Tesco 2003 Annual Report Download - page 8

6TESCO PLC
COMPANY’S SHAREHOLDERS The company is not aware
of any ordinary shareholders with interests of 3% or more.
DIRECTORS AND THEIR INTERESTS The names and
biographical details of the present Directors are set out in the
separately published Annual Review and Summary Financial
Statement 2003.
Mr R S Ager, Mr R F Chase (appointed during the year),
Mr J A Gardiner, Mr A T Higginson and Mr D E Reid retire
from the Board by rotation and being eligible offer themselves
for re-election.
The service contracts of Mr R S Ager, Mr A T Higginson
and Mr D E Reid are terminable on two years’notice from
the company. Mr R F Chase and Mr J A Gardiner do not
have service contracts.
The interests of Directors and their immediate families
in the shares of Tesco PLC, along with details of Directors’
share options, are contained in the report of the Directors
on remuneration set out on pages 12 to 21.
At no time during the year did any of the Directors
have a material interest in any significant contract with the
company or any of its subsidiaries.
EMPLOYMENT POLICIES The Group depends on the skills
and commitment of its employees in order to achieve its
objectives. Staff at every level are encouraged to make
their fullest possible contribution to Tesco success.
A key business priority is to provide First Class Service
to the customer. Ongoing training programmes seek to
ensure that employees understand the Group’s customer
service objectives and strive to achieve them.
The Group’s selection, training, development and
promotion policies ensure equal opportunities for all
employees regardless of gender, marital status, race,
age or disability. All decisions are based on merit.
Internal communications are designed to ensure that
employees are well informed about the business of the
Group.These include a staff magazine called Tesco Today,
videos and staff briefing sessions.
Staff attitudes are frequently researched through surveys
and store visits, and management seeks to respond positively
to the needs of employees.
Employees are encouraged to become involved in the
financial performance of the Group through a variety of
schemes, principally the Tesco employee profit-sharing
scheme, the savings-related share option scheme (Save-As-
You-Earn) and the Partnership Share Plan (Buy-As-You-Earn).
POLITICAL AND CHARITABLE DONATIONS There were
no political donations (2002 – nil). During the year the Group
made contributions of £31,282 in the form of sponsorship
for political events and one politically affiliated think-tank
(Labour Party – £9,400; Conservative Party – £4,394; Liberal
Democrat Party – £6,407; Scottish National Party – £7,143;
Plaid Cymru – £1,000; Fabian Society – £2,938).
SUPPLIER PAYMENT POLICY Tesco PLC is a signatory to
the CBI Code of Prompt Payment. Copies of the Code may
be obtained from the CBI, Centre Point, 103 New Oxford
Street, London WC1A 1DU. Payment terms and conditions
are agreed with suppliers in advance.
Tesco PLC has no trade creditors in its balance sheet.
The Group pays its creditors on a timely basis which varies
according to the type of product and territory in which the
suppliers operate.
GOING CONCERN The Directors consider that the Group
and the company have adequate resources to remain in
operation for the foreseeable future and have therefore
continued to adopt the going concern basis in preparing
the financial statements. As with all business forecasts, the
Directors’statement cannot guarantee that the going concern
basis will remain appropriate given the inherent uncertainty
about future events.
AUDITORS Following the conversion of our auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers to a Limited Liability Partnership
(LLP) from 1 January 2003, PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned
on 23 February 2003 and the Directors appointed its successor,
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as auditors. A resolution to
re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the
company will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING A separate circular
accompanying the annual accounts explains the special
business to be considered at the Annual General Meeting
on 13 June 2003.
By Order of the Board
Rowley Ager Secretary
7 April 2003
Tesco PLC
Registered Number: 445790
directors’ report continued