A day that reminded us why we made this decision
There are days that remind you why you made a decision. Last Wednesday, 10th June, in Birmingham was one of them.
Leo Hickish, Stuart Pocock, Hayley Olley and Charlotte Tester represented Batcheller Monkhouse at EOA Live 2026, a conference for employee-owned businesses across the UK. It brings together organisations at every stage of the journey, from those just exploring the model to those who have been operating as Employee Ownership Trusts for a decade or more.
What the day gave us
The energy in the room was something that is hard to manufacture. Business owners, managers and employee trustees, all in one place, all genuinely invested in building organisations that work better for the people inside them.
The sessions were honest in a way that doesn’t always happen at industry events. People talked openly about what the transition to employee ownership actually looks like in practice – what has worked, what has been harder than expected and what they would do differently. It was the kind of day you come home from still thinking about.
For a firm only eight months into its own EO journey, it was both grounding and energising in equal measure. We heard from businesses further along the road, and came away with a clearer sense of what we are building towards and why it matters.
The shortlisting
And then, to round off the day, an email arrived.
We had been shortlisted for Employee Owned Transition of the Year at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2026.
The awards ceremony took place the same evening. The shortlist was a strong one – businesses whose transitions have been genuinely impressive and whose commitment to the employee ownership model runs deep. To be named among them, in our very first year as an EOT, is something we are enormously proud of.
Being shortlisted for a national award is not something we take for granted. It is recognition that the work being done across all five of our offices, quietly, consistently, often alongside everything else, is real and it is adding up.
Who this belongs to
The four of us who made the trip to Birmingham were representing a much larger team. Every person at Batcheller Monkhouse, across our Tunbridge Wells, Haywards Heath, Pulborough, Battle and Surrey Hills – has played a huge part in making this transition something worth recognising.
Employee ownership is not a destination. It is something you build, day by day, across every part of a business. Eight months in, we have made genuine progress. We also know there is much more ahead.
Days like last Wednesday are a reminder of why that work is worth doing.
Find out more about what employee ownership means for Batcheller Monkhouse and our clients. Batcheller Monkhouse is Proudly an Employee-Owned Business – Batcheller Monkhouse
Photography – Image Gallery | eoaLive! and the UK EO Awards 2026 | eoa