Whats the frequency of the letter h in:
John Murphy and his partner Maxine have decided to give away Arbuckles, the diner business they have taken more than a decade to build on the outskirts of Downham Market.
And to the staff who will receive the gift – valued at some £7.5m – it’s a lucky break which could be worth a life-changing amount of money.
The decision, which has been more than a year in the preparation, was finally revealed to the 130-strong workforce at a staff meeting at the Downham Market restaurant on Monday morning.
John Murphy, Jacob Murphy, Josh Murphy and Maxine Murphy at Arbuckles in 2013 Picture Matthew Usher.
Mr Murphy told them the deal had been signed on Friday, meaning they had been business owners for the last three days without knowing it.
Earlier, Mr Murphy said he and his partner had been looking for a way in which they could take a step back from the business, protect its future and reward their staff.
“We’ve done incredibly well out of it, but we didn’t do it on our own – we had a lot of help,” he said.
“We put in a lot of graft to build the business, and luck played a part.
With their sons Jacob and Josh Murphy both playing Premier League football, having come through the Norwich City academy and first team, the couple admit they have “had a lot of luck in our lives”.
In some cases, that will be as much as 5pc – a stake which at current values would be worth £350,000.
“I want them to be able to look at those who left and say ‘I now own a share that’s now worth £75,000 or £150,000 or £350,000’.
But they could also have taken a more traditional sale route which would have unlocked the cash more quickly, or simply taken a step back, allowed their management team to run the restaurant and collected the profits.
They have also contributed £1.5m to the ownership trust from current profits, and will continue to sit on the board of directors. A management team has been appointed and will oversee the transition and the future of the business.
The move is expected to help retain talent at the restaurant – the shares can only be sold once the debts are repaid in five years – and give staff greater responsibility for driving its success.
From his research, Mr Murphy says that such businesses run with an employee ownership model tend to outperform traditional structures. They are particularly popular in the USA while in the UK, John Lewis and Partners is the best-known example.
Since reviving a derelict Little Chef restaurant in the teeth of the financial crisis, Mr and Mrs Murphy have turned it into one of the busiest restaurants in the area.
It opened as a 100-seat restaurant but has been expanded several times and can now accommodate 340 guests, while a second site in Ely was opened in 2017. The two have a combined turnover of more than £6m.
The couple’s philosophy is summed up in the name of the trust they have set up to take on the restaurant – Karma Enterprises.
“We called it Karma Enterprises because we are big believers in karma,” said Mr Murphy.
“Do good things, and good things happen. I know it’s a mumbo-jumbo concept but it’s a good way to live your life.
user
I counted 144 "h"s in that text.
assistant