Douglas Roberts

Douglas Roberts, partner in the corporate and commercial team, alongside Nimarta Cheema of Lindsays, guided Carlton Bingo in providing legal advice with Avondale Corporate managing the transaction.

Mr Roberts said: “We were delighted to assist the team at Carlton Bingo in what is a significant step for EOTs in Scotland.  It’s encouraging to see a company of the scale of Carlton Bingo adopting employee ownership, proving it’s an option that fits with businesses of all sizes.”

The four major shareholders Chris Barr, George Carter, Brian King and Peter Perrins decided to transition the business into employee ownership after considering their succession options and acknowledging their staff’s loyalty and commitment.

Mr Carter said: “It might sound like a cliché but we are very much like a family business here. The sale to an EOT 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.”

Finance director, Leslie Ross, who has worked for at Carlton for almost 30 years, highlighted the significant length of service dedicated to Carlton by many of the employees: “The combined company length of service stands at over 1500 years. We recently celebrated a 40 year service anniversary for one employee in Dunfermline.  Carlton has a great culture that fosters commitment and long service.“

The company was hit significantly during the Covid crisis, with one club being closed for a total of 400 days.

Managing director Mike Watret said: “We have recovered well from what was a challenging time. Eight of our 10 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.

“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.”

Carole Leslie of Ownership Associates, who worked with directors on the programme of employee communication, added: “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.”