|
EFES NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 2026
|
Great
Britain – Fear
of success
|
|
Over
the past ten years, employee ownership in SMEs has seen
extraordinary growth in Great Britain. We were rapidly
moving towards a situation where one in ten SMEs would
be employee-owned. In most cases, employees become 100%
owners of their company. Without having to spend a single
penny of their own money. This success was due to the
introduction of the Employee Ownership Trust
mechanism in 2014.
And
then... the new government decided to reintroduce taxation
on the transfer of businesses to employees. Overnight,
from 27 November 2025, the transfer of businesses
to employees ground to a halt in Great Britain.
Yet no serious study has been conducted on the results
and costs of the tax policy implemented over the last
ten years. According to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
it has been a massive success. If this keeps up, it
will be too expensive. To make this claim, she relied
on idiotic financial extrapolations not even worthy
of a first-year student. In addition, the government
is proposing a new objective: to double the size of
the mutual and cooperative sector. Why not conquer Mars
while we’re at it? In both cases, there will be a small
place for employee ownership. Promised!
There
is only one way to avert disaster. It is essential
to reinstate the 100% exemption on capital gains relating
to the sale of a company to employees.
More
info
|
|
|
Press
review
A
selection of 20 remarkable articles in 7 countries in January
2026: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Slovenia, UK, USA.
Belgium:
Business transfer through a workers’ coop.
Czechia: The new law on employee share plans came into
effect on January 1st.
Denmark: The law on business transfers to employees
came into effect on January 1st.
France: New employee share plans for Riou Glass. Ownership
packages for managers.
Slovenia: The new employee ownership model came into
effect on January 1st.
UK: The campaign to double the size of the mutual and
coop sector has been launched, - including the promised folding
seat for employee ownership. Still a few isolated cases of
business transfers to Employee Ownership Trusts. This time,
the cases of: Structura construction, GMS marketing agency,
Cedar Audio. Success stories for TSK (employee-owned since
2024) and for Alfa Holiday (employee-owned since 2015).
USA: Multiple cases of business transfers through ESOP
plans.
The full press review is available
on:
https://www.efesonline.org/PRESS
REVIEW/2026/January.htm
|
A
political roadmap for employee ownership in Europe
The
EFES needs more members. Download the EFES membership form
What's
new on the EFES website?
EFES NEWS
distribution: 200.000
|
