About us - Our History
In 1983, Philip Baxendale and his cousin sold their domestic boiler manufacturing company – a family business that was originally founded in 1866 – to a trust set up on behalf of its employees, the Baxi Partnership Trust. Its original purpose was to enable the employees to keep the company independent and to share in the wealth that they helped to create.
In 2000, the boiler business split from the Trust, while Baxi Partnership Limited continued as an employee owned business, with a new mission to provide support for organisations looking to transition into mutual and employee ownership.
Also in 2000, the original Trust Deed was strengthened and enshrined in perpetuity by The Baxi Partnership Trusts Act 2000 to our knowledge, we are the only employee owned company in the UK whose formation and aims are underlined by an Act of Parliament created solely for that purpose.
Philip’s aim for the Trust was that it would help increase the number of employee owned companies, giving employees a meaningful stake in their organisations and a say over how those organisations were run.
In the last 13 years, Baxi Partnership has supported over 40 organisations through full transition into employee ownership, and provided advice and assistance to over 100 more. Baxi Partnership are now mentors to the Government’s programme to support the transition of more public sector organisations into employee-led mutuals.
The three principles of Philip’s vision are that each company should:
- Continue forever to be employee owned.
- Be a professionally managed, dynamic, growing business.
- Develop a culture of partnership, sharing information, influence and wealth created by the business.
