Welsh housebuilder Edenstone becomes 100% employee-owned

Edenstone, the Magor-headquartered housebuilder, has become 100% employee-owned, with its shares now held by an employee ownership trust on behalf of its staff.

The business builds homes across South Wales and the South West of England. Its leadership said Edenstone had all the ingredients to become a highly successful employee-owned business, and that the move would keep the company independent while giving its people a stake in its future.

Around 3,000 UK businesses are now employee-owned, including more than 100 in Wales. Employee ownership has become an increasingly popular succession route for owners who want to protect their company’s independence and culture, even after the capital gains tax relief on sales to employee ownership trusts was halved last year.