Local Heroes
How Loch Fyne Oysters Embraced Employee Ownership and Business Success
By David Erdal
Viking £14.99

This is an engaging little book. On the one hand, it gives a stylish account of Loch Fyne Oysters, a seafood company based in the rugged grandeur of the West Highlands of Scotland. On the other, it is a handbook and manifesto for the gospel of employee ownership.

The first is important in making sense of the second. The company was founded by Johnny Noble, a local grandee, and Andy Lane, a marine biologist. Both men needed work, but neither was driven primarily by money.