John Lewis considers plan to change staff-owned structure

John Lewis is considering a imaginable alteration to its employee-owned concern structure, upending much than 70 years of tradition.

The group, which besides owns Waitrose, is presently afloat owned by its staff, who person a stock successful the profits.

But successful the look of tougher trading, the steadfast is said to beryllium exploring the thought of selling of a number stake.

The Sunday Times, which archetypal reported the move, said the steadfast hoped to rise up to £2bn.

It said the firm's chairwoman Dame Sharon White was considering a imaginable program to dilute the celebrated concern operation successful bid to put successful amended technology, information investigation and Waitrose's proviso chain.

The BBC has been told the thought is astatine the "very, precise aboriginal stages" of treatment and whitethorn not yet happen. However, if it did it would not magnitude to removing the communal ownership operation altogether and that unit would clasp bulk control.

It could inactive beryllium arguable among staff, however, who jointly ain the full of the business, benefiting from immoderate profits.

The profit-sharing exemplary has occasionally resulted successful large windfalls. In 2008 unit received a sum equivalent to astir 10 weeks' wage arsenic a bonus.

However successful the past 3 years the steadfast has had to steer done the choppy waters of the pandemic and a outgo of surviving crisis. It made a nonaccomplishment of £234m successful 2022-3 and paid nary bonus to staff, for lone the 2nd clip since 1953. It has besides closed stores and chopped unit numbers.

John Lewis has worked with extracurricular companies successful the past: Ocado launched market deliveries for Waitrose and much precocious it acceptable up a associated task to physique residential properties with concern steadfast Abrdn. If the determination were to spell ahead, it would beryllium the archetypal merchantability of a involvement successful the halfway business.

At times the mutualised operation has been held up arsenic exemplary for however businesses could beryllium tally differently, taking a broader scope of stakeholders into relationship and focusing little connected shareholder profit.

When Sir Nick Clegg was lawman premier curate helium heralded the radical arsenic a exemplary for the full economy.

John Lewis has not commented connected the reports, but said: "We've ever said we would question partnerships to assistance money our translation and breathtaking maturation plans.

"We've done this with Ocado successful the past and present with Abrdn. Our partners, who ain the business, volition beryllium the archetypal to perceive astir immoderate developments."