Devon financial planning firm sold to staff

A financial planning firm in Devon is now owned by its staff.

Goodmans Financial Planning, which is based in Plymouth, has placed 60 per cent of the company into the hands of its employees.

This means that the 18-strong team are now majority owners of the business through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

A spokesman for the business said: “We carefully considered how to best secure our independence, client-focused culture and sustainable growth for generations to come, and we’re confident that this is the right direction.”

Modelled on the John Lewis style of partnership, EOTs have been around since the coalition government introduced them in 2014.

Today, there are over 1,000 EOTs in the UK, including Riverford Organics, Aardman Animations, Go-Ape and Richer Sounds.

The staff bought the shares from current owners Andrew Moore and Finbarr O’Reilly.

Another  five per cent is owned by the senior management team  and Andrew Moore as Managing Director holds the remaining 35 per cent.

The directors will continue to run the business alongside the wider management team.

With Finbarr planning for retirement and Andrew starting to think about easing off in the next few years the company needed a solution that would reward them financially without impacting the future of the business.

By moving to an employee-owned model the company is able to remain independent and protect the Goodmans brand.