The Food People EOT Sale, Food Trends and Insight (2025)

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.