Multimillion-dollar classic car business given to staff

The co-founder of a vintage car remediation company in Shropshire has given the business to its 60 staff.

Peter Neumark, owner and chairperson of Classic Motor Cars since it started in 1993, has turned it into a worker ownership trust, which indicates the personnel own and run business themselves. They will share profits, in a comparable way to the John Lewis Partnership, which pays out annual bonuses as a portion of salary to personnel. Part of the bonus (the first ₤ 3,600) is going to be tax-free.

The Bridgnorth-based company, has over 60 people, consisting of seven apprentices, and has restored lots of popular Jaguars, including an E-type Le Mans race car from 1961. In 2015 it turned over ₤ 5.2 million. All employees are going to join the trust. Future apprentices– Classic Motors prepares to handle 4 to 6 every year for the next 3 years– will join the trust after a specific amount of time.

Neumark stated he was “nearer 70 than 60” and his co-founder Nick Goldthorp was likewise approaching retirement age, “so we felt we had a duty to oversee a passing of responsibility, and who better than the workforce themselves”.