The employees at Caerphilly based Abigail’s Day Nursery Limited have become new owners of the Company. 

Abigail’s was jointly founded by Abigail Jones and her father, Michael Donovan, in 2013 and currently looks after 65 children. The nursery employs 25 members of staff.

Recognising the critical role that their staff play in the nursery, owners Abigail and Michael chose to place those employees at the centre of their succession plan, securing the future of Abigail’s through establishing an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), making it, what they believe to be, the first children’s day nursery in Wales to be owned by an EOT. Under the new arrangements, all employees become co-owners of the business.

This move to employee ownership reflects the nursery’s commitment to the local community and ensures that it can retain its high quality staff through offering them an ownership stake.

Michael Donovan said:-

We have always been very fortunate with the staff we have taken on.  They do a fantastic job.  We were thinking about how we could do more for them and when we were told the details of EOT, we decided it was the right thing to do

The Berry Smith corporate team, headed by partner, Andrew Bound worked closely with Abigail and Michael in the establishment of the Employee Ownership Trust and the subsequent transfer of shares.

Andrew said:-

The foundation of any nursery is its high quality and motivated staff. An EOT structure strengthens the connection of employees to the business, by providing them with a long-term ownership interest and involvement in its operation.

Accounting and taxation advice was provided to Abigail’s by Stephen Griffiths and Lucy Roberts of DWA Accountants.

Employee ownership is one of the fastest growing business succession solutions in the UK, with one in every 20 private company sales now being to an EOT. The Berry Smith team has considerable experience in advising on EOT transactions.

If you think this could assist your business, or would like to find out more, then please contact us on 029 2034 5511 or corporate@berrysmith.com