T a s d I q L a y m a n

EMPLOYER GIVES AWAY CLASSIC CAR COMPANY TO EMPLOYEES
Sixty employees, including seven apprentices, received quite a surprise when 
they arrived at work the other day. They all work for Classic Motor Cars, a business 
set up in 1993. Owners and employers, Peter Neumark and Nick Gold Thorpe 
announced their plans for retirement and then went on to say that instead of selling the 
profitable business (last year’s turnover was £5.2 million) to new owners, they would 
give the company to the employees. Peter Neumark said that he ‘couldn’t think of a 
better set of owners’ to run the firm.
The new company will be run as an employee-ownership trust which means that 
each member of staff owns shares in the company. There is an operational board in 
charge of the day-to-day management, but all staff have a say in the running of the 
company. Luke Martin, who was first employed by the company as an apprentice 12 
years ago, summed up the feeling: ‘We are all a bit shocked. It took a while to sink in. 
We’ve got this amazing opportunity to put ideas on the table and shape a business. It 
gives everyone drive to work a little bit harder when it’s your own business.’
The company plans to continue growing and will offer apprenticeships and new 
employment to six people every year for the next three years. They will start as normal 
employees and then join the trust after a certain period of time.
START-UPS WITH POP-UPS
In 1999 three friends saw a gap in the drinks market. They spent six months and 
£500 developing fruit smoothies and then they sold their drinks from a pop-up stall at 
a weekend music festival. Above the stall was a sign which said: ‘Should we give up 
our jobs to make these smoothies?’ and people were asked to throw their empty cups 
into bins marked ‘Yes’ or ‘N o’. ‘Yes’ won and the Innocent brand was bom.
The story of Innocent drinks is one that brings hope to all would-be 
entrepreneurs. The three founders saw an immediate return on their investment in a 
pop-up, and the business now turns over £100 million a year and the company employs

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275 people. It was taken over by Coca-Cola in 2013, which has at least a 90% share. 
As for the three original founders, they still own part of Innocent and have set up an 
investment fund called ‘Jam Jar Investments’ to give financial backing to new 
businesses. It’s all a long way from that pop-up at the music festival.
In 1999 three friends saw a gap in the drinks market. They spent six months and 
£500 developing fruit smoothies and then they sold their drinks from a pop-up stall at 
a weekend music festival. Above the stall was a sign which said: ‘Should we give up 
our jobs to make these smoothies?’ and people were asked to throw their empty cups 
into bins marked ‘Yes’ or ‘N o’. ‘Yes’ won and the Innocent brand was bom.
The story of Innocent drinks is one that brings hope to all would-be entrepreneurs. 
The three founders saw an immediate return on their investment in a pop-up, and the 
business now turns over £100 million a year and the company employs 275 people. It 
was taken over by Coca-Cola in 2013, which has at least a 90% share. As for the three 
original founders, they still own part of Innocent and have set up an investment fund 
called ‘Jam Jar Investments’ to give financial backing to new businesses. It’s all a long 
way from that pop-up at the music festival.