On the 1 October the Shareholders of SiteZone sold a majority shareholding in the business to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), giving the people who helped build the company a direct stake in its future.
Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) are backed by the Government and enable SiteZone to continue to operate as it does today, while rewarding the loyalty of its employees and giving the team the opportunity to benefit from the future success of the business.
Gary Escott, Managing Director of SiteZone explained,
"We’ve built a solid team at SiteZone, and everyone genuinely cares about what we’re trying to achieve – keeping people safe and helping to eliminate plant pedestrian collisions on our customers’ sites.
Everyone in the team has been with us over 3 years and the average length of service is approaching 5 years, so they’ve already put a huge amount into building the business. It felt right that they should have a share in what they’ve helped create.
My business partner Nigel, who set up SiteZone with me, is retiring this year, so it was the ideal time to think about what comes next and make sure SiteZone has a future beyond the two of us.
I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been able to do this. Giving our team a share in the future of SiteZone is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in business.”
Gary will remain a shareholder alongside Non-Executive Director Gareth, while employees now collectively own 70% of the business.
Sam Boshier, Marketing Manager and now one of the Trust Directors said,
“Day to day you won’t see a change in the way we do things as everyone here already treats the business as if it’s their own. Customers always come first and to quote my colleague Ellie – all conversations come back to keeping people safe.
As an employee trustee, I’ll be there to make sure the team has a voice in the future of the business and that the board are operating in the best interest of the trust. We’re getting the team down to Dorset this week to celebrate the sale and discuss our plans for 2027 and beyond.”
SiteZone was setup in 2011 and is a key partner to the waste and recycling sector helping more than 200 sites with their plant pedestrian safety.
The sale was supported by Lloyds Bank, HWB Accountants, and Paris Smith Solicitors.
