We're proud and excited to be celebrating Employee Ownership Day 2018.

We'll be raising a glass at our Friday night drinks as a toast to our founder, Max Fordham, who established our practice in the front room of his London home in 1966. He sought a democratic approach to running a business, to encourage shared responsibility and a feeling of ownership. A unique partnership agreement was drafted and put in place, then in 2001, we became an LLP - the first engineering firm to do so!

We can say with pride that our people really believe in our Practice. We give a share of our business to everyone who joins when they have been with us for 4 years. There are no strings attached other than a commitment to work in the interests of one another and our Partnership. Max himself said "it's a responsibility sharing scheme, not a profit sharing scheme. If someone demonstrates they are fit to be an employee, then they are fit to be a Partner". We consider all our employees to be partners in waiting; they have a voice in key decisions, and are encouraged to participate fully in all aspects of running our business. Treating each other as equals is important to us, and we work hard at finding opportunities to improve our approach and behaviour to ensure we are inclusive and respectful towards each other.

Today we continue to enjoy the responsibilities and benefits of shared ownership, having grown into a thriving business of over 220 people (with over 125 partners) spread across our five offices, London, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Manchester and Bristol.