“I introduced David unto our company as an expert consultant some 20 years ago to work with me on remuneration policy and the development of new bonus arrangements for the senior executive team. After that, our work together has been in relation to employee share schemes, share valuation and the corporate governance requirements that are required to support the share schemes.

Over the 20 years, Jellycat has grown substantially and David has responded to the challenge of developing the share schemes to meet the corporate demands and employee expectations that accompany significant growth. Throughout that time, I personally have worked very closely with David and have found his advice on these share scheme activities is to be born out of a deep understanding of the subject and astute perception of what is right for Jellycat. I will say that David always listens very carefully to my questions and the strength and depth of his answers indicate to me that he places great value on his relationship with Jellycat as a client. David is always pleased to answer my questions and this ongoing dialogue enables me to be fully aware of the implications for the company.

I always know that he has the interest of Jellycat at heart and is seeking to ensure that the company is protected while at the same time ensuring that the schemes have maximum opportunity to motivate the employee share scheme participants. This personal approach that David offers is something that I greatly value and I believe that it enables him to bespoke the arrangements to the precise needs of Jellycat. In summary, our work together has been a journey that continues and I am always confident that at any time I can call upon David for his sage advice and guidance on these matters.”
Thomas Gatacre
Jellycat Limited

We are a small firm of accountants and as general practitioners, we have at times the need for certain specific skills that we are not experienced or even qualified enough to undertake in order to be able to best serve our clients.

Such a situation occurred when one of our largest and very long standing clients requested that we look at the corporate structure of his company with a view to involving key staff members in some form of share ownership.

The sole director/owner of the business was also going through a difficult personal period in his life and was looking at ways of protecting his considerable assets and shielding them as much as was legally possible from both the tax authorities and certain third parties within his family group.

This is when I called in David and from the outset, he made me feel part of his team as opposed to being the outsider who merely served as a conduit between him and my client. The most important aspect when engaging a third party to work with one of your clients, is that the client is comfortable with the appointment and that they have a clear understanding of the respective roles of both you and the outside professional firm. There also needs to be the comfort that the expert you have engaged is both one of the best in their field and offers no threat to the long standing relationship you have with your client.

David Craddock fits all the above criteria and in addition, he is very easy to work with, and despite his considerable knowledge he has always respected my skills and abilities as and when I have been able to contribute to the discussions and planning relating to my client’s affairs.

As professionals in any field will recognise, the more you know the more you know how little you know but with the help of David over the years, and the business and personal relationship we have developed, I have greatly increased my knowledge in the areas of share and complex corporate structures, succession planning and trusts. More importantly, it has benefitted my firm’s clients both directly and indirectly and enhanced our standing with them, as we have obtained the best advice possible in a specialised area of expertise.

I have no hesitation in recommending David, as whatever the specific requirements of you or your client in the areas of employee share schemes, director/owner succession, tax planning and associated company law compliance, David is the expert I would always go to in the knowledge that my clients will be best served.
Mike Rowe FCPA
Andrews and Company

“We appointed David as our share schemes consultant in 2008 for an assignment that required the complete reconstruction of our share capital. At the same time, David introduced a new employee share scheme for our senior executives that is based on a growth shares model. This approach has proved to be highly motivational and has assisted in the growth trajectory of our company.

David’s expertise in recommending the right scheme for our company has proved invaluable and his attention to detail combined with his awareness of our strategic objectives is exactly what we required. We also work with David in his capacity as an expert share valuer. The growth shares scheme that David introduced for us is underpinned by his share valuation work and we keep going back to him for new share valuation work as our company continues to change and evolve in its development.

David is always responsive to our needs and flexible in accommodating our preferences. He carefully analyses our requirements, constructs a plan of action for our agreement and implements the arrangements with care and precision. Once again, in 2019, we require a further reconstruction of the share capital and have had no hesitation is asking David to undertake the work. We are always confident that his immense knowledge and skills in this area of work will deliver a fine outcome for our company. David has the full confidence of the Board and our external accountants and we are pleased to recommend his services through this testimonial.”
Esther Marlow
Carmel Clothing UK

“When it comes to employee share schemes David Craddock Consultancy Services can make it happen. I cannot recommend David and his team highly enough, having first been introduced to David some 20 years ago. From the first consultation, David took time to understand the company, our requirements and what we wanted to achieve. His knowledge and advice on the subject of employee share schemes is invaluable and his status as an expert share valuer and long-standing experience in share capital reconstructions and corporate governance adds to the strength of the service that David offers.

The success of the all-employee scheme in incentivising and motivating the staff has contributed to the successful growth of the company and the retention of key members of staff. Furthermore, David and his team offer ongoing support throughout the lifecycle of the scheme in managing the administration once the scheme is implemented. The service extends to compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements, including the reporting requirements with HMRC. With David and his team, we always know that the scheme is in capable hands. Latterly, David has worked with me on a key scheme for our Chief Executive which has required enormous attention to detail and the introduction of innovative features. This scheme has also been well-received and is exactly right for the circumstances of the case.”
Paul Gillott
Symatrix Limited

We first became aware of David following a seminar at the Institute of Directors back in 2009 when he was a speaker on the promotion of share ownership and the benefits derived there from. We engaged David to assist in putting together a framework for share ownership with the then senior management team, and some year since this culminated in David both supporting and advising on a MBO in January 2014 where the senior management team then became shareholders and Directors’ of the business in their own right. Since the MBO, David has also advised on the creation of a new share scheme which was offered out to the middle-management recently. Throughout our dealings with David over the past seven years we have found him to be courteous, professional, and incredibly knowledgeable in application of share schemes and the taxation associated with them. We would not hesitate in recommending his services in this beneficial, but sometimes complex, area of employee ownership and rewards.
Mel Childs, Finance Director
Reader Offers Limited

David Craddock is one of those rare people who has not only a first class grasp of legal and technical issues but also the ability to explain and advise on them in a thoroughly practical way. He has literally ‘written the book’ on employee shares schemes and his advice to BRI Wealth Management has been invaluable.
Simon Boardman-Weston, Chairman and Chief Executive
BRI Wealth Management Plc

Working over a period of some six years with David Craddock Consultancy has allowed me to undertake the systematic transfer the ownership of the company I created to key managers in a management buy-out arrangement in March 2016.  David’s ability to address all matters of the challenge has helped me effect a smooth transition and allowed the managers to be empowered with shares on a stage-by-stage basis.  David always listened to the objectives I set and displayed a flexibility that allowed him to accommodate to varying circumstances.  David one-stop shop approach has enabled me to cover all aspects of my management buy-out, including all the corporate governance without involving other advisors.  As well as helping me with the strategy and the vision for the management buy-out, David dealt with all details of the transaction and has ensured that all tax matters are covered.  For me the success of our management buy-out lay in the fact that the business transferred to new management with no disruption. David Craddock Consultancy worked to ensure that this happened.
Dean Buchanan, Founder and former Managing Director
Buchanan Hartley Architects Limited  

David Craddock Consultancy Services supported RED with the design, development and approval for our EMI Employee Share Scheme as well as implementing a scheme for our non-eligible employees. David has since supported us with our Exit Strategy and arrangements for a ‘next generation’ of Directors/Managers, guiding us through the many legal, tax and accounting implications. Current support includes the development of revised Articles and Memoranda, new Share Agreements to protect the founding members and Directors Service Agreements for the business ensuring that we are legally protected and compliant with legislation. David’s support has been invaluable in guiding us through the process and ensuring that our scheme and other company documents are ‘fit for purpose’ flexible and secure.
Yvonne Whiteley, Managing Director
RED Scientific

In today’s highly competitive business environment, hiring, growing and retaining employees is central to success.  The entrepreneurial culture has become extremely attractive to today’s workforce, yet most do not have the profile to succeed in creating their own businesses.  Employee Share Ownership and Reward programmes can build an entrepreneurial contribution/reward culture for a company, whether large or small.  But the options are complex and the wrong advice can create terrible problems and limitations for management in years to come. David Craddock is a pioneer and leader in the field.  I’ve worked with David on two schemes for my company. The schemes he has developed for me are simple, highly flexible and efficacious. They are based on practical performance evaluation systems and measurable KPIs that are fair and motivating for the employee and a powerful strategic tool for growth for the employer.  David’s advice and guidance has been invaluable to me as I build a company that rewards and inspires the people that grow the business.
Sherry Moran, Founder and Managing Director
Tribeca Knowledge Limited

David Craddock is an outstanding speaker at world conferences on employee equity. His wide sweep and cogent perception illuminate and entertain audiences alike. David’s authoritative books – “The ICSA Employee Share Schemes Handbook” and “Tolley’s Guide to Employee Share Schemes” – have iconic status in the employee equity world. He has a compelling belief in the efficacy of employees being engaged financially in the well-being of their enterprises by means of communication as well as reward: the additional productivity is a bonus for the company. David speaks inspiringly about the familiar avenues of reward and ranges beyond them in search of ever better matches between the interests of shareholders and employees, in ways envisaged and beyond the thoughts of governments. No audience is left unmoved by David’s commitment to creating a society which is more efficient, more fair and with greater rewards for all. And when the magic is over, the questions are deftly handled and supporting material prolongs and reinforces the message.
Malcolm Hurlston
Chairman of The ESOP Centre and The European Centre for Employee Ownership

David’s expertise has been and continues to be profoundly beneficial in so many areas of my life. He advises me on the best share structures for my businesses, resulting in greater opportunity for commercial and tax efficiencies in wealth-creation and prosperity-building.  For my various companies over the years, he has created custom-designed employee share schemes, overseeing all aspects of the structure development and process, implementing the statutory and regulatory requirements, ensuring that the schemes are fully motivational for the participants, ensuring compliance with HMRC requirements and, very importantly, embedding the tax benefits into the scheme structures.
While all this is essential to my companies, David has been and continues to be so much more than this to me. Aside from his brilliance in employee ownership and reward management programs (he’s the No. 1 expert in the UK and literally wrote the Tolley’s book on the subject), he’s a well-rounded, genuine, straightforward, and affable person. I’ve even had the pleasure to experience David’s lectures first-hand. Brilliant, humorous, informative and engaging, he always gets strong applause and the best ratings of all the speakers, and never fails to captivate his audiences. He thinks quickly on his feet and can speak to many topics from economics, finance, share schemes, share structures, share valuation and succession planning to board management and business conflict resolution, and even holistic health in the business environment through his Corporate Health for Corporate Wealth program, which he delivers in the UK and the USA. Indeed, embracing the principles of this corporate heath program changed my whole approach to health and fitness. My discussions with David are always highly intelligent, inspirational and enlightening, and in his lectures people generally are driven to take copious notes when he’s talking so they can revisit these pages at a later date in order to maximize the benefits within their businesses.
David is very approachable and it seems that David has never met a stranger, as he can speak with anyone from any walk of life. He has a calm and peaceful demeanor, an intelligent sense of humor, a business curiosity which is instrumental in finding innovative solutions that he combines with the sage wisdom of a learned practitioner and the non-judgment of a best friend—yes, all this rolled into one.
Whether you need David’s expertise to increase the bottom line of your business; orchestrate an employee share scheme; advise your company board on corporate governance or company strategy; supercharge the motivation of your executives and employees; introduce succession planning or a management buy-out; give a motivational presentation to your business or organization; add a voice of wisdom and strength to your company’s Board of Directors; or you simply need a personal advisor to keep you on course and positive during all of life’s ups and downs, David would be your best pick. He definitely has what it takes to inspire the very best within you and your organization. David is a shining example of all the wisdom of which he speaks. You will always enjoy your time with David and when you go back to your business, you will be feeling more hopeful, positive, healthy, inspired, motivated, empowered, and confident. Your life will be enriched by his wise advice and perpetual encouragement.
Jeremy Stampa Orwin, CPP, MioD, DipGov(Sy), DipSy&RM 

I first met David Craddock in 2008 when I was the Deputy Company Secretary for an international company quoted on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. I attended a seminar led by David which fully equipped me to carry out my employee share scheme duties at this publicly-quoted company. To attend one of David’s seminars is an inspiring and fascinating event. David is a man of substance with an in-depth knowledge of employee share schemes and the wider array of employee benefits. Throughout the seminar, David was charismatic with a great sense of humor, charming and entirely professional. He has an amazing natural ability to empathize with each attendee at his seminars, remembering each of their names so that he can address each of them personally and engaging with any individual who puts a question to him. Furthermore, David has this capacity to instill confidence, as he did in me, in applying the subject matter to the precise circumstances of my work situation. The support material that David provides for his seminars is absolutely first-rate and contains numerous examples to illustrate the points made. Once I had completed my day’s seminar training with David, I felt that I had gained not only on a professional level but on a personal level as if I had spent time with a personal mentor who had given his time to me personally.
Morag Thorpe, Chartered Secretary

The quality and professionalism of presentations and seminars from David Craddock his ability to deliver content, information and working examples in a no-nonsense, practical and very straightforward way is brilliant. The relevance of the subject matter is first-class, the delivery is thoroughly inspiring and thought-provoking and the content is totally concurrent with the most up-to-date technical information and detail. David’s knowledge of the subject matter is indeed breathtaking, demonstrating that he truly is a world leading authority on his subjects. It is from David’s colossal knowledge that he is able to produce a fertility of ideas and concepts that open up new avenues for debate and provide solutions to the challenges that arise in the corporate arena. No-one should be in any doubt that David’s ability to inspire and engage the audience is absolutely awesome. As a member of the audience you feel as though he is addressing you personally. In this way, he invigorates and suffuses the topics such that attending one of David’s seminars is truly “eye-opening” and “ground-breaking” in quality. I know that you will leave one of David’s seminars with your eyes open wide.
Debbie Byrne, Human Resources Professional and Former Director 

I am pleased to provide a reference for David Craddock with whom I worked closely at Saatchi & Saatchi for many years when David was the employee share schemes consultant to the company. I always found David to be the consummate professional with the ability to provide solutions to challenges that arise in the management of employee share scheme arrangements in a complex international group. It was David who was responsible for the design of the all-employee arrangements and the development of the employee communications which demonstrate David’s capacity to distill complicated subject matter into easy-to-understand material which can be understood across multiple countries and cultures. Indeed, David’s ability to communicate his subject effectively and across cultures is well-known in the marketplace through his book publications and his presence at seminars and conferences all over the world where cultural sensitivity is of the essence. For the on-going management of the schemes, David’s reports were always thoroughly comprehensive, insightful and timely and demonstrated his mastery of the subject.
Fiona Evans, Group Company Secretary & Legal, Intertek Group, 
Formerly Group Company Secretary at Saatchi & Saatchi

I have worked with David Craddock since 2010 in relation to matters pertaining to the share capital of companies for which I have acted as Finance Director, both at the holding company level and at the level of the subsidiary companies.  David has shown consistently an ability to combine his knowledge of employee share schemes, share valuation and share reorganisations with a view to providing innovative solutions to challenging business situations.  Before working with David, I had sought in vain with the large legal and accounting firms in London and New York to find a practitioner who could provide the type of solution that David offers.  David is an acknowledged expert in his field and latterly he has applied his expert knowledge and skills to structure the share scheme arrangements complete with performance condition appropriate corporate governance for private equity deals in 2015 through 2017 for which I requested his help.  David’s approach is always to first understand the facts of the case to which he then applies his skill base to establish the solutions.  David’s solutions have consistently stood up to scrutiny from auditors and independent firms of lawyers.  Given the international nature of my group, it is important for me that David understands the US and European dimensions to his subject as well as the UK perspective and can apply the principles to a growing world group that has changing demands and faces many challenges.
Joanne Kennedy-Reardon, Finance Director
Janili SARL, formerly Amplio Group SA

As Director of Finance & People at Boxwood, I collaborated with David Craddock to introduce our first share scheme, and we’ve worked closely together for over a decade into 2016. Boxwood offered a comprehensive package of remuneration and benefits to our people and the EMI share scheme that David helped us launch was an instrumental part of the total package. As the company grew, the EMI share options played a key role in employee engagement and long-term employee loyalty. Over the many years that we’ve worked together, David helped us with share option communications and offered a brilliant ‘one-stop shop’ service, where he would take care of accounting, legal, and the comprehensive scheme structure all under one roof. We had multiple exercise events over the years and, as the company grew, David and his team continued to help us launch new issues. David played an instrumental role in helping prepare for exit, which required a vesting and exercise of the final scheme and tying in all documentation with the share purchase agreement liaising with multiple teams of lawyers. Overall, David Craddock Consultancy Services were always knowledgeable, helpful, and always a pleasure to work with. In other words, his expertise, guidance, and partnership were indispensible to me and my employees.
Adil Khan, Director of Finance & People, Boxwood 


To characterise David Craddock would be to say that he has an insatiable appetite to solve business problems – for companies and for individuals alike, that he has a profound belief in his subject, that he is immensely practical in the plans that he develops, that he is highly responsive to client requests and that he is by instinct enormously respectful of everybody’s place within the business with a helpful word for everyone with whom he comes into contact. My first involvement with David was when he was appointed employee share schemes and remuneration consultant to the McInerney Group in 2002. The initial assignment was to review the executive remuneration structures throughout Ireland, the UK and Spain with a view to introducing radical reform on their motivational content, particularly the executive bonus scheme which was in serious need of a new approach. At the time, my executive responsibilities extended over the whole of the business activity in Ireland. I was, therefore, able to see at first-hand how David’s positive approach to finding solutions led to a scheme which strengthened the sense of unity within the team and engendered a stronger spirit of entrepreneurship for each member of the team. As a director of the McInerney plc holding company, I became aware that the roll-out of the scheme from Ireland to the UK and Spain was facilitated by David’s detailed knowledge of the cultural differences between the three countries and his ability to form relationships with people from different and diverse backgrounds as he travelled throughout those three countries meeting the scheme participants. It was David’s positivity and deep knowledge of employee reward matters that then led to David replacing the existing share schemes provider and introducing the inventive ideas that provided the basis for the development of the new executive share scheme, again with a highly motivational structure.
Tommy Drumm, Former Director of McInerney Construction, 
Texaco Footballer of the Year in 1983 and Winner of 3 All-Ireland
Senior Football Medals for Dublin

David Craddock first worked for Croner Reward as an Associate Consultant in 1997. It became clear right from the first assignment he worked on that David had a superior grasp of both the concepts and the practicalities of reward management in the round. David’s attention to detail, his professional approach to client consultation and his very deep knowledge of his specialist areas all contribute to very high quality service delivery ethic. In the time since David first engaged with our client base, he has displayed these considerable attributes in a wide variety of situations; his work has encompassed such diverse remits as the delivery of employee surveys, share scheme design and the creation of performance management frameworks alongside some excellently executed work in the fields of job evaluation and pay and grading design. Where necessary, some of this work has been delivered internationally. Finally, David has always shown a first-class entrepreneurial approach to his work and that mixed with such a deep technical knowledge is a rare but highly prized combination.
Andrew Walker, Managing Director, Croner Reward & 
Clare Moorcroft, Consulting Manager, Croner Reward

David Craddock has been a trusted consultant to the Scottish Agricultural College since 2003. His prime achievement at the College has been to advise on the introduction of a new all-employee pay and grading system and on the policies that support its implementation and operation. David has also advised on the remuneration for the executive director team and on the arrangements for the non-executive directors as well as a range of matters pertaining to corporate governance. David has been able to establish strong relationships within the organisation and shown flexibility and sensitivity in advising on the evolution of the systems to respond to changes in the organisation’s structures and funding arrangements. David has always given total and complete commitment to the assignments, applying himself tirelessly to achieving solutions to major challenges in the human resources management of the organisation. I am pleased to recommend David’s consultancy services to the corporate market.
Janet Swadling, Finance and Corporate Affairs Director, 
Scottish Agricultural College

David Craddock has advised me for some 15 years plus on the tax and financial accountability for the employee benefits that I received as a club and international rugby player and in more recent times he has continued his service to me as I have gone into coaching and management in the UK. I always feel confident that I can approach David with any issues that arise in the management of my financial affairs, knowing that he will be able to provide the solutions from his vast knowledge of how the tax systems of both the UK and New Zealand operate for expatriates. With David advising me in this way on technicalities and deadlines I always have peace of mind that my financial affairs are being properly taken care of and are in order. David goes about his work with a smile and his kindly disposition puts at ease all those who come into contact with him. He always has time within his busy schedule to address matters that arise for me and continually I am confident that his recommendations are to my best advantage.
Gary Mercer, Former New Zealand Rugby League international, 
now working as a Rugby Union coach in the UK