At Constellia we wanted to build a business that did things differently. Not just how we serve our clients, but how we operate as a company. Now we’re taking the next step in our journey by transitioning to employee ownership, and we couldn’t be more excited about what this means for our team, our clients, and towards building a fairer economy.

The decision felt inevitable once we really considered it. People who create the value should share in the rewards. Our team have not only contributed to Constellia’s growth but also managed over £400 million of spend across more than 250 organisations. They’ve driven it. They’ve earned it. And they absolutely deserve to own it.

This isn’t just about fairness. Employee-owned companies consistently outperform their traditionally owned counterparts in terms of productivity, innovation, and resilience. When people have a genuine stake, when they’re owners rather than just employees, they think differently. They care more. They go the extra mile. And our clients benefit from that.

Constellia works across both public and private sectors, enabling organisations to efficiently and compliantly procure the right suppliers. We work with central government departments, NHS Trusts, utilities , local government, universities and emergency services, as well as some major private sector organisations. All that work requires trust, expertise, and long-term thinking. Our clients aren’t just buying construction, goods or services – they’re often entering partnerships that can last years. Employee ownership strengthens those partnerships because there’s no conflict between short-term shareholder returns and long-term client value.

The timing feels particularly significant. Labour came into government with a commitment to double the size of the co-operative sector and champion alternative ownership models. As business leaders, we’re thrilled to see this ambition backed up by real-world examples – businesses that prove these models work at scale.

That’s what we want Constellia to be. We’re a business operating across multiple sectors, managing hundreds of millions of pounds in spend, and working with some of the most important organisations in the Country. We’re choosing employee ownership because it’s the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.

We could have gone down a different route. Many businesses of our size look to private equity for their next chapter. However, that path means optimising for short-term returns and often losing the culture that made the business successful in the first place. We deliberately chose not to go down that road. Employee ownership helps build for the long term and ensures that growth benefits the people who make it happen.

One of the things we’re most excited about is the potential for our transition to inspire others. We’re part of supply chains that touch every corner of the economy. When organisations see us thriving as an employee-owned business, some will ask: “Could we do this too?” That’s how movements grow.

We’re grateful to everyone who’s championed employee ownership over the years. It’s encouraging to see more recognition that there are multiple ways to build successful, sustainable businesses. This is what the future of work should look like. And at Constellia, we’re proud to be part of building it.