Around 190 staff are beneficiaries of the Employee Ownership Trust, which has now taken control of the fast-growing main contractor set up in 2008.

The Readie main board of directors and senior management team remain unchanged.

The new EOT board will be formed by founding directors chairman Stuart Read and managing director Paul Stephens alongside an independent trustee and two employee representatives, yet to be named.

The deal in terms of business size is the 11th largest in the UK since Employee Benefit Trusts were introduced in 2014.

Read said: “Many of our staff have been with Readie throughout our rapid growth, the transition to employee ownership was the logical next step in the development of the company.

“The creation of an EOT enables us to preserve the legacy of the Readie brand and will help cement our status as a leading contractor in the industrial and logistics sector.

“This change safeguards the future of Readie for the benefit of its future leaders and employees, the transition to EOT status acknowledges their contribution to the company’s success and gives all employees an opportunity to share in its continuing success.

“By creating an ownership culture we can more effectively incentivise the employees and continue to deliver sustainable growth.”