Eight Best of British Beer workers handed £650k control of business
Eight workers at an online beer retailer have been handed majority control of it in a move worth £650,000.
founders of Best of British Beer, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, set up a trust ensuring the workers will get an annual share of the profits and a tax-free bonus.
Gill and Will Sherwin said their business had thrived during lockdown with a rise in online ordering.
r "brilliant" staff deserved the move for "working so hard," they said.
mployees, who now own a 51%  share of the company via an Employee Ownership Trust, get a say in how the business is run, with a position on the company's board, explained Mrs Sherwin. 
She said they had wanted to double the size of the business but that it "didn't sit well with us"  asking the staff to work harder, "whilst we get all the benefit from it - that's horrible isn't it?"
"So now the more profitable the business is the more dividend they'll get at the end of the year," she said.
Former apprentice Emily Sale, 20, who now works as an accountants supervisor with the company, said when the plan was revealed to her it felt like an "Eastenders moment".
"I couldn't believe it really, it took us all a while to realise what it actually meant, and how much it would mean to us in the long run," she added. 
"I believe a business should not simply be about profit. It should also be about happiness and on both counts we are winning," added Mr Sherwin.  
mpany is only one of 300 in the country to hand ownership to employees, Mrs Sherwin said. 
"In a recession they outperform all others, so in terms of growing your business and rewarding and attracting good people, it's a no-brainer."
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