Corporate finance firm BCMS becomes majority employee owned

By Sam Pither

27 July 2022

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BCMS, which is based in the Thames Valley, has announced a change in its ownership structure.

The firm, who specialise in advising privately owned businesses on company sale transactions, is now majority owned by its employees under an Employee Ownership Trust model. This has seen the majority stake acquired from the founders of the business on behalf of its employees.

The change in ownership follows a successful start to the year for BCMS, which, among a number of notable transactions, advised on the sale of Geotek to Judges Scientific PLC. BCMS has also posted its highest end-of-year profits since 2016.

BMCS’s CEO, Jonathon Dunn, said: “This is fantastic news for BCMS and our clients and allows us – as employees – to really drive and deliver our future success. We’re now all in this together, officially, as co-owners.

“The new structure engages colleagues across all roles here at BCMS, encourages an even greater sense of belonging and unity and allows every employee to benefit financially from our ongoing success. We’re also expecting to attract new talent to join us as they seek to further their careers and enjoy the numerous benefits of this approach.”

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The company join a growing sector of employee-owned businesses in the UK, with the John Lewis Partnership, Richer Sounds, Welsh Power and Mott MacDonald all taking on similar models. Analysis by The Employee Ownership Association suggests co-owned companies are typically more successful, competitive, profitable and sustainable.

Jonathon added: “We believe this is the first EOT for the Corporate Finance sector, and as the UK’s only employee-owned M&A specialist, it provides another point of distinction in our market, as we seek to build a business that really stands out in our industry. We believe this new ownership structure will give us a number of advantages over competitors and allow us to connect even more strongly with our entrepreneurial client base. After all, just like our clients, we are all now business owners too.”

The Rebbettes family, founding shareholders of BCMS who established the company in 1989, will retain a large minority stake.

Dave, Steve and Brian Rebbettes said: “We’ve enjoyed seeing BCMS evolve under the current management team, and now is the perfect time for the whole staff base to literally take ownership of our future success and direction. It is exciting to see the business we started move on to the next chapter.”

By Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset.

A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise.

Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.