Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar hails Jerba Campervans on visit

Jerba Campervans was launched in 2006 and specialises in converting and customising Volkswagen Transporter vans for those passionate about adventure and the outdoors.

It became fully employee owned in 2018 and has gone on to become the only firm in Scotland to be officially recognised by Volkswagen as a qualified converter.

The company, based at Halfland Barns, near North Berwick, was founded by Simon Poole, a ‘flagbearer’ for the EO movement, who is passionate about the benefits of an employee-run model.

He said: “EO Day is a great way of raising the profile and highlighting the benefits of the employee-owned business model, which naturally is one that we fully support.

“Anas Sarwar has previously expressed an interest in employee-owned businesses so we thought it was a great opportunity to invite him in to see the work we do and he seemed impressed.

“The day also provided a chance for all the staff to let their hair down and to relax a bit after what has been a very busy period for the business.

“With a two-year order book in front of us, it’s important to enjoy some downtime when the chance arises.”

The Jerba team with Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader

EO Day raises awareness of the benefits of employee ownership and is celebrated by many of the estimated 1,000-plus EO businesses operating in the UK, at least 146 of which are Scottish-registered and employ 5,350 people.

Mr Sarwar said: “It has been a pleasure visiting Jerba Campervans on Employee Ownership Day 2022.

“The site is a wonderful example of both the benefits of employee ownership and the scale of the employee ownership sector in Scotland.

“The team at Jerba are highly skilled and are creating high-quality products in a growing market for Scotland.

“I want to thank the team for showing me around and wish them continued success.”