EOT adviser in Leicester

Laura Bent – bylaurabent.

Laura Bent is a brand strategist and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner who took her own agency through an EOT sale. She combines 25 years’ brand and agency experience (15 of them running her own business) with a founder’s lived experience of EOTs.

EOT experience

Laura merged her brand strategy agency with a digital agency in 2021. She then led this agency through the transition to an Employee Ownership Trust in 2025. Laura’s passion lies in what happens after the paperwork is signed, particularly how you make an employee owned business thrive.

She's seen first-hand what it takes for a team to genuinely feel like owners and believes generic advice on change rarely has the right impact. Her skills lie in understanding the unique dynamics of the team, the business and its leadership, then building a tailored change and communications strategy.

Qualifications and expertise

As a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, Laura builds solutions around the ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) and PCT (Prosci Change Triangle) models. She also holds a degree in psychology. As well as a practical understanding of how brand, culture and leadership sit together, Laura brings a fresh perspective on communication and change within an EOT business.

How Laura works with Go EO

Laura works in partnership with Go EO on EOT transactions. Go EO handle the technical side of the sale, including financials, legal documents, trust structure and HMRC processes. Laura's role is the broader transition: shaping the brand and the messaging around the change, and giving leadership teams the tools to build employee ownership into their culture and their brand.

How do you get your team on board with an EOT?

Many founders say that the tax and structural side is the ‘easy’ part of the EOT. The hard work often begins post-completion, when the team needs support to understand what being an employee owner really means. There is no single way to announce the transition or embed employee ownership. It depends on the personalities within the team, how people respond to change and what messaging resonates with them.

Why use an EOT adviser?

An experienced EOT adviser works with the founder, the leadership team and the staff. In the scoping stages, a professional adviser can help a founder understand whether employee ownership is right for them and their business. They can then help prepare the business for transition and provide guidance on the broader strategic and cultural changes that come with moving to an employee-owned structure.