Marvin OnumonuGrant Thornton UK has set up an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) as part of its move to take on external investment from Cinven, a private equity firm.
This EBT will hold a chunk of the firm’s equity to reward senior staff below partner grade, with allocations going to employees at manager level and above.
Those eligible won’t pay for these equity units, which come on top of standard pay and bonuses.
Some units have already been given out, and more will be allocated over the next three years as people join, get promoted, or show strong performance.
The scheme is set up to link rewards for eligible employees to the firm’s performance.
Malcolm Gomersall, CEO at Grant Thornton UK, said: “As we embark on the next, exciting growth chapter for our partnership, we want to recognise the contributions of our people by giving them a greater stake in the future success of our firm.
“The EBT is an innovative approach that will unite our more experienced talent across the firm, ensuring they are pulling in the same direction and coalescing around our collective effort for the benefit of our clients.
“This kind of reward is unmatched in our profession. We are the only firm of our size and scale to ringfence equity in an EBT so that our employees can benefit from the firm’s increased enterprise value – at no cost to them.”
Gomersall added: “It’s a game-changing reward programme for our industry, and we are eagerly embracing this opportunity to be part of something truly exceptional.”
