We have quite a long article to share with you this quarter – testament to how much we have to talk about. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read about the milestones we have achieved, especially within our Social and Governance commitments.

Pratap Partnership Becomes Employee-Owned

We are delighted to say that Pratap Partnership transferred into employee ownership by becoming an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) in November.

Since we started our business in 2019, we have invested in our team, and hold each member in such high regard. Our success starts with our track record in attracting exceptional talent, and continues through with nurturing, retaining, and growing our team from 5 to 20.

‘Team’ is central to our core values, and everyone within Pratap Partnership contributes to our accomplishments and business momentum. The strong loyalty of our team made the decision to entrust them with ownership a logical one, providing us with a robust foundation for our long-term future.

Strongly sitting within both the Social and Governance pillars of sustainability, the EOT will ensure that the trust is managed with the best interests of the employees, and that the company remains sustainable over the long term.

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Our Chosen Charities

September was a busy month with us holding fundraisers to support, not one, but two of our Chosen Charities.

September started with 6 members of our team taking on the “Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge”, organised by the Business Beats Cancer Yorkshire Charity. Amanda, Gillian, Claire, Leighton, Gemma and Nicola hiked up and down three mountains: a total of 24 miles, 62,000 steps and with a 4,800ft ascent. It was a tough challenge, with some blood, sweat and tears along the way - but all for a very good cause as we raised over £3,500 for Cancer Research in Yorkshire.

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Later on in September, we were joined by many guests (and their wonderful dogs!) at our office in Nostell Estate for a fundraiser to support Martin’s Mountain. Martin Hibbert was a survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, and since then, he has been raising money for the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA). In 2022, Martin reached the summit of Kilimanjaro using a specially adapted wheelchair with the team who helped save his life.  Martin provided an inspiring talk at our Fundraiser on his story, the Kilimanjaro hike, and mental resilience.  We then all went on a walk around the Nostell Estate Grounds (which wasn’t quite as strenuous as a hike up Kilimanjaro) followed by handmade Pizza catered by local The Wood Fired Pizza Company. We were proud to raise £1,750 towards his £1million target for the SIA.

Pratap Partnership is proud to support both charities and we were delighted to contribute to their amazing work.

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Supporting Local Businesses at Christmas

We started a tradition last year of using local businesses to create presents for our staff – this year we continued that tradition. Not only does this support local businesses, but there is a positive environmental aspect due to less carbon emissions with less transport.

The wonderful Lucie the Label provided beautiful hampers/lunch bags and we filled them with treats and delicious goodies from the following businesses:

- Farmer Copley’s for delicious sweets, treats and goodies.

- Lottie Shaw for their scrumptious mince pies.

- Nostell Estate for some delectable chutneys.

- Personalisednpretty, in Manchester, for some personalised Baubles.

- Lucie the Label for the hampers, bespoke water bottles, and manifestation stickers.

- Poppy Forrest, based in Leeds, for bespoke Christmas cards.

We hope this forum will bring a spotlight to some fantastic local businesses.

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In summary, here is how we have contributed to each of the three ESG pillars this quarter:

Environmental

• We introduced an EV Scheme as an option for all employees. We now have 3 EV Fleet cars.
• Our staff continue to utilise the Park and Rides when going to meetings in City Centres.

Social

• We published our East Midlands CFO Network Annual Report (click here for a copy) which is a valuable contribution to the East Midlands business community. Companies in the East Midlands have been so welcoming to us over the last few years, so we are proud to share our analysis and lens on their community; something we hope that really provides benefits to Talent and Finance professionals across the region.
• Raising £3,500 for Business Beats Cancer Yorkshire through the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge.
• Raising £1,750 for Martin’s Mountain through our Charity Fundraiser.
• We offered a donation to our client’s company charity, as opposed to providing gifts at Christmas.
• The team clubbed together and donated clothes to a local charity to help people in need in our community near the office in Wakefield.

Governance

• Becoming an EOT; this led to promotions of Karen Caswell and Claire Screeton to Board Members of the Pratap Partnership Trust ensuring the business is run with the best interests of the employees as a whole. We have just joined the Employee Ownership Association to ensure that we meet the highest standards of governance.
• We have grown our board by adding Alex Mostyn-Jones – bringing 30 years of experience in the recruitment industry, including 17 years in a FTSE listed business. She brings added strength to our whole business, but especially to our values, purpose, learning & development, and ED&I.