Employees of Glasgow-based Mediascape are to become the owners of the company in a move which sees the majority of the shareholding transfer into an Employee Ownership Trust. Angus and Shona Knight, owners of Mediascape, announced their plans at a meeting of all employees. The couple had considered a number of options and rejected several approaches to buy the company.
Mediascape designs, supplies, installs and maintains AV and videoconferencing systems working with a client list that includes the University of Glasgow, Strathclyde
University, St. Andrews University, Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland as well as private and public sector clients.
The company was set
up in December 2003 and started trading in January 2004 with four members of staff. Turnover for this year is likely to be
in excess of £5m, the company’s best trading year yet. There are now 24 employees.
Shona Knight said, "Too often a company is sold
and before long, it disappears and the jobs go. We couldn’t do that. We have a very talented team of people at Mediascape
who have shown such loyalty to Angus and I over the years. It’s time for us to recognise that loyalty."
Angus Knight added, "One
of the attractions of choosing this path is that there will be continuity for Mediascape customers and staff. Shona and I plan to
stay on for the next few years to ensure a smooth handover and allow the management team time to get to grips with running
the business. We’re retaining a 20% stake in the business to demonstrate our commitment to the staff that we’re still part of the show."