OnBuy rewards staff with over £1 million in share options
Online marketplace OnBuy is to reward its entire workforce with over £1 million in share options in the run-up to Christmas as it prepares for international expansion.
The move follows the company achieving 200% revenue growth in the last 12 months and a successful Black Friday weekend where GMV rose by 25% year-on-year.
Over 100 employees will have an option to have a stake in the business by being rewarded with share options equivalent to around 25% of their annual income. These will be able to be exercised during any liquidity event. With an anticipated IPO in the next two years, staff are set to benefit sooner rather than later.
Founded by British entrepreneur Cas Paton in 2016, OnBuy offers 36 million listings.
Paton said, “At OnBuy, we do the right thing by our retailers and customers, so it’s natural that we would do the right thing by our staff too – and we don’t believe any employee should have to be in the boardroom to benefit from company growth. Ecommerce is a fast-paced 24 hour business and many firms have been in the spotlight recently for poor working practices and in some cases, downright abuse of staff. Frankly this is unacceptable and at OnBuy, we are committed to creating a fair and transparent working environment for all.”
The announcement comes as OnBuy finishes 2021 with recognition in Deloitte’s Fast 50 as the fastest growing company in the South West and Wales, and Paton winning the Regional Scale-Up Entrepreneur award at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in November.
The company has set it sights on international expansion in the coming months and will also be launching a mobile app.
