No To A Management Buy-Out
Carlton Bingo, a popular Scottish bingo company with some 209 staff, has become one of areas largest employee-owned firms in a bid to secure the future of bingo for staff and customers.
Carlton Bingo was launched in 1998 by Peter Perrins, George Carter, Brian King and Chris Barr bought out the bingo interest of Taylor Clark Limited. Carlton Bingo has venues in Inverness, Stirling, Livingston, Dunfermline, Buckie, Elgin, Fraserburgh, Dalkeith, East Kilbride and Partick in Glasgow and now all ten bingo halls will be controlled by every single one of those 209 employees.
No Bingo Closures Planned
What is an employee-owned trust? An employee-owned trust or EOT, is a government initiative that allows business owners to sell their shares to an employee-owned trust, a scheme that is free from capital gains tax. No single employee will own the company, instead all staff will have a controlling interest in the company via the trust, which is then held for the benefit of the staff.
Mr Carter said: “It might sound like a cliche but we are very much like a family business here. The sale to an EOT (Employee Ownership Trusts) fitted exactly with what we wanted. We have to wait a few years to realise our full value, but we judged that to be a risk worth taking to preserve all that’s good about Carlton for our customers and our staff.”
He added: “A management buyout was a real possibility – our management team are hugely respected within the business – but that really only defers the problem of succession. By transferring the shareholding to an EOT, the future of Carlton Bingo is secure for our loyal staff and customers.”
Managing Director, Mike Watret was only supposed to take on the role of MD for a short period of time in 1991, but went on to work at Gala Bingo before returning to Carlton Bingo in 2012. Referring to the pandemic and how well the staff performed under extreme measures he said: “We have recovered well from what was a challenging time. Eight of our 10 (bingo) locations exceeded their targets for March and several are outperforming their 2019 results. This is testament to the hard work and loyalty of our staff who have done a sterling job in ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for our customers.
He added: “If I had any doubts that this was the right way forward, they were banished when we delivered the news to the employees. There are challenges ahead, but with our great team here I’m confident that we’ll overcome them.”
Finance Director Leslie Ross, who has worked at Carlton for almost three decades, had nothing but praise for the staff: “The combined company length of service stands at over 1,500 years. We recently celebrated a 40-year service anniversary for one employee in Dunfermline.”
Carole Leslie of Ownership Associates, who worked with directors on the programme of employee communication, said: “It was a fabulous experience meeting so many employees who are so loyal to their company and genuinely enjoy their jobs. The idea of employee ownership was largely unknown by most of the staff, but once explained, was recognised as a generous gesture by the former shareholders.”
Source: “We’re The First Bingo Company in UK to Adopt Employee Ownership”. CarltonBingo. June 14, 2022.
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