The Herd Group has implemented an Employee Ownership Trust, helping to create a lasting legacy for all employees and take the business to the next level.
The business, a specialist in commercial vehicle rental and fleet management, has seen significant year-on-year growth since it was founded in 2014 and said the new set-up would provide continuity in all areas and ensure the Herd brand will be in place for years to come.
Nigel Schroder, group CEO, commented: “Within our industry sector we see so many businesses being swallowed up by larger competitors or taken over by outside investors when they reach a certain size, in terms of both their fleet and profit returns.
“Invariably, the original business and the culture of that business are destroyed, broken up, diluted, in order to be absorbed into the buying business or restructured under an investor. The people that built the original business become a number and the culture that created the success is forgotten.”
The new Herd Group Employee Ownership Trust tackles this – and also means the Herd team, who are integral in the success of the business, will all benefit from its success.
“At Herd, we have spent years building an incredible brand, a unique culture which has been built on a passion for Customer CARE and a brilliant team, who always deliver… every single one of them are amazing and it is only right that they all share in the current and future success of Herd,” Schroder continued.
Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) were introduced by the Government in 2014 to encourage more shareholders to set up a corporate structure similar to the John Lewis model. The aim is to facilitate wider employee-ownership, allowing employees to share in and shape a company’s future success.
For Herd Group, the new structure will see the day-to-day operational focus of the business driven by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), led by Gemma Dickson, group sales director, Mike Cooke, group operations director, and Anthony McKeague, group finance director.
Nigel Schroder will retain a level of shareholding in the business and, along with Jason Rogerson, group commercial director, and Anthony Moss, group CFO, will continue to guide the SLT and the business strategically as it enters its next phase of growth.
The company added that it has ambitious, achievable targets in its sights over the next three years and the team is well placed to deliver these, including further announcements this year. Herd will also continue to work closely with manufacturers and dealer groups and the industry’s governing bodies to shape the future of the rental industry.
