widget/exchange-29
widget/exchange-30widget/exchange-33
widget/exchange-31

Business / Consultancy company becomes employee-owned

The ESPL Regulatory Consulting team in their Shetland base (left to right): Helen Erwood, Holly Hunter, Diane Wood, Tony Erwood, Anna Watt. Photo: Smarts Communicate

A SHETLAND based business which provides specialist regulatory services to the life sciences and pharmaceutical/medical device industries has become the latest company in Scotland to be employee-owned.

Ownership of ESPL Regulatory Consulting (ESPL) has transferred from the Erwood family to a trust for the benefit of the company’s staff.

The transfer has been supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which provided a grant of £10,250 for the legal costs involved in the buyout.

It comes after HIE recently supported Hoswick based Laurence Odie Knitwear into employee ownership ahead of its owner retiring in the coming years.

ESPL has its headquarters at Lunna House in Vidlin, but it operates internationally and has sister companies in Ireland and Switzerland.

It is said to be one of Scotland’s “most experienced independent specialist consultancies serving the medicines and medical device industries globally, operating in Shetland, Glasgow, England, across the EU, Switzerland, North America and Australia.”

offset-carousel/post-mobile/0

Owners Helen, Tony, and Chris Erwood said they were keen to identify a solution that would allow the business to continue to thrive for the benefit of the employees and remain rooted in Scotland.

Dr Helen Erwood will continue to be involved in the company. “It’s approaching time for control of the business to be handed over to the next generation,” she said.

“We have built up a successful business from our Shetland base and we couldn’t have done that without the considerable talents and efforts of our team. One of our core values is collaboration, and the employee ownership model reinforces that.”

Jason Collins, an experienced regulatory professional, has joined the board as managing director.

HIE account manager for ESPL Andrew Gear said the organisation was “delighted” to have supported the company in making the move to employee ownership.

“ESPL provides unique and quality life-science jobs to Shetland people,” he said. “By making this move, the owners have secured these jobs and the long-term presence of the company in Shetland.”

There are around 100 employee-owned companies operating in Scotland, with approximately 7,000 employee-owners generating a combined turnover of around £940 million.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
widget/exchange-62widget/pd_widget-6widget/exchange-53widget/pd_widget-7widget/exchange-63widget/exchange-54widget/pd_widget-8widget/exchange-55widget/pd_widget-9widget/exchange-56

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.