Nick Brown, founder of Nikwax and Páramo, has passed control and ownership of both brands to his employees, announcing a newly formed Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) to facilitate the transfer of ownership.
Brown, 67, founded Nikwax, the U.K.-based waterproofing tech company, 45 years ago, followed by Páramo, which launched 15 years later.
Discussing the transition, Brown commented: “By passing on the business to the employees, I feel that I am not only looking after them but also looking after the interests of our loyal customers. Outdoor people have come to have high expectations of Nikwax, at many levels, and I would not want them to be disappointed. So many companies end up being aggressively taken over and broken up and lose their soul. This is our best shot at avoiding that and continuing the guiding principles.”
The waterproofing specialist is distributed in over 40 countries worldwide.
Photo courtesy Nick Brown/Nikwax
