BBS Law Act For Key Production Group To Establish Employee Ownership Trust

BBS Law are delighted to have acted for Karen Emanuel, the founder and CEO of Europe’s largest agency for physical music and bespoke packaging manufacturing, Key Production on the sale of the company to an employee ownership trust (EOT).

An EOT is an ownership structure for private companies where companies are owned for the benefit of their employees which enables the incentivisation and engagement of employees and provides the benefits of employee ownership not just for the employees and the business but also for the wider company. It also offers significant tax advantages both to the employees and to existing shareholders.

The BBS corporate team have established a specialism in EOT transactions, and the Key Production deal is the latest in a number of successful EOT sales which we have been involved with.

Under the transaction, Karen Emanuel remains as CEO of the company and has also become a director on the board of the EOT trustee company along with Lisa Edwards, who has been with Key Production for 28 years and Rebecca Mills of BBS who is taking up the role of independent director.

Commenting on the change, Emanuel said, “After just over 33 ⅓ years of being the sole director and owner at Key Production, it’s time for me to secure the next 33 ⅓ years. I’m truly excited to do this by setting up an employee ownership trust, to empower the people that have helped me build the company and amazing culture that is Key Production, namely the staff. I will be staying on as CEO to transition us into this next stage of growth and development”.

BBS congratulates our client on the successful outcome of the transaction and wishes the EOT and the company every success in the future.

Dov Black, Rebecca Mills and Paul Stedman advised on the EOT from BBS. Advice was also provided by David Finn of RDP Newmans.