Co-ownership Solutions LLP are delighted to have worked with the shareholders and employees at Auchrannie Resort, and Burness Paull LLP, managing the transition to employee ownership.
Located in Brodick on the Isle of Arran, Auchrannie is an award-winning resort comprising two 4-star hotels, thirty 5-star self-catering lodges, two leisure clubs, restaurants, a spa and Arran Adventure outdoor company.
The company was established by Iain and Linda Johnston in 1988, with Linda heading up the company as managing director and board chair since 2010. The resort has an annual turnover of £6.7million.
An Employee Ownership Trust has been formed and holds 100% of the shares on behalf of the employees. The deal was structured in order to make it affordable to the business without affecting its ability to reward the team and reinvest for the future. It marks the first time a hotel or resort in Scotland has become employee-owned.
Commenting on the decision, co-founder and managing director Linda Johnston said: “We first started looking at employee ownership in 2015 and the first formal meetings were held in early 2016. Many exit options were considered over the years but none protected the ethos of the company, the existing team or the community use of Auchrannie’s facilities for future generations like employee ownership did.
“The team have been involved in the process from an early stage and were given the opportunity to input throughout. They have very much embraced the concept of employee ownership and are extremely excited about it. There is no, ‘them and us’ now, we’re all in this together.”
Linda Johnston and the rest of the Auchrannie management team will remain in place and the day to day operation of the business will not change.
Auchrannie’s transition to employee ownership was supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS), with the process managed by Co-ownership Solutions LLP and legal services by Burness Paull LLP.
Linda continued: “The transition has been pretty smooth despite the fact that Auchrannie is a complex business; we have been well supported by HIE, CDS, Co-ownership Solutions and Burness Paull. The help we received was invaluable in enabling us to put together the team who lead us through the whole process seamlessly. Although there have been a number of hurdles to jump over, there have been no real lows.”
Sarah Deas, director at Co-operative Development Scotland, the arm of Scotland’s enterprise agencies which promotes employee ownership, said: “Being on an island, a change to the ownership of a resort like Auchrannie could seriously affect the economy of the whole island. The change to employee ownership means that the team at Auchrannie and the community of Arran can relax knowing that it will always remain an independent, locally run organisation with community values at heart.”
www.auchrannie.co.uk