Leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK today announces a market-leading move to introduce a new Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) to reward its people for their contributions to the firm’s future success. The bold move comes as the firm begins an exciting new chapter following its decision to accept external investment from international private equity firm Cinven to accelerate its growth.
When choosing to take external investment with Cinven, the firm’s partners voted to set aside a substantial amount of equity to reward senior talent below partner grade. This equity will be held in an Employee Benefit Trust (EBT), which will provide a ringfenced pool of value that will be used to reward employees.
Eligible employees at manager grade and above will be allocated equity units to reward them for their contributions to the firm. As the enterprise value of the firm increases, the value held in the EBT will increase and is intended to be released to eligible employees following a secondary transaction. This will link the reward of eligible employees to the success of the firm, similar to how the value of equity is released for partners.
There is no cost or buy-in for eligible employees and this initiative is on top of normal salary and bonus rewards and in addition to the exceptional bonus the firm paid to its people this year. Some of the equity units will be allocated now and further units will be apportioned over the next three years as new colleagues join the firm, are promoted to more senior roles or to further reward exceptional performance.
For employees in Cyprus, the introduction of the EBT marks another tangible benefit made possible through the milestone investment by Grant Thornton UK back in August 2024. Beyond new client opportunities, tools, and access to international projects, this development highlights how the strengthened relationship is also enhancing the employee experience locally. It reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to reward and recognise Grant Thornton people in meaningful ways, as the firm continues to grow as part of a broader, connected firm.
Malcolm Gomersall, CEO at Grant Thornton UK, commented: “As we embark on the next, exiting growth chapter of our partnership, we want to recognize the contributions of our people by giving them a greater stake in the future success of our firm. The EBT is an innovative approach that will unite our more experienced talent across the firm, ensuring they are pulling in the same direction and coalescing around our collective effort for the benefit of our clients.
“This kind of reward is unmatched in our profession. We are the only firm of our size and scale to ringfence equity in an EBT so that our employees can benefit from the firm’s increased enterprise value – at no cost to them. It is a game-changing reward programme for our industry, and we are eagerly embracing this opportunity to be part of something truly exceptional.”
Stavros Ioannou, CEO of Grant Thornton Cyprus further stated: “The introduction of the Employee Benefit Trust is a testament to how the strategic investment from Grant Thornton UK is directly benefiting our people in Cyprus. As we approach the one-year mark since the investment was announced, the pace and depth of positive change across our firm has been remarkable. From the very beginning, we saw a shift, not just in access to new tools, systems and cross-border work, but also in mindset. Our teams began collaborating more closely with their UK counterparts, taking on new challenges, learning from one another, and growing together in a way that is already shaping the future of our firm.
“The EBT builds on that progress. I see it as more than a reward mechanism but a statement of trust and inclusion. It recognises the talent and commitment of our people, and their contribution to a larger, unified firm. We are proud to see our employees included in such a transformational initiative and to know that they, too, can now share directly in the value we are helping to create. This is a meaningful milestone not just for our firm locally, but for the way we operate as a connected Grant Thornton family.”
Grant Thornton UK expects the allocation of equity units to be a significant differentiating factor for high-performing, senior talent who are currently contributing to the firm’s success as well as those looking to join the business.