Property management company moves to employee ownership

Property management and urban regeneration business, Creative Space Management, has moved to an employee ownership model, securing the future of the £1.7m turnover firm for staff operating across the North.

Established in 2006, shares in the Leeds-based company had previously been owned by three prominent, northern businesspeople: Chris Brown, Toby Hyam and Paul Taylor.

The move to employee ownership effectively transfers all business interests to a Trust, which will manage the shares and bonuses on behalf of the firm’s 25 staff members.

By transferring the shares to an Employee Owned Trust, rather than selling them to private investors, the previous owners say they want to reward their hard-working colleagues and future talent.

The move delivers all employees an equal stake in the business and the added potential for annual bonuses based on profits.

Hyam and Taylor will remain in their operational director roles within the business. Two members of the senior management team, Paul Fallon and Simon Walton, have also been appointed to the board of directors.

Taylor said: “Whilst employee ownership schemes are becoming more popular, it is still quite unusual for a business operating in our sector to make this move.

“After looking at all the options, we firmly believe this is the very best model to secure the long-term stability, success, and growth of Creative Space Management for our employees and our customers.

“It gives the people who work within all areas of the business a real stake in its future success.

“This makes for a more robust and competitive business; with motivated, committed, well-informed staff that can deliver exceptional levels of customer service to our public and private sector clients.”

 Jonathan Griffin who has been with the company for three years and now works as centre manager at the AMP Technology Centre, said: “We are all excited by this move and the benefits it can bring. I’ve always felt proud of the culture within our team; the way we support each other, share learning and rally together.

“Now that we will all have an equal stake in the business it feels, more than ever, like we are a collective, working towards common goals for the good of everyone.”

Deb Oxley, chief executive of the Employee Ownership Association, added: “We congratulate Creative Space Management on its move to employee ownership.

“Businesses that give employees a stake and a say build trust through shared responsibility and shared reward, therefore uniting leaders and employees behind a common purpose.

“This leaves the business in a better position to flex and adapt.”

Creative Space Management has grown from operating a single creative and digital media centre in Leeds city centre, to managing 347,000 sq ft of workspace, across Leeds, Sheffield, Rotherham and Newcastle.

Its staff comprise a mix of creative, property management, maintenance, urban regeneration and economic development professionals.