Riverford is now 100% employee-owned. So what's next for founder Guy Singh-Watson

Hi Guy, nice to see you. So we're here today to celebrate and talk about the fact that you've sold your final shares in Riversford to the staff, so we're officially 100% employee-owned. It's a big day, how do you feel? I feel very good about it, I've got absolutely no regrets. I know the business is in safe hands and it'll be run better than I ever could have done, so you know I feel very happy. Is it quite emotional? I mean as a founder stepping back from having a financial stake it feels like quite a big thing, I mean how do you how do you feel about that personally? I think I'm pretty unusual in founders and entrepreneurs in that I do actually find it really easy to let go, I mean that most people, and I've got lots of other things that I want to do. I want to get back to growing vegetables more and yeah helping other people fulfill their dreams, which is largely what I'm going to use the money for, to support other land-based and social enterprises and so on. That's great, yeah I think a lot of people will be asking that like what next, what are you going to do, are you still going to be involved in Riverford? I will continue to write the newsletters and probably be the, I suppose, the voice, the mouthpiece. I don't seem to be able to stop by and get pretty gobby and opinionated about things and I enjoy writing the newsletter and having a vehicle for those ideas and you know being able to influence in a small way, you know, the direction we're heading in. So we as co-owners have obviously bought the shares from you now, but what are you planning to spend that money on? Is there anything you can share with us? Well the first thing that I'm going to do is I'm going to pay my tax, unlike many members of our current government cabinet, even our Prime Minister, so that'll be a fifth or a quarter of it gone and the rest of it I will continue to invest in projects. I'm not interested in fancy cars or, you know, fancy yachts or whatever. I would want to use my wealth to try and shape the world to be a little bit more like the world that I and I think many other people want to live in. And on that note, I was interested because you've been an entrepreneur and obviously a farmer all your life and why do you see the future of ethical businesses and the future of Riverford as kind of having multiple owners and being owned by its staff? Why do you think that's the kind of best route and the safest future? I would like to see a business exist to serve and to serve not just the shareholders, you know, the people who put capital into it. I mean clearly they're part of it, but the people who work there, their customers, their suppliers and the environment. I want all those to be served, you know, in a long-term way with a very well thought out business plan and carefully managed kind of mutually beneficial relationships. And I think Riverford has been really exemplary at that actually. I mean particularly in its relationships with its suppliers I think is just absolutely unique in our sector and I guess that's probably, you know, almost the thing that I'm sort of most proud of really. The idea you know, all those stakeholders should be working just for the benefit of the shareholders is, I just find it deeply offensive actually, you know, to my soul. We obviously will be still seeing you and obviously Artie around the farm, so this isn't goodbye, but yeah, thanks for sharing with us some of your thoughts. Thank you.