April 7th 2025 marks an exciting day in Searchability’s history, as today our UK recruitment agency has completed its transition to employee ownership via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). The company is now 100% owned by current employees, joining a list of over 1,600 UK businesses that are employee owned, including nationally recognised brands like John Lewis Partnership PLC.
Searchability’s Founder Martin Blythe, along with all existing shareholders have sold 100% of the company shares to Searchability (EOT) LTD, which is the EOT that holds the shares on behalf of current UK Searchability employees. All employees will benefit from share ownership as beneficiaries of the EOT once the sale has completed.
The decision to transition to employee-ownership was driven by Founder Martin Blythe and fellow Director Olly Preston, with a strong commitment to preserve the company’s values, culture and ambitious vision, whilst rewarding the employees who have helped the company grow and succeed over the last decade.
‘Our people are key to our success at Searchability. By empowering employees with a sense of ownership, more opportunities to innovate and exciting future career prospects, we are ensuring Searchability thrives as a recruitment company of choice for the tech digital industry.’
-Martin Blythe – Founder & Trustee Director
Searchability was founded in 2012 with a vision of creating innovative solutions for companies looking to recruit the very best tech talent in the UK. Since then, they have launched global operations in the USA, Australia and UAE, as well as multiple sub-brands including Searchability National Security & Defence, employing 50+ people across five global offices.
‘Having worked as a Searchability Director alongside Martin for several years helping Searchability scale into the global recruitment brand it is today, I couldn’t be happier to be assuming the role of MD for our next chapter as an employee-owned business. We’re lucky to have some of the most talented recruiters in our team who have brought on incredible client names over the past decade, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!’
– Olly Preston, Managing Director
With the transition to an EOT comes a new board of directors, split across the trading company and the EOT:
Directors of the Trading Company:
Olly Preston – Managing Director
Chris Hopley – Director – Permanent Recruitment
James Gambino – Director – Contract Recruitment
Directors of the Trust:
Martin Blythe – CEO
Sophie Hopley – Marketing & Employer Branding
Cheryl Muskin – People, Culture & HR
Joe Paget – Finance (External member)
Gabbi Trotter – Recruiter & MeetUp Ambassador
To learn more about Searchability download our client brochure here.
