Having worked with our client for almost four years, we’ve built a strong relationship together, advising and supporting them along the way to expand and develop their groundworks business across the region.
Off the back of the business’ success from their Staffordshire office, the directors made the decision to expand their offering in a new regional area. But how would they make it a success without taking their focus away from the existing site?
That’s where the expertise of our Client Services Director, Rebecca Thorley, came in…
Spotting the perfect opportunity
Thanks to our existing relationship with the client, Rebecca knew the ins and outs of their business. Her strong understanding of the team and how they operate meant she quickly spotted the perfect opportunity to help the business grow and open their new site… an EMI scheme!
Rebecca explained to the directors that by rewarding key team members through an EMI scheme, these employees would be highly engaged and motivated with the incentive of obtaining shares in the business in the future, and therefore instrumental in developing the new site. It would also enable the directors to continue focusing on the existing site, whilst trusted team members build the business in the new location.
After discussing the other benefits of an EMI scheme, like tax benefits and employee retention, the directors agreed that an EMI scheme was definitely the way to go.
“EMI was a no brainer”
Rebecca said, “The directors felt it was important, as the business expanded, to give something back to key team members who had worked for the company for a number of years, by rewarding them whilst motivating them to develop the new site.”
She continued, “Once I’d suggested it, an EMI scheme was a no brainer for our client. They saw it as a way of being a really attractive employer to retain their team and offer something different to competitors’ benefits packages.”
The journey to launching an EMI scheme
Once the decision had been made to launch an EMI scheme, a few important details needed to be considered:
- Which team members would be rewarded
- What share options would be offered
- What ‘trigger points’ would be implemented
- Whether directors discretion would be built into the agreement
After discussions between the business directors and advice from Rebecca, a couple of key team members were selected to be given options over shares of a small percentage of the company. Profitability criteria was built into the EMI agreement, with the addition of directors’ discretion which gives the directors an option to reward hard work when they see it, regardless of the numbers.
All that was left to do was enlist the help of a lawyer to draw up the official paperwork and for all parties to sign it. Cue a champagne celebration at our HQ…
A day to celebrate
When the agreement was ready to be signed, we hosted a celebration event at our HQ, where the team were able to sign the paperwork together.
Rebecca said “It was a big day for our clients and their team and we wanted to make them feel special! So, to help them celebrate we hosted a champagne celebration, marking the beginning of their new business growth journey.”
