Language firm to be taken on by staff
An Inverness business that has become a key provider of teaching English as a foreign language is making the transition to employee ownership and vowing to maintain its Highland home.
Launchedfromagardenshed in the middle of the 2008 financial crash by founders Joe Hallwood and Jennifer Mackenzie, the TEFL Org provides in-person and online courses. In the last financial year, the company witnessed growth of 81 per cent,increasingrevenueto£4.8 million.
Based in the Highlands capital, it now has more than 30 employees, including 17 core staff, 11 of whom are local to the office.
Thefoundershavenowestablished an employee ownership trustallowingforabuyoutover time, giving everyone “time to adjust” before the company becomes fully employee owned.
Co-founder Hallwood, said: “Jennifer and I have built the brand from the ground up. We’re very proud of it and want to ensure it continues thriving as we look towards retirement.
“We are the highest calibre Tefl[teachingenglishasaforeign language] provider in the world, both in terms of operations and the way we treat our staff. If we were to sell to a competitor, we risk losing our hardwon reputation.
“Some of our employees have
been with us since the first few months and know the company inside out. We trust them to do right by the firm and have no doubt it will continue to thrive under their care.”
While the pandemic resulted inacessationofin-personlearning,thefirm’svirtualclassroom coursesandon-demandonline courseshavegrowninpopularity, jumping by more than 250 per cent over the last year.
Fellow founder Mackenzie said: “As much as possible, we will be pursuing the remote
learning route. It has proven to bemuchmoreefficientthaninperson teaching and provides flexibility for our staff and our learners.
“For example, someone from Thailand can be in the same virtual classroom as someone from Shetland, both being taught by a teacher from Madrid.
“However,asmuchaswewish to pursue more remote options –wewouldneverwantthecompanytobecomeentirelyonline.
“Due to the relative remoteness
of our head office, if we sold the TEFL Org, we recognised there would be a high chance the buyer would move the company elsewhere. We wanted to provide job security for our core team who are local to our headquarters.”
The founders were introduced to the employee ownership model by accountancy firm Azets UK and Scottish law firm Ledingham Chalmers, which helped advise on the move.
Graham Cunning, partner
and head of corporate finance with Azets, said: “Employee ownership trusts are rising in popularity at the expense of the more traditional trade sale as they offer owners more privacy and greater control of the sale process.”
Andrew Stott, senior associate with Ledingham Chalmers, added: “This deal is a great exampleofwhyemployeeownershipmodelsaresomethingof a win-win.”