Employee ownership trust formed for construction materials group

Thurcroft Group, a Rotherham-based independent manufacturer of construction products, is now employee owned.

Comprising two companies with a combined 19-year heritage, it joins the growing number of employee-owned companies across the UK in the process.

Leonard Curtis Legal advised Thurcroft Group both on the establishment of an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), as well as the acquisition of Architectural Decorative Facades Ltd and Build-Lite (UK) Ltd.

And transaction specialists Mackenzie Spencer advised the founders on their strategic options, providing both advisory and legal services for the deal.

Build-Lite (UK) Ltd was incorporated in 2012 and develops, manufactures and supplies a range of building products and creative architectural mouldings for the construction industry.

With an employee cohort of 15, the new company, Thurcroft Group, has been formed to administer the trust.

Paul Goodlad, director and former majority shareholder of Build-Lite (UK) Ltd and Architectural Decorative Facades Ltd, remains a director of those companies and has also become a director of the newly formed trustee company.

Thurcroft Group provides new construction materials and consultation to significantly reduce build-time, improve the carbon footprint and reduce handling and storage costs.

It also offers a range of fast-track building products to provide cost-effective solutions to many of the commercial, financial and environmental challenges encountered by architects and developers in their construction projects.

Leonard Curtis Legal’s team was led by Jonathan Roberts and Jennifer Moore. Samantha Sellars – also from Mackenzie Spencer – was legal advisor for the sellers.

Goodlad said: “The success and growth of Build-Lite (UK) Ltd and Architectural Decorative Facades Ltd would have been impossible to have realised without the contribution of our employees.

“Succession planning is always at the forefront of our thinking and we felt confident this was the right step for us.

“We are now looking to build a new management team to lead the employment trust – to drive forward the business whilst rewarding all employees for all their efforts in getting the company to this stage.”

Sellars said: “It was fantastic to be involved in a transaction that rewards employees for their contribution to the success of a business, we are sure the business will go from strength to strength.”

Roberts added: “In the wake of a highly uncertain year, employee ownership continues to be an attractive option for businesses across the UK who wish to protect their legacy and motivate staff.

“It was a pleasure to assist with this transaction, which demonstrates the breadth of technical legal services we are able to offer as part of our broader corporate legal offering.

“We were happy to complete the transaction in tight timescales and the continuing practical challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic.”