The Entertainer: Founder Gary Grant handing toy shop chain ownership to his workers on 'momentous day'

One of the UK’s biggest toy businesses is set to become employee-owned after the founders said they were handing over their entire shareholding.
The Entertainer, which owns Early Learning Centre and has 160 shops and more than 1,000 concessions in the UK, will transfer to the new structure from September.

Gary Grant, who opened the first shop in Buckinghamshire with his wife Catherine 44 years ago, said: “Today marks a momentous day for the Grant family. This is a significant decision for the family, and one we haven’t taken lightly, but it feels like the right time to transfer our entire shareholding into an employee ownership trust. The business is in strong hands.”

The change means employees will take home bonuses based on the amount of profit the company makes, and will have a say in how the business is run.

Chief executive Andrew Murphy said: “What the Grant family have built is a true British success story – all the more impressive for having consistently championed the belief that business can be a force for good across the communities they serve.”