Specialist employee ownership advisers · Since 2011
We advise business owners on the move to employee ownership, and employee-owned businesses on everything that follows. It is all we do, and we have done it more than 170 times.
What we do
Since 2011, Co-ownership Solutions has advised on more than 170 Employee Ownership Trust and Employee Benefit Trust transactions across the UK — businesses of five employees and of five hundred, in almost every sector.
For most law and accountancy firms, employee ownership is one department among many. For us it is the whole firm. That depth shows in the advice: we have seen the questions before, we know where transactions go wrong, and we know what good looks like ten years after completion.
Some clients engage us for a single transaction. Others work with us for many years afterwards. Both matter equally to us.
Our approach
If employee ownership is the right succession solution for your business, we will explain why. If it is not, we will explain that too. Our advice is based on what is best for you — not on what generates fees.
Why clients choose us
We have no product to sell and no stake in your decision. Objectivity is the point of engaging us.
One subject since 2011. We know employee ownership the way only a firm that does nothing else can.
Trusts, tax and governance are technical. Our explanations are not. Clients tell us this is what they remember.
170+ employee ownership transactions·Advising since 2011·Trusted by business owners across the UK
Services
For owners weighing up succession. Valuation, funding, tax, governance and implementation — managed end to end by people who do nothing else.
About this serviceGovernance, trust deeds, HMRC matters and trustee questions — very often where another adviser handled the original transaction.
About this serviceCommercial judgement, constructive challenge and long-term stewardship — closer to an experienced non-executive than a consultant.
About this serviceHow we work
Wherever possible we agree a fixed fee before we start, so the economics of the advice are never in tension with the advice itself.
We start by understanding your business, your objectives and your timescale. There is no obligation and no hard sell — often the most useful thing we do at this stage is answer questions.
We tell you whether employee ownership fits — and compare it properly against your alternatives, including trade sale and management buyout.
We project-manage the whole transition — structure, funding, tax clearances, documentation and communication with your employees — working alongside regulated law firms where reserved legal work is required.
Good employee ownership is built in the years after completion. We stay involved where clients want us — as advisers, and in some cases as independent trustees.
Trusted by businesses across the UK
A selection of the businesses we have advised. Most arrived, as most do, on a recommendation.
In their words
“They told us at the second meeting that an EOT wasn't the obvious answer for us yet, and what needed to change first. That honesty is why we came back two years later.”
Managing Director, engineering business, Yorkshire“Our accountant said: speak to Co-ownership Solutions before you speak to anyone else. He was right.”
Founder, professional services firm, London“We became employee-owned with another adviser and were left with questions nobody could answer. They sorted the governance out in months.”
Trustee Chair, manufacturing business, ScotlandResources
Guide
What an EOT is, how it works, the tax position, and what life looks like on the other side.
Read the guideGuide
An honest look at when employee ownership works well — and when another route serves you better.
Read the guideCase studies
Anonymised accounts of real transactions: the situation, the options, the advice and the outcome.
Read the case studiesA conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Tell us a little about your business and we will tell you, honestly, whether employee ownership deserves a place on your shortlist.
