‘Thoughtful succession plan’: Lucy & Yak becomes employee-owned

Lifestyle brand Lucy & Yak has transitioned to an employee-owned business model, granting a controlling stake in the company to employees via a dedicated trust. The decision to shift to such a setup comes as co-founders, Lucy Greenwood and Chris Renwick, looked to share the benefits from the brand’s eight years in business.

As an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), Lucy & Yak employees will maintain a controlling stake in the company, making them indirect owners and key beneficiaries. With this, alongside fostering a shared purpose, the company hopes to boost employee engagement and uplift business stability, by placing people at its core.

Greenwood and Renwick said they would be working behind the scenes with the team to ensure a smooth transition towards becoming an EOT, a process which they expect will take around six months.

In a joint statement, the duo said that upon founding the brand in 2017, they "wanted to lead the way in doing things differently, showing that business can and should be done differently – positively impacting both people and planet”.

“We’re now celebrating eight years of Lucy & Yak and we can’t quite believe what we’ve built in that time. None of this would be possible without our incredible teams, working hard behind the scenes to bring our vision to life,” they said.

Looking ahead, Greenwood and Renwick added: “We’re so excited for this next chapter and want to thank you all for sticking by us over the years. Our community is what makes Lucy & Yak what it is - the joyful, colourful place where you can simply be you.”