Localization Service Provider Rubric has announced it has sold all shares of the company into an Employee-Ownership Trust from April 2022. The acquisition on behalf of Rubric employees provides long-term stability for the company’s clients, staff, and suppliers.
Like many business owners, Françoise and Ian Henderson are determined that their company will continue to provide its characteristic high level of service long into the future. Over the last 2 years, they have begun to look for a succession plan that will preserve Rubric’s unique approach to localization, whilst ensuring its loyal staff are rewarded and continue to have job security.
Françoise says, “Having spent nearly 3 decades building Rubric from scratch, we had no intention of looking at a potentially disruptive trade sale. The move to Employee Ownership means Rubric will not need to.
The benefit of becoming an employee-owned company
An Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) is an employee benefit initiative that provides a stable, long-term structure for businesses. This effectively hands over control of the company to the people who know it best — its employees. It allows business owners to sell shares of their company into a trust held on behalf of its employees.
Rubric EOT has been created for the benefit of Rubric’s current and future employees. Research has shown that employee-owned companies perform better than their peers as a result of being more engaged, innovative, productive, and sustainable.
Françoise says, “These qualities are already hallmarks of Rubric. We have consistently exhibited a desire to grow and form new business relationships. Under Employee Ownership, everyone at Rubric will have a new formal, vested interest in those principles and a tangible reason to uphold and develop them going forward.”
How Rubric’s employee ownership ensures ongoing continuity
How will the new ownership affect the day-to-day running of the company? Ian says, “This development will have no impact on our business operations or on how we work with our clients. The existing directors and management team will continue to run the company in the manner to which our clients have become accustomed. “It is simply about changing the ownership to ensure that Rubric continues to deliver exceptional service to our clients and partners.”
For Rubric’s clients, the new EOT structure provides the confidence that they will continue to receive the same high level of service and partnership that are hallmarks of working with Rubric.
For Rubric’s employees, it provides them with a clear influence on the future of the business. It allows them to keep the same client and supplier relationships that they have built over years.
For Rubric’s suppliers and partners — including the many translators and engineers that support Rubric’s operations —, it provides the confidence that these strong relationships will continue long into the future.
Françoise adds, “We believe this shift to Employee Ownership will herald the start of a new vibrant chapter in the Rubric story. We will move onto a more dynamic footing whilst ensuring we remain the loved, respected, and profitable localization company that we always have been.”
Founded by Françoise and Ian Henderson in 1994, Rubric works with global businesses to grow their international reach through localization services and global content strategy. They specialize in several key industries including manufacturing, technology, and wellness, and have worked with diverse brands, including AccuWeather, Amway, Bose, TechSmith, and Watson-Marlow.
