LUC employed 311 people at year end, with women representing around 60% of the workforce. The company reported staff turnover of 19% in 2024. The median gender pay gap narrowed to 3.7%, reflecting strong female representation in senior positions.

As an employee-owned company, LUC places staff engagement and long-term sustainability at the centre of its operations. This flows from LUC’s client work through to its Company Board – highlighting the role of employee ownership in shaping decision-making, governance, and culture across the business.

LUC worked with 443 fee-paying clients during 2024. The company maintained a diverse client portfolio, operating across many industries and sectors, with its ten largest clients accounting for 40% of total fee income.

The business also strengthened its operational systems, introducing new enterprise software and maintaining its accreditations across quality, environmental and health & safety.

2024-25 has marked a significant leadership transition at LUC. In 2024, the Company Board began implementing LUC’s new Strategy, which guides growth, investment, and market positioning until 2028. The strategy focuses on balancing client service, LUC’s people, and profitability, and places LUC at the centre of national debates on climate, biodiversity, and land use.

Rob Booth took over as Chief Executive in early 2025, following over 15 years in senior and business leadership roles, most recently at The Crown Estate. This was LUC’s first external appointment at this level, following the retirement of long-serving Managing Director, Jon Grantham. Benefiting from the independence LUC enjoys as an EOT, the confident evolution of LUC’s leadership has then continued through 2025. Firstly, to ensure robust governance that will deliver the strategy through to 2028, a new Management Board has been established. This is the principal executive decision-making body for the company, driving the strategy forward, and has the following members:

• Chief Executive, Rob Booth
• Executive Director for Planning, Sarah Young
• Executive Director for Design, Adrian Wikeley
• Executive Director for Landscape Planning & Management, Katrina Davies
• Executive Director for Ecology, Steve Jackson-Matthews
• Executive Director for GIS & Visualisation, Diana Manson
• Finance Director, Andrew Clarke
• Executive Director for People & Culture, Helen Ash
• Head of Marketing & Communications, Gemma Bosworth

The number of Directors on the Company Board has consequently been reduced, as the Company Board refocuses on strategic oversight for LUC, with Steve Jackson-Matthews and Diana Manson stepping off the Company Board, having chosen to focus fully on their Executive Director roles at Management Board.

While recognising wider market challenges, the Directors emphasised that LUC will continue to invest strategically in people, systems and its services, to support sustainable growth.

Rob Booth said:

“These results show that LUC can grow sustainably while continuing to invest in our people, capabilities and client service. Despite uncertain markets, we remain resilient and are well positioned to continue to deliver meaningful impact for nature, people and places.

“Our Strategy 2024–28 provides a clear roadmap for the future. We are focused on strengthening our role in critical national debates around land; ensuring that our expertise supports clients to address the climate and biodiversity crises and enabling them to solve the most complex land-use challenges.

“Employee ownership influences everything we do. It keeps our culture collaborative and long-term, and ensures our people remain at the heart of LUC’s success. To strengthen that long-term perspective – we have also taken steps to enhance our governance, and with it both the integrity and the agility of our approach and decision making.”