Every member of staff who has been at BritainThinks for a year or more will receive a cash bonus to celebrate the transaction, and will have a formal stake in the company’s future financial success.

BritainThinks – and its international arm, World Thinks – were set up in 2010 by Deborah Mattinson, Viki Cooke and Ben Shimshon. The company’s clients include the BBC, the Home Office, the Cabinet Office, Shelter, Macmillan Cancer Support, Abbott, McDonald’s, theCityUK, LinkedIn and Lloyds Bank.

It currently employs about 50 people based in its Somerset House, London office.

Other businesses that adopted a similar ownership model include John Lewis, Riverford Organic, Aardman Animation, Arup group, and very recently, Richer Sounds.

Shimshon (pictured) said: “We believe that doing our bit to help build a more inclusive economy also makes sound business sense – our people are the core of the fantastic business we’ve built over the past decade. By giving everyone at BritainThinks a share in our future success, we want to encourage and reward their entrepreneurialism, professionalism and dedication. We are more optimistic about BritainThinks’ future than ever, and look forward to an even more successful 2020.”