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IperionX Limited

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FY2020 Annual Report · IperionX Limited
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CONTENTS 

01  Highlights

02  At a Glance

03  Our Investment Approach

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Strategic Report 

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Specialists in the 
transition to a more 
sustainable economy

Impax Asset Management Group plc

Highlights

Financial Highlights

AUM1

£20.2BN 

2019: £15.1bn

Adjusted operating profit2

£23.3M 

2019: £18.0m

Revenue

£87.5M 

2019: £73.7m

Adjusted diluted  
earnings per share2

14.5P

2019: 11.5p

Profit before tax

Dividend per share3

£16.7M 

2019: £18.9m

Shareholders’ equity

£71.5M

2019: £63.2m

8.6P 

2019: 5.5p

Cash reserves4

£37.4M 

2019: £26.2M

• 

• 

• 

 Business resilience and exceptional growth throughout  
the global pandemic

 Continuing strong net inflows from existing and new  
clients around the world

 All major investment strategies continued their five year record  
of out-performance versus their global comparator indices

• 

 An increase in dividend of 56% in line with new dividend policy

1  Assets under management and advice as at 30 September 2020. Assets under advice c. 2.6% of total AUM
2 

 Adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted earnings per share are shown after removing the effects of contingent consideration credits, 
ongoing amortisation of intangibles acquired and market-to-market effects of National Insurance on equity award schemes. See page 62 for 
further information and note 4 of the financial statements for a reconciliation to the IFRS reported results

3  1.8p per share interim dividend and proposed final dividend of 6.8p per share
4 

 Represents cash and cash equivalents, plus cash invested in money market funds and deposit accounts, less cash held in research payment 
accounts, see page 62 for further information and note 21 of the financial statements for a reconciliation

Impax has pioneered investment in  
the transition to a more sustainable 
global economy and today is one of  
the largest investment managers 
dedicated to this area.

Contents

OVERVIEW

01  Highlights

02   Why Impax?

10 

12 

 Q&A with the Chief 
Executive

50   Building a Common 

Future

 Creating and Promoting 
Value for all our 
Stakeholders

18 

 Key Performance 
Indicators

20  Financial Review

57   Risk Management  

and Control

58   Principal Risks and 
Uncertainties

61  Auditor’s Statement

61  Memberships

26   Our Investment Strategies 

and Performance

35   Beyond Investment 

Returns

62   Alternative Performance 

Measures

63  Contact Details

Naming of companies in this document

For simplicity we use the following short forms in the place of the legal company entity names in this document and the Governance and Financial Report. Impax Asset 
Management Group plc is referred to throughout as “Impax” or the “Company”.

In January 2018, Pax World Management LLC was acquired by Impax and has been re-named Impax Asset Management LLC. This company is based in Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire and we refer to it as “Impax NH”. Impax NH is the manager of Pax World Funds. Impax "North America" refers to the combined businesses of all our US offices. 
Impax Asset Management Ltd and Impax Asset Management (AIFM) manage or advise Listed Equity funds and accounts, and the Real Assets division. The majority of this 
business is based in London so we refer to it as “Impax LN”.

STRATEGIC REPORT

04   Chief Executive’s Report 

40  Our People

Business Highlights

B

01

OVERVIEWWhy Impax?

We believe

That the world is being profoundly shaped by global 
sustainability challenges, particularly climate change, 
increasing pollution, inadequate infrastructure, resource 
scarcity and rising inequality. These factors are creating 
commercial opportunities that are driving growth for  
well positioned companies as well as substantial risks  
for those unable or unwilling to adapt.

Fundamental analysis which incorporates long-term 
risks, including environmental, social and governance 
(ESG) factors is essential to identifying well-positioned 
companies and enhancing investment returns.

We invest

In companies and assets 
that are well positioned 
to benefit from the shift 
to a more sustainable 
global economy. We seek 
higher quality companies 
with strong business 
models and governance 
that demonstrate sound 
management of risk.

We offer

A well-rounded suite 
of investment solutions 
spanning multiple asset 
classes aiming to deliver 
superior risk adjusted 
returns over the medium  
to long term.

Award winning

We are one of the largest and longest 
established investors dedicated to investing 
in the transition to a more sustainable 
economy, and we manage assets for some  
of the world’s largest investors.

We are committed to outstanding levels 
of client service with comprehensive and 
transparent reporting. We also continue 
to evolve our thought leadership work, 
stewardship and engagement and our 
ground-breaking impact reporting.

Sustainability is important to us. We ensure 
our investee companies meet our rigorous 
ESG requirements and we hold ourselves 
accountable to the same high standards.  
We measure our own environmental 
footprint annually and aspire to run our 
business in line with best practices of 
governance, diversity and inclusion.

We value our commitment to our 
philanthropic partners. Our strong financial 
results allow us to support these partners both 
financially and through direct participation.

57

Investment team members1 (UK, US, HK)

20+ years

of specialist manager experience

£20.2bn

AUM

1 

Includes five members of the Executive Committee

0202

03

Commitment to our values and our stakeholdersAn acknowledged  global leader Partnership with our clientsOVERVIEWChief Executive’s Report

“  The COVID-19 pandemic has created a 
tragedy of exceptional proportions and has 
significantly impaired the global economy. 
However, against this backdrop, I am 
pleased to report that Impax has proved 
its resilience and has delivered another 
consecutive year of strong growth.” 

“ Despite these difficult times and 
volatile financial markets, I am 
pleased to report that Impax  
has had an outstanding year.”

Ian Simm 
Chief Executive

I am pleased to report that 
Impax has had an outstanding 
year. During the 12 months 
ending 30 September 2020 
(the “Period”), the Company’s 
assets under discretionary and 
advisory management (“AUM”) 
increased by 34% to £20.2 billion, 
which included £3.5 billion of 
net inflows into the funds and 
accounts that we manage. By 
30 November 2020, AUM had 
reached £23.4 billion.

Impax has remained fully 
operational since the start of 
the pandemic. We have focused 
on protecting the health and 
safety of our colleagues, while 
continuing to provide a seamless 
service to clients and fulfilling 
obligations to our shareholders 
and other stakeholders. We have 
sustained strong investment 
performance while we have 
also been able to expand our 
operations and team in line with 
the needs of the business.

HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE 
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Government policies around the 
world continue to support our 
investment thesis, and this year we 
have witnessed more debate than 
ever before on what a sustainable 
economy will look like. 

Impax’s investment thesis 
is based on our belief that 
companies that are benefiting 
from the transition to a more 
sustainable economy should, on 
average, out-perform their peers 
in other markets. Over the past 
12 months we have seen further 
evidence supporting this view. 

While global health care and 
related social issues have 
dominated the policy and media 
agendas in recent months, the 
impact of climate change has 
never been more keenly felt. This 
year has seen the worst wildfires 
in US history, and summer in the 
northern hemisphere has been 
the hottest since records began, 
with the coverage of Arctic sea-
ice reaching another historical 
low. The impacts of climate 
change have been largely in line 
with scientific models, but the 
human and social cost appears to 
be much greater than expected. 

Against this backdrop, there 
are many compelling reasons 
for optimism, with large flows 
of private capital into climate-
mitigating technologies and 
business models, shareholder 
activism against the worst 
polluters, rapidly rising consumer 
interest, and ever more robust 
environmental regulation.

I would like to thank my colleagues for 
their dedication and resilience during the 
pandemic, which have allowed us to maintain 
our high standards.

0404

05

STRATEGIC REPORTChief Executive’s Report continued

As society responds to the challenges of 
sustainable development, our investment 
thesis continues to strengthen.

In an increasingly competitive 
marketplace we have a large pipeline  
of potential investors, particularly for  
our Listed Equity strategies.

INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 
The Listed Equity strategies 
managed by our London-centred 
team have performed well. The 
two largest strategies, Water 
and Leaders, posted increases of 
9.6% and 14.8% respectively for 
the Period, against their global 
comparator index, the MSCI All 
Country World (“ACWI”) which 
returned 5.3%. The Specialists 
strategy, which is the basis for 
our UK investment trust, Impax 
Environmental Markets plc, 
returned 13.9%, and in March, this 
trust joined the FTSE 250 index. 

The Asia-Pacific strategy was 
the standout performer with 
returns of 19.3% reflecting 
the strong recovery in most 
regional stock markets, while 
our fastest-growing strategy, 
Global Opportunities, returned 
12.9%, outperforming the ACWI 
by 7.6%. The Sustainable Food 
strategy, which has a relatively 
defensive investment approach, 
returned 3.3%, 2% below ACWI 
but outperforming its specialist 
benchmark by 5.6%. 

Performance from the Pax World 
Funds managed by our US-based 
team has improved considerably, 
with more than half of the funds 
significantly outperforming their 
benchmarks, and three funds 
ranked in the top decile of their 
respective peer groups. This 
fund range has had positive net 
inflows of over US$380 million 
over the Period, with allocations 
focused on the Pax Global 
Environmental Markets Fund, Pax 
Global Women’s Leadership Fund 
and the Pax Large Cap fund. 

A more detailed insight into our 
major investment strategies and 
their performance over one, three 
and five years is included on 
pages 26 to 34.

Real Assets
Our team investing in markets 
linked to renewable power 
generation made good progress 
in investing our third fund, Impax 
New Energy Investors III (“NEF 
III”), committing additional 
capital in Norway, France and 
Germany and making its first 
commitments in Spain.  

During the Period we  
received £3.5 billion in  
net new client money.

Our clients consistently  
point to our engagement  
and impact measurement  
work as important points  
of differentiation.

Our AUM growth since inception 

£20.0bn

£18.0bn

£16.0bn

£14.0bn

£12.0bn

£10.0bn

£8.0bn

£6.0bn

£4.0bn

£2.0bn

0

2000

0606

2004

2008

2012

2016

2020

£20.2BN

We have further strengthened 
our connections to the 
environmental science 
community.

We expect this fund to be fully 
invested by the end of 2021 and 
are advancing our plans to raise 
additional capital in this area.

CLIENT SERVICE AND  
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Impax experienced another 
year of strong net inflows from 
investors around the world.

This year our business 
development in the UK has been 
particularly successful. The 
Global Opportunities mandate 
that we manage on behalf of 
St James’s Place recorded net 
inflows of £877 million, while our 
Irish UCITS fund range received 
£269 million on a net basis. In 
Continental Europe total net 
inflows were £1.1 billion, with 
contributions from direct sales 
to institutional investors and 
from our distribution partners, 
particularly Formuepleje in 
Denmark, ASN Bank in the 
Netherlands, and BNP Paribas 
Asset Management (“BNPP”)
across multiple countries in 
the region. 

In November 2020, we announced 
that BNPP had executed its 
plan to reduce its holding in the 
Company from c.24.5% to c.14.0%, 
having seen a very positive return 
on their original investment 
made in 2007. BNPP remains 
Impax’s largest shareholder and 
a key distribution partner. The 
relationship was cemented with 
a new distribution agreement 
on very similar terms to the 
Memorandum of Understanding 
covering distribution that has 
been in place since 2007.

Although the pandemic delayed 
some institutional mandate 
searches, we expect these to catch 
up in 2021. Our North American 
business had another strong 
year, with positive net inflows of 
US$778 million. We are seeing 
an increasing number of buy 
recommendations from investment 
consultants and are continuing to 
build our relationships with leading 
asset owners in the US. We also 
extended our work in Canada,with 
new sub-advisory mandates for 
NEI Investments and Desjardins. 

BEYOND INVESTMENT RETURNS
In addition to the pursuit of 
excellent investment returns, we 
focus on four broader areas. First, 
our corporate engagement aims 
to enhance our understanding 
of investment risk. In 20191 
we engaged with over 100 
companies, or close to half of  
all those in which we invest. 

Second, as pioneers in the 
calibration of the positive 
environmental impact of our 
investments, we have issued 
our sixth annual Impact Report 
which covers listed equities and 
also describes how we have 
applied our methodology to 
the fixed income portfolios that 
we manage.

Third, we have strengthened our 
connections to the environmental 
science community with the 
aim of augmenting our work on 
climate risk and, more recently, 
biodiversity. In October we 
published a white paper on 
physical climate risk and have 
also become a core member 
of the Coalition for Climate 
Resilient Investment and 
joined efforts to set up a new 
Task Force on Nature-related 
Financial Disclosures. 

1  Latest available data

07

STRATEGIC REPORTChief Executive’s Report continued

This is the seventh consecutive year that Impax has been awarded 
A+ and A scores across all applicable categories in the UN-backed 
Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) assessment report of 
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration efforts. 

And finally, this year we also 
have expanded our specialist 
policy team in order to deepen 
our policy insights as well 
as our contributions to the 
development of effective future 
laws and regulations. Over the 
year, we have joined a number 
of organisations and initiatives, 
including the Confederation 
of British Industry’s Energy 
& Climate Change Board, the 
Climate Financial Risk Forum 
and the Energy Transitions 
Commission. 

DEVELOPING IMPAX’S TALENT
We have continued to recruit 
through the pandemic, and 
our team now comprises 175 
individuals, an increase in 
headcount of 12% since the  
start of the Period. 

As our volume of business has 
grown, we have also taken several 
important steps to expand and 
strengthen our HR operations 
and talent management systems. 
This has included refreshing 
our objectives to ensure that 
our colleagues can thrive in 
their current roles and also look 
forward to attractive career 
prospects. This year we have 
focused on developing the 
leadership skills of our managers, 
mapping out plans to enhance 
equality, diversity and inclusion, 
and, in these challenging times, 
are devoting particular attention 
to supporting our colleagues’ 
well-being and mental health. 

We have accelerated the 
integration of our New 
Hampshire-based team, who 
joined us in 2018 following 
the acquisition of Pax World 
Management LLC. We have now 
completed the formation of 

global teams in several areas, 
including actively managed 
listed equities, trading, finance, 
compliance and HR, and 
have undertaken additional 
integration projects in marketing 
and the definition of a common 
corporate culture.

For more details, please turn to 
“Our People” on pages 40 to 49.

AWARDS AND INDUSTRY 
RECOGNITION
In April Impax was honoured to 
receive the Queen’s Award for 
Enterprise in the Sustainable 
Development category for a 
second time. This represents 
a significant endorsement of 
the team’s hard work over 
the past two decades in 
encouraging companies to 
improve their sustainability 
as well as supporting the 
growth of pioneering new 
sustainable businesses.

The Company’s expertise has 
also been acknowledged through 
numerous prestigious industry 
awards again this year. These 
include the Global Investor 
Investment Excellence awards 
2020 (Boutique Manager of the 
year), FT Pensions Expert PIPA 
Awards (highly commended in 
the ESG/SRI Manager of the Year 
category) and Impax was named 
one of the Corporate Knights’ 
“Green 50 Top Business Moves 
for the Planet” list. Furthermore, 
after Period end we were proud 
to announce three further award 
wins: “Ambition Nation Listed 50” 
award (from Finncap), “Boutique 
of the Year – Equities” from 
Financial News, and “European 
Specialist Investment Firm of the 
Year” from Funds Europe.

We have accelerated the 
integration of our New 
Hampshire-based team.

We have focused on 
developing the leadership 
skills of our managers.

The Company’s expertise 
has also been acknowledged 
through numerous prestigious 
industry awards again this year.

Nevertheless, the contours of the 
post pandemic landscape are 
not yet clear and the timing of 
the economic recovery remains 
uncertain. Corporate balance 
sheets have been severely 
impacted, some dividends 
cancelled or reduced, and we 
can expect to see many more 
companies looking to raise 
capital. Until the roadmap out of 
the pandemic becomes clearer, 
we are likely to see considerable 
volatility across financial markets. 

We continue to invest in order to 
grow the Company and are well 
positioned for further expansion 
that should enhance value for all 
our stakeholders.

Ian Simm
2 December 2020

In the United States Pax World 
Funds was recognised by 
Bloomberg and the United 
Nations as one of “50 Climate 
Leaders” and Ethical Corporation 
assigned a coveted “Highly 
Commended” designation to the 
Pax Ellevate Global Women’s 
Leadership Fund. Joe Keefe, 
President, was acknowledged 
as one of the “10 leaders of ESG 
and Impact Investing” in the US 
by Investment News and Impax 
joined the “Best Companies to 
Work for in New Hampshire” Hall 
of Fame. 

For the seventh consecutive year, 
Impax has been awarded A+ and 
A scores across all applicable 
categories in the UN-backed 
Principles for Responsible 
Investment (PRI) assessment 
report of Environmental, 
Social and Governance (ESG) 
integration efforts. 

Finally, in November 2020, 
Morningstar described Impax 
as a “Leader” for its ESG 
Commitment, one of only six 
asset managers globally to be 
awarded the highest grade.

BREXIT
Given the political uncertainties 
and the current perceived lack of 
provision for financial services, 
we are planning for our Dublin 
office to be fully operational in 
December 2020. We only expect 
to transfer a small number of 
clients, representing less than 
2% of current AUM. The required 
associated activities, including 
some limited recruitment, are 
advancing in line with our plans.

OUTLOOK
Since the late 1990s Impax 
has argued that many of those 
companies that are tackling 
the environmental problems 
arising from human activity are 
set to out-perform their peers 
in other sectors. More recently, 
we have extended our analysis 
and argued that the transition 
to a more sustainable global 
economy is accelerating, and 
that companies whose business 
models address social issues are 
providing additional investment 
opportunities. 

We also consider the recent 
result of the US election to be 
positive for the markets in which 
Impax invests. In addition to 
his commitment to bring the 
US back into the Paris Climate 
agreement, President-elect Biden 
appears determined to address 
the profound sustainability 
challenges facing the country, 
including a climate plan to 
invest $2 trillion over four years 
with targeted zero-emissions 
power generation by 2035 and 
a net-zero economy by 2050. 
Investors are also hopeful that 
the Democrats will improve ESG 
integration and disclosure. 

This year the effects of COVID-19 
have amplified many of the issues 
associated with investing in the 
transition to a more sustainable 
economy, but recent events have 
also reinforced our investment 
case. There are strong reasons 
to believe that governments, 
investors and consumers are 
seeking to steer capital towards 
markets that offer inherent 
resilience to environmental 
and social problems. 

08

09

STRATEGIC REPORTQ&A with the Chief Executive

Q
Impax has again expanded 
significantly this year. What 
steps are the team taking to 
maintain high standards?

A
In many ways this has been a 
watershed year. Overall, the 
Company’s performance has 
exceeded expectations as 
we’ve converted rising client 
demand into net inflows and 
new mandates. Looking ahead, 
we are positioning ourselves for 
continued, sustainable growth by 
adding to our research resources, 
extending our distribution and 
client service capabilities, and 
further strengthening our support 
teams, for example in back and 
middle office. As described 
elsewhere in this document 
we’ve also been investing in the 
development of our talent and 
reviewing ways we can cement 
our strong corporate culture as 
the team grows.

Ian Simm 
Chief Executive

Q
What have been the effects of 
COVID-19 on the Company?

Q
What steps have you taken to 
ensure that your workplace is 
truly diverse and inclusive? 

A
The operational challenges that 
Impax has faced are negligible 
compared to the heavy human, 
social and economic toll that is 
being wrought worldwide by 
the pandemic. That said, we 
have focused closely on our 
colleagues’ well-being as they 
continue to spend a protracted 
period working away from the 
office. I believe that our long-
standing, collegial culture has 
really helped us weather the 
storm, and I’ve been really 
impressed with the way that 
the team has responded to help 
deliver exceptional results.

A
This has always been a priority 
as we build a company that 
benefits from the best possible 
decision-making and that can 
sustain a healthy and productive 
working culture. This year we 
have completed Company-
wide unconscious bias training 
and advanced initiatives to 
strengthen our policies and 
activity in the areas of gender 
and ethnic diversity. Recently, 
we’ve integrated our oversight 
of these topics into an Equality, 
Diversity and Inclusion Group, 
which includes the appointment 
of a Non-Executive Director as 
the Board Sponsor of this work.

Q
Is the integration of the Pax 
business complete? 

A
After nearly three years as a 
combined firm, I’m very pleased 
that almost all the major 
integration projects are complete, 
and that we’ve been able to 
support a business that’s doubled 
in size (relative to the aggregate 
AUM of the Group when the 
transaction closed).

Q
Over recent years the Company 
has broadened and expanded its 
range of funds. What plans do you 
have for further expansion and 
diversification of the business?

A
We continue to expand our range 
of existing investment strategies 
where there is a high level of 
additional capacity. In addition, 
we are incubating a small number 
of new strategies, including an 
Asian strategy based on the 
investment approach of Global 
Opportunities, which, if they 
prove successful, could form the 
basis of additional offerings to 
clients in the medium-term.

Q
Are investors still as focused on 
environmental strategies and 
climate change as they were 
before the pandemic?

A
Very much so. Many expert 
commentators believe that this 
dreadful pandemic will fade 
into insignificance compared 
to the long-term threats of 
climate change and the massive 
investment this urgently requires. 
Despite the gloomy prognosis of 
sustaining “business as usual”, 
the technologies and business 
processes now exist for society to 
substantially slow the warming of 
the planet and achieve “net zero” 
emissions in due course. In the 
meantime, there are encouraging 
signs that investors are rapidly 
building their awareness of 
climate risks and are looking to 
future-proof their investments. 

Q
You have made a new net-zero 
commitment this year. Why was 
this important? 

Q
What are your top 
priorities for the year 
ahead? 

A
We have always been committed 
to measuring the net carbon 
impact (which we believe is a 
much more meaningful metric 
than carbon footprint) of our 
private equity funds and our 
major investment strategies, 
and we continue to enhance this 
important work. We also report 
in detail on our own operational 
emissions and plans for further 
reductions. Overall, when we take 
into account the carbon savings 
from our direct investments, 
Impax’s emissions arising from 
operations and investment are 
in aggregate net carbon positive 
today. We are committed to the 
continuous improvement of our 
practices, measurement and 
reporting in this area.

A
With the return to 
normality a long way off, 
the Executive Committee 
is committed to helping 
our colleagues as they 
work through these 
difficult circumstances. Our 
mandate pipeline is strong, 
and we are concentrating 
on converting as many 
of these opportunities as 
possible. Furthermore, 
we expect to add to our 
headcount in order to 
extend our investment 
capabilities, sustain our 
investment performance 
and deliver on client 
expectations.

10
10

11

STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
Creating and Promoting Value  
for all our Stakeholders

Impax is a global investment manager. 

We aim to work with all our stakeholders, to make 
a contribution to the development of a sustainable 
society and have a positive impact on the environment, 
particularly by supporting or undertaking relevant 
research and engaging or collaborating with others. 

In addition, we seek to provide a stimulating, collaborative 
and supportive workplace for our colleagues.

Section 172 of the Companies Act requires the Board to act in the 
way that they consider would most likely promote the success of 
the company for the benefit of all stakeholders. In turn the Directors 
ensure that they, and the management team, have regard, amongst 
other matters, to:

•  The likely consequences of 
any decisions in the long 
term.

•  The need to grow the  

•  The need to act fairly as 

value of the business for  
our shareholders. 

between members of the 
Company.

•  The interests of the 
Company’s staff.

•  The need to foster the 
Company’s business 
relationships with suppliers, 
customers, distribution 
partners and others.

•  The impact of the Company’s 
operations on the community 
and the environment.

•  The desirability of the 

Company maintaining a 
reputation for high standards 
of business conduct.

Stakeholders Our approach

How we engage

2020 highlights

Our plans for the future

Clients 

We put clients at the heart of our business.

We are focused on ensuring that we are managing all 
our funds and accounts in line with their investment 
objectives and within a framework that is fully compliant 
with applicable regulations and policies.

We provide a wide range of investment products and 
solutions, including mutual funds and private assets to 
our clients who are predominantly institutional investors 
and pension funds. 

We seek to deliver consistent outcomes for our clients 
and superior financial returns over the longer term.

We conduct fundamental analysis which incorporates 
long-term risks, including Environmental, Social & 
Governance (ESG) factors. 

We are committed to measuring and reporting our  
non-financial impacts such as our environmental and 
social impacts.

Our client teams build long-term 
relationships and a deep understanding  
of our clients’ needs and expectations. 

Driven by our clients needs we currently 
offer strategies across five areas: 
Thematic Equities (Active), Equities 
(Systematic Beta), Unconstrained 
Equities, Fixed Income and Real Assets.

Informed by our dialogue with clients we 
develop new products to provide client 
solutions and invest our own balance 
sheet as seed capital.

We report to our clients detail on our 
engagement and advocacy results and 
on the environmental impact of our major 
investment strategies and continue to 
expand and enhance the content of  
these documents.

Continued strong investment performance 
with all our major thematic equity 
strategies outperforming their global 
comparator indices over one, three and 
five years.

Net inflows of £3.5 billion, reflecting the 
continuing rise in investor interest of our 
strategies, and their strong performance.

Thought leadership highlights included 
reports on the physical risks of climate 
change, the financial impact of diversity, 
and the investor impact of COVID-19.

We remained fully operational throughout 
COVID-19 restrictions and focused on 
providing a seamless service to clients.

We will continue to enhance our client service model, tailored  
to individual needs, and to evolve our reporting capabilities.

We will work with clients to review opportunities to develop  
new products and investment solutions for our clients and 
potential clients.

We will target distribution of existing strategies with increased 
focus on own-brand pooled funds.

We will continue to develop our expertise in fixed income and 
gender lens investing.

We will grow our headcount and operational resources in order 
to extend our investment and client servicing capabilities and 
deliver on client expectations.

12

13

STRATEGIC REPORTCreating and Promoting Value  
for all our Stakeholders continued

The Board sets corporate governance and 
strategic objectives for the Group and strives for 
strong governance and stewardship best practice 
across the business, through the application of a 
robust corporate governance framework.

Stakeholders Our approach

How we engage

2020 highlights

Our plans for the future

Shareholders

The governance and management of the Company is 
driven by the Board and Executive Committee. We seek 
to adhere to high standards of corporate governance 
and reporting.

We are committed to full disclosure and 
clear communications with institutional 
and private shareholders and hold 
meetings throughout the year.

As specialists, we are focused on a small number of 
investment strategies which are highly scalable and 
enable us to balance tight cost control with the needs 
of an expanding business. We are investing in robust IT 
systems, processes and infrastructure, while maintaining 
a rising operating margin.

The Chief Executive and Chief Financial 
Officer present the full and half year 
results. We encourage shareholders to 
attend the AGM where the Board and 
management are available for questions 
and comment. 

Colleagues

We seek to be an employer of choice.

We aim to attract and retain talented and committed 
people, empowering team members to reach their full 
potential and providing development opportunities 
and rewarding long-term careers that link to our 
business needs.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 
(“ED&I”). We seek to understand our people and their 
individual perspectives and to reflect their views. We 
strive for a diverse staff and an inclusive culture. 

We prioritise investment in our staff and aim to empower 
team members to reach their full potential. We invest 
significantly in our colleagues’ professional and personal 
development training to ensure we have the skills needed 
to develop the business.

We hold regular town halls and team- 
level meetings, as well as numerous 
educational and social events.

We learn from, and act on, the regular 
feedback from our colleagues. This has 
been particularly important during the 
pandemic and we have focused on the 
needs and wellbeing of individuals.

Investee 
companies

We are long-term investors and develop strong 
relationships with many of our holding companies. 

We engage with companies to minimise risks, protect 
shareholder value, promote greater transparency 
and encourage companies to become more resilient 
over time. 

We take a supportive rather than an 
activist approach, and often work in 
collaboration with other asset managers 
or organisations. Our engagement 
is focused on: promoting improved 
practices and transparency on ESG 
issues; bottom-up company specific 
monitoring and dialogue; top-down 
strategic engagement priorities; and 
proxy voting and corporate governance.

Distribution 
partners

Over the years we have developed strong relationships 
with other asset managers who sell our white-label 
funds through their distribution networks. This enables 
the Company to sell funds to a much wider network 
of clients.

Members of our Executive Committee 
and dedicated client relationship 
professionals meet our distribution 
partners regularly and we have strong 
reporting systems in place.

We outperformed all our KPIs.

Because of COVID-19, it was more 
difficult to meet in person this year, but 
we maintained and grew shareholder 
relationships with virtual meetings and 
webinars.

Our pipeline of potential new mandates is strong, and we  
will concentrate on converting as many of these into clients  
as possible. 

In the light of the growing global investor interest in investing 
more sustainably we will be reviewing the longer-term 
opportunities for Impax’s development. 

We have significantly increased 
communication with colleagues this year. 
We have embraced more flexible working 
practices which will inform our future 
approach. We have offered additional 
support around employee wellbeing, 
including presentations on mental and 
physical health. 

This year Lindsey Brace Martinez 
assumed the role of Board Sponsor  
of the Company’s ED&I activities.

We increased our investment in 
leadership training and education for all 
our people managers to drive a common, 
consistent standard across our business.

Over the last year we have prioritised four 
strategic areas of engagement:

Physical climate risk, sustainability and 
ESG advisory, diversity and pay-equity 
and corporate governance best practice.

In calendar year 2019 we engaged with 
101 companies (approximately half of 
all our portfolio companies) with 40% 
positive outcomes. 

We continue to build out our global HR capabilities. 

We recently announced a key HR initiative to ensure  
we optimise staff development and wellbeing while 
simultaneously building our organisation effectively.

We will conduct our detailed biennial staff survey again in 2021.

We remain focused on addressing the gender pay gap, 
particularly at senior management level.

Our major new Equality, Diversity & Inclusion programme 
is launching in Q4 2020. We have identified five priorities 
under Leadership, Talent & Attraction, Data & Benchmarking, 
Awareness, and Social Impact.

COVID-19 has brought many sustainability issues into sharper 
focus, especially the “S”, the social aspect of ESG. In the year 
ahead we will direct additional time and resources to this 
area, taking a close look at developing methodologies for 
further integrating and quantifying aspects of human capital 
in our company analysis, as well as drilling down further 
into supply chains, in particular what these mean in the 
knowledge economy.

Net inflows of £2,2721 million by funds 
distributed by our partners.

We seek to build our network of distribution partners in new 
geographies and markets and deepen existing relationships.

In October 2020, we signed a long-term 
distribution agreement with BNP Paribas 
Asset Management, cementing our 
existing agreement.

1  Excludes flows from segregated mandates

14

15

STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
Creating and Promoting Value  
for all our Stakeholders continued

Stakeholders Our approach

How we engage

2020 highlights

Our plans for the future

External 
service 
providers 

Our third-party suppliers are critical to our business, 
and therefore we ensure there is an appropriate 
oversight framework, which is reviewed periodically. 

We expect our suppliers to reflect 
our values around social inclusion, 
sustainability, and the environment. 

The Audit & Risk Committee reviews the Company’s 
material outsource providers annually.

We seek to develop deep relationships 
and regularly engage with our 
external suppliers.

Society 
and the 
environment 

Our business is focused on the transition to a more 
sustainable global economy. As such, we play a key role 
in financing the transition to a low carbon economy, 
protecting the environment, promoting human rights, 
diversity and fair work and pay.

We are committed to operating to the highest 
standards of corporate responsibility, recognising our 
responsibility to the community in which we operate, 
and to a wider society.

Industry-wide  
groups 

We recognise that working in collaboration with  
like-minded organisations can be more effective in 
bringing about changes.

We continue to increase our support for 
a small number of charities which are 
aligned with our focus on building a more 
sustainable economy.

We facilitate charitable giving by our 
colleagues through volunteering and 
matched financial contributions. 

We support a low carbon economy, 
primarily through our investment 
decisions, company engagement, 
our collaboration with clients and 
stakeholders and policy advocacy.

Vince O’Brien is the Board Sponsor 
of the Environment Committee.

For a list of memberships see page 61.

Financial 
industry 
regulators

Impax is a global business which has a strong focus 
on ethical conduct and compliance with applicable 
requirements in all jurisdictions where we operate.

We are committed to regulatory 
reporting and disclosures which benefit 
market transparency and integrity.

We seek to contribute positively to 
evolving regulatory standards and 
actively advocate for sustainable 
regulatory policies relevant to our 
activities and clients.

We continue to strengthen our supplier base and plan to 
introduce a code of conduct to ensure that our suppliers 
reflect our values and continue to deliver a high level of 
service to the Company and our clients.

We plan to expand our charitable partner programme to 
reflect the growth of our business and the breadth of our 
activities and areas of focus.

We will provide greater support and strategic alignment for 
our volunteering initiatives around the world.

We are committed to retaining our net carbon positive status 
across our operations and corporate investments,

We are looking to join and participate in additional 
organisations where we believe this to be of mutual benefit.

We intend to support a package of reforms under the EU 
Capital Markets Union project, which includes the Sustainable 
Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), taxonomy regulation 
and sustainability amendments to AIFMD, UCITS and MiFID.

We engaged frequently with our suppliers 
throughout the COVID-19 crisis to 
ensure that they continued to meet their 
obligations and had resilient business 
continuity plans in place.

We have made no material changes to 
our suppliers.

In the UK 26% of our staff, an increase 
of 6% for the year, now take part in 
our matched charitable giving scheme 
(GAYE). This year we were awarded 
Platinum Status by GAYE.

In the US, Impax staff volunteered a total 
of 171 hours with 18 organisations. 

Impax’s emissions arising from operations 
and investment are in aggregate net 
carbon positive today.

In October, we published a white paper 
on physical climate risk and have also 
become a core member of the Coalition 
for Climate Resilient Investment and 
joined efforts to set up a new Task Force 
on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.

We have joined a number of 
organisations and initiatives, including the 
Confederation of British Industry’s Energy 
& Climate Change Board, the Climate 
Financial Risk Forum, and the Energy 
Transitions Commission.

We have submitted a rulemaking 
proposal to the SEC requesting corporate 
disclosure rules so that investors are 
aware of the physical climate change  
risks that companies face.

We joined the Bank of England PRA and 
FCA Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF) 
to share best practice and advance 
regulators’ responses to the financial  
risks from climate change.

16

17

STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
Key Performance Indicators

We use a number of key performance 
indicators (“KPIs”) to measure our 
financial performance. This year  
we again delivered strong growth  
for all our KPIs.

AUM 

REVENUE 

£20.2BN

£87.5M

£20.2bn

2020

£87.5m

£73.7m

£65.7m

2019

2018

2017

2016

£32.7m

£21.1m

Revenue represents the fees 
we have earned for services 
provided in the year. 

2020

2019

2018

2017

£15.1bn

£12.5bn

£7.3bn

2016

£4.5bn

AUM represents our total 
assets under management 
and advice. The movement 
between opening and closing 
AUM provides an indication 
of the overall success of the 
business during the year in 
terms of both net subscriptions 
and investment performance. 
It also provides a good lead 
indicator of revenue and 
profitability.

ADJUSTED  
OPERATING PROFIT1

£23.3M

2020

2019

2018

2017

£23.3m

£18.0m

£20.0m

£9.3m

2016

£4.2m

Adjusted operating earnings 
reflects the performance of 
our core business. It takes 
into account our operating 
efficiency, investments made 
to grow our business and  
how we reward and retain  
our staff.

ADJUSTED  
OPERATING MARGIN1

ADJUSTED DILUTED 
EARNINGS PER SHARE1

DIVIDEND

26.6%

14.5P

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

26.6%

24.4%

30.4%

28.4%

19.9%

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

11.5p

12.4p

5.9p

3.6p

2

8.6P

INTERIM

14.5p

2020

1.8p

FINAL

6.8p

8.6p

5.5p

4.1p

2.6p3

£6.7p

2019

2018

2017

2016

2.9p

2.1p

Operating margin is a 
profitability ratio that shows 
how much profit we make in 
relation to our total revenue.

Adjusted diluted earnings 
per share (“EPS”) reflects the 
overall financial performance 
of the Company for the year 
and takes into account the 
dilutive effect of our share 
option and restricted share 
awards.

The Company’s dividend 
policy is to pay between 55% 
and 80% of adjusted profit 
after tax.

The Board is recommending a 
final dividend of 6.8 pence per 
share bringing total dividend 
per share to 8.6 pence. 

2020: AUM grew by 34% to an 
Impax record of £20.2 billion.

2020: Revenue grew by 19% 
to £87.5m. 

2020: Adjusted operating 
profits grew by 29%.

2020: Operating margin grew 
to 26.6% due to our scalable 
operating platform.

2020: Adjusted diluted EPS 
grew to 14.5 pence in line with 
the increased adjusted profits.

2020: Growth of 56% and the 
12th consecutive year that we 
have raised the dividend.

 This is an Alternative performance measure, see page 62 for definition and calculation

1 
2 
3  Special dividend

 Proposed

1818

19

STRATEGIC REPORT 
Financial Review

The Board is recommending  
a final dividend of 6.8p per share. 
An increase of 56% for the full  
year dividend.

2020

“ The Company’s exceptional 

growth this year has translated 
into very strong financial results 
and a 56% dividend increase.”

Charlie Ridge  
Chief Financial Officer

I am pleased to report very strong financial results and strong  
growth for all our financial KPIs.

As in previous periods, in order to facilitate comparison of 
performance with past periods, and to provide an appropriate 
comparison with our peers, the Board encourages shareholders to 
focus on financial measures after adjustment for accounting charges 
or credits arising from the acquisition accounting for Impax NH, 
and adjustments arising from the accounting treatment of National 
Insurance costs on share-based payment awards. Further information 
on these and other alternative performance measures reported is 
given on page 62.

Financial highlights for financial year 2020  
versus financial year 2019

AUM1

Revenue

Adjusted operating profit2

Adjusted profit before tax2

Adjusted diluted earnings per share2

Cash reserves2

Seed investments

Dividend per share

IFRS operating profit

IFRS profit before tax

IFRS diluted earnings per share

2020

£20.2bn

£87.5m

£23.3m

£22.2m

14.5p

£37.4m

£4.3m

2019

£15.1bn

£73.7m

£18.0m

£18.1m

11.5p

£26.2m

£4.6m

1.8p interim 
+6.8p final3

1.5p interim 
+ 4.0p final

2020

£17.6m

£16.7m

10.5p

2019

£18.8m

£18.9m

12.1p

This year our revenue grew by 
19% and our adjusted operating 
profits have risen by 29%.

1  Assets under management and advice as at 30 September 2020
2   This is an Alternative Performance Measure – see page 62 for definition and calculation 
3   Proposed

21

STRATEGIC REPORTFinancial Review continued

REVENUE 
Revenue for the Period grew 
by £13.8 million to £87.5 million 
(2019: £73.7 million). Growth was 
driven by continued strong net 
inflows across the business and 
robust performance, offset to 
some extent by the market falls 
seen in February and March.

Our run-rate revenue at the end 
of the Period was £96.5 million 
(2019: £78.3 million), giving 
a weighted average run rate 
revenue margin of 48 basis points 
(2019: 52 basis points) on the 
£20.2 billion of AUM.

OPERATING COSTS
Adjusted operating costs 
increased to £64.3 million (2019: 
£55.7 million), mainly reflecting 
planned increases in headcount 
and higher profit-related pay 
due to the rising profitability. We 
continue to invest selectively in 
the business to take advantage of 
strong growth opportunities so 
we expect that there will be some 
cost increases in the near term. 

IFRS operating costs include 
additional charges and credits, 
principally the amortisation of 
intangible assets arising on the 
Impax NH acquisition, National 
Insurance charges on share 

options and restricted shares and 
in 2019 a credit for the release 
of a contingent consideration 
provision related to the NH 
acquisition. Employer’s National 
Insurance is payable based on 
the share price when an option 
is exercised or restricted shares 
vest and accordingly the charge 
has increased significantly as our 
share price has risen over the 
year. This is offset by a tax credit 
which is recorded in equity.

PROFITS 
Adjusted operating profit 
increased to £23.3 million (2019: 
£18.0 million), driven by the 
revenue growth described above. 
Run-rate adjusted operating 
profits at the end of the Period 
grew further to £28.3 million 
(2019: £20.5 million), in line 
with business expansion. IFRS 
operating profit in 2020 fell to 
£17.6 million (2019: £18.8 million), 
as 2019 benefited from the credit 
for the release of contingent 
consideration described above. 
Fair value gains and losses and 
other financial income partially 
offset interest expense and 
finance costs to give adjusted 
profit before tax of £22.2 million 
(2019: £18.1 million). 

Impax has a very strong balance 
sheet. This year our cash reserves 
increased by £11.2m to £37.4m.

We continue to invest in the business  
to take advantage of the strong  
growth opportunities.

TAX
Tax rates were lower than last 
year as the Group benefited from 
a £1.0 million credit in relation to 
taxation of the prior year’s private 
equity income.

EARNINGS PER SHARE
Adjusted earnings per share grew 
to 14.5 pence (2019: 11.5 pence) as 
a result of the growth in profits. 
IFRS earnings per share however 
fell to 10.5 pence (2019: 12.1 
pence) as 2019 benefited from 
the contingent consideration 
credit described above.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
At the Period end the Company 
held £37.4 million of cash 
reserves, an increase of £11.2 
million on 2019. The Company 
had no debt (2019: no debt) but 
retains access to a US$13 million 
revolving facility (the “RCF”) 
(LIBOR plus 3.3%), which was 
put in place at the time of the 
acquisition of Impax NH.

The Company continues to make 
seed investments and to invest 
in its private equity funds. These 
investments were valued at 
£4.3 million at the Period end. 
During the Period we redeemed 
£2.0 million by exiting the seed 
investment in our successful US 
mutual fund which is managed 
under the Global Opportunities 
strategy. The cash realised is 
planned to be re-invested after 
the year end into a segregated 
account investing in our new 
Asian Opportunities Strategy.  
We also invested £0.8 million into 
our third private equity fund.

We adopted the new accounting 
standard IFRS 16 which covers 
accounting for leases during 
the Period. This has required 
us to recognise new assets, 
representing the leases on 
our office buildings, and a 
corresponding lease liability.

SHARE MANAGEMENT
The Board intends that the 
Company will continue to 
purchase its own shares 
from time to time after due 
consideration of attractive 
alternatives for the use of the 
Company’s cash resources. 
Shares purchased may be used to 
satisfy obligations linked to share 
incentive awards for employees. 
Share purchases are usually 
made by funding the Company’s 
Employee Benefit Trusts (“EBTs”) 
which will then settle option 
exercises or hold shares for 
Restricted Share awards until 
they vest.

During the Period, the EBTs spent 
£4.2 million buying 1.3 million 
of the Company’s shares at an 
average price of 332 pence. At 
the Period end, the EBTs held 
a total of 5.2 million shares, 4.8 
million of which were held for 
Restricted Shares leaving up to 
0.4 million shares available for 
option exercises and future share 
incentive awards. Net options 
outstanding at the Period end 
were 2.5 million of which 0.1 
million were exercisable.

2222

23

STRATEGIC REPORTFinancial Review continued

The Company did not issue any 
shares in the Period. Equity 
issuance may arise in respect 
of staff option exercises or 
restricted share awards that have 
not been previously matched by 
share purchase into the EBTs, 
and in January 2021, conversion 
at the Company’s discretion 
into Impax shares of Impax NH 
management’s remaining 16.7% 
interest in Impax NH.

DIVIDENDS 
The Company paid an interim 
dividend of 1.8 pence per 
share in July 2020. Last year 
we announced a new policy of 
paying, in normal circumstances, 
an annual dividend within a range 
of 55% and 80% of adjusted profit 
after tax. Despite the unforeseen 
challenges of COVID-19, Impax 
has reported strong growth in 
revenue and profits and is in 
robust financial health. The Board 
is therefore recommending a 
final dividend of 6.8 pence. This 
would be an increase in the total 
dividend for the year of 3.1 pence 
or 56%, while still being at the 
lower end of our stated range.

This dividend proposal will be 
submitted for formal approval 
by shareholders at the Annual 
General Meeting on 18 March 
2021. If approved, the dividend 
will be paid on, or around, 26 
March 2021. The record date for 
the payment of the proposed 
dividend will be 19 February 2021 
and the ex-dividend date will be 
18 February 2021. 

The Company operates a 
dividend reinvestment plan 
(“DRIP”). The final date for 
receipt of elections under the 
DRIP will be 5 March 2021. 
For further information and to 
register and elect for this facility, 
please visit www.signalshares.
com and search for information 
related to the Company.

GOING CONCERN
The Financial Reporting Council 
requires all companies to perform 
a rigorous assessment of all the 
factors affecting the business 
when deciding to adopt a “going 
concern” basis for the preparation 
of the accounts. 

Our scalable operating platform 
has led to a 2% increase in our 
adjusted operating profit margin.

The Board has made an 
assessment covering a period 
of 12 months from the date of 
approval of this report which 
indicates that, taking account of a 
reasonably possible downside in 
relation to asset inflows, market 
performance and costs, the 
Group will have sufficient funds, 
to meet its liabilities as they fall 
due for that period. In making 
this assessment the Board has 
considered the potential evolving 
impacts of COVID-19. 

The Group has high cash balances 
and no debt and, at the Period 
end market levels, is profitable. 
A significant part of the Group’s 
cost basis is profit related pay. 
The Group can also preserve 
cash through dividend reduction 
and through issuance of shares 
to cover share option exercises/
restricted share awards (rather 
than purchasing shares). 

The Group has operated without 
disruption during the lockdown 
periods to date and expects to 
continue to do so. Consequently, 
the Directors are confident that 
the Group will have sufficient 
funds to continue to meet its 
liabilities as they fall due for at 
least 12 months from the date 
of approval of the financial 
statements and therefore have 
prepared the financial statements 
on a going concern basis.

Charlie Ridge
2 December 2020

24

25

STRATEGIC REPORTOur Investment Strategies and Performance

We hold a strong conviction that 
population dynamics, resource 
scarcity, inadequate infrastructure and 
environmental constraints will create 
high-growth investment opportunities 
in companies offering products and 
services to solve these challenges.

We invest for the long term in companies that are set to benefit from the transition to 
a more sustainable global economy. We seek to produce superior investment returns 
for our clients by consistently applying specialist expertise and taking a long term 
perspective. This means we look for sustainable competitive advantages, track records 
of consistent returns on investment and good governance, and where we believe a 
company’s long term potential is not reflected in the current share price.

We offer a well-rounded suite of investment solutions spanning multiple asset classes.

Our AUM breakdown by Investment Strategy1

Sustainability Lens Strategies 
£4.3bn

Systematic Beta Strategies £0.8bn

Gender Lens Strategies £0.5bn

Real Assets Strategies £0.4bn

£20.2BN
AUM

Environmental Markets Strategies 
£14.3bn

1 

 As at 30 September 2020. Multi Asset Strategy AUM is included within the underlying Strategy. Discrepancy due to rounding

Environmental  
Markets Strategies 

See more on pages 28 and 29

Sustainability Lens 
Strategies 

See more on pages 30 and 31

Gender Lens  
Strategies 

See more on page 32

Systematic Beta Strategies

See more on page 32

Multi-Asset Strategies

See more on page 32

Real Assets  
Strategies 

See more on pages 33 and 34

2626

27

STRATEGIC REPORTOur Investment Strategies and Performance continued

Environmental Markets Strategies 

We are active managers seeking to invest in 
companies that demonstrate a sustainable 
competitive advantage, strong track records  
of consistent returns on investment and  
robust governance.

Impax’s thematic, environmental 
equity strategies are managed 
by Impax LN by a team of 24 
co-headed by Bruce Jenkyn-
Jones who has been at Impax for 
21 years, and Hubert Aarts who 
joined the Company in 2007. 

Companies that are classified 
under environmental markets 
address a number of long-term 
macro-economic themes including 
growing populations, rising living 
standards, increasing urbanisation, 
rising consumption, and depletion 
of limited natural resources. These 
powerful drivers have triggered 
above average growth for a large, 
rapidly expanding, diverse set 
of companies. 

Our rigorous investment process 
seeks to invest in higher quality 
companies with strong business 
models that demonstrate sound 
management of risk. We research 
a well-defined investment universe 
for each of our strategies and then 
our portfolio construction reflects 
a combination of high conviction 
and high financial upside. We use 
a macro-economic and thematic 
overlay, as well as undertaking an 
in-depth integrated review of risk 
using Environmental, Social and 
Governance (“ESG”) criteria as 
part of our stock analysis.

Over the Period we saw interest in 
all our environmental strategies, 
with the highest net inflows into 
Specialists and Leaders. The Asia-
Pacific strategy also attracted 
significant new money with the 
AUM of the strategy increasing 
by 89%.

Our Leaders strategy invests 
globally in large cap companies 
that are developing innovative 
solutions to resource challenges in 
the key areas of new energy, water, 
waste and resource recovery and 
sustainable food and agriculture. 
We only invest in companies that 
generate at least 20% of their 
revenues from these environmental 
markets, in practice this exposure 
is much higher, currently at 56%. 

Our Specialists strategy invests 
in “pure play”, small and mid-
cap companies which must have 
more than 50% of their underlying 
revenue generated by sales 
of environmental products or 
services, (currently exposure is 
approximately 78%). 

Impax was one of the first asset 
managers to launch a dedicated 
Water strategy and we have 
managed a water fund since 2008 
on behalf of BNP Paribas Asset 
Management. This fund, which 
has seen strong demand from 
European retail investors, invests 

in international water companies 
whose activity is related to 
water treatment, purification, 
infrastructure and municipal  
services. We also manage a 
Sustainable Food strategy 
which includes a fund for BNP 
Paribas which invests globally in 
companies that are making food 
production more sustainable.

Our Asia-Pacific strategy follows 
the principles and approach of 
our Leaders Strategy but only 
invests in the Asia Pacific region. 
This strategy was our stand-out 
environmental markets performer 
for the Period as the region was 
the first to be severely affected 
by COVID-19 but markets in the 
region subsequently staged a 
strong recovery over the summer. 

Companies across the sustainable 
food chain have seen a significant 
acceleration of environmental 
and nutrition-related drivers and 
growth but share prices in the 
sector have generally lagged 
the broader market due to an 
underweight position in the 
Technology sector. As a result our 
Sustainable Food strategy has 
underperformed the ACWI over 
one, three and five years, but has 
performed well against many of 
its peers and out-performed its 
specialist comparator index1 by 
5.6% over the Period.

1  MSCI ACWI Agriculture & Food Chain Capped (Net Return)

28

Bruce Jenkyn-Jones

Hubert Aarts

Co-Heads of Listed Equities

Fotis Chatzimichalakis

Research Analyst

Jon Forster

Sid Jha

Michael Landymore

Senior Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

Senior Portfolio Manager

David Li

Agne Rackauskaite

Justin Winter

Oscar Yang

Senior Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

Percentage returns for one, three and five years 
for our environmental equity strategies versus benchmark1,2

Leaders  
AUM £3,956m

Specialists 
AUM £2,517m

Water 
AUM £4,372m

120.4

123.1

123.5

35.6

14.8

33.8

13.9

34.5

9.6

1 year

3 years

5 years

1 year

3 years

5 years

1 year

3 years

5 years

Asia-Pacific  
AUM £607m

Sustainable Food 
AUM £762m

MSCI ACWI3 

107.3

73.1

91.3

30.4

19.3

18.3

3.3

27.6

5.3

1 year

3 years

5 years

1 year

3 years

5 years

1 year

3 years

5 years

Total AUM excludes two accounts that are based on the Leaders and Specialists strategies because they 
have significantly different objectives and weightings. The total AUM of these accounts is £2.0 billion. 

1    In line with market standards, the strategy returns are calculated including the dividends  

re-invested, net of withholding taxes, gross of management fee, and are represented in sterling

2  AUM as at 30 September 2020
3  MSCI indices are total net return (net dividend re-invested) 

29

STRATEGIC REPORTOur Investment Strategies and Performance continued

Equities

Sustainability Lens Strategies 

Kirsteen Morrison

David Winborne

Senior Portfolio Manager

Senior Portfolio Manager

The Impax “Sustainability Lens” translates our 
investment beliefs into a practical investment 
tool to help our teams identify the winners 
and avoid the losers in the transition to a  
more sustainable economy.

We believe that the transition to a 
more sustainable global economy 
provides a compelling rationale 
to construct high conviction, low 
turnover equity portfolios that 
are well positioned to achieve 
long-term capital growth. 

We launched the Global 
Opportunities equity strategy 
in January 2015. It is an all cap 
global strategy which can now 

report almost six years of strong 
out-performance versus global 
equities. In 2018, St James’s Place 
Wealth Management selected this 
strategy for their Sustainable and 
Responsible Equity Fund. Global 
Opportunities was our fastest 
growing strategy over the Period 
with keen interest from investors 
around the world and a promising 
mandate pipeline.

Percentage returns for one, three and five years for the 
Global Opportunities strategy versus benchmark1,2

Global Opportunities 
AUM £2,348m

133.3

55.6

12.9

MSCI ACWI3 

91.3

27.6

5.3

1 year

3 years 5 years

1 year

3 years 5 years

Andrew Braun

Barbara Browning

Nathan Moser

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

Fixed Income

Steve Falci

Peter Schwab

Anthony Trzcinka

Chief Investment Officer 
Impax NH

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

In addition, we have recently 
decided to seed a new Asian 
Opportunities Strategy which 
leverages the proven process 
behind our Global Opportunities 
Strategy, targeting a broader 
sustainability opportunity set in 
Asian equities.

Our US Large Cap and US Small 
Cap funds managed by Impax NH 
follow a similar regional strategy 
utilising our “Sustainability 
Lens” to help identify higher 
opportunity and lower risk 
companies that are well-
positioned to benefit from the 
transition to a more sustainable 
economy. The US Large Cap Fund 
had a strong year, significantly 
outperforming its benchmark1 
and ranking in the top decile 
of its peer group of funds. The 
US Small Cap Fund lagged its 
benchmark2 over the Period, but 
ranked in the second quartile in 
its peer group over a time that 
was particularly challenging for 
US active small cap managers. 

We also see investor interest in 
our fixed income funds managed 
by Impax NH. These funds 
utilise the “Sustainability Lens” 
to identify higher opportunity 
and lower risk sub-sectors in 
their respective investment 
universes. Our proprietary ESG 
research provides additional 
fundamental insight to enhance 
risk management further. A 
significant portion of the Core 
Bond Fund portfolio is allocated 
to impact bonds that promote 
positive environmental and 
social outcomes. These include 
green bonds, community 
development notes, international 
development banks and other 
investments that support climate 
change mitigation, sustainable 
infrastructure, affordable housing, 
education and gender equality. 
Over the Period, the Core Bond 
Fund modestly underperformed 
its benchmark3, whereas the 
High Yield Strategy has attracted 
significant investor interest and 
out-performed its benchmark4, 
ranking in the top 5% of its High 
Yield peer group. 

1 

 In line with market standards, the strategy returns are calculated including the dividends  
reinvested, net of withholding taxes, gross of management fee, and are represented in sterling

2  AUM as at 30 September 2020
3  MSCI indices are total net return (net dividend reinvested)

30

1  S&P 500 Index
2  Russell 2000 Index
3  Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index
4 

 ICE BofAML US Cash Pay High Yield Constrained (BB-B) Index

31

STRATEGIC REPORTOur Investment Strategies and Performance continued

Gender Lens Strategies 

Real Assets Strategies 

Research indicates that companies with more 
women in leadership roles have higher returns 
on capital, greater innovation, increased 
productivity and higher employee retention 
and satisfaction. 

The Real Assets team follows an industrially-
focused, value-add strategy, investing in 
renewable power generation, including solar, 
on-shore wind, hydropower and related 
assets. Currently all our assets are in Europe.

Impax NH created the Impax Global 
Women’s Leadership Index in 2014. 
This is the first index of its kind 
globally, comprising the highest 
rated companies in the world for 
advancing women on boards and in 
executive management. To construct 
the index our Gender Analytics 
team rates companies on multiple 
criteria of gender leadership. These 
400+ companies are amongst the 
best in the world for promoting and 
advancing gender diversity. We run 
two strategies, one systematic and one 
actively-managed, that utilise this index 
to identify a universe of companies 
with gender diverse leadership. The 
AUM of these strategies totalled $645 
million at Period end. The Global 
Women’s Leadership Strategy, our 
systematic gender lens strategy, 

trailed its benchmark1 for the Period, 
but maintained its strong long-term 
track record.

In 2019, in response to investor interest, 
we launched and seeded the Impax 
Global Women’s Select strategy. This 
actively-managed strategy invests 
in companies with gender-diverse 
boards and senior leadership teams, 
a commitment to workplace equality, 
and products & services that advance 
women. Our differentiated bottom-up 
approach draws on Impax’s proprietary 
gender research and sustainability lens, 
including insights, rankings and analysis. 
We seek to deliver excess return through 
a portfolio of companies demonstrating 
attractive fundamental prospects and 
gender equality profiles. This managed 
strategy significantly outperformed its 
benchmark over the Period.

Scott LaBreche

Portfolio Manager

Barbara Browning

Portfolio Manager

Sid Jha

Portfolio Manager

Systematic Beta Strategies
Our three systematic beta strategies utilise SmartCarbonTM, a proprietary risk-based 
investment approach for managing exposure to companies with fossil fuel reserves  
on their balance sheets.

Multi-Asset Strategies
Our Multi-Asset Strategies invest across all of Impax’s strategies. They offer investors a 
risk-focused asset allocation strategy through diversification across a variety of US equity, 
US fixed income, developed non US equity and global thematic investment strategies.

Steve Falci

Chief Investment Officer 
Impax NH

The Pax Sustainable Allocation Fund, with a rich heritage as the oldest US sustainable 
mutual fund, has evolved into a multi-asset Fund of Funds strategy investing across a 
wide range of Pax World Funds. It performed strongly over the last year, ranking in the 
top 10% of its peer group of similar multi-asset strategies.

1  MSCI World Index

32

Daniel von Preyss

Carsten Johansen

Head of Private Equity 
Infrastructure

Managing Director,
Head of Transaction Team 

Hector Boyce

Associate Director

Rhiann Gray

Director

Babaola Omiyale

Associate Director

NEF III development projects

Our real assets business is 
managed by Daniel von Preyss 
and Carsten Johansen. Daniel 
has worked at Impax for 11 
years and now heads this part 
of the business. Carsten joined 
the Company in 2019 and is 
responsible for originating and 
negotiating new investments 
and supporting Daniel in the 
management of this business.

Impax is one of the longest 
established private equity 
fund managers in the large 
and rapidly growing renewable 
energy infrastructure sector. The 
business proved highly resilient 
during the global pandemic, 
with minimal disruption to 
construction. Currently the 
focus is on key projects in our 
third fund, Impax New Energy 
Investors III (“NEF III”).  

1 

2 

3 

4 

Ownership of operating wind asset

Ownership of wind pipeline1,2

Ownership of operating solar assets

Ownership of solar pipeline1,3

Ownership of solar asset

Ownership of operating small-hyrdo asset

Ownership of small-hyrdo pipeline1,4

Development team

Operations/Construction  
+ Late-stage development/ 
Permitted/Further pipeline

30MW + 33MW

110MW

18MW  
+ 382MW

102MW  
+ 398MW

 “Pipeline” encompasses in construction, 
ready-to-build, late-stage development 
and permitted as well as the wider 
pipelines of our existing development 
platforms

0MW + 105MW

 Includes the construction  
of 10MW in Germany 

 Includes the construction  
of 54MW in France 

 Includes the construction  
of 27MW in Norway

33

STRATEGIC REPORTOur Investment Strategies and Performance continued

Beyond Investment Returns

Real Assets Strategies continued

Operational hydro power plant at Sagelva, Norway

These include construction work 
on a large (300+ MW) wind 
and solar portfolio in France 
where we have made substantial 
progress this year. In Germany 
our current focus is on onshore 
wind with two operational 
projects, one in construction 
and advancing our developing 
pipeline of close to 400MW. 
In Norway the construction of 
our joint venture hydro project 
almost 50MW is on schedule. 
In addition, construction 
of our 110MW PV project in 
the Netherlands (one of the 
country’s largest solar parks) is 
well advanced with over half the 
plant now producing electricity 
and full operation expected by 
the end of 2020. 

Impax New Energy Investors II 
(NEF II) has been successfully 
wound down and just has two 
small remaining assets where 
we are assessing our exit 
opportunities and expect to 
liquidate the fund during 2021.

We see increased support among 
governments and the broader 
public to accelerate the build out 
of renewable infrastructure assets, 
and this has risen higher up 
agendas as a result of the global 
pandemic, with a heightened 
commitment from many European 
governments to greening the 
economy. There is high demand 
from investors for access to 
these investments and we are 
currently considering our future 
plans to develop this area of the 
business further.

Bringing about lasting positive 
change is a long-term commitment 
requiring active engagement with 
our investee companies and we 
appreciate the importance of 
measuring change over time.

Since our foundation in 1998, 
Impax has been intentionally 
directing funds towards areas 
of the market that are providing 
solutions to sustainability 
challenges, demonstrating that 
these can be sound investments 
and thus lowering the cost of 
capital for companies delivering 
a positive impact through 
their environmental products 
and services. 

In 2020, for the seventh 
consecutive year, Impax was 
awarded A+ and A scores 
across all applicable categories 
in the UN-backed Principles 
for Responsible Investment 
(PRI) assessment report of 
Environmental, Social and 
Governance (ESG) integration 
efforts. The Group is rated 
above the peer median in 
every category and obtained 
the highest score, A+, for its 
overarching approach to ESG 
strategy and governance. In 
addition, Impax earned an A+ 
for ESG integration in Private 
Equity achieving 30 stars out 
of a maximum of 30. The PRI 
also rated Impax A+ across 
all applicable Listed Equity 
categories and the Group 
improved its score to A for all 
Fixed income categories.

In addition, in November 2020, 
Morningstar described Impax 
as a “Leader” for its ESG 
Commitment, one of only six 
asset managers globally to be 
awarded the highest grade.

We intentionally design our 
investment strategies around the 
opportunities arising from the 
transition to a more sustainable 
economy. We therefore believe 
that our portfolio companies 
have resilient business models. 
Companies that stand to benefit 
from this shift are, for instance, 
less carbon intense and are not 
reliant on, or impact negatively 
on, natural resources. They 
are also more inclusive and 
value and encourage diversity, 
including gender and ethnic 
or racial representation. In 
this context Impax engages to 
support and encourage investee 
companies to manage risks, 
rather than to radically change 
their core activities.

Engagement with companies 
is evolving with an increasing 
understanding and agreement 
that investors must move away 
from merely counting the numbers 
of engagements done with 
companies, and move to assessing 
in more detail and rigour what the 
actual ‘outcomes’ were. This is 
the key objective of the recently 
updated UK Stewardship Code. 
Impax has taken this approach for 
many years but we welcome this 
industry-wide shift in emphasis. In 
future investors will increasingly 
be setting out engagement 
objectives and rigorously 
assessing contribution to change 
from engagement activities versus 
positive developments already 
being undertaken.

34

35

STRATEGIC REPORTBeyond Investment Returns continued
Engagement

“ Engagement is an important activity in  

managing risk and building relationships  
with investee companies.” 

Lisa Beauvilain 
Executive Director, Head of Sustainability & ESG

This work can be divided into the four following types:

1 Promoting improved practices  

and transparency on ESG issues

3

Top-down strategic  
engagement priorities

2

Bottom-up company specific 
monitoring and dialogue

4

Proxy voting and  
corporate governance

In 2019 we prioritised four strategic areas of engagement:

Physical  
climate risk

Sustainability and  
ESG advisory 

Diversity and  
pay-equity

Corporate  
governance  
best practice

Our latest Engagement Report is available on our website. 
This gives further details on our wide range of activities  
and several interesting case studies.

ENGAGEMENT UPDATE (CALENDAR YEAR 20191)
Every year we engage with a significant percentage of our portfolio companies in the thematic  
and global unconstrained equity investment portfolios. Over the course of 2019, Impax conducted 
101 engagements, across 152 meetings, and achieved 40% positive outcomes. 

FOCUS

Environmental  
41%

Social 
22%

REGION

Asia  
32%

Governance 
37%

RoW  
2%

EU  
26%

US  
40%

41% in 2019

32% in 2019

Environmental focus grew 
significantly, from 28% in 2018, 
to 41%, mainly driven by our 
strategic focus on physical 
climate risk engagements.

Engagements with Asian 
companies grew, from 11% in 
2018 to 32%, mainly driven by  
our strategic Asian focus.

ACTIVITY

Proxy Voting  
related  
15%

EG advisory  
21%

Bottom-up  
ESG related  
48%

Top down  
strategic issues  
16%

No major changes in the types  
of engagements 2018 vs 2019.

EVOLVING PRIORITIES
The COVID-19 pandemic has 
brought many sustainability 
issues into sharper focus, 
especially in the ‘S’ – the social 
aspect – of ESG. In the year 
ahead we will direct additional 
time and resources to this 
area, taking a close look at 
developing methodologies 
for further integrating and 
quantifying aspects of human 
capital in our company analysis, 
as well as drilling down further 
into supply chains, and in 
particular what these mean 
in the knowledge economy. 

All these areas have been of 
concern to sustainable investors 
for a long-time; the pandemic 
has brought them into the 
spotlight for many more.

We are also focusing on 
the safety and support for 
“essential workers”. The 
staff who work for many 
of our portfolio companies 
are considered to be in 
this category, for example 
many of those working for 
utilities, waste companies 
and food retailers.

In addition, this year many 
companies were forced to 
change their working practices 
and business operations. We 
will be asking companies in 
our portfolios to hone the 
systems they use for remote 
work arrangements, including 
re-skilling their workforces 
where necessary, so they have 
the infrastructure and skills 
needed to accommodate 
a decentralised workplace. 
We are also extending our 
policy engagement work to 
encourage governments to 
take this opportunity to “Build 
Back Better”.

OUR RECORD1

101

In 2019 we engaged with 101 
companies, or close to half of 
all our owned companies…

1  Data for calendar year 2019, latest available

36
36

152

…across 152 
engagement meetings…

10%

...with more than 10% of 
companies having more than 
two engagement meetings 
throughout the year.

40%

We noted positive outcomes 
in more than 40% of the 
companies we engaged 
with directly related to the 
engagement objectives set.

1  Latest available data

14%

In 14% of cases we believe 
that this positive outcome 
was largely driven by Impax’s 
engagement efforts.

37

STRATEGIC REPORTBeyond Investment Returns continued
Impact@Impax 2020

“ At Impax every portfolio is intentionally designed to direct our 
clients’ capital towards a more sustainable economy. Our impact 
reporting delivers post-investment evidence of this intentionality.” 

Meg Brown 
Executive Director, Marketing & Business Development

Our impact reporting metrics 
include carbon emissions avoided, 
renewable energy generated, 
water treated, saved or provided, 
materials recovered and waste 
treated, and coal use displaced in 
Asian cities. 

This year, we expanded the 
strategies on which we report 
to include the Sustainable Food 
and Water strategies. We have 
included net carbon metrics for 
the Global Opportunities portfolio 
and mapped it against the UN 
Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDGs) for the first time. 

Measuring impact is an evolving 
discipline, with a proliferation of 
methodologies and techniques, 
and none of the consistency 
that regulation and international 
standardisation has brought to 
financial accounting. It is therefore 
important to set our impact 
reporting in context, especially 

with regard to the sustainability 
challenges that our portfolio 
companies are confronting.

We assess companies’ climate 
impacts against the objectives 
of the 2015 Paris Agreement. 
The Agreement aims to hold 
the rise in global average 
temperatures to no more than 
2oC above pre-industrial levels, 
with the ambition to keep this 
temperature rise below 1.5oC. To 
understand this in the context of 
the global economy, these goals 
can be translated into figures for 
maximum allowable emissions per 
unit of investment.

In addition to a company’s net 
carbon impact we also evaluate 
their water use, waste production 
and pollution.

There is growing emphasis among 
companies that are significant 
users of water, or which are 
located in water-stressed regions, 

on collaborating with other local 
users. We have been particularly 
pleased to see leading water 
technology companies within 
our portfolios proactively 
collaborating with other industrial 
water users, including their 
clients around water catchment 
area management. 

We consider waste avoidance 
in the context of the ‘Circular 
Economy’, the concept that 
designing products and 
materials for re-use will help 
avoid excessive natural resource 
depletion and waste generated. 

Local air pollution caused by 
particulate matter is a major 
public health concern in cities 
around the world, particularly 
in Asia. We track reductions 
enabled by portfolio companies 
in terms of equivalents of tonnes 
of coal displaced, for example 
through investment in natural  
gas distribution and supply.

NET CO2 IMPACT PER US$10 MILLION INVESTED FOR ONE YEAR
4,000

2,000

0

800–1,700

200

-200

-300

-2,000

1,700–3,800

-1,400

ALIGNMENT WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 
The UN Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs), agreed in 2015, 
comprise a series of 17 sets of 
targets to be met by 2030. A 
growing number of asset owners 
are seeking to assess how their 
investments contribute to the 
SDGs, as a means of measuring 
their impact. We have undertaken 
a mapping exercise to show 

how our strategies align with 
these goals when considering 
revenue exposure to related 
activities. Impax’s classification 
of the Environmental Markets 
investment universe and 
Sustainability Lens frameworks 
enables us to link portfolio 
company activities to the most 
relevant SDG.

Mapping Impax strategies to UN Sustainable Development Goals

)
%
(
e
r
u
s
o
p
x
e
e
u
n
e
v
e
R

100

80

60

40

20

0

Impax  
New Energy 
Infrastructure 
strategy

Impax  
Specialists 
strategy

Impax  
Asia-Pacific 
strategy

Impax  
Water 
strategy

Impax  
Leaders 
strategy

Impax  
Global 
Opportunities 
strategy

Impax  
Sustainable 
Food 
strategy

-4,000

-6,000

m

o

n

b al E c o

G lo

y

o

n

m
2 * C  E c o
( b y 2

y1,2  
0 )
5
0

I m

a t e r 
str a t e g y3
p a x  W

I m
F

o

-3,300

-3,600

p a x L e a d e rs 
p a x  A sia -
P a cifi c str a t e g y3
str a t e g y3
p a x S

I m

I m

-5,300

n e r g y 
str a t e g y3
w  E

e

p e cialists 
str a t e g y3
p a x  N

I m

a rt  

b al  

m

p a x  G lo

d str a t e g y3
o rt u nitie s str a t e g y3
p a x S

I m

I m

o

p

p

O

These figures refer to the past. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get  
back less than you have invested. 
1 

 Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2016. Aggregate effect of the intended nationally determined contributions:  
an update – synthesis report by the secretariat, McKinseey Global Institute, The Global Carbon Project, Haver, BIS, Deutsche Bank estimates, and IMF,  
National Central Banks and Statistical Offices, Thomson Reuters, Black bars reflect the range of estimates of value invested

2  The upper limit for global temperature rise targeted by the Paris climate agreement
3 

Impax Asset Management, 2019. Impax’s impact methodology is based on equity value

Source: Data as at 31 December 2019. Figures are based on Impax internal data. Adopted by FTSE as a basis for  
Environmental Technologies and Environmental Markets index series since 2007. For our Sustainable Food strategy,  
we have also mapped to SDG 2, with a focus on sustainable food production and agriculture, not an 'environmental SDG'.

Our Impact@Impax 2020 report is available on our website. This gives further details on our impact measurement  
and reporting.

38

39

STRATEGIC REPORT 
 
 
Our People

“ Fostering the right values and business 
behaviours at Impax is a cornerstone 
of the Company’s success.” 

Keith Falconer 
Chairman

Impax aims to work with all our stakeholders to make 
a contribution to the development of a sustainable 
society and have a positive impact on the environment, 
particularly by supporting or undertaking relevant 
research and engaging or collaborating with others. 

In addition, we seek to provide a stimulating, collaborative 
and supportive workplace for our colleagues.

The people who work for Impax 
make it what it is. We have a 
strong business culture that 
exemplifies our key values and 
we recognise the value of all 
our colleagues – their skills, 
experience and dedication. 
Maintaining a productive and 
engaged staff during a global 
pandemic has been challenging 
but has also helped highlight 
some areas where we can 
improve and strengthen our 
commitment to all our people.

Achieving our vision and business 
goals requires a high-performing 
environment where we can 
help everyone to deliver their 
personal best, adapt and learn 
continuously, and stay ahead 
in an increasingly competitive 
arena. To this end, we recently 
announced a major new project 
around our people to help us 
grow our business and build our 
organisation in this complex and 
fast changing world. 

Maintaining a productive and engaged staff during a 
global pandemic has been challenging but has also 
helped highlight some areas where we can improve  
and strengthen our commitment to our staff.

We have clearly articulated our five core  
Values that we stand by to guide our actions  
and decision-making. 

Be the 
solution

A passion for 
excellence

All voices  
valued

Doing better 
together

Building  
a common 
future

Our Values have been 
communicated across Impax. 
Underpinned by these Values, 
we have defined key behavioural 
competencies which will enhance 
our core HR processes.

These competencies will be 
embedded in our hiring and 
interview process throughout 
next year, and form part of our 
performance management, 
promotion and compensation 
decisions by end of 2021. 

“ Findings from recent employee surveys and 
focus groups have prompted us to step up  
our internal communications.” 

Ian Simm 
Chief Executive 

40

41

STRATEGIC REPORTOur People continued

To be successful in today’s world we require people 
managers to be flexible, dynamic and constantly 
seeking opportunities to build their skills.

We are increasing our investment 
in leadership training and 
education for all our people 
managers to drive a common, 
consistent standard across our 
business. 

We continue to assess the 
perception of leadership in our 
surveys and opinion polls.

“ We focus on building the optimal skills to direct, 

empower, coach, support and delegate in an 
inclusive way.”

Mary Alexander 
Global Head of HR 

We want to unlock the potential of our talented 
colleagues and to create more opportunities for 
continuous development.

We provide educational talks 
and workshops to deliver 
valuable support in enabling 
personal development and 
career plans. We are also 
seeking input from a senior 

group of leaders in shaping 
our future talent plans and 
initiatives to ensure we gain 
traction across all areas of  
the business. 

“ We’re very proud of our talent: we aim to empower 
and provide a clear pathway for every individual’s 
career development.” 

 Bruce Jenkyn-Jones 
Executive Director, Co-Head of Listed Equities 

We are increasing our 
investment in leadership 
training and education.

We strive to be a diverse, inclusive business where we 
leverage different perspectives in decision-making 
and innovation, and create a sense of belonging.

This October we set up a 
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 
(“ED&I”) group, chaired by Ian 
Simm, Chief Executive, and Joe 
Keefe President, of Impax North 
America with Lindsey Brace 
Martinez as the Non-Executive 
Director sponsor of this group. 
The group has a mandate 
to recommend how we can 
strengthen our capabilities and 
results in this area. 

For example, we will now 
be looking at all our people 
practices through an ED&I lens. 
We seek to ensure our policies 
are inclusive, our candidate 
lists are diverse and avoid 
unconscious bias.

Further details on this key 
initiative follow on pages 46 
and 47.

“ We’re increasing access to opportunities for  

young people via intern work experience initiatives 
– for example, by participating in the 100 Black 
Interns programme.”

Hubert Aarts 
Executive Director, Co-Head of Listed Equities

As we grow and operate as an integrated 
international business, our HR policies and 
processes must be global, comprehensive  
and promote sound governance.

We continue to update and improve our HR policies and procedures 
with easy staff access via a new internal platform. 

“ Our new HR initiatives are designed to deliver 
enhanced learning on health and wellbeing in  
the workplace.”

Joe Keefe 
President, Impax North America

42
42

43

STRATEGIC REPORTOur People continued

Our highly-experienced
Executive Committee

IAN SIMM1

MARY ALEXANDER3

MEG BROWN5

DARREN JOHNSON7

DAVID RICHARDSON9

DANIEL VON PREYSS11

Founder and Chief Executive 
Ian founded Impax in 1998. Prior 
to Impax, he was an engagement 
manager at McKinsey & Company 
advising clients on environmental 
strategy. Outside Impax, Ian is a 
member of the UK Government’s 
Energy Innovation Board, which 
provides strategic oversight 
of public sector funding of 
energy innovation programmes. 
He is a board member of the 
Institutional Investors Group on 
Climate Change, the Transitions 
Commission, and a member 
of the CBI’s Energy & Climate 
Change Board.

Global Head of HR 
Mary is the Global Head of 
Human Resources. Prior to joining 
Impax in 2020, Mary worked in 
several senior roles across digital 
businesses and mature industries. 
Her early HR career spanned 
FMCG/manufacturing multi-
nationals including BAT, Anglo 
American and PayPal, latterly as 
VP Human Resources for EMEA, 
Asia Pacific and the Americas. 
Mary was EVP for HR for Colt 
Technology, a Fidelity-owned 
company, before moving into 
private equity in a senior role at 
Montagu PE.

HUBERT AARTS2

LISA BEAUVILAIN4

Co-Head of Listed Equities,  
Executive Director 
Hubert is co-portfolio manager 
for Impax’s Leaders and Water 
strategies, as well as leading 
Impax’s macroeconomic research 
process. Hubert joined Impax 
in 2007 from Cambrian Capital 
Partners LLP, where he was a 
partner and portfolio manager 
of the Curalium fund and 
Incremental Leveraged hedge 
funds. Having started his career in 
1990, he has extensive experience 
investing in Pan-European 
equities. As a portfolio manager 
at MeesPierson and Merrill Lynch 
Investment Managers/BlackRock, 
where he chaired the European 
Sector Strategy Group. 

Head of Sustainability & ESG, 
Executive Director 
Lisa is responsible for the 
development and oversight 
of Impax’s Sustainability and 
Environmental, Social and 
Governance (ESG) analysis, 
including overseeing stewardship 
work in the Listed Equity team. 
She is the Chair of Impax’s 
ESG, Sustainability Lens and 
Environmental Committees 
and co-heads Impax’s impact 
investment work. Lisa started 
in the financial industry in 1999. 
Previously, she was an executive 
director in the Investment 
Management Division of  
Goldman Sachs.

Executive Director, Marketing  
& Business Development 
Meg leads marketing across 
Impax and the London-based 
sales team. Meg also co-heads 
our impact investing work. 
She has extensive experience 
in sustainable investing and 
research, having begun her career 
in 2002. As head of Citi’s Climate 
and Sustainable Investment 
Research team she worked with 
clients across Europe on impact 
and responsible investment. Meg 
joined Impax in 2014 following 
a period as a consultant helping 
private sector and not-for-
profit clients design responsible 
investment strategies.

BRUCE JENKYN-JONES6

Co-Head of Listed Equities,  
Executive Director 
Bruce has an active role in 
the day to day management 
of all Impax Listed Equity 
portfolios and is on the portfolio 
construction team for all 
strategies. Bruce joined Impax 
in 1999 where he worked initially 
on venture capital investments 
before developing the Listed 
Equity business. Before joining 
Impax, he worked as a utilities 
analyst at Bankers Trust and as 
an environmental consultant 
for Environmental Resources 
Management (ERM).

Chief Operating Officer – Listed 
Equities, Executive Director 
Darren is responsible for 
global operations, including 
portfolio services, technology, 
project management and client 
onboarding. He also serves as 
a Non-Executive Director of 
Impax Asset Management’s 
Irish subsidiary. Prior to Impax, 
Darren was Head of Operations 
at Talisman Global Asset 
Management. He has also worked 
for RAB Capital, AXA IM, Mercers, 
and Legal & General in various 
senior investment, operational, 
and accounting positions.

JOSEPH KEEFE8

President 
Joe is President of Impax North 
America. Prior to joining the firm 
in May 2005, Joe was President 
of NewCircle Communications, 
he has served as Senior Advisor 
for Strategic Social Policy at 
Calvert Group from 2003–2005 
and as Executive Vice President 
and General Counsel of Citizens 
Advisers from 1997–2000. He is a 
former member of the Board of 
Directors (2000–2006) of US SIF. 
Before entering the investment 
management industry, Joe worked 
in private law practice for 16 years.

Executive Director, Client Service  
& Business Development 
David leads Client Service and 
Consultant Relations across 
Impax, as well as managing the 
Institutional Sales team in North 
America. David joined Impax 
in August 2012 from Global 
Energy Investors where he was a 
Managing Partner. He previously 
co-founded and served for 22 
years as Managing Director 
of Dwight Asset Management 
Company. David is a member of 
the Global Leadership Council 
and the Sustainable Investment 
Advisory Council of the World 
Resources Institute. 

Head of Private Equity 
Infrastructure, Executive Director 
Daniel joined Impax in 2009 
and has primary responsibility 
for our renewable infrastructure 
private equity investments. He is 
both involved in investments and 
is Head of Asset Management. 
Daniel has significant business 
and senior transactional 
experience within the energy 
and utility sectors. Before joining 
Impax he was responsible for 
Babcock & Brown’s Northern 
European infrastructure activities 
where he focused on regulated 
utilities, gas storage and broader 
power generation.

CHARLIE RIDGE10

ZACK WILSON12

Chief Financial Officer 
Charlie began his career in 1987. 
Before joining Impax he was a 
Managing Director within the 
Finance Division of Deutsche 
Bank, most recently serving as UK 
Asset and Wealth Management 
CFO, and previously holding 
various financial and market 
risk related roles for the Global 
Markets Division. Before working 
at Deutsche, Charlie worked at 
SG Warburg and qualified as a 
chartered accountant at Ernst 
& Young. 

Group General Counsel,  
Executive Director 
Zack serves as Group General 
Counsel and is also Company 
Secretary. Prior to joining Impax 
in 2011, Zack was Director 
& General Counsel for the 
investment management and 
corporate finance advisory 
group Development Capital 
Management. Previously he was 
Corporate Counsel for Telewest 
Global Inc (renamed Virgin Media 
Inc), where he played a leading 
role in managing the successful 
execution of high-profile 
transactions including the Group’s 
$10bn financial restructuring.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

44
44

45

STRATEGIC REPORTOur People continued
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a 
key pillar in our People strategy and 
in enabling our commercial success. 

We have continued to raise our 
ambitions for our ED&I agenda by 
establishing a global team tasked 
with increasing accountability 
and governance. 

“ We are partnering with organisations focused 

on inclusion and widening access to our 
industry for young people from all social 
backgrounds. This includes working with 
the Investment Association’s “Investment 
20/20” programme, supporting Sponsors for 
Educational Opportunities, and participating in 
an executive mentoring programme for diverse 
senior women across all industries.”

Darren Johnson 
COO of Listed Equities and co-executor of the ED&I group

“ We believe that diverse teams make better 

decisions and are more innovative. An inclusive 
environment enables people to deliver their  
best, go the extra mile and remain committed  
to the firm.”

Ian Simm 
Chief Executive

46
46

47

This year, as an important development of our work to build on our Culture and Values programme, we set up our ED&I group. This group is taking practical steps across a number of areas, which include:•Employee opinion polls andlistening groups on equality,diversity and inclusion witha full review of the results byour Executive Committee.•Training of all employees inhow to identify and avoidunconscious bias, and thelaunch of a Company-wideinitiative in building skills ingiving and receiving feedback.•Investment in inclusiveleadership training as arequirement for all people managers in the Company.•Introduction of Impax’sbehavioural competencyframework to strengthen therobustness of our decision-making in hiring, promotionand rewards.•A review of recruitmentprocesses and engagementwith third parties to ensurediverse short-lists andinterview panels.The global ED&I Group has listened to employee feedback, examined market best practice and our assessed priorities.  In the coming year we will address:•Leadership: settingqualitative goals andproviding tools for ourpeople managers to promoteaccountability for ED&Iprogress in the firm.•Talent & Attraction:continuing to extend thepotential talent pool in ourhiring efforts, includingattracting more diversecandidates to our internshipprogrammes, and engagingwith recruiters with a trackrecord in diversity practices.•Data & Benchmarking:working with a skilledexternal partner togather data directlyand confidentially fromemployees across differentfacets of diversity andconduct meaningfulanalyses.•Awareness: establishingregular conversationgroups – ‘safe spaces’ forour colleagues to discussand learn about race andethnicity.•Social Impact: identifyingand supporting specific organisations advancing equality and creating opportunities for diverse groups.STRATEGIC REPORTOur People continued
Gender Perspective

Gender is a key facet of our overall equality, diversity 
and inclusion agenda. We are focused on helping all 
colleagues reach their full potential and on addressing 
inclusion holistically, on the basis that none of us is 
defined by one aspect of our identity alone.

We are committed to making progress in  
these areas and recognise that meaningful 
change requires dedication, focus and time. 

At the end of the Period, we 
employed 172 permanent staff 
across our global business, with a 
total of 77 women accounting for 
45% of our workforce. A quarter 
of our Executive Committee is 
female. Two of five of our Non-
Executive Directors are female. 
Across the job levels in the firm, 
women are well represented in 
junior and mid-level staff groups, 
59% and 47% respectively. In 
the most senior level group, the 
representation of women is 32%.

Our gender pay gap analysis, 
which compares average base 
pay of men and women across 
all positions in three groups – 
junior staff, mid-level staff and 
senior staff – shows that the 
pay gap increases according to 
seniority. At the junior level, the 
gap is 2.5%, rising to 9.9% at the 
mid-level staff, and to 18% at the 
most senior level. The firm’s low 
staff turnover and infrequent 
hiring into senior roles are major 
reasons why these gaps exist.

We remain focused on increasing 
the number of women in our 
business, especially at senior 
levels, and to the continued 
examination of in-level 
pay differences, including 
using robust external pay 
benchmarking data. Our on-
going review of our working 
patterns will enable more flexible 
working and part-time working 
and allow us to expand our talent 
pool. We are paying particular 
attention to opportunities to raise 
Impax’s diversity when assessing 
new potential recruits. Our 
senior global Equality, Diversity 
& Inclusion Group has prioritised 
gender as a key area of attention. 
See further details of our ED&I 
efforts on page 46.

We are committed to making 
progress in these areas and 
recognise that meaningful  
change requires dedication,  
focus and time. 

We remain focused on increasing 
the number of women in our 
business, especially at senior levels.

A quarter of our Executive 
Committee and two of 
five of our Non-Executive 
Directors are female.

2020

55%

2019

57%

2018

55%

Male

Female

45%

43%

45%

Senior staff

32.3%

67.7%

Mid-level staff

46.9%

53.1%

Junior staff

56.9%

43.1%

Male

Female

Senior staff

18.2%

Mid-level staff

2.5%

Junior staff

9.9%

4848

49

1 

 Data as at 5 April 2020 for Group staff. 2020 global data represents a baseline for the future. 
2019 data are not comparable as do not include the integration of Impax NH data

Gender pay gap – average base salary1Gender diversityGender by job level1STRATEGIC REPORTBuilding a Common Future 
Our role in the community 

We encourage our colleagues 
to play an active role in the 
community for the benefit of 
both our business and society.

Impax is committed to its role to 
contribute to the local community 
and we encourage our colleagues 
to volunteer and play an active 
role for the benefit of both our 
business and society. 

This year, in response to the 
heightened demand for charitable 
donations and services as a result 
of the COVID-19 pandemic, we 
considerably raised our financial 
support for charities selected by 
our staff. We also increased the 
paid volunteering time allowance 
for everyone. Many colleagues 
have shown an extraordinary 
commitment to supporting their 
local communities; working to 
reach those in need and the most 
vulnerable at this difficult time. 
For example, several individuals 
have been supporting key 
workers through meal donation 
and providing transport to NHS 
workers in the UK. 

Volunteering at Great Bay Kids’ Company in Newmarket (Impax NH)

Volunteering at The Causeway Hospital (Impax LN)

Many colleagues have made a huge 
commitment this year to supporting their 
local communities in these difficult times. 

In the UK, Impax continues to 
promote tax efficient payroll 
giving for staff through the 
Charities Aid Foundation Give as 
You Earn (GAYE) scheme. This 
enables staff to donate regularly 
by monthly payroll to charities 
of their choice. Impax pledges 
to match all staff charitable 
donations up to £500 (US$750 
in the US) a year. Over the Period 
the number of staff contributing 
via GAYE has grown by 6% to 
26%. Impax was recently awarded 
the highest platinum status 
by GAYE as an outstanding 
participant in the scheme.

Impax NH staff 
volunteered over 
170 hours with 18 
organisations.

In the US, Impax NH employees 
are granted up to four days paid 
leave to undertake volunteer 
work for an established non-
profit, or community service 
organisation of their choice. As 
part of this programme, Impax 
NH regularly participates in 
the United Way’s and Gather 
Food Pantry’s group volunteer 
opportunities in the seacoast 
community of New Hampshire. 

Furthermore, Impax NH has 
partnered with the New 
Hampshire Charitable Foundation 
to establish the Impax Asset 
Management LLC Charitable 
Fund to administer corporate 
donations and sponsorships to 
47 charities and organisations. In 
addition, at the start of lockdown 
in March, Impax LN staff voted for 
charities they wished to support 
through the pandemic and 
consequently made donations 
to THET, UK Red Cross and The 
Connection. In October 2020 
staff from all our offices have 
been fundraising for Sponsors for 
Educational Opportunities (SEO), 
through participation in the 
Mindful Movement Challenge. 

50

51

STRATEGIC REPORTBuilding a Common Future continued
Supporting organisations that  
are closely aligned with our values 

Impax continues to increase its 
support for a small number of charities 
which are dedicated to building a 
more sustainable economy. 

We believe that we have strong synergies with these charities and our 
financial support, which we have increased year-on-year, not only helps the 
work of these outstanding organisations but also helps to build on both our 
thought leadership work and employee development and engagement.

Ashden supports proven climate innovation in the UK and developing 
countries. Organisations providing these on-the-ground solutions will 
be instrumental in driving the changes our planet needs.

Ashden is a London-based 
charity working in the field 
of sustainable energy and 
development. Ashden believes 
that organisations that are on 
the frontline of the climate crisis 
are creating something better: a 
planet powered by low-carbon 
start-ups, bold green policies, 
liveable cities, better work and 
clean energy for all. The charity 
has supported these innovators 
for two decades, helping them 
attract investment and funding, 
build their networks, and create 
radical change.

Impax is pleased to 
continue its support for 
the Ashden Awards which 
now spans nine years.

Every year an Impax team 
assists Ashden with the 
evaluation process for the 
award and choosing an outright 
winner from a large number 

of high-quality submissions is 
always a difficult decision at 
the end of a rigorous review. 
Ian Simm also sits on the 
Ashden judging panel for the 
Liveable Cities award and 
two international awards. 
We maintain a long-term 
relationship with winners of 
the award and our staff are 
involved in on-going mentoring 
programmes. This year the 
Impax Ashden Award for 
Energy Innovation was awarded 
to Guru Systems. 

Guru Systems makes energy 
systems more transparent, 
lower cost and lower carbon. 
Delivering low-carbon heat is 
one of the biggest challenges 
in the transition to a net-zero 
emissions future. Most heat 
networks today run on natural 
gas, in the future this fuel 
supply can be switched to 
sustainable technologies such 

as heat pumps. Guru Systems’ 
hardware and data analytics 
help to accelerate this transition 
by using AI-driven analytics 
to improve efficiency. In their 
application the company 
highlighted how its heat 
network software particularly 
helps social housing tenants.

Up to 50% reduction in 
household energy bills

500,000 district heating 
customers in the UK, on 
17,000 heat networks

30,000 Guru Hubs sold, 
saving 18,000 tonnes CO2 
emissions per year

Since 2016, Impax has 
supported ClientEarth, 
a not for profit 
environmental law 
organisation which uses 
the power of the law to 
protect people and the 
planet. 

ClientEarth is well known 
for its stand against the UK 
government on urban air 
pollution and its work with 
the European Commission 
to reduce single use plastics 
through the implementation 
of plastic taxes. This year its 
legal action helped put an end 
to Poland’s last planned coal 
plant and its interventions are 
helping to pave the way for 
new clean alternatives to enter 
the EU market. It is expanding 
its work, with the launch of a 
new agriculture project and a 
particular focus on stopping 
the planned expansion of coal 
plants in Asia. 

Impax is also a member of 
a number of organisations 
focused on the investment 
management industry where we 
work collaboratively with peers 
to support the expansion of 
sustainable finance. The full list of 
our memberships can be seen on 
page 61 of this document.

52

53

STRATEGIC REPORTBuilding a Common Future continued
Our environmental impact: 
committed to Net Zero 

Impax’s emissions arising from 
operations and investment  
are in aggregate net carbon  
positive today.

Since 2015, we have 
measured and reported 
the environmental 
benefits linked to our 
investments in terms of 
the net carbon impact, 
together with other key 
environmental metrics.

As an investment manager 
specialising in the transition to a 
sustainable economy, the greatest 
contribution Impax can make to 
achieving the goals of the Paris 
Climate Agreement is through 
our core activities, namely our 
investment decisions, engagement 
with the companies in which we 
invest, our collaboration with 
clients and stakeholders and 
policy advocacy. 

Since 2015, we have measured 
and reported the environmental 
benefits linked to our investments 
in terms of the net carbon 
impact, together with other key 
environmental metrics including 
renewable energy generated, 
water treated, saved or provided; 
materials recovered and waste 
treated. (Further details are on 
pages 55 and 56). Over the last 
five years we have expanded the 
coverage of this analysis, and our 
recent 2020 Impact @ Impax 
report included independently 
assured figures for the net carbon 
impact of seven of our investment 
strategies, which in aggregate 
represent approximately 80% of 
our assets under management. We 
intend to expand this approach 
to cover additional strategies 
over time. 

Furthermore, we are also 
committed to monitoring and 
reducing our own operational 
emissions across Scope 1 
(direct emissions), Scope 2 
(emissions relating to electricity 
consumption) and Scope 3 
(largely business travel). We 
have taken a number of steps 
to reduce these emissions over 
recent years as detailed below. 

Overall, when we consider 
our equity portfolios, the 
carbon savings from the direct 
investments we make in our 
infrastructure funds (which 
fund the construction of new 
renewable power generation 
assets), our emissions arising 
from operations and investment 
are in aggregate net carbon 
positive today (i.e. carbon 
avoidance exceeds emissions). 
We pledge to maintain that 
position in the future. 

Furthermore, we are committed 
to the continuous improvement 
of our practices. We will review 
these to ensure that our approach 
remains best in class given the 
numerous “Net Zero” and Paris 
alignment frameworks, standards 
and methodologies emerging 
ahead of COP26, due to be held 
in Glasgow in November 2021. 

During the pandemic we have all learned to work more 
effectively via virtual channels. We hope that in future  
we will be able to report less business travel and lower 
Scope 3 emissions.

OUR GHG EMISSIONS, ENERGY 
CONSUMPTION AND ENERGY 
EFFICIENCY MEASURES
This year we have embraced 
the requirement to report our 
operational emissions in line with 
the new Streamlined Energy and 
Carbon Reporting (SECR). 

Overall, our total market-based 
GHG emissions have decreased 
significantly compared to the 
previous year. The biggest 
contributor to our carbon 
footprint is business travel. The 
lockdown measures and travel 
restrictions, and consequent shift 
to virtual working, have resulted 
in our business travel emissions 
(Scope 3 emissions) dropping by 
75% year-on-year. However, over 
the longer term, our business 
travel is unlikely to remain at such 
a low levels but, with enhanced 
technology, we have all learned to 
work more effectively via virtual 
channels and we are confident 
that we will be able to report 
significantly less travel and lower 
Scope 3 emissions than prior to 
the global pandemic.

Over the Period, our total global 
electricity consumption was 301 
MWh. With London accounting 
for 60% of the total, the New 
Hampshire office 38% and Hong 
Kong 2%.

All our offices are in shared 
buildings where energy efficiency 
measures are centrally managed 
and largely out of our control. 
Our London headquarters are a 
certified green building (rated 
“excellent” by BREEAM and 
managed by an ISO 14001 aligned 
BMS), and we have been adjusting 
the systems where we can to 
minimise inefficiencies and seek 
energy saving opportunities. In our 
New Hampshire office we took the 
decision to stop using fossil fuels 
to heat the building and instead 
installed an electricity powered 
heat pump, which is the reason for 
a 10% increase in overall electricity 
consumption. On an intensity 
basis, AUM growth outweighs 
this increase in electricity 
consumption-related emissions. 
Electricity consumption in our 
other offices was significantly 
lower compared to previous years, 
which was to a large extent a result 
of the offices being closed for an 
extended period.

Our Carbon Emissions 

2020 
(t CO2e)

2019 
(t CO2e) 

Change 
(%)

Change 
t CO2e /
FTE (%)

Change 
t CO2e /
AUM (%)

Operational emissions: Scope 1&2, electricity 
consumed, market-based approach

31.931

24.929

+28%

+14%

-4%

Value chain emissions: Scope 3,  
business travel

Impax AM: Total emissions 
(market-based)

82.854

329.102 

-75%

-78%

-81%

114.785

354.030

-68%

-71%

-76%

54

55

STRATEGIC REPORTBuilding a Common Future continued

Risk Management and Control

Impax currently purchases 98% of its 
electricity from renewable sources.

Performing against our 2019 
stated targets1: 
Scope 2 target: 
To source 100% renewable  
energy across all Impax offices.

In October 2020 the New 
Hampshire office joined London in 
purchasing all its electricity from 
renewable sources. We currently 
source 98% of our total electricity 
requirements from renewables. 

Scope 3 targets:
We are in the process of 
introducing measures to reduce 
travel-related emissions, for 
example by seeking to substitute 
short haul air travel by rail or 
coach where possible, and we 
favour video conference meetings 
whenever practicable.

We have reviewed our caterers 
and food suppliers with a view to 
procure more sustainable catering. 
In future, food served at Impax 
offices will be predominantly 
vegetarian.

Physical Climate Risk
We have assessed the physical 
climate risks to all our offices 
and concluded that these risks 
are relatively low. Notable future 
climate hazard exposures are 
heat and water stress to the 
Metro NYC office (although our 
business is not water-dependent) 
and elevated river or coastal 
flood risk at the Portland, 
Oregon and Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire and HK offices. Storm 
risk is also significant at the 
Hong Kong office, where we are 
increasing our understanding 
of the adaptation in place to 
mitigate related risks. Overall, our 
assessment indicated that the 
main risks were to connecting 
infrastructure and transport-
related. Therefore our business 
continuity plans are critical. These 
are tested regularly, most recently 
under COVID-19 restrictions, and 
proved to be very resilient. 

1 

 Scope 1 emissions – London (HQ), Portsmouth, (NH, USA) and Hong Kong offices: the heating requirements 
of these offices, which are all in shared buildings, are largely out of our control and the cost/accounting 
wrapped into the overall service charge portion of our rental agreements. We continue to work with building 
managements to find a method of estimating respective consumption attributable to our offices

 Scope 1 & 2 emissions – Greenwich, CT US & Portland, OR US offices: These are two very small offices 
(combined they account for <10 of Impax employees) with respective emissions from operational use likely  
to be immaterial in magnitude compared to the three main offices covered in this disclosure 

Details of the methodology used:

Reporting according to the GHG Protocol: Scope 2 emissions figure stated above follows the market-based 
accounting methodology. Following a location-based approach, and disregarding the positive impact of 
renewable electricity procurement, total is 156 tonnes CO2e.
Sources of emission factors applied to calculate emissions from electricity consumption: IEA (2019) UK 
electricity grid mix emission factor; IEA (2019) Hong Kong China electricity grid mix emission factor; eGRID 
(2018) NEWE NPCC New England subregion electricity mix emission rate; Green-e (2020) NEWE NPCC New 
England subregion residual electricity mix emission rate.

Sources of emission factors applied in Scope 3 (air travel) emissions calculations: Susterra air travel emissions 
assessment methodology, aligned with EAA, DEFRA and a development of ICAO methodology (calculations 
based on route, carrier, travel type and travel class).

The Board strives to achieve a 
balance between appropriate 
levels of risk and return.

HOW WE MANAGE RISK

FIRST LINE:  
Business units

SECOND LINE:  
Risk and compliance

THIRD LINE:  
Audit

•

Involved in day-to-day risk
management

• Oversee and challenge

first line risk management

• Review first and
second lines

• Follow a risk process

• Apply internal controls
and risk responses

• Provide guidance
and direction

• Maintain enterprise risk

• Provide an independent

perspective and challenge
the process

management framework

• Objective and offer

assurance

Impax has adopted a risk 
management framework which 
takes into account the key 
principles of risk identification, 
risk measurement, risk mitigation, 
risk monitoring and reporting. 
The Board strives to achieve a 
balance between appropriate 
levels of risk and return and to 
ensure that the risks taken by the 
firm are appropriately managed.

Although the Board sets the 
overall business risk strategy and 
appetite, all staff are responsible 
for identifying, monitoring and 
reviewing risks across their team 
and business functions.

The Chief Risk Officer is 
responsible for maintaining an 
enterprise risk management 
framework, including an on-
going programme to monitor 
internal controls and processes 
designed to mitigate the risks 
identified. This includes reporting 
to the Group’s Audit and Risk 
Committee on a quarterly basis.

The principal risks that the 
Group faces are described in this 
section. Further information on 
financial risk is given in note 29  
to the financial statements.

All staff are responsible for identifying, 
monitoring and reviewing risks across 
their team and the Group.

5656

57

STRATEGIC REPORTPrincipal Risks and Uncertainties

Our Chief Risk Officer is responsible 
for maintaining an enterprise risk 
management framework.

Risk

Description

How we mitigate the risk

Risk

Description

How we mitigate the risk

Reputational 
risk

Reputational risk can 
arise from any of the key 
risks described below and 
relates to the Impax brand 
and relationships with our 
stakeholders.

Market risk

Currency 
risk

The Group’s Listed Equity 
business charges management 
fees based on AUM and 
accordingly its revenue is 
exposed to market risk.

The Group seeds investments 
in its own Listed Equity funds 
in order to build a track record 
to market those funds more 
effectively. It is therefore 
directly exposed to the market 
performance of the funds.

The Group also invests in its 
own Private Equity funds and 
is therefore exposed to the 
performance of these funds.

A significant percentage of 
Impax LN’s business income is 
based on assets denominated 
in foreign currencies whilst 
the majority of costs are 
in sterling.

For the Impax NH business the 
majority of income is based 
on assets denominated in US 
dollars and all costs are in 
US dollars.

Goodwill and intangible 
assets arising on the Impax 
NH acquisition are held in 
US dollars.

Integrity and appropriate conduct 
are an integral part of the Impax 
culture and values, and all our 
business dealings. The integrity 
and reputation of staff is regularly 
assessed, and the controls 
below help to mitigate the risk 
of incidents that may have a 
reputational impact.

The Group operates a number 
of different strategies which 
themselves are diversified by 
geography and industry. The 
Group’s investment teams have 
to follow defined investment 
processes. All investments 
are overseen by the Group’s 
Investment Committees. The 
Group attempts to mitigate this 
risk through the use of hedging 
instruments where appropriate 
and intends to divest from these 
investments when commercial 
and market conditions allow.

For the year ended 30 September 
2020, and on an on-going basis, 
the Group’s strategy for the 
Impax LN business has been to 
put in place hedges, in the form 
of forward rate contracts, where 
there is sufficient predictability 
over the income to allow for an 
effective and cost-efficient hedge. 
Otherwise foreign currency 
income is converted to sterling 
as soon as practically possible 
after receipt.

Liquidity 
risk

Credit 
risk

Regulatory 
risk

Liquidity risk in relation to client 
portfolios is the risk that funds 
cannot be generated to meet 
redemptions or other obligations 
as they arise. Liquidity issues 
can arise as a result of market 
conditions or through holdings of 
illiquid investments.

Liquidity risk also applies to the 
Group’s own financial obligations, 
in the event that cash resources are 
insufficient to meet liabilities as they 
fall due.

We actively monitor the liquidity of individual stocks 
and portfolios. Adjustments to fund holdings are made 
where necessary to ensure that we are able to meet 
fund redemptions.

The Group’s approach to managing its own liquidity risk 
is to ensure that it has sufficient cash on hand to meet 
liabilities when due under both normal and stressed 
conditions, and to satisfy regulatory requirements. The 
Group produces cash flow forecasts covering a 12 month 
period. The Group’s management and Board review these 
forecasts. As shown in note 21 to the financial statements 
the Group has adequate cash reserves.

The Group is exposed to the risk 
of counterparty default. Our 
counterparties include banks holding 
the Group’s cash reserves.

The Group seeks to manage this risk by only depositing 
cash with institutions with high credit ratings and by 
allocating its cash holdings to at least four institutions at 
any time.

The Group’s operations are subject 
to financial services legislation and 
regulations, including minimum 
capital requirements and compliance 
requirements, in each of the 
jurisdictions in which it operates.

The Group seeks to manage these risks by ensuring close 
monitoring of compliance with the regulations, and by 
tracking regulatory developments and reacting promptly 
when changes are required. The Group has a permanent 
and independent compliance function. In view of the 
future regulatory uncertainty following Brexit, Impax has 
established a legal entity in Ireland to mitigate any potential 
disruption to our business model and clients.

People 
risk

The success of the Group depends 
on the support and experience of 
its key employees, and in particular 
of its senior managers. The loss of 
key employees could have a material 
adverse effect on its result or 
operations.

The Group seeks to manage this risk by offering 
competitive remuneration packages, including share 
schemes and carried interest in Private Equity funds, and by 
creating a supportive and enjoyable working environment. 
We have developed robust succession and development 
plans. The senior investment team has been stable for 
many years.

5858

59

STRATEGIC REPORTPrincipal Risks and Uncertainties continued

Auditor’s Statement

The auditor’s report on the financial statements and the auditor’s 
statement under section 496 of the Companies Act on whether the 
information given in the Strategic Report and Directors’ report for the 
financial year ended 30 September 2020 is consistent with the Group 
financial statements were both unqualified and can be found on pages 
18 to 22 of the Governance and Financial Report.

Risk

Description

How we mitigate the risk

Operational 
risk

Operational risk arises 
in our investment 
management activities, 
distribution activities 
and in the operation 
of our corporate 
infrastructure.

The Group has established control 
frameworks so that the risk of financial 
loss to the Group through operational 
failure is minimised. As part of this the 
Group obtains full “ISAE 3402” internal 
controls assurance every year, for its  
UK Listed Equity business.

Cyber  
risk

Cyber attacks against 
financial services firms 
are growing in number 
and sophistication and 
would result in business 
disruption and/or 
data loss.

Impax also maintains plans to manage 
operational business risks in the case 
of an emergency or crisis situation. 
These involve specific responses to 
enable business contingency and 
recovery procedures.

The Group has insurance cover 
which is reviewed each year prior to 
policy renewal.

The Group has put in place measures 
to minimise and manage possible 
technology risks and to ensure the 
safety of data and compliance with 
data protection legislation.

Information and cyber security is 
enforced throughout the business. This 
ensures devices such as laptops and 
mobile devices are fully protected.

All staff globally receive regular cyber 
awareness training. In addition, external 
and internal penetration tests are carried 
out on an annual basis. We also carry 
out Company-wide phishing tests, and 
have global security certifications.

Memberships

Impax is a member of a number of organisations focused on the investment management industry where 
we work collaboratively with peers to support the expansion of sustainable finance. Here is a selection of  
our current memberships.

Asian Corporate Governance 
Association (ACGA)

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

Ceres

Climate Financial Risk  
Forum (CFRF)

Confederation of British  
Industry (CBI)

Council of Institutional  
Investors (CII)

Energy Transitions  
Commission (ETC)

The Forum for Sustainable  
and Responsible Investment 
(US SIF)

Global Impact Investing  
Network (GIIN)

Institutional Investors Group 
on Climate Change (IIGCC)

Interfaith Center on Corporate 
Responsibility (ICCR)

Investor Environmental  
Health Network (IEHN)

NH Businesses for Social 
Responsibility

Principles for Responsible 
Investment (PRI)

Shareholder Rights Group

Taskforce on Climate-related 
Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Thirty Percent Coalition

UK Stewardship Code

UK Sustainable Investment and 
Finance Association (UKSIF)

UN Global Compact (UNGC)

6060

61

STRATEGIC REPORTAlternative Performance Measures 

Contact Details

I

S
T
R
A
T
E
G
C
R
E
P
O
R
T

The Group uses the following 
Alternative Performance 
Measures (‘APMs’).

ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT, 
ADJUSTED PROFIT BEFORE TAX 
AND ADJUSTED PROFIT AFTER 
TAX
These APMs exclude the impact 
of the following items:

• amortisation of intangible
assets which arose on the
acquisition of Impax NH;

• charges in respect of equity
incentive scheme related to
the acquisition of Impax NH;

•

fair value movements in
contingent consideration
payable on the acquisition of
Impax NH; and

• mark-to-market charges in

respect of National Insurance
payable on share awards

These performance measures 
are reported as they facilitate 
comparison with prior periods 
and provide an appropriate 
comparison with our peers. 
Excluding amortisation of 
intangible assets arising from 
acquisitions is consistent 
with peers and therefore aids 
comparability. It also aids 
comparison to businesses which 
have grown organically, and 
do not have such charges. Fair 
value movements on contingent 
consideration are excluded as 
they are one-off items and not 
representative of the operating 
performance of the Group. Mark 
to market charges in respect of 
National Insurance are excluded 
as they arise due only to changes 
in the share price and therefore 
do not reflect the operating 
performance of the Group.

A reconciliation to the relevant 
IFRS terms is provided in note 4 
of the financial statements.

ADJUSTED OPERATING MARGIN
This is calculated as the ratio 
of adjusted operating profit to 
revenue. This number is reported 
as it gives a good indication of 
the underlying profitability of 
the company and how this has 
changed year on year.

ADJUSTED EARNINGS  
PER SHARE AND ADJUSTED 
EARNINGS PER SHARE
This is calculated as the adjusted 
profit after tax divided by the 
diluted number of shares used 
in the calculation of IFRS diluted 
earnings per share. The adjusted 
profit after tax is also reduced 
by the IFRS adjustment for 
profit attributable to owners of 
restricted shares (see note 13 of 
the financial statements). 

This is used to present a measure 
of profitability per share in line 
with adjusted profits.

A reconciliation to IFRS diluted 
earnings per share is shown in 
note 4 of the financial statements.

RUN RATE REVENUE AND RUN 
RATE ADJUSTED OPERATING 
PROFIT
Run rate revenue is the revenue 
that the Group would report if the 
AuM for the year remained static 
at that shown at 30 September 
and fee rates were those at 30 
September. Run rate revenue 
margin is the ratio of run rate 
revenue to AuM.

Run rate adjusted operating 
profit is the run rate revenue less 
adjusted operating costs for the 
month of September extrapolated 
for 12 months. Adjustments 
are made to exclude any one-
off items.

Run rate numbers are reported as 
they give a good indication of the 
current profitability of the Group.

CASH RESERVES
Cash reserves is the sum of 
cash and cash equivalents and 
cash held in money market 
accounts or fixed term deposit 
accounts less cash held in 
research payment accounts 
and cash held by consolidated 
funds. The calculation of cash 
reserves is shown in note 21 to 
the financial statements.

Cash reserves are reported as 
they give a good indication of the 
total cash resources available to 
the Group.

SECRETARY
Zack Wilson

REGISTERED OFFICE
7th Floor
30 Panton Street
London 
SW1Y 4AJ

T: +44 (0)20 3912 3000 

F: +44 (0)20 3912 3001

REGISTRARS
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The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent
BR3 4TU

NOMINATED ADVISER 
AND BROKER
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Moor House
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London
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Manufactured in accordance with ISO certified standards for  
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BRC certified storage and distribution

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Compost Home, 100% GM free material

62

63
63

STRATEGIC REPORT 
WWW.IMPAXAM.COM

IMPAX ASSET  
IMPAX ASSET  
MANAGEMENT GROUP PLC
MANAGEMENT GROUP PLC

7th Floor
7th Floor
30 Panton Street
30 Panton Street
London
London
SW1Y 4AJ
SW1Y 4AJ
United Kingdom
United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)20 3912 3000
T: +44 (0)20 3912 3000
E: info@impaxam.com
E: info@impaxam.com

 @ImpaxAM 
 Impax Asset Management

B

Governance & Financial Report 

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Specialists in the 
transition to a more 
sustainable economy

Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax has pioneered investment in 
the transition to a more sustainable 
global economy and today is one 
of the largest investment managers 
dedicated to this area.

Contents

GOVERNANCE
01 

 Chairman’s Introduction

04  Board of Directors

06    Corporate Governance 

Report

10   Directors’ Report

13  

15  

 Audit and Risk 
Committee Report

 Remuneration 
Committee Report

Governance and Financial Report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
18 

 Independent Auditor’s 
Report

23  Financial Statements

27 

60 

 Notes to the Financial 
Statements

 Company Financial 
Statements

63 

71 

 Notes to the Company 
Financial Statements

 Notice of Annual 
General Meeting

75 

 Officers and Advisers

This report contains details of members of the Board of Directors and the Senior Management team, reports on the Group’s Corporate Governance and Remuneration 
and presents the full financial statements including the independent auditor’s report.

Our separate Strategic Report contains information about Impax, how we make money and how we run the business. It includes an overview of our main markets, our 
strategy, business model, key performance indicators and main areas of risk, as well as our progress during the 2020 financial year. A copy of the Strategic Report can be 
downloaded from www.impaxam.com. This report also describes our approach to organisation and culture, governance and sustainability, and includes a summary of our 
financial strategy.

Naming of companies in this document

For simplicity we use the following short forms in the place of the legal company entity names in this document and the Governance and Financial Report.  
Impax Asset Management Group plc is referred to throughout as “Impax” or the “Company”.

In January 2018, Pax World Management LLC was acquired by Impax and has been re-named Impax Asset Management LLC. This company is based in Portsmouth,  
New Hampshire and we refer to it as “Impax NH”. Impax NH is the manager of Pax World Funds. Impax “North America” refers to the combined businesses of all our  
US offices. Impax Asset Management Ltd and Impax Asset Management (AIFM) manage or advise Listed Equity funds and accounts, and the Real Assets division.  
The majority of this business is based in London so we refer to it as “Impax LN”.

Chairman’s Introduction

“ Impax has made outstanding  

progress this year in an 
extremely challenging 
environment.”

Keith Falconer 
Chairman

I would like to thank the management team for its leadership  
and our staff for their adaptability and exceptional dedication  
in recent months.

COVID-19 has affected all our lives. During what has been a very 
difficult time for businesses around the world, the Board has been 
impressed that Impax has not only proven highly resilient throughout 
the crisis but has gone beyond just “business as usual” to deliver 
outstanding success. On behalf of my fellow Directors, I would like to 
pay tribute to the management team for leading the further expansion 
of the Company and to all our staff for their continued commitment 
and diligence while working away from the office. 

A YEAR OF SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT

Our AUM reached another record high at the end of the Period 
at £20.2 billion.

During the 12 months to 30 September 2020 (the “Period”), Impax’s 
assets under management and advice (“AUM”) grew by 34% to  
£20.2 billion. As set out on pages 26 to 34 of the Strategic Report, 
investment performance has been strong across all our major 
strategies. These results are reflected in the many prestigious industry 
awards that Impax won last year (see page 3 of the Strategic Report).

Over the Period we expanded our headcount by 18 (12%) to ensure 
we had sufficient resources in investment management, client service 
and in each of the support teams. I am also very pleased that the 
functional integration of the business in New Hampshire, which 
Impax acquired in January 2018, is largely complete. Furthermore, 
we signed an updated distribution agreement with BNP Paribas 
Asset Management that cements our long-term relationship with 
this important partner.

In addition to highlighting the Company’s successful growth in AUM 
and profitability I would also like to draw attention to a number of 
important non-financial developments, as you would expect from an 
investment manager which focuses beyond the short-term financial 
results. Achieving our vision and business goals requires a culture 
where Impax colleagues can deliver their best, adapt and learn 
continuously, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive arena.  
To this end, the senior management team has refreshed our objectives 
in the management of talent and has introduced a structured 
programme of leadership training. 

We have also made good progress in the area of equality, diversity and 
inclusion, in particular with the formation of a Company-wide group to 
coordinate our initiatives in this area; Lindsey Brace Martinez regularly 
attends the meetings of this group as the Board sponsor of this work. 

01

GOVERNANCEChairman’s Introduction continued

 The pandemic has reinforced the imperative of a transition to a 
more sustainable economy. Society’s response has supported 
our investment approach to addressing climate change and other 
challenges of sustainable development. 

We remain focused on increasing the number of women in our business, especially at 
senior levels, which over time will continue to reduce the senior management gender 
pay gap. Please see pages 48 and 49 of the Strategic Report for more details. 

We also continue to make strides with our sustainability initiatives, including a new 
commitment to retain our “net carbon positive” status across our operations and 
corporate investments, see pages 54 to 56 of the Strategic Report.

These important developments and our strong long-term investment performance have 
been recognised and applauded by the investment industry again this year. In addition 
to the numerous awards outlined in the Strategic Report, I congratulate Ian Simm on his 
recognition from Financial News as “Industry Leader of the Year (male)”.

DIVIDEND 
Last year the Company adopted a policy of paying an annual dividend of between 
55% and 80% of adjusted profit after tax. In line with this, the Board now recommends 
paying a final dividend for 2020 of 6.8p, a total for the year of 8.6p, representing 60% of 
adjusted profit after tax and an increase for the total dividend of 56% on 2019. Further 
details are provided In the Financial Review on pages 21 to 25 of the Strategic Report.

OUR COMMITMENT TO THE HIGHEST GOVERNANCE STANDARDS
As Chairman, I am responsible for leading the Board in order to ensure that Impax 
has in place the strategy, people, governance structure and culture to deliver value to 
shareholders and other stakeholders of the Group, as a whole, over the medium to long-
term. The Directors recognise the importance of strong corporate governance and have 
chosen to apply the Quoted Companies Alliance Corporate Governance Code (the “QCA 
Code”). Further details on our adherence to the QCA Code are set out on page 6 of this 
report. To see how Impax addresses the key governance principles defined in the QCA 
Code in detail, please refer to the table on our website. We will continue to monitor how 
the QCA Code is interpreted in practice to ensure we address its important principles. 
In addition, we demonstrate how we create a better future for all our stakeholders on 
pages 12 to 17 of the Strategic Report.

We welcome the UK Stewardship Code 2020, driven by the Financial Reporting Council, 
which was launched at the start of 2020. This statement is a change in emphasis from 
“stewardship policies”, to “stewardship outcomes” and will consider what investment 
managers are actually achieving through their engagement programmes and voting. 
For many years our engagement work has been focused on setting clear objectives 
and measuring outcomes and Impax is acknowledged as a leader in this area. This area 
of the Company’s work continues to expand and is detailed on pages 35 to 39 of the 
Strategic Report.

BOARD STRUCTURE
The Board benefits from a diverse mix of highly-relevant skills, backgrounds and many 
years of experience, including global sales, marketing, environmental markets, US 
institutional investment management, pension fund management and private equity. 

The proven resilience of the Company inspires 
confidence as we head into what most expect 
to be a volatile environment for some time.

2020 BOARD STRATEGY AND PROGRAMME
The Board held 7 formal meetings during the Period, with significant 
time devoted to strategic discussion. In addition, the Non-
Executive Directors attended an annual strategy day with the senior 
management team; this year the agenda was principally to review 
progress against our current business plan, as well as our policies, 
processes and recent experience of talent development.

Since March, in line with government guidelines, the Company has 
reduced corporate travel considerably, and all Board meetings have 
been held by video conference. Although not ideal, there has been no 
material impact on effective communications or decision making. 

SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS AND OUR AGM
While dialogue with our shareholders has been more difficult this 
year, we have continued to work closely with our principal broker, 
Peel Hunt, to maintain contact with institutional investors. In parallel, 
we have engaged other groups, particularly Equity Development and 
ShareSoc, to support our interaction with private investors. When we 
emerge from COVID-19 restrictions we look forward to recommencing 
in-person investor meetings as soon as possible.

Our next AGM will take place on 18 March 2021, by which time I hope 
that conditions will have improved sufficiently such that we can 
welcome shareholders to the meeting at our London office on the 7th 
Floor, 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ. The Directors and the 
senior management team appreciate the opportunity to meet with 
you to present on the Company’s progress and hear your questions 
and feedback. Details of the AGM, and the proposed resolutions, are 
covered in the separate Notice of Meeting. 

Keith Falconer
2 December 2020

02

03

GOVERNANCEBoard of Directors

Committee membership

Remuneration

Audit & Risk

Chair of Committee

KEITH FALCONER

IAN SIMM

Chairman

Chief Executive

LINDSEY BRACE 
MARTINEZ

Non-Executive Director

SALLY BRIDGELAND

Non-Executive Director

ARNAUD DE SERVIGNY

VINCE O’BRIEN

ZACK WILSON

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Group General Counsel 
and Company Secretary

Joined the Board 2004

Joined the Board 2001

Joined the Board 2015

Joined the Board 2015

Joined the Board 2018

Joined the Board 2009

Assumed roles 2011

Previous roles & experience

Keith joined Martin Currie, 
the independent Edinburgh-
based investment firm in 
1979. The first part of his 
career was spent managing 
portfolios on behalf 
of institutional clients. 
Subsequently, he became 
the managing director of 
sales and marketing. Keith 
retired from Martin Currie 
in 2003.

Ian has been responsible for 
building the Company since 
its launch in 1998.

Prior to joining Impax 
Ian was an engagement 
manager at McKinsey & 
Company advising clients on 
resource efficiency issues.  

Sally qualified as a Fellow 
of the Institute of Actuaries 
with consultants Bacon & 
Woodrow (now Aon) and 
was CEO of the BP Pension 
Fund from 2007 to 2014. 
She has served as Chair of 
the Management Board of 
the Institute and Faculty 
of Actuaries. 

Lindsey served as a member 
of the Executive Team and 
was a Managing Director 
at Cambridge Associates. 
She held multiple roles 
during her 15-year tenure 
including, Global Head of 
Consulting Services and 
External Relations. 

Prior to this, Lindsey was 
a portfolio analyst and 
manager for the Hancock 
Natural Resource Group 
and a senior consultant at 
Booz Allen.

Founder and CEO, StarPoint 
Advisors, LLC. Member of 
the Advisory Board for the 
Yale Center for Business and 
the Environment. Member of 
the Investment Committee 
for the National Geographic 
Society. Chair of the Board, 
Novatus Energy, LLC. Trustee 
of Pax World Funds Series 
Trust I and III, Board member 
of Seven Islands Land 
Company.

Non-executive director 
of Royal London and the 
Local Pensions Partnership. 
Honorary Group Captain 
with 601 Squadron of the 
Royal Auxiliary Air Force 
and a trustee of RAF Central 
Fund. Strategic adviser to 
Darwin Alternatives. Senior 
Consultant with Avida 
International.

External appointments

Director of Baillie Gifford 
Japan Trust and the 
Adelphi Distillery.

Member of the UK 
government’s Energy 
Innovation Board.

In November 2019 Ian was 
appointed to the board of 
the Institutional Investors 
Group on Climate Change 
(“IIGCC”).

Between 2013 and 
2018 he was a board 
member of the Natural 
Environment Research 
Council (NERC), the UK’s 
leading funding agency for 
environmental science.

Qualifications & experience

Qualified as a chartered 
accountant in 1979. 

Portfolio management 
and institutional sales 
and marketing.

First class honours degree 
in physics from Cambridge 
University and a Master’s in 
Public Administration from 
Harvard University.

Arnaud was previously 
a Managing Director at 
Deutsche Bank Asset and 
Wealth Management, where 
he was the CIO for the Multi 
Asset Group. Prior to this he 
was a Managing Director at 
Barclays Wealth, heading 
the Global Investment 
Committee and before 
that at Standard & Poor’s 
where he ran the global 
quantitative group.

Vince served as a director of 
Montagu Private Equity for 
over 23 years. He was part 
of the core team which lead 
the buyout of Montagu from 
HSBC in 2003. 

Prior to that he worked in 
audit and corporate finance 
for Coopers & Lybrand, 
now PwC.

He is a past chairman of 
the British Venture Capital 
Association.

Non-executive directorships 
of BNP Paribas Asset 
Management France, 
Bramham Gardens sarl 
and Bramham Gardens 
Investments Limited.

Chair of Quest Fund 
Placement LLP.

Board advisory positions 
with the private equity firms 
Core Capital and Montana 
Capital Partners and the 
London branch of a leading 
Swiss private bank. 

Prior to joining Impax in 
2011, Zack was Director & 
General Counsel for the 
investment management 
group Development Capital 
Management. Previously 
he was Corporate Counsel 
for Telewest Global Inc 
(renamed Virgin Media 
Inc), where he played a 
leading role in managing 
the successful execution 
of a number of high 
profile transactions.

Zack is a Non-Executive 
director of Impax Funds 
(Ireland) plc. 

Member of the Advisory 
Board of Prime Advocates 
Limited.

MBA and Master of 
Environmental Studies from 
Yale University. Over 25 years’ 
experience in investment 
advisory, natural resources 
portfolio management, 
institutional marketing and 
sales, and management 
consulting.

Fellow of the Institute 
of Actuaries.

30 years’ experience 
in the UK pensions and 
actuarial sector.

Arnaud has been a Visiting 
and then Adjunct Professor 
at Imperial Business School 
since 2005. He has written 
five books on monetary 
policy, credit, structured 
finance and money 
management.

Chartered accountant, 
former chairman of the 
British Venture Capital 
Association.

Over 30 years’ experience in 
the private equity industry.

Qualified as a solicitor in 
2000 at the global law  
firm Norton Rose. 

Master of Arts in 
Jurisprudence from  
Oxford University.

04

05

GOVERNANCECorporate Governance Report

COMPLIANCE WITH QUOTED COMPANIES ALLIANCE CODE
The Directors recognise the importance of good corporate governance and have  
chosen to apply the Quoted Companies Alliance Corporate Governance Code (the 
“QCA Code”). 

The correct application of the QCA code requires the Company to apply its ten 
principles and also to publish certain related disclosures either on our website or in this 
Annual Report or a combination of both. We have chosen to use a combination of both. 
Our website includes disclosure considering each principle in turn and references where 
the appropriate disclosure is given. 

The QCA Code recommends that all members of a remuneration committee must be 
independent. As noted below, Arnaud de Servigny is not considered to be independent 
because he is a representative of a significant shareholder. However, the Board has 
determined that it is appropriate for Arnaud de Servigny to serve on the Remuneration 
Committee on account of his independence from the executive function of the Group. 
All other members of the Remuneration Committee are considered to be independent  
in accordance with the recommendations of the QCA Code.

The Company believes that the Remuneration Committee is able to resist inappropriate 
demands from Executive Directors and senior management which is a key requirement 
of the QCA Code. Furthermore, the Company believe that Mr de Servigny is independent 
of the Executive Directors even if he is not deemed to be independent of the significant 
shareholder, BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding. 

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board deals with all aspects of the Company’s affairs including setting and 
monitoring strategy, reviewing performance, ensuring adequate financial resources are 
in place and reporting to shareholders. The Board reserves these and other specific 
matters for its own decision. Operational decisions are delegated to the Chief Executive 
and senior management.

Board composition
The Board consists of a Non-Executive Chairman, four Non-Executive Directors and the 
Chief Executive. Details of the current Board members are given on pages 4 and 5 of 
this report. Throughout the year the position of Chairman and Chief Executive were held 
by separate individuals. There is a clear division of responsibilities between the Chairman 
and Chief Executive. 

The Board has appointed one of the Non-Executive Directors (Vince O’Brien) to act as 
the Senior Independent Director. The Board considers that three of the Non-Executive 
Directors (Vince O’Brien, Sally Bridgeland, Lindsey Brace Martinez) are independent as 
envisaged by the QCA Code. Arnaud de Servigny is not considered to be independent 
as he represents a significant shareholder. The Chairman is also not considered to be 
independent by nature of his significant shareholding and past service to the Group. The 
Non-Executive Directors and Chairman all have or have had senior executive experience 
and offer insightful judgement on Board matters. The Non-Executive Directors do not 
participate in any bonus schemes or share ownership schemes and their appointments 
are non-pensionable. 

The Company anticipates a time commitment from the Non-Executive Directors of 
20 days per annum. This includes attendance at regular Board meetings, service on the 
Audit and Risk and Remuneration Committees and a number of regular meetings to 
review and discuss progress with the executive team. The Chief Executive works full  
time in the business and has no other significant outside business commitments.

Board Committees
The Board has two standing Committees; the Audit and Risk Committee and the Remuneration 
Committee. The Board may appoint other Committees from time to time to consider specific matters.

The Audit and Risk Committee is responsible for overseeing financial reporting, external audit, risk 
management, internal audit, whistleblowing effectiveness, fraud prevention or detection and internal 
controls. Sally Bridgeland chairs this committee. The Committee’s report is provided on page 13.

The purpose of the Remuneration Committee is to ensure that the Chief Executive and other senior 
employees are fairly rewarded for their individual contribution to the overall performance of the Group 
and that remuneration packages provided do not promote undue risk taking. Vince O’Brien chairs this 
committee. The Committee’s report is provided on page 15.

The Board considers the skills and knowledge of individual members of each committee upon appointment 
and periodically, to ensure that each committee includes members with appropriate expertise and who are 
able to offer an independent outlook. 

These committees report to the Board on a regular basis. They have clearly defined Terms of Reference 
which are published on the Company’s website.

Meetings
The Board has a formal agenda of items for consideration at each meeting but also convenes at additional 
times when required. 

All Directors receive detailed Board papers and reports sufficiently in advance of meetings to enable 
a proper review and have full access to the advice and services of senior management should further 
information be required. There is provision for Board members to solicit professional advice on Board 
matters at the Company’s expense.

Details of the number of meetings of the Board (and any committees) during the year, together with the 
attendance record of each Director, are shown in the table below.

Meeting Attendance 

Total Number of meetings 

Keith Falconer 

Ian Simm

Vince O’Brien

Sally Bridgeland 

Lindsey Brace Martinez

Arnaud de Servigny

Board

Audit & Risk 
Committee 

Remuneration 
Committee 

7

7

7

6

7

7

6

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

Appointment of new Directors
There is a rigorous procedure to appoint new Directors to the Board which is led by the Chairman. At 
appropriate times the Board considers the balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge  
of the Group on the Board and its diversity, how the Board works as a unit and other factors relevant to 
its effectiveness.

Where new Board appointments are considered, the search for candidates will be conducted, and 
appointments made, on merit, against objective criteria and with due regard for the benefits of diversity 
on the Board, including gender. The Board also considers appropriate and effective succession planning.

All Directors are subject to reappointment by shareholders at the first opportunity after their appointment 
and thereafter at intervals of no more than three years.

06

07

GOVERNANCECorporate Governance Report continued

Performance evaluation
The Board carries out an evaluation of its performance annually.

Formal evaluations are carried out to assess the performance of the Board and the individual Directors 
which is led by the Chairman. The Board also completes an evaluation of the Chairman’s performance 
which is led by the Senior Independent Director. 

For the process this year the Company updated the evaluation questionnaires to take account of 
feedback from last year’s evaluation. The steps in the process this year followed a similar format as the 
prior year. Directors completed questionnaires which were followed up with one to one meetings and 
a summary report of overall findings from the Chairman. The evaluations confirmed a high rating for 
performance. 

Areas of focus for the one to one conversations included: 

• 

in light of continued strong business growth, the need to consider resetting goals for the next three 
to five years;

•  consideration of ways to further develop the Board’s discussion of non-financial goals and risks;

•  consideration of how the Board can continue to engage with and promote the success of the 

Company’s Real Assets business;

•  the challenges faced due to COVID-19 and its impact on preservation of the Company’s culture;

•  further ways the Directors can share with the Executive their insight and experience in sustainability; 

and

•  succession planning and Board experience given the length of tenure of some Directors and continued 

expansion of the Company’s business in North America.

Progress on last year’s recommendations was notable. Director contribution to discussion at Board 
meetings, including constructive challenge, continued to develop positively.  The Board’s identification 
of challenges and opportunities included, inter alia, reflection on governance and culture and discussion 
with the Executive regarding a wide range of People initiatives including inclusive leadership training, 
employee wellbeing and further progress regarding diversity and inclusion. 

The Board’s annual Strategy Day, held virtually for the first time due to COVID-19 restrictions, yielded a 
particular open and engaging discussion focused on development of investment strategies, resourcing 
our servicing of clients and business development, culture and people initiatives, deepening our 
engagement and financial strategy.  

The Board will continue to monitor its approach to the evaluation of effectiveness including the use from 
time to time of external facilitation.

Board members maintain their skillsets through practise in day-to-day roles, enhanced with attending 
specific training where required. The training consists of a combination of in-house Company arranged 
briefings and external training.

The Company Secretary and UK Head of Compliance supports the Chairman in addressing the training  
and development needs of Directors.

Resources
The Board uses external advisers where necessary to enhance knowledge or to gain access to particular 
skills or capabilities. Accountants and lawyers are used for diligence work on acquisitions. Specialist 
advisers have also been used by the Board to ensure compliance or to benchmark against peers, in 
specific areas such as internal audit, remuneration and regulatory compliance.

Indemnity
As permitted by the Company’s Articles of Association, the Company has maintained qualifying third-
party indemnity provisions (as defined under relevant legislation) for the benefit of the Company’s 
Directors throughout the period.

INTERNAL CONTROL
The Board has overall responsibility for the Group’s system of internal controls including financial, 
operational, compliance and risk management controls. 

The Group performs regulated activities in multiple jurisdictions globally, which are supervised by a 
number of supervisory authorities: the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Central Bank 
of Ireland (“CBI”), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures 
Commission (“SFC”). The Board has adopted procedures and controls designed to ensure its obligations 
are met.

Details of the key risks facing the Group and internal controls acting to control or mitigate the risks are set 
out on pages 57 to 60 of the Strategic Report.

DIALOGUE WITH SHAREHOLDERS
The Company reports formally to shareholders at the half-year and year end. At the Annual General 
Meeting of the Company, a presentation is given and Directors are available to take questions, both 
formally during the meeting, and informally after the meeting. The Chief Executive and Senior Independent 
Director are available for dialogue with major shareholders on the Company’s plans and objectives and 
meet with them at appropriate times.

CULTURE
Integrity and appropriate conduct are an integral part of the Impax culture and values, and all our business 
activities. The Company undertakes regular review and monitoring of its policies in specific areas such 
as anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering, Code of Ethics compliance, conflicts of interest, 
whistleblowing and information security.

The Company has a strong collegial culture which continues to evolve. Meritocracy, openness, fairness and 
transparency are valued. The Company’s Culture and Values Committee, which has a rotating membership 
open to all staff, meets regularly to assess progress and advance new initiatives. Culture and values are 
also considered as part of staff appraisals.

In 2019 the Group carried out a comprehensive staff engagement survey. The results were very positive 
and the team are working on those areas that can be improved. A further survey is planned for 2021 to 
ensure that high levels of staff engagement and motivation are sustained, and to maintain a positive and 
aspirational working environment which will enable the Company to continue to thrive and expand.

Impax is committed to promoting inclusion and diversity. All staff completed training on unconscious bias 
and inclusive working during the period.

08

09

GOVERNANCEDirectors’ Report
For the year ended 30 September 2020

DIVIDENDS 
The Directors propose a final dividend of 6.8 pence per share (2019: 4.0 pence) which together with the 
interim dividend of 1.8 pence per share (2019: 1.5 pence) gives a total for the year ended 30 September 
2020 of 8.6 pence per share (2019: 5.5 pence). The dividend will be submitted for formal approval at 
the Annual General Meeting. These financial statements do not reflect the final dividend payable, which 
will be accounted for in shareholders’ equity as an appropriation of retained earnings in the year ending 
30 September 2021.

The final dividend for the year ended 30 September 2019 was paid on 27 March 2020, being 4.0 pence 
per share. The trustees of the Impax Employee Benefit Trusts (“EBTs”) waived their rights to part of these 
dividends, leading to a total dividend payment of £5,140,418. The interim dividend of 1.8 pence for the year 
ended 30 September 2020 was paid on 17 July 2020 and totalled £2,302,028 after the EBT waiver. These 
payments are reflected in the statements of changes in equity.

SHARES
The Impax Asset Management Group plc Employee Benefit Trust 2012 and the Impax Group plc Employee 
Benefit Trust 2004 (together the “EBTs”) made market purchases of 1,266,608 of the Company’s shares 
during the year, satisfied option exercises in respect of 2,625,500 shares and allocated 52,250 shares it holds 
to cover Restricted shares. The Directors continue to plan that future options exercises or Restricted shares 
awards will primarily be satisfied by the EBTs.

DIRECTORS AND THEIR INTERESTS IN SHARES 
The Directors of the Company during the year and at the date of this report are set out below. The Directors’ 
interests and those of their connected persons in the Ordinary Shares of the Company, all of which are 
beneficial, at 30 September 2020 and 30 September 2019 were:

Keith Falconer1

Ian Simm1

Vince O’Brien

Sally Bridgeland

Lindsey Brace Martinez

Arnaud de Servigny

30 September 2020

30 September 2019

6,637,775

9,575,880

110,000

–

–

–

6,637,775

9,575,880

110,000

–

–

–

1 

 Includes vested shares within sub-funds of the Impax Group plc Employee Benefit Trust 2004 from which the individual and their families may benefit and Restricted 
shares held in the Impax Asset Management Group plc Employee Benefit Trust 2012

There have been no changes to the above holdings since 30 September 2020.

DIRECTORS OPTION HOLDINGS AND OTHER SHARE BASED AWARDS
Ian Simm has been granted options over the Company’s Ordinary Shares which have not yet been 
exercised as shown in the table below.

Year granted

2014

Options held 

Exercise price

Earliest to 
exercise date

Latest to 
exercise date

100,000

56.9p

01/01/18

31/12/20

In addition, Ian Simm was granted 60,000 Restricted Share Awards in December 2017 which vest in three 
equal tranches between December 2020 and 2022 and a further 30,000 in December 2018 which vest in 
three equal tranches between January 2022 and January 2025.

Ian Simm has a 5.88% interest in the capital of Impax Carried Interest Partner LP, a 5% interest in the 
capital of Impax Carried Interest Partner II LP, and a 4% interest in the capital of INEI III CIP LP entities  
in which the Company holds an investment.

SUBSTANTIAL SHARE INTERESTS 
The following interests in 3% or more of the issued Ordinary Share capital have been notified to the Company 
as at the date of this report:

BNP Paribas Asset Management Holding

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Ian R Simm1

Blackrock Investment Management

Standard Life Aberdeen

J Keith R Falconer1

Canaccord Genuity Group Inc

Janus Henderson Investors

Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management

Rathbone Investment Managers

Impax Asset Management Group plc Employee Benefit Trust 2012

Bruce Jenkyn-Jones1

1 

 Includes vested shares within sub-funds of the EBT 2004 from which the individual and their families may benefit. 

Number

Percentage

18,258,112

10,592,340

9,575,880

8,939,614

8,350,030

6,637,775

6,484,260

6,007,079

5,943,819

5,915,797

5,186,867

4,406,864

14.0

8.1

7.3

6.9

6.4

5.1

5.0

4.6

4.6

4.5

4.0

3.4

In addition the EBT 2004 has a legal interest in a further 13,950,080 shares which have transferred to  
sub-funds from which individuals and their families may benefit.

RISK
A description of the key risks facing the Group and policies and procedures in place to monitor or mitigate 
the risk is provided on pages 57 to 60 of the Group’s Strategic Report.

PEOPLE
Through our people management policies we aim to attract and develop the best people. Our 
performance management processes comprise a twice yearly performance appraisal against agreed 
objectives and our core values. Output from this performance process is used to inform decisions on 
remuneration, career development and progression.

As part of creating a high-performance organisation, we encourage all of our employees to fulfil their 
potential. We provide our employees with access to a range of training and development opportunities 
that are relevant to our business. 

CREDITOR PAYMENT POLICY
The Group seeks to maintain good terms with its trading partners. It is the Group’s policy to agree 
appropriate terms and conditions for its transactions with suppliers and, provided the supplier has 
complied with its obligations, to abide by the terms of payment agreed. Trade creditor days of the  
Group for the year ended 30 September 2020 were 18 days (2019: 24).

CHARITABLE DONATIONS
During the year the Group has made donations to charities totalling £184,511, (2019 £155,933).

ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Details of the Group’s energy consumption and measures taken to achieve energy efficiencies are provided 
on pages 54 to 56 of the Strategic Report.

10

11

GOVERNANCE 
Directors’ Report continued
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Audit and Risk Committee Report
For the year ended 30 September 2020

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES 
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Strategic Report, the Governance Report and the Group 
and Parent Company financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare Group and Parent Company financial statements for each 
financial year. As required by the AIM Rules of the London Stock Exchange they are required to prepare 
the Group financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted 
by the European Union (“IFRS as adopted by the EU”) and applicable law and have elected to prepare the 
Parent Company financial statements on the same basis.

Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that 
they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and Parent Company and of their profit 
or loss for that period. In preparing each of the Group and Parent Company financial statements, the 
Directors are required to:

•  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

•  make judgements and estimates that are reasonable, relevant and reliable;

•  state whether they have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the EU;

•  assess the Group and Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as 

applicable, matters related to going concern; and

•  use the going concern basis of accounting unless they either intend to liquidate the Group or the Parent 

Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and 
explain the Parent Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial 
position of the Parent Company and enable them to ensure that its financial statements comply with the 
Companies Act 2006. They are responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to 
enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to 
fraud or error and have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to 
safeguard the assets of the Group and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. 

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information 
included on the Company’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

AUDITORS
Each person who is a Director at the date of approval of this report confirms that so far as the Director is 
aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditor is unaware and the Director 
has taken all the steps that he or she ought to have taken as Director in order to make themself aware of 
any relevant information and to establish that the Company’s auditors are aware of that information. This 
confirmation is given pursuant to the section 418 of the Companies Act 2006 and should be interpreted in 
accordance therewith.

By order of the Board

Zack Wilson

Company Secretary
2 December 2020

Registered office: 
7th Floor 
30 Panton St 
London  
SW1Y 4AJ

“ The Committee provides independent 
scrutiny, monitoring and review of the 
Company’s financial reporting, internal 
controls and risk management systems.”

Sally Bridgeland 
Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee

COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Audit and Risk Committee is comprised of the following Non-Executive Directors:

Sally Bridgeland (Chairman) 
Vince O’Brien 
Lindsey Brace Martinez  
Arnaud de Servigny. 

MEETINGS
During the year the Committee met four times. Details of attendance at the meeting are shown on page 7.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Committee’s responsibilities include:

Financial Reporting
•  monitoring the integrity of the financial statements and formal announcements relating to the 

Company’s and Group’s financial performance; and

•  the implementation of new accounting standards and policies.

External Auditors
•  considering appointment, re-appointment and removal of the external auditors and approving the 

remuneration of the external auditors;

•  reviewing and monitoring the external auditors’ independence and objectivity and the effectiveness of 

the audit process; and

•  ensuring the objectivity and independence of the external auditors by acting as primary contact with 
the external auditors, meeting the external auditors without the presence of management where 
considered necessary and receiving all reports directly from the external auditors.

Risk Management 
•  reviewing the Group’s risk management processes and risk reports;

•  monitoring of the internal financial control procedures; and

•  reviewing and recommending to the Board for approval the Company’s Internal Capital Adequacy 

Process (“ICAAP”).

Internal Audit 
•  reviewing an internal audit plan; 

•  reviewing the findings of the internal audits performed; 

•  monitoring the implementation of agreed actions from internal audits performed;

•  monitoring the performance of the internal auditors;

•  reviewing arrangements for Group employees to raise concerns, in confidence, about possible 

wrongdoing or misconduct; and

•  reviewing procedures for detecting fraud.

12

13

GOVERNANCEAudit and Risk Committee Report continued
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Remuneration Committee Report
For the year ended 30 September 2020

KEY ACTIVITIES DURING THE YEAR

Financial Reporting
The Committee has reviewed the Group’s Interim Report and the Annual Report and accounts and 
recommended them to the Board for approval. The Committee has considered whether suitable 
accounting policies have been adopted and whether management have made appropriate estimates and 
judgements when preparing the financial statements. This included considering the Group’s adoption of 
the new accounting standard IFRS 16 – Leases.  

The key accounting estimates and judgements considered by the Committee during the period were in 
relation to the impairment of intangible assets. The Company was required to consider if intangible assets 
acquired as part of the acquisition of Impax NH were impaired. The Committee considered reports from 
the Finance function which described the assumptions used in determining whether impairment was 
required and was satisfied that no impairment was required.

“ Remuneration policies and practices continue 

to support the strategy of the Group”

Vince O’Brien 
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

The Committee also considered a report from management on going concern and concluded it was 
appropriate to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Remuneration Committee is comprised of the following Non-Executive Directors:

The Committee received reports from the external auditor, KPMG on the audit scope and strategy and 
their independent assessment of the management conclusion on key areas of judgements and estimates. 
KPMG attended the Committee meetings following the half and full year ends and met privately with 
the Committee.

External Auditor
KPMG LLP has acted as the auditor of the Group since 2010 when it was appointed following a competitive 
tender. Jatin Patel is the current audit partner and this is the third year that he has signed the audit report. 
Ethical standards would require him to rotate off following the audit of the year ended 30 September 
2022. A formal audit tender was held in 2019 and the Committee agreed to reappoint KPMG.

Details of fees paid to the Company’s auditor are shown in note 7 to the financial statements. The Committee 
considered and agreed the audit fee during the Period. Total fees paid for non-audit services were £76,000. 
Non-audit work included tax compliance fees, interim review work and regulatory assurance work. Non-
audit fees as a percentage of audit fees paid were 38%. In the opinion of the Committee, none of the non-
audit services provided caused any concern as to the auditor’s independence or objectivity. The Committee 
also considered if there were any other factors impacting the auditor’s independence and objectivity and 
concluded that there were none. As part of this assessment the committee received and considered a report 
from KPMG which confirmed that in their view they were independent. 

Risk Management 
The Company’s risk management process and the risks which are considered to be the key risks facing 
the Group are described on pages 57 to 60 of the Strategic Report. The committee has received and 
considered reports from the Chief Risk Officer at each of its Meetings and reviewed the Group’s risk 
assessment. The Committee has monitored the firm’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee has also reviewed and approved the Group’s ICAAP.

Internal Audit
The Group uses Grant Thornton to provide internal audit services. They work with management to 
prepare a plan of which areas to audit which is approved by the Committee. They then complete those 
audits and report their findings to the Committee. The Committee has review the findings of four internal 
audit reports that were completed during the year and has monitored completion of actions arising from 
previous audit reports.

Whistleblowing & Fraud Detection
The Group uses an online system called Ethics Point, to facilitate the anonymous reporting of concerns  
or more serious allegations, such as financial crime, to relevant senior managers for independent review 
and investigation.

Sally Bridgeland

Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee
2 December 2020

Vince O’Brien (Chairman) 
Sally Bridgeland 
Lindsey Brace Martinez  
Arnaud de Servigny. 

MEETINGS
During the year the Committee met four times. Details of attendance at the meeting are shown on page 7.

REMUNERATION ACTIVITIES DURING THE YEAR
During the past year, the Committee met four times to undertake the following:

•  review and recommend the remuneration and terms and conditions of service of the Directors and 

senior employees;

•  approve the overall remuneration policy to ensure that this is designed to be in line with the business 

strategy, objectives and long-term interests of the wider Group;

•  approve all share-based awards; and

•  ensure that the Company’s policies and practices are compliant with the FCA Remuneration Code  

and associated remuneration-related Regulations.

Policy on Director and Senior Employees Remuneration
The remuneration and terms and conditions of service of the Directors and senior employees are 
determined by the Board, based on recommendations made by the Remuneration Committee. The 
Committee recognise the importance of providing a remuneration package that will, without promoting 
undue risk, attract, retain and incentivise as well as encourage increased shareholder value in the short  
and longer term.

For the year ended 30 September 2020 there are potentially four main elements of the remuneration 
packages for the Chief Executive and senior employees.

(i) Basic salary and benefits
Basic salaries are recommended to the Board by the Remuneration Committee taking into account the 
performance of the individual and the rate for similar positions in comparable companies. Benefits include 
income protection, critical illness insurance, life assurance and private medical insurance.

(ii) Variable remuneration
Variable remuneration consists of a cash bonus and share-based awards. For Impax LN variable 
remuneration will typically be capped at 45% of relevant operating earnings before variable remuneration, 
interest and taxes. Impax NH employees receive a cash bonus or commissions. 

(A) Cash bonus
For Impax LN the cash bonus is determined based on the profitability of the relevant area where the 
employee works and on the individual’s personal performance. For Impax NH the cash bonus is based 
solely on the individual’s performance.

14

15

GOVERNANCESERVICE CONTRACTS
The Chief Executive is employed under a contract requiring one year’s notice from either party. The 
Chairman and Non-Executive Directors each receive payments under appointment letters which are 
terminable by up to six months’ notice from either party.

POLICY ON NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION
The Chairman and the Non-Executive Directors each receive a fee for their services. The fee is approved 
by the Board, mindful of the individual’s time commitment and responsibilities and of current market rates 
for comparable organisations and appointments. The Non-Executive Directors and the Chairman are 
reimbursed for their travelling and other minor expenses incurred.

Vince O’Brien

Chairman, Remuneration Committee
2 December 2020

Remuneration Committee Report continued
For the year ended 30 September 2020

(B) Share-based awards
The Group has approved the award of 331,500 restricted shares to Impax LN employees under the Group 
Restricted Share Scheme (“RSS”) and 610,000 options under the Group’s Employee Share Ownership 
Plan (“ESOP”) in respect of services during the Period. The award of these shares and options will be 
communicated to the relevant employees following announcement of the Group’s results for the year 
ended 30 September 2020.

Under the RSS, shares awarded to employees are initially held by a nominee and the employee only gains 
unfettered access to the shares after three, four and five year periods (one third at each stage) subject 
to continued employment. During the period that the shares are held by the nominee, the employee will 
receive dividends and be able to vote on the shares but will not be able to sell them. 

Options awarded under the ESOP have a 300p exercise price and vest after five years subject to 
continuous employment and are then subject to a holding period of a further five years. 

The Chief Executive and other Impax LN employees continue to benefit from share-based payment 
awards made under the previous share-based incentive plans (the ESOP 2014-19 and RSS 2015-2019) as 
more fully described in note 9 to the financial statements. Certain of the senior managers hold shares 
in Impax NH. These shares were originally acquired using loans from the Company which in part remain 
outstanding and the shares remain subject to employment restrictions. 

In addition, the Chief Executive and certain senior employees have been awarded interests in the 
partnerships, Impax Carried Interest Partner LP, Impax Carried Interest Partner II LP and INEI III CIP LP. 
These partnerships will receive payments from the Group’s private equity funds depending on the fund’s 
performance. No such payments were made during the year. The amounts will be accounted for at the 
point they become payable.

(iii) Pensions
The Group pays a defined contribution to the pension schemes of certain employees. The individual 
pension schemes are private and their assets are held separately from those of the Group.

Pension contribution rates for Executive Directors are aligned with those available to the wider workforce, 
in accordance with the Group Remuneration Policy. 

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION DURING THE YEAR
Details of each Director’s remuneration are shown below. 

Keith Falconer

Ian Simm

Arnaud de Sevigny

Vince O’Brien

Sally Bridgeland

Lindsey Brace Martinez

Fees/salary 
£

70,000

267,575

52,500

62,500

62,500

53,964

Benefits 
in kind 

£

–

Bonus

£

–

2020  
Total 

£

2019 
 Total 

£

70,000

70,000

7,986

1,130,000

1,405,561

1,090,827

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

52,500

62,500

62,500

53,964

30,000

40,000

40,000

39,164

569,039

7,986

1,130,000

1,707,025

1,309,991

Lindsey Brace Martinez is also a Director of Board of Pax World Funds acting as the Group’s representative 
on this Board. The company paid her £54,183 for this service (2019: £50,707). 

Ian Simm exercised options over a total of 100,000 shares during the Period generating a profit of £277,548.

16

17

GOVERNANCE 
Overview

Materiality:
Group financial 
statements as a 
whole

Coverage

£932k(2019: £762k)

5.6% (2019: 5%) of normalised 
profit before tax

99% (2019: 100%) of  
group profit before tax

Key audit matters

vs 2019

Recurring 
Group risk

Recurring Parent 
Company risk

Impairment of 
intangible asset

Recoverability of 
Parent Company’s 
investment in 
subsidiaries

Independent Auditor’s Report
To the members of Impax Asset Management Group plc

1 OUR OPINION IS UNMODIFIED
We have audited the financial statements of Impax 
Asset Management Group plc (“the Company”) for 
the year ended 30 September 2020 which comprise 
the consolidated income statement, consolidated 
statement of comprehensive income, consolidated 
statement of financial position, consolidated 
statement of changes in equity, consolidated cash 
flow statements, company statement of financial 
position, company cash flow statement, company 
statement of changes in equity and the related 
notes, including the accounting policies in notes  
32 and 33. 

In our opinion:

•  the financial statements give a true and fair view 
of the state of the Group’s and of the Parent 
Company’s affairs as at 30 September 2020 and 
of the Group’s profit for the year then ended;

•  the Group financial statements have been 
properly prepared in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards 
as adopted by the European Union (IFRSs as 
adopted by the EU);

•  the Parent Company financial statements have 
been properly prepared in accordance with 
IFRSs as adopted by the EU and as applied in 
accordance with the provisions of the Companies 
Act 2006; and

•  the financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with the requirements of the 
Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with 
International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs 
(UK)”) and applicable law. Our responsibilities 
are described below. We have fulfilled our ethical 
responsibilities under, and are independent of the 
Group in accordance with, UK ethical requirements 
including the FRC Ethical Standard as applied to 
listed entities. We believe that the audit evidence 
we have obtained is a sufficient and appropriate 
basis for our opinion.

2 KEY AUDIT MATTERS: OUR ASSESSMENT OF RISKS OF MATERIAL MISSTATEMENT
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in the 
audit of the financial statements and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement 
(whether or not due to fraud) identified by us, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall 
audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. 
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in 
forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. In arriving at our 
audit opinion above, the key audit matters, in decreasing order of audit significance, were as follows:

The risk

Our response

Impairment of 
intangible asset
(2020: 20.8million, 
2019: £24.4 million)

Refer to page 59, 
(accounting policy) 
and page 27 (financial 
disclosures).

Forecast-based valuation
The Group’s acquisition of Impax Asset 
management LLC in 2018 resulted in 
the recognition of an intangible asset 
relating to investment management 
contracts acquired. There is a risk of 
impairment to the carrying value of 
this intangible asset.

The valuation of an intangible asset’s 
recoverable amount is subjective 
and requires the use of assumptions 
relating to future cash flows and 
the use of a valuation model. The 
estimated recoverable amount 
is subjective due to the inherent 
uncertainty involved in forecasting 
and discounting future cash flows.

As part of our risk assessment, we 
determined that the recoverable 
amount of these assets has a high 
degree of estimation uncertainty, with 
a potential range of outcomes greater 
than our materiality for the financial 
statements as a whole and possibly 
many times that amount. The financial 
statement note 3 discloses the 
sensitivity estimated by the Group.

Low risk, high value
The carrying amount of the Parent 
Company’s investment in subsidiaries 
represents 45% (2019:51%) of 
the Company’s total assets. The 
recoverability is not considered to 
contain a high risk of significant 
misstatement or be subject to 
significant judgement. However, given 
the size of the balance in the context 
of the Parent Company financial 
statements this is considered to be the 
areas that had the greatest effect on 
our overall Parent Company audit.

Recoverability of 
Parent Company’s 
investment 
in subsidiaries
(£36 million; 2019: 
£34.6 million)

Refer to page 64 
(accounting policy and 
financial disclosures).

Our procedures included:

•  Assessing the methodology: We 

assessed the principles and integrity of 
the value-in- use discounted cash flow;

•  Benchmarking assumptions: Where 

indicators of impairment were identified 
we challenged the key assumptions 
made by management in calculating the 
recoverable amounts of the intangible 
asset. In particular, these included 
forecast net flows and operating 
margin. Our challenge was based on 
historical experience, sector experience 
and market comparable data obtained 
publicly or through management’s and 
KPMG’s internally derived data;

•  Sensitivity analysis: We considered 

the sensitivity of reasonable changes in 
key assumptions to evaluate the impact 
of the carrying value on the intangible 
asset;

•  Assessing transparency: We assessed 
whether the Group’s disclosures about 
the sensitivity of the outcome or the 
impairment assessment to changes 
in key assumptions reflected the 
risks inherent in the valuation of the 
recoverable amount.

•  Test of detail: We compared the 
carrying amount of 100% of the 
investment balances to net assets in 
the respective subsidiary to identify 
whether their net assets, being an 
approximation of their minimum 
recoverable amount, were in excess of 
their carrying amount and inspected 
that the subsidiaries had historically 
been profit making.

We continue to perform procedures over the impairment of goodwill. However, given the headroom in the 
value in use of the cash generating unit over the carrying value of goodwill, we have not assessed this as a 
significant risk in our current year audit and, therefore, it is not separately identified in our report this year. 
We continue to test the impairment of goodwill as part of our audit procedures.

18

19

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSIndependent Auditor’s Report continued
To the members of Impax Asset Management Group plc

Profit before tax
£16.7m (2019: £18.9m)

Group Materiality
£932k (2019: £762k)

£932k
Whole financial statements 
materiality (2019: £762k)

£652k
Range of materiality at 4 
components (£466k–£652k) 
(2019: N/A)

£46,680
Misstatements reported to the 
audit committee (2019: £38k)

 Profit before tax

 Group materiality

Group revenue

Group profit before tax

0

3

97%

(2019: 100%)

97

100

Group total assets

0

2

98%

(2019: 100%)

98

100

0

1

99%

(2019: 100%)

99

100

  Full scope for group audit  

  purposes 2019

  Full scope for group audit  

  purposes 2020

  Residual components

3 OUR APPLICATION OF MATERIALITY AND AN 
OVERVIEW OF THE SCOPE OF OUR AUDIT
Materiality for the group financial statements as a 
whole was set at £932k, determined with reference 
to a benchmark of group profit before tax of which 
it represents 5.6% (2019: 5% of profit before tax 
normalised to exclude the release of contingent 
consideration as disclosed in note 27).

Materiality for the Parent Company financial 
statements as a whole was set at £559k (2019: 
£732k, determined with reference to a benchmark 
of Company total assets, of which it represents 
0.8% (2019: 1%).

We agreed to report to the Audit and Risk 
Committee any corrected or uncorrected 
identified misstatements exceeding £47k, in 
addition to other identified misstatements that 
warranted reporting on qualitative grounds.

Of the Group’s 19 components, we subjected four 
to full scope audits for Group purposes.

The components within the scope of our work 
accounted for the percentages illustrated 
opposite.

The remaining 1% of group profit before tax, 2% of 
total Group assets and 3% of total group revenue 
is represented by 15 components, none of which 
individually represented more than 3% of any of 
total Group revenue, Group profit before tax or 
total Group assets. For these residual components, 
we performed analysis at an aggregated Group 
level to re-examine our assessment that there 
were no significant risks of material misstatement 
within these.

The audit of the components and the Parent 
Company was performed by the Group team. The 
component materialities, ranged from £466k to 
£652k, having regard to the mix of size and risk 
profile of the Group across the components.

In the prior year, the Group team performed the 
audit of the Group as if it were a single aggregated 
set of financial information. The audit was 
performed using the materiality levels set out in 
the comparatives above. The audit of the Company 
was also performed by the Group team.

20

5 WE HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT ON THE OTHER 
INFORMATION IN THE ANNUAL REPORT
The Directors are responsible for the other 
information presented in the Annual Report 
together with the financial statements. Our opinion 
on the financial statements does not cover the other 
information and, accordingly, we do not express an 
audit opinion or, except as explicitly stated below, 
any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information 
and, in doing so, consider whether, based on our 
financial statements audit work, the information 
therein is materially misstated or inconsistent with 
the financial statements or our audit knowledge. 
Based solely on that work we have not identified 
material misstatements in the other information.

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report
Based solely on our work on the other information:

•  we have not identified material misstatements in 
the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report;

• 

• 

in our opinion the information given in those 
reports for the financial year is consistent with 
the financial statements; and

in our opinion those reports have been prepared 
in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.

6 WE HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT ON THE OTHER 
MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIRED TO 
REPORT BY EXCEPTION
Under the Companies Act 2006, we are required to 
report to you if, in our opinion:

•  adequate accounting records have not been kept 
by the Parent Company, or returns adequate for 
our audit have not been received from branches 
not visited by us; or

•  the Parent Company financial statements are not 
in agreement with the accounting records and 
returns; or

•  certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration 

specified by law are not made; or

•  we have not received all the information and 

explanations we require for our audit.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

4 WE HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT ON 
GOING CONCERN
The Directors have prepared the financial 
statements on the going concern basis as they do 
not intend to liquidate the Company or the Group 
or to cease their operations, and as they have 
concluded that the Company’s and the Group’s 
financial position means that this is realistic. They 
have also concluded that there are no material 
uncertainties that could have cast significant doubt 
over their ability to continue as a going concern 
for at least a year from the date of approval of the 
financial statements (“the going concern period”).

Our responsibility is to conclude on the 
appropriateness of the Directors’ conclusions and, 
had there been a material uncertainty related to 
going concern, to make reference to that in this 
audit report. However, as we cannot predict all 
future events or conditions and as subsequent 
events may result in outcomes that are inconsistent 
with judgements that were reasonable at the time 
they were made, the absence of reference to a 
material uncertainty in this auditor’s report is not 
a guarantee that the Group or the Company will 
continue in operation.

In our evaluation of the Directors’ conclusions, we 
considered the inherent risks to the Group’s and 
Company’s business model and analysed how 
those risks might affect the Group’s and Company’s 
financial resources or ability to continue operations 
over the going concern period. The risks that we 
considered most likely to adversely affect the 
Group’s and Company’s available financial resources 
over this period were:

•  The impact of changes in flows of assets under 

management;

•  The impact of market movements in assets under 

management.

As these were risks that could potentially cast 
significant doubt on the Group’s and the Company’s 
ability to continue as a going concern, we 
considered sensitivities over the level of available 
financial resources indicated by the Group’s 
financial forecasts taking account of reasonably 
possible (but not unrealistic) adverse effects 
that could arise from these risks individually and 
collectively and evaluated the achievability of the 
actions the Directors consider they would take to 
improve the position should the risks materialise.

Based on this work, we are required to report to 
you if we have concluded that the use of the going 
concern basis of accounting is inappropriate or 
there is an undisclosed material uncertainty that 
may cast significant doubt over the use of that 
basis for a period of at least a year from the date of 
approval of the financial statements.

We have nothing to report in these respects, and we 
did not identify going concern as a key audit matter.

21

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSIndependent Auditor’s Report continued
To the members of Impax Asset Management Group plc

Consolidated Income Statement
For the year ended 30 September 2020

8 THE PURPOSE OF OUR AUDIT WORK AND 
TO WHOM WE OWE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
This report is made solely to the Company’s 
members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 
3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit 
work has been undertaken so that we might state 
to the Company’s members those matters we are 
required to state to them in an auditor’s report and 
for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted 
by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to 
anyone other than the Company and the Company’s 
members, as a body, for our audit work, for this 
report, or for the opinions we have formed.

JATIN PATEL

(Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor

Chartered Accountants
15 Canada Square, London

2 December 2020

7 RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Directors’ responsibilities
As explained more fully in their statement set out 
on page 12, the Directors are responsible for: the 
preparation of the financial statements including 
being satisfied that they give a true and fair view; 
such internal control as they determine is necessary 
to enable the preparation of financial statements 
that are free from material misstatement, whether 
due to fraud or error; assessing the Group and 
parent Company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related 
to going concern; and using the going concern  
basis of accounting unless they either intend to 
liquidate the Group or the Parent Company or to 
cease operations, or have no realistic alternative  
but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance 
about whether the financial statements as a whole 
are free from material misstatement, whether due 
to fraud or error, and to issue our opinion in an 
auditor’s report. Reasonable assurance is a high 
level of assurance, but does not guarantee that 
an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) 
will always detect a material misstatement when it 
exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error 
and are considered material if, individually or in 
aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to 
influence the economic decisions of users taken  
on the basis of the financial statements.

A fuller description of our responsibilities is 
provided on the FRC’s website at www.frc.org.uk/
auditorsresponsibilities.

Revenue

Operating costs

Finance income

Finance expense

Non-controlling interest

Profit before taxation

Taxation

Profit after taxation

Earnings per share

Basic

Diluted

Dividends per share

Note

6

7

10

11

2020
£000

87,511

2019
£000

73,695

(69,928)

(54,883)

1,020

(1,921)

–

1,055

(1,125)

156

16,682

18,898

12

(2,944)

(3,028)

13,738

15,870

13 

13 

10.6p

10.5p

12.2p

12.1p

Interim dividend paid and final dividend declared for the year

14

8.6p

5.5p

Adjusted results are provided in note 4.

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Profit for the year

Change in value of cash flow hedges

Tax on change in value of cash flow hedges

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations 

Total other comprehensive income

Note

2020
£000

2019
£000

13,738

15,870

(70)

13

(487)

(544)

(12)

2

922

912

Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to equity holders of the Parent 

13,194

16,782

All amounts in other comprehensive income may be reclassified to income in the future.

The statement has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.

The notes on pages 27 to 59 form part of these financial statements.

22

23

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSConsolidated Statement of Financial Position 
Company No: 03262305
As at 30 September 2020

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 
For the year ended 30 September 2020

49,526

42,858

Cash received on option exercises

2020

2019

Note

£000

£000

£000

£000

Assets

Goodwill

Intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Deferred tax assets

Total non-current assets

Trade and other receivables

Investments

Current tax asset

Cash invested in money market funds  
and long–term deposit accounts

Cash and cash equivalents

Total current assets

Total assets

Equity and liabilities

Ordinary shares

Share premium

Exchange translation reserve

Hedging reserve

Retained earnings

Total equity

Trade and other payables

Lease liabilities

Current tax liability

Total current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Lease liabilities

Deferred tax liability

Total non-current liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

15

16 

17 

12

18 

19

21

21

24

22

17 

17

12

12,306

20,871

10,857

5,492

20,735

4,387

224

18,516

20,245

1,304

9,291

1,449

(111)

59,515

27,984

1,410

190

–

9,261

3,340

12,804

24,518

1,779

3,757

16,740

4,626

239

15,235

11,939

64,107

113,633

48,779

91,637

1,304

9,291

1,936

(54)

50,751

71,448

63,228

23,581

–

124

29,584

23,705

704

–

4,000

12,601

113,633

4,704

91,637

Authorised for issue and approved by the Board on 2 December 2020. The notes on pages 27 to 59 form 
part of these financial statements.

Ian R Simm  

Chief Executive

1 October 2018

1,304

9,291

1,014

(44)

41,054

52,619

Share 
capital 
£000

Share 
premium 
£000

Note

Exchange 
translation 
reserve 
£000

Hedging 
reserve 
£000

Retained 
earnings 
£000

Total 
Equity 
£000

Transactions with owners of the Company:

Dividends paid

Acquisition of own shares

Tax credit on long-term incentive schemes

Share-based payment charges

Fair value of put option over non-controlling 
interest

Acquisition of NCI without a change in control

26

Total transactions with owners of the Company

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income:

Change in value of cashflow hedges

Tax on change in value of cashflow hedges

Exchange differences on translation of foreign 
operations

Total other comprehensive Income

30 September 2019

Impact of adoption of IFRS 16

14 

9

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

922

922

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(12)

2

–

(10)

(5,792)

(5,792)

(2,505)

(2,505)

111

251

111

251

1,160

1,160

(328)

(328)

930

930

(6,173)

(6,173)

15,870 15,870

–

–

(12)

2

922

912

1,304

9,291

1,936

(54)

50,751 63,228

–

–

–

–

(247)

(247)

Adjusted balance at 1 October 2019

1,304

9,291

1,936

(54)

50,504 62,981

Transactions with owners of the Company:

Dividends paid

Acquisition of own shares

Cash received on option exercises

Tax credit on long-term incentive schemes

Share-based payment charges

Total transactions with owners of the Company

14 

9

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income:

Change in value of cash flow hedge

Tax on change in value of cashflow hedges

Exchange differences on translation of foreign 
operations

Total other comprehensive Income

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(487)

(487)

30 September 2020

1,304

9,291

1,449

The notes on pages 27 to 59 form part of these financial statements.

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(70)

13

–

(57)

(111)

(7,442) (7,442)

(4,223) (4,223)

489

489

4,636

4,636

1,813

1,813

(4,727)

(4,727)

13,738

13,738

–

–

–

–

(70)

13

(487)

(544)

59,515 71,448

24

25

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSConsolidated Cash Flow Statement 
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Notes to the Financial Statements 
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Operating activities

Cash generated from operations

Corporation tax paid

Net cash generated from operating activities

Investing activities

Deconsolidation of investment fund

Net acquisitions of property plant and equipment and intangible assets

Net redemptions/investments from/into unconsolidated Impax funds

Settlement of investment related hedges

Investment income received

Increase in cash held in money market funds and long-term deposit accounts

Net cash used by investing activities

Financing activities

Acquisition of non-controlling interest

Repayment of bank borrowings

Interest paid on bank borrowings

Payment of lease liabilities

Acquisition of own shares

Cash received on exercise of Impax staff share options

Dividends paid

Net cash used by financing activities

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Note

2020
£000

2019
£000

28

24,382

20,848

(607)

(580)

23,775

20,268

–

(182)

1,191

(156)

222

(67)

(402)

(485)

258

236

(3,281)

(4,024)

(2,206)

(4,484)

(201)

(201)

–

(10,371)

(136)

(670)

(1,699)

–

(4,223)

(2,505)

489

111

(7,442)

(5,792)

(13,212)

(19,428)

8,357

(3,644)

11,939

15,529

(51)

54

21

20,245

11,939

Cash and cash equivalents under IFRS does not include deposits in money market funds and cash held 
in deposits with more than an original maturity of three months. The Group however considers its total 
cash reserves to include these amounts. Cash held in RPA accounts are not included in cash reserves  
(see note 21). 

Movements on cash reserves are shown in the table below:

Cash and cash equivalents

At the 
beginning 
of the 
year
£000

11,939

Cash invested in money market funds and long-term deposit accounts

15,235

Cashflow 
£000

8,357

3,281

Foreign 
exchange
£000

At the 
end of the 
year
£000

(51)

20,245

–

–

18,516

(1,363)

Cash in RPAs

Total Group cash reserves

(968)

(395)

26,206

11,243

(51)

37,398

1 REPORTING ENTITY
Impax Asset Management Group plc (the “Company”) is incorporated and domiciled in the UK and is 
listed on the Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”). These consolidated financial statements comprise 
the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the “Group”). The Company’s separate financial 
statements are shown on pages 60 to 70.

2 BASIS OF PREPARATION
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards (“IFRSs”) adopted for use by the European Union. 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of 
the revaluation of certain investments and derivatives being measured at fair value.

Details of the significant accounting policies adopted by the Group are shown in note 32. The Group has 
applied IFRS 16: Leases for the first time in these Financial Statements, see note 31 for details.

The financial statements are presented in Sterling. All amounts have been rounded to the nearest thousand 
unless otherwise indicated.

Going concern
The Board has made an assessment covering a period of 12 months from the date of approval of these 
financial statements which indicates that, taking account of a reasonably possible downside assumptions 
in relation to asset inflows, market performance and costs, the Group will have sufficient funds to meet its 
liabilities as they fall due and regulatory capital requirements for that period. In making this assessment 
the Board has considered the potential ongoing impact of COVID-19. The Group has sufficient cash 
balances and no debt and, at the year end market levels, is profitable. A significant part of the Group’s 
cost basis is variable as bonuses are linked to profitability. The Group can also preserve cash through 
dividend reduction and through issuance of shares to cover share option exercises/restricted share awards 
(rather than purchasing shares). The Group has operated without disruption during the lockdown periods 
to date and expects to continue to do so. Consequently, the Directors are confident that the Group will 
have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months from the date 
of approval of the financial statements and therefore have prepared the financial statements on a going 
concern basis.

3 USE OF JUDGEMENTS AND ESTIMATES
In preparing these financial statements management has made estimates that affect the reported amounts 
of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from estimates. Revisions to estimates 
are recognised prospectively. 

The significant key source of estimation uncertainty were estimates made in determining if intangibles 
assets, acquired on acquisition of NH were impaired. The intangible assets acquired represent investment 
management contracts. These are amortised over an 11 year life which is considered reasonable given 
the nature of the investors into these Funds. If there are any indications of impairment they are tested 
for impairment at each reporting date. The fair value at the date of acquisition was calculated using the 
discounted cash flow methodology and represented the valuation of the profits expected to be earned 
from the management contracts in place at the date of acquisition. The impairment test completed this 
year showed no impairment was required and used the following key assumptions – future subscription of 
new assets of US$0.34bn per annum on average (2019: US$0.34bn), future equity fund performance of 
5% (2019: 5%), an average operating margin of 20% (2019: 23%) and a discounted cost of capital of 13.5% 
(2019: 13.5%). 

Changes in the assumptions would give rise to impairments as follows: a consistent 10% decrease in inflows 
– no impairment; a 100 basis point annual reduction in performance each year – impairment of £0.4 million; 
a 1% annual reduction in operating margin – no impairment.

26

27

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS4 ADJUSTED PROFITS AND EARNINGS
The reported operating earnings, profit before tax and earnings per share are substantially affected by 
business combination effects and other items. The Directors have therefore decided to report an Adjusted 
operating profit, Adjusted profit before tax and Adjusted earnings per share which exclude these items 
in order to enable comparison with peers and provide consistent measures of performance over time. 
A reconciliation of the adjusted amounts to the IFRS reported amounts is shown below.

Revenue

Operating costs

Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition

Acquisition equity incentive scheme charges

Mark to market charge on equity awards*

Operating profit

Finance income

Finance expense

Profit before taxation

Taxation

Tax credit on adjustments

Profit after taxation

Diluted earnings per share

Year ended 30 September 2020

Adjustments

Reported 
– IFRS 
£000

87,511 

(69,928)

17,583 

1,020

(1,921)

16,682 

(2,944)

13,738 

10.5p

Business 
combination 
effects 
£000

2,535 

135

2,670

Other
£000

Adjusted 
£000

87,511

(64,261)

2,997 

2,997

(124)

23,250

896

(1,921)

2,670

2,873

22,225

2,670

2.1p 

(546)

2,327

1.8p

(3,490)

18,735

14.5p

*  The charge is mitigated by £4,636,000 of tax credits shown in the statement of changes in equity

Revenue

Operating costs

Amortisation of intangibles arising on acquisition

Credit from contingent consideration adjustment

Acquisition equity incentive scheme charges

Mark to market charge on equity awards

Operating profit

Finance income

Finance expense

Non controlling interest

Change in third-party interest in consolidated funds

Profit before taxation

Taxation

Tax credit on adjustments

Profit after taxation

Diluted earnings per share

Year ended 30 September 2019 

Adjustments 

Business 
combination 
effects 
£000

Reported 
– IFRS 
£000

73,695 

(54,883)

Other 
£000

Adjusted 
£000

73,695 

(55,717)

2,528 

(3,543)

(21)

(1,036) 

209

(827) 

(827) 

(0.6p)

202 

202 

(154)

48 

(9)

39

0.0p

17,978 

901

(916)

156

–

18,119 

(3,037)

15,082 

11.5p

18,812 

1,055

(1,125)

156

–

18,898 

(3,028)

15,870 

12.1p

The adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated using the adjusted profit after taxation shown 
above less the IFRS adjustment for profit attributable to owners of restricted shares of £503,000 (2019: 
£867,000) (see note 13). The diluted number of shares is the same as used for the IFRS calculation of 
earnings per share (see note 13).

Mark to market charge on equity incentive awards
The Group has in prior years and the current period awarded employees options over the Group’s shares, 
some of which are either unvested or unexercised at the balance sheet date. The Group has also made 
awards of restricted shares (“RSS awards”) some of which have not vested at the balance sheet date. 
Employers National Insurance Contributions (“NIC”) are payable on the option awards when they are 
exercised and on the RSS awards when they vest, based on the valuation of the underlying shares at 
that point. The Group does however receive a corporation tax credit equal to the value of the awards at 
the date they are exercised (options) or vest (RSS awards). A charge is accrued for the NIC within IFRS 
operating profit based on the share price at the balance sheet date. Similarly a credit for the corporation 
tax is accrued within equity.

An additional retention payment is made to holders of legacy Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) awards 
when they are exercised, all of which are fully vested at the balance sheet date. The payment will be equal 
to the corporation tax benefit the Group receives on the exercise of the options minus the amount of 
NIC payable on exercise. For unexercised options this charge is accrued based on the share price at the 
balance sheet date.

These two charges vary based on the Group’s share price (together referred to as mark to market charge 
on equity incentive schemes) and are not linked to the operating performance of the Group. They are 
therefore eliminated when reporting adjusted profit. 

Contingent consideration
We are required to review and adjust our estimate of the contingent consideration payable in respect of 
the Impax NH acquisition (see note 27). Any adjustment is recorded through income but is excluded from 
adjusted profit. This in not linked to the operating performance of the Impax NH business and is therefore 
eliminated from operating costs.

Amortisation of intangibles
Intangible management contracts were acquired as part of the acquisition of Impax NH acquisition and are 
amortised over their 11 year life. This is not linked to the operating performance of the Impax NH business 
and is therefore eliminated from operating costs.

Finance income/expense
The adjustments/expense represent the removal of charges in respect of unwinding the discount of the 
contingent consideration payable (see above) and of legacy royalty income.

5 SEGMENTAL REPORTING

(a) Operating segments
In January 2018, Pax World Management LLC was acquired by Impax and has been re-named Impax Asset 
Management LLC. This company is based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and we refer to it as “Impax 
NH”. Impax NH is the manager of Pax World Funds. Impax Asset Management Ltd and Impax Asset 
Management (AIFM) Ltd manage or advise listed equity funds and accounts, and the Real Assets division. 
The majority of this business is based in London so we refer to it as “Impax LN”. Impax LN itself has 
two operating segments: “Listed Equity” and “Private Equity”. The results of these segments have been 
aggregated into a single reportable segment for the purposes of these financial statements because they 
have characteristics so similar that they can be expected to have essentially the same future prospects. 
These segments have common investors, operate under the same regulatory regimes and their distribution 
channels are substantially the same. Additionally management allocates the resources of Impax LN as 
though there is one operating unit.

Segment information is presented on the same basis as that provided for internal reporting purposes to 
the Group’s chief operating decision maker, the Chief Executive.

28

29

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS5 SEGMENTAL REPORTING CONTINUED
Year ended 30 September 2020

(c) Non-cash items
Operating expenses include the following non-cash items:

Impax LN 
£000

Impax NH 
£000

Adjustments
£000

Total
£000

Year ended 30 September 2020

Revenue 

External customers 

Inter-segment 

Total revenue 

61,906 

25,605

–

87,511

3,147 

– 

(3,147)

–

65,053 

25,605 

(3,147)

87,511 

Segment profit – adjusted operating profit 

22,176 

1,074 

–

23,250

Year ended 30 September 2019

Revenue 

External customers 

Inter-segment 

Total revenue 

Impax LN
£000 

Impax NH
£000 

Adjustments
£000

Total
£000

50,030 

23,665

–

73,695

2,349 

– 

(2,349)

–

52,379 

23,665 

(2,349)

73,695 

Segment profit – adjusted operating profit 

16,630 

1,348 

–

17,978

(b) Geographical analysis
An analysis of revenue by the location of client is presented below:

UK 

North America 

France 

Luxembourg 

Netherlands 

Ireland 

Other 

Revenue

2020
£000

15,104

2019
£000

13,221

34,705

30,007

9,478

19,066

2,912

3,553

2,693

87,511

8,523

14,580

3,087

2,478

1,799

73,695

The following non-current assets: property plant and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets are 
located in the countries listed below:

UK 

United States 

Hong Kong 

Non-current assets

2020
£000

7,882

2019
£000

3,368

36,131

35,705

21

28

44,034

39,101

Share based payments 

Depreciation and amortisation 

Year ended 30 September 2019

Share based payments 

Depreciation and amortisation 

6 REVENUE
See accounting policy at note 32 (D)

Impax LN 
£000

Impax NH 
£000

1,678

1,221

2,899 

135

3,039

3,174 

Impax LN 
£000

Impax NH
£000 

1,222

371

1,593 

(62)

2,581

2,519 

Total 
£000

1,813 

4,260

6,073

Total 
£000

1,160 

2,952

4,112

The Group’s main source of revenue is investment management and advisory fees. The Group may also 
earn carried interest from its Private Equity funds. Management and advisory fees are generally based on 
an agreed percentage of the valuation of assets under management (“AUM”) for Listed Equity funds. For 
Private Equity funds they are generally based on an agreed percentage of commitments made to the fund 
by investors during the fund’s investment period and thereafter on the cost price of investments made and 
not exited. Carried interest is earned from Private Equity funds if the cash returned to investors exceeds an 
agreed return. 

The Group determines the investment management and advisory fees to be a single revenue stream as 
they are all determined through a single performance obligation. Should AUM reduce as result of equity 
market downturns or allocation of capital away from equity markets then the revenue would reduce.

None of the Group’s funds individually represented more than 10% of Group revenue in the current or 
prior year.

Revenue includes £84,163,120 (2019: £73,120,049) from related parties.

30

31

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS7 OPERATING COSTS
The Group’s largest operating cost is staff costs. Other significant costs include direct fund costs, premises 
costs (depreciation of office building lease right of use assets, rates and service charge), amortisation of 
intangible assets, mark to market charges on share awards and acquisition costs.

See accounting policy at note 32 (E) for leases and note 32 (F) for placement fees

8 STAFF COSTS AND EMPLOYEES
Staff costs include salaries, a variable bonus, social security cost (principally UK Employers’ National 
Insurance on salary, bonus and share awards), the cost of contributions made to employees’ pension 
schemes and share-based payment charges. Further details of the Group’s remuneration policies, including 
how the total variable bonus pool is determined, are provided in the Remuneration Report. Share-based 
payment charges are offset against the total cash bonus pool paid to employees. NIC charges on share-
based payments are accrued based on the share price at the balance sheet date.

Staff costs (note 8) 

Direct fund expenses 

Premises costs 

Research costs 

Professional fees 

IT and communications 

Depreciation and amortisation 

Mark to market charges on share awards 

Other costs 

Sub-total 

Contingent Consideration 

Total 

2020
£000

2019
£000

44,728

36,657

5,570

1,062

570

2,555

4,017

4,260

3,243

3,923

5,488

2,496

322

2,596

3,458

2,952

202

4,255

69,928

58,426

–

(3,543)

69,928

54,883

Operating costs include £774,000 (2019: £791,000) in respect of placing agent fees paid to related parties.

Other costs includes £275,000 (2019: £284,000) paid to the Group’s auditors which is analysed below:

Audit of the Group’s Parent Company and consolidated financial statements 

Audit of subsidiary undertakings 

Tax compliance 

Other non-audit services 

2020
£000

130

69

28

48

275

2019
£000

69

128

23

64

284

Salaries and variable bonuses

Social security costs

Pensions

Share-based payment charge (see note 9)

Other staff costs

2020 
£000

2019
£000

34,081

29,290

3,702

948

1,813

4,184

1,661

834

1,160

3,712

44,728

36,657

See accounting policy for pensions in note 32 (G)

The Group contributes to private pension schemes. The assets of the schemes are held separately from 
those of the Group in independently administered funds. The pension cost represents contributions 
payable by the Group to these funds. Contributions totalling £64,000 (2019: £48,000) were payable  
to the funds at the year end and are included in trade and other payables.

Other staff costs include the cost of providing health and other insurances for staff, Non-Executive 
Directors’ fees, contractor fees, recruitment fees and termination costs.

Directors and key management personnel
Details related to emoluments paid to Directors and Directors’ rights to share awards are included in the 
Remuneration Report under the “Directors’ Remuneration During The Year” heading on page 16 and in the 
Director’s Report under the “Directors option holdings and other share based payment awards“ heading 
on page 10.

Key management personnel are related parties and are defined as members of the Board and/or the 
Executive Committee. The remuneration of key management personnel during the year was £9,112,098 
with £704,580 of share-based payments (2019: £6,692,904 plus £577,724 of share-based payments).

Employees
The average number of persons (excluding Non-Executive Directors and including temporary staff), 
employed during the year was 171 (2019: 151).

Listed Equity

Private Equity

Client Service and Business Development

Group

2020
No.

2019
No.

57

12

53

49

171

55

11

43

42

151

32

33

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS9 SHARE-BASED PAYMENT CHARGES
See accounting policy at note 32 (H)

The total expense recognised for the year arising from share-based payment transactions was £1,813,000 
(2019: £1,160,000). The charges arose in respect of the Group’s Restricted Share Scheme (“RSS”), 
the Group’s Employee Share Option Plan (“ESOP”) and the Group’s Restricted Share Units scheme 
(“RSU”) which are described below. Share-based payment charges also arose in respect of the put and 
call arrangement made with Impax NH management to acquire their shares in Impax NH. Details of all 
outstanding options are provided at the end of this note. The charges for each scheme are:

RSS

ESOP

RSU

Put and call arrangement

2020
£000

1,253 

426 

– 

134 

2019
£000

1,099

123

(41)

(21)

1,813 

1,160

Restricted Share Scheme
Restricted shares have been granted to employees in prior years under the 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 
2019 plans which are not wholly vested. Post year end the Board approved the grant of a further 331,500 
restricted shares under the 2020 plan. Details of the awards granted along with their valuation and the 
inputs used in the valuation are described in the table below. The valuations were determined using 
the Black-Scholes-Merton model with an adjustment to reflect dividends received by employees during 
the vesting period. Following grant, the shares are held by a nominee for employees – who are then 
immediately entitled to receive dividends. After a period of three years’ continuous employment the 
employees will receive unfettered access to one third of the shares, after four years a further third and 
after five years the final third. The employees are not required to make any payment for the shares on 
grant or when the restrictions lapse.

The expected volatility was determined by reviewing the historical volatility of the Company and that of 
comparator companies. The expected dividend rate is determined using the Company share price and 
most recent full year dividend to grant date.

Restricted shares outstanding

Outstanding at 1 October 2019

Granted during the year

Vested during the year

Forfeited during the year

Outstanding at 30 September 2020

Employee share option plan
Options granted between 2014 and 2017

7,185,479

67,250

(2,480,007)

(25,000)

4,747,722

The strike price of these options was set at a 10% premium to the average market price of the Company’s 
shares for the five business days (ESOP 2014: 30 days) following the announcement of the results for each 
of the respective preceding financial years. The 2014 – 2015 ESOP options have vested. The 2017 options 
do not have performance conditions but do have a time vesting condition such that they vest subject to 
continued employment on 31 December 2020. 

The valuation was determined using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. 

Options granted in 2018 and 2019

The strike price of these options was set at £1. The options do not have performance conditions but do 
have a time vesting condition such that the options vest subject to continued employment five years 
following grant. Vested shares are restricted from being sold until after a further five year period (other 
than to settle any resulting tax liability). 

Post year end the Board approved the grant of 610,000 options under the 2020 plan. The options have a 
strike price of £3 but otherwise have the same conditions as the other options.

2014 RSS

2015 RSS

2017 RSS

2018 RSS

2019 RSS

2020 RSS

The valuation was determined using the binomial model. 

478,250

67,250

331,500

Share options are equity settled.

Options outstanding
An analysis of the outstanding options arising from Company’s ESOP and LTIP plans is provided below:

Awards originally granted

1,250,000 3,140,000/
1,000,000

In respect of services provided  
for period from

1 Oct 2013 1 Oct 2014/
9 Feb 2016

Option award value

49.9p

Weighted average share price on grant

52.5p

42.1p/
41.5p

41.4p

2,550,000/
500,000/
675,000

14 Dec 2016/
11 May 2017/
1 Oct 2016

52.2p/87.7p/
161.6p

1 Oct 2017 1 Oct 2018 1 Oct 2019

201.3p

236.8p

506.2p

Expected volatility

32%

32%/31% 29%/29%/29%

30%

31%

32%

Weighted average option life on grant

5.3yrs

4.9yrs

4.3yrs

5.3yrs

5.3yrs

5.3yrs

Expected dividend rate

Risk free interest rate

3%

3%

4%/2%/2%

1.2% 1.2%/0.8% 0.6%/0.6%/0.7%

1%

1.2%

2%

0.3%

1%

0.0%

Options granted

Forfeited during the year

Options exercised

Options outstanding at 30 September 2020

Options exercisable at 30 September 2020

77.4p

202.8p

239.0p

510.0p

Options outstanding at 1 October 2019

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
p

74.4

100.0

100.0

18.0

140.7

53.6

Number

4,525,500

650,000

(100,000)

(2,625,500)

2,450,000

100,000

34

35

Exercise prices for the options outstanding at the end of the period were 56.9p for the ESOP 2014, 180.2p 
for the ESOP 2017 and 100.0p for the ESOP 2018 and 2019. The weighted average remaining contractual 
life was 5.5 years.

The Group continues to plan that future options exercises will primarily be satisfied by the Group’s 
Employee Benefit Trusts (the “EBT”). The Group funds the EBT to acquire shares or issues shares to the 
EBT to cover the grant of RSS awards and option exercises. See note 25 for breakdown of own shares held.

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS9 SHARE-BASED PAYMENT CHARGES CONTINUED

Restricted stock units
The Group awarded Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) to Impax NH staff and management on 18 January 
2018. The RSUs entitle holders to receive Impax shares with a total value equal to 10% of the Contingent 
Consideration paid for the Impax NH acquisition. The number of shares that each individual will receive 
under the RSUs is determined on 15 January 2021 after the amount of Contingent Consideration payable is 
finalised using the average Impax share price for the 20 consecutive trading days ending 15 January 2021. 
There is a further two-year restriction on the holders’ ability to sell the shares. The shares are forfeited if 
the individual leaves at any time before the restricted period ends.

The charge to the income statement for these awards is determined each year by estimating the total 
value of shares that will be awarded (using the estimate of Contingent consideration) and spreading this 
over the five year period until the restrictions cease. The estimates are updated each year and the charge 
adjusted accordingly. 

Based on the current estimate of Contingent Consideration no shares will be issued.

Impax NH put and call arrangement
The Group has a put and call arrangement which will require it to purchase shares held in Impax NH by its 
management. The shares held by Impax NH management were originally acquired as part of a share based 
payment arrangement and are subject to certain restrictions. The original share based payment agreement 
and the put and call arrangement together represent a new share based payment. The charge is spread 
over a three year period from the date of acquisition. 

10 FINANCE INCOME

Fair value gains 

Interest income 

Other investment income 

Foreign exchange gains 

2020
£000

2019
£000

798

98

124

–

103

82

154

716

1,020

1,055

Fair value gains represent those arising on the revaluation of listed and unlisted investments held by the 
Group and any gains or losses arising on related hedge instruments held by the Group. 

The fair value gain comprises realised losses of £53,000 and unrealised gains of £851,000 (2019: £149,000 
of realised losses and £252,000 of unrealised gains).

11  FINANCE EXPENSE

Interest on lease liabilities 

Finance costs on bank loans 

Unwinding of discount on contingent consideration 

Foreign exchange losses 

2020
£000

514

295

–

1,112

1,921

2019
£000

–

912

213

–

1,125

Finance costs on bank loans for 2020 mainly represent commitment fees payable on the Group’s revolving 
credit facility (see note 23).

See accounting policy at note 32 (J)

12 TAXATION
See accounting policy at note 32 (K)

The Group is subject to taxation in the countries in which it operates (the UK, the US and Hong Kong)  
at the rates applicable in those countries. The total tax charge includes taxes payable for the reporting 
period (current tax) and also charges relating to taxes that will be payable in future years due to income  
or expenses being recognised in different periods for tax and accounting periods (deferred tax). 

(a) Analysis of charge for the year

Current tax expense: 

UK corporation tax 

Foreign taxes 

Adjustment in respect of prior years 

Total current tax 

Deferred tax expense/(credit): 

Charge for the year 

Adjustment in respect of prior years 

Total deferred tax 

Total income tax expense 

2020
£000

2019
£000

124

219

342

685

831

227

185

1,243

3,388

(1,129)

2,259

2,165

(380)

1,785

2,944

3,028

Tax credits are also recorded in equity in respect of tax deduction on share awards arising due to share 
prices increases of £4,636,000 (2019: £251,000) and tax credits on cash flow hedges of £13,000. This 
includes a credit of £175,000 to reflect the cancellation of the planned reduction in the UK tax from 19% to 
17% that was due to come in to effect from 1 April 2020. The adjustment in respect of prior years in 2020 
mainly reflects reductions in the tax expected to be payable on private equity income, recorded in prior 
years, as result of transactions which took place in the year.

(b) Factors affecting the tax charge for the year
The UK tax rate for the year is 19%. The tax assessment for the period is lower than this rate (2019: lower). 
The differences are explained below:

Profit before tax 

Tax charge at 19% (2019: 19%) 

Effects of: 

Non-taxable income – contingent consideration adjustment

Non-deductible expense and charges

Adjustment in respect of historical tax charges 

Effect of higher tax rates in foreign jurisdictions 

Tax losses not recognised 

Total income tax expense 

2020
£000

2019
£000

16,682

18,898

3,170

3,591

–

13

(787)

85

463

(863)

20

(195)

95

380

2,944

3,028

The Group has tax losses of £4,467,000 available for offset against future taxable profits in the USA which 
have not been recognised as deferred tax assets on the basis that, based on current profitability of the 
USA business we will not be able to utilise them in the next two years. 

36

37

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS12 TAXATION CONTINUED

The weighted average number of shares is calculated as shown in the table below:

(c) Deferred tax
The deferred tax asset/(liability) included in the consolidated statement of financial position is as follows:

As at 1 October 2018 

Credit to equity 

Exchange differences on consolidation 

Share-
based 
payment 
scheme
£000

3,613

251

–

Credit/(charge) to the income statement 

(345)

As at 30 September 2019 

Credit to equity 

Exchange differences on consolidation 

3,519

4,636

– 

Credit/(charge) to the income statement 

(2,953)

As at 30 September 2020 

5,202

Other 
assets 
£000

837

2

2

(603)

238

13

– 

40

291

Total 
assets
£000

4,450

253

2

Income 
not yet 
taxable 
£000

Other 
liabilities 
£000

Total 
liabilities 
£000

(2,851)

(313)

(3,164)

–

1

– 

– 

–

1

(948)

(983)

146

(837)

3,757

4,649

–

(2,913)

5,492

(3,833)

(167)

(4,000)

–

6 

697

(3,130)

– 

– 

–

6

(43)

(210)

654

(3,340)

13 EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) is calculated by dividing the profit for the year attributable to ordinary 
equity holders of the Parent Company (the “Earnings”) by the weighted average number of Ordinary 
Shares outstanding during the year, less the weighted average number of own shares held. Own shares 
are held in Employee Benefit Trusts (“EBTs”).

Diluted EPS includes an adjustment to reflect the dilutive impact of share awards.

The number of shares to be issued under the Restricted Share Units is based on the Impax NH assets 
under management at the vesting date. Assets under management are currently below the threshold for 
shares to be issued so the RSUs are currently not dilutive. The put and call arrangement to acquire Impax 
NH management shares is also currently not dilutive.

2020

Basic 

Diluted

2019

Basic 

Diluted 

Earnings 
for the 
year
£000 

Shares 
000s

Earnings 
per share 

13,235

124,572

10.6p

13,235

125,825

10.5p

15,003

122,887

12.2p

15,003

124,056

12.1p

Earnings are reduced by £503,000 for the year ended 30 September 2020 (2019: £867,000) to reflect 
holders of restricted shares receiving dividends during the vesting period, see note 9.

Weighted average issued share capital 

Less own shares held not allocated to vested LTIP options 

Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares used in the calculation of basic EPS

Additional dilutive shares regarding share schemes

Adjustment to reflect option exercise proceeds and future service  
from employees receiving share awards

2020
000’s

2019
000’s

130,415

130,415

(5,843)

(7,528)

124,572

122,887

2,451

2,800

(1,198)

(1,631)

Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares used in the calculation of diluted EPS

125,825

124,056

The basic and diluted number of shares includes vested LTIP option shares on the basis that these have an 
inconsequential exercise price (1p or 0p). 

14 DIVIDENDS
Dividends are recognised as a reduction in equity in the period in which they are paid or in the case of 
final dividends when they are approved by shareholders. The reduction in equity in the year therefore 
comprises the prior year final dividend and the current year interim.

Dividends declared/proposed in respect of the year

Interim dividend declared per share

Final dividend proposed per share

Total

2020
pence

2019
pence

1.8

6.8

8.6

1.5

4.0

5.5

The proposed final dividend of 6.8p will be submitted for formal approval at the Annual General Meeting 
to be held on 18 March 2021. Based on the number of shares in issue at the date of this report and 
excluding own shares held the total amount payable for the final dividend would be £8,838,000.

Dividends paid in the year

Prior year final dividend – 4.0p, 3.0p 

Interim dividend – 1.8p, 1.5p 

2020
£000

5,140 

2,302 

7,442 

2019
£000

3,864 

1,928 

5,792

38

39

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS15 GOODWILL
See accounting policy at note 32 (L)

16 INTANGIBLE ASSETS
See accounting policy at note 32 (M)

The goodwill balance within the Group at 30 September 2020 arose from the acquisition of Impax Capital 
Limited on 18 June 2001 (Listed Equity and Private Equity operating segment) and the acquisition of Impax 
NH in January 2018.

Intangible assets mainly represents the value of the management contracts acquired as part of the 
acquisition of Impax NH.

Cost 

At 1 October 2018 

Foreign exchange 

At 30 September 2019 

Foreign exchange 

At 30 September 2020 

Goodwill  

£000

12,171 

633 

12,804

(498)

12,306

Impax NH consists of only one cash-generating unit (“CGU”). Goodwill is allocated between CGUs at 
30 September 2020 as follows – £10,677,000 to Impax NH and £1,629,000 to the Listed Equity and Private 
Equity CGUs.

The Group has determined the recoverable amount of its CGUs by calculating their value in use using a 
discounted cash flow model. The cash flow forecasts were derived taking into account the budget for the 
year ended 30 September 2021, which was approved by the Directors in October 2020. 

The goodwill on the Listed Equity and Private Equity CGUs arose over 15 years ago and the business has 
grown significantly in size and profitability since that date. There is accordingly significant headroom 
before an impairment is required. The main assumptions used to calculate the cash flows in the impairment 
test for these CGUs were that asset under management would continue at current levels and margins 
would continue at current levels, that fund performance for the Listed Equity business would be 5% per 
year and a discount rate of 12.5%. The discount rate was derived from the Group’s weighted average cost 
of capital. There has been no impairment of goodwill related to these segments to date and there would 
have to be significant asset outflows over a sustained period before any impairment was required. If the 
discount rate increased by 3% there would no impairment and if fund performance reduced to zero there 
would be no impairment.

The impairment test for the Impax NH CGU showed no impairment was required and used the following 
key assumptions – average fund inflows of $0.57bn, fund performance of 5%, an average operating margin 
of 20% and a discount rate of 12.5%. Changes in the assumptions as follows would individually not give rise 
to an impairment: a consistent 10% decrease in inflows; a 100 basis point annual reduction in performance 
each year; a 1% annual reduction in operating margin, a 1% increase in discount rate.

Cost 

As at 1 October 2018 

Additions 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2019 

Additions 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2020 

Accumulated amortisation 

As at 1 October 2018 

Charge for the year 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2019 

Charge for the year 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2020 

Net book value 

As at 30 September 2020 

As at 30 September 2019 

As at 30 September 2018 

Management 
contracts
£000

Software 
£000

Total 
£000

27,381

–

1,635

29,016

–

(1,309)

27,707

1,890

2,528

203

4,621

2,535

(249)

6,907

418

97

–

515

14

–

27,799

97

1,635

29,531

14

(1,309)

529

28,236

344

48

–

392

66

–

2,234

2,576

203

5,013

2,601

(249)

458

7,365

20,800

24,395

25,491

71

123

74

20,871

24,518

25,565

40

41

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS17 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
See accounting policy at note 32 (N)

The carrying value of the Group’s right of use assets, associated lease liabilities and the movements during 
the period are set out below.

Cost 

As at 1 October 2018 

Additions 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2019 

Impact of adoption of IFRS 16 

As at 1 October 2019 

Additions 

Foreign exchange 

– 

– 

– 

– 

10,693 

10,693 

87 

(225) 

Right of 
use assets 
£000

Leasehold 
improvements 
£000

Fixtures, 
fittings 
and 
equipment 
£000

1,387

294

20

1,701

Total 
£000

3,446

305

21

3,772

– 

10,693 

At 1 October 2019

New leases

Lease payments

Interest expense

Depreciation charge

Foreign exchange movement

At 30 September 2020

2,059

11

1

2,071

– 

2,071 

1,701 

14,465 

22

– 

146

– 

255

(225)

Right of use 
asset
£m

Lease 
liabilities
£m

10,693

87

–

–

(1,249)

(216)

11,991

87

(1,700)

514

–

(221)

9,315

10,671

Current

Non current

1,410

9,261

10,671

As at 30 September 2020 

10,555 

2,093

1,847

14,495

Accumulated depreciation 

As at 1 October 2018 

Charge for the year 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2019 

Charge for the year 

Foreign exchange 

As at 30 September 2020 

Net book value 

As at 30 September 2020 

As at 1 October 2019

As at 30 September 2018 

– 

– 

– 

– 

1,249 

(9) 

1,240 

827

143

–

970

146

2

783

231

9

1,023

264

1,610

374

9

1,993

1,659

(7)

(14)

1,118

1,280

3,638

9,315

10,693 

– 

975

1,101

1,232

567

678

604

10,857

12,472

1,836

Lease arrangements
As described in note 2 and note 31 the Group has adopted IFRS 16 for the first time in these financial 
statements. Property, plant and equipment therefore includes right-of-use assets in relation to operating 
leases for the Group’s office buildings.

All contracts existing at the date of the initial application of IFRS 16 have been captured and recognised 
under IFRS 16.

The contractual maturities on the undiscounted minimum lease payments under lease liabilities are 
provided below along with a reconciliation to the lease liability recognised at 1 October 2019:

Within one year

Between 1 and 5 years

Later than 5 years

Total undiscounted lease liabilities

Impact of discounting

Recognition exemption for short term leases

Lease liability recognised at 1 October 2019

2020
£000

1,702

6,461

4,862

13,025

2019
£000

1,710

6,568

6,655

14,933

(2,936)

(6)

11,991

The Company’s London office lease has an extension option of a further five years from June 2027, subject 
to a rent review, which are not included in the above numbers on the basis that it is not yet reasonably 
certain that it will be exercised. 

18 TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
See accounting policy at note 32 (O)

Trade receivables

Other receivables

Prepayments and accrued income

2020
£000

3,512

685

16,538

20,735

2019
£000

2,412

1,479

12,849

16,740

Accrued income relates to accrued management fees and arises where invoices are raised in arrears.

42

43

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS18 TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES CONTINUED
An analysis of the aging of trade receivables is provided below:

Hierarchical classification of investments
The hierarchical classification of the investments as considered by IFRS 13 Financial Instruments: 
Disclosures is shown below:

0–30 days

Past due but not impaired:

31–60 days

61–90 days

2020
£000

2,317

–

1,195

3,512

2019
£000

2,170

241

1

2,412

At 1 October 2019

Additions

Fair value movements

Repayments/disposals

At 30 September 2020

Level 1
£000

1,743

–

210

–

Level 2
£000

Level 3
£000

1,828 

1,055

– 

121 

(1,949)

758

621

–

Total
£000

4,626

758

952

(1,949)

1,953

–

2,434

4,387

At the date of this report, substantially all of the trade receivables above have been received. As at 
30 September 2020 the assessed provision under the IFRS 9 expected loss model was immaterial 
(2019: immaterial).

£16,302,700 of trade and other receivables and accrued income were due from related parties 
(2019: £13,100,852). 

19 CURRENT ASSET INVESTMENTS
See accounting policy at note 32 (P)

The Group makes seed investments into its own Listed Equity funds and also invests in its Private 
Equity funds. Where the funds are consolidated the underlying investments are shown in the table 
below. Investments made in unconsolidated funds are also included. Further details of when funds 
are consolidated are described in note 32 (A). 

At 1 October 2018

Additions

Fair value movements

Fund deconsolidation

Repayments/disposals

At 30 September 2019

Additions

Fair value movements

Repayments/disposals

At 30 September 2020

The investments include £2,434,000 in related parties of the Group (2019: £747,000).

Total
£000

4,349

2,522

(155)

(53)

(2,037)

4,626

758

952

(1,949)

4,387

There were no movements between any of the levels in the Period.

The level 3 investments are in the Group’s private equity investments funds. If the net asset value of those 
funds changed by +/- 10% then the valuation of those investments would change by +/- £243,000.

Market risk and investment hedges
See accounting policy for derivatives at note 32 (Q)

Investments made are subject to market risk. Where appropriate the Group has attempted to hedge 
against the risk of market falls by the use of derivative contracts. The derivative contracts consist of  
short positions against a global equity index and are arranged through BNP Paribas, a related party.  
Any outstanding amounts on the short positions are settled daily.

20 INTERESTS IN UNCONSOLIDATED STRUCTURED ENTITIES
See accounting policy at note 32 (A) and note 32 (X)

The Group’s interest in structured entities is reflected in the Group’s AUM. The Group is exposed to 
movements in AUM of structured entities through potential loss of fee income as a result of client 
withdrawals or market falls. Outflows from funds are dependent on market sentiment, asset performance 
and investor considerations. Further information on these risks can be found in the Strategic Report. 
Considering the potential for changes in AUM of structured entities, management has determined that 
the Group’s unconsolidated structured entities include segregated mandates and pooled funds vehicles. 
Disclosure of the Group’s exposure to unconsolidated structured entities has been made on this basis.

At 30 September 2020 AUM managed within unconsolidated structured entities was £20.18 billion (2019: 
£15.05 billion) and within consolidated structured entities was nil (2019: £nil).

£87,511,000 (2019: £73,695,000) in revenue was earned from unconsolidated structured entities.

The total exposure to unconsolidated structured entities in the statement of financial position is shown in 
the table below:

Management fees receivable (including accrued income)

Investments

2020
£000

18,126

2,434

20,560

2019
£000

10,549

4,626

15,175

The main risk the Group faces from its interest in unconsolidated structured entities are decreases in the 
value of seed capital investments and falls in fee income. Details on this are provided in note 29.

44

45

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS21 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, CASH INVESTED IN MONEY MARKET FUNDS  
AND LONG-TERM DEPOSITS
See accounting policy for cash at note 32 (R)

Cash and cash equivalents under IFRS does not include deposits in money market funds or cash held in 
deposits with an original maturity of more than three months. However the Group considers its total cash 
reserves to include these amounts. Cash held in Research Payment Accounts (“RPAs”) is collected from 
funds managed by the Group and can only be used towards the cost of researching stocks. A liability of  
an equal amount is included in trade and other payables. This cash is also excluded from cash reserves.  
A reconciliation is shown below:

23 LOANS
See accounting policy at note 32 (T)

To part fund the acquisition of Impax NH the Group signed a debt facility with RBS. The facility consisted 
of a US$13 million term loan repayable annually over a three year term and a US$13 million revolving credit 
facility (“RCF”) with a five year tenor. The term loan incurred interest at US LIBOR plus 2.9% and the 
revolving credit facility at US LIBOR plus 3.3%. On completion of the acquisition the Group drew down the 
term loan in full and US$12 million of the revolving credit facility. During 2018 the RCF was repaid in full, 
but remains available. During 2019 the term loan was repaid in full.

A reconciliation of the movement on the loan is provided below:

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash invested in money market funds and long-term deposit accounts

Less: cash held in RPAs

Cash reserves

2020
£000

20,245

18,516

(1,363)

2019
£000

11,939

15,235

(968)

37,398

26,206

The Group is exposed to interest rate risk on the above balances as interest income fluctuates according 
to the prevailing interest rates. The average interest rate on the cash balances during the year was 0.3% 
(2019: 0.3%). A 0.1% increase in interest rates would have increased Group profit after tax by £32,000. 
An equal change in the opposite direction would have decreased profit after tax by £32,000.

The credit risk regarding cash balances of the operating entities of the Group is spread by holding parts of 
the balance with RBS International, Lloyds Bank, Citizens Financial Group (all with Standard & Poor’s credit 
rating A-2) and the Bank of New Hampshire (unrated) with the remainder in money market funds managed 
by BlackRock and Goldman Sachs (both with a Standard & Poor’s credit rating of AAA). 

22 TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES
See accounting policy at note 32 (S)

Trade payables

Taxation and other social security

Other payables

Accruals and deferred income

The most significant accrual at the year end relates to variable staff remuneration.

2020
£000

305

3,285

4,550

19,844

27,984

2019
£000

2,231

2,454

4,050

14,846

23,581

At beginning of the year

Repayments

Foreign exchange

At end of the year

24 ORDINARY SHARES
See accounting policy at note 32 (U)

Issued and fully paid

At 1 October and 30 September

25 OWN SHARES
See accounting policy at note 32 (V)

At 1 October 2018

Satisfaction of option exercises and RSS vesting

EBT purchases

At 30 September 2019

Satisfaction of option exercises and RSS vesting

EBT purchases

At 30 September 2020

2020
£000

–

–

–

–

2019
£000

9,978

(10,371)

393

–

2020 
No of 
shares/000s

2019 
No of 
shares/000s

130,415

130,415

2020 
£000

1,304

2019 
£000

1,304

No of 
Shares/000s

9,724,146

£000

5,420

(1,879,770)

(1,047)

1,181,390

9,025,766

2,505

6,878

(5,105,507)

(3,891)

1,266,608

5,186,867

4,223

7,210

Included within Own Shares are 4,747,723 shares held in a nominee account in respect of the Restricted 
Share Scheme as described in note 9.

46

47

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS26 NON-CONTROLLING INTERESTS
The non-controlling interest at 30 September 2018 represented a 49% interest in the Group’s subsidiary, 
Pax Ellevate Management LLC. During 2019 a put option was exercised by the non-controlling interest 
holder of the Group’s subsidiary Pax Elevate Management. As a result the Group acquired the 49% stake 
owned by the third party for consideration of £1.81 million (£0.75 million after settlement of amounts due 
to Impax by the third party). 

Prior to the acquisition of the non-controlling interest a liability was recorded within payables for the cost 
of acquiring the non-controlling interest and changes in the value of the liability were recorded in equity. 
On acquisition the carrying amount of the non-controlling interest acquired has been recognised as an 
increase in equity attributable to owners of the Company.

NCI percentage

Net assets

Net assets attributable to NCI

Revenue

Profit/(Loss)

Total comprehensive income

Profit/(Loss) allocated to NCI

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash flows from investment activities

Cash flows from financing activities (dividends to NCI: nil)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

2020
£000

0%

2019
£000

0%

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

– 

– 

1,175

(319)

(319)

(156)

(38)

–

–

(38)

27 FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
At 30 September 2020 the Group has outstanding commitments to invest up to the following amounts 
into private equity funds that it manages. 

•  €203,000 (2019: €203,000) into Impax New Energy Investors LP; this amount could be called on in the 

period to 31 December 2020;

•  €113,000 (2019: €113,000) into Impax New Energy Investors II LP; this amount could be called on in the 

period to 22 March 2021; and

•  €2,137,000 into Impax New Energy Investors III LP (2019: €2,994,000); this amount could be called on 

in the period to 31 December 2026.

The Group has initially acquired an ca.83.3% interest of Impax NH’s share capital. Impax NH’s management 
and staff shareholders (the “Management Shareholders”), representing the remaining ca.16.7% of Impax 
NH’s issued share capital will retain their shareholding until 2021 when if either Impax or the Management 
Shareholders exercise a put and call option arrangement, the Group will acquire their entire holding for 
US$8.3 million and up to $6.3 million of Contingent Consideration. This would be paid in 2021 in Impax 
equity and/or cash, as the Group elects.

Contingent Consideration may also be payable to the sellers of the 83.3% stake. This will be determined 
based on Impax NH’s average AUM as at 30 June 2020, 30 September 2020 and 31 December 2020 and 
will rise linearly from zero, if Impax NH’s average AUM is not more than US$5.5 billion, to US$37.5 million 
for the entire share capital of Impax NH, if Impax NH’s average AUM is $8 billion or above.

Given the actual AUM at 30 June 2020 and 30 September 2020 and the projected AUM at 31 December 
2020 no Contingent Consideration is estimated to be payable.

28 RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT BEFORE TAX TO CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS
This note should be read in conjunction with the consolidated cashflow statement. It provides a 
reconciliation to show how profit before tax, which is based on accounting rules, translates to cashflows.

Profit before taxation

2020
£000

2019
£000

16,682

18,898

Adjustments for income statement non-cash charges and finance income/expense:

Depreciation of property plant and equipment and amortisation of intangible assets

4,260

2,952

Finance income

Finance expense

Share-based payment charges

Non-controlling interest

Contingent Consideration credit

Adjustments for statement of financial position movements:

Increase in trade and other receivables

Increase in trade and other payables

Cash generated from operations

(1,020)

(1,055)

1,921

1,813 

–

–

1,125

1,160

(156)

(3,543)

(3,995)

(1,135)

4,721

2,602

24,382

20,848

29 FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk management is integral to the business of the Group. There are systems of controls in place to create 
an acceptable balance between the potential cost should such a risk occur and the cost of managing 
those risks. Management continually monitors the Group’s risk management process to ensure that an 
appropriate balance between risk and control is achieved. This section provides details of the Group’s 
exposure to financial risks and describes the methods used by management to control such risk.

Credit risk
Credit risk is the potential financial loss resulting from the failure of a counterparty to settle their financial 
and contractual obligations to the Group, as and when they fall due. The Group’s maximum exposure to 
credit risk is represented by the carrying value of its financial assets.

The Group’s primary exposure to credit risk relates to its cash and cash equivalents and cash in money 
market funds and long-term deposits that are placed with regulated financial institutions (see note 21).  
The Group is also exposed to credit risk on trade receivables, representing investment management fees 
due. An analysis of the aging of these is provided in note 18.

The Group makes no provision for credit loss as all receivable counterparties are funds managed by the 
Group. All funds have sufficient resource to satisfy their position.

Foreign exchange risk
Foreign exchange risk is the risk that the fair value of future cash flows of financial instruments will 
fluctuate because of changes in foreign exchange rates. For Impax LN a significant amount of the Group’s 
income is denominated in Euros and US Dollars whilst the majority of expenses are in foreign currency.  
For Impax NH all income and all expenditure is in US Dollars. Impax NH’s assets along with the goodwill 
and intangible assets arising on its acquisition are denominated in US Dollars. 

The strategy for Impax LN for the year ended 30 September 2020 has been to convert earned income 
back to Sterling and to use hedges where there is sufficient predictability over inflows to allow for an 
effective and efficient hedge. At the year end the Group had outstanding forward rate foreign currency 
contracts to sell Euro and buy Sterling. These have been designated as cash flow hedges against Euro 
income and will be recognised in profit in October 2020, and January, April, July 2021. The fair value 
of these instruments at 30 September 2020 was £136,000 which is recognised in equity. £70,000 was 
reclassified from equity to the income statement during the year on maturity of the hedges. 

48

49

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTSLiquidity risk and regulatory capital requirements
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group does not have sufficient financial resources to meet it obligations 
when they fall due or will have to do so at a cost. The Group monitors its liquidity risk using cash flow 
forecasts taking into account the commitments made to its private equity funds (see note 27) and the cash 
required to meet the Group’s investment plans and its regulatory capital requirements. At 30 September 
2020, the Group had cash and cash equivalents, cash in money market funds and long-term deposit 
accounts of £38,761,000. This is £10,777,000 in excess of trade and other payables. The Group in addition 
had other current assets of £25,346,000. The Group also has access to a revolving credit facility (see 
note 23).

The Group’s lead regulator is the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”). The FCA would normally 
require the Group to maintain sufficient regulatory capital on a consolidated group basis and on 
an individual regulated entity basis to cover our capital requirements measured under the Capital 
Requirements Directive and any additional capital requirements assessed under our Internal Capital 
Adequacy Assessment Process. Following the acquisition of Impax NH the Group moved into a capital 
deficit position on a consolidated basis and, as is typical for such acquisitions agreed a waiver with the 
FCA, for a four year period to 31 January 2022, which meant the Group was only required to retain a 
capital surplus at the individual regulated entity level. The Group has successfully increased its capital 
since the acquisition and at 30 September 2020 is in a capital surplus position with capital of £32m (£23m 
after deducting the proposed dividend) against a requirement of £18m. The Group expects the surplus 
to continue to increase over the coming year. The Group also expects to retain a surplus under the new 
capital requirements regime due to be implemented in June 2021. 

Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the risk that the fair value of future cash flows of financial instruments will fluctuate 
because of changes in market interest rates. The Group is exposed to interest rate risk on its loans and 
interest-bearing assets, specifically cash balances that earn interest at a floating rate.

Market risk
The significant holdings that are exposed to equity market price risk are the Group’s investments in its 
managed funds. See note 19 for further information.

Fair values of financial assets and liabilities
The Directors consider there to be no difference between the carrying value of the Group’s financial assets 
and liabilities and their fair value.

29 FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT CONTINUED
The Group’s exposure to foreign exchange rate risk, including that arising from consolidated funds, at 
30 September 2020 was:

Assets

Current asset investments

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Liabilities

Trade and other payables

Net exposure

EUR/GBP
£000

USD/GBP
£000

Other/GBP
£000

2,434

392

488

1,953

17,812

8,769

–

622

860

3,314

28,534

1,482

1,861

1,861

1,453

1,253

1,253

–

–

27,281

1,482

The Group’s exposure to foreign exchange rate risk at 30 September 2019 was:

Assets

Current asset investments

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Liabilities

Trade and other payables

Net exposure

EUR/GBP
£000

USD/GBP
£000

Other/GBP
£000

777

437

107

1,321

3,847

23,980

3,309

31,136

5,192

5,192

8,325

8,325

(3,871)

22,811

–

397

704

1,101

213

213

888

The following table demonstrates the estimated impact on Group post-tax profit and net assets caused 
by a 5% variance in the exchange rate used to revalue significant foreign assets and liabilities, assuming all 
other variables are held constant. Post-tax profit will either increase or (decrease) as shown.

Translation of significant foreign assets and liabilities 

GBP strengthens against the USD, up 5%

GBP weakens against the USD, down 5%

GBP strengthens against the EUR, up 5%

GBP weakens against the EUR, down 5%

Post-tax profit

2020
£000

2019
£000

1,098

1,057

(1,098)

(1,057)

56

(56)

197

(197)

50

51

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS29 FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT CONTINUED

Financial instruments by category
The carrying value of the financial instruments of the Group is shown below:

30 September 2020

Goodwill and intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Deferred tax assets

Trade and other receivables

Investments

Current tax asset

Cash invested in money market funds  
and long-term deposit accounts

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other payables

Lease liabilities

Deferred tax liabilities

Current tax liability

Total

30 September 2019

Goodwill and intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Deferred tax assets

Trade and other receivables

Investments

Current tax asset

Cash invested in money market funds  
and long-term deposit accounts

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other payables

Deferred tax liabilities

Current tax liability

Total financial assets

*  FVTPL = Fair value through profit and loss

Financial 
assets 
measured 
at FVTPL*
£000

Financial 
assets/ 
liabilities at 
amortised cost
£000

Total financial 
instruments
£000

Non-financial 
instruments
£000

–

–

–

–

4,387

–

18,516

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

4,197

–

–

–

20,245

(4,855)

(10,671)

–

–

–

–

–

4,197

4,387

–

18,516

20,245

(4,855)

(10,671)

–

–

Total
£000

33,177

10,857

5,492

33,177

10,857

5,492

16,538

20,735

–

224

–

–

4,387

224

18,516

20,245

(23,128)

(27,983)

–

(10,671)

(3,340)

(3,340)

(190)

(190)

22,903

8,916

31,819

39,630

71,449

Financial 
assets 
measured 
at FVTPL*
£000

Financial 
assets/ 
liabilities at 
amortised cost
£000

Total financial 
instruments
£000

Non-financial 
instrument
£000

Total
£000

–

–

–

–

4,626

–

15,235

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

3,891

–

–

–

11,939

(6,281)

–

–

–

–

–

3,891

4,626

–

15,235

11,939

37,322

37,322

1,779

3,757

12,849

–

239

–

–

1,779

3,757

16,740

4,626

239

15,235

11,939

(6,281)

(18,004)

(24,285)

–

–

(4,000)

(4,000)

(124)

(124)

19,861

9,549

29,410

33,818

63,228

30 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Private equity funds managed by the Group, entities controlled by these funds and the Impax Global 
Resource Optimization Fund LP are related parties of the Group by virtue of subsidiaries being the  
General Partners to these funds. The Group earns management fees from these entities.

BNP Paribas Asset Management Holdings is a related party of the Group by virtue of owning a 24.5% 
equity holding (reduced to ca.14.0% post year end). The Group sub-manages certain funds for BNP for 
which it earns fees. 

Other funds managed by subsidiaries of the Group are also related parties by virtue of its management 
contracts.

Fees earned from the above related parties have been disclosed in note 6 and amounts receivable are 
disclosed in note 18. The Group also invests in certain funds that it manages which is disclosed in note 19.

During the year loan facilities were provided to one executive for the sole purpose of investment in a fund 
managed by the Group. The loan is provided at an interest rate of LIBOR plus 2% per annum on amounts 
drawn, calculated on a daily basis. The balance on the loan to the one executive was €89,029 at the 
reporting date.

31 NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

New standards, interpretations and amendments adopted during the year

IFRS 16 Leases
The Group has applied IFRS 16 for the first time for its annual reporting period commencing on 1 October 2019. 
IFRS 16 replaces IAS 17 Leases and is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019. 

Where the Group is a lessee, IFRS 16 requires operating leases to be recorded in the Group’s statement of 
financial position, reflecting a lease liability and an associated right-of-use (“ROU”) asset. The lease liability 
is initially measured at the present value of the future contractual cash flows remaining under the lease 
term, discounted using the Group’s incremental borrowing rate. Interest is subsequently accrued on the 
lease liability and presented as a component of finance costs, and calculated using the effective interest 
method to give a constant rate of return over the life of the lease whilst the liability is reduced by the lease 
payments. The ROU asset is initially measured at the amount of the lease liability plus initial direct costs 
incurred by the lessee, adjusted for any lease incentives and the estimated cost of restoration obligations. 
The ROU asset is presented within property, plant and equipment and depreciated over the lease term as 
the benefit of the lease is consumed. The Group applies judgement in assessing whether to include options 
to extend or cancel the lease. All relevant factors that could create an economic incentive to exercise the 
option are considered and the option is included if it is reasonably certain to be exercised. After the lease 
commencement date, the Group reassesses the lease term if there is a significant change in circumstances 
that is within its control and affects the likelihood that it will exercise (or not exercise) the option. 

The Group has measured the IFRS 16 ROU assets and lease liabilities as if the standard had always been 
applied but based on an incremental borrowing rate at the date of initial adoption, 1 October 2019. 
Comparative information has not been restated as the Group has applied the modified retrospective 
approach with the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard recognised as an adjustment to 
the opening retained earnings at 1 October 2019. The Group has applied the optional exemption in the 
standard which permits the cost of short-term (less than 12 months) leases to be expensed on a straight-
line basis over the lease term. These lease arrangements are not material to the Group. 

As a result of applying IFRS 16, the Group has recognised lease liabilities and ROU assets at 1 October 
2019 of £11,991k and £10,693k respectively in respect of leases over its office buildings. The Group has 
also eliminated the accrual of £1,051k previously required to straight line lease charges over the lease life. 
These adjustments have reduced the Group’s net assets by £247k which is recorded as a reduction in 
retained earnings at 1 October 2019. The weighted average incremental borrowing rate applied to the lease 
liabilities on 1 October 2019 was 4.76%. Additional disclosure on the impact of IFRS 16 to the Group’s ROU 
assets and lease liabilities is provided in note 17.

New Standards and Interpretations not yet adopted
There were no other Standards or Interpretations that were in issue and required to be adopted by the 
Group as at the date of authorisation of these consolidated financial statements. No other Standards 
or Interpretations have been issued that are expected to have a material impact on the Group’s 
financial statements.

52

53

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS32 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

(A) Basis of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the Company and its 
subsidiaries. All intra-Group transactions and balances are eliminated in full on consolidation.

Subsidiaries are those entities, including investment funds, over which the Group has control. The Group 
is deemed to have control if it is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from involvement with the 
entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity. 

The entities included in the consolidation may vary year on year due to restructuring of the Group 
(including acquisition and disposals) and the level of investments made in investment funds (see below). 

Subsidiaries are accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting whereby the Group’s results 
include the results of the acquired business from the date of acquisition until the date of disposal.

The Company includes certain assets and liabilities of the EBT 2004 and EBT 2012 (together the “EBTs”) 
within its statement of financial position. In the event of the winding up of the Company, neither the 
shareholders nor the creditors would be entitled to the assets of the EBTs.

Investment funds and structured entities
The Group acts as a fund manager to investment fund that are considered to be structured entities 
under IFRS. Structured entities are entities that have been designed so that voting or similar rights are 
not the dominant factor in deciding which party has control: for example, when any voting rights relate 
to administrative tasks only and the relevant activities of the entity are directed by means of contractual 
arrangements. The Group has interests in structured entities as a result of the management of these 
investment funds. 

Where the Group holds a direct interest in an investment fund’s it manages, the interest is accounted for 
either as a consolidated structured entity or as a financial asset, depending on whether the Group has 
control over the fund or not. Control is determined in accordance with IFRS 10, based on an assessment 
of the level of power and aggregate economic interest that the Group has over the fund, relative to 
third-party investors. Power is normally conveyed to the Group through the existence of an investment 
management agreement and/or other contractual arrangements. Aggregate economic interest is a 
measure of the Group’s exposure to variable returns in the fund through a combination of direct interest, 
carried interest and expected management fees (including performance fees).

The Group concludes that it acts as a principal when the power it has over the fund is deemed to be 
exercised for self-benefit, considering the level of aggregate economic exposure in the fund and the 
assessed strength of third-party investors’ kick-out rights. The Group concludes that it acts as an agent 
when the power it has over the fund is deemed to be exercised for the benefit of third-party investors.  
The Group concludes that it has control and, therefore, will consolidate a fund as if it were a subsidiary 
where the Group acts as a principal. If the Group concludes that it does not have control over the fund,  
the Group accounts for its interest in the fund as a financial asset. For the current and prior year no such 
funds were consolidated.

In cases where investment funds are consolidated, the third-party interest is recorded as a financial 
liability. The consolidation has no net effect on the income statement. The treatment continues until the 
Group loses control as defined by IFRS.

Details of funds that are recorded as a financial asset are provided in note 19.

(B) Business combinations
The Group accounts for business combinations using the acquisition method when control is transferred to 
the Group. The consideration transferred in the acquisition is measured at fair value, as are the identifiable 
net assets acquired. Any goodwill that arises is tested annually for impairment (see note 15). Any gain on 
a bargain purchase is recognised in profit or loss immediately. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred, 
except if related to the issue of debt or equity securities. 

The consideration transferred does not include amounts related to the settlement of pre-existing 
relationships. Such amounts are generally recognised in profit or loss. 

Any contingent consideration is measured at fair value at the date of acquisition. If an obligation to pay 
contingent consideration that meets the definition of a financial instrument is classified as equity, then it is 
not remeasured and settlement is accounted for within equity. Otherwise, other contingent consideration 
is remeasured at fair value at each reporting date and subsequent changes in the fair value of the 
contingent consideration are recognised in profit or loss. 

If share-based payment awards (replacement awards) are required to be exchanged for awards held 
by the acquiree’s employees (acquiree’s awards), then all or a portion of the amount of the acquirer’s 
replacement awards is included in measuring the consideration transferred in the business combination. 
This determination is based on the market-based measure of the replacement awards compared with the 
market-based measure of the acquiree’s awards and the extent to which the replacement awards relate to 
pre-combination service. 

Non-controlling interests are measured initially at their proportionate share of the acquiree’s identifiable 
net assets at the date of acquisition.

In instances where the non-controlling interest holds an option enabling it to require the Group to 
purchase its interests the Group uses the present access method. A liability is recognised for the estimated 
cost of acquiring the non-controlling interest and charged to equity. Subsequent changes in the value of 
the liability are recognised through equity.

(C) Foreign currency

(i) Functional and presentational currency
The financial information of each of the Group’s entities are initially recorded in the currency of the primary 
economic environment in which the entity operates (the “functional currency”). This is mainly Sterling but 
for some entities it is the Euro and the US Dollar. The consolidated financial statements are presented in 
Sterling which is both the Company’s functional and presentational currency as well as the currency in 
which the majority of the Group’s revenue streams, assets and liabilities are recorded.

(ii) Transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency at the rates ruling when they 
occurred. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated at the rates ruling at the 
statement of financial position date. Foreign currency gains or losses resulting from the settlement of such 
transactions and their translation at year end rates are recorded in the income statement.

(iii) Consolidation
On consolidation, the results and financial position of all Group entities that have a functional currency 
different from Sterling (the “presentational currency”) are translated into Sterling as follows:

•  assets and liabilities are translated at the closing rate at the date of the statement of financial position;

• 

income and expenses are translated at the date of the transaction or at average exchange rate for the 
year; and

•  any resulting exchange differences are recognised as a separate component of the statement of 

comprehensive income.

54

55

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS32 ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED

(D) Revenue
Management fee revenue is recognised on a monthly basis in accordance with the terms of the 
management fee arrangement. Where fees are calculated and billed in arrears amounts are accrued  
and estimated based on the statement of financial position date.

Revenue also includes transaction-based fees. These fees are recorded as income as the service is 
provided and the receipt of income is almost certain.

Performance fees arising upon the achievement of the specified targets are recognised when the fees  
are confirmed as receivable.

(E) Leases
The Group’s lease arrangements primarily consist of operating leases relating to office space. IFRS 16 
Leases (IFRS 16) replaced IAS 17 Leases (IAS 17) with effect from 1 October 2019. The accounting policy  
and impact of adopting IFRS 16 is described in note 31. 

(F) Placement fees
Placement fees incurred that are directly attributable to securing an investment management contract are 
deferred and amortised over the investment period of the related fund. Such charges are included in other 
costs in note 7 – Operating costs.

(G) Pensions
Pension contributions made to defined contribution schemes by the Group are charged to the 
consolidated income statement as they become payable.

(H) Share-based payments
The fair value of employee services received in exchange for the grant of restricted shares or share options 
is recognised as an expense. The fair value of the shares and share options awarded is determined at 
the date the employee is deemed to be fully aware of their potential entitlement and all conditions of 
vesting (termed the “grant date”). The expense is charged over the period starting when the employee 
commenced the relevant services (termed the “service commencement date”) to the vesting date. In 
instances where the grant date occurs after the date of signing these financial statements the fair value 
is initially estimated by assuming that the grant date is the reporting date.

(I) Investment income
Interest income is accrued on a time basis by reference to the principal outstanding and the interest rate 
applicable. Other investment income is recognised when the right to receive payment is established.

(K) Taxation
Current tax is based on taxable profits for the year after all potential reliefs available have been utilised. 
Taxable profits may differ from “profit before tax” as reported in the income statement due to timing 
differences of when expenditure or income are included, or due to disallowing certain expenditure or 
income. The Group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or 
substantively enacted at the statement of financial position date. In the United Kingdom tax deductions 
are available in respect of the award of the Company’s shares. In instances where the tax deduction is 
greater than the associated share-based payment charge due to differences in the Company’s share price 
that amount is recognised in equity.

Deferred tax is provided in full in respect of taxation deferred by temporary differences between the 
treatment of certain items for taxation and accounting purposes. Deferred tax assets are not recognised to 
the extent that their recoverability is uncertain.

The carrying amounts of deferred tax assets are reviewed at each statement of financial position date 
and regarded as recoverable and therefore recognised only when, on the basis of all available evidence, 
it can be regarded as more likely than not that there will be suitable taxable profits from which the future 
reversal of the underlying temporary differences can be deducted.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability or the 
asset is realised.

(L) Goodwill
Goodwill arising on consolidation represents the excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair value of the 
identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of a subsidiary, associate or jointly controlled entity 
at the date of acquisition. Goodwill is recognised as an asset and is tested for impairment annually, or on 
such occasions that events or changes in circumstances indicate that its value might be impaired.

Where the cost of acquisition includes contingent consideration this is initially estimated and discounted. 
The unwinding of the discount is recorded through other financial expense in the income statement.

On disposal of a subsidiary, the attributable amount of goodwill is included in the determination of the 
profit or loss on disposal.

(M) Intangible assets
Intangible assets are stated at cost (fair value for assets acquired via a business combination) less 
accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Amortisation is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives shown below:

(J) Interest expense
Interest expense is recognised using the effective interest method.

Management contracts 

11 years

Other items 

three – five years

(N) Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated 
impairment losses.

Depreciation is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives shown below:

Leasehold improvements 

life of the lease

Fixtures, fittings and equipment 

three years

56

57

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
32 ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED

(O) Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised 
cost using the effective interest method less provision for estimated credit losses. The Group has not had 
credit losses in the past, any estimated credit losses would take into account the nature of any dispute and 
the financial resources of the client.

(P) Current asset investments
Current asset investments are categorised as financial assets at fair value through profit or loss. All gains 
or losses together with transaction costs are recognised in the income statement. The fair value of the 
listed investments which are traded in active markets are based on quoted market prices at the statement 
of financial position date. The appropriate quoted price for investments held is the current bid price.

The fair value of interests in unlisted funds whose net asset values are referenced to the fair values of the 
listed or exchange traded securities held by those funds are deemed to be level 2. 

The fair value of the unlisted investments (deemed to be level 3, see note 19) which are not traded in 
an active market is determined by using alternative valuation techniques. The Group uses a variety of 
methods and makes assumptions that are based on market conditions existing at each reporting date. 
Valuation techniques used include the use of comparable recent arm’s length transactions, reference 
to other instruments that are substantially the same, discounted cash flow analysis and other valuation 
techniques commonly used by market participants making the maximum use of market inputs and relying 
as little as possible on entity-specific inputs. When determining the inputs into the valuation techniques 
used, priority is given to publicly available prices from independent sources when available, but overall the 
source of pricing is chosen with the objective of arriving at a fair value measurement that reflects the price 
at which an orderly transaction would take place between market participants on the measurement date.

(Q) Derivatives
The Group uses foreign exchange contracts as a hedge against foreign exchange risk on future income 
denominated in foreign currencies. At the statement of financial position date these derivative contracts 
are recorded at their fair value (disclosed as derivative asset or liability) on the statement of financial 
position. In instances where the hedge accounting criteria is met, changes in the fair value are recorded in 
other comprehensive income. The amounts recognised in other comprehensive income are reclassified to 
income when the hedged item (such as the relevant foreign exchange income) is recorded.

The Group also uses futures contracts to hedge the market risk on seed investments made. These are also 
recorded at their fair value in the statement of financial position with any changes recorded in the income 
statement as part of fair value gains and losses.

(R) Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and short-term deposits with an original maturity period 
of three months or less.

(S) Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are initially recognised at cost and subsequently remeasured at amortised cost 
using the effective interest rate method. Accruals are based on the latest information and therefore require 
a degree of estimation.

(T) Loans
Loans are initially recognised at fair value (net of transaction costs) and subsequently carried at  
amortised cost.

(U) Ordinary Shares
Ordinary Shares issued by the Group are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct issue costs.

(V) Own Shares
Company Shares held by the Group’s Employee Benefit Trusts are deducted from shareholders’ funds  
and classified as own shares.

(W) Impairment of assets
At the statement of financial position date, the Group reviews the carrying amount of assets to determine 
whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss or if events or changes 
in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. If any such indication exists, 
the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss 
(if any). Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the Group 
estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.

If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the impairment loss 
is recognised as an expense.

When an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to the 
revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but only to the extent that the increased carrying amount 
does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been 
recognised for the asset. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised as income immediately, unless the 
relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated 
as a revaluation increase. Impairment losses relating to goodwill are not reversed.

(X) Interests in unconsolidated structured entities
The Group classifies the following investment funds and accounts as unconsolidated structured entities:

• Segregated mandates and pooled funds managed where the Group does not hold any direct interest.
In this case, the Group considers that its aggregate economic exposure is insignificant, and, in relation
to segregated mandates and certain pooled funds, the third-party investor has the practical ability to
remove the Group from acting as fund manager, without cause. As a result the Group concludes that it
acts as an agent for third-party investors.

• Pooled funds managed by the Group where the Group holds a direct interest, for example seed capital
investments, and the Group’s aggregate economic exposure in the fund relative to third-party investors
is less than 20% (i.e. the threshold established by the Group for determining agent versus principal
classification). Here, the Group concludes that it is an agent for third-party investors and therefore
accounts for its beneficial interest in the fund as a financial asset. The disclosure of the AUM
in respect of consolidated and unconsolidated structured entities is provided in note 20.

58

59

Notes to the Financial Statements continuedFor the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTSCompany Statement of Financial Position 
As at 30 September 2020

Company No: 03262305

Company Statement of Changes in Equity 
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Assets

Property, plant and equipment

Investments

Deferred tax assets

Total non-current assets

Trade and other receivables

Investments

Cash invested in money market funds  
and long–term deposit accounts

Cash and cash equivalents

Total current assets

Total assets

Equity and liabilities

Ordinary shares

Share premium

Retained earnings

Total equity

Trade and other payables

Lease liabilities

Total current liabilities

Lease liabilities

Total non-current liabilities

Total equity and liabilities

2020

2019

Note

£000

£000

£000

£000

34

35

39

36

37

6,182

36,465

611

20,047

4,387

9,163

3,670

24

1,304

9,291

40,423

38

34

23,513

1,032

34

4,962

1,504

34,583

242

43,258

36,329

37,267

80,525

21,877

4,351

4,573

1,341

1,304

9,291

28,081

32,142

68,471

51,018

38,676

29,795

–

–

29,795

–

68,471

24,545

4,962

80,525

Authorised for issue and approved by the Board on 2 December 2020. The notes on pages 63 to 70 form 
part of these financial statements.

Ian R Simm  

Chief Executive

1 October 2018

Profit for the year

Transactions with owners

Dividends paid

Acquisition of own shares

Tax credit on long-term incentive schemes

Cash received on option exercises

Long-term incentive scheme charge

Total transactions with owners

30 September 2019

Restatement on adoption of IFRS 16

30 September 2019 (restated)

Profit for the year

Transactions with owners

Dividends paid

Acquisition of own shares

Tax credit on long-term incentive schemes

Cash received on option exercises

Long-term incentive scheme charge

Total transactions with owners

30 September 2020

Share 
capital 
£000

Share 
premium 
£000

Retained 
earnings 
£000

Total 
Equity 
£000

Note

1,304

9,291

31,967

42,562

14 

14

3,127

3,127

–

–

–

–

–

–

(5,792)

(5,792)

(2,505)

(2,505)

13

111

13

111

1,160

1,160

(7,014)

(7,014)

–

–

–

–

–

–

1,304

9,291

28,081

38,676

–

–

(301)

(301)

1,304

9,291

27,780

38,375

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

21,287

21,287

(7,442)

(7,442)

(4,223)

(4,223)

719

489

719

489

1,813

1,813

(8,644)

(8,644)

1,304

9,291

40,423

51,018

The notes on pages 63 to 70 form part of these financial statements.

60

61

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSCompany Cash Flow Statement
For the year ended 30 September 2020

Notes to the Company Financial Statements 

Cash used by operations

Corporation tax 

Net cash (used by)/generated from operations

Investing activities

Dividend received

Investments in new subsidiaries

Repayments from sale of/additions to investments

Settlement of investment related hedges

Interest received

Increase in cash held in money market funds

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

Net cash generated from/(used by) investing activities

Financing activities

Repayment of bank borrowings

Interest paid on bank borrowings

Payment of lease liabilities

Dividends paid

Acquisition of own shares

Cash received on exercise of Impax share options

Net cash used in financing activities

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Note

2020
£000

(1,717)

(250)

2019
£000

18,719

–

(1,967)

18,719

19,500

(228)

1,192

(156)

977

–

(392)

(433)

206

–

(4,477)

(4,340)

(137)

(109)

16,671

(5,068)

–

(10,371)

(137)

(1,061)

(671)

–

(7,442)

(5,791)

(4,223)

(2,505)

489

111

(12,374)

(19,227)

2,330

1,341

(1)

3,670

(5,576)

6,917

–

1,341

33 SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The separate financial statements of the Company are presented as required by the Companies Act 
2006. The principal accounting policies adopted are the same as those set out in the Group’s financial 
statements disclosures. In addition note 35 sets out the accounting policy in respect of investments in 
subsidiary undertakings.

The Company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under Section 408 of the Companies Act 
2006 and has not presented its own statement of comprehensive income in these financial statements. 
The Company’s net profit for the year amounted to £21,287,000 (2019: £3,127,000).

34 PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Right of 
use asset 
£000

Leasehold 
improvements 
£000

Fixtures, 
fittings 
and 
equipment 
£000

Cost 

As at 1 October 2018

Additions

As at 30 September 2019

Impact of adoption of IFRS 16 

As at 1 October 2019

Additions

As at 30 September 2020

Depreciation

As at 1 October 2018

Charge for the year

As at 30 September 2019

Charge for the year

As at 30 September 2020

Net book value

As at 30 September 2020

As at 1 October 2019

As at 30 September 2018

–

–

–

5,582

5,582

–

5,582

–

–

–

722

722

4,860

5,582

–

Total 
£000

3,226

109

3,335

5,582

8,917

137

9,054

1,531

300

1,831

1,041

2,029

9

2,038

–

2,038

23

2,061

819

135

954

142

1,197

100

1,297

–

1,297

114

1,411

712

165

877

177

1,096

1,054

2,872

965

1,084

1,210

357

420

485

6,182

7,086

1,695

As described in note 2 and note 31 the Group has adopted IFRS 16 for the first time in these financial 
statements. Property, plant and equipment therefore includes right-of-use assets in relation to operating 
leases for the Group’s office buildings.

62

63

FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNotes to the Company Financial Statements continued

34 PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT CONTINUED
The carrying value of the Group’s right of use assets, associated lease liabilities and the movements during 
the period are set out below.

The subsidiary undertakings are:

Right of use 
asset
£m

Lease 
liabilities
£m

At 1 October 2019

Lease payments

Interest expense

Depreciation charge

At 30 September 2020

5,582

–

–

(722)

4,860

Current

Non current

The contractual maturities on the undiscounted minimum lease payments under lease liabilities are 
provided below:

Within one year

Between 1 and 5 years

Later than 5 years

Total undiscounted lease liabilities

2020
£000

1,059

4,235

1,588

6,882

35 NON-CURRENT INVESTMENTS
Investments held by the Company in subsidiary undertakings are held at cost less any provision for 
impairment.

6,781

(1,061)

274

–

5,994

1,032

4,962

2019
£000

1,075

4,266

2,647

7,988

At 1 October 2018

Additions

Capital contribution

Transfer to current asset investments

At 30 September 2019

Additions

Capital contribution

At 30 September 2020

Total
£000

34,375

392

1,183

(1,367)

34,583

228

1,654

36,465

Country of 
incorporation 

Proportion 
of ordinary 
capital held 

Impax Asset Management Limited* 

Impax Asset Management (AIFM) Limited* 

Impax Asset Management LLC*** 

Pax Elevate Management LLC*** 

INEI I GP (UK) LLP 

INEI II GP (UK) LLP 

INEI III GP (UK) LLP 

Climate Property (GP) Limited 

Impax Carried Interest Partner (GP) Limited 

Impax Carried Interest Partner II (GP) Limited 

UK 

UK 

USA 

USA 

UK 

UK 

UK 

UK 

UK 

UK 

Impax Global Resource Optimization Fund (GP) Limited 

UK 

Impax US Holding Limited 

Impax New Energy Investors (GP) Limited 

Impax New Energy Investors II (GP) Limited 

Impax Capital Limited 

UK 

UK 

UK 

UK 

100%

100%

83.3%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Impax New Energy Investors Management SARL 

Luxembourg 

100%

Kern USA Inc 

USA 

Impax Asset Management (Hong Kong) Ltd** 

Hong Kong 

Impax Asset Management (US) LLC 

Impax Asset Management Ireland Limited**** 

INEI III Team Co-Investment LP 

IAM US Holdco, Inc. 

USA 

Ireland 

UK 

USA 

100%

100%

100%

100%

80%

100%

* 

FCA regulated 

**  Hong Kong SFC regulated 

***  SEC regulated 

****  CBI regulated 

Nature of business 

Fund management 

Fund management 

Fund management 

Fund management 

General partner to 
private equity fund 

General partner to 
private equity fund 

General partner to 
private equity fund 

General partner to 
property fund 

General partner to 
private equity fund 

General partner to 
private equity fund 

General partner to 
listed equity fund 

Holding company 

Holding company 

Holding company 

Dormant 

General partner to 
private equity fund 

Holding company 
for US assets 

Fund management 

Fund management 

Fund management 

Investment Partnership 

Holding company 

Companies incorporated in the UK are registered at 7th floor, 30 Panton Street, London. The entity 
incorporated in Hong Kong has the address United Centre, 95 Queensway, Hong Kong. The entity 
incorporated in Luxembourg has the address 15 Boulevard F. W. Raiffeisen – L-2411 Luxembourg, BP 2501, 
L-1025 Luxembourg. Impax Asset Management LLC and Pax Elevate Management LLC have the address 
30 Penhallow St, Suite 400, Portsmouth, NH 03801. Impax Asset Management (US) LLC has the address 
1209 Orange Street, Delaware, USA and IAM US Holdco, Inc. has address 251 Little Falls Drive, New Castle 
County, Delaware, USA.

Charges relating to options or other share awards over the Company’s shares granted to employees 
of subsidiary undertakings are accounted for in the subsidiary undertaking. In the Company financial 
statements the capital contribution in respect of this charge has been recognised as an increase in the 
investment in subsidiaries.

64

65

For the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNotes to the Company Financial Statements continued

35 NON-CURRENT INVESTMENTS CONTINUED
Investments in subsidiary undertakings are divided between interest in shares and capital contributions as 
follows:

39 DEFERRED TAX
The deferred tax asset included in the Company statement of financial position is as follows:

Interest in shares 

Capital contribution 

36 TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES

Due within one year:

Amounts owed by Group undertakings

Taxation and other social security receivable

Other receivables

Prepayments and accrued income

2020
£000

20,238

16,227

36,465

2019
£000

20,010

14,573

34,583

2020
£000

2019
£000

17,448

19,748

–

734

1,865

751

449

929

20,047

21,877

At 30 September 2020 the expected credit loss of the receivables was immaterial (2019: immaterial).

37 CURRENT ASSET INVESTMENTS

At 1 October 2018

Additions 

Transfer from non-current investments

Fair value movements

Repayments/disposals

At 30 September 2019

Additions 

Fair value movements

Repayments/disposals

At 30 September 2020

38 TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

Trade payables

Amounts owed to Group undertakings

Taxation and other social security

Other payables

Accruals and deferred income

Investments
£000

1,714

2,523

1,367

837

(2,090)

4,351

757

1,228

(1,949)

4,387

2020
£000

–

2019
£000

–

18,666

24,411

542

462

3,843

23,513

252

940

4,192

29,795

As at 30 September 2018 

Credit/(charge) to the income statement 

As at 30 September 2019 

Credit/(charge) to the income statement 

As at 30 September 2020 

Accelerated 
capital 
allowances
£000

Other 
temporary 
differences
£000

(41)

(6)

(47)

(35)

(82)

(182)

114

(68)

(59)

(127)

Share-
based 
payment 
scheme
£000

406

(49)

357

463

820

Total
£000

183

59

242

369

611

40 FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
At 30 September 2020 the Group has outstanding commitments to invest up to the following amounts 
into private equity funds that it manages. 

•  €203,000 (2019: €203,000) into Impax New Energy Investors LP; this amount could be called on in the 

period to 31 December 2020;

•  €113,000 (2019: €113,000) into Impax New Energy Investors II LP; this amount could be called on in the 

period to 22 March 2021; and

•  €2,137,000 into Impax New Energy Investors III LP (2019: €2,994,000); this amount could be called on 

in the period to 31 December 2026.

41 RECONCILIATION OF PROFIT BEFORE TAX TO CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATIONS

Operating activities:

Profit before taxation

Adjustments for:

Finance income

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Finance expense

Share-based payment

Operating cash flows before movement in working capital

Decrease in receivables

(Increase)/decrease in payables

Cash generated from operations

2020
£000

2019
£000

21,820

3,194

(21,548)

1,041

1,596

222

3,131

1,830

(6,678)

(1,717)

(649)

300

912

(23)

3,734

3,854

11,131

18,719

66

67

For the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNotes to the Company Financial Statements continued

42 FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT
The risk management processes of the Company are aligned to those of the Group as a whole. The 
Company’s specific risk exposures are explained below.

The following table demonstrate the estimated impact on the Company’s post-tax profit and net assets 
caused by a 5% movement in the exchange rate used to revalue significant foreign assets and liabilities, 
assuming all other variables are held constant. Post-tax profit either increases or (decreases).

Credit risk
The Company’s primary exposure to credit risk relates to cash and deposits that are placed with regulated 
financial institutions and amounts due from subsidiaries.

At the statement of financial position date, the credit risk regarding cash was spread by holding part of the 
balance with RBS and part with Lloyds (Standard & Poor’s credit rating A-2) and the remainder in money 
market funds managed by BlackRock and Goldman Sachs which both have a Standard & Poor’s credit 
rating of AAA. The risk of default is considered minimal. 

Foreign exchange risk
The amount of the Company’s expenses denominated in foreign currencies is minimal.

The Company activities are principally conducted in Sterling, Euro, and US Dollars. Foreign exchange 
risk arises from income received in these currencies together with a limited amount of exposure to 
costs payable.

The Company’s exposure to foreign exchange rate risk at 30 September 2020 was:

Assets

Current asset investments

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Liabilities

Trade and other payables

EUR/GBP
£000

USD/GBP
£000

Other/GBP
£000

2,434

492

8

2,934

332

332

1,953

16,431

2,937

21,321

104

104

–

–

–

–

4

4

Net exposure

2,602

21,217

(4)

The Company’s exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk at 30 September 2019 was:

Translation of significant foreign assets and liabilities 

GBP strengthens against the USD, up 5%

GBP weakens against the USD, down 5%

GBP strengthens against the EUR, up 5%

GBP weakens against the EUR, down 5%

Post-tax profit

2020
£000

2019
£000

(859)

859

103

(103)

(677)

677

8

(8)

Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company does not have sufficient financial resources to meets it 
obligations when they fall due or will have to do so at cost. The Company can request to borrow cash 
through intra-Group loans to maintain sufficient liquidity.

Interest rate risk
At the reporting date the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, including bank overdrafts and cash held 
in money market deposits balance of £13,024,000 (2019: £5,914,000) were its only financial instruments 
subject to variable interest rate risk. The impact of 0.1% increase or decrease in interest rate on the post-
tax profit is not material to the Company. 

Market pricing risk
The Company has made investments in its own managed funds and the value of these investments are 
subject to equity market risk. 

Financial instruments by category
The Directors consider there to be no difference between the carrying value of the Group’s financial assets 
and liabilities and their fair value.

Assets

Current asset investments

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Liabilities

Trade and other payables

Net exposure

EUR/GBP
£000

USD/GBP
£000

Other/GBP
£000

777

45

–

3,574

18,740

2,038

822

24,352

626

626

196

7,535

7,535

16,817

–

–

–

–

6

6

(6)

30 September 2020

Property, plant and equipment

Non-current investments

Deferred tax assets

Trade and other receivables

Investments

Cash invested in money market funds  
and long-term deposit accounts

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other payables

Lease liabilities

Total

* FVPTL = Fair value through profit and loss

Financial 
assets 
measured 
at FVTPL*
£000

Financial 
assets/ 
liabilities at 
amortised cost
£000

Total financial 
instruments
£000

Non-financial 
instruments
£000

–

–

–

–

4,387

9,163

–

–

–

13,550

–

–

–

18,182

–

–

3,670

(19,128)

(5,994)

(3,270)

–

–

–

18,182

4,387

9,163

3,670

(19,128)

(5,994)

10,280

Total
£000

6,182

6,182

36,465

36,465

611

611

1,865

20,047

–

–

–

4,387

9,163

3,670

(4,385)

(23,513)

–

(5,994)

40,738

51,018

68

69

For the year ended 30 September 2020FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNotes to the Company Financial Statements continued

Notice of Annual General Meeting

42 FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT CONTINUED

Financial 
assets 
measured 
at FVTPL*
£000

Financial 
assets/ 
liabilities at 
amortised cost
£000

Total financial 
instruments
£000

Non-financial 
instruments
£000

30 September 2019

Property, plant and equipment

Non-current investments

Deferred tax assets

Trade and other receivables

Investments

Cash invested in money market funds  
and long-term deposit accounts

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other payables

Total

*  FVPTL = Fair value through profit and loss

–

–

–

–

4,351

4,573

–

–

8,924

–

–

–

20,197

–

–

1,341

(25,351)

(3,813)

Total
£000

1,504

1,504

34,583

34,583

242

1,680

–

–

–

242

21,877

4,351

4,573

1,341

–

–

–

20,197

4,351

4,573

1,341

The hierarchical classification of current investments measured at fair value are as follows:

At 1 October 2019

Additions

Fair value

Disposals

At 30 September 2020

There were no movements between any of the levels in the year (2019: £nil).

Level 1
£000

1,743

–

210

–

Level 2
£000

1,834

–

121

(1,955)

Level 3
£000

774

758

902

–

1,953

–

2,434

(25,351)

(4,444)

(29,795)

5,111

33,565

38,676

7. 

 To declare a final dividend in respect of the financial year ended 30 September 2020 of 6.8 pence per 
Ordinary Share payable to the holders of Ordinary Shares on the register of members at the close of 
business on 19 February 2021.

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Impax Asset Management Group plc  
(the “Company”) will be held at the offices of the Company, 7th floor, 30 Panton Street, London  
SW1Y 4AJ at 3pm on 18 March 2021 for the following purposes:

AS ORDINARY BUSINESS
To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions which will be proposed as ordinary resolutions:

1. 

 To receive and adopt the Company’s annual accounts for the financial year ended 30 September 2020 
together with the Directors’ report and the auditor’s report on those accounts.

2.  To elect William Simon O’Regan as a Director. 

3.  To re-elect Sally Bridgeland as a Director.

4.  To re-elect Lindsey Brace Martinez as a Director.

5.  To reappoint KPMG LLP as auditor of the Company.

6.  To authorise the Directors to fix the remuneration of the auditor.

AS SPECIAL BUSINESS
To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions, resolution 8 of which will be proposed as  
an ordinary resolution and resolutions 9, 10 and 11 of which will be proposed as special resolutions: 

8. 

 THAT, in substitution for any subsisting authorities to the extent unused, the Directors of the Company 
be generally and unconditionally authorised in accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 
2006 (the “Act”), to exercise all the powers of the Company to allot shares in the Company and to 
grant rights to subscribe for, or to convert any security into, shares in the Company:

(a) 

(b) 

 up to an aggregate nominal amount of £434,716.95 (such amount to be reduced by the nominal 
amount of any equity securities allotted pursuant to the authority in paragraph (b) below in 
excess of £434,716.95) and

 comprising equity securities (as defined by section 560 of the Act) up to an aggregate nominal 
amount of £869,433.91 (such amount to be reduced by the nominal amount of any shares 
allotted or rights granted pursuant to the authority in paragraph (a) above) in connection  
with an offer by way of a rights issue:

(i) 

 to holders of Ordinary Shares in proportion (as nearly as may be practicable) to their 
respective holdings; and

(ii) 

 to holders of other equity securities as required by the rights of those securities or  
as the Directors otherwise consider necessary,

 but subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or 
expedient in relation to Treasury Shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, legal or practical 
problems in or under the laws of any territory or the requirements of any regulatory body or 
stock exchange,

 provided that this authority shall, unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company, expire at the 
conclusion of the Company’s next Annual General Meeting (or, if earlier, close of business on 18 June 
2022) except that the Company may at any time before such expiry make any offer or agreement 
which would or might require shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for or convert securities into 
shares to be granted after such expiry and the Directors may allot shares or grant rights to subscribe 
for or convert securities into shares in pursuance of such offer or agreement as if the authority 
conferred hereby had not expired.

70

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONFor the year ended 30 September 2020 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notice of Annual General Meeting continued

9. 

 THAT, subject to the passing of resolution 8 above dealing with the authority to allot pursuant to 
section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”), the Directors of the Company be and are hereby 
empowered pursuant to section 570 of the Act to allot equity securities (within the meaning of 
section 560 of the Act) for cash, pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 8 above or by way 
of a sale of Treasury Shares, as if section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such allotment or sale, 
provided that the power conferred by this resolution shall be limited to:

(a) 

 the allotment or sale of equity securities, either in connection with an issue or offer of equity 
securities (including, without limitation, under a rights issue, open offer or similar arrangement) 
to holders of equity securities in proportion (as nearly as may be practicable) to their respective 
holdings of equity securities, subject only to such exclusions or other arrangements as the 
Directors of the Company may consider necessary or expedient to deal with any Treasury Shares, 
fractional entitlements or legal or practical problems under the laws of any territory, or the 
requirements of any regulatory body or stock exchange in any territory; and

(b) 

 the allotment or sale (otherwise than pursuant to resolution 9(a)) of equity securities or  
sale of Treasury Shares up to an aggregate nominal value of £65,207.54,

 the power conferred by this resolution shall expire at the conclusion of the Company’s next Annual 
General Meeting (or, if earlier, at the close of business on 18 June 2022), except that the Company 
may at any time before such expiry make any offer or agreement which would or might require 
equity securities to be allotted (and Treasury Shares to be sold) after such expiry and the Directors 
of the Company may allot equity securities (and sell Treasury Shares) in pursuance of such an offer or 
agreement as if the authority conferred hereby had not expired.

10. 

 THAT, subject to the passing of resolution 8 above, the Directors of the Company be and are hereby 
empowered in addition to any authority granted under resolution 9(b) to allot equity securities (within 
the meaning of section 560 of the Act) for cash under the authority given by that resolution and/or to 
sell ordinary shares held by the Company as Treasury Shares for cash as if section 561 of the Act did 
not apply to any such allotment or sale, such authority to be:

(a) 

 limited to the allotment of equity securities or sale of Treasury Shares up to a nominal amount  
of £65,207.54; and

(b) 

 used only for the purposes of financing (or refinancing, if the authority is to be used within  
six months after the original transaction) a transaction which the Directors determine to be an 
acquisition or other capital investment of a kind contemplated by the Statement of Principles on 
Disapplying Pre-Emption Rights most recently published by the Pre-Emption Group prior to the 
date of this notice,

 the power conferred by this resolution shall expire at the conclusion of the Company’s next Annual 
General Meeting (or, if earlier, at the close of business on 18 June 2022), except that the Company 
may at any time before such expiry make any offer or agreement which would or might require equity 
securities to be allotted (and Treasury Shares to be sold) after such expiry and the Directors of the 
Company may allot equity securities (and sell Treasury Shares) in pursuance of such an offer  
or agreement as if the authority conferred hereby had not expired.

I

I

A
D
D
T
O
N
A
L
I

11. 

 THAT the Company be and is generally authorised for the purposes of section 701 of the Act to make 
one or more market purchases (within the meaning of section 693(4) of the Act) of its Ordinary 
Shares of 1 pence each provided that:

(a)  the maximum aggregate number of Ordinary Shares that may be purchased is 13,041,508; 

(b)  the minimum price which may be paid for each Ordinary Share is 1 pence;

(c) 

(d) 

 the maximum price which may be paid for each Ordinary Share is not more than 105 per cent of 
the average of the middle market quotations for an Ordinary Share taken from the London Stock 
Exchange for the five business days immediately preceding the day of purchase; and

 unless previously renewed, varied or revoked, the authority conferred by this resolution shall 
expire at the conclusion of the Company’s next Annual General Meeting save that the Company 
may make a contract or contracts to purchase Ordinary Shares under the authority conferred by 
this resolution prior to the expiry of such authority which will or may be executed wholly or partly 
after the expiry of such authority and may make a purchase of Ordinary Shares in pursuance of 
any such contract or contracts.

N
F
O
R
M
A
T
O
N

I

By order of the Board

Zack Wilson 

Company Secretary
15 December 2020

72

73

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notice of Annual General Meeting continued

Officers and Advisers

REGISTRARS
Link Asset Services  
The Registry 
34 Beckenham Road  
Beckenham 
Kent BR3 4TU

NOMINATED ADVISER AND BROKER
Peel Hunt 
Moor House 
120 London Wall  
London 
EC2Y 5ET

SOLICITOR
Stephenson Harwood LLP  
1 Finsbury Circus 
London 
EC2M 7SH

DIRECTORS
J Keith R Falconer1 (Chairman) 
Ian R Simm (Chief Executive) 
Lindsey Brace Martinez (Non-Executive) 
Sally Bridgeland (Non-Executive)  
Arnaud de Servigny (Non-Executive)  
Vince O’Brien (Non-Executive) 
Simon O’Regan2 (Non-Executive)

SECRETARY
Zack Wilson

REGISTERED OFFICE
7th Floor 
30 Panton Street  
London 
SW1Y 4AJ

AUDITOR
KPMG LLP 
15 Canada Square 
London 
E14 5GL

BANKERS
The Royal Bank of Scotland International  
London Branch 
1 Princes Street 
London 
EC2R 8BP

Notes:

1 

You can vote:

• by logging on to www.signalshares.com and following the instructions; or

•

•

 you may request a hard copy form of proxy directly from the registrars, Link Group on tel: 0371 664 0300. Calls are charged at
the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable
international rate.  We are open between 09:00 – 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and Wales; or

i n the case of CREST members, by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service in accordance with the procedures
set out below.

I n order for a proxy appointment to be valid please ensure that you have recorded proxy details with Link Group by 3.00 p.m. 
on 16 March 2021.

  Any member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a proxy or proxies to attend, speak and vote in 
his or her stead. A member may appoint more than one proxy provided each proxy is appointed to exercise rights attached to 
different shares. A member may not appoint more than one proxy to exercise rights attached to any one share. A proxy need 
not be a member of the Company. Completion and return of a form of proxy or CREST Proxy Instruction (as described in note 
5) will not preclude a member from attending and voting in person at the meeting should he or she so decide. You can only
appoint a proxy using the procedures set out in these notes and the notes to the form of proxy. If you appoint a proxy and
attend the meeting in person, your proxy appointment will automatically be terminated.

  To be valid, the form of proxy and the power of attorney or other authority (if any) under which it is signed (or a notarially 
certified copy of such power of authority) must be deposited at the offices of Link Asset Services, PXS1, 34 Beckenham 
Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4ZF by 3.00 pm on 16 March 2021. To change your proxy instructions simply submit a new proxy 
appointment using the methods set out above and in the notes to the form of proxy. Note that the cut-off time for receipt 
of proxy appointments also applies in relation to amended instructions; any amended proxy appointment received after the 
relevant cut-off time will be disregarded.

  To be entitled to attend and vote at the meeting (and for the purpose of the determination by the Company of the number of 
votes they may cast), members must be entered in the Register of Members at close of business on 16 March 2021 (or, in the 
event of any adjournment, close of business on the date which is two days before the time of the adjourned meeting).

  CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may 
do so for the meeting and any adjournment(s) thereof by using the procedures described in the CREST Manual. CREST 
personal members or other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a voting service 
provider(s) should refer to their CREST sponsors or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action 
on their behalf. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST 
message (a “CREST Proxy Instruction”) must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited’s 
specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual. The 
message must be transmitted so as to be received by the Company’s agent, Link Asset Services (CREST Participant ID: RA10), 
no later than 48 hours before the time appointed for the meeting. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the 
time (as determined by the time stamp applied to the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the Company’s 
agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. CREST members and, where 
applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service provider(s) should note that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited does not make 
available special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply 
in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the 
CREST member is a CREST personal member or sponsored member or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure 
that his CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is 
transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, 
their CREST sponsors or voting service provider(s) are referred in particular to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning 
practical limitations of the CREST system and timings. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the 
circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001.

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

 As at 11 December 2020 (being the last practicable date prior to the publication of this notice) the total number of Ordinary 
Shares in the Company in issue was 130,415,087 and the Company held no Shares in treasury. The total number of voting rights 
on that date was therefore 130,415,087.

1 
retired 8 December 2020
2  appointed 8 December 2020

 Members have a right under section 319A of the Companies Act 2006 to require the Company to answer any question raised 
by a member at the annual general meeting, which relates to the business being dealt with at the meeting, although no answer 
need be given: (a) if to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation of the meeting or involve disclosure of confidential 
information; (b) if the answer has already been given on the Company’s website; or (c) if it is undesirable in the best interests of 
the Company or the good order of the meeting.

 A copy of this notice of annual general meeting and other information required by section 311A of the Companies Act 2006, can be 
found at www.impaxam.com.

Made from FSC® Recycled certified post-consumer waste pulp

Manufactured in accordance with ISO certified standards for 
environmental, quality and energy management

BRC certified storage and distribution

Carbon Balanced

74

75
75

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONWWW.IMPAXAM.COM

IMPAX ASSET  
MANAGEMENT GROUP PLC

7th Floor
30 Panton Street
London
SW1Y 4AJ
United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)20 3912 3000
E: info@impaxam.com

 @ImpaxAM 
 Impax Asset Management