Why securing the right future for employees can help to grow your business - Richard Bradley

Fast forward 19 years and I could not feel more proud of what the Accept Cards team has achieved. In recent weeks, we have announced a transition to become an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) This is a momentous milestone, placing everybody who makes this business a success in the driving seat.

Accept Cards is today the UK’s largest independent payments broker working with some of the biggest names in financial services including Handelsbanken, Barclaycard and Worldpay; an accolade which just would not have been possible without the 14-strong team who go the extra mile for our partners and clients on a daily basis.

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We built Accept Cards together and kept true to our Yorkshire values from our Elland office, an attribute recognised by our stakeholders as we “punch above our weight” delivering cutting-edge technology and competitive rates in a sector which is dominated by so many big players. That’s why when I was last year considering options for the future direction of the business, it was always more than a strategic business decision.

My mind was set that I needed to secure a future for our people - one which would recognise their genuine care and dedication to do the right thing as well as underpin the growth of the business. For me, that was never to cash out and walk away in a trade sale deal.

Accept Cards first implemented a profit share scheme seven years ago and an employee-owned approach felt like the next natural step. Going through the EOT (Employee Ownership Trust) process made me realise that this was a chance to shift from a coming of age story to one which will allow Accept Cards to soar even higher. As I’m sure most business owners will attest to when thinking about succession planning, it felt pretty daunting at first. But being able to review the situation alongside independent advisors was hugely helpful to digest and navigate the best way forward.

There are all sorts of feelings to consider when doing this and it's no wonder given the time, effort, energy involved in starting and scaling a business.

I remember fondly the humble beginnings of Accept Cards, when I was working from my desk at home in Halifax.

Since announcing our EOT, I’ve been inundated by messages of support and congratulations and that’s been tremendous.

I’m not stepping away from the business anytime soon and I’m relishing the idea of being involved in shaping the next chapter. If anybody is curious about the intricate dance of starting, growing and letting go of a business then I’m very happy to organise a chat.

Yorkshire is made up of brilliant SMEs and owner-managed businesses - together we need to continue to create jobs and innovate to keep the region ahead of the game and we can do that far more powerfully as a collective while learning from each other.

Richard Bradley, chief executive of Accept Cards, based in Elland.