5 years of employee ownership

On 1st November 2022, HARVEY Maps celebrates its 5th birthday as an employee-owned business.

HARVEY Maps was founded in 1977 by Susan Harvey MBE and Robin Harvey MBE to provide a professional mapmaking service for the sport of orienteering. Since then, the company has become a market leader in the publication of maps for outdoor pursuits, producing detailed mapping for areas in the UK, Ireland and beyond.

In 2017, and with retirement near, Susan and Robin embraced the idea of employee ownership as a succession solution which gave the company, the jobs and the brand the best chance of continued independent success.

Based in Scotland, the company was an early adopter of this model and much has been learned since the early days of employee ownership.

The staff are all encouraged to play a part in the running of the company, and HARVEY Maps has had employee representation at both director and trustee level, ensuring everyone's ideas and messages are heard and the values of the founders and the present-day staff do not go unnoticed.

"We are all very proud to be able to celebrate our 5th birthday as employee owners", said Adam King, CEO. "As a group, we have had to deal with the multiple and diverse challenges the world has thrown at us over the past few years, and it gives me immense satisfaction to see the entire team develop and grow with their company's interests at the centre."

HARVEY Maps currently has 11 employees, 2 of which are elected by their colleagues to serve on the employee ownership Board of Trustees, alongside the now retired Susan and an independent chairperson.

Chris Beacock, Production Manager, is into his second term as an elected trustee and has been involved from the start.

"I have been with the company for a long time now and I was delighted to have the chance to get involved in its governance. For me, the people who work at HARVEY Maps are the company's greatest asset. Having employee representation on the Board of Trustees is hugely important and ensures that the voices of the employees are central to the business."




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