Employees of Palmer & Harvey McLane will soon be able to buy an equity stake in the UK's top delivered wholesaler under an £80m restructuring of its share ownership. Up to 1,500 staff ­ or 40% of the P&H workforce ­ will benefit from the proposal, according to executive chairman Christopher Adams. "The original MBO in 1988 resulted in the entire equity share capital being owned by the management," he said. "This ownership structure has been very successful for the business. But as most of those involved in 1998 have either retired or left the business, we wish to offer a similar opportunity for our current managers and long-serving staff." Under the restructuring proposals, existing shareholders will sell 51% of their stake and retain the remainder. Adams explained: "It gives them partial realisation in cash or cash equivalent and allows them to continue owning just under half the ordinary share capital." The offer is worth about £80m, of which £30m will be financed through P&H's cash resources and the remainder through bank funding. Letters have been sent to shareholders and staff informing them of the proposal. A formal offer should be made by the end of this month and Adams hopes the whole process will be completed by the end of January. "This is quite a big move. What it does for the business is effectively continue the culture that we started in 1998 in having our employees actively involved and sharing in the rewards of ownership if the business is successful," said Adams. He added: "I hope it will have the same effect this time round." P&H has expanded rapidly since the original MBO and is now a £3bn business. In the past three years it has bought Booker Wholesale Foods, Winerite, KP's Snacksdirect business and YP Electronics. "In all our areas of activity there are considerable opportunities for growth." Adams said that was despite the "very big detrimental effect" caused by the ending of forestalling. {{NEWS }}

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