£1 million-turnover civil and structural engineering consultancy sold to staff

Two business owners who have built up a £1 million-turnover civil and structural engineering consultancy over the past six years have made the switch to employee ownership.

Alistair Christie and Richard Gillespie of Christie Gillespie Consulting Engineers have built up the business after both leaving a multinational firm in 2015.

The company is currently spread across bases in Dundee, the Lothians and Fife, with plans to further expand the team and geographical spread in the near future.

Christie Gillespie, which took on the £9 million contract of the award-winning 4-North development in central Edinburgh, has just won an £18m contract for the major refurbishment and extension of the Edinburgh One office building, located in the capital’s Exchange area.

Members of staff at Christie Gillespie Consulting Engineers, which is transitioning to employee ownership.

The business owners turned to employee ownership specialist Ownership Associates to implement their long-term succession plan which will see all 20-plus members of staff gain a share in the business through an employee ownership trust (EOT). It is hoped the move will create a lasting legacy for the loyal team, to whom the owners have attributed the success of the business.

Co-founder Gillespie said: “This is a move that has been six years in the making. From the get-go Alistair and I were determined to leave a lasting legacy for our staff which centred on our core values of generating exceptional client-driven service.

“We have been fortunate enough to have an extremely high retention rate amongst our staff, with just one colleague leaving us in the six years of operating. It’s this dedication and drive that has reinforced our decision to go down the employee ownership route.”

Gillespie and Christie started their journey in 2015 after they both left WSP Global. The pair went from working on major projects such as Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, the Edinburgh Gateway railway station and the RBS Gogarburn HQ to beginning their new venture initially working on small domestic projects.

The business has built up its workload and client base, regularly working with firms such as Muir Group, Cala Homes and Knight Property Group.

Christie said: “We had envisioned this idea of adopting a succession model for the business when we first started, we just didn't know what that would be.

“We decided quickly against selling to another firm as it meant the possibility of staff relocation or job loss and a risk to the company ethos and culture built on strong client focus and communication.

“It became clear through the years that some form of employee ownership model was our number one choice, but we didn’t quite know how it would work.

“We approached Scottish Enterprise for support and they introduced us to Carole Leslie at Ownership Associates.”

Leslie added: “Christie Gillespie is a business that has always put its staff first, and so it felt like the natural progression for this engineering firm to embark on an EOT.

“Under Alistair and Richard’s leadership the business has gone from strength to strength as it becomes an ever-growing competitive player in the Scottish construction market.

“This is yet another fantastic addition to the employee ownership community which continues to grow rapidly across all sectors.”

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