Parfetts appoints retail expert to Employee Trust Board

Parfetts has appointed Helen Moreton to its Employee Trust Board. She brings a wealth of experience from the retail industry and Employee Ownership sector.

Helen is the founder and director of Boombox Consulting Limited and has been an active part of the employee-owned sector for over twenty years in an operational and non-executive capacity. Helen spent 18 years at John Lewis Partnership in various independent and strategic roles and now works with several other employee-owned businesses in a chairing, coaching, advisory, and developmental capacity.

The Employee Trust board sits separately from the executive board and represents the interests of the Trust and Parfetts 1,000 employees.

Martin Race, chair of the Parfetts Employee Trust Board, said: “I am delighted to welcome Helen to the Employee Trust Board and am sure with her experience of employee-owned businesses that she will prove to be a great asset to Parfetts.”

Helen’s roles include chair of the Trust Board and chair of the Co-owner Council at Go Ape, chair of the Co-owner Council at Riverford Organic Farmers, chair of the Trust Board at Turley and Hockley Mint, and independent trustee at Lush, Architype and Espace.

Commenting on her appointment, Helen Moreton, said: “I am delighted to be appointed by Parfetts as an independent trustee of their Employee Ownership Trust. It is great to join this established and well-respected employee-owned company. I look forward to working with the other trustees and board as they continue their commitment toward a better way of doing business. After 18 years in John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose, I also look forward to working in retail again!

“As their independent trustee, I will use my knowledge and experience, alongside my passion for employee ownership, to stimulate debate and inform decision-making for the benefit of the business and its beneficiaries.”

Parfetts was established as a family business in 1980, a majority was sold to an Employee Trust Board in 2008, and the company became fully employee-owned in October 2018. A desire to build a sustainable company based on sound governance and engaged employees were at the heart of the decision to move to employee ownership.

Guy Swindell, joint managing director of Parfetts, concluded: “The trust board plays an important role for the business, and Helen is a great appointment. Employee ownership is a driving force in our current and future growth. It allows us to take longer-term strategic decisions and invest back into the business to help us improve our service and protect retailer margins.”