EO Day 2026: a catalyst for employee ownership growth

Today is EO Day 2026 and this year’s celebration is closely aligned with the launch of the Employee Ownership Association’s UK Growth Strategy, which aims to increase the country’s total number of employee-owned businesses to between 7,500 and 10,000 over the next five years.

As the most ambitious phase of coordinated growth in UK EO (employee ownership) to date, the strategy aims to shift EO into the mainstream by reframing it as a core economic model that’s capable of supporting productivity, resilience and inclusive growth.

Here, Stephen Hadlow and Mairead Platt from our specialist employee ownership team explore the main themes coming out of the growth strategy and in particular, the opportunities for the social care and manufacturing sectors.

The growth focus

For business owners, EO represents a significant opportunity. Rather than selling to an external buyer or even closing a business due to there being no obvious successor, EO creates an internal market for ownership that avoids lengthy sale processes, reduces disruption and transforms employees into key stakeholders. 

More widely, EO is great for local communities — ensuring job security and long-term stability. 

While the benefits of EO apply across all sectors, the Growth Strategy will initially concentrate on social care and manufacturing, adopting a focused approach to maximise impact.

An EO model for social care

Under sustained pressure from workforce shortages, rising employment costs, local authority fee constraints and owner fatigue, social care is a sector which provides a potential succession route for providers looking to exit while preserving care capacity and quality.  A well-structured EO transition can preserve continuity and provide a positive narrative for regulators, local authorities and families.

There’s also the public policy angle. With many providers considering leaving the market, EO offers a potential route to retain viable providers, protect employment and avoid further capacity erosion. While the EO model won’t solve funding pressures on its own, it can be part of a wider resilience strategy where the underlying business remains viable.

The EO opportunity for UK manufacturers

Manufacturing is already one of the most established employee ownership sectors in the UK. Many manufacturers are founder-led, regionally rooted and dependent on long-serving skilled employees. They may also hold valuable know-how, customer relationships and production capability that would be vulnerable to disruption via a conventional sale. 

Manufacturing businesses often anchor the communities they serve. When they’re lost, supply chains are disrupted and significant negative social impacts usually follow. 

EO can introduce productivity gains through deeper workforce engagement — particularly where employees can influence process improvement, waste reduction, automation and quality control. 

In addition, the financial benefits of employee ownership for frontline operational employees in manufacturing businesses can be far more impactful than within higher-paid technical or professional workforces. 

Talk to us

EO Day 2026 is helping to move the employee ownership conversation beyond celebration and into practical action. EO shouldn’t only be seen as an ‘alternative’ exit route. It’s a credible model for growth, resilience and long-term value preservation — and an option that can make a real difference in sectors like social care and manufacturing.

If succession, culture, workforce engagement and local legacy are important to you, employee ownership should be considered early and tested properly. For the right business, it can offer a balanced route to exit that protects a founder’s legacy and supports employees.

If you’d like to find out more, talk to us. With one of the most active EOT teams in the country and ‘specialist adviser’ status from the EOA, our solicitors can help you to assess whether EO is the right option for your succession and explain exactly how the process works.

Get in touch today for a no-obligation chat by calling 0333 004 4488, emailing hello@brabners.com or completing our contact form.