Focus Group hands company shares to almost 200 employees

185 staff, or more than 50 per cent of eligible employees, now hold equity in the business

Focus Group has handed company shares to nearly 200 of its employees as part of the Save as You Earn (SAYE) share scheme.

More than 50 per cent of eligible staff, or 185 employees, have signed up to the scheme and now hold equity in Focus Group.

Under the SAYE scheme, companies can offer shares at a fixed price to employees under a three or five year contract.

The Sussex-based firm, which has eight regional offices in the UK and around 400 staff, claims that the scheme will help its staff share in the company's success and participate in its future growth.

Focus Group claims that it launched the scheme after it forecast revenues for 2021 to jump from £79m to £116m.

The business has recruited more than 70 staff this year and grown EBITDA from £13.5m in 2020 to £18.5m this year.

"Our people have been at the heart of our success since we founded the business back in 2003 so we're very excited to have launched My Focus Fund. The scheme gives staff the opportunity to participate in the future growth in the company and share our success financially, via share option arrangements," said co-founder and director Chris Goodman.

Focus Group landed £150m in private equity funding from Bowmark Capital in 2020 and made five acquisitions during its fiscal year ending 30 November 2020.

The firm then went on to acquire Devon-based swcomms in February to accelerate its growth in the South West of the UK and then bought up Scottish comms provider GB Technologies in October.

Speaking to CRN earlier this year, newly appointed CEO and former Ensono MD Barney Taylor said that the firm is adopting a "buy and grow" strategy which will see Focus Group acquire for scale and capability across the UK.