AJ Bell

Not many people can say they work in a building named one of the top five offices in the world, and staff at AJ Bell now have another reason to be proud.

The firm's Wage War on Covid charity fund, created shortly after the pandemic started, raised nearly £400,000 from employees and customers. This went to help more than 25 good causes nominated by staff, including food banks, military veterans, Alzheimer's patients and unpaid carers.

Also, more than 700 tablet computers were donated to hospitals, hospices and youth support groups to help people kept apart by the coronavirus restrictions to stay in contact with one another.

AJ Bell, which is based in Salford Quays, has more than 850 staff. The founders, Andy Bell and Nicholas Littlefair, set up the financial adviser in 1995 using just £10,000 of personal loans. Today AJ Bell operates one of the UK's leading investment platforms and has £54 billion of assets under administration.

The senior leadership team encourages collaboration and communication. The employee voice forum, held several times a year, brings together staff from across the business to discuss a key topic and present ideas to the board. A forum focused on environmental initiatives produced recommendations that the company has adopted to cut its carbon footprint.

AJ Bell lays on social and team-building events throughout the year. A virtual running club was launched to give employees more motivation to keep fit during the pandemic. Facilities in the headquarters include a gym.