Ownership is the UK's most underused lever for a fairer economy.
Krystal EO uses philanthropic funds to acquire UK businesses and makes them majority Employee Owned permanently and at no cost to the employees.
What we do
Krystal EO is a purpose-led alternative path for existing founders and sellers, where employees become owners, legacies are secured and future profits are shared between employees and propagating Employee Ownership.
The structural problem
The UK economy continues to generate wealth, yet the benefits of that growth remain highly concentrated.
Real wages have barely risen in nearly two decades despite sustained increases in productivity, while millions of working families remain in poverty. The issue is not simply how much the economy produces, but who owns productive assets and how the value created by businesses is shared.
25pt1
Percentage-point gap between productivity (+87%) and pay (+62%) growth, 1981–2019
14.3M2
People in poverty in the UK — around one in five
2.9M3
Emergency food parcels distributed in 2024/25
1 Teichgräber & Van Reenen, International Productivity Monitor (2021). 2 Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty 2025. 3 Trussell, End of Year Statistics 2024/25.
The ownership flywheel
The evidence for Employee Ownership
Employee-owned businesses are more productive, more resilient, have lower churn and happier employees.
8-12%
More productive (GVA per employee) than non-EO peers
2x
As much returned to employees in bonuses and dividends
5x
Less likely to make redundancies in the last three years
People Powered Growth (EOA, Ownership at Work & University of Stirling, Oct 2023) surveyed 152 employee-owned businesses against 285 comparable non-EO peers.
The wider system
The effects of Employee Ownership ripple outward.
When workers earn more, accumulate assets, and feel genuinely secure, the effects extend beyond any single community: into the mental and physical health of families, into the educational outcomes of children who grow up in financially stable households, into the tax revenues that fund public services, and into the reduced demand on welfare and emergency support systems that currently absorb the cost of economic insecurity.
These outcomes are reflected in internationally recognised sustainable development priorities, particularly around poverty reduction, decent work, reduced inequalities, and sustainable communities.
Krystal EO's Vision
Krystal EO's long-term ambition is a million employee owners and a fairer distribution of wealth by 2050.
Used at scale, Employee Ownership is the single most effective form of philanthropy possible.