Press Release
First of its kind: NHS GP Practice moves to Employee Ownership Trust
Postlethwaite Solicitors advises on transition to Employee Ownership Trust for Minehead Medical Practice in Somerset.
London-based Postlethwaite Solicitors, a national practice specialising in employee ownership, advises on a transaction that sees individual NHS GP Practice, Minehead Medical Centre become owned by an employee ownership trust (EOT). The GP practice is the first in the UK to do this, adopting what is often referred to as the ‘John Lewis style’ model.[1]
Postlethwaite advised on establishing the employee-ownership trust, working alongside MLP Law, who acted for the transferee company and the ongoing GP shareholders. Porter Dodson Solicitors acted for the transferring GPs.
As an employee-owned entity, employees now have a say in how the practice is run without needing to invest their own money, and profits made are invested back into the practice to help improve services, training and wages.
Robert Postlethwaite, Founder and Managing Director of Postlethwaite Solicitors says
‘Our firm has approaching 20 years’ experience in helping organisations from many sectors become employee-owned through an employee ownership trust, and it’s been extremely exciting to help Minehead Medical Centre innovate in this way.
A practice owned by an EOT can enjoy many potential benefits, including greater employee engagement through a say in how things can be done better, improved performance as well as being an attractive place to work for both existing and new employees. The practice, alongside many others in the UK, faces the challenge of recruiting GPs and it’s hoped this transition, which moves away from the traditional partnership model, relying on new partners to make a significant personal financial commitment to buy shares, will help in their recruitment efforts.
Ed Ford, the GP who has led the development of the employee ownership trust at Minehead Medical Centre says
“We have a fantastic management team and wider staff team, so partners at the practice felt we should give them more control of the business.
“We also wanted to ensure that the business structure shouldn’t rely on individuals holding shares that could be difficult to transfer if people wanted to leave – hence the idea of becoming an employee ownership trust.
“EOTs offers GP practices an alternative, more flexible operational model; offering staff a greater say in how GP practices are run and opportunities for the team to develop their careers by having a greater leadership role, without needing to have the funds to invest as a partner.
“As an EOT, Minehead Medical Practice is committed to continuing to drive up standards at the practice and deliver the best standard of care to our patients”.
ENDS
For more information, please visit: https://nhssomerset.nhs.uk/mineheadmedicalcentreemployeeownedtrust/
For enquiries, please contact
Contact Name: Marie Cremona / Robert Postlethwaite
Phone Number: 020 3818 9420
Email: mac@postlethwaiteco.com / rmp@postlethwaiteco.com
[1] There is a group of GP practices in the North-West of England that are also owned by an employee trust, but Minehead Medical Centre is the first individual practice to commit to an EOT which requires all employees to have an ownership stake
Download Postlethwaite’s NHS Minehead Medical Centre press release.
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