PPM Capital, Prudential's private equity arm, bought Azzurri in June 2006 for £182.5m. Prior to the sale, all employees were given a number of shares based on length of service and individual performance and these shares have determined how much individuals received from the windfall. Employees received cheques ranging from £300 to £20,000. Azzurri's chief operating officer, Steve Dolton and CEO, Martin St Quinton have visited the company's nine offices throughout the UK to personally hand out cheques to employees.
CEO, Martin St Quinton comments: "This is a great way to say thank you to all of our staff for their hard work since Azzurri was founded in 2000. We truly believe that everyone in the company deserves a share of the windfall following the sale, not just the senior management team."
He continues: "We've started a new Employee Share Trust scheme, and have allocated shares to all employees so that they will receive another pay out if Azzurri is sold again in the future."
Headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, Azzurri was formed in 2000 when venture capitalist 3i Group invested in the business to secure a majority stake. The business has an annual turnover of over £100 million and provides a range of communications solutions. It also provides consultative advice including communications audits for major corporations and telecoms management services.
He continues: "We've started a new Employee Share Trust scheme, and have allocated shares to all employees so that they will receive another pay out if Azzurri is sold again in the future."
Headquartered in Newbury, Berkshire, Azzurri was formed in 2000 when venture capitalist 3i Group invested in the business to secure a majority stake. The business has an annual turnover of over £100 million and provides a range of communications solutions. It also provides consultative advice including communications audits for major corporations and telecoms management services.