A E Yates Ltd. is proud to announce that it is now an employee owned company.

At the end of February 2021 the Whitehead family sold 75% of their shares in A E Yates Ltd. (and its subsidiary SPI Piling Ltd.) to the employees via an Employee Ownership Trust company, A E Yates (EOT) Ltd.

A E Yates Ltd. has belonged to the Whitehead family since 1946 and this is a huge change but one that should secure a strong, successful and stable future in the long term. Employee ownership is a relatively new concept within the construction industry but within the wider business world employee ownership is thought to boost economic growth, provide long term stability and protect against the risks that would arise from a sale to a third party. Employee owned companies are better equipped to deal with uncertainty and we strongly believe that  the companies will prosper under employee ownership. Whilst we’re not in the same league, companies such as John Lewis, KPMG and Mott MacDonald are examples of successful employee owned companies. Hopefully, the change is one that will make  A E Yates Ltd. and SPI Piling Ltd. even better,  stronger and a good place to work for many years to come.

The companies have joined the Employee Ownership Association.

Although the family will continue to work within the businesses, they are now minority shareholders in A E Yates Ltd. Other group businesses remain in family ownership and as part of the sale all the companies in the trading group are required to continue working together harmoniously and to treat each other fairly. A E Yates and SPIP will continue to be run by their boards of directors and management teams but there will be oversight from the EOT which ensures that the businesses are operated for the long term benefit of its owners – the employees.