Welcome to the WREOC, the home of employee ownership research in the UK, providing the statistical background to the growth of the EO sector since 2013.
White Rose
Employee Ownership Centre
About Us
Since its formation in 2013, the White Rose Employee Ownership Centre (WREOC) has established itself as a leading centre for employee ownership research and practice. It brings together leading scholars in employee ownership working in close collaboration with government bodies, policy makers, trade organisations, EO companies and professional service personnel.​The centre is focused on providing independent data driven insights into the EO sector. It has provided the ‘statistical backbone’ to the development of EO in the UK and regularly reports on the ‘state of EO’ in the UK, contributes evidence to EO policy initiatives across the globe and disseminates knowledge through academic papers and practice based reports. The Centre was originally established in 2013 as a joint centre between researchers at the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield, and York under the auspices of the White Rose University Consortium (a collaboration of the universities mentioned above). Following changes to staff and the policies of the Consortium, the Centre became a free-standing unit. Whilst its members are university researchers, the Centre is not tied to any particular university. Since 2017 the Centre has published an annual census of the number of employee-owned firms in the UK for use by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) on Employee Ownership Day. The results of this census have been widely used and cited in the media. The Centre is now moving to a more formal partnership with the EOA to create real-time figures for the extent and growth of employee ownership.
Latest
Latest news from the WREOC and the world of Employee Ownership
Latest EO Sector Profile
Latest Academic Research Paper 2025 International Review of Applied Economics
Research and Figures
The work of the WREOC
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Explore our gallery to see the impact of our work - academic research, EO policy, latest data and consultancy.
Working in Partnership with the
Employee Ownership Association (EOA).
The WREOC has entered a new formal data sharing and research partnership with the Employee Ownership Association (EOA). Since its formation in 2013, the White Rose Employee Ownership Centre (WREOC) has established itself as a leading centre for employee ownership research and practice and is amongst the 11 founding members of the Consortium of Universities on Employee Share Ownership. It brings together leading scholars in employee ownership working in close collaboration with government bodies, policy makers, trade organisations, EO companies and professional service personnel.The centre is focused on providing independent data driven insights into the EO sector. Since 2014, the WREOC and the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) have worked as research partners to help promote UK employee ownership. As well as conducting regular sector surveys, the WREOC compiles the most comprehensive data profile of the sector which has been used to publish an annual census of the number of employee-owned firms in the UK for use by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) on Employee Ownership Day - the EO Sector Profile. This data has provided the statistical backdrop to the growth of employee ownership in the UK. In addition to being frequently used and cited in the media, it has been used to shape policy in several countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and Norway, and to promote the sector's expansion over the past ten years. As part of an exciting new initiative to further promote growth and provide ‘real-time’ data on the size and characteristics of the sector, the WREOC has agreed a more formal partnership with the EOA to share its expertise and knowledge, as well as its unique dataset of UK EOBs. The partnership entails arrangements to ensure the joint long-term development and maintenance of the dataset of UK employee owned businesses and future research collaborations that will provide key stakeholders with important strategic insights into the sector. Further details of these plans will be available in due course.
EOB Surveys
Participate in the latest WREOC Surveys
Employee Share Ownership
Members of the centre have carried out research into employee share ownership plans over many years, in collaboration with industry organisations such as Proshare and share plan administrators. Professors Pendleton and Robinson worked closely with Yorkshire Building Society Share Plans from 2012 until YBS’s withdrawal from share plan administration in 2021. Together, they conducted a series of major surveys of SAYE plan participants, results of which can be found below.
Our Services
The WREOC holds the most comprehensive and authoritative data on employee-owned companies in the UK. The centre founded and continues to maintain a database of all known and independently authenticated employee-owned firms in the UK. The WREOC also regularly carries out an authoritative survey of the sector to provide a ‘deeper dive’ into the characteristics, practices and issues facing the sector. Collectively these resources have mapped the changing nature of the EOB sector and continue to provide the most up-to-date and detailed profile of this increasingly important sector.
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Gain access to comprehensive research, data, and insightful analysis on employee-owned businesses. Our services provide in-depth understanding and valuable information for both new and established employee-owned companies.