Posts about Insights

Five months after the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered offices in the UK and across the world, a picture of the new normal for businesses is slowly emerging. 

At Capdesk we believe every company should combine a steady pay with co-ownership in the company. Giving employees co-ownership in the company can increase motivation and incentivise them to work harder, but employee share schemes can be tricky to handle - luckily we're here to help! 

In the private business world, the reasons for giving equity to employees are more than thoroughly discussed among founders, investors, and managers alike. But how often do you get to hear your employees’ thoughts on those grants you issued them? Are you making the most out of your option pool to incentivise staff, or are you just giving away equity with little or no impact?

We caught up with... let's call him Ben, a current option grant holder, to get an honest account of how an average grant is issued and communicated to employees, and what determines their effect on employee performance and loyalty.

Xtrac is a world-leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance transmission systems and driveline components, supplying virtually all the world's top motorsport teams. Its Employee Benefit Trust, established in 1997 continues to impress today. After winning the ESOP Centre's 2018 'Best All-Employee Share Scheme' award Xtrac's Finance Director, Stephen Lane, talks to Capdesk about why employee share plans matter, what can make or break them, and what the future of employee ownership holds. 

Share plans are one of the most important things a company can do to recruit, retain and motivate its staff. A properly managed share plan can align employees, managers and shareholders to work together to achieve the company’s financial and strategic goals. But – occasionally – they can also go wrong. So what should you think about when setting up a share plan? And what should you avoid to prevent problems?

If you run a growing, dynamic company you may be considering an initial public offering (more commonly known as an “IPO” or a “listing”) for your company i.e. floating your company on the stock market. This is the last of a three part series about IPOs.

If you run a growing, dynamic company you may be considering an initial public offering (more commonly known as an “IPO” or a “listing”) for your company i.e. floating your company on the stock market. This is the second of a three part series about IPOs.

If you run a growing, dynamic company you may be considering an initial public offering (more commonly known as an “IPO” or a “listing”) for your company i.e. floating your company on the stock market.

This is the first of a three part series about IPOs. The first summarises the advantages and disadvantages of doing an IPO. The second outlines which of the several UK markets you could consider. The third is perhaps the most important as it gives some guidance about what you should be aware of before you start.

“Lawyers will tell you it’s about incentivisation, accountants will tell you it’s about making sure people stay as long as possible, but for me it’s actually about giving back to the team who are giving us precious years of their lives.”

If you’ve set up an employee share plan or are considering doing so, you’ve probably read plenty about the topic, including several contributing articles in Forbes. One of those in particular, argues categorically against offering equity to employees. However, we think its author only tells half the truth about employee equity.