Edenstone transfers 100% of shares to employee ownership trust and renames as Edenstone Partnership

South Wales housebuilder Edenstone has transferred 100% of its shares to an Employee Ownership Trust, with the Magor-based company, which builds 300 to 400 homes a year, now trading as Edenstone Partnership.

The transfer took place on 27 October, the company said in an announcement on 30 October. Companies House filings made on 28 October, the day after the transfer, record Edenstone Partnership Trustee Limited as a person with significant control of Edenstone Holdings Limited from 27 October, with ownership of 75% or more of shares and voting rights.

The same filings record that co-founder Martin Jeffrey Taylor ceased to be a person with significant control on 27 October, having been registered since April 2016 with more than 25% but not more than 50% of shares, and that Jeffrey Stanley Taylor's appointment as a director ended the same day. A charge against the holding company was recorded as satisfied in full on 14 October.

Martin Taylor, executive chairman, said: "Although a third-party sale may have been more financially attractive, it can often come at the expense of a company's identity and workforce."

The business

Edenstone said it was founded by Jeff and Martin Taylor in 2003 and employs around 100 people. Companies House records show the holding company, Edenstone Holdings Limited, was incorporated on 12 July 2002 and carried the name Aurelian Property Finance Limited until April 2011. It is registered at Wales 1 Business Park in Magor and classified under development of building projects.

The company said it builds between 300 and 400 homes a year on 12 developments across South Wales and South-West England. Its website describes it as a mixed tenure residential developer selling to the private market and to partners, with activity across South Wales, the South Midlands, the West Country and the South West.

According to the announcement, the business is increasingly bringing forward schemes with partners including affordable housing providers and the private rented sector. Taylor said the company would keep looking for opportunities to grow where long-term sustainable opportunities arise.

How the trust works

Hafren Consulting LLP managed the transition. Randall Edwards, senior partner at Hafren, led the purchase on behalf of the trust and remains on its trustee board. Edwards said the selling shareholders had been highly motivated to move to a structure that would let the business thrive over the long term.

The trust holds 100% of the shares of the Edenstone Group for the benefit of all employees, and its board meets at least quarterly. The Edenstone board continues to run the business and take operational and commercial decisions, with the trust overseeing it on behalf of staff.

Five directors sit on the trustee board: independent trustees Randall Edwards and Alan Whiteley, Martin Taylor, finance director Stuart Rodden, and operations director Chris Edge as employee representative director.

Chris Edge, operations director and employee representative director, said: "I'm proud to represent my colleagues on the board of trustees and will strive to protect the values, culture and long-term vision that have made this business what it is today."

The first employee representative is appointed by the Edenstone board for up to three years. After that, employees elect the role by annual ballot.

The wider picture

Edenstone said construction is the fastest-growing sector for employee ownership, up 6,580% between 2014 and 2025, and that more than 100 Welsh businesses are employee-owned. Business Wales said in November 2025 that the number in Wales had reached 100, past the Welsh Government's Programme for Government commitment to double the total to 74 by 2026. Cwmpas receives Welsh Government funding to promote employee ownership in Wales.

The tax treatment of such deals has changed. HM Revenue and Customs said Capital Gains Tax relief on qualifying disposals of shares to Employee Ownership Trusts was reduced from 100% to 50% for disposals made on or after 26 November 2025.

Edenstone Holdings Limited's most recent group accounts, made up to 27 April 2025, were filed on 4 February 2026.