BURTON-UPON-TRENT / AGILITYPR.NEWS / September 18, 2025 / The SOCOTEC Group, leading provider of testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services, has launched its Blue Alliance employee shareholding initiative to its staff in the United Kingdom.

Blue Alliance has proven to be a huge success in France, having launched in 2024. 40% of the firm’s 6,500 employees in France became shareholders, and now staff in the UK who hold permanent contracts and have three months of continuous service as of the 29^th September 2025 will be able to purchase shares in the global SOCOTEC Group.

This initiative forms a cornerstone of SOCOTEC's Great Place to Work® action plan, significantly enhancing the company's colleague benefits package and providing employees with a direct stake in SOCOTEC's future growth and success.

The rollout of Blue Alliance allows staff to take up shares in the €1.7 billion business, which has tripled its size over the last decade, while the United Kingdom and Ireland has seen significant growth, with two major acquisitions so far in 2025.

Lisa Massey, HR Director at SOCOTEC UK and Ireland: “Bringing Blue Alliance to the United Kingdom has been a very exciting move for our staff. In achieving our Great Place to Work® status, some of the feedback received was that an all-employee share ownership scheme would be welcomed. When it comes to our people, we have always had a ‘you say, we do’ mentality – so that’s exactly what we did, we went away and made it happen.

“We want to have the best employee value proposition within our sector, so we are constantly working on the improvement of our value proposition to employees, and developing solutions that make us the most attractive proposition for them in joining and staying with us at SOCOTEC.”

Matthew Marriott, CEO of SOCOTEC UK and Ireland, said: “The tremendous success we have seen since Blue Alliance’s launch in France has reinforced our belief that employee ownership helps to create a stronger, more unified organisation.

“We're excited to extend this opportunity to our UK colleagues and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on our teams and throughout our business.”

SOCOTEC CEO Hervé Montjotin said: “We have seen great uptake in Blue Alliance in France, where it was launched in 2024, and now the UK and Spain businesses will be able to benefit from the potential returns the scheme offers, while our colleagues in the Republic of Ireland will be invited to participate in Spring 2026.”

As a trusted third-party operating in 26 countries, with over 250,000 clients and 14,500 employees globally, the SOCOTEC Group continues to demonstrate its commitment to building trust for a safer and sustainable world, while ensuring its employees share in the firm’s ongoing success.