Inverness-headquartered Carlton Bingo is handing the reins to its 209-strong staff across 10 Scottish venues in a move which will see the gaming company become the country’s largest employee-owned firm.
The halls are prominent in the north and north east including Inverness, Buckie, Elgin and Fraserburgh with the company becoming the first gaming operation in the UK to adopt staff ownership and as it emerges from closures triggered by the pandemic.
Carlton Bingo has 10 venues across Scotland
With locations in Inverness, Stirling, Livingston, Dunfermline, Buckie, Elgin, Fraserburgh, Dalkeith, East Kilbride and Partick in Glasgow, the company has now put its shares into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), which will see its staff given a controlling stake in the business.
The four major shareholders, Chris Barr, George Carter, Brian King and Peter Perrins decided to transition the business into employee ownership after considering their succession options.
“It might sound like a cliché but we are very much like a family business here,” said Inverness-based Mr Carter.
“The sale to an EOT fitted exactly with what we wanted. We have to wait a few years to realise our full value, but we judged that to be a risk worth taking to preserve all that’s good about Carlton for our customers and our staff.
“A management buyout was a real possibility – our management team are hugely respected within the business – but that really only defers the problem of succession. By transferring the shareholding to an EOT, the future of Carlton Bingo is secure for our loyal staff and customers.”
The four main shareholders have been involved in the bingo industry for most of their careers.
Managing director, Mike Watret, took what he viewed as a temporary job after graduating from Stirling University in 1991. He then went on to have a successful career with Gala Bingo and returned to Carlton 10 years ago.
Mike said: “I didn’t expect to be back here 30 years later. It’s a great job working with a great team of people.”
Finance director Leslie Ross, who has worked at Carlton for almost 30 years, highlighted the significant length of service dedicated to Carlton by many of the employees.
“The combined company length of service stands at over 1,500 years,” she said. “We recently celebrated a 40-year service anniversary for one employee in Dunfermline. Carlton has a great culture that fosters commitment and long service.”
The company was hit significantly during the Covid crisis with one club being closed for a total of 400 days.
“We have recovered well from what was a challenging time,” noted Mr Watret. “Eight of our 10 locations exceeded their targets for March and several are outperforming their 2019 results.
“This is testament to the hard work and loyalty of our staff who have done a sterling job in ensuring a safe and welcoming environment for our customers.”
Staff behind shareholders’ move
Carole Leslie of Ownership Associates, who worked with directors on the programme of employee communication, noted the idea of staff ownership was “largely unknown” to most of the employees but that they are now behind the former shareholders’ move.
The transaction was managed by Avondale Corporate and Douglas Roberts while Nimarta Cheema of Lindsays provided the legal advice.
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