£45m guitar retailer strikes a chord with employees by handing over ownership

Nationally operating guitar retailer guitarguitar is putting its employees centre stage by becoming the country’s first musical instrument retailer to move to employee ownership.

The business restructure means that 60 per cent of all guitarguitar shares are now placed into an employee ownership trust (EOT) providing its 160-strong team the majority of the business and its profits.

The online and in-store guitar firm started off in Edinburgh in 2004 and has since expanded to six retail locations across the UK. Now headquartered on the outskirts of Glasgow, guitarguitar sells more than 50,000 guitars a year, from entry level axes to highly sought-after collector’s pieces from the likes of Fender, Gibson, Taylor and Martin.

Founders Kip McBay and Graham Bell decided to make the switch to employee ownership to allow them to plan for their respective exits from the company without threatening the legacy of the brand.

Graham Bell, co-founder, said: “Our team are over the moon to find out that they now own a share of this incredible business. guitarguitar’s success is a result of the commitment and hard work of our staff and we have now decided to take the next step and give them their own piece of the company.

“We’ve spent the last 20 years building a brand that we are wholeheartedly passionate about. We wanted to ensure the business means something to future owners when our time comes to take a step back.

“Not only did we want to reward staff for their efforts at the company but we also wanted to ensure our customers will always be front and centre. Every experience a customer has at guitarguitar will now be with someone who is invested in and committed to delivering outstanding service to musicians.”

The company turns over £45m annually and is the first musical instrument retailer in the UK to take the step into employee-ownership, a business model which is becoming increasingly popular among businesses in the UK.

Bobby Simpson, operations manager at guitarguitar, added: “This is a fantastic day for the team at guitarguitar. What a brilliant start to the year knowing that Kip and Graham have full confidence in every staff member to continue and develop the guitarguitar legacy.”

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