Stake & Soul
Your dose of thought-provoking insights into the world of Employee Ownership with Barry Horner.
Episodes
17 episodes
#17 Andrew Lane: 12 Years Leading Union Industries Through Employee Ownership
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Andrew Lane, Chairman and former Managing Director of Union Industries, the Leeds-based manufacturer of high-speed industrial doors that transitioned to an Employee Ownership Trust in 2014....
#16 Tom Vincent: How 2020 Became the 2025 UK EO Business of the Year
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Tom Vincent, CEO of 2020 Project Management Training, the Scottish-founded, UK-based specialist that transitioned to an Employee Ownership Trust in 2018 and, seven years on, was named EO Bu...
#15 Johnny Aisher: 40 Years Inside the John Lewis Partnership
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Johnny Aisher, who spent 40 years at the John Lewis Partnership and retired on 31 March 2025, most recently as a director of the John Lewis Partnership Trust. Having joined as one of 21 gra...
#14 Andrew Murphy: From 30 Years at John Lewis to Leading The Entertainer Through EO
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Andrew Murphy, CEO of The Entertainer, the family-founded toy retailer that completed its 100 percent transition to an Employee Ownership Trust in September 2025. The move turned around 2,0...
#13 Gary Grant on Faith, Family and Handing The Entertainer to Its Staff
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Gary Grant, the founder of The Entertainer, who together with his wife Catherine built one of Britain's most values-driven retail businesses from a single toy shop in Amersham in 1981 to ov...
#12 Liam Toms: How Grapevine Became Employee-Owned and Found Its Voice Again
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry speaks with Liam Toms, Communications and Engagement Manager at Grapevine, the Dorset-based managed IT and telecoms provider that transitioned to 100 percent employee ownership via an Employee Ownershi...
#11 Alastair Sawday: How Sawday's Built a Hybrid Employee-Owned, Charitable, Family Company
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Alastair Sawday, founder of Sawday's, the Bristol-based travel publisher that began in 1994 as a scruffy file of addresses from his small group tour company and grew into one of Britain's mos...
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#10 Nick Parsons: How Parsons Bakery Handed a 100-Year-Old Family Business to Its 400 Staff
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Nick Parsons, fourth generation leader of Parsons Bakery, the Bristol-based bakery that grew from a horse and cart in the 1910s into a 50-store, 400-strong business across the southwest. In A...
#9 Karen Maguire: How Relinea Became Northern Ireland's EOT Pioneer
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Karen Maguire, founder of Relinea, the Northern Ireland-based manufacturer supplying glass reinforced plastic (GRP) alternatives to the construction sector. Karen built Relinea from a port-a-...
#8 David Sproxton: Why Aardman Turned Down a Buyout and Gave the Studio to Its People
In this episode Barry speaks with David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman Animations, the Bristol-based studio behind Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Morph, and Chicken Run. For more than 50 years, David and his co-founder Peter ...
#7 Sam Boustred on Industrial Democracy and Keeping the Soul of a 100-Year-Old Employee-Owned Business
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Sam, Chair of the Global Members Board at Scott Bader, a global chemical company that became employee-owned in 1951 and remains one of the oldest and most distinctive examples of common owner...
#6 Kirsty Dias on Employee Ownership, Purpose-Driven Design and Leading a Creative Studio Through Transition
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Kirsty Dias, Managing Director of PriestmanGoode, one of the world's leading transport and passenger experience design studios, responsible for landmark projects including the New Tube for Lo...
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#5 Adam Arnold on Employee Ownership, Purpose-Driven Leadership and Building a Global Ethical Brand
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Adam Arnold, CEO of GearForm, the parent company of Nikwax and Paramáo, about leading a purpose-driven outdoor business through its transition to employee ownership.Adam shares his jo...
#4 Simon Morton on Employee Ownership and Building a Business That Thrives Without You
In this episode of Stake and Soul, Barry speaks with Simon Morton, founder of Eyeful Presentations and author of Employee Ownership: A Guide to Transitioning from Boss to Benefactor, about the real story behind stepping away f...
#3 Rethinking Succession in a Creative Agency - A Conversation with Arabella Lewis-Smith
Barry is joined by Bella, founder of Salad, a Dorset-based creative agency built around brand strategy, visual identity, and websites, for a candid conversation about why she chose employee ownership and what it has actually required on the oth...
#2 Protecting Purpose in an Employee‑Owned Business – A Conversation with Rob Haward
Barry is joined by Rob Haward (Riverford) for a practical conversation that links employee ownership with the realities of running a large, values-led organisation, including what has to change in leadership, communication, and culture for EO t...
#1 A Decade Building an Employee‑Ownership Mindset – A Conversation with Chris McDermott
In this episode of Stake & Soul, Barry sits down with Chris McDermott, former Chair & CEO of Cambridge Nutritional Foods (CNF) and Chair of the UK Employee Ownership Association (EOA), for a candid conversation about what emplo...
