Carlton Bingo has become the country’s largest and latest employee-owned firm.
The chain's 209 employees now have a controlling stake in the business after it set up an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
The four major shareholders Chris Barr, George Carter, Brian King and Peter Perrins decided to make the move after considering their succession options.
Carter said: “It might sound like a cliché but we are very much like a family business here, so the sale to an EOT fitted exactly with what we wanted.
“We have to wait a few years to realise our full value, but we judged that to be a risk worth taking to preserve all that’s good about Carlton for our customers and our staff.
“A management buyout was a real possibility - our management team are hugely respected within the business = but that really only defers the problem of succession. By transferring the shareholding to an EOT, the future of Carlton Bingo is secure for our loyal staff and customers.”
Managing director Mike Watret took what he viewed as a temporary job upon graduating from Stirling University in 1991. He then went on to have a career with Gala Bingo and returned to Carlton 10 years ago.
“I didn’t expect to be back here 30 years later. It’s a great job working with a great team of people,” he commented.
Finance director Leslie Ross, who has worked at Carlton for almost 30 years, commented: “The combined company length of service stands at over 1,500 years - we recently celebrated a 40 year service anniversary for one employee in Dunfermline - so Carlton has a great culture that fosters commitment and long service.“
The company was hit hard during the coronavirus crisis, with one club being closed for a total of 400 days.
It has locations in Inverness, Stirling, Livingston, Dunfermline, Buckie, Elgin, Fraserburgh, Dalkeith, East Kilbride and Partick.
Watret added: “We have recovered well from what was a challenging time - eight of our 10 locations exceeded their targets for March and several are outperforming their 2019 results.
“If I had any doubts that this was the right way forward, they were banished when we delivered the news to the employees.”
Carlton worked with Ownership Associates on the employee communications, while Avondale Corporate managed the transaction, and Douglas Roberts and Nimarta Cheema of Lindsays provided legal advice.
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