We Own It.

Shawston is an employee owned business. This means Shawston is wholly owned by its employees who have purchased shares in the company through investing their own hard earned money. Our employee ownership journey started in 2015, when the co-founders set us on the long-term path towards ‘forever Shawston’. It has always been our philosophy to put more and more equity in the hands of our employees, so the decision to change our employees from wage earners to genuine shareholders was an easy one.

"Retiring at Shawston is a real prospect – a job for life perhaps."

Our co-owners are empowered, valued, committed and full of motivation to take ownership of their various roles and responsibilities within our business. Going the extra mile is key in ensuring the customer is happy and the Shawston family remain safe and happy too. Trust is vital here too; we have a sense of togetherness that is rarely found within our market sectors. We own it and our methods reflect the business we are.

"In 2001, Shawston was the subject of an MBI by the management team. It had a total of 10 employees with sales of £750k. At that time, an equity participating management team joined to run the business; fast forward to 2023 and Shawston is a 130 strong employee owned company with sales approaching £30m."

Find out more about the benefits of employee ownership from EO consultants, Baxendale.

Shawston’s evolution has been through focussed and timely strategic business decisions to benefit our customers. Happy customers make Shawston happy and in turn provide benefits to our company, our employee shareholders, and our suppliers. Our strategy is key here - a customer centric focus through the individuals that are responsible for Shawston’s success.

"Being fully in control of how we want our business to run, the future is ours to plan."

Being employee owned has allowed us to create a new and improved version of Shawston, a Shawston better than before that will be around for generations to come. Recruiting and retaining talented people with a vested interested in our business, both personally and financially, has significantly impacted the growth of the business and its ability to withstand external market pressures.

"It seems obvious that combining 170 people to think and behave like business owners is far more powerful than the decisions of 7 or 8 senior leaders."

"Shawston’s evolution has been through focussed and timely strategic business decisions to benefit our customers. Happy customers make Shawston happy and in turn provide benefits to our company, our employee shareholders, and our suppliers. Our strategy is key here - a customer centric focus through the individuals that are responsible for Shawston’s success."

Find Out More...

Employee Ownership Association

Deb Oxley OBE DL joins the Shawston board

The Shawcast - Employee Ownership and Sustainability

The Shawston Brochure