Mannion Daniels EOT Sale, Global Development Consultancy
How RVE advised on the global development consultancy EOT sale of Mannion Daniels, with the corporate finance, tax, legal and trustee work delivered as one engagement.
Deal Facts
“After seventeen years working as a privately owned company, we believe this transition to employee ownership is the right decision to ensure the growth and development of our work around the world. Establishing the employee ownership model across our offices in Europe, Africa and Asia is seen as a great way to preserve and further foster the values and purpose that are central to our approach. Our decision shows the value we place on the relationship between MannionDaniels and our staff, we see the success of the company as something to celebrate together.As we embark on this new and exciting phase for the company, we will continue our mission to focus on providing support to the poorest and most vulnerable communities especially those in fragile and conflict affected regions. We also look forward to learning from the experiences of other employee-owned companies that have taken the same route before us. We are happy to provide further information on this new arrangement to our clients and partners.” - David Daniels (Founder)
The story of the deal
Mannion Daniels, global development consultancy, completed an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) sale advised by RVE.
Mannion Daniels is a global development consultancy and fund manager with operational bases in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Nigeria, Cyprus, Bangladesh and Somalia. Their mission is to work for an equitable, inclusive and sustainable world.
Founder and Managing Director, David Daniels commented:
“After seventeen years working as a privately owned company, we believe this transition to employee ownership is the right decision to ensure the growth and development of our work around the world. Establishing the employee ownership model across our offices in Europe, Africa and Asia is seen as a great way to preserve and further foster the values and purpose that are central to our approach. Our decision shows the value we place on the relationship between Mannion Daniels and our staff, we see the success of the company as something to celebrate together.
As we embark on this new and exciting phase for the company, we will continue our mission to focus on providing support to the poorest and most vulnerable communities especially those in fragile and conflict affected regions. We also look forward to learning from the experiences of other employee-owned companies that have taken the same route before us. We are happy to provide further information on this new arrangement to our clients and partners.”
Related case studies
Case Study - common questions.
Yes. Most founders / controlling shareholders stay on as director (and often as chair or CEO) for between 1-5 years post-completion, then transition to a part-time non-executive or consultancy role. You agree your role and time commitment with the trustee board; there is no requirement to exit operationally. Many founders find the post-EOT phase the most rewarding part of their career, with a clear financial exit having been arranged and a plan for management succession in place.
EOA research consistently shows employee-owned businesses outperform privately-held peers on productivity, profitability and employee engagement. RVE founders consistently report that their businesses perform ahead of plan post-completion, with vendor loans paid down ahead of schedule. The cultural alignment and engagement boost typically delivers measurable productivity gains within the first 12 to 24 months of EO. Growth depends on the business; the EOT structure does not constrain it.
The deferred consideration due to the vendors is repayable from future company profits, typically over a 5-8 year period. So if the business genuinely struggles, the term of the loan note may need to be extended by 2-3 years. In extreme circumstances, some of the vendor loan may need to be written off (eg if the business were to become insolvent).
The vendors do therefore retain business risk relating to the ultimate payment of the sale consideration under the EOT model.
If the business outperforms the original projections however, the vendor loan can be accelerated, and some vendors have been paid out in full within 4 years.
We are happy to talk over Teams or meet to discuss your exit planning.
We can normally assess whether an EOT transaction will be viable and the likely valuation range at our first meeting.
For accountants, lawyers, and wealth managers
Are you working with a client who should be considering a sale of their business to an EOT? We will complement the work you do to deliver an optimal outcome for your client.