Birketts has advised McGee Trustee Limited in respect of the sale of 100 per cent of the McGee Group into an employee ownership trust (EOT) for the sole benefit of approximately 375 McGee Group employees.

A family owned business by origin, McGee which has traded for more than 60 years is a respected name in the construction market.

As a result of the transaction the McGee Group joins the ranks of the ever increasing number of employee-owned companies in the UK.

Brian McGee commented: “It would have been relatively easy for us to sell McGee Group to a third party, but we did not want to do that. Michael, John and I, similar to our father, have always recognised the contribution of our employees, which is why the move to employee ownership in many ways, was the obvious next phase of the McGee journey.”

The Birketts team was co-led by Ed Savory (Partner, Corporate) and Lisa Hayward (Legal Director, Head of Employee Incentives) who were supported by a number of colleagues including Kimberly Sayward, (Private Client), Kirsty Scripps (Employee Incentives) Laura Herbert (Employee Incentives) Lorraine Porter (Corporate) and Macauley Alsford (Corporate).

Paul Hickey, McGee Group Finance Director commented: “Birketts demonstrated meaningful employee ownership experience, technical advisory skills and a practical approach when working alongside our accountant advisors BDO which we found to be extremely valuable.”

Lisa Hayward added: “Employee Ownership is a solid option for family-owned businesses looking towards succession planning. We are delighted to continue to get exposure to working on Employee Ownership Trusts with clients such as McGee as a key part of our growing Employee Incentives practice.”