Case Study: EOT for Film Production Company

What does the business do?

The Film Farmers offer video production services to businesses and charities, from large to small who want to showcase their people, product or services – or even to share their mission to a wider audience. The team can also offer full video services around large events.

How did the business begin?

The business began in 2017 when co-founder Tom Farmery and his then partner, now wife, Alison decided to set up their own video production company. They wanted to offer services to business, brands, charities, and individuals, all with a passion for sharing their stories.

Tom had graduated some years before from a degree in television production from the University of Bournemouth. Alison completed a degree in dance, then worked as a store manager for a brand called Mint Velvet, where she managed a large team and helped set up new stores. This experience helped make her a great producer of larger scale productions!

For the first few years of the company’s life they had 50% growth year on year. Covid then threw a spanner in the works, as it did for many businesses. But 2023-24 onwards have shown the company return to healthy growth.

Can you share some examples of films your team has made? (in the words of Tom Farmery)

“There are so many to choose however we’ve:

• made a short documentary for the elephant charity Space For Giants with tv presenter Liz Bonnin in Kenya;
• worked several times with Meta around filming some of their in-person events and festivals;
• made a lovely film for Rahet Bally (through Meta) about their work in Egypt to connect expectant parents with vital resources;
• done a series for Baillie Newman called ‘Journey to Zero’ showcasing their events’ sponsors and the work they have been doing to be more sustainable.

The list goes on and we’re grateful for every client for supporting our business.”

Why was change needed?

“My plan was always that we would exit and we would do so sooner rather than later. The pandemic changed things, and we had to put our plans on the back burner at that time.

More recently, a larger company wanted to acquire us and that process was progressing when it fell through at the last minute. Until that time the idea of becoming an employee owned trust was not on our radar. With the changes looming last year, we were keen to start putting our exit strategy in place and on taking financial advice became aware of the EOT option.

Alison and I want to spend more time together, and the pandemic played a role in this. Once forced to be at home, I realised that I was away for as much as five or six months every year and I didn’t want that to continue.

A lot of our work has been overseas so there’s lots of travelling. While we’ve had wonderful adventures and worked with amazing clients, I’d like to work more on new business and diversifying what we can offer closer to home too. We want a better work life balance for us both over time.”

Why did Employee Ownership seem right for your business?

“For us it seemed a perfect solution – we could withdraw gradually, our team would benefit as we really care about them and it was beneficial for us all. We would get a reward for the hard work we both put into building the company yet it wouldn’t be at the expense of everyone else.

We felt our small team would be even more motivated to achieve growth and success if they shared in that success. Nothing will give us more joy than to see the company thrive when we’ve stepped back entirely.”

Why did you choose Go EO?

“I personally did some research and spoke to several organisations who could support us and Chris Maslin of Go EO simply stood out.

I found providers which were far more expensive. Chris had been through the process himself and he has a way of simplifying the most complex thing so that you can understand what’s going on.

He realised there was a smoother way to achieve EOT status. We felt like we were with a safe pair of hands and we really trusted him. It was easier than I thought it would be and we’ve no regrets.”

Tom – what will you do now within the business?

“We plan to withdraw gradually over time and I’m currently in an MD role and Alison is very much an operations director and we are both going to gradually step back even though we’re still only in our 30s. We love the company however we have other more personal goals too.

I’m now learning that we do need to delegate and hand succession on – and that’s so hard to do when you have started from scratch and it’s all been down to you. Letting go can be the most difficult step yet it’s necessary for the future growth of the business.

That is now happening with others taking more senior roles. This is simply the latest part of our journey personally and the business’s journey professionally and there’s more to come.”

Go EO’s comments

“The Film Farmers is one of the smaller companies we’ve helped transition to an EOT. Tom and Alison are still very young themselves, so this sale wasn’t part of an immediate retirement plan.

They’re happy to be central to the business for a good few years to come. Over this time, other staff are trained/recruited to take on more senior roles. Those staff will know that there’s great opportunities ahead for them.

Sometimes recommendations are to get the new leadership team fully in place and everything running smoothly before selling to an EOT. Whilst there is merit to that, there’s also a risk staff see it as a carrot dangled forever out of reach. That they need to prove themselves today, as the founder might sell to an EOT tomorrow.

Tom and Alison understand there’s no going back, which should give the team more confidence they won’t be short changed later.”