We are immensely proud to announce Horizon Platforms is transitioning to an employee-owned business.
We have built a very special culture here at Horizon which aims to deliver the very best service in the industry. This route allows us to ensure that you continue to receive that great service. It now means we have 72 employee owners, who will all be aiming to delight our customers, new and existing, with superb customer service in the future!
How will this change affect our valued customers?
Our customers will continue to receive the same great service as always, but now whenever they speak to a member of our team, they will be speaking to someone who is even more invested in providing that great Horizon service. Everything else remains the same, Horizon are here to offer rapid response rental solutions for anyone working at height.
For those that know us well, we like to be innovators wherever we can, and the EOT is no exception. Horizon will be the first in the powered access industry to operate as an employee-owned business. Our joint majority shareholders, CEO Ben Hirst and Strategic Account Director Rory Duggan, will remain with the business to oversee the future development of the business alongside the leadership team. They both had this to say about the change in ownership;
Ben Hirst, Founder, comments:
“This is the proudest moment of my career. Transferring ownership into the hands of our employees offers this organisation the opportunity to live on, and truly become what I have always strived to achieve, a business built for our grandchildren.
“Becoming employee owned is about maintaining and building on the unique Horizon culture. The business and its employees have a real family ethos and so personally, I want to be a part of what I expect to be the most exciting phase of Horizon’s journey yet.
“Myself and Lucy Normanton, director of people & internal communications, spoke to many businesses who had transitioned to an EOT, giving us valuable feedback and advice on their own experiences. There was an overwhelming sense that it had been the best choice for all the businesses we spoke to and therefore cemented our own decision to move forward in this way.”
Rory Duggan, Strategic Account Director, adds:
“I truly believe that we have built a very special company and one that is only at the beginning of its journey. We believe that now is precisely the time to transition ownership to our team as we approach our next phase of growth, but in true Horizon style, we are daring to be different.
“After 14 years of trading, our main focus remains the same, to make our customers happy and keep them returning to us. Customers want clarity, reassurance and peace of mind when their people are working at height, and our whole organisation is focused on delivering just that.”
We have set ambitious plans for growth by working closely with our partner suppliers across the UK. Furthermore, on the back of customer demand, we have invested in digital allowing customers to manage their hire via the website and work more flexibly.
Horizon will continue its focus on a core customer base that typically works indoors at height and in turn support numerous markets, from manufacturing, warehousing & logistics and to a lesser degree, construction. We pride ourselves on delivering the very best service to our customers who are looking for rental solutions. This, coupled with the care and attention placed upon relationships with our customers, born out of a formalised set of values displayed by all in the business, has meant we have achieved a 6yr average Net Promotor Score (NPS) of 75.
With the benefits of employee ownership including increased performance, our customers can relax in comfort that we will do all we can to further improve what makes Horizon one of the best in the business.