New Report: European Trends in Employee Stock Ownership
Executive Director
On March 7, the European Federation of Employee Share Ownership (EFES) reported on that among 2,335 European companies listed on stock exchanges, the average stake held by employee share plans is 3.2% That is up from 2.5% in 2006. But while the ownership average has grown, the percentage of employees in plans has dropped from a high of 25% in 2010 to 22% in 2016, even though the percentage of companies with broad-based plans has increased to 53% in 2016 from 39% in 2006.
EFES noted that "the employees' ownership stake was "significant" in 1.220 or 52% of the companies (employees holding 1% or more), "strategic" in 464 or 20% (employees holding 6% or more), and "controlling" in 266 or 11% (employees holding 20% or more). Fifty-two percent of the companies have some form of broad-based share plan.
Most of the plans provide for voluntary purchase by employees at a discounted rate, or in some cases with a share match. Norway, the UK, Poland, Spain, and Austria have the most pro-employee ownership legislation, but France has cut back support, while Germany's remains tepid. Much of the growth in employee ownership is due to rapid growth in the UK, where 28% of employees in listed companies own shares, while ownership on the Continent has dropped to 20% from a high of 24% in 2011. The UK has been aggressive in promoting employee ownership, especially since 2012.
The full report provides in depth country-by-country data and breaks down ownership between kinds of plans and amounts held by executives.