A national firm has pledged to give away shares to staff and give them a potential windfall further down the line.
Insurance specialist HF this week launched an all employee share scheme, offering a stake in the business to every staff member who has been with the company for at least a year.
The firm says its ambition is to ‘turn the traditional law firm model on its head’ and make employees owners of the business.
It is also envisaged the scheme will bring fee earners and back-office support workers closer together with a common aim of driving success across the firm.
Ronan McCann, chief executive and managing partner at HF said: ‘I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, to genuinely involve all our people in the success of our business.
‘This is a ground-breaking move for a law firm and aligns perfectly with our culture and drive to be different and innovative. We say that we are people, not just lawyers, and we’re wholly committed to maintaining that difference for the benefit of our people as well as our clients.’
The scheme will allocate shares from Horwich Farrelly Limited from the start of the year and is available to all eligible employees.
An undisclosed number of shares will be given away each year free of charge. While the shares do not provide for a dividend, shareholders own a piece of the company and would be entitled to share in the proceeds of any future capital event such as an investment listing or sale.
An employee can sell their shares once they have held them for at least five years. Employees will remain a minority shareholder in the business.
John O’Roarke, HF chairman, added: ‘HF has an outstanding, people centred culture and prides itself on not being a stereotypical law firm.
‘This latest move is something we’ve been working towards for a while and I’m excited for the future. Sharing ownership in this market-leading way supports our people and client-focused culture as well as positioning HF as a great place to work.’
Horwich Farrelly Limited was incorporated two years ago (although the firm itself dates back to 1969) and in the year ended 31 December 2021 it reported profit before tax of £1.267m based on revenue of £23.2m.
