The Glasgow-based company is a provider of protected trust deeds and debt payment plans under the Debt Arrangement Scheme in Scotland and trades as Trust Deed Scotland. Founded by Mark Sommerville and Jon Paul Kelly in 2009, the firm has helped more than 25,000 people resolve their problem debt.

The business is currently managing debt solutions for over 9,000 customers with £234 million of debts under management, and a team of around 70 people – who are all now part-owners of the business – led by managing director and insolvency practitioner Thomas Fox.

Mr Fox said: “I am delighted to have become a part-owner in the business alongside our knowledgeable and experienced team, who I believe provide a best-in-class service to our customers.”

“We are all looking forward to the future with excitement and confidence and to helping many more people deal with their debt issues in a practical and compassionate manner.”

“Employee ownership provides many benefits; from existing staff retention through to attracting the best talent, it gives our team job security and brings us closer together as one team all working towards similar goals.”

“I am very grateful to the Grant Thornton team for leading us through this transition with such dedication and diligence.”

Neil McInnes

Neil McInnes, partner and head of corporate finance in Scotland at Grant Thornton, said: “We have been working with the business to help them consider the range of strategic options open to them.”

“Ultimately the best option for all stakeholders was to move to employee ownership via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), which gives the entire team a stake in its future success and provides a great incentive for staff loyalty.”

“We are seeing an increasing number of profitable mid-sized companies looking at EOT as an option. For exiting shareholders it can be an attractive alternative to the more traditional trade sale or private equity process, and allows the business to continue to thrive in the safe hands of the incumbent team.”

“We wish Thomas and the whole team at Harper McDermott every success in the future.”

Mr McInnes was assisted in the transaction by Akshay Sharma and the firm’s dedicated EOT team led by Monique Beaulieu and supported by Ollie Dewdney and Amarveer Johal, which provide a holistic end-to-end service advisory service to businesses transitioning to employee ownership.