TTP Group’s transition to employee ownership trust ‘secures culture’
The TTP Group has transitioned to 100 per cent employee ownership.
The group, which includes TTP – The Technology Partnership, LEX Diagnostics, and Cellular Highways, has become an employee ownership trust.
The Employee Ownership Trust – EOT – model is an indirect form of employee ownership in which a trust holds a controlling stake in a company on behalf of all its employees.
TTP, which was founded 34 years ago, says that the move will ensure its long-term independence, and secure and reinforce its inventive and collaborative culture. That culture has been a major factor in TTP’s success, from spinning out leading businesses including TTPCom – which was bought by Motorola – to its work tackling the most difficult challenges faced by clients, such as its work in response to Covid where TTP invented and designed CoVent as part of the government’s Ventilator Challenge.
Despite a growing trend for businesses to explore employee ownership, most other large consultancies within the research and development sector have been subject to acquisitions by larger corporations, or have been listed on the stock market.
The Melbourn Science Park-based company, which has always had elements of employee ownership within its structure, believes that its move to 100 per cent employee ownership will support its future growth by making it a uniquely attractive destination for the most capable scientists and engineers.
Dr Peter Taylor, chairman of TTP, said: “Employee ownership has always been at the heart of TTP’s philosophy and culture. It gives us the freedom and incentive to explore, innovate, evolve and invest in the company as we see fit.
“This freedom is a defining feature of life at TTP, and crucial in enabling us to do the right thing for our employees and our clients. It is one of the main reasons people want to work for TTP, and it has contributed hugely in attracting some of the best talent there is into the business.
“The move to an Employee Ownership Trust allows us to continue this mission, uphold these values and keep this advantage in a competitive industry.”
TTP says that by choosing to take proactive steps to secure its independence, the business will have a more permanent, stable and balanced structure of collective employee ownership that “will enable it to continue at the forefront of invention in the years to come”.
Deb Oxley, chief executive of the Employee Ownership Association, the representative body for employee-owned businesses, said: “We congratulate TTP on its move to 100 per cent employee ownership via an EOT, protecting its collaborative culture and independence for the longer term.
“Employee ownership is a clear fit for the business with its focus on allowing people to think differently to drive invention. Ensuring its independence and empowering its people offers a powerful mix that we have seen deliver great success in other innovative businesses in the EO sector.”
TTP’s transition to 100 per cent employee ownership, which is believed to represent one of the largest EOT deals in the UK by deal value, means that the EOT will hold the organisation’s shares on behalf of all employees, who will now be able to share more fully in the success of the company.
