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In accordance with the wishes of Dame Zaha Hadid, who died in March 2016, the executors of her estate have completed a gift of the shares in the company to a new trust, which will hold the shares in perpetuity for the benefit of the company's employees. The new structure means the company has no external shareholders, enabling it to reinvest all profits back into the business.
ZHA is the latest in a long line of architectural and other professional businesses that Fieldfisher has assisted to move to an EO model. Just a few weeks ago, Fieldfisher's EO team acted for technology company TTP Group, valued at £276m, on its move to EO, one of the largest such transactions in the UK to date.
The Fieldfisher team involved in the ZHA transition was led by Mark Gearing and Andrew Loan, and included input from Tom Martin, David Bond, Leonie Power, Emma Capper, Hannah Disselbeck, and Tamsin Nicholds.
Mark Gearing, Partner in Fieldfisher's Employee Ownership team, comments: "We are delighted to have assisted ZHA on its transaction to employee ownership after several years of complex negotiations beginning in 2017. The business now has the structure to enable it to move forward to even greater growth and success, fulfilling the legacy left by Dame Zaha Hadid. We wish all the employees of ZHA the very best for the future as they join this rapidly growing sector of the UK economy."