Robert Postlethwaite

Founder of Postlethwaite and one of the UK’s leading experts in employee ownership and employee share schemes. A regular speaker on employee ownership in the UK and overseas, he is widely recognised for his technical expertise and practical insight into ownership succession.

Robert has particular expertise in:

• arranging ownership succession through transfers of ownership to employee trusts, including tax-advantaged employee ownership trusts (EOTs)
• helping private and listed companies find the right employee share plan to match their needs, then looking after all aspects of legal implementation

A law graduate from the University of Bristol, Robert was formerly a partner in a national corporate law firm before founding Postlethwaite in 2003. He has been a Band 1 Ranked Lawyer for sixteen years in his field by the legal rankings guide Chambers and Partners reflecting his standing as a market-leading practitioner in his field.

He is the author of The Employee Ownership Manual, a detailed practical guide for business owners and advisers on structuring employee ownership. The first edition was published in October 2019, with a fully updated second edition released in May 2025 by Spiramus Press. Robert has written and lectured extensively on employee ownership in the UK and internationally and is frequently featured in commentary and media coverage on the subject.

He is a member of the Share Plans Lawyers group and sits on the tax panel of the UK200 Group, (a group of independent, quality assured professional advisers). In 2023, he led the sale of Postlethwaite to an employee ownership trust, giving him first-hand experience of the EOT transition from the perspective of a business owner.