What:
Employee ownership trusts (EOTs) are a tax-incentivised government initiative, created to encourage employee ownership. Essentially, the company will sell a controlling stake of the company – 50% or more – to the employee ownership trust. The trust then holds these shares for the employees. Unlike other employee ownership models, no single employee owns a share. Instead, they are held by the trust for the collective benefit of all employees. Some well-known UK EOT’s include John Lewis and Aardman Animations.
EOT’s tend to be SME’s rather than large organisations. In terms of structure, there is evidence that EOT’s are not organised in radically different ways from conventional firm structures and hierarchies. The primary difference is that employees have a voice in business decisions, but they are not ‘worker-run’ business models. Benefits cited by business owners and employees include greater employee motivation, positive client and customer perceptions and tax-free employee bonuses.
Examples:
There are examples of UK EOT’s engaging in deep-tech. Founded in 1987, The TTP Group is a Cambridge-based technology and product development company that translates scientific research into commercial products and new ventures. This includes multidisciplinary teams engaging in deep technology in areas such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, communications and advanced engineering. In 2021, the company transitioned to 100% employee ownership through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). Some of the reasons they cited for this, included its potential to offer the company long-term independence and attract and retain highly skilled scientists and engineers. This is due in part to the EOT model offering employees a shared stake in the company’s success.
Deep tech considerations:
- There are potential tensions between demands placed on deep-tech ventures and EOT models. For example, in the early stages of deep-tech businesses, there is typically the necessity for external investment and a promise of financial growth and commercial products. In such cases, investors play a major role in the business’s structure, which may not align with the EOT model.
- What’s more, businesses tend to become EOT’s once they are established, for reasons such as legacy management and retaining a company’s culture after a founder or owner has retired. This does not mean employee ownership is incompatible with deep tech, as the TTP Group demonstrates. However, in their example, they had already built a successful business commercialising scientific research before transitioning into the EOT model. Considerations should therefore be made in relation to the stage of a company’s development.
- For scientists or research groups seeking to commercialise new technologies, established EOTs may offer an alternative organisational model to creating a new venture or seeking external investment. A potential benefit could be the results of working with an organisation where employees feel invested and connected to the success of the organisation. Given that in the deep tech sector, innovation depends heavily on specialist expertise, the greater degrees of commitment and productivity associated with EOT’s employee ownership model may be a worthwhile consideration.
More information:
National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) (n.d.) An Introduction to Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). Available at: https://www.nceo.org/what-is-employee-ownership/an-introduction-to-employee-ownership-trusts (Accessed: 9 July 2026).
Pendleton, A., & Robinson, A. (2025). Employee ownership trusts: an employee ownership success story. International Review of Applied Economics, 39(2–3), 241–260. https://doi-org.ezproxy2.lib.gla.ac.uk/10.1080/02692171.2025.2475136
Robinson, A. and Pendleton, A. (2022) Employee-Owned Business Census 2022. Report to Scottish Enterprise and Co-operative Development Scotland. University of Leeds and White Rose Employee Ownership Centre. Available at: https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/media/03rpkwed/employee-owned-business-census-2022.pdf (Accessed: 8 July 2026).