Grape Tree staff share £100,000 bonus as move to employee ownership trust pays off
More than 900 staff at Grape Tree have shared a £100,000 bonus after the health foods retailer completed its move to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) this year.
Employees who had been with the company for at least three months were eligible for the pay out, which was given in recognition of the role they played in the company’s 10% increase in annual sales.
Subscribe to TRBGrape Tree’s decision to move to an EOT was driven by the need to have a clear succession route for its management team and also to reward existing staff.
The company is set to launch its 200th store in July.
Nick Shutts, founder of Grape Tree, said: “We’ve had a very strong start to life as an Employee Ownership Trust and wanted to give something back to our people, who have really embraced the transition.
“It’s a little ‘thank you’ to show them that if the business does well, so do they and we’re hoping that this can become an annual occurrence as we continue to grow and expand to new locations across the UK.
“Feedback from staff has been great and you can see it translate into efficiency gains secured at our assembly and packaging HQ in Kingswinford and in the way we deal with customers in store.
“In turn, it is having a real impact on the bottom line. Our market share in the healthy foods market is growing, sales are increasing across multiple ranges and we’ve got several exciting new store openings set to take place.”
Grape Tree has opened ten new stores and created over 50 new jobs since becoming an EOT, which has taken the total workforce to over 1,000.
It has also formed a 20-strong employee council drawn from across the business, which will act as the main vehicle for generating and implementing ideas to address challenges and explore new opportunities.
Scott Cox, stock controller and a member of the employee council, said: “It’s great to see the company recognising the effort everyone puts in every day. The bonus was very much appreciated and has created a real buzz across the business.”
