Eddie Reid, Managing Director of the TGI Golf Partnership, has backed Government plans to encourage more businesses to adopt an employee ownership model.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg this week told an audience in the City that offering shares to employees would improve productivity and foster economic growth.
It is this business model that has proved central to the success of the TGI Golf Partnership – which is owned equally by its Partners – over the last 28 years and helped the group experience substantial growth in the past decade.
Reid said: “Our business is dedicated to our Partners who share in the profits we make. As a partnership we share in the responsibility of owning the group and pull together to offer the highest quality services and build lasting relationships with customers and Partner Suppliers.
“Over the past eight years, we have added more than 200 new retailers to the company, grown total income by more than by 250%, and given back more than £1 million in cash dividends in addition to bonus shares to our Partners.”
It is this business model that the Government would like to see adopted by more companies, building what Clegg described as ‘a John Lewis economy.’
The Liberal Democrat leader said: “We need more individuals to have a real stake in their firms – more of a John Lewis economy, if you like.
“Firms that have engaged employees, who own a percentage of their company, are just as dynamic, just as savvy, as their competitors. In fact, they often perform better…they weathered the economic downturn better than other companies.
“The evidence and success stories cannot be ignored – we have to tap this well if we are serious about growth. The 1980s was the decade of share ownership, I want this to be the decade of employee shared ownership.”
Eddie Reid added: “Our unique Partnership has helped us to grow and prosper through the choppy waters of the recent economic downturn, which is the point Nick Clegg is making. The professional approach of our Partners resulted in a 14% increase on sell-in in the first six months of this financial year and a 12% rise on sell-through.
“Working together as a group for the collective benefit of everyone involved has helped TGI Golf’s sustained growth over the last 28 years, and by continuing to work hard for each other I believe that growth will continue.”
TGI Golf Partnership www.tgigolf.com