Orchard Media transitions to employee ownership in landmark move

As of this week, the award-winning communications agency the Orchard Media and Events Group is officially owned by its team after the company set up an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), one of a small number of Welsh pioneers who are following well-known brands such as John Lewis Partnership, Aardman, and Riverford.

14 years after bursting on to the agency scene, Cardiff-based Orchard is now in the hands of its 64 strong team in a move that will protect the future independence of the £15m turnover company that offers a range of services – from Activations and Content creation, to Communications, Strategy and Creative – to Wales and the world.

With the original founders moving on, the ownership of the business has been transferred to Orchard’s staff, with an employee-owned trust now owning and managing the company, the latest Welsh business to take this increasingly popular corporate route.

Charlotte Fairs, Director of People and Culture at Orchard said: “As of today, every member of the team is part of a trust that owns Orchard. As trustees, every single one of us is empowered, and has a vested interest in making a success of working with our clients in a mutually beneficial way. The reaction of the team has been tremendous, there’s a great community spirit here, and we’re all excited at what the future holds for us.”

Orchard has been providing a range of creative communications services to clients in Wales and across the world for 14 years, from Welsh Government to Principality Building Society, Aston Martin and Qatar Airways to Nando’s, the AA and Netflix. The agency creates corporate and public events for NATO, UEFA, and Johnson & Johnson; produces film content for Visit Wales, TV programmes for BBC, S4C, Channel 4, and National Geographic; and advises on sponsorships and partnerships for the likes of the RFU, the International Chamber of Commerce, and Orbex.

EOTs are becoming an increasing popular way to keep corporate ownership within the country of origin, in this case Wales, to secure jobs and provide more opportunities for talent to build their careers here.

There has also been a recent restructure in the senior leadership team at Orchard, with Jim Carpenter and Kerry McDonald taking the reins as Co-Chief Executives, and Phil Morgan joining as Chief Finance and Operating Officer.

Jim said: “The Orchard founders Al Wilson, Matt Wordley and Pablo Janczur built great foundations for the company, and we’ve achieved so much in a short time. Now the EOT model will repay the hard work and commitment of the team here and give us all the opportunity to drive our strategic direction. The ethos behind EOTs aligns well with the values we’ve nurtured in the company, and this team are the people best placed to benefit from its future success.”

The EOT was achieved with the specialist knowledge and support of Andrew Evans at Geldards, Paul Cantrill, a Corporate Advisor with Cwmpas, Azets and Specialist Accounting Solutions. Andrew Evans, a Cardiff Partner with Geldards LLP is hugely experienced in taking companies through EOT across the UK.

Andrew said: “Geldards is delighted to be trusted with advising on the transition of Orchard to employee ownership. The shareholders, management team and employees have been very receptive to the idea of employee ownership and a desire to adopt “best practice” in terms of employee engagement to make the transition a success and the basis for future growth in the business.”

The EOT transfers ownership of the company to a trust, whose trustees of senior figures within Orchard and independent directors will look after the interests of all employees. Current shareholders will be re-imbursed in line with an agreed payment schedule, A proportion of future incremental profits will be available for distribution to trustees in line with the trust’s oversight. There is no cost or liability for individual workers, but instead a great incentive to ensure the business continues to thrive.

Welsh Government is looking to double the number of businesses in Wales that are employee-owned by 2026 (from 2022) and supports the Employee Ownership Wales service at the development agency Cwmpas to ensure Wales-based companies remain in Welsh hands.