One of the UK’s largest toy retailers, The Entertainer, is set to become employee-owned, with founders Gary and Catherine Grant transferring control to the company’s 1,900 staff.
Founded 44 years ago in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, the group now operates 166 stores and 1,000 concessions within major retailers.
Under the new structure, employees will share profits through an ownership trust and gain a voice in the business’s future direction.
The decision marks a major shift for the Grant family, who have run the company as a family business, with all their children as shareholders.
Originally called The Pram and Toy Bar, the Grants rebranded it as The Entertainer and steadily expanded, opening their second store in Beaconsfield in 1985 and their third in Slough in 1991.
By 2001, the chain had grown to 25 stores and reached 50 by 2008.
As of November 2024, The Entertainer operates 166 stores across the UK, Jersey, the Isle of Man, and franchises in parts of Asia.