An award-winning investment advisory firm has adopted employee ownership following the wishes of its late founder, Alan Steel.

Having turned down numerous buyout offers in the years since setting up Alan Steel Asset Management (ASAM) in his home town of Linlithgow in 1975, Mr Steel had been making plans for the transfer prior to his death in September of last year. He is said to have believed that the future of the business lay in West Lothian with its 42 employees and 10 advisors – two thirds of which are made up of staff from the region.

The entrepreneur discussed succession options with his long term adviser, Iain Binnie of Geoghegans Chartered Accountants, who introduced the practice to employee ownership specialist Carole Leslie of Ownership Associates. A sale to an Employee Owned Trust was set to complete in October 2021, but was delayed after the founder lost a month-long battle to Covid.

The Herald:

Alan’s wife and finance director of ASAM, Frances Steel, said: “While this has been an incredibly difficult time for us all, we are thankful that we have been able to carry out Alan’s dream for this company.”

She added: “ASAM is a close-knit group and we have a number of families working within the company, and so adopting employee ownership felt like a logical step for the business, and Alan recognised this from the beginning.

“This decision is not only instilling confidence in our team, but it is also reassuring our clients, some of whom we have built relationships with over decades, that our roots are very much in Linlithgow.”

The Herald: Frances SteelFrances Steel

Ms Leslie sasid: “My dealings with Alan were always warm and engaging, and he understood the importance of looking after the business long-term while safeguarding those at its heart. Alan’s five values have been written into the legal documents and the company has committed to adhering to Alan’s way of doing business.

“It was stressed upon me how important this transition was to Alan, and I am delighted that we can welcome ASAM to the employee ownership family.”

Asian food firm dreams of creating ‘mini-Chinatown’ in Glasgow

 

The Herald:

The boss of an Asian food retail, distribution, wholesale and manufacturing business has spoken of her dream to create a “mini Chinatown” in Glasgow as it relaunched a supermarket that it recently brought back into the fold.

SeeWoo Group officially reopened what is understood to be Scotland’s largest Asian supermarket on Glasgow’s Saracen Street on Thursday following a “significant investment”. The company bought the store back in December after a four-year period under different ownership, having originally launched the site in 2006.

Apprentice numbers stuck near pandemic lows

 

The Herald:

The number of young people taking up paid apprenticeships has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels despite a sharp increase in unemployment among Scots between the ages of 16 and 24.

New research published today for the launch of Scottish Apprenticeship Week also found low levels of understanding about earn-as-you-learn schemes. The authors of that research, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), say this suggests that raising awareness could hold the key to tackling youth unemployment.

The Herald: