A South West-based financial planning specialist has sold the business to its 65 staff.
Paradigm Norton, which has offices in Bristol, Torquay and London, has transferred to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
The firm’s owner, Barry Horner, says the move is designed to futureproof the business “against senior shareholder retirements and provide stability and security”.
Paradigm Norton has worked with London law firm Fieldfisher since 2017 to prepare for the move to collective ownership.
The transition was completed this year with 80 per cent of the company shares being sold to the EOT.
The firm will continue under the same leadership team led by founder and chief executive Mr Horner.
The board will include Mr Horner, two employees appointed by the wider team and three employees appointed by the holding company board.
Patrick Burns, the former chief executive of the Employee Ownership Association, has been appointed as the independent chair.
Mr Horner, who launched the company in 2001, said: “This is a really exciting move for Paradigm Norton, enabling us to realise our ambition to become a trans-generational business.
“The collective ownership by all the team secures the future of the business and our core values."
Deb Oxley, chief executive of the Employee Ownership Association, added: “By widening ownership of the business to its employees, Paradigm Norton Financial Planning is securing the future of the business, including its ethos, values and employees, while rooting itself locally for the longer term to the benefit of the community it serves.”
The Employee Ownership Trust was introduced in 2014 in the UK Finance Act.
