The £267m firm will be sold to its staff through an EOT created to enable employees to acquire, through the sale of shares by existing owners, a controlling interest in a company.

Gilbert-Ash Managing Director, Ray Hutchinson, said: “The recent success of Gilbert-Ash has, in many ways, been built upon the fact that we have been an employee-owned company for more than 50 years.

“Moving to an Employee Ownership Trust embraces that fact further and replaces the existing narrow shareholding with a structure that is designed to benefit all employees in perpetuity.

“We are confident that the transition to an EOT is firmly in the best interests of our people, the future success of our business and retains our roots as an employee-owned company.

“As an employee-owned company we have seen the benefits of improved loyalty, productivity and innovation from our people, and we believe moving to an EOT will enhance these values even more.

“This restructure will give our people a greater say in the future growth and direction of Gilbert-Ash. Following expert external advice from our advisors PwC, who helped with all aspects including the overall design and structure, EOT best practice and principles, tax, legal, and valuation aspects, this new model will equip us to face the future with confidence.”