Corporate Governance

Section 172 Statement And Engagement With Stakeholders

The directors have complied with their duty to act in the way they consider would be most likely to promote the success of the group for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole and to do so having regard to the stakeholders and other matters set out in section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006. All Board decisions are made with the group’s long-term success in mind and the Board has regard to a broad range of matters including the interests of stakeholders. The oversight and monitoring activity of the Board includes maintaining an understanding of key stakeholders and being receptive to their voices.

The directors operate the business in a responsible manner with the aim of ensuring that the group maintains a reputation for high standards of business conduct and good governance. The group regularly reviews its core values that are issued to employees in order to provide guidance on the high standards of professional and ethical conduct expected of them. This is done with the aim of preserving the group’s reputation for high standards of business conduct across suppliers, customers and others.

The group places great emphasis on employee engagement and is very proud to have been recognised as one of the “Best Companies to Work For” by the Sunday Times for the seventh consecutive year. This commitment is demonstrated by the group’s status as a Real Living Wage employer and the group’s statement on Modern Slavery can be found on its website.
The group also has great regard for the impact of its operations on the community and environment it operates in. This is demonstrated by the group’s commitment to donate 1% of its profits to charity, whilst also encouraging employees to give 1% of their working time to support local charities.