Jessica O'ConnorThe Entertainer, the UK’s biggest toy chain, is transferring 100% ownership of the business to its 1,900 employees through an employee ownership trust.
Gary Grant, who founded the company in 1981, will hand over control of the family-owned business, which now operates 160 shops across the country.
Under the new arrangement, staff will share in the company’s profits and have a say in how it is run.
Grant told the BBC: “If the business had been sold just for money that would not have been passing on the baton in the way in which the family would have wanted.”
Profits are mainly generated in the lead-up to Christmas, so it is too early to say if employees will receive a bonus for this financial year.
Grant continued: “The real rewards should come for the year ending in January 2027. That’s when I think the staff will start to see something a little bit more meaningful.”
The Grant family will receive financial compensation for transferring their shares, with payments made over time from the company’s profits.
The Entertainer reported pre-tax profits of £6.7m for the year ending January 2024.
