Annual Integrated Report and Notice of AGM

We are focused on the evaluation of land opportunities against the economic backdrop, control of build starts and build rates, cash generation and the control of our cost base.

We engage actively in dialogue with central Government through lobbying and consultations, and participate in key industry bodies (such as the Home Builders Federation) to ensure that potential changes to the planning system are appropriate and achievable.

We make plans Group-wide to ensure that we have sufficient material sources to help offset the risk of adverse price movements and ensure the call-off of materials as they are needed by our Divisions

We provide advance notice of our site plans and build programmes to sub-contractors. This helps them to plan and builds confidence to expand the workforce to meet the requirements of our projects.

We regularly review our cost forecasts and seek to improve reporting and control

We have improved our project management controls and have introduced a new hurdle rate matrix that requires higher returns as project complexity/risk increases. We use a consultant panel approach to provide more rigour into the evolution of designs.

Joint venture obligations, milestones and reporting are formalised and implemented once a joint venture is approved - then monitored and reviewed by the Executive Management Team.

In addition to actively engaging with central government and industry bodies on potential changes, we regularly review and assess our strategic land portfolio to accurately forecast planning consents and commencement dates.

Our strategic land pipeline is continually replenished through a dedicated division within the organisation with expertise in bringing new developments through the planning process.

We run an award-winning Apprenticeship Scheme that brings in and helps us to retain our own talent. We seek to sustain supply chain relationships and encourage subcontractors to expand their own workforces. In the longer term, we are also developing alternative production techniques, such as off-site manufacture, that reduce reliance on specific trades.

We have strengthened our Customer Service Inspections and Build Stage Inspections to support our focus on quality, while our 'Making Customers Feel Special and Valued' programme sets out clearly our standards for customer service. Our customer satisfaction scores are also linked to remuneration in the form of bonuses.

We have strict procedures and governance oversight through which we scrutinise projects and seek to address complexity and risks. We are also introducing a new range of core house types that offer greater standardisation.

We sustain key supply chain relationships and manage Group-wide agreements with a variety of suppliers to ensure that we have sufficient high-quality resources that our Divisions can access as needed.

Our business and strategic plans are developed using our long-term experience of the UK housing market. They include KPIs and established responses to a contraction in the housing market.

We lobby the Government to ensure that the need for first-time buyers' assistance is understood, and would explore alternative funding offers if Help to Buy were to be phased out. We also continue to develop other volume development models, such as PRS, to expand our business breadth.

Our core house types offer greater customisation as well as new flexible features for increased customer choice. There is also greater scrutiny when deciding whether to undertake a project, with involvement from the Group Technical & Quality Director, who conducts a buildability risk assessment.

We engage actively with our supply chain to better understand their risks and overcome production challenges that may impact the critical supply of materials.

We seek to sustain existing and develop new supply chain relationships that will ensure sufficient quality labour to meet our production levels and our new house designs. We also contract with more than one sub-contractor in key trades to spread supplier risk.

We seek out longer-term supply chain relationships, while ensuring contingency plans are in place. We maintain industry-leading Apprenticeship and Graduate Schemes to help us bring in and retain talent across a range of trades and office-based functions.

Succession planning is underway across our Divisions, including personal coaching and training. Our bonus schemes are also reviewed annually to support retaining the best people.

Health and safety is a key focus area throughout the organisation. Our health and safety team carry out inspections and follow-up visits, as do independent inspectors from NHBC, with issues escalated as appropriate, including through the Executive Health and Safety Sub-Committee.

We have strengthened build quality inspections and monitoring to ensure we maintain our standards and we encourage sub-contractors to meet these standards as well through toolbox talks and contra charging for poor workmanship where necessary. Detailed product quality guidelines are agreed and monitored.

Major product innovations, such as OSM, are overseen by the Board and its Technical Committee. We also put clear escalation procedures in place in the event of an incident with a supporting public relations strategy for stakeholders.

We have virus protection installed on all corporate computers and servers, using a 'demilitarised zone' where servers connect to the outside world, and conduct annual security-breach tests. We also control and monitor the movement of all critical data within and outside of the organisation.

We continue to raise the profile of health and safety, with Executive and Director site visits, and discussions at all divisional board and Executive Management Team meetings. Health and safety monthly reports are sent to the Executive Management Team.

We offer a number of programmes to support employees' well-being, including a mandatory biennial health-check for Executives, a free-to-use Employee Assistance Programme and optional purchasing of additional annual leave.

New approaches to construction are trialled prior to wider roll-out and we obtain NHBC, CML and CSI certification of products prior to occupation. Our corporate governance and human resources policies are reviewed annually to ensure they are effective, fair and aligned to stakeholder expectations.

We have clear policies in place, available freely on our Intranet. All employees must participate in our bribery and corruption training prior to passing probation and they receive refresher training periodically.

We provide volume, certainty and prompt payment to our supply chain partners alongside mutual benefits of long-term partnership agreements.

We build relationships with the local authorities where we build as well as with Government through lobby groups like the HBF or directly.

We have issued specific guidance on what behaviour is acceptable for land purchases and require all new staff to successfully complete bribery and corruption training prior to passing their probation. Regular refresher training is also provided.

Formal governance mechanisms for managing joint venture relationships are established and followed. Any issues are identified and agreed resolutions are documented and approved formally to limit disputes.

We maintain trading agreements with key suppliers to guarantee a steady supply of quality materials and engage in dialogue with them to understand any issues that may have an impact on critical supply deliveries, or result in materials supplied not meeting our standards.