Why makers of Wallace and Gromit decided to become employee-owned
The Start-Up: Aardman was looking for a way to secure its legacy, but it didn’t want to be swallowed up by a large conglomerate
Morph welcomes guests into the central Bristol offices of the animation company Aardman with a putty-coloured, outstretched arm. But there are plenty of other reasons that employees might feel welcome here, from the breakout areas populated by stuffed Shaun the Sheep, to the well-tended gardens, where Nick Park often sits, pondering his latest creations, to the walls and cabinets lined with Baftas, Oscars and Cannes Lions for Wallace and Gromit and many of the other Aardman creations that are printed in the memory of any British child of the Nineties.
Last year, those employees had one more reason to stay. On 10 November 2018, the company announced that its founders, Peter Lord and Dave Sproxton, were selling 75 per cent of shares to a trust that would hold them on behalf of employees, turning Aardman into an employee-owned company.
Stephanie Owen, a senior producer and trustee director, first heard about the plan at the company’s annual review in April last year. She had plenty of questions about employee ownership, which is still less well known than other company structures, but mostly, she felt proud.
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