Believed to be the first in its field to adopt this model, Dot Surveying is a multi-disciplinary property surveying company specialising in the telecoms sector and offers services in land acquisition, development, renewables, dispute resolution, and town and country planning.

Working across the UK, including remote islands, the firm employs 21 staff members, including chartered surveyors, property managers, town and country planners, and support staff, as well as several freelance consultants.

The consultancy was founded in 2020 by Mr Gallivan who was the sole shareholder until the EOT was implemented. He has retained a minority shareholding to demonstrate his continuing commitment to the business.

Mr Gallivan said: “The business has performed so extremely well over the years, surpassing my expectations on what could be achieved in a relatively short time. This success can be attributed to the fantastic employees we have in place and it felt right that they should own the future of the company.

“I also have to thank our loyal clients who have supported us over the years. I believe that employee ownership will reinforce our partnership approach to doing business and allow us to continue to provide the expert service our customers are used to.”

The news was embraced enthusiastically by staff at the company. Commercial director Catherine McKerrigan said: “This is a generous and visionary gesture by Tom, he’s showing tremendous confidence in us, that the company will be safe in our hands.”

Operations director Christopher Searle added: “It’s up to us to take Dot Surveying to a new level. It’s an exciting prospect and with the fantastic team we have at Dot Surveying - I’m convinced we’ll continue to grow and flourish.”

Henderson Loggie provided corporate finance and taxation advice to the company. Henderson Loggie partner Rod Mathers said: “The EOT was a very good fit for Dot Surveying as a business and for Tom Gallivan as the business owner. We were delighted to have led them through the EOT transaction.”

Ewan Regan, director at Anderson Strathern, who provided legal advice, commented: “We are seeing a continuing interest in EOTs as a succession option for successful businesses.

“Working with Dot Surveying Ltd has been a particularly rewarding transaction as this is a relatively young business moving to employee ownership to reinforce all that was already good in the company.”

Specialist lender Thincats has supported a number of EOT transactions and worked with Dot Surveying Ltd on their funding requirements.

Ben Kimball, director business bevelopment, ThinCats, said: “It’s always a pleasure working on collaborative deals such as EOTs. All stakeholders share the same aim; to enable the business to continue to flourish in the long-term. We wish Dot Surveying well in this new chapter in their story.

Carole Leslie of employee ownership specialists Ownership Associates, supported stakeholder communications for the transaction and has been appointed as independent trustee.