The new ownership structure became effective at the London-based fine printing and bookbinding specialist earlier this month.
B&W’s existing shareholders – Austen Kopley, Michele Kopley, Robert Ellisson, and Andrew Pindar – have sold their shares to the Barnard & Westwood Employee Ownership Trust, which holds the shares on behalf of the employee partners.
Managing director Austen Kopley said the move represented an opportunity to grow the business “in a way that is beneficial to everyone involved”, and cited John Lewis Partnership and Divine Chocolates as providing inspirational role models.
He said: “It has involved about eight months of planning. We also went to the John Lewis Inspire employee ownership conference in February, and that was really useful for learning about the different ways to set up an Employee Ownership Trust.”
Kopley also spoke to Philip Colchester, managing director at Colchester Print Group, which became employee owned at the end of last year. Barnard & Westwood was advised by Emma Wise at accountants MPA Group.
“The staff are all very excited by the prospect and we are all very happy about it. It’s also going to help us as a company to make sure all the people who work for us progress professionally. Customers have been very supportive, as well,” he added.
The £1.5m turnover firm employs 20 staff, and has four trainees on its books.
Two long-serving employees, accounts and marketing manager Linda Austin and head of die-stamping and letterpress printing David High have joined the trustee board as trustee members.
Austin said: “There is definitely an added buzz at work now. We have always had good communications, but the change has made everyone just that bit more aware of what we are doing.”
Director Michele Kopley will also serve on the board for a two-year period. The day-to-day management of the business is unchanged.
Austen Kopley has worked at the firm for 30 years, but he emphasised that the ownership change was not part of an exit strategy.
“I’m nowhere near retirement age. I will be very much hands on as we go forward, and am looking forward to running the business in conjunction with everyone who works there.”
Chairman Tom Pindar, who had also been a financial backer of the business, is retiring, and Kopley praised Pindar for his invaluable contribution to the company. “We’re lucky, we will still be able to call on his expertise,” he added.
Barnard & Westwood produces a variety of high-end print products, including luxury stationery, invitations and books using a mixture of traditional and cutting-edge print techniques. It installed a LumeJet S200 photonic printer last year.
It holds Royal Warrants with Her Majesty the Queen and the Prince of Wales.
The company was established in 1921 by First World War veteran Albert Barnard, who was unable to return to his pre-war print role because of the injuries he suffered in the conflict. His aunt, Miss Westwood, who was a Suffragette, lent him the money to set up his own printing business.
The Kopley family involvement dates back to 1941.
