This founder refused investors for years, then sold his organic food company to his 900 employees instead. Guy Singh-Watson started Riverford in 1987 on his family's farm in Devon, England, delivering boxes of organic vegetables to friends. It grew into a national business delivering around 65,000 veg boxes a week across the UK. Riverford raised what it pays farmers to help cover their rising labor costs, and invested in solar power, electric delivery vans, and compostable packaging. The Observer, a major British newspaper, named its veg box the Ethical Product of the Decade. As Riverford grew, outside investors kept asking to buy in, and he turned them down. He said selling would have been easy, but he didn't want the brand he spent 30 years building used to sell mediocre food. In June 2018, he sold 74% of Riverford to his roughly 650 employees for £6 million. Riverford says that was about a third of its market value, so he gave up millions by not selling to the highest bidder. Staff didn't have to buy shares. The stake went into an Employee Ownership Trust, a structure holding the company for all employees equally. Riverford paid him in installments, helped by Triodos, a top-rated ethical bank on the Conscious Spend app. In May 2023, he sold the rest for about £9.8 million over five years, making Riverford's roughly 900 staff 100% owners. They elect a council and split 10-20% of profits equally yearly, about £3,800 each in the record pandemic year. He pledged full tax on the sale, some proceeds to solar and an overseas farmer charity, and said staff could fire him. In 2025, he helped lead about 1,000 business leaders urging the UK government to end its Gaza complicity. Who's behind what you buy? Riverford chose its workers over a payday. Check the Conscious Spend app to see who owns your everyday brands and how they rate on people, planet, and transparency. This founder refused investors for years, then sold his organic food company to his 900 employees instead. Guy Singh-Watson started Riverford in 1987 on his family's farm in Devon, England, delivering boxes of organic vegetables to friends. It grew into a national business delivering around 65,000 veg boxes a week across the UK. Riverford raised what it pays farmers to help cover their rising labor costs, and invested in solar power, electric delivery vans, and compostable packaging. The Observer, a major British newspaper, named its veg box the Ethical Product of the Decade. As Riverford grew, outside investors kept asking to buy in, and he turned them down. He said selling would have been easy, but he didn't want the brand he spent 30 years building used to sell mediocre food. In June 2018, he sold 74% of Riverford to his roughly 650 employees for £6 million. Riverford says that was about a third of its market value, so he gave up millions by not selling to the highest bidder. Staff didn't have to buy shares. The stake went into an Employee Ownership Trust, a structure holding the company for all employees equally. Riverford paid him in installments, helped by Triodos, a top-rated ethical bank on the Conscious Spend app. In May 2023, he sold the rest for about £9.8 million over five years, making Riverford's roughly 900 staff 100% owners. They elect a council and split 10-20% of profits equally yearly, about £3,800 each in the record pandemic year. He pledged full tax on the sale, some proceeds to solar and an overseas farmer charity, and said staff could fire him. In 2025, he helped lead about 1,000 business leaders urging the UK government to end its Gaza complicity. Who's behind what you buy? Riverford chose its workers over a payday. Check the Conscious Spend app to see who owns your everyday brands and how they rate on people, planet, and transparency. - @conscious.app