Section 172 statement for John Henderson (Holdings ) Limited and it’s subsidiaries

 

How the board complied with its Section 172 duty.

 

The board welcomes the new reporting requirement as an opportunity to explain how dialogue with stakeholders has informed and helped to shape its decisions.

 

Section 172 (1) Statement

In accordance with the provisions of The Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018, John Henderson (Holdings) Limited and its subsidiary companies welcomes the new requirements contained therein as an opportunity to explain how dialogue with stakeholders has informed and helped to shape it’s decisions.

 

John Henderson (Holdings) Limited is focused on engaging with its stakeholders and understanding the main issues in order to make informed decisions at Board level. The Board considers any impact that decision may have on its stakeholders and to the matters detailed in paragraph a-f of Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006. This is highlighted in the table below.

Section 172 Decisions/interactions
a) The likely consequence of any decision in the long -term
  • The Board regularly reviews and updates the long term strategic plan set out in 2017 and monitors its implementation throughout the year using detailed reports on operating performance versus budgeted performance.
  • Key areas of focus in the decision-making process are: delivering excellence in customer service, investing in our people, developing our information systems, maximising our operational efficiency, enhancing our fresh food ranges and in-store proposition.
b) The interest of the Group’s employees
  • The board understands the importance of the Group’s employees to the long-term success of the business, and people is a key strand of our ‘Tomorrow Matters’ strategy.
  • All companies are also recognised as Investors in People, with both Henderson Retail Limited and Henderson Foodservice Limited currently accredited at Gold Standard and Henderson Wholesale with Silver Standard.
  • The board have implemented a number of initiatives having regard to employees’ interests including:
  • Training and learning is primarily facilitated through the ‘Academy’ which helps train and develop employees throughout the company. The Academy delivers a number of programmes including induction, food safety, health & safety, personal development and management development.
  • Employees are actively encouraged to participate in the Group’s Payroll Giving scheme whereby the Group match any contribution made by an employee of the scheme. More than 30% of staff currently participate in the Scheme. The Group’s commitment to supporting Payroll Giving has been recognised with a Platinum Quality Mark Award by the U.K. National Giving Excellence Awards, where we also won the accolade of Best Sustained Scheme for 2018.
  • Henderson Group has a zero-tolerance approach to Modern Slavery of any kind within our business and/or supply chain. We are committed to constantly reviewing, updating and improving our practices to ensure that we are tackling slavery and human trafficking.
c) The need to foster the group’s business relationships with suppliers, customer and others
  • The Board regularly reviews how the Group maintains positive relationships with all of its stakeholders including suppliers, customers and others.
  • Henderson Group’s ‘Tomorrow Matters’ strategy which focuses on People, Place, Planet and aims to develop the business in a way that is beneficial to both staff and customers while having a positive impact on society as a whole.
d) The impact of the group’s operations on the community and the environment
  • The Group actively seek to minimise our impact on the environment, by reducing our carbon and environmental footprint and by focusing on sustainability in all aspects of our supply chain, this is a key strand of our ‘Tomorrow Matters’ strategy and an area of that is subject to continual review by the board.
  • Charitable giving community retailer, educational partnerships and sector partnerships are all operational throughout the Group.
  • It is a key priority for the group to maintain the highest standard of reputation.
  • The Group continues to reinvest into its independent retail partners’ business and its estate of company owned stores, benefiting retailers, consumers and the Northern Irish economy as a whole.
  • The group has attained ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management standard in its wholesale distribution divisions and has set ambitious internal targets including but not limited to: reducing general waste tonnage by 1.5% p.a., food waste by 10% and energy consumption by 2% per annum.
e) The desirability of the group maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct
  • Our Core Values sit at the heart of our business and help us to deliver our Core Purpose “To Delight our Customers with Great Food”. Our values describe the kind of business we are, how we work together and what’s important to us.
  • We’re looking for colleagues who can champion our values of AMBITION, CUSTOMER FIRST, TEAMWORK and INTEGRITY every day and in everything they do.
f) The need to act fairly as between members of the group
  • The Henderson Group is over 120 years old and now includes the fourth generation of family involvement. The Group Board contains 2 family members who are actively involved in the day-to day running of the business and are focused on building a strong and sustainable business for the future.