The Entertainer hands ownership to its 1,900 employees in profit sharing agreement | Personal Finance | Finance
The founder of the Entertainer, one of the largest toy shop chains in the UK, has announced plans to transfer ownership to staff. Gary Grant, 66, who launched his first shop in Buckinghamshire in 1981, is to transfer 100% of the business into an employee trust.
This means the 1,900 employees will receive a share of the profits and will get a say in how the firm is run. Mr Grant said: “This is a significant decision for the family, and one we haven’t taken lightly, but it feels like the right time to transfer our entire shareholding into an employee ownership trust. If the business had been sold just for money, that would not have been passing on the baton in the way in which the family would have wanted.”
After lengthy succession planning, the family chose an employee ownership trust. Two of their four children work in the company, but Mr Grant said they have “other plans for their lives”.
Mr Grant said the move aims to preserve the family’s legacy and the family feel of the business. According to the accomplished founder, nearly 400 staff have worked for the company for more than 10 years, while around 50 people have been employed for more than 20 years.
The Entertainer, which is behind the Early Learning Centre toys, currently operates around 160 shops and 1,000 concessions in retailers like Tesco, Matalan, and Marks and Spencer across the UK.
The group posted pre-tax profits of £6.7million in its last set of annual accounts for the year to the end of January 2024.
As most of the company’s profits are generated in the run-up to Christmas, Mr Grant said it was too early to confirm if staff would receive a bonus for the current financial year. Instead, he expects the “real rewards” to come in the year ending in January 2027.
The transfer is due to be completed in September, after which the senior leadership team will have full independent control of the company.
The Entertainer joins a growing list of firms that have become staff-owned, including John Lewis, Go Ape and Richer Sounds.
John Lewis is currently the largest employee-owned company in the UK, with around 70,000 staff sharing profits.
