Two former senior figures at Manchester-based AI software business Peak AI have launched a new venture helping to fuel growth for SMEs through share option schemes.
John Fraser and Rachel Westwell were Peak’s finance director and head of legal respectively, and managed the company’s sale to US-listed AI software giant UiPath earlier this year. Prior to that, they designed and ran Peak’s share option schemes through $120m of investment rounds, including from SoftBank.
Now they have set up equiCraft to design, implement, maintain and optimise company share option schemes, helping businesses to attract, retain and incentivise top talent.
The duo are working across the UK with C-suite executives and ambitious business founders, as well as private equity and venture capital firms seeking to incentivise teams in their portfolio companies.
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Saddleworth-based Westwell said: “The UK start-up scene is booming, and competition for talent is intensifying, leading to equity schemes becoming critical for attracting and retaining the best people. They enable new businesses, which are usually protective of cash and unable to pay top salaries, to attract the world-class talent they need by offering an alternative form of compensation. They can also be used to incentivise and retain, with additional option awards being an efficient way to reward employees at key milestones in place of bonuses.
“Bonuses put pressure on the company’s cashflow, and share options are often more attractive to employees as they can grow in value over time. Moreover, they are much more tax-efficient when granted under an HMRC-approved Enterprise Management Incentives scheme.”
She added: “Generally, share options are awarded according to a vesting schedule, with employees being entitled to a part of their grant annually over a number of years. This provides a greater incentive to stay with the company on its growth journey for longer – if they leave early, they won’t receive the full value of their award. In a successful start-up, that could make a big difference to the amount the employee will receive, from several thousands pounds to tens of thousands.
“Equity schemes aren’t just about hiring and retaining talent. Equity can play a significant part in building an engaged team who adopt an ownership mindset. With everyone aligned towards the same goal of success, ultimately all shareholders benefit as the value of everyone’s equity grows.”
