Herd Group moves to an employee ownership trust 'to protect culture'

The boss of commercial vehicle fleet management business, the Herd Group, has announced ownership of the company has been transferred to its employees to protect its brand and culture.

The creation of the Herd Group Employee Ownership Trust (HG-EOT) was announced by Nigel Schroder, Group CEO.

By creating the HG-EOT it has provided continuity in all areas, he says that the Herd brand will be in place for years to come and the Herd team, who are integral in the success of the business, will all benefit from its success. 

Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) were introduced by the Government in 2014 to encourage more shareholders to set up a corporate structure similar to the John Lewis model.

The aim is to facilitate wider employee-ownership, allowing employees to share in and shape a company’s future success. 

Schroder said: “Within our industry sector we see so many businesses being swallowed up by larger competitors or taken over by outside investors when they reach a certain size, in terms of both their fleet and profit returns.

“Invariably, the original business and the culture of that business are destroyed, broken up, diluted, in order to be absorbed into the buying business or restructured under an investor.

“The people that built the original business become a number and the culture that created the success is forgotten.”

He continued: “In order to maintain what we have built and in order to take the business to its next level, the Herd Group Employee Ownership Trust has been created.

“At Herd, we have spent years building an incredible brand, a unique culture which has been built on a passion for customer care and a brilliant team, who always deliver… every single one them are amazing and it is only right that they all share in the current and future success of Herd.”

Operationally, the Herd senior leadership team, led by Gemma Dickson, group sales director, Mike Cooke, group operations director, and Anthony McKeague, group finance director, will be driving the day-to-day operational focus of the business. 

Schroder will be retaining a level of shareholding in the business and along with Jason Rogerson, group commercial director and Anthony Moss, Group CFO, will continue to guide the senior leadership team and the business strategically as it enters its next phase of growth.