Marks and Spencer 2015 Annual Report Download - page 53

OUR PERFORMANCE
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS GOVERNANCE OUR BUSINESS
51
ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2015
ROBERT SWANNELL CHAIRMAN
As indicated earlier in this report, in 2014 we
refreshed our core business values as part
of our drive to ensure that our business is
fi t for the future. These values, Inspiration,
Innovation, Integrity and In Touch, are not
in themselves entirely new to M&S; rather,
we have placed them at the heart of our
business as the essential behaviours
through which we aim to make everyday
life better for customers, employees and
investors alike. The latter of these four
values, In Touch, complements our attitude
towards engaging with our investors as we
believe that the foundation of our strong
relationship with them lies in regular, open
dialogue. Ensuring that we are in touch
means we are always available to discuss
particular areas of the business and to
address any concerns they might have.
This year, the business had over 566 contacts
with over 316 separately identifi able institutions
via one-to-one or group meetings hosted
by an executive director or our Investor
Relations team. Additionally, I hosted the
annual M&S Governance Event. Details for
this year’s event are provided in the box on
the right.
We held an investor event in Paris, providing
an update on our International strategy,
and a seminar on the development of our
multi-channel capabilities. Presentations
at these events are made by directors or
senior managers and o er investors more
in-depth information on the progress being
made towards our strategic goals. No new,
material fi nancial information is disclosed at
these events and no additional statements
are made regarding current trading
performance. The slides from the
presentations are available to view at
marksandspencer.com/thecompany.
To understand the views and opinions of
our private investors outside of the AGM,
we engage with a number of leading client
brokers who typically represent our private
shareholder base. For an independent
view, Makinson Cowell, the capital markets
advisory fi rm, continues to provide
guidance to our Investor Relations team
and undertake an annual audit of our
major investors’ views on the Company’s
management and performance. The
results are presented to the Board.
AMANDA MELLOR GROUP SECRETARY
In last year’s report, I spoke of the
importance of maintaining our trusted
relationship with our shareholders and
outlined my role, as Company Secretary,
in engaging with stakeholders on a variety
of governance matters. These remain as
intrinsically important as ever and, over
the course of the year, I have again had
discussions with a number of investors and
representative bodies. I am also tasked with
safeguarding the important relationship
with our private investors, who are some of
our most loyal customers, and for whom
we have introduced a new loyalty scheme
this year in partnership with our registrar,
Equiniti. See more on page p128.
We must also recognise that our unique
heritage positions us to engage more widely
beyond the traditional stakeholder group.
This is well illustrated by our acclaimed
Company Archive, which was relocated in
2012 to a purpose built facility within the
campus of the University of Leeds and
houses a collection of over 70,000 items
from the Company’s past. The facility’s
award-winning ‘Marks In Time’ exhibition
opens up our heritage to customers, schools
and the wider community. It has received
thousands of visitors, including over 8,000
school pupils aged between 5 and 18, who
took part in a range of educational sessions.
Demand from schools is overwhelming and
is met by our Education O cer who works
with Heritage Ambassadors across our stores
to share the history of M&S, Plan A and the
environment, with their local community.
The archive’s education programme has
received the prestigious Sandford Award for
excellence in heritage education and Visit
England’s VAQAS award for the quality of its
visitor o er.
The relocation of the archive laid the
foundation for a broader partnership with
the University of Leeds, encouraging close
collaboration in areas ranging from design,
food technology and product innovation
to business management and law. The
partnership is also a fantastic medium
through which to articulate our values; for
example, we have worked with the University
to produce a free, online educational course
on innovation, which was a huge success
and reached almost 15,000 people. For my
part, I am proud to help strengthen this
partnership as a member of the University
Council and to promote the importance of
ethical leadership as a visiting professor of
the University’s Ethics Centre.
ENGAGEMENT
STAKEHOLDER
ENGAGEMENT
M&S GOVERNANCE EVENT 2015
AGM
The M&S Governance Event is a regular
fi xture on the calendar and is hosted by
the Chairman, Robert Swannell. Board
attendees for 2015 will be Vindi Banga
(Senior Independent Director and Chairman
of our Remuneration Committee), Andy
Halford (Chairman of our Audit Committee),
Martha Lane Fox (Non-Executive Director
and member of our Sustainable Retailer
Advisory Board) and Mike Barry (our
Director of Plan A).
Invitations are sent to our 30 largest
shareholders, representatives from the
infl uential investor advisory fi rms and
industry governance specialists. The event
is an opportunity to meet and discuss the
wide range of matters considered by the
Board, both during the year and going
forward. Presentations at the meeting
will focus on the following six areas:
The Board Audit Risk
Remuneration Plan A Q&As
The presentation will be available at
marksandspencer.com/thecompany.
The 2015 AGM will be held at Wembley
Stadium in London on Tuesday 7 July
at 11am.
The Notice of Meeting sets out the
resolutions to be proposed and the
schedule for the day. A copy of the
Notice can be downloaded at
marksandspencer.com/thecompany.
Themeeting will be webcast live and
a recording made available on our
website after the event.
The Board and M&S’s senior management
team will be available for shareholders
to speak to before the meeting.
Robert Swannell and the Chairs of our
Committees will be available to answer
shareholders’ questions during the
formal proceedings ofthe meeting.
The AGM in 2014 was well attended
and all of the proposed resolutions
were passed, with the percentage of the
Company’s share capital voted in favour
of each ranging from 88.25% to 99.99%.
See Shareholder information on p127