CEO Blog: A New Phase for Employee Ownership  

James de le Vingne, Chief Executive of the eoa, looks back at what we’ve learned over the last year, and lays out our growth plans for the future. The golden age of employee ownership is only just beginning. 

Image: James de le Vingne, CEO of the eoa

Last year, as we reflected on a decade since the employee ownership trust (EOT) gained royal assent, it was a huge moment of realisation for the eoa.

We’d gone through a transformation of systems, brand, and grown as a membership organisation, but we’d also been at the helm of a great and ambitious leap forward in ownership.

From this we’ve developed sector insights and a baseline of EO impact alongside evolution of our community and our learning and development programme. All of this helped inform a collective voice of how EO succession delivers fairer more rewarding livelihoods that drive sustainable growth and resilience through a long-term focus.

During this time, the sector grew from 140 to 2,000+ employee owned businesses (EOBs). If we continued in the same vein no one would blame us. Indeed, no doubt it would be used as an example of how to keep the momentum going.

That’s real progress, but now’s the time for more.

More ambition. 

More focus. 

More purpose.

To truly harness EO as a force for people powered growth, we need to explore the opportunities for it to have the most impact and drive an economy where people have a direct stake and say in the businesses that shape both their working lives and their communities. 

Propelling EO into the Mainstream

We’re continuously learning from the experiences of early adopters who’ve pioneered employee ownership - from what has and hasn't worked, how they’ve evolved, and thousands of excellent examples of Great EO in action to draw from. 

And now we have a unique chance to build on what we’ve learned. Together, the EO community has built: 

Strong Partnerships  

With governments and partners in Wales and Scotland, plus the relatively new but formidable partnerships in Northern Ireland and nationally with the Mutuals and Cooperatives Sector Business Council all sharing clear ambitions to grow EO. 

Great Policy Foundations  

The EOT has been a powerful catalyst, but now we need to go further, embedding EO succession and support into business growth and regional development strategies. 

A vibrant Network of Members  

Where EO businesses are sharing their experiences, developing EO excellence, and supporting others to follow their lead. 

Robust Insights 

A solid baseline of data on what’s working, but a clear need to evolve our evidence and deepen our understanding of where EO can have the greatest impact. 

So, where do we go from here? 

Innovation, Imitation & Regional Growth

To truly scale EO in quantity and quality, we’re focusing on two powerful growth levers: innovation and imitation. 

Innovation means testing and exploring where EO could have real world impact such as in new sectors. Last year, for example, we explored how EO could help tackle capacity and quality challenges in the care sector. 

Imitation means accelerating what already works, helping more businesses in mature EO sectors (like the built environment and professional services) to reach a tipping point, and normalising EO as a mainstream succession and business model. 

We also know that geography matters. Across the UK, we’re seeing clusters of EO success that could thrive further if clear policy and local leadership are in place.  

But the learning doesn’t stop there. Through the work of our International Ambassador Graeme Nuttall, our attendance at the Oxford EO Symposium, and conversations with global peers, we can contribute to and develop best practice across a range of applications of EO and the EOT – with developments in Canada, the US, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, and Japan to name just a few.  

Building Momentum with Purpose

The recent party conferences reinforced just how timely this conversation is. With new ministers stepping into the Mutuals brief, there’s a growing recognition that EO and other mutual business models can help reshape the economy. 

At the Labour Party Conference, I joined discussions with Ministers Blair McDougall and Lucy Rigby KC MP who spoke confidently about doubling the size of the mutuals and co-operatives sector — not as a distant dream, but as a serious, near-term goal.  

I also spoke on the ‘Co-ops and Mutuals: Delivering Inclusive Growth’ panel alongside colleagues from Co-operatives UK, the Building Societies Association, ABCUL, and others, demonstrating a real show of collective purpose. 

And on the sidelines, conversations with partners like Virgin Money (now fully mutual as part of Nationwide), B Lab UK, Citizens Advice, and the Real Living Wage Foundation reminded me how interconnected our missions are.  

Once considered a niche idea, EO can be part of a bigger shift towards a fairer, more participatory economy. Alongside other purpose driven groups, we’re creating catalysts for change. 

Owning the Future: the eoa’s Next Chapter

The eoa is uniquely placed to propel EO into the mainstream.  

The evolution of EO as a concept - and practices that drive impact - can become better understood and applied in new ways where it matters most. This makes it indispensable in collective efforts to address wider economic and social challenges. 

At the eoa Annual Conference on November 25–26, we’ll launch our new UK EO Growth Strategy, explored through our theme of Owning the Future. This strategy sets out how we’re connecting EO growth to innovation, regional development, and the UK’s long-term need for fairer livelihoods and sustainable growth.

We must be brave enough to test, to learn, to lead. Because if the last decade was about proving EO can grow, the next must be about proving what EO can do. And I know that with the right conditions, drive, and partners, EO is the mechanism for a fairer, inclusive, and more successful economy.