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Award-winning digital agency The SEO Works has officially become an employee-owned business following a strategic handover from its founding directors via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
The Sheffield-based company has transitioned ownership from founders Neil Palmer and Simon Margetts to its workforce, reinforcing its long-standing values around people, purpose and sustainable growth.
Since its founding in 2009, The SEO Works has expanded into a team of over 80 digital experts, delivering a suite of services including SEO, PPC, Digital PR, Social Media and Web development. Over the years, the agency has received industry-wide recognition and multiple awards, while remaining firmly rooted in its local community.
The decision to become employee-owned represents a natural progression in the company’s mission to maintain independence, foster a people-first culture, and reward its employees for their contributions to the business’s ongoing success.
“I’m incredibly excited by this development. Our transition to being employee-owned is the perfect evolution, reflecting who we’ve always been – a business driven by its people.
Across the last 16 years, we’ve grown from an exciting local start-up to one of the leading digital growth agencies in the North – all thanks to our team of experts. Our future as an agency has always been in their hands, but now it’s official,” said CEO Ben Foster.
The agency, which was recently named Global Integrated Search Agency of the Year, will retain its current management structure. With three active directors, a robust senior leadership team, and dedicated pod leaders overseeing teams, operations will remain unchanged—though the shift to employee ownership will increase internal visibility and decision-making participation.
“For us, an Employee Ownership Trust was the obvious choice,” added Managing Director James Corry. “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built here as a team, and of the brilliant service we deliver to our clients. This transition allows us to retain that, whilst bolstering the very thing that makes us so great – our culture.
This is a very exciting step and gives a genuine stake in the business to all of our brilliant team members!”
The transition was facilitated with support from Shawbrook Bank and legal advisers Brabners LLP, both of whom were instrumental in bringing the EOT to life.
Anthony Dean, Senior Director at Shawbrook Corporate Leverage, said: “We are delighted to support The SEO Works Ltd in their transition to an Employee Ownership Trust. The business has a strong management team with a clear vision for the future, and we admire their ambition to give employees a greater share in the strategic direction of the company. The SEO Works Ltd is a well-established leader in its market, and we are excited to see how they continue to evolve under this new structure.”