjoy your job and the company of those you work for and with is a gift. We intend to preserve and nurture this culture and our wonderful and talented team so they stay with us, grow with us and together we will continue delivering exceptional results for our clients.”

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