Making EO transition easy
Chris Barrington Brown, founder of tech company Cunning Running, explains why he turned to an employee ownership model for his business and how J Gadd Associates helped him to make it happen
Founder Chris Barrington Brown (centre front) and the Cunning Running team
Finding the best outcome for all involved
‘I got to 60 and thought I don’t want to be running my business when I’m 70, so I started researching my options. I looked at different models and decided on a trade sale, which I launched just before COVID hit in 2020. As a result, it didn’t work and we backed off.
‘Time passed and I discovered Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) and thought they were rather good because the company could continue independently. An EOT looked like I could get the best outcome for my stakeholders: my wife and I, the employees and our customers. I decided on an EOT in June 2021 and told staff that was what I recommended… but they had to want to do it.
‘They came back with a ‘yes’ and then it took a year to see how we could do it. As well as all the legal stuff and due diligence, we needed help with the ‘softer’ elements, and that’s where J Gadd Associates got involved.’
Making the transition to employee ownership easy
‘I attended a virtual Employee Ownership Association conference when I was discovering about EOTs.
‘Jeremy Gadd was one of the speakers, and he talked a lot of sense. He had great credentials and a strong background in employee ownership. We had a Zoom chat to see if we gelled. He was a great salesman and persuaded me that he knew what he was talking about.
‘I thought this was someone I could work with. He gave me a warm feeling. Because we needed help with the softer issues, the interpersonal bit was important to me. You know when you meet someone you can interact with, and he was that person.
‘We employed Jeremy and his Associates to work with us in three areas: an owner readiness workshop session to support transition, in helping us to find an independent chairman and then to ensure the new EOT Board members felt confident and ready to work together. They made the process easy for us.’
Building understanding and confidence in employee ownership
‘We met J Gadd Associates to discuss owner readiness, checking our understanding to prepare both staff and the business. At the end of that first meeting, I felt I had a good handle on where we were going and what we needed to do. I felt confident that I had not missed any big tricks.
‘Associates helped us to find an independent chairman, providing a shortlist of three and we decided on one, who is an excellent guy. We were fishing in a tiny pond so it is possible that we could have found that person ourselves, but I’m not sure we could and we simply didn’t have the time.
‘They then worked with the Trustees – me, the Chairman and an Employee Trustee – to look at how the Board was going to work. What I wanted from this session, and got, was that our Employee Trustee felt confident in his role and understood its remit. The session helped to start to build a strong relationship between the three of us.’
‘One of the signs of a good consultant is that you walk out of a meeting with them thinking ‘I knew all that’ and that it was your idea. It wasn’t, of course, but Jeremy and his Associates lead us through the process so easily and made it easy for us’
Chris Barrington Brown, Founder, Cunning Running
Aligning your employee ownership culture and values
‘One of the signs of a good consultant is that you walk out of a meeting with them thinking ‘I knew all that’ and that it was your idea. It wasn’t, of course, but Jeremy and his Associates led us through the process so easily and made it easy for us.
‘Jeremy is really good and his Associates are really good but, because it’s soft skills, it’s difficult to pin down what I wouldn’t have known without them. I guess that’s what makes them good consultants.
‘As a company, J Gadd Associates are friendly, approachable and great people to work with. They helped to get our culture and values aligned to make our employee ownership transition smooth and positive for all. And it was fun having them on the journey.’
Summary
J Gadd Associates (JGA) started working with Cunning Running in July 2021 when the business began transitioning to an Employee Ownership Trust. Associates supported Cunning Running with an owner readiness session, a Trustee appointment service and Trustee enabling service, to ensure the new Trust Board was able to bond and work effectively.
About Cunning Running
Cunning Running was founded in 1988 and is now a world-leading supplier of niche technology to the UK public sector, overseas governments and military organisations worldwide. Its software solutions range from assessing vulnerability to mitigating security threats. Cunning Running – named after founder Chris Barrington Brown’s love of orienteering – became employee-owned on 30 June 2022 and employs 12 people, based in Romsey, Hampshire.
