The 108 employees of a growing Scottish traffic management company have become its new owners.
Apex Traffic Management, which is headquartered in East Kilbride and has depots in Dumfries, Ashford in Kent and will soon open a new depot at Portlethen outside Aberdeen, has completed a deal to transition to an Employee Ownership Trust.
The company works all over the UK providing traffic management for roadworks – including major motorway projects – and operates 150 sets of traffic lights.
The company has expanded in recent years to provide traffic management for major events, including meetings at Hamilton and Ayr Racecourses, the Great Scottish Run, this year’s British Open in Troon and the Festival of Flight in Ayr.
The move has been made after its three previous shareholders rejected takeover approaches for the £10m turnover business – instead opting to transfer ownership to their team.
Directors Iain Griffin, Daniel McGinley and Ian Murtagh – each of whom will remain with the business under its new structure – have built up Apex over the past 20 years.
Mr Griffin said: “We had two or three other companies come in to try and buy us, but the offers on the table just didn’t feel right. We like to think we treat our people well and many of our employees have been with us for many years. A trade buyer would basically have been buying our order book. The interests of the employees wouldn’t have been a priority
“We decided to explore other avenues and heard about Employee Ownership Trusts.
“The more we looked into that, the more we felt this was the route to go down. It gives us a long-term exit strategy and ensures we have something in place which leaves a legacy.
“More importantly, though, it’s a way of recognising our team’s hard work and the part they have played in getting the business to where it is. It gives them a direct stake in Apex.”
The ownership news has been shared with staff in recent days, with Mr Griffin describing the reaction among colleagues as “great”.
“You can already feel the increased sense of belonging and pride among the team,” he added.
Some Apex employees are taking promoted management positions as part of the new structure.
Apex has been guided through the transition to employee ownership by Ownership Associates, with legal advice from Lindsays.
Ownership Associates have been involved in more than 30 transactions in 2024.
Director Carole Leslie said: “This was such a rewarding project to work on. The selling shareholders genuinely wanted what was best for the people. When I met with the groups of employees, the respect for the directors was obvious.
“While they have had offers to buy the company, when it came down to it, they just did not want someone else telling their people what to do. That made the EOT route perfect for them.
“This is the start of an exciting new chapter for Apex as growing numbers of Scottish businesses realise the benefits of employee ownership.”
Nicholas Howie, a Partner in the Corporate Law team at Lindsays, believes employee-owned companies are becoming an increasingly important part of business in Scotland.
He said: “In the right circumstances this can be a win-win for individual employee-owned businesses, their workforces and the wider economy.
“There are certain tax reliefs, including a capital gains tax exemption for shareholders who sell their shares to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) and the ability to reward employees annually with qualifying bonuses of up to £3,600 per year per employee, which can be paid free of income tax.
“Apex is an exciting business, which I am sure will continue going from strength to strength under its new structure.”
The Scottish Government has a target of having 500 employee-owned businesses operating across Scotland by 2030. Numbers are currently thought to be closing in on about 300.
(Picture – APEX)
