Getech Employee Ownership Trust (EOT)

Ensors have advised Education technology specialist, Getech Ltd in respect of its sale to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Founded in 1989, Ipswich based Getech provide a wide portfolio of solutions including hardware, software, cloud products and services to the wider Public Sector but most notably Education.

The new employee ownership structure enables the existing shareholders to gradually step back from the day-to-day running of the business, whilst displaying confidence in and motivation for the existing Senior Leadership Team to optimise the numerous exciting business opportunities, relationships and contracts.

The transfer of 81.97% of the organisation’s equity into an EOT facilitates the owners’ succession plan and in turn, benefits the company’s 80-strong workforce.

Comprehensive legal and advisory services were provided by Lisa Hayward, Employee Incentives Partner and Alexandra Nelson, Corporate Partner at Birketts, along with Ensors Corporate Finance Associate Partner, Simon Martin.

Guy Watts, MD of Getech, commented: “Making the move to an employee ownership model was a great choice for Getech. The EOT allows us to satisfy the balance of the preservation of our own SLT team and identity on the one hand, with the shareholders’ ability to structure an exit on their own terms on the other. It was a pleasure to work with both teams, their expert guidance, hands-on approach and professional attentive client service impressed us from the start.”

Simon Martin, Corporate Finance Associate Partner concluded: “Working closely with Guy and the other shareholders together with the team at Birketts, we’re proud to have assisted in paving out the next steps for Getech. By providing initial planning & scoping, valuation, sourcing funding options and cash flow projections, we are pleased to have seen the deal through to completion.”

Guy Watts continues, “Can I add my deepest thanks to you and your team.  Throughout this whole process you have confidently guided us through an ever changing landscape.  I can hardly believe it was 18 months ago we sat down to discuss the idea of what we were hoping to do.”  He continued, “Throughout this whole process you have remained calm and collected, always on hand to provide insight and guidance when we needed it. You had always remained supremely confident that we would get the deal done.”