Change consultancy to become employee-owned
Birmingham-based change consultancy Curium Solutions is to become a majority employee-owned company, it was announced today.
Curium - formed in 2008 by co-founders Adam Farrow, James Farrow and Andy Dawson - has set up an Employee-Owned Trust (EOT), which will have a majority stake in the business.
The firm, a patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said the move aligns with the culture of the organisation.
The existing board and team at Curium will remain in place.
Adam Farrow said: “We are delighted to announce that we are setting up an Employee-Owned Trust, which will own a majority stake in the business.
“Our team has always been central to the success of Curium. After such a successful year against such a challenging market backdrop, we decided that now was the right time to move to this new model, recognising the immense contribution that every employee makes to our success.
“Apart from setting up the trust, nothing else will change. The team and board remain the same, backed by our ambition to grow, develop new services and support many more customers for years to come. ”
James Farrow added: “Culture is everything and this new structure gives us a very firm and secure platform for growing Curium in the future.
“The interests of the team, ourselves and our customers remain perfectly aligned. We 've always believed that looking after your team is the best way of ensuring that you will deliver the best outcomes for your customers. ”
Having formed during the recession in 2008 and successfully navigated lockdown over the past 12 months, the company is remaining positive about the future, according to Andy Dawson.
He said: “Everyone is excited by the opportunity to grow the business and take advantage of the many opportunities that are unfolding as the world unpauses.
“As patrons at the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, what better way to acknowledge the importance of your team by announcing this new ownership model during the Chamber 's Growth Through People campaign. There 's plenty to get on with. ”
Tracy Westall, chair of the board at Curium, said: “My first impression of Curium was that its culture is a superpower with a just cause of empowering potential for customers, so the decision to become an EOT is an obvious evolution to the story.
“What better way to encourage the potential of the team to drive growth and success whilst maintaining the valuable and irreplaceable culture, values and spirit of the business. ”
Emma Taylor, chief people officer and board director, said the move to an Employee-Owned Trust model fits perfectly with the firm 's culture.
She said: “The EOT is perfect for us for many reasons but for me it 's how it enhances our already very strong team culture.
“We already benefit from our team acting and behaving like they own our business. Now they do and will be directly rewarded accordingly. We 're rolling up our sleeves and are very excited about the future. ”
Curium used fellow Chamber patron RSM as advisers during the process.
Mark Taylor, regional managing partner at RSM, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have supported the Curium management team with this project.
“Our specialist team are seeing an increased amount of work on EOT projects as more and more businesses are attracted to this model of ownership.
“It was great to put in place a structure that supports the growth plan of such an exciting local business and fellow patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. ”
Pictured (l to r): Adam Farrow, Andy Dawson and James Farrow