Double success for RBH at Employee Ownership Awards

Stephen Edwards, Bethan Jones, Nicky Morris, Elaine Johnson, Jonathan Walton

There was double success for RBH at this year's Employee Ownership Awards. RBH were announced as the overall winner of the "positive impact of the year" award, and RBH Involvement Co-ordinator Steve Edwards was shortlisted and commended in a competitive "employee owner of the year" category.

The Employee Ownership Awards celebrate the significant contribution employee owned businesses make to the UK economy. The Employee Owned Positive Impact of the Year Award celebrates a business that is pioneering, positive and creates a lasting impact as an employee owned businesses, over and above their financial performance. RBH is a pioneering mutual housing society, and was the first in the UK to be co-owned by tenants and employees.

The awards are run by the Employee Ownership Association and sponsored by Baxendale, and were held as part of the Employee Ownership Conference in Birmingham.

UK Employee Ownership Awards Judge Beth Carruthers, Non-executive Director, Remploy Ltd, said: “What really struck us about RBH was a deep rooted set of values which epitomised ambition, activity and impact. The breadth of the work that they do in galvanising the entire community whether employees, tenants or partners in the community is what is making such a difference."

UK Employee Ownership Awards Judge Anne Buckley, Head of Partnership Assurance for the John Lewis Partnership, said: “What was really interesting about RBH was their mission which is about providing a holistic experience right through the community, rather than just being about housing and collecting rent. Hearing about the impact that this is making is really inspiring."

Nicky Morris, RBH Communities Partnership Manager, said: "This is for our membership - for our members who volunteer and our tenants who volunteer and we are going to be sharing this with everyone. The important thing to us is how we all work together on making a real impact on the lives of our tenants and those in our communities."