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Corporate Governance

The Board is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and applies the Principles of Good Governance as set out in the Combined Code on Corporate Governance published by the Financial Reporting Council (the “Combined Code”). The Board also takes account of institutional shareholder and governance rules and guidance on disclosure and shareholder authorisation. The Board meets at regular intervals and the directors are supplied in a timely manner with information necessary to discharge their duties.

For the purposes of assessing compliance with the Combined Code, the Board considers that Roger Payne, Angie Risley and Gareth Llewellyn are non-executive directors who are independent of management and free from any business or other relationship that could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgment. The Board also considers that the Chairman, Bob Davies, was independent on appointment.

The senior independent director is Roger Payne. Roger serves as an additional contact point for Shareholders should they feel that their concerns are not being addressed through the normal channels. Roger is, furthermore, available to fellow non-executive directors, either individually or collectively, should they wish to discuss matters of concern in a forum that does not include the executive directors.

Please refer to the Corporate Governance Statement for further information on compliance with the Combined Code.