Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 22nd October 2026 Issue no. 1231
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Churchill Group celebrates ‘financial freedom’
Three years after transitioning to an employee-ownership model, Churchill Group has fully repaid the loan that was taken out to fund the purchase of the shares on behalf of the Employee-Ownership Trust (EOT). This is commonly referred to as 'financial freedom' day in the EOT world, as it marks the time when the business has more capital to invest in itself and its people.
As of October 2026, more than 70% of all its employees across all of its specialist businesses are employee owners. Staff turnover is on a downward trend having reduced by 17% in the last year, while length of service is on an upswing with both management and frontline communities sitting at more than five years.
Churchill Group has also launched an Employee Transition Council. The Council has been created to keep employees at the heart of the business, bring employee ownership to life, and provide a clear way to capture and share colleague voice. Committee members will represent wider colleague interests, share insight from across the business, contribute constructively to discussion and help leadership make better informed decisions for the benefit of colleagues, clients and the future of the company.
The Council consists of 23 members from across the various Churchill Group businesses. Members were self-nominated and represent a mix of roles, seniority, age and gender. All will receive training to support them in the role. Churchill Group COO Darren Read is the chair, and Amulet commercial relationship director Hannah Bridgman is co-chair. Each year the co-chair will succeed the chair, and a new co-chair will be appointed.
Part of the next chapter in Churchill Group's employee ownership journey is ensuring each of its specialist businesses continues to be supported in the right way. A key objective of the Council will be for members to focus on setting up a permanent employee voice council or councils, depending on their findings from the collective voice of their colleagues.
"Financial freedom marks an exciting milestone in our employee-ownership journey,” notes James Bradley, CEO at Churchill Group. “The Transition Employee Council is a natural next step as we look to keep our colleagues at the centre of our business. There's no blueprint for how to run an employee-owned business and we know that the Council will evolve and adapt over time. We were delighted in the initial interest in becoming a member and I personally can't wait to see how the Council helps feed into the future direction of Churchill Group."
Churchill Group is thought to be the second largest EOT in the UK. The Group's specialist set of businesses - Amulet, Chequers, Churchill, Churchill Environmental, On Verve, Principle and JVP deliver cleaning, security, guest services, water hygiene compliance and FM for social housing across the UK. Churchill Group's clients enjoy the expertise in all sectors throughout the UK including The Houses of Parliament, The Met Police, The Instant Group, M&G, Scottish Power, The Institute of Directors, GTR, Network Rail High Speed, LSER, JLL, Port of Dover, Canary Wharf Management, Norton Rose, SCAS, Dorset Fire and Rescue, c2c, Northern Rail and The GLA.
22nd October 2026