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The Fieldfisher team was led by Partner, Mark Gearing with support from Senior Associate, Tamsin Nicholds, who advised on employee ownership matters and Mary Erb, Partner, provided the corporate transactional expertise.
Founded in 2010, KLH Sustainability is a specialist consultancy, which supports a broad range of clients across the built environment sector to integrate sustainability into their business strategy and deliver more sustainable buildings and communities.
KLH Sustainability instructed Fieldfisher due to the team's reputation as market leaders in employee ownership solutions. Fieldfisher experts worked with KLH Sustainability, a business already run in a collaborative and collegiate way, to realise an ownership structure which recognises and supports the ethos of employee engagement and participation.
Commenting on the transition, Mark Gearing¸ partner, Fieldfisher said:
"We were pleased to have assisted Kirsten and KLH Sustainability on their transition to full employee ownership, a thriving business model that complements their company ethos of sustainability.
"The employee ownership model is a great move for founders who want to show their commitment to employees and safeguard the future of business, ensuring it remains true to its values, whilst uplifting employee morale.
"With this model in place, I'm sure that KLH Sustainability will continue to thrive."
Mary Erb, corporate partner, Fieldfisher said:
"Kirsten was rightly proud of the company she has established with the support and hard work of a talented team so a move to employee ownership - a now well proven business model delivering benefits such as increased productivity, profit and a flourishing, fully engaged workforce - was an obvious step for her and the company and preserves the KLH Sustainability ethos."
Kirsten Henson, the founder of KLH Sustainability, added:
"After being the sole owner of KLH Sustainability for the last 10 years, the move to employee ownership was an obvious choice. The small team at KLH are all integral to the business, and employee ownership offers a clear incentive for staff to stay with the business, and benefit directly from the hard work they put in.
Mary and Tamsin were pro-active but not pushy. At times I felt overwhelmed by all the "legalise" but they patiently took me through all the decisions that needed to be made and the documents that needed to be approved.
"I look forward to continue working with the KLH team and our ambitious clients to define and create a more sustainable future."