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IntegraFin Holdings

ihp · LSE
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FY2018 Annual Report · IntegraFin Holdings
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ANNUAL REPORT 
AND FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 
30 SEPTEMBER 2018

IntegraFin Holdings plc

Company registration
number: 08860879

CONTENTS

Strategic Report

Financial Statements

Chairman’s Statement  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Independent Auditor’s Report  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chief Executive Officer’s Review  . . . 4

Consolidated Profit and Loss and Other Comprehensive Income  . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Transact – Our Business Model  

Company Profit and Loss and Other Comprehensive Income  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

at a Glance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Chief Financial Officer’s Review  . . . 14

Company Statement of Financial Position  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Risk and Risk Management . . . . . . . . 25

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Principal Risks and Uncertainties  . . 31

Company Statement of Cash Flows  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Viability Statement  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Corporate Social Responsibility  . . . 36

Company Statement of Changes in Equity  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Approval of Strategic Report  . . . . . . 37

Notes to the Financial Statements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Governance

Other Information

Board of Directors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Directors, Company Details, Advisers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Corporate Governance Report  . . . . . 41

Glossary of Terms  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Audit and Risk Committee Report  . 46

Nomination Committee Report  . . . . 52

Directors’ Remuneration Report  . . . 56

Directors’ Report   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Statement of Directors’  

Responsibilities  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    1

STRATEGIC REPORT

Christopher Munro
Non-Executive Interim Chairman

CHAIRMAN’S 
STATEMENT

Overview

The Board

The last twelve months have been an 
exciting time in the life of our company. 
After 19 years of hard work, we listed 
on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) 
this year. The listing was well 
received by investors, with the share 
price closing on the fi rst day of 
trading at a signifi cant premium to 
the issue price.

Ian comments on the key fi nancial 
results in his Chief Executive’s Report 
and more detail is provided in the 
Strategic Report that follows that, 
but it is pleasing to highlight that the 
Group has had another fruitful year 
and made considerable progress.

Flotation

IntegraFin Holdings plc (IHP) listed 
on the LSE on 2 March 2018 and 
soon after listing, became included in 
the FTSE 250 Index. No new capital 
was raised, this being an exercise in 
creating shareholder liquidity, but we 
were pleased to welcome many new 
shareholders to our register – with a 
roster of credible investment names 
acting indirectly as a pleasing 
endorsement of our proposition. 
Since we fl oated, there have been 
more platforms listing and we are 
seeing the creation of a newly emerging 
“platform” sector in the market. 

Partly in connection with the fl otation, 
we have made some important changes 
to the Board over the past year.

We were sad to lose the services of our 
chairman, Patrick Snowball, in August 
who was required to relinquish the 
chairmanship after accepting an offer 
from Provident Financial PLC which 
precluded him from continuing in 
this role for us. I thank Patrick for 
his sound advice and leadership 
throughout the listing process. 
We have now initiated the formal 
search process for a new Chairman.

We are delighted to welcome 
two new non-executive appointments 
to the Board. Victoria Cochrane 
has accepted the role of 
Senior Independent Director and 
brings a wide range of experience 
in the fi nancial services industry. 
Caroline Banszky has also accepted 
the role of Non-Executive Director 
and brings further insight from the 
fi nancial services industry. The intent 
is that Caroline will be chair of the 
Audit and Risk Committee of the 
main Board after the AGM.

I would like to take this opportunity 
to pay tribute to our founder 
and ex-chairman, Mike Howard. 
IntegraFin is the product of Mike’s 
foresight in identifying an important 
gap in the investment universe and, 

2    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

We believe our remuneration scheme 
is fair to both shareholders and staff 
and reflects our advised platform 
space in the financial services industry.

Dividend

The Board is declaring an interim 
dividend of 6.4 pence per ordinary 
share (2017: 5.9 pence per ordinary 
share). A pre-listing special dividend 
was paid to shareholders in January 
2018 of 3.4 pence per ordinary share.

The Board maintains a dividend 
policy of distributing 60% to 65%  
of post tax profits subject to market 
conditions and consideration of 
exceptional items.

Closing

Finally, on behalf of the Board,  
I would like to thank all our colleagues 
for their hard work throughout the 
past year. It is through their exhaustive 
efforts that these excellent results, 
along with the successful flotation  
of the company, have been made 
possible. We are extremely fortunate 
to have such a dedicated and 
talented team.

Christopher Munro 
Non-Executive Interim Chairman

12 December 2018

with Ian and his team’s help, 
capturing that opportunity. Mike has 
contributed clear and strategic 
thinking and enormous energy  
over the last nineteen years. I am 
delighted he remains an integral part 
of “Team Transact” as an executive 
Director of IHP.

Governance

The Board has always recognised  
the importance of good governance. 
We appreciate our continued success 
is reliant on a well-defined corporate 
and ethical culture across the Group. 
As a Non-Executive Director and more 
recently as your Interim Chairman,  
I have been impressed by the quality 
and experience of the various 
subcommittees which ensure that our 
company maintains high standards in 
both governance and risk oversight.

Pleasingly, the Board now demonstrates 
a better gender balance with the 
recent appointments of Victoria and 
Caroline and I am encouraged with 
our Company’s performance in 
relation to our gender pay gap.

Remuneration

The Remuneration Committee’s 
Report on remuneration is set out  
on page 56.

The principal changes this year are 
the introduction of a Share Incentive 
Plan (SIP) and a Performance Share 
Plan (PSP). These will be awarded  
to staff based on their performance  
and the company’s performance, 
both over the previous year.

Share awards are an excellent 
method for employees to participate 
in the success of the company and 
we hope that as many of our staff as 
possible will engage in these schemes.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    3

STRATEGIC REPORT 
continued

Ian Taylor 
Chief Executive Officer

CEO REVIEW

Headlines

Following a good performance in 
2017, by many measures the year  
to 30 September 2018 was again our 
most successful so far.

Gross inflows of £5.96 billion were 
12% higher than last year and the 
highest they have ever been.  
At £4.09 billion, net inflows were also 
12% higher than last year and also 
the highest they have ever been.

We ended the year with 166,000 
clients (+10%) and funds under 
direction (FUD), of £33.11 billion 
(+19%). 

This means that we are pleased to 
report that profit after tax increased 
by 10% to £32.9 million. 

As a fairer reflection of year on year 
progress, removing those expenses 
incurred exceptionally as part of the 
listing of the Company on the LSE in 
early March, and detailed in the  
Chief Financial Officer’s Review (CFOR), 
leads to an adjusted profit after tax of 
£35.5 million – an increase of 15%.

The market background

The UK investment platform industry 
continued to flourish. Many platforms 
saw further substantial uplifts in new 
business, although reported inflows 
for many had started to soften 
towards the end of our financial year. 
Platforum estimates that funds under 

direction across the advised platform 
sector grew from £463 billion 
(September 2017) to £540 billion 
(September 2018).

There was also some evidence that 
technology costs continued to rise 
across the sector and that, in some 
cases, the conversion from one system 
to another created much that was 
disruptive for advisers and clients alike.

Our activity

This year, in particular, was one in 
which we made strides forward both 
as a service to our clients and as an 
asset for our shareholders.

As far as our clients were concerned, 
we continued to provide an expanding 
range of functionality and a consistently 
excellent level of service. On the 
operational side for example, 
supporting the requirements of MiFID 
II and of GDPR demonstrated how 
Transact continues to provide mission 
critical functionality to Mrs Miggins 
and her adviser. 

During the course of the year we  
won awards from: Money Observer 
(Retirement Income Awards –  
Best Flexi Access Drawdown); 
Financial Adviser (Service Awards  
– 5 Star Investment Provider); 
Platforum (Best Adviser Platform 
Over £10bn); Professional Adviser 
(Best Platform for Advisers,  
AUA above £15bn); Professional 

4    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
The outlook

Many commentators currently opine 
that the global economic, political 
and stock market outlooks are 
challenging. There is little to hand  
to contradict this speculation.

But, we would observe that using  
a platform is not an investment 
decision, it is an administration 
decision. Whilst platforms are not 
immune to stock market movements, 
they are somewhat insulated from 
the more extreme client reactions to 
those movements. And, of course,  
all of the compelling arguments for 
moving from old world administration 
to new world administration remain 
firmly in place. 

So, we will, as ever, continue to drive 
organic growth and to provide the 
best adviser platform in the UK.

Ian Taylor 
Chief Executive Officer

12 December 2018

Paraplanner (Best Platform); and 
Professional Paraplanner (Best 
Overall Service – Existing Business).

Transact was also rated the best 
adviser platform in adviser surveys run 
by CoreData and Investment Trends.

In April we made adjustments to some 
of our prices. This perpetuated our 
established record of sharing some of 
our profits with our customers when 
circumstances permit. We do this when 
we are comfortable that doing so will 
have no negative impact on service 
levels. We call this ‘responsible pricing’ 
and it means that the best service in 
the platform market continues to be 
even better value. 

As far as shareholders were concerned, 
the flotation in March was, obviously, 
a very significant event in the history 
of the company. The Chairman’s 
statement touches upon this topic  
in the opening pages of this report. 
But, I would add that the fact that we 
are listed will not distract us from the 
core values and operating principles 
that made us so successful in the 
preceding eighteen years.

I am also pleased that, by virtue of 
the flotation, we are now in a position 
whereby we are able to make all staff 
shareholders in the business. This is 
being done and there is more on this 
in the Directors’ Remuneration Report.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    5

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

TRANSACT – OUR BUSINESS 
MODEL AT A GLANCE

About IntegraFin

IHP is the holding company for all of 
the entities involved in the provision 
of the Transact service. 

Transact is only marketed in the UK 
and is designed specifically to meet 
the needs of clients and their 
financial advisers. 

Our corporate structure as at  
30 September 2018 is shown below:

INTEGRAFIN CORPORATE STRUCTURE

lntegraFin Holdings plc

Integrated Financial 
Arrangements Ltd

lntegraFin Services  
Limited 

Transact IP Ltd

Integrated Application 
Development Pty Ltd

ObjectMastery (UK) 
Limited

Transact Nominees  
Limited

IntegraLife UK  
Limited

IntegraLife International 
Limited

Transact Trustees  
Limited

6    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Transact provides a market leading 
platform infrastructure for clients and 
their advisers to make the 
implementation and management of 
client portfolios as simple and 
efficient as possible. Our leading 
investment platform functionality is 
supported by a high-touch client 
service team which provides 
extensive day-to-day and technical 

support no matter how simple or 
complex a query may be. 

As an independent platform we 
provide access to a wide range of tax 
wrappers and investment products. 
There are currently over 8,000 funds 
available on Transact and we can 
provide access to any asset listed on 
a major stock market. 

INTEGRAFIN PROPOSITION

Advice 
fees

166k Clients

Financial 
planning and 
advice

5k Advisers

3k Adviser Firms

Services and 
platform 
functionality

Platform 
fees

Statements

Instant 
portfolio 
valuations

On-line 
access

Client Service Team

Proprietary Platform Functionality

▪  Over 190 highly trained 

client service staff

▪  Client service staff allocated 

to specific advisers

▪  Deal with queries across 

assets and wrappers

Asset  
Custody

Transaction  
Processing

Adviser  
Fees

Portfolio  
Monitoring

Reporting  
Tools

Wide Range of Wrappers 

▪  Strong adviser relationships

ISAs

GIAs

Pensions

Onshore 
Bonds

Offshore 
Bonds

Open Investment Architecture

~ 8,400 
Funds

~ 370  
ITs

~ 900 
ETFs

~ 3,200  
Stocks

~ 400  
Gilts and 
Bonds

~ 80  
VCTs

Cash

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    7

 
 
STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Our marketplace

Transact was the first investment 
platform service to launch in the UK 
back in 2000, providing a revolutionary 
solution for fee based financial 
advisers. Since then other providers 
have continued to enter the market 
and the UK platform sector has 
grown rapidly and now totals £540 
billion of assets (Platforum, Issue 36, 
November 2018). 

The rapid growth of the sector has 
occurred because the platform 
proposition is extremely attractive to 
both clients and advisers. Ultimately, 
platforms provide clients with greater 
control over their investments as they 
offer the visibility and convenience of 
having all tax wrappers and a wide 
range of investments, held and 
managed in one place, and at a lower 
price than the pre-platform era.

UK PLATFORM MARKET GROWTH

£600bn

£500bn

£400bn

£300bn

£200bn

£100bn

£0

£540bn - Sept 2018

2
0
0
2

3
0
0
2

4
0
0
2

5
0
0
2

6
0
0
2

7
0
0
2

8
0
0
2

9
0
0
2

0
1
0
2

1
1
0
2

2
1
0
2

3
1
0
2

4
1
0
2

5
1
0
2

6
1
0
2

7
1
0
2

Financial year (end)

D
T
Y

8
1
0
2

8    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
Our business strategy

IntegraFin drives organic growth

IntegraFin aims to create, maintain 
and improve value for its three groups 
of stakeholders – its customers,  
its shareholders and its employees.  
In doing so, the Group operates under 
a set of business principles.

IntegraFin will always: 

▪  operate with flexibility and 

entrepreneurship while ensuring 
compliance with law and regulation

▪  act fairly and honestly with all parties

▪  provide a service that makes the 

process of financial planning easier 
for clients and their financial advisers.

IntegraFin has two groups  
of customers

▪  The first group are the contractual 
customers and ultimate beneficial 
owners of the assets. The business 
derives its remuneration from these 
clients and always discloses this 
remuneration in full

▪  The second group are marketing 
customers who are our clients’ 
financial advisers. The business 
seeks to influence the behaviour  
of these marketing customers by 
providing a better service without 
ever using any financial influence.  

The business considers developments 
to its proposition and business plan 
where such changes are likely to 
improve financial planning processes 
for clients and their financial 
advisers. The business looks to 
implement new wrappers and 
services where it sees opportunities 
that will benefit all customers. 

The business develops its technology 
in a steady and controlled manner.

IntegraFin identifies  
new opportunities

Where opportunities have been 
identified, the business looks 
(wherever possible) to introduce 
in-sourced solutions. 

New developments must:

▪  Not risk group capital beyond 

reasonable levels

▪  Not bring us into commercial conflict

▪  Not make it disproportionately 

difficult for us to meet our 
regulatory responsibilities.

Through these measures we aim to 
continue to grow profits and generate 
the best returns we can for our 
shareholders.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    9

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Our business model

A key aspect of our proposition is 
the control we have over every 
aspect of what we do. We do not 
outsource any material component 
of our service or technology and 
this gives us total control over the 
quality and cost of our whole 
operation. We also set our own 
priorities when deciding on the 
service enhancements we make 
and the frequency with which  
we make them. 

The main components of our 
proposition are:

Systems 
Technology 

▪ Proprietary software systems technology.

▪  Full control of the client experience.

▪  We set our own priorities and control management of 

associated costs.

▪  We can react quickly to client and industry demands.

Operations

▪  High-touch client service team.

▪  The teams cover our entire proposition and are not 

product centric. This means that the adviser and client 
experience is highly efficient.

▪  This also enables us to build strong adviser 

relationships.

Manufacturer 
of Wrappers

We provide a wide range of tax efficient wrappers, 
including: 

Open 
Investment 
Architecture

▪  ISAs

▪  Pensions 

▪  Onshore life insurance bonds 

▪  Offshore life insurance bonds

As well as providing General Investment Accounts  
for those assets that cannot be held in an approved  
tax wrapper.

We provide access to a wide range of investment types, 
including:

▪  Managed funds

▪  Investment trusts

▪  Exchange traded funds

▪  Shares

▪  Gilts 

▪  Venture capital trusts

▪  Cash.

10    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Control of our systems development 
is crucial to our business model 
as it enables our Client Service teams 
to operate effectively. We design our 
systems and processes around the 
needs of our clients and their 
fi nancial advisers and regularly 
consult with them to ensure our 
solutions are appropriate. 

Similarly, our Client Service teams 
receive extensive training through 
our internal training programmes and 
have been instrumental in our success 
and the many accolades and awards 
Transact has received over the years. 

We do not own any fi nancial advisory 
fi rms and we are proud to have 
long-standing relationships with many 
fi rms across the UK. We currently 
work with over 5,000 advisers who 
have independently selected Transact 
for their clients. 

We receive all of our income from 
the fees paid by clients via our 
platform. Our Board and Senior 
Management Team are confi dent that 
the business model we operate is 
truly sustainable as 96% of revenue, 
as detailed on page 17 in the CFOR, 
is of recurring nature.

Strategic priorities and progress

This year saw us implement legal 
and regulatory changes for the 
platform industry as required by 
MiFID II and GDPR. 

Our focus for the coming year will 
be to make continuous improvements 
to maintain our reputation as a 
premium service provider and a 
leading platform within the market.

We continue to see a strong uptake 
in advisers choosing our platform, 
with more advisers registering with 
Transact each month. 

We continue to monitor government 
announcements regarding the 
savings and investment tax regime 
and are ready to respond accordingly 
to any changes in the provisions of 
pensions and ISAs in particular.

Award-winning service

We have become renowned for 
high quality service. The results 
of independent research studies 
stand testament to this as Transact 
has consistently been rated by 
advisory professionals as the top 
platform year on year in both the 
Investment Trends and CoreData 
research studies (2010 to 2018 
inclusive), and consistently performs 
strongly in Platforum quarterly and 
annual surveys.

This year we also completed our 
third Transact annual client survey, 
the results of which were extremely 
positive with 98% of respondents 
saying that they would recommend 
Transact to others.

TRANSACT ADVISER RATINGS

Category: 
Large Platforms 
(> £12bn FUD)

Category: 
Large Platforms 
(> £10bn FUD)

Category: 
Large Platforms 
(> £10bn FUD)

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    11

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Key performance indicators

The key performance indicators 
presented are based on quantifiable 
measures that the Group uses to gauge 
the performance of the business.

Funds Under Direction

TOTAL FUD

The value of FUD is a primary driver 
of revenue as it forms the basis of 
annual commission payable which,  
as detailed on page 17 in the CFOR, 
is the largest component of Group 
revenue. Over the financial year FUD 
has increased by £5.19 billion or 19%.

Growth in FUD is due to strong  
net inflows which are in turn driven 
by maintaining and growing our 
supporting clients and their  
financial advisers.

)
£
(
D
U
F

35bn

30bn

25bn

20bn

15bn

10bn

5bn

0bn

Net inflows

NET INFLOWS

27.9bn

33.1bn

22.7bn

FY16

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

)
£
(

s
w
o
l
f
n

i

t
e
N

5bn

4bn

3bn

2bn

1bn

0bn

2.2bn

FY16

3.7bn

4.1bn

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

Net inflows for the financial year to 
30 September 2018 increased by 
11.7% to £4.09 billion – our highest 
ever annual net inflows. This increase 
has been achieved in four ways:

▪  existing clients making further 
contributions to their portfolios

▪  new clients from advisers who 

already use Transact

▪  new clients from advisers new  

to Transact

▪  fewer outflows as a proportion of 
FUD (more detail is provided on 
page 15 in the CFOR).

Adviser numbers

ADVISER NUMBERS

The number of advisers using the 
platform grew by 6% during the year 
to 5,453, representing steady growth 
at a rate that enables us to help the 
advisers “on-board” their clients.  
We retained the highest net promoter 
score of the Adviser Platforms in the 
annual Investment Trends survey 
(with a significant gap from the 
platform rated second).

s
r
e
b
m
u
n

r
e
s
i
v
d
A

6,000

5,500

5,000

4,500

4,000

12    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

5,005

FY16

5,143

FY17
Financial year (end)

5,453

FY18

 
 
 
 
Net promoter score

Based on the 2018 Investment 
Trends survey of financial advisers, 
Transact obtained a Net Promoter 
Score (NPS) of 59%, compared to  
the next platform that obtained 31%. 
The measure shows how likely advisers 
are to recommend Transact to others.

Client numbers

CLIENT NUMBERS

The number of clients on the platform 
has increased by 10% to 166,000, 
demonstrating the satisfaction with 
our service. Especially pleasing is the 
increasing number of Family Groups 
on the platform, highlighting the 
increasing use of trust arrangements 
and inter-generational planning. 

s
r
e
b
m
u
n

t
n
e

i
l

C

180k

160k

140k

120k

100k

137k

FY16

151k

FY17
Financial year (end)

166k

FY18

Client retention

CLIENT RETENTION

95%

FY16

96%

96%

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

Client retention is an important 
measure of satisfaction. High client 
retention is also an indicator of 
ongoing revenue. Our client retention 
remains at 96% per annum which  
we attribute to the high level of 
satisfaction experienced with our 
service and offering.

n
o
i
t
n
e
t
e
r

t
n
e

i
l

C

100%

98%

96%

94%

92%

90%

Profit before tax

Growing FUD by attracting and 
maintaining clients drives revenue. 
The level of PBT provides an indication 
of the efficiency of delivery of the 
Platform service, and is covered in 
the CFOR. 

Earnings per share

EPS provides a measure of the value 
delivered to shareholders, and is 
covered on page 21 in the CFOR.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    13

 
 
STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER’S REVIEW

As set out in our CEO’s report,  
it has been another positive year with 
growth in both gross and net inflows, 
contributing to financial year end FUD 
of £33.11 billion. Income has continued 
to grow leading to increased profit 
even allowing for the one off costs 
associated with the successful listing 
of the company. 

Our business model has remained 
unchanged throughout the year  
and this is expected to continue. 
Through our differentiated premium 
offering and the quality of the service 
we provide to clients and their 
advisers, we retain and bring new 
advisers and clients to the Transact 
platform evidenced by the service 
awards we win each year, illustrated 
in our Business Model section.  
We receive an annual, tiered fee on 
FUD, together with quarterly wrapper 
fees for each of the tax wrapper 
types clients hold, and buy 
commission on asset purchases.

We continue to invest in our people 
who are key to delivering our high 
quality service, as well as investing  
in the ongoing development of  
our proprietary technology.  
These developments allow us to 
benefit from ongoing process 
efficiencies which are reflected in  
our increased operating margin.

There have been a number of events 
in the financial year that merit comment.

Premium listing on the main 
market of the LSE

Regulatory capital  
requirement changes

The company was listed on the main 
market on 2 March 2018. Significant 
one off costs were incurred in the 
listing process. Most of these costs, 
£2.6 million, were incurred in 
financial year 2018, with a smaller 
amount, £0.9 million, incurred in 
financial year 2017. As well as 
providing IFRS operating profit and 
operating margin results, we have 
also provided supplemental,  
adjusted operating profit and 
operating margin results to enable 
consistent comparison between 
financial years.

Prelisting special dividend

In addition to the ordinary interim 
dividend declared for the financial year 
ended 30 September 2017 the 
company declared a special dividend of 
£11.4 million in January 2018 prior to 
listing. This is equivalent to 3.4 pence 
per share in issue following the listing.

New regulations governing the  
capital requirements for Isle of Man 
insurance companies came into force 
on 30 June 2018. The new regulations 
are an economic capital based regime 
similar to Solvency II. Whilst this 
change has resulted in a significant 
increase in the regulatory capital 
requirement for our Isle of Man 
insurance subsidiary from £4.1 million 
to £15.4 million, sufficient regulatory 
capital has been retained through the 
period of regulatory consultation to 
enable the new requirement to be met.

In order to maintain capital above 
our regulatory risk appetite levels, 
the Board of our UK investment 
subsidiary Integrated Financial 
Arrangements Ltd, which is regulated 
by the Financial Conduct Authority, 
has concluded it needs to retain an 
additional £10.0 million of capital 
given the growth in scale of the 
business, increased complexity of the 
Group and changes in regulations.

FUD, inflows and outflows

For the financial year ended
30 September

Opening fee generating FUD

Inflows

Outflows

Net flows

Market movements

Other movements1

2018 
£m

27,927

5,957

(1,863)

4,094

1,138

(46)

2017 
£m

22,686

5,302

(1,638)

3,664

1,424

153

Closing fee generating FUD

33,113

27,927

Other FUD2

Total closing FUD

0

1

33,113

27,928

1Other movements includes dividends, interest, fees and tax charges and rebates.

2FUD held historically for a single private client, for which the only charge was a nominal 

fee for custody. 

14    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

The 2018 financial year has seen 
continued growth in the level of client 
inflows onto Transact, despite increased 
market volatility. FUD ended the year 
£5.19 billion higher than the 2017 
financial year end at £33.11 billion, 
an increase of 18.6%.

INTEGRAFIN GROUP – TOTAL FUD

27.9bn

33.1bn

22.7bn

)
£
(
D
U
F

35bn

30bn

25bn

20bn

15bn

10bn

5bn

0bn

FY16

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

This increase in FUD over financial 
year 2018 was driven by gross 
inflows of £5.96 billion, averaging 
£496 million per month, the highest 
since the platform’s inception and 
12.4% higher than the 2017 financial 
year. Generally higher market levels 
added a further £1.09 billion to FUD, 

offset by gross outflows of £1.86 
billion which, whilst increasing by 
£225 million over the year, actually 
decreased as a proportion of opening 
year FUD, down from 7.2% to 6.7%. 
Net inflows for the financial year 
were 11.7% higher than last year.

INTEGRAFIN GROUP – GROSS & NET INFLOWS

)
£
(

s
w
o
l
f
n

i

s
s
o
r
G

7.0bn

6.0bn

5.0bn

4.0bn

3.0bn

2.0bn

1.0bn

0.0bn

2.2bn

5.3bn

6.0bn

3.6bn

3.7bn

4.1bn

FY16

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

Net Flows

Gross Inflows 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    15

 
 
 
STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Both advisers with long standing 
relationships, and new advisers,  
bring new money to Transact.  
This may be through new clients and 
new money or long standing clients 
placing additional money on the 
platform. For our continuing success 
it is as important to maintain strong 
relationships with advisers and clients 
who are already using Transact as it 
is to bring new advisers and new 
clients to the platform. 

At 30 September 2018 the number  
of registered advisers with funds on 
the platform averaging greater than 
£1,000 had increased to 5,453,  
up 6.0% year on year, whilst over 
68% of registered advisers 
recommending Transact had been 
using the platform for over five years. 

With our focus on premium service 
delivering strong client retention, 
over 96% of clients at the start of the 
year remained on the platform at the 
end of the year, and attracting new 
clients, this has seen our total 
number of clients increase by 9.9% 
to 166,000 from 151,000. This is 
reflected in continuing growth in the 
number of open tax wrappers which 
has increased by 9.5% over the year.

Financial performance

We have had another positive year 
with strong revenue growth and 
increasing profits. Our ability to 
continue to generate and grow profits 
is driven by our ability to grow FUD 
through new inflows and retain 
existing business whilst managing 
our expense base. 

Total gross profit in the financial year 
to 30 September 2018 increased by 
£10.8 million, or 13.6%, to £90.4 million 
from £79.6 million. This has been 
driven by strong new inflow growth 
and higher market levels, resulting in 
an increase in the value of FUD, 
together with increased client numbers, 
leading to an increase in the number 
of tax wrappers held on the platform.

INTEGRAFIN GROUP – TOTAL NUMBER OF WRAPPERS

s
r
e
b
m
u
n

r
e
p
p
a
r
W

340k

320k

300k

280k

260k

240k

220k

200k

266K

FY16

322k

294k

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

Income 

For the financial year ended
30 September 

Revenue

Cost of Sales

Gross Profit

Operating Expenses

Operating Profit attributable to 
shareholder returns

Interest Income

Profit before tax attributable to 
shareholder returns

Tax on ordinary activities

Profit after tax

2018
£m

91.2

(0.8)

90.4

(49.7)

40.7

0.2

40.9

(8.0)

32.9

2017
£m

80.2

(0.6)

79.6

(42.8)

36.8

0.2

37.0

(7.1)

29.9

16    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
Components of revenue

For the financial year ended
30 September

Annual Commission Income

Wrapper Fee Income

Other Income

Total Fee Income

Revenue comprises three elements. 
Of these, annual commission income 
and wrapper fee income constitute 
the recurring revenue. Other income 
includes “buy commission” and 
“dealing income”.

Annual commission income increased 
by £9.7 million, or 14.0%, to £79.2 
million in the financial year ended 30 
September 2018. This growth was 
due to the increased value of FUD 
arising from strong new inflow growth, 
and market growth. This increase in 
annual commission income has been 
achieved even after allowing for full 
year effects of the reduction in the 
annual commission rate charge 
effective from 1 April 2017 and the 
half year effects of the reduction in 
annual commission rate thresholds 
effective from 1 April 2018.

Wrapper administration fee income 
increased by £0.8 million, or 11.0%,  
to £8.1 million in the financial year 
ended 30 September 2018. This was 
due to an increase in the number of 
clients on the platform with open tax 
wrappers and new tax wrappers 
opened in the year by clients already 

2018
£m

79.2

8.1

3.9

91.2

2017
£m

69.5

7.3

3.4

80.2

using Transact at the start of the 
financial year. This has been offset by 
tax wrappers being closed.

Recurring revenue streams constituted 
95.7% (2017: 95.8%) of total fee income.

Other income, mainly buy commission 
and dealing charges, increased due 
to a higher number of transactions, 
and an increase in the average value 
of those transactions. In the financial 
year ended 30 September 2018 other 
income increased by £0.5 million,  
or 14.7%, to £3.9 million.

IHP FEE INCOME

90bn

85bn

80bn

75bn

70bn

65bn

60bn

55bn

50bn

)
£
(

e
m
o
c
n

i

e
e
F

2.9bn

6.5bn

58.9bn

FY16

3.9bn

8.1bn

79.2bn

3.5bn

7.3bn

69.5bn

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

Annual Commission Wrapper Fee

Buy & Dealing

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    17

 
 
STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Operating expenses

Total unadjusted operating expenses 
increased by £6.9 million, or 16.1%, 
to £49.7 million in the financial year 
ended 30 September 2018, compared 
to £42.8 million in the financial year 
ended 30 September 2017. This increase 
was mainly due to professional fees 
and additional staff costs associated 
with the listing of IHP on the main 
market of the LSE on 2 March 2018. 
Staff costs also increased due to 
increases in our client services staff 
and systems developers. These 
increases are focussed on generating 
ongoing process efficiencies whilst 
ensuring the continuation of our 
premium service.

Operating expenses

For the financial year ended
30 September

Staff Costs

Occupancy

Regulatory and Professional Fees

Other Costs

Total expenses

Depreciation and Amortisation

Total Operating Expenses

2018
£m

35.0

3.6

6.8

3.7

49.1

0.6

49.7

2017
£m

30.5

3.5

4.5

3.7

42.2

0.6

42.8

Staff costs increased by £4.5 million, 
or 14.8%, to £35.0 million in the 
financial year ended 30 September 
2018, compared to £30.5 million in 
the financial year ended 30 September 
2017. There are several factors affecting 
staff costs in this period aside from 
general inflationary increases in staff 
costs, and the budgeted increase in 
the percentage of salary paid by the 
Group to the staff money purchase 
pension arrangement.

Average staff numbers increased  
to 507 from 451 over the year,  
an increase of 12.4%. The main area 
of people growth was in the teams 
that provide service to advisers and 

clients, and reflects both the increase 
in business volumes and the Group’s 
commitment to maintaining premium 
service. We have also increased the 
number of software development 
staff in order to maximise our ability 
to continue to drive process efficiencies. 
Additionally, there were some increases 
in governance staffing ahead of  
the listing.

To reward performance and 
encourage loyalty the company has 
introduced a Share Incentive Plan 
(SIP) that is open to all staff and a 
Performance Share Plan (PSP) for 
management, as detailed in our 
Prospectus. Benefits from the SIP 

18    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Total capitalised expenditure for the 
financial year was £0.6 million compared 
with £0.4 million in the prior year. 

Profit before tax attributable to 
shareholder returns

Over the course of the year we have 
completed our listing whilst maintaining 
investment in our infrastructure and 
people. We have continued to deliver 
award winning service to our advisers 
and clients, whilst once again 
implementing charge reductions that 
have lowered the costs to our clients. 

Adjusted operating profit

For the financial year ended
30 September

Operating profit attributable to 
shareholder returns

Adjustment for listing costs

Adjusted operating profit attributable 
to shareholder returns

Before adjusting for non-recurring 
listing costs the operating margin 
reduced from 45.9% to 44.6%.

After adjusting for non-recurring 
listing costs the operating margin 
increased from 47.0% to 47.5%.

Interest income is generated from 
interest on corporate cash and 
returns on corporate gilt holdings 
giving unadjusted profit before tax  
of £40.9m, adjusted for listing costs 
to £43.5m in the financial year to  
30 September 2018, an unadjusted 
increase of 10.5%, adjusted 14.8% 
increase, on the prior year.

relate to the period post listing and 
hence only part year costs have been 
incurred in financial year 2018.  
The PSP will be launched in financial 
year 2019 and therefore no costs 
have been incurred in financial year 
2018. More detail of the cost in 
financial year 2018 is given in  
Note 30 in the Financial Statements.

Company paid staff pension 
contributions were increased by 1.5% 
of salary from 1 June 2017 with the 
full annual effect emerging in the last 
financial year. We plan to make one 
further increase to contributions of 
1.5% of salary which will take effect 
from 1 January 2019.

The increase in regulatory and 
professional fees of £2.3 million 
excluding VAT included in other costs, 
or 51.1%, in the 12 months to  
30 September 2018 compared with 
the 12 months to 30 September 
2017, was mostly due to the increase 
in professional fees of £2.0 million,  
or 71.9%. Of this increase £1.7 million 
is attributable to non-recurring listing 
expenses, with £2.3 million incurred 
in financial year 2018 compared with 
£0.7 million excluding VAT included in 
other costs in financial year 2017.

Regulatory costs relate to fees 
charged on the three regulated 
entities in the Group by the 
Prudential Regulation Authority,  
the Financial Conduct Authority and 
the Financial Services Authority in the 
Isle of Man, together with Financial 
Services Compensation Scheme 
levies in the UK and the Isle of Man. 
Overall there was a 17.3% increase 
in these costs over the financial year. 
This was in part due to increases in 
business volumes and in part due to 
an increase in fee levels.

Depreciation and Amortisation costs 
remained consistent with the prior 
financial year at £0.6 million, 
reflecting the program of rolling 
replacement for IT hardware.

2018
£m

40.7

2.6

43.3

2017
£m

36.8

0.9

37.7

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    19

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

IHP – PROFIT BEFORE TAX

X
A
T

E
R
O
F
E
B

T
I
F
O
R
P

£50m

£45m

£40m

£35m

£30m

£25m

£20m

£2.6m
£0.2m

£40.7m

£0.9m
£0.2m

£36.8m

£0.5m

£25.7m

FY16

Operating Profit

FY17
Financial year (end)
Interest Income

FY18

IPO Adjustment

Tax

Tax on ordinary activities described 
below solely comprises the Group’s 
’shareholder corporation tax’ which is 
distinguished from the ‘policyholder 
tax’ that the Group collects and 
remits to HMRC in respect of ILUK, 
which is taxed under the “I minus E” 
tax regime.

The Group has operations in three 
tax jurisdictions, UK, Australia and 
Isle of Man making Group profits 
varyingly subject to tax at three 
different rates, however, the vast 

majority of the Group’s income is 
earned in the UK.

Taxation increased by £0.9 million,  
or 12.5%, to £8.1 million in the 
financial year ended 30 September 
2018 compared to £7.2 million in the 
prior financial year. The effective rate 
of tax over the period increased to 
19.9% from 19.4%. This increase is 
mainly due to listing costs.

Our tax strategy is published on our 
website at: https:www.integrafin.co.uk/ 
group-tax-strategy/ 

20    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
 
Earnings per share

Operating Profit attributable to 
shareholder returns

Interest Income

Profit before tax attributable to 
shareholder returns

Tax on ordinary activities

Profit after tax for the period

2018
£m

40.7

0.2

40.9

(8.0)

32.9

2017
£m

36.8

0.2

37.0

(7.1)

29.9

Number of shares in issue

Earnings per share – basic and diluted

331.3m

9.9p

331.3m1

9.0p

Profit after tax for the period adjusted  
to exclude listing costs

Number of shares in issue

Adjusted earnings per share  
– basic and diluted

35.5

30.8

331.3m

10.7p

331.3m1

9.3p

1 Shares in issue restated for financial year 2017 periods to reflect number of shares  

in issue following the IHP listing.

Earnings per share has grown by 
10.0% from 9.0 pence at 30 September 
2017 to 9.9 pence at 30 September 
2018. Earnings per share adjusted to 
exclude listing costs has grown by 
15.1% to 10.7 pence.

IHP – EARNINGS PER SHARE

)
e
c
n
e
p
(

S
P
E

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

6.30

FY16

9.00

9.90

FY17
Financial year (end)

FY18

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    21

 
STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Group statement of  
financial position

Material items on the SOFP include 
the following:

Intangible assets (Note 11)

The Group’s intangible assets of 
£13.0m as at 30 September 2018 
comprises goodwill following the 
purchase of IAD Pty in July 2016. 
Goodwill is tested for impairment 
each financial year. 

Deferred acquisition costs  
and deferred income liability 
(Note 14 and 20)

Deferred acquisition costs and 
deferred income liability both increased 
by £7.8m to £46m. This was due  
to the level of new business in life 
insurance wrappers and the financial 
adviser fees associated with that new 
business. These two line items always 
net off exactly but are required to be 
shown under IFRS.

Investments and cash held for 
the benefit of policyholders and 
liabilities for linked investment 
contracts (Note 15)

Investments and cash held for the 
benefit of policyholders and liabilities 
for linked investment contracts both 
increased £2.5bn to £14.5bn.This 
increase was due to the increase in 
the value of FUD held in life insurance 
wrappers. The increase reflects 
positive market movements and 
strong inflows.

ILUK and ILInt match the assets  
and liabilities of their linked policies 
such that, in their own individual 
statements of financial position,  
and in the Group’s consolidated 
statement of financial position,  
these items always net off exactly.

Deferred tax liability (Note 21)

Deferred tax liabilities increased by 
£1.8m to £12.6m. This increase was 
primarily due to significant market 
movements in the assets held in 
onshore bond tax wrappers during 
the year. Sufficient cash is held to 
meet this liability.

Liquidity and capital management

The Group monitors its liquidity 
position on a regular basis, having 
cognisance to cash and cash 
equivalent holdings and levels of 
outgoings. At 30 September 2018 the 
Group held £116.8 million Cash and 
cash equivalents compared with 
£105.8 million at 30 September 2017 
with cash generated through trading 
additionally covering £30.8 million of 
dividends paid in the year.

Cash is used to expand the business 
through continued organic growth; 
enhancing the premium service; 
further developing the resilience of 
the Group’s systems through 
investment in technology and 
infrastructure; as well as paying the 
operating expenses of the business 
and paying shareholder dividends. 
Cash is also held to cover regulatory 
capital requirements and tax liabilities.

To enable the Group to offer a wide 
range of tax wrappers there are three 
regulated entities within the Group,  
a UK investment firm, a UK life 
insurance company and an Isle of Man 
life insurance company. Each regulated 
entity maintains capital well above 
the minimum level of regulatory 
capital, ensuring sufficient capital 
remains available to fund ongoing 
trading and future growth.

The regulatory capital requirements 
and resources in ILUK and ILInt are 
calculated by reference to economic 
capital based regimes, and therefore 
do not directly equate to IFAL’s 
expense-based regulatory capital 
requirements.

22    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Regulatory Capital

For the financial year ended
30 September 2018

Regulatory 
Capital 
requirements

Regulatory 
Capital 
resources

Regulatory 
Cover

£m

21.81

142.57

15.35

£m

28.78

183.23

23.02

%

132.0

128.5

150.0

IFAL

ILUK

ILInt

We look to deliver long-term benefits 
for our clients, our shareholders and 
our staff. This requires balancing  
the delivery of our differentiated 
premium offering and the quality of 
the service for our clients with our 
desire to deliver profit growth, capital 
appreciation and a dividend stream 
to shareholders whilst providing fair 
reward to our staff. We maintain 
sufficient regulatory capital, whilst 
also retaining an appropriate level of 
working capital.

Capital

For the financial year ended 
30 September 2018

Total equity

Loans and receivables, intangibles assets and property, 
plant and equipment

Available capital pre dividend

Interim dividend declared

Available capital post dividend

Additional risk appetite capital

Surplus

2018 
£m

104.9

(16.0)

88.9

21.2

67.7

40.6

27.1

Additional risk appetite capital is 
capital the Board of IHP considers to 
be appropriate for it to hold to ensure 
the smooth operation of the business 
such that it is able to meet future risks 
to the business plan without recourse 
to additional capital – see Viability 
Statement on page 35.

The Board considers the impact of 
regulatory capital requirements and 
risk appetite levels on prospective 
dividends from its regulated subsidiaries. 
Our Group’s Pillar 3 document contains 
further details and can be found on  
our website at: www.integrafin.co.uk/
legal-and-regulatory-information/

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    23

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Dividends

As stated in the Chairman’s report  
the Board has declared an interim 
dividend of £21.2 million, or 6.4 pence 
per ordinary share. This is comparable 
with £19.4 million for the prior year. 

Prior to the Company’s listing the share 
capital was restructured from 
1,137,278 shares of £0.05 split 

between four share classes into 
331,322,014 ordinary £0.01 shares. 
Holders of A, B and C class shares 
received 293 ordinary shares for each 
of these class shares and holders of  
D class shares received 229.652 
ordinary shares for each D class share.

The equivalent comparable dividend 
per share for the prior year was  
5.9 pence.

Dividend Type

Share Class

Ordinary

Special

Per share

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Special

All 

All

Ordinary

A, B & C

D Class

A, B, C & D

2018
£m

21.2

-

2017
£m

19.4

11.4

6.4 pence

5.91 pence

-

-

-

£17.18

£13.18

£10.00

1 Shares in issue restated for financial year 2017 periods to reflect number of shares  

in issue following the IHP listing. 

Alexander Scott 
Chief Financial Officer

12 December 2018

24    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

RISK AND RISK 
MANAGEMENT 

Overview

Risk management assists the Board 
in understanding its current and 
future risks and provides appropriate 
risk management information that  
is incorporated into its strategic 
decision making and business 
planning processes. Risk management 
activities encompass all financial, 
strategic and operational risks that 
may prevent IntegraFin Holdings plc 
(the Company or IHP) and the Group 
from fulfilling their business objectives. 
Given the nature of the activities 
undertaken by the Group, the key 
risks that the Group faces are  
financial risks (comprising market risk, 
liquidity risk, outflow risk, expense 
risk and credit risk) and non-financial 
risks (comprising regulatory risk, 
operational risk, competition risk, 
geopolitical risk and reputational risk).

The Chief Executive Officer,  
supported by the Chief Financial 
Officer, is responsible for executing 
the strategy set by the Board within 
the risk appetite defined by the  
Risk Committee of IFAL (IFAL Risk 
Committee) and approved by the 
Boards of Directors of each of IFAL, 
ILUK and ILInt (collectively known  
as the “Regulated Subsidiaries”).  
Overall guidance and oversight  
is provided by the Audit and  
Risk Committee which reports back 
to the Board.

The Chief Financial Officer reports 
directly to the Chief Executive Officer 
and is additionally accountable to the 
Board and the Group’s regulators for 
the effective management of risk 
across the business. The Chief 
Financial Officer is responsible for 
overall management of risk controls, 

including the monitoring of risk 
exposures, reporting in relation to 
risk management arrangements and 
for assessing the adequacy and 
effectiveness of policies and procedures 
designed to detect any risk of failure 
by any of the Regulated Subsidiaries 
to comply with their obligations under 
the regulatory system.

The Group has a prudent capital 
management approach and currently 
invests shareholder assets in high 
quality, highly liquid, short-dated 
investments.

How risks are managed

The Risk Management Policy provides 
general guidelines for the design and 
implementation of the Risk Management 
Framework with the Board responsible 
for establishing the risk strategy  
and Senior Management responsible 
for its implementation. The Risk 
Management Policy is overseen by 
the Chief Financial Officer and is 
reviewed at least on an annual basis. 
All material changes to this policy  
are considered by the IFAL Risk 
Committee and approved by the 
Boards of the Regulated Subsidiaries 
and IHP with guidance provided by 
the Audit and Risk Committee.

The Board is responsible for, and 
provides oversight of, the Group’s 
Risk Management Framework with 
guidance provided by the Audit and 
Risk Committee. The Group has 
established its framework with 
consideration of the Committee of 
Sponsoring Organisation of the 
Treadway Commission (COSO) 
Integrated Framework Principles, 
providing a consistent, pro-active 
approach to identification, assessment, 
mitigation and reporting of risks 
throughout the Group.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    25

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

The Group’s Risk Management Framework is shown below:

OVERSIGHT

ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT

OWNERSHIP

RISKS

Risk and governance framework

Board

Strategy/Business

Market

Credit

Operational

Insurance

Liquidity

Conduct

Group

t
i
d
u
a

l

a
n
r
e
t
n
I

e
c
n
a

i
l

p
m
o
c

d
n
a

t
n
e
m
e
g
a
n
a
m
k
s
i
R

Model governance 
and data quality

Risk management
policies

Board with
Risk Committee
guidance

Systems and Controls policies
(Group policy, process and procedures
principles and guidance documents)

Procedures, manuals, 
operational limits, methodology, 
specifications, control activities, 
training, reporting

Management,
Corporate and
Client Accounting,
Operations,
Sales and Marketing,
Information
Technology,
Human Resources,
Legal, Technical,
Quality Control,
Actuarial

26    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
 
 
 
Risk appetite

▪  the Group does not actively seek 

to take operational risk to generate 
returns. It accepts a level of 
operational risk that means the 
controls in place should prevent 
material losses, but should not 
excessively restrict business 
activities

▪  the Group has very limited risk 

appetite for unfair client outcomes 
arising from systematic failures in 
its cultural outlook or in any 
element of the client life cycle

▪  the Group has very limited risk 
appetite for material regulatory 
breaches.

The actual risk exposures of the 
Regulated Subsidiaries are 
regularly assessed by the Group’s 
Risk Management function against 
risk appetite using a comprehensive 
set of key risk indicators and 
reported to the IFAL Risk Committee 
and Senior Management, with 
escalation to the Audit and Risk 
Committee as appropriate. 

The Group’s risk appetite is the 
degree of risk that the Regulated 
Subsidiaries are prepared to accept 
in pursuit of their strategic and 
operational objectives. The Group’s 
Risk Management Policy and 
Framework provides the mechanism 
to define the Group’s risk appetite. 
The Group has generally adopted 
an overall conservative approach 
which is reflected in its risk 
appetite values and preferences 
and in the overall approach to risk 
management. The Group’s risk 
preferences can be articulated  
as follows:

▪  the Group ensures risks that  
are taken are aligned with its 
strategic aims and provide an 
acceptable level of return

▪  the Group accepts certain risks 

and ensures that these are 
appropriately managed, mitigated 
and monitored

▪  the Group has a preference for 

products with low capital 
requirements and without 
financial guarantees. Additionally, 
the Group has a preference for 
secondary market risk through 
charges determined based on 
clients’ portfolio values. This is 
central to the Group’s proposition 
and it accepts the potential 
impact on financial performance

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    27

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Risk governance

The Risk Management Framework 
defines risk governance as the 
combination of processes and structures 
implemented by the Board in order to 
inform, direct, manage and monitor 
the activities of the Group towards 
the achievement of its objectives.

The IFAL Risk Committee is made up 
of independent Non-Executive 
Directors (NEDs) and is responsible 
for reviewing the manner in which 
the Group and the Regulated 
Subsidiaries implement, and monitor 
the adequacy of, the Risk Management 
Framework. The IFAL Risk Committee 
also assists in fostering a culture that 
encourages good stewardship of risk 
and emphasises and demonstrates 
the benefits of a risk-based approach 
to management of the Group.

The Group implements a comprehensive 
“top-down” and “bottom-up” approach 
to managing risks through regular 
assessments, monitoring (including 
horizon scanning) and reporting in 
conjunction with Senior Management 
and risk owners. The Risk Management 

function reports to the IFAL Risk 
Committee, on at least a quarterly 
basis, information and analysis  
on the key risks the Group faces 
(including forward-looking risks), 
capital requirements and comparison 
against risk appetite. The Chairman  
of the IFAL Risk Committee then 
provides a summary to the members 
of the Boards and the Audit and  
Risk Committee.

The “three lines of defence”  
risk governance model

For risk management to be effective 
it is important that the roles and 
responsibilities of all those involved 
are clearly defined. Accordingly, the 
Group’s Risk Management Framework 
is designed along the “three lines of 
defence” model (illustrated below), 
which aims to ensure at least three 
stages of oversight to ensure that the 
Regulated Subsidiaries operate within 
the risk appetite defined by the IFAL 
Risk Committee and approved by the 
Boards of Directors of each of the 
Regulated Subsidiaries.

THE ”THREE LINES OF DEFENCE” RISK GOVERNANCE MODEL  
OF THE REGULATED SUBSIDIARIES:

The Board

Risk  
Committee

Audit  
Committee

Risk Ownership

Risk Oversight

Risk Assurance

Managers 
Business 
Operations

Risk Management 
Compliance

Internal Audit

First Line of 
Defence

Second Line of 
Defence

Third Line of 
Defence

28    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

First line of defence

The Group’s first line of defence is  
its business departments which have 
responsibility for managing and 
controlling their risks in accordance 
with agreed risk appetites through 
the implementation of a sound set of 
processes and controls.

Responsibility for risk management 
resides at all levels within the Group’s 
business lines, from the Senior 
Management Team to department 
and team managers. All staff members 
are accountable for managing risks 
within the business areas for which 
they are responsible, ensuring 
compliance with prescribed company 
plans, policies and prevailing regulatory 
and legislative requirements.

The business lines are also responsible 
for complying with the policies and 
standards which comprise the Group’s 
Risk Management Framework. 
Current key risks and issues facing 
the Group are considered by the 
Management Team, with each key 
risk owned by the member of the 
Management Team who is responsible 
for the strategic management of that 
risk across the Group.

Second line of defence

The Group’s second line of defence 
comprises of two functions:  
the Risk Management function  
and the Compliance function.

The Risk Management function is 
responsible for co-ordinating all the 
risk management activities within the 
business. This includes the development, 
maintenance and enhancement of the 

Risk Management Policy and Framework, 
as well as Risk Management 
reporting. The Risk Management 
function provides regular risk reports 
to the IFAL Risk Committee, which is 
comprised solely of independent 
NEDs. The Chairman of the IFAL Risk 
Committee then provides a summary 
to the members of the Boards and 
the Audit and Risk Committee.

The Compliance function is primarily 
responsible for supporting the Group 
to ensure that its activities are 
conducted in accordance with all 
applicable regulatory requirements.

Third line of defence

The Group’s third line of defence  
is the Internal Audit department, 
which provides independent 
assurance on the adequacy and 
effectiveness of the Group’s risk 
management and major business 
process control arrangements.  
The Head of Internal Audit reports 
directly to the Chairman of the IFAL 
Audit Committee, which is comprised 
solely of independent NEDs.

Internal Audit performs regular audits 
across the business which involve 
assessing the implementation and 
effectiveness of the Risk Management 
Policy and Framework. The results of 
these audits are reported to the IFAL 
Audit Committee. The Chairman of 
the IFAL Audit Committee then 
provides a summary to the members 
of the Boards and the Audit and Risk 
Committee. The Board is satisfied 
that Internal Audit provides sufficient 
assurance about the Risk Management 
Policy and Framework.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    29

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

Isle of Man Risk Based  
Capital regime

The Isle of Man’s Risk Based  
Capital regime based on Insurance 
Core Principles came into force on  
30 June 2018.

As at 30 September 2018, ILInt has 
Own Funds of £23.0m and a Solvency 
Capital Requirement (SCR) of £15.4m 
which gives a SCR coverage ratio of 
150%. During the reporting period, 
the Company has been fully compliant 
with the SCR. Additionally, the Risk 
Based Capital balance sheet and SCR 
are regularly monitored and in line 
with standard regulatory requirements 
reported to the Isle of Man Financial 
Services Authority on a quarterly basis.  

ILInt maintains a sound and appropriate 
system of capital management in 
order to meet its strategic capital 
objectives. ILInt has a preference for 
a simple system of capital management 
which reflects the nature of the 
business. At a legal entity level,  
ILInt is capitalised at the required 
SCR plus an adequate buffer defined 
as part of its capital management, 
risk appetite and dividend policies.

Solvency II

ILUK has fully embedded the 
requirements of the Solvency II 
regime which came into force on  
1 January 2016. The new regulations 
brought in detailed requirements 
covering risk and risk management, 
including stress and scenario testing, 
as well as new valuation and 
reporting requirements. However,  
this has not fundamentally changed 
ILUK’s business or risk profile and 
ILUK continues to safely manage its 
solvency position through the 
economic cycle.

ILUK has adopted the Standard 
Formula approach in calculating the 
Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR), 
and has not adopted any of the 
Transitional Provisions in the 
calculation of the Solvency II balance 
sheet or SCR. As at 30 September 
2018, ILUK has Own Funds of £183m 
and an SCR of £143m which gives a 
solvency coverage ratio of 129%.

30    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

PRINCIPAL RISKS  
AND UNCERTAINTIES

There have been no significant 
changes in the principal risks for the 
Group in the past year. The principal 
risks and uncertainties to which the 
Company is exposed relate to the 
upstream of capital, predominantly 
from its regulated subsidiary, IFAL,  
in order to support its dividend-paying 
capacity to its shareholders. The key 
drivers of this upstream of capital are 
the underlying financial performance 
and solvency position of IFAL and its 
regulated subsidiaries. In summary, 
due to the nature of the business 
written by IFAL and the other 
regulated subsidiaries, profitability 
arises primarily from charges on the 
assets held in the portfolios less the 
expenses of administering those 
portfolios. As a consequence,  
the predominant risks to which the 

Company is exposed are market risk, 
liquidity risk, outflow risk, expense 
risk and operational risk. The Company 
seeks to limit its exposure to these 
and any other applicable financial 
and non-financial risks.

The process of negotiation relating to 
the UK’s exit from the EU following 
the service of notice under Article 50 
of the EC Treaty in March 2017 has 
resulted in uncertainty in relation to 
the eventual outcome of those 
negotiations, which is giving rise to 
some delays or deferrals of 
investment decisions by businesses 
and individuals. This uncertainty is 
likely to continue until clarity is 
obtained in relation to the precise 
terms on which the UK will leave the 
EU, the likely form and shape of its 
trading relationships with the EU and 
other countries with whom it has, or 
wishes to have, significant trading 

relationships thereafter and the length 
of any transitional period prior to the 
UK’s ultimate departure taking effect.  
In addition, as a significant proportion 
of the current and anticipated 
regulatory regime applicable to the 
Regulated Subsidiaries in the UK is 
derived from EU Directives and 
Regulations, the UK exiting the EU 
could materially change the legal and 
regulatory framework applicable to 
the Group’s operations because the 
Regulated Subsidiaries are no longer 
required to adhere to the Directives 
and Regulations, including in relation 
to regulatory capital requirements.

The following tables (split between 
financial and non-financial risks) 
describe the key risks of the 
Company with a summary description 
of how we manage and mitigate  
the risks and an assessment of the 
change over the year:

FINANCIAL RISKS

KEY RISK DESCRIPTION

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

Increased due to the growth  
of funds under direction and 
increased market volatility  
and uncertainty.

Market risk – the impact changes 
in equity and property market 
values, currency exchange rates, 
credit spreads, interest rates and 
inflation, may have on the value of 
clients’ portfolios, resulting in a 
reduction in future charges or an 
increase in future expenses.

The upstream of capital to the 
Company is exposed to second 
order impacts from market 
movements as future charges  
are predominantly determined 
based on clients’ portfolio values.  
The Regulated Subsidiaries of the 
Group do not offer any guarantees 
on portfolio values and currently 
invest their shareholder assets in 
high quality, highly liquid, short-
dated investments.

Expense inflation risk is mitigated 
through regular stress testing, 
monitoring of expenditure and 
closely managing expenses in line 
with the business plan.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    31

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

KEY RISK DESCRIPTION

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

Liquidity risk – this is the risk of 
the Company not having available 
sufficient financial resources to 
enable it to meet its obligations as 
they fall due, or can secure such 
resources only at excessive cost.

Outflow risk – loss of future profits 
due to more clients than expected 
terminating policies or more 
outflows (e.g. withdrawals or 
transfers) than expected.

Expense risk – administration costs 
exceed expense allowance, which 
can occur due to costs increasing 
faster than expected or from 
one-off expense “shocks”.

Credit risk – loss due to defaults 
from holdings of cash and cash 
equivalents, deposits, formal loans 
and reinsurance treaties with banks 
and financial institutions. 

The Company’s principal liquidity 
risk is limited to paying out 
dividends and operating expenses 
as they occur. 

There are robust controls in place 
to mitigate liquidity risk, for example, 
holding corporate cash across a 
range of banks, in order to mitigate 
the risk of a single point of 
counterparty default failure.

The Group seeks to mitigate 
outflow risk by focussing on 
providing the highest level of 
service that it can. Outflow rates 
are closely monitored and 
unexpected experience is 
investigated. 

Despite the current challenging and 
uncertain economic and geopolitical 
environment, outflow rates remain 
low and stable.

As a significant percentage of the 
Group’s expenses are staff-related, 
the key inflationary risk arises from 
salary inflation. Expense risk is 
mitigated through regular stress 
testing, monitoring of expenditure 
and closely managing expenses in 
line with the business plan which is 
set and approved by the Board on 
an annual basis.

The Group seeks to invest its 
shareholder assets in high quality, 
highly liquid, short-dated 
investments. Maximum 
counterparty limits are set for 
banks and minimum credit quality 
steps are also set.

No change.

Increased due to the growth of 
funds under direction.

Increased due to the growth  
of the business.

No change.

32    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

KEY RISK DESCRIPTION

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

Regulatory risk – the risk of new 
regulatory requirements having 
adverse impacts on the Group’s 
business model, or the Group 
failing to comply with existing or 
new regulations resulting in a fine 
or regulatory censure.

Regulatory risk is mitigated 
through regular monitoring of 
regulatory developments and 
maintaining open and transparent 
dialogue with the regulators to 
which the different regulated 
subsidiaries are subject.

Increased due to the introduction 
of new regulatory requirements.

Operational risk – the risk of loss 
arising from inadequate or failed 
internal processes, people and 
systems, or from external events.

No change.

On-going compliance with existing 
rules is monitored by the Compliance 
function with additional assurance 
provided by the Internal Audit 
function for the key regulatory 
risks on a regular basis.

The key operational risks  
are information security,  
IT infrastructure and business 
continuity related, all of which 
include exposures to cyber risks.

The Group aims to minimise its 
operational risks at all times 
through a strong and well-
resourced control and operational 
structure. In particular, the Group 
has in place a dedicated financial 
crime team and an on-going  
fraud and cyber risk awareness 
programme. Additionally, the 
Group carries out regular IT 
system maintenance, business 
continuity planning testing and 
system vulnerability testing.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    33

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

KEY RISK DESCRIPTION

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS

Competition risk – the risk of 
competitor activity resulting in loss 
of new business, increased 
outflows of business or pressure on 
profit margins.

Competitor risk is mitigated by 
focussing on providing exceptionally 
high levels of service and being 
responsive to client and financial 
adviser demands through an 
efficient expense base.

No change.

Geopolitical risk – the risk of 
changes in the political landscape 
disrupting the operations of the 
business or resulting in significant 
development costs.

Reputational risk – the risk that 
current and potential clients’ desire 
to do business with the Group 
reduces due to perception of the 
Transact service in the market place.

Geopolitical risk cannot be  
directly mitigated by the Group. 
However, through close monitoring 
of developments through its  
risk horizon scanning process,  
potential impacts are taken into 
consideration as part of the 
business planning process.

The Risk Management Framework 
provides the monitoring mechanisms 
to ensure that reputational damage 
controls operate effectively and 
reputational risk is mitigated,  
to some extent, by internal 
operational risk controls, error 
management and complaints 
handling processes as well as root 
cause analysis investigations.

Increased due to the increased 
uncertainty from the geopolitical 
environment, e.g. the UK’s 
expected exit from the EU.

Increased following the successful 
listing of the company.

The Directors have carried out a robust assessment of the principal risks facing the Group, including those that would 
threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity.

34    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

VIABILITY STATEMENT

Prospect assessment  
and assumptions

Key factors affecting the Group’s 
prospects are its market position  
and recurring revenue.

Market position

Independent research consistently 
rates Transact as the top platform in 
the market (page 11).The number of 
advisers using the platform increased 
by 6% during the year and the 
number of clients on the platform 
increased by 10% demonstrating 
satisfaction with the service provided.

Recurring revenue

The absolute level of revenue is 
dependent on market values, but key 
to the recurrence is the retention of 
FUD which is achieved through 
retaining clients and advisers through 
our service delivery. 96% of revenue 
is of recurring nature (page 17).

The Group is targeting organic 
revenue growth, with moderate 
margin improvements driven by 
efficiency delivered from process  
and system enhancement.

It is the Board’s view that a three 
year time horizon is an appropriate 
period over which to assess its viability 
and prospects, and to execute its 
business plan. This assessment 
period is consistent with the Group’s 
current business plan projections and 
the ICAAP and ORSAs of the Group’s 
regulated entities.

The strategy and business plan is 
approved annually by the Board and 
updated as appropriate. It considers 
the Group’s profitability, cash flows, 
capital requirements, dividend 
payments, and other key variables 
such as liquidity and the solvency 
requirements of the regulated 
entities. These are considered under 
stress and scenario tests to ensure 
the business has sufficient flexibility 
to withstand such impacts by 
adjusting its plans within the normal 
course of business. 

The Directors’ assessment has  
been made with consideration and 
reference to: the Group’s current 
position and business plan; the Group’s 
risk appetite; the Group’s financial 
projections: and the Group’s principal 
risks and uncertainties, as detailed  
in the Strategic Report.

Going concern

The Group continues to maintain  
a robust financial position.  
Having conducted detailed cash flow 
and working capital projections and 
appropriate stress-testing on liquidity, 
profitability and regulatory capital, 
taking account of possible adverse 
changes in trading performance,  
the Board is satisfied the Group  
is well placed to manage its business 
risks. The Board is also satisfied  
that it will be able to operate within 
the regulatory capital limits  
imposed by regulators, being the  
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), 
and Isle Man Financial Services 

Authority (IoM FSA). Accordingly,  
the Board have concluded that the 
Group has adequate resources to 
continue in operational existence  
for the foreseeable future, being a 
period of at least 12 months  
from the date this Annual report  
is approved. For this reason,  
they have adopted the going concern 
basis for the preparation of the 
Financial Statements.

Viability Statement

In accordance with the Code,  
the Directors have assessed the 
Company’s prospects by reference  
to the three-year planning period  
to September 2021, and have 
reasonable expectation that the 
Company will continue to operate and 
meet its liabilities as they fall due 
over the period of this assessment. 

Alexander Scott 
Chief Financial Officer

12 December 2018

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    35

STRATEGIC REPORT  continued

CORPORATE SOCIAL 
RESPONSIBILITY

IntegraFin is committed to acting 
ethically and with integrity and 
transparency in all business dealings. 
IntegraFin demonstrates its social 
responsibilities primarily through  
its relationship, as ultimate parent 
company, with companies in its Group 
that operate ethically and deliver 
commercial benefits to stakeholders. 
IntegraFin also acknowledges its 
responsibilities more widely in relation 
to the company’s effects on 
environmental and social wellbeing.

Employee wellbeing

The Group recognises that one of  
its main assets is the staff employed. 
The Group strives to ensure all staff 
are motivated, respected and 
safeguarded whilst at work. This is 
achieved through ensuring staff  
have the opportunity to develop and 
progress, that the work environment 
is maintained and comfortable,  
and that any additional requirements 
staff may have are considered.

The Group recognises that work life 
balance is important, and strives to 
ensure staff attain the right mix.  
This is achieved through allowing 
flexible working patterns wherever 
possible, albeit ensuring it is not  
to the detriment of internal and 
external stakeholders.

The Group aims for a collegiate, 
industrious and sociable environment, 
and this is encouraged through 
various social and charity events  
that are arranged for staff.

Human rights are respected by 
management and all staff and other 
stakeholders are treated equitably.

Gender balance

The gender balance of those in senior 
management positions (being the 
layer below the Board) and of their 
direct reports as at September 2018 
was as follows:

Board Directors

Senior Managers

Direct Reports

All Staff

Total

Culture

Male
 %

71.4

58.3

57.1

66.7

65.8

Female
%

28.6

41.7

42.9

33.3

34.2

2

5

18

154

179

5

7

24

308

344

Transact was founded on the principle 
of offering adviser firms and clients a 
high quality service with transparent 
charging and a demonstrably agnostic 
attitude to clients’ investment choice. 
This ethical approach informs all of 
the Group’s business principles. 

Payment practices

IntegraFin endeavours to pay all 
suppliers within agreed payment 
terms. It does not seek to disadvantage, 
or compromise, suppliers with whom 
it conducts business. In financial year 
2018 the Group paid 90% of 
suppliers within 15 days.

Modern slavery

IntegraFin does not tolerate modern 
slavery, servitude, human trafficking 
or forced labour. The Group’s modern 
slavery statement is found at:  
www.integrafin.co.uk/modern-slavery/

Gender pay gap

IntegraFin published its first gender 
pay gap report in March 2018. 
IntegraFin compares favourably  
with results reported by others in  
the sector in which it operates and  
the national average. The company 
remains committed to continuous 

improvement by: ensuring recruitment 
is not discriminatory; all staff are 
treated equitably; all staff have equal 
opportunities to work flexibly, 
regardless of seniority or role;  
and, all staff are remunerated fairly 
and in line with the role they perform. 

Disabled employees

IntegraFin’s policy regarding 
employment, training, career 
development and promotion of 
disabled employees, and employees 
who became disabled whilst in 
employment, is to make reasonable 
adjustments as necessary.

Environment

IntegraFin has reduced its 
environmental impact during the year 
by continuing efforts to reduce waste.

The average volume of waste 
materials being recycled by the Group 
has risen by 21% year on year,  
this has been achieved through staff 
education, more recycling points and 
reducing the Group’s consumption of 
single use plastic. We are encouraging 
adviser firms and clients to use 
electronic, rather than paper based, 
instruction delivery and statements, 
with some success.

36    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
 
APPROVAL OF THE 
STRATEGIC REPORT

A statutory requirement of the 
Annual Report is that the Directors 
produce a Strategic Report.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 
states that directors must “promote 
the success of the company for 
benefit of its members as a whole”.

The Strategic Report should provide 
shareholders with a comprehensive 
and balanced overview of the  
Group’s business model, strategy, 
development, performance,  
position and future prospects.  
The Strategic Report should be clear, 
concise and unambiguous.

The Directors believe that the 
Strategic Report on pages 2 to 37 
meets all relevant requirements.

By order of the Board

David Johnson 
Company Secretary

12 December 2018

Greenhouse gas emissions

IntegraFin has historically not tracked 
its greenhouse gas emissions as this 
was not required prior to admission 
to the LSE. The Group does, however, 
comply with the Energy Saving 
Opportunity Scheme and is taking 
energy improvement measures, as 
identified in the last assessment.

Community

A variety of events is organized each 
year to raise money for, and awareness 
of, a number of charities chosen from 
staff suggestions. 

Political donations

The Group does not make political 
donations.

Tax strategy

The Group’s tax affairs are managed 
to the same high ethical, legal and 
professional standards as the delivery 
of the Group’s services to clients.  
In summary, the Group’s tax strategy 
is to comply fully with all statutory 
obligations, make full disclosure to 
tax authorities in all appropriate 
jurisdictions, and to pay all tax when 
it is due. The full tax strategy document 
is available at: www.integrafin.co.uk/
group-tax-strategy/ 

The Group pays all tax as it falls  
due and makes full disclosure to all 
relevant tax authorities. 

The UK corporation tax and employer’s 
national insurance payable in respect 
of the year ended 30 September 2018 
was £11.0m (2017: £9.2m). In addition 
other taxes such as VAT and business 
rates were paid.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    37

GOVERNANCE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Christopher Munro 
Non-Executive Interim Chair

Michael Howard 
Executive Director

Ian Taylor 
Chief Executive Officer

Appointed to the Board:  
1 February 2017

Appointed to the Board:  
11 February 2014

Appointed:  
24 January 2014

▪  Non-Executive Director of the 
Group from 29 March 2017 

▪  Interim Chair of the Group  

from 22 August 2018

Experience includes:

▪  London and Continental Partners LLP 

– Founding Partner 2016

▪  Beckwith Asset Management  

– Director 1994-2016 

▪  Pacific Capital Partners  

▪  Co-founded the Group in 1999, 
Executive Chair of the Group  
from 2001 until stepping down  
in October 2017 and becoming 
Executive Director 

▪  Chief Executive Officer of the 

Group since April 2002, prior to 
which he was Executive Director 
and General Manager from 1999 
to 2002

▪  Founded ObjectMastery in 

Experience includes:

Australia in April 1992 which 
developed the software 
underpinning Transact

Experience includes:

▪  AIB Govett Asset Management 

– Marketing Director 1992-1999

▪  Royal Life Holdings Group – Marketing 

Development Manager 1990-1992, 

Business Planning Manager 1988-1990.

Committees: 
Nomination Committee. 

– Director 2004 to present

▪  Norwich Union Life Insurance 

▪  Jupiter Enhanced Income Trust 

– responsible for marketing and 

– Director 1996 and 2009

administration of investment funds 

▪  River & Mercantile Investment 

including the launch of the platform 

Management – CEO 1994-1996

Navigator in 1990

▪  Robert Fleming Holdings Limited 

▪  Touche Ross – Audit division in 

Melbourne office 1984-1986,  

in London office 1980-1984.

– Director 1988-1994

▪  Jardine Fleming Holdings  

– Director 1983-1986.

Committees: 
Remuneration Committee, 
Audit and Risk Committee, 
Nomination Committee (Chair).

There have been no changes to 
Christopher Munro’s commitments 
throughout the financial year.

38    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Alexander Scott 
Chief Financial Officer

Appointed to the Board:  
11 February 2014

▪  Executive Director of the Group 

Neil Holden 
Independent Non-Executive 
Director

Caroline Banszky 
Independent Non-Executive 
Director

Appointed to the Board:  
11 February 2014

Appointed to the Board:  
22 August 2018

since 2011

Experience includes:

Experience includes:

▪  CFO since November 2010

▪  Stanbic International Insurance Limited 

▪  3i Group plc – Chair of Audit & 

▪  Head of Risk from November 

2010 to May 2013

▪  Joined the Group as Actuary  
and Head of Group Technical 
Operations in October 2009

Experience includes:

– Non-Executive Director since 2003

Compliance Committee 2014 to present

▪  Crocus Home Loans Limited –  

▪  Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc 

Non-Executive Director 2014 to present

– Chair of Audit Committee 2017  

▪  Saffron Building Society –  

to present

Non-Executive Director 2014 to present

▪  The Open University – Member of the 

▪  Albaco Limited – Non-Executive 

Investment Committee 2016 to present

Director since 1 October 2018

▪  The Law Debenture Corporation p.l.c 

▪  Sberbank CIB (UK) Limited –  

– Chief Executive 2002 to 2016

▪  Sterling Insurance Group – Life 

Non-Executive Director since  

▪  SVB Holdings PLC, now Novae Group plc, 

Director and Chief Actuary 2004-2009

1 October 2018

COO 1997 to 2002

▪  Criterion Assurance Group –  

▪  Calmindon Limited – Director 2010-2017

▪  N M Rothschild & Sons Limited 

Non-Executive Director 2003-2010, 

▪  Bank of London and The Middle East Plc 

– Finance Director 1995 to 1997.

Group Director 2002-2003, Director 

– Non-Executive Director 2006-2018

1999-2002, Actuary 1997-1999

▪  Quadrant Risk Management 

▪  National Provident Institution 

International Limited – Non-Executive 

Committees:  
Audit and Risk Committee.

– Actuarial Division 1991-1997.

Director 2006-2009

▪  Standard Bank Group and Standard 

Bank Plc – Consultant 2006-2008, 

Managing Director in Corporate and 

Investment Banking Financial Risk 

1999-2006

▪  WestLB – Director and Head of  

Risk Management Support & Control 

1996-1998.

Committees: 
Audit and Risk Committee (Chair), 
Remuneration Committee (Chair).

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    39

GOVERNANCE  continued

Judith Davidson, Jeremy Brettell and 
Stuart Bazely resigned as directors 
on 1 October 2017 in preparation  
for the listing. Patrick Snowball 
resigned as Non-executive Chair on 
22 August 2018. 

Caroline Banszky was appointed a 
Non-executive Director on 22 August 
2018 and Victoria Cochrane was 
appointed as a Non-executive 
Director on 28 September 2018. 

All other Directors were in office 
throughout the financial year up to 
the date of the report.

Victoria Cochrane 
Senior Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Appointed to the Board:  
28 September 2018

Experience includes:

▪  Euroclear Bank SA/NV –  

Non-Executive Director 2016 to present

▪  Perpetual Income and Growth 

Investment Trust plc –  

Non-Executive Director 2015 to present

▪  HM Courts and Tribunal Service –  

Non-Executive Director 2014 to present

▪  Bowater Industries Ltd –  

Non-Executive Director 2014 to 2017

▪  Gloucester Insurance Ltd –  

Non-Executive Director 2008 to 2013

▪  Ernst & Young (Global) –  

Global Executive Board Member  

2008 to 2013

▪  Ernst & Young (NEMIA and UK) – 

Executive Board Member 2006 to 2008

Committees: 
Audit and Risk Committee, 
Nomination Committee.

40    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 
REPORT

Introduction

IntegraFin Holdings plc  
(“IHP”, the “Company”) is required to 
comply with the 2016 UK Corporate 
Governance Code (“Code”), however 
IHP is already considering what 
actions it needs to take to comply 
with the new 2018 Code issued in 
July 2018 which will not apply until 
30 September 2019. IHP’s Board 
considers the terms of the Code in 
determining appropriate and 
proportionate corporate governance 
arrangements for the Group as the 
nature, scale and complexity of its 
business evolves. Accordingly, the 
Group’s corporate governance 
arrangements reflect the standards  
of practice required by the Code in 
relation to the management of the 
Group and are designed to:

▪  Promote business effectiveness, 

efficiency, responsibility and 
accountability;

▪  Assist the effective review and 

monitoring of the Group’s activities;

▪  Help identify and mitigate significant 

risks to the Group; and

▪  Provide the necessary disclosures to 
stakeholders to make a meaningful 
analysis of the Group’s business 
activities and its financial position.

Statement of compliance

The role of the Board

The Code sets out the principles and 
provisions relating to good governance 
of UK listed companies and can  
be found on the FRC’s website at 
www.frc.org.uk. 

The following report sets out how  
the Company has complied with the 
provisions of the Code, with the 
exception of the composition of the 
Remuneration Committee which is 
discussed below.

Detailed reporting on remuneration can 
be found in the Directors’ Remuneration 
Report on page 56 to 78.

Board of Directors

Christopher Munro 
Interim Independent  
Non-Executive Chair

Michael Howard 
Executive Director

Ian Taylor 
Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”)

Alexander Scott 
Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”)

Neil Holden 
Independent Non-Executive Director

Caroline Banszky  
Independent Non-Executive Director

Victoria Cochrane 
Senior Independent Non-Executive 
Director

A number of appointments took place 
in the financial year, including the 
appointment of Christopher Munro as 
Interim Chair following Patrick 
Snowball’s resignation in August 
2018, and the appointment of two 
additional independent Non-Executive 
Directors, Caroline Banszky in August 
2018 and Victoria Cochrane in 
September 2018.

Board leadership

The Board is responsible for leading and 
controlling the Company and has 
overall authority for the management 
and conduct of the Group’s business, 
strategy and development. The Board is 
also responsible for ensuring the 
maintenance of a sound system of 
internal controls and risk management 
(including financial, operational and 
compliance controls) and for reviewing 
the overall effectiveness of systems in 
place as well as for the approval of any 
changes to the capital, corporate and/or 
management structure of the Group.

The Board promotes the long-term 
success of the Company and the 
Group and ensures effective operational 
management and strategic development 
of the proposition, having due regard 
to all stakeholders including 
safeguarding of its clients’ interests. 
To achieve these goals the Board:

▪  Ensures the Company acts  

at all times within the articles  
of association;

▪  Ensures the Company and the 

Group implements good management 
policies and practices to ensure that 
the Company and the Group are 
managed in an accountable, 
efficient and effective manner;

▪  Considers and scrutinises advice 

and reports from the executive and, 
where appropriate to the Company 
and Group, matters escalated by 
the Committees;

▪  Reviews and approves the annual 
report and accounts, half-yearly 
reports and quarterly financials for 
the Company on a stand-alone basis 
and on a consolidated basis in 
relation to the Group and IFAL 
Group together;

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    41

GOVERNANCE  continued

▪  Ensures the Company and the 

Board composition

Group as a whole remains compliant 
with all applicable statutory 
standards, rules and guidelines;

▪  Considers and approves appointments 

to the Board and approves the 
remuneration arrangements for 
Directors within the terms of the 
Remuneration Policy; and

▪  Approves the appointment of any 

providers of outsourced services to 
the Company or Group and reviews 
and considers their performance.

Relations with stakeholders

The Board maintains close relationships 
with the Company’s institutional 
shareholders through periodic 
meetings. Board members receive 
copies of the latest analysts’ and 
brokers’ reports on the Company along 
with a quarterly Investor Analytics 
report which details the top shareholders, 
shareholder history, top buyers and 
sellers, market analysis and share price 
performance to aid familiarity with 
details of shareholdings.

The CEO and CFO hosted shareholder 
roadshows where the Company’s  
half year results were presented 
to institutional investors invited by 
the Company’s brokers.

In September 2018 the Company 
appointed Victoria Cochrane as 
Senior Independent Non-Executive 
Director (SID). The Chair, SID and 
other Non-Executive Directors are 
available for consultation with 
shareholders upon request and will 
attend and be available for questions 
at and after the AGM, further details 
of which will be sent out in the Notice 
of Annual General Meeting.

The Company has three Executive 
Directors and four independent 
Non-Executive Directors (including 
the Chair) and therefore complies 
with the Code in respect of the board 
composition for a company that is not 
a small company.

The Code recommends that at least 
half the board of directors of a UK 
listed company, excluding the chair, 
should comprise Non-Executive 
Directors determined by the Board to 
be independent in character and 
judgement and free from relationships 
or circumstances which may affect,  
or could appear to affect, this judgement.

Independence

Taking into account the provisions of 
the Code, the Board has determined 
that all of the Non-Executive Directors 
are “independent Non-Executive 
Directors” within the meaning of  
the Code and remain free from  
any business or other relationship 
that could materially interfere with 
the exercise of their independent 
judgement. 

The Code recommends that a chair 
should meet the independence criteria 
set out in the Code on appointment. 
The Board has concluded that 
Christopher Munro is an independent 
chair for Code purposes. The Chair’s 
other commitments are listed in his 
biography and the Company has 
concluded these do not affect his ability 
to undertake the role. Any significant 
commitments must be disclosed to 
the Board as and when they arise  
for consideration.

42    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Conflicts of interest

Committees

The Company’s articles of association 
permit the Board to consider and 
authorise situations where a Director 
has an actual or potential conflict of 
interest in relation to the Group.  
The Company maintains a conflicts of 
interest register which is reviewed 
annually by the Board. In addition, 
prior to each Board meeting,  
the Directors are asked to declare 
any conflicts they may have with 
regard to the business meeting. 
Directors who declare a conflict of 
interest may be authorised by the rest 
of the Board to participate in decision 
making in accordance with section 
175 of the Companies Act 2006. 

The Board considers and, if appropriate, 
authorises any conflicts or potential 
conflicts of Directors and imposes any 
limitations, qualifications or restrictions 
as required. Additionally, when making 
new appointments, the Board takes 
into account other demands on 
Directors’ time. Significant commitments 
are disclosed with an indication of 
time involved and any additional 
external appointments must be 
approved in advance by the Company. 

The Board has also reviewed  
the other commitments of the 
Non-Executive Directors and 
concluded they are satisfied that  
the Non-Executive Directors remain 
able to commit sufficient time as 
required to the Company’s business. 

There are three Committees of the 
Board: Audit and Risk; Nomination; 
and Remuneration. The Remuneration 
Committee and the Audit and Risk 
Committee are wholly non-executive 
committees and the members are all 
independent Non-Executive Directors. 
The Chair of the Board is a member 
of and chairs the Nomination 
Committee. The other members of 
the Nomination Committee include 
the CEO. The membership and terms 
of reference of these Board 
Committees are reviewed annually 
and are available on the Company’s 
website (www.integrafin.co.uk) or on 
request from the Company Secretary.

Matters reserved for the Board

The Board is the main decision making 
and review body for the Company.  
It determines the overall strategic 
direction of the Company and is 
responsible for the overall management 
of the Company and the business 
operations for its subsidiaries.

The Board’s remit is documented  
in its terms of reference which includes 
details of matters reserved for the 
Board and matters delegated by the 
Board. The terms of reference including 
matters reserved for the Board are 
reviewed and updated annually. 
Matters which are reserved for the 
Board include strategy and management, 
structure and capital, financial reporting 
and controls, internal controls, contracts, 
communication, Board membership 
and appointments, remuneration  
and corporate governance matters.  
The Board makes decisions as  
to delegating to Committees of  
the Board and the management team. 
Matters which are delegated to the 
management team include changes  
to the Company’s management 
structure, approval of resolutions  
and corresponding documentation to 
be put to shareholders at general 
meetings, and approval of the levels  
of insurance in place for the Group.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    43

GOVERNANCE  continued

Setting the Business Model  
and Strategy

The Board retains responsibility  
for the overall management of  
the Company and approval of any 
long-term objectives of the Company. 
A review of the performance against 
the Company’s strategy, objectives, 
business plans and budgets is 
considered at each board meeting. 
Maintaining oversight of the 
Company’s operations, ensuring 
competent and prudent management, 
sound planning, an adequate system 
of control, adequate accounting in 
addition to reviewing any significant 
risks faced by the Company and 
establishing and maintaining  
risk management systems in 
co-ordination with the Audit and 
Risk Committee ensures the 
Company fulfils its business 
objectives. The Board also retains 
responsibility for considering the 
balance of interests between 
shareholders, employees, 
customers and the community.

Board meetings and attendance

The Board met at least six times,  
in accordance with its terms of 
reference. Attendance by each member 
of the Board as at 30 September 2018 
is set out below.

Chair

Christopher Munro

Members

Michael Howard

Ian Taylor

Alexander Scott

Neil Holden

Caroline Banszky

Victoria Cochrane 

Meetings eligible  
to attend

Meetings 
attended

13

13

13

13

13

2

0*

12

8

13

12

13

1

0

* There were no meetings in the financial year following Victoria Cochrane’s appointment 

on 28 September 2018

Michael Howard was unable to attend 
five meetings due to the timing and 
frequency of Board meetings in the 
run up to the IPO.

Christopher Munro, Alexander Scott 
and Caroline Banszky were each 
unable to attend one meeting 
arranged at short-notice.

44    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Board effectiveness review - 2018

Election and re-election of Directors

The Board conducts an annual 
evaluation of its own effectiveness and 
that of its Committees and individual 
Board members. All members of the 
Board with the exception of the Chair 
undertook an annual performance 
evaluation of the Chair. The evaluations 
consist of a questionnaire designed to 
review the performance against the 
matters delegated in the terms of 
reference. The findings of which and 
any action points arising are discussed 
and remedied. Each Board member  
is responsible for identifying training 
appropriate to their needs, and the 
Non-Executive Directors maintain 
individual annual training logs.

As part of the annual performance 
evaluation of the effectiveness  
of the Board and its Committees,  
the experience, independence and 
knowledge of the Directors and the 
diversity representation of the Board, 
how the Board works together and 
other factors relevant to its 
effectiveness were considered.

FTSE350 companies are required  
by the Code to have an externally 
facilitated evaluation at least every 
three years. The Company will ensure 
this is facilitated by 2020 in keeping 
with Code requirements.

The Company’s articles of association 
require all existing directors to retire 
from office at each AGM and be 
eligible for re-election. 

As Non-Executive Directors appointed 
since the last AGM, Caroline Banszky 
and Victoria Cochrane will be standing 
for election at the next AGM.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM provides shareholders with 
a further opportunity to communicate 
with the Board both during the AGM 
and informally afterwards. Notice of 
the AGM will be sent in accordance 
with the Companies Act 2006 and 
made available on a dedicated 
shareholder website along with any 
other relevant documentation. 

By order of the Board

Christopher Munro 
Chair

12 December 2018

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    45

GOVERNANCE  continued

AUDIT AND  
RISK COMMITTEE REPORT

Statement from the Chair of the 
Audit and Risk Committee 

I am pleased to present the Audit  
and Risk Committee’s report for 2018. 

The Audit and Risk Committee has 
provided oversight and advice to 
assist IHP in fulfilling its 
responsibilities in respect of financial 
reporting, financial and operational 
controls and risk management across 
IHP and the companies within the 
Group. It oversees the effectiveness 
of the Group’s internal risk controls 
and accounting procedures to ensure 
appropriate levels of external and 
internal audit and risk assessment 
are maintained. It has overseen the 
integrity of the financial reporting 
process and reviewed the work of 
both external and internal auditors. 

Role of the Audit and  
Risk Committee

The role and responsibilities of the 
Audit and Risk Committee are set out 
in its terms of reference and are 
summarised below:

▪  Reviewing the manner in which the 
Group companies implement and 
monitor the adequacy of the Group’s 
risk management framework;

▪  Assisting the Board in fostering a 
culture within the Group which 
encourages good stewardship of risk 
and emphasises the benefits of a 
risk-based approach to management 
of the Group;

▪  Reviewing the integrity and 

effectiveness of the Group’s financial 
reporting process (including the 
internal controls structure and 
procedure for financial reporting)  
and the integrity and appropriateness 
of the Company’s and Group’s 
consolidated Financial Statements;

▪  Reviewing the manner in which the 
Company implements and monitors 
the adequacy of internal financial 
and operational controls;

▪  Monitoring and reviewing the 
effectiveness of the Group’s  
Internal Audit function;

▪  Reviewing external audit 

arrangements and making 
recommendations to the Board 
regarding any changes to the 
external auditor as well as review 
and approval of their remuneration 
and terms of engagement; and

▪  Reviewing and monitoring the 

independence and objectivity of  
the external auditor as well as the 
effectiveness of the audit process, 
taking into consideration relevant 
professional and regulatory 
requirements.

The Committee reports its findings  
to the Board, identifying any matters 
in respect of which it considers that 
action or improvement is needed, 
and makes recommendations as to 
the steps to be taken. However, the 
Board retains ultimate responsibility 
for reviewing and approving financial 
reports and other public statements. 

46    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Composition of the Audit  
and Risk Committee

The members of the Audit and Risk 
Committee at 30 September 2018 were:

Chair

Neil Holden

Members

Financial Experience Date of Appointment

Chartered Accountant

2 February 2018

Christopher Munro

Chartered Accountant

2 February 2018

Caroline Banszky

Chartered Accountant

22 August 2018

Victoria Cochrane 

28 September 2018

All members of the Committee, 
including the Chair, are independent 
Non-Executive Directors. 

On an on-going basis, membership  
of the Committee is reviewed by the 
Chair of the Committee in collaboration 
with the Nomination Committee  
and any recommendations for new 
appointments are made to the Board. 

In adherence with the Code 
requirement to include at least one 
Committee member with recent and 
relevant financial experience,  
both the Audit and Risk Committee 
Chair and Caroline Banszky are 
qualified Chartered Accountants.

The Group also provides initial and 
on-going training for Committee 

members to support them in carrying 
out their duties effectively. This is 
delivered by in-house technical staff, 
through the attendance at formal 
conferences, and an online training 
programme. 

Committee meetings  
and attendance

The Audit and Risk Committee meets 
at least four times each year but 
more frequently when required.  
The Committee has met four times 

during this financial year. Attendance 
by each member of the Committee as 
at 30 September 2018 is set out below.

Chair

Neil Holden

Members

Christopher Munro

Caroline Banszky

Victoria Cochrane 

Meetings eligible  
to attend

Meetings 
attended

4

4

1

0*

4

4

1

0

* There were no further meetings in the financial year following Victoria Cochrane’s 

appointment on 28 September 2018

The CEO, CFO, Group Counsel and the 
Head of Internal Audit are routinely 
invited to, and attend, the majority  
of meetings, although the Committee 
reserves the right to request any of 
these individuals to leave the meeting. 
The Group’s external auditor  
(BDO LLP (BDO)) also attended specific 

Committee meetings for external 
audit planning and reporting purposes.

Between meetings the Committee 
Chair keeps in regular contact  
with the CEO, CFO, Group Head  
of Internal Audit, and the Senior 
Engagement Partner of BDO.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    47

 
GOVERNANCE  continued

Overview of the actions taken by 
the Audit and Risk Committee to 
discharge its duties

The Audit and Risk Committee has 
focussed on five main areas during  
the year:

▪  Risk Management;

▪  Financial Reporting;

▪  Internal (Financial and Operational) 

Controls;

▪  Effectiveness of Internal Audit; and

▪  Effectiveness and independence of 

the external auditor.

Risk Management

Risk management activities encompass 
all financial, strategic and operational 
risks which may threaten the 
business model, future performance, 
solvency or liquidity of IHP. Given the 
nature of the activities undertaken by 
the Group, the key risks faced are 
financial risks (market risk, liquidity 
risk, outflow risk, expense risk and 
credit risk) and non-financial risks 
(regulatory risk, operational risk, 
competition risk, geopolitical risk  
and reputational risk). The Group 
ensures risks taken are aligned with 
its long-term strategic aims and 
provide an acceptable level of return. 

The principal risks identified as being 
faced by the Company with a 
description of how the Company 
manages and mitigates the risks is set 
out in the Risk and Risk Management 
section on page 25 to 34.

The Group adopts an overall 
conservative approach which is 
reflected in its risk appetite values 
and preferences in the overall 
approach to risk management.  
The Committee has reviewed the 
manner in which the Group 
companies have implemented and 
monitored the adequacy of the 
Group’s risk management framework. 
It has assisted the Board in fostering 
a culture within the Group which 
encourages good stewardship of risk 
and emphasises and demonstrates 
the benefits of a risk-based approach 
to management of the Group. 

The Committee maintained oversight 
of risk management activities in 
relation to IHP and monitored their 
effectiveness. All reports from the 
Head of Actuarial and Risk on IHP 
specific matters were reviewed by the 
Committee. The Group implements a 
comprehensive “top-down” and 
“bottom-up” approach to managing 
risks through regular assessments, 
monitoring (including horizon 
scanning) and reporting in conjunction 
with senior management and risk 
owners. The Risk Management 
function reports to the Integrated 
Financial Arrangements Ltd risk 
committee (“IFAL Risk Committee”), 
providing information and analysis  
on the key risks the Group faces, 
capital requirements and comparison 
against risk appetites. The Chair of 
the IFAL Risk Committee then 
provides a summary to the members 
of the Board and the IHP Audit and 
Risk Committee. The Committee also 
sought assurance from the Chair  
of the IFAL Risk Committee that 
management responses had been 
provided to any findings and 
recommendations from the Head of 
Actuarial and Risk recorded in reports 
on IHP specific matters and that any 
exceptions were escalated to the 
Committee Chair.

48    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

The Group’s Risk Management 
Framework is designed along the 
“three lines of defence” model 
comprising of risk ownership, 
oversight and assurance. The three 
stages of oversight ensure that the 
regulated subsidiaries operate within 
the risk appetite which is defined  
by the IFAL Risk Committee and 
approved by the boards of each 
Regulated Subsidiary. 

The Committee reviewed and 
challenged as necessary the 
management information reporting 
on the status of the Group’s risk 
profile - by reference to risk appetite, 
trends and concentrations – against 
the most significant risks affecting 
IHP individually and the risk profile of 
the Group as a whole.

Any escalations from the Group 
company boards or committees which 
affect IHP or which, in the view of  
a Group Company Board or the  
IFAL Risk Committee, impact the 
Group as a whole, were considered.  
The Committee also considered the 
progress of identified management 
actions. Any matters of relevance to 
the Board were escalated. 

Financial Reporting

The financial reporting undertaken  
by the Group has been reviewed and 
challenged by the Committee, with 
input and support from the Group’s 
external auditor. It assessed whether 
suitable accounting policies have 
been adopted, whether management 
have made appropriate estimates and 
judgements and whether disclosures 
in published Financial Statements 
were fair, balanced and understandable. 

As part of its work during the year, 
the Committee, on behalf of the 
Board, has examined the Annual 
Report and Financial Statements, 
half-yearly reports, interim 
management statements and other 
formal announcements relating to 
financial performance, reviewing and 
reporting to the Board on significant 
financial reporting issues and 
judgements which they contain, 
having regard to matters 
communicated to it by the external 
auditor. The Committee also 
examined the consistency of 
accounting policies and the financial 
reporting process. This included the 
review and approval of the Annual 
Report, and consideration of the 
Income Statement, Statement of 
Comprehensive Income, Statement 
of Financial Position, Statement of 
Changes in Equity, Going Concern 
statement and the Statement of Cash 
Flows, with an emphasis on ensuring 
that these are fair, balanced and 
understandable.

The Committee did this by ensuring 
there was a thorough process of 
challenge, including challenge by the 
Committee itself. The Committee’s 
own challenge process included 
questioning the Group Chief 
Executive Officer on the overall 
message and tone of his review 
statement, examining and 
challenging reports from both 
management and the external 
auditor relating to the Annual Report, 
and reviewing consistency with 
internal reports presented to the 
Board by management, the Group 
Chief Financial Officer, Group Head of 
Internal Audit and Group Head of 
Risk during the year. Additionally the 
Committee reviewed the Company’s 
statements on compliance with the 
Code and the corporate governance 
statement. Following this assessment 
the Committee recommended to the 
Board that the 2018 Annual Report 
and Financial Statements are fair, 
balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the 
company’s position, performance, 
business model and strategy.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    49

GOVERNANCE  continued

The Committee reviewed the key 
accounting and financial risk and  
the steps taken by management to 
address them. The Committee 
received a report from the Company’s 
external auditors confirming that 
they had not identified any non-
compliance with Group accounting 
policies or the applicable accounting 
framework and that they had not 
identified any significant accounting 
policy changes impacting the financial 
year. Further information on the key 
financial risks can be found in note 4 
to the Financial Statements.

Internal Controls

The Audit and Risk Committee 
receives reports at each meeting 
from the Group Internal Audit 
function reporting on any recently 
completed audits specifically relating 
to IHP. The content and accuracy of 
these reports was assessed and 
challenged by the Committee to 
ensure the necessary controls are 
implemented.

Effectiveness of Internal Audit

The Audit and Risk Committee reviews 
how the Company implements and 
monitors the adequacy of internal 
financial and operational controls. 
The Committee achieves this by:

▪  Requesting that the Internal Audit 

Plan for IFAL includes specific areas 
of review on matters relating to IHP

▪  Receiving and reviewing copies of 
all formal internal audit reports 
escalated by the Integrated 
Financial Arrangements Ltd Audit 
Committee (“IFAL Audit Committee”) 
in respect of IHP or activities within 
other companies in the Group  
which present a significant risk to 
the Group as a whole

▪  Receiving a quarterly internal audit 

report on recommendations to meet 
identified internal control deficiencies 
and review progress of agreed actions 
in response to identified deficiencies;

▪  Gaining assurance from the chair of 
the IFAL Audit Committee regarding 
completion of management actions 
in response to the findings and 
recommendations of internal audit 
reports; and

▪  Seeking assurance annually on  
the adequacy and security of  
the Group’s arrangements for 
employees and contractors to raise 
concerns, in confidence, about 
possible wrongdoing in financial 
reporting or other matters that 
these arrangements allow 
proportionate and independent 
investigation of such matters and 
appropriate follow up action.

The Audit and Risk Committee met 
with the Head of Internal Audit 
privately this year in order to discuss 
matters directly in the absence of 
management.

Effectiveness and independence 
of the external auditor

The Audit and Risk Committee has 
primary responsibility for the Group’s 
relationship with the external auditor 
BDO and for monitoring its 
independence, objectivity and 
compliance with ethical and regulatory 
requirements. The Audit and Risk 
Committee has primary responsibility 
for making recommendations on 
appointment, reappointment and 
removal of external auditors to the 
Board to be put to shareholders for 
approval at the AGM.

50    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

The Committee has responsibility  
for reviewing the external auditor’s 
remuneration and reviewing  
whether fees for audit and/or 
non-audit services are appropriate. 
The Committee undertakes an annual 
review of the policy to govern the 
supply of non-audit services by the 
external auditor. At each meeting, 
the Committee is informed on any 
non-audit services provided in that 
period by the external auditor to 
demonstrate the amounts being 
incurred do not give rise to a  
conflict of their independence.  
The Committee also satisfies itself 
that there are no relationships  
(such as family, employment, 
investment, financial or business) 
between the external auditor and the 
Company (other than in the ordinary 
course of business) which could 
adversely affect the auditor’s 
independence and objectivity.  
The Committee also ensures there is 
appropriate liaison and co-ordination 
between the internal and external 
auditor. The non-audit fees paid to 
BDO during the 2018 financial year 
totalled £584,926.25. The non-audit 
fees paid to BDO related to IPO work 
and were approved prior to the IPO 
by the Board. 

The Committee undertakes an annual 
assessment of the external auditor’s 
independence and objectivity taking 
into account relevant professional 
and regulatory requirements and the 
relationship with each auditor as a 
whole, including the provision of any 
non-audit services. The Committee 
undertook an effectiveness review of 
the external auditor in August, where 
it discussed performance and the 
FRC’s Audit Quality Inspection on BDO. 

to the Group that it remains 
independent. BDO has acted as 
auditor to the Group for eight years 
and to the Company since its 
incorporation. Public interest entities 
are required to put the external audit 
contract to tender at least every ten 
years and so the Company intends to 
do so before the end of 2021. 

The Committee concluded that it is 
satisfied with the performance and 
effectiveness of BDO and has 
concluded that BDO continues to 
display the necessary attributes of 
independence and objectivity.

Whistleblowing

The Chair of the Risk and Audit 
Committee is a key contact in the 
Whistleblowing Policy and fulfils the 
role of “whistleblower’s champion” 
under the Senior Insurance 
Managers’ Regime.

The Committee reviewed the 
Whistleblowing Policy and the 
framework for reporting and confirmed 
that they are appropriate to the 
Group structure and organisation.

Committee self-evaluation

The Audit and Risk Committee has 
also conducted a self-assessment of 
its own effectiveness as well as an 
evaluation of the Chair in the period 
since formation and was satisfied 
with the results achieved and has 
agreed actions where improvements 
were suggested.  

Signed on behalf of the  
Audit and Risk Committee

There are no contractual or similar 
obligations restricting the Group’s 
choice of external auditor and IHP’s 
external auditor, BDO, has confirmed 

Neil Holden 
Chair of the Audit and  
Risk Committee

12 December 2018

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    51

GOVERNANCE  continued

NOMINATION COMMITTEE 
REPORT

Statement from the Chair  
of the Nomination Committee

I am pleased to present the Nomination 
Committee’s report for 2018. 

The primary purpose of the 
Committee is to develop and maintain 
a formal, rigorous and transparent 
procedure, and to lead the process for 
Board and Committee appointments 
and re-appointments, including 
making recommendations to the 
Board. To achieve optimal composition 
of the Board, the Committee has 
regard to its size and composition,  
the extent to which skills, experience 
or attributes are represented and the 
need to maintain high standards of 
corporate governance. 

The Committee regularly reviews the 
composition of the Board to ensure 
that the necessary skills, knowledge 
and experience are available and to 
ensure that best practice corporate 
standards are met on an ongoing 
basis. In doing so, the Committee 
considers the successful achievement 
of the Company’s long-term objectives 
whilst taking into account relevant 
regulatory requirements, market 
pressures and value for money. 

In all its activities the Committee 
gives due consideration to laws and 
regulations, the provisions of the 
Code, the requirements of the UK 
Listing Authority’s Listing, Prospectus 
and Disclosure Guidance and 
Transparency Rules and any other 
applicable rules, as appropriate.

Role of the Nomination Committee

The role and responsibilities of the 
Nomination Committee are set out  
in its terms of reference and are 
summarised below:

▪  Reviewing the structure, size and 
composition (including the skills, 
knowledge, experience and diversity) 
of the Board to ensure that best 
practice corporate standards are  
met on an ongoing basis and make 
recommendations to the Board with 
regard to any changes that the 
Committee believes to be necessary;

▪  Considering succession planning for 
IHP directors, taking into account 
the challenges and opportunities 
facing the Group, and the skills and 
expertise needed on the Board in 
the future;

▪  Reviewing the leadership needs of 
the Company, both executive and 
non-executive, with a view to ensuring 
the continued ability of the Group to 
compete effectively in the marketplace;

▪  Keeping up to date and fully informed 
on strategic issues and commercial 
changes affecting the Company;

▪  Identifying and nominating for the 

approval of the Board, candidates to 
fill Board vacancies as and when 
they arise;

▪  Prior to any appointment, 

evaluating the balance of skills, 
knowledge, experience and diversity 
on the Board and in light of this 
evaluation, preparing a description 
of the role and capabilities required 
for a particular appointment; and

▪  When considering the appointment 

of both Executive and Non-Executive 
Directors to the Board, reviewing 
such directors’ positions and interests 
in other companies or firms in order 
to identify any conflicts or potential 
conflicts of interests and make 
recommendations to the Board  
as to whether these positions and 
interests should be authorised.

52    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

The Committee discusses and agrees 
annually the relevant measures for 
achieving diversity on the Board and 
recommends them to the Board for 
implementation. The Committee 
Chair reports to the Board on its 
proceedings after each meeting on  
all matters within its duties and 
responsibilities. The Committee also 
recommends to the Board as and 
when it deems appropriate on any 
area within its remit where action or 
improvement is needed. 

Composition of the  
Nomination Committee

The members of the Nomination 
Committee at 30 September 2018 were:

Chair

Christopher Munro

2 February 2018

Date of Appointment

Members

Ian Taylor

19 January 2018

Victoria Cochrane 

28 September 2018

In adherence with the Code,  
the majority of members of the 
Nomination Committee are 
independent Non-Executive Directors. 
The Chair of the Board chairs the 
Committee, however he will not chair 
when the Committee is dealing with 
nominating a successor. 

The Group also provides initial and 
on-going training for Committee 
members to support them in carrying 
out their duties effectively. This is 
delivered by in-house technical staff, 
through the attendance at formal 
conferences as required, and an 
online training programme. 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    53

GOVERNANCE  continued

Committee meetings  
and attendance

The Nomination Committee meets 
annually and more frequently when 
required. The Committee has met 
five times during this financial year

Attendance by each member of the 
Committee as at 30 September 2018 
is set out below. 

Chair

Christopher Munro

Members

Victoria Cochrane 

Ian Taylor

Meetings eligible  
to attend

Meetings 
attended

5

0*

5

5

0

5

*There were no meetings in the financial year following Victoria Cochrane’s appointment 

on 28 September 2018

Only members of the Committee 
have the right to attend Committee 
meetings. However, other individuals 
such as the Head of Human Resources 
and external advisers may be invited 
to attend for all or part of any meeting.

Appointment process

The appointment process commences 
when the need for additional skills, 
knowledge, experience or diversity 
are identified. This can be prompted 
through a Director resigning, such as 
in the case of Patrick Snowball,  
or through the Committee’s regular 
review of the structure, size and 
composition of the Committee which 
was the case with Caroline and 
Victoria’s appointments. Once the 
need for a candidate is identified,  
the Committee will ordinarily arrange 
for advertising and/or make use of an 
external search agent, failing which 
an explanation will be provided.  
In identifying suitable candidates  
for appointment to the Board,  
the Committee will consider candidates 
on merit against objective criteria 
with due regard for the benefits of 
diversity. Once interviews have taken 

place, the Nomination Committee 
recommends the preferred candidate 
to the Board for approval.

Appointments to the Committee are 
made by the Board and shall be for a 
period of up to three years, which may 
be extended for two further periods 
of up to three years, provided the 
Director still meets the criteria for 
membership of the Committee.

Succession

Having evaluated the balance of 
skills, knowledge, experience and 
diversity on the Board, and in  
keeping with the role and responsibility 
conferred on the Nomination Committee, 
two additional Non-Executive Directors 
were appointed during this financial 
year. To facilitate the search,  
the Company used Korn Ferry.  
Korn Ferry does not have any other 
connection with the Company or any 
Director. In August and September, 
Caroline and Victoria respectively 
were appointed. In compliance with 
the Code recommendation that  
the board of directors of a company 
with a premium listing on the  

54    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Official List should appoint one of the 
independent Non-Executive Directors 
to be the Senior Independent 
Director, the Company appointed 
Victoria Cochrane to this role. 

Following the resignation of Patrick 
Snowball, a focus of the Nomination 
Committee in 2019 will be to source 
a replacement chair on a permanent 
basis. The Nomination Committee  
will be responsible for preparing a 
role specification which will include 
the time commitment expected. 
Where possible, the appointment will 
be made with a view to achieving a 
balance of relevant skills with 
diversity. Any recommendations will 
be made to the Board along with a 
disclosure of any of the proposed 
Chair’s other significant commitments.

In identifying suitable candidates  
for appointment to the Board, the 
Committee considers candidates on 
merit against objective criteria with 
due regard for the benefits of 
diversity on the Board. As part of  
the selection process, where search 
agents are used, they are required to 
consider all aspects of diversity when 
preparing long lists of candidates.

Committee self-evaluation

The Nomination Committee 
conducted a self-assessment of its 
own effectiveness as well as an 
evaluation of the Committee’s Chair 
in the period since formation and was 
satisfied with the results achieved 
and has agreed actions where 
improvements were suggested. 

Signed on behalf of the  
Nomination Committee

Christopher Munro 
Chair of the Nomination 
Committee

12 December 2018

Diversity 

The Company recognises the benefits 
of companies having a diverse Board 
and sees diversity at board level as 
important in maintaining good 
corporate and board effectiveness. 

The objective of the Group’s diversity 
policy is to ensure that new appointments 
to any board within the Group are 
made on merit, taking into account 
the different skills, industry experience, 
independence, knowledge and 
background required to achieve a 
balanced and effective board.  
When determining the composition  
of the Board, consideration is given 
to the diversity of Board members 
and when possible appointments are 
made with a view to achieving a 
balance of skills with diversity.  
The Committee considers the benefits 
of all aspects of diversity in order  
to enable it to discharge its duties 
and responsibilities. The Company 
recognises that providing the 
opportunity for employees to contribute 
their talent, experiences and skills 
aids us in achieving our strategic 
objectives, boosting our financial 
performance and delivering sustainable 
commercial opportunities. 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    55

GOVERNANCE  continued

Our commitment to our stakeholders 
is reflected in our approach to 
remuneration, and a key focus of  
the Committee is to ensure that 
reward is aligned with our culture  
and our strategy. 

Against this background we take  
a very distinctive approach to 
remuneration. The key features of 
our reward framework are as follows:

▪  Relatively modest incentives  
– Our maximum total incentive 
opportunity is only 100% of salary 
per annum. Ordinarily, we do not 
expect annual awards to exceed 
65% of salary.

▪  Distinctive approach to 

performance measurement  
– At IntegraFin we do not have 
defined performance measures or 
targets which apply to variable pay 
awards. Instead, the Committee 
exercises independent judgement 
and discretion when authorising 
remuneration outcomes, taking into 
account Company and individual 
performance. Our performance 
measurement framework considers 
our “Quantitative anchors” – 
profitability, customer, risk and 
regulation and strategy delivery.

▪  Alignment with wider workforce 
– Our approach to remuneration for 
Executive Directors is consistent with 
that for all employees. Our incentive 
structure is aligned across the 
workforce and all employees are made 
awards under the same performance 
framework. The pension policy for EDs 
is equivalent to that of the workforce. 

▪  Share ownership – Our Executive 

Directors are significant 
shareholders in the Company. 

DIRECTORS’  
REMUNERATION REPORT

Statement by the Chair of the 
Remuneration Committee

Remuneration overview

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased 
to present our first Directors’ 
Remuneration Report for the year 
ended 30 September 2018. 

It has been a significant year for 
IntegraFin, which listed on the LSE  
in March 2018. This was a great 
milestone for the Group, which 
started as a project in 1998, before 
IntegraFin was formally established 
in 1999, co-founded by our current 
Executive Director Michael Howard. 

Since then IntegraFin has expanded 
and as of 30 September 2018 had 
over 166,000 client investment 
portfolios, £33.1 billion of funds 
under direction and over 500 staff 
across the Group companies. 

Over 25% of our staff have been  
with the Group for over 10 years  
and our Executive team have 
significant tenures. This illustrates 
employee commitment to the Group 
and the deep business connections 
we have cultivated. 

Our success has been due partly to 
the idea that we have implemented 
and the services that we provide,  
but also due to the culture that we 
encourage and project. Our culture is 
one that encourages communication, 
imagination and getting things right.

To this end, one of our key principles 
is to create, maintain and improve 
our value to our three groups of 
stakeholders – customers, shareholders 
and employees. Whenever possible 
we are committed to sharing profits 
between all three groups of 
stakeholders, and we believe all 
groups should benefit from any of  
the Group’s activities. 

56    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Remuneration outcomes for year 
ended 30 September 2018

The Committee takes into account  
a range of factors in determining 
salaries, and is mindful of increases 
across the Group. EDs’ salary 
increases of 4% were awarded.

Cash bonus outcomes for the year 
were 38.5% – 50.6% of salary and 
share bonus outcomes were 32%  
of salary (communicated, but not 
awarded until after the publication  
of results). The bonus for the year 
reflects the listing of IntegraFin on 
the LSE, and that it was a landmark 
year for the Company.

Signed on behalf of the  
IHP Remuneration Committee

Neil Holden 
Chair of the  
IHP Remuneration Committee

12 December 2018

We believe in simple and transparent 
reward linked to Company success 
and delivered in a way that does not 
drive unforeseen behaviours or 
encourage excessive risk taking:

▪  We did not make any out of cycle 

one-off share or cash bonus awards 
to solely reward the successful IPO.

▪  At IPO we introduced a new share 
plan (the Company’s Performance 
Share Plan 2018)(PSP) with a 
maximum award opportunity of 
33% of salary. The Committee has 
since concluded that this share plan 
should be used for the purpose of 
granting deferred awards comprising 
a portion of the annual bonus,  
in line with our simple approach  
to reward.

▪  We do not operate a long-term 
incentive plan, as we believe 
long-term targets have the potential 
to drive inadvertent behaviours.

▪  We operate an HM Revenue & Customs 

tax-advantaged Share Incentive 
Plan (SIP), which aligns the 
interests of all UK employees  
with shareholders.

We believe our distinctive approach 
to remuneration supports both the 
objectives of the Group and its three 
stakeholders and is aligned to the  
key principles shared between us.

Further details of our reward framework 
are set out over the following pages. 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    57

GOVERNANCE  continued

Role of the  
Remuneration Committee

The purpose of the Committee is to 
review, set and agree aspects of the 
overall remuneration policy and 
strategy for the Company and other 
companies within the Group that 
employ staff and the total 
compensation package for certain 
officers and employees within the 
Group. It does so with a view to 
aligning remuneration with the 
successful achievement of the 
Group’s long-term objectives while 
taking into account the Code, 
relevant regulatory requirements, 
market rates and value for money.

The Company monitors the list of 
employees who are considered to be 
Code Staff by reference to the 
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) 
Remuneration Code to ensure that it 

remains appropriate. To the extent 
that the Committee does not approve 
the remuneration of Code Staff 
individually, the Committee considers 
whether the total reward for Code 
Staff remains compliant with the 
provisions of the Remuneration Code. 
The Committee is also responsible for 
reviewing a remuneration policy 
statement (RPS) prepared by IFAL 
setting out how the UK regulated 
companies within the Group comply 
with UK regulatory requirements  
on remuneration.

In all its activities, the Committee 
gives due consideration to laws and 
regulations, the provisions of the 
Code, the requirements of the UK 
Listing Authority’s Listing, Prospectus 
and Disclosure Guidance and 
Transparency Rules and other 
applicable rules, as appropriate.

Composition of the  
Remuneration Committee

The members of the Remuneration 
Committee at 30 September 2018 were:

Chair

Neil Holden

Members

Date of Appointment

19 January 2018

Christopher Munro 

19 January 2018

Prior to the resignation of Patrick Snowball 
in August 2018, the Committee had 
three Non-Executive Director members. 
The Board is considering the appointment 
of a further Non-Executive member 
to the Committee, to comply with the 
Code provisions.

Following the resignation of  
Patrick Snowball in August 2018  
and the appointment of Christopher 
Munro as interim Chair of the Board, 
Christopher Munro stepped down as, 
and Neil Holden was appointed to, 

the Chair of the Remuneration 
Committee.

The Committee ensures that  
members take individual responsibility 
for identifying training appropriate  
to their needs and for keeping 
appropriate records of such training. 
Each Committee member provides 
copies of their training record to the 
Company Secretary annually and 
undertakes all regulatory training 
requested by the Group.

58    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Committee meetings  
and attendance

The Remuneration Committee meets 
at least twice annually and more 
frequently when required. The Committee 
has met four times during this 
financial year. Attendance by each 
member of the Committee as at  
30 September 2018 is set out below. 

Chair

Neil Holden

Members

Christopher Munro

Only members of the Committee 
have the right to attend Committee 
meetings. However, other individuals 
such as the CEO, directors of 
subsidiaries, the Group Counsel,  
the Head of Human Resources and 
external advisers may be invited to 
attend for all or part of any meeting.

Overview of actions taken by  
the Remuneration Committee to 
discharge its duties

The Committee has undertaken the 
following since formation this 
financial year:

▪  Reviewing the Committee  

Terms of Reference to ensure their 
appropriateness for a listed entity.

▪  Reviewing the appropriateness of 

the proposed annual staff pay 
award by reference to the RPS and 
the Remuneration Policy;

▪  Approving the proposed remuneration 
for the Executive Directors and the 
annual fee for the Chair of the Board;

▪  Considering the appropriateness of 

remuneration for Code staff and the 
staff pay award; and

▪  Reviewing the RPS for both the 

previous as well as the forthcoming 
performance year

Meetings eligible 
to attend

Meetings 
attended

4

4

4

4

The Committee has performed its 
duties with a view to aligning 
remuneration with the successful 
achievement of the Group’s long-term 
objectives while taking into account 
the Code, relevant regulatory 
requirements, market rates and  
value for money.

Committee self-evaluation

The Remuneration Committee 
conducted a self-assessment of its 
own effectiveness as well as an 
evaluation of the Chair in the  
period since formation, was satisfied 
with the results achieved and has 
agreed actions where improvements 
were suggested. 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    59

 
GOVERNANCE  continued

Remuneration ‘at a glance’

Element

Base salary

Benefits

Pension 

Operation

Implementation in 2018/19

Increases will take into account  
a number of factors including  
the scale of the role and the 
individual’s experience and wider 
workforce increases

 Include, for example, death in 
service and private medical 
insurance. 

The maximum company 
contribution is 12.3% of salary.  
In certain circumstances, and in 
line with our approach for all 
employees, this may increase by 
up to a further 7.5% of salary.

The pension policy is equivalent to 
that of the wider workforce.

Salary with effect from 1 June 2018:
Ian Taylor: £395,000
Alexander Scott: £260,000

Benefits for CEO and CFO comprise 
private healthcare.

Overnight accommodation in 
London is provided for the CEO.

CEO and CFO receive a £10,000 
pension contribution. 

Ordinarily, we do not expect 
awards to be in excess of 65%  
of salary.

The Committee uses judgement 
and discretion when determining 
outcomes under the annual bonus 
and deferred bonus awards.

 Outcomes are made by reference 
to the four quantitative anchors – 
profitability; customer; risk and 
regulation and strategy delivery. 

Annual bonus and deferred  
bonus award of shares

Total maximum opportunity is 
100% of salary. 

The Committee retains flexibility to 
adjust the balance between cash 
and deferred bonus awards.

The deferred bonus awards will 
usually vest on the third 
anniversary of the grant date.

Deferred bonus awards granted 
under the Company’s PSP are 
subject to malus and clawback 
provisions as described below.

All employee share incentive plan

The plan is operated in line with 
HMRC guidance.

EDs are eligible to participate  
in the all-employee SIP on the 
same terms as all employees.

60    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

2018 remuneration outcomes for our Executive Directors 

Ian Taylor, CEO

Fixed – £442k

Alexander Scott, CFO

Cash bonus – £200k

Deferred bonus – £127k

£769k

Fixed – £263k

Cash bonus – £100k

Deferred bonus – £82k

£445k

Total remuneration

Directors’ Remuneration Policy 

The Directors’ Remuneration Policy 
set out below is proposed for 
shareholder approval at the Annual 
General Meeting to be held in early  

2019. Subject to shareholder 
approval, the 2019 Remuneration 
Policy will take effect from the date of 
the 2019 AGM. 

Policy Table

Element

Link to Strategy

Operation

Opportunity

Base salary is reviewed 
annually.

Salary

The purpose of the 
base salary is to 
attract and retain 
Executive Directors 
with the necessary 
skills, experience 
and expertise.

There is no overall 
maximum monetary 
opportunity or cap on 
annual increase. 
Increases will take into 
account a number of 
factors including, but not 
limited to, the scale of 
the role and the 
individual’s experience, 
and increases awarded to 
other staff.

Performance 
Measures

None.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    61

GOVERNANCE  continued

Element

Link to Strategy

Operation

Opportunity

Performance 
Measures

There is no maximum 
monetary value.

None.

Benefits

The purpose of  
the Company’s  
staff benefits 
arrangements is to 
attract and retain 
Executive Directors 
and employees with 
the necessary skills, 
experience and 
expertise and to 
support their 
wellbeing.

The Company offers a  
Death in Service scheme  
with benefits set at four times 
base salary. The Company 
also offers all employees and 
their families the opportunity 
to participate in a private 
medical insurance scheme. 
The CEO and CFO have both 
participated in the medical 
insurance and life assurance 
schemes.

Other benefits may include 
buying and selling of holiday, 
season ticket loans, child 
care vouchers and discounts 
on local retailers and eye 
tests. The benefits provided 
may be subject to amendment 
from time to time by the 
Committee within this policy. 
EDs may participate in any 
HMRC (or equivalent) all 
employee plans adopted  
from time to time.

The Company provides 
overnight accommodation  
to the CEO during the 
working week and pays  
the tax thereon.

In appropriate circumstances 
benefits may include 
relocation and tax equalisation.

62    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Performance 
Measures

None.

Element

Link to Strategy

Operation

Opportunity

Pension

The purpose of  
the employer 
contribution  
to pension 
arrangements is to 
attract and retain 
EDs for the long 
term and to 
contribute to 
retirement income.

Contributions are by way  
of a defined contribution  
to the Group’s contractual 
enrolment pension 
arrangement and by way of 
employer matching 
contributions to a salary 
sacrifice personal pension 
arrangement.

The maximum company 
contribution is 12.3%  
of salary, this is in line 
with that of the wider 
workforce. The maximum 
contribution is 17.14%  
of salary.

Although, due to the UK 
tax rules, it is unlikely 
that EDs would choose to 
do so, in line with our 
approach for all 
employees, EDs may also 
sacrifice an element of 
their annual bonus into 
their pension, subject to 
a prescribed limit.  
The companywide  
policy is that in these 
circumstances, and up  
to a prescribed limit,  
a match is made in part 
to reflect the benefit of 
the employer National 
Insurance Contribution 
saving. The maximum 
additional pension under 
this arrangement would 
be 7.5% of salary.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    63

GOVERNANCE  continued

Element

Link to Strategy

Operation

Opportunity

Annual 
cash  
bonus and 
deferred 
bonus 
awards

The purpose of the 
cash bonus is to 
reward staff by 
reference to the 
financial success of 
the Group with an 
adjustment for 
individual 
performance. 

The purpose of 
deferred bonus 
awards is to support 
long-term retention 
of senior staff and 
alignment with share 
price performance.

N/A

Long-Term 
Incentive 
Plan (LTIP)

Bonus awards are considered 
annually after the end of the 
financial year. All bonus 
awards to EDs are made at 
the discretion of the 
Committee. The Committee 
retains flexibility to 
determine each year the 
proportion in cash and  
the proportion as deferred 
bonus awards, and any 
performance condition if 
authorised by the Board. 
Where awarded, vesting of 
the deferred bonus awards 
will usually be on the third 
anniversary of the grant 
date. Dividends do not 
accrue on the shares that  
are the subject of deferred 
bonus awards, although the 
Committee has the discretion 
to award dividend equivalents 
as further described below. 

In certain circumstances the 
Committee has the right to 
reduce or withhold the 
deferred bonus award and 
has limited rights to recover 
deferred bonus awards 
already made, as further 
described below.

The Company does not 
intend to make any awards 
over it shares that are 
subject to achievement of 
performance targets relating 
to more than one year.

64    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

The overall maximum 
limit in respect of the 
total annual bonus is 
100% of salary.  
However, this level of 
award would only be 
made in exceptional 
circumstances.

Deferred bonus awards 
would normally be made 
under the PSP rules, 
where awards are capped 
at 33% of base salary.

Performance 
Measures

Performance is 
assessed within  
a framework  
which includes 
consideration of:
▪ Profitability
▪ Customer
▪ Risk and Regulation
▪ Strategy delivery

Individual 
performance  
is also considered.  

There are no 
prescribed targets.  
Instead, the 
Committee considers 
qualitative and 
quantitative actual 
performance within 
the above 
performance 
framework.

N/A

N/A

 
Element

Link to Strategy

Operation

Opportunity

Performance 
Measures

All 
employee 
SIP

The purpose of the 
SIP is to align the 
interests of all 
employees – 
including Executive 
Directors - and 
shareholders.

Executive Directors are 
eligible to participate in the 
all-employee SIP in place on 
the same terms as all 
employees. The SIP is 
operated in line with HMRC 
guidance.

The SIP is subject to the 
limits set by HMRC from 
time to time.

None.

The Board may make an 
award to participants of 
Free Shares up to the 
value 3% of salary or 
£3,600 (whichever is 
lower) and may permit 
participants to subscribe 
for Partnership Shares up 
to the value of 1.5% of 
salary or £1,800 
(whichever is lower).  
For every Partnership 
Share purchased, the 
Company has agreed to 
award two Matching 
Shares. The £3,600 and 
£1,800 limits are set by 
applicable legislation  
and will be revised 
automatically in the  
event of any changes to 
the legislation.

Michael Howard receives nil 
remuneration for his Executive 
appointment to the Company, but his 
employer ObjectMastery Services  
Pty Ltd receives a fee of AUD50,000 
for his executive appointment to 
Integrated Application Development 
Pty Ltd (IAD Pty), a company within 
the Group.

Share plan operation and 
discretion

The Committee has discretion in 
several areas of policy as set out in 
this Report. The Committee may also 
exercise operational and administrative 
discretions under the relevant plan rules.

The deferred bonus awards will be 
governed by the rules of the relevant 
share plan, normally the Company’s 
PSP. Awards under the PSP may:

▪  Incorporate the right to receive  
an amount (in cash or additional 
shares) equal to the value of 
dividends which would have been 
paid on the shares under an award 
that vests up to the earliest date on 
which the award can be exercised, 
calculated on a reinvested basis.

▪  Be settled in cash at the 
Committee’s discretion.

▪  Be adjusted at the Committee’s 

discretion in certain circumstances 
(e.g. capitalisation or rights issues, 
corporate restructuring events, 
variation of capital and special 
dividends).

The Committee may make minor 
amendments to the Policy set out 
above (for regulatory, exchange 
control, tax, administrative purposes, 

or to take into account a change  
in legislation) without obtaining 
shareholder approval for that 
amendment.

Awards granted under the PSP will 
not be subject to performance 
conditions unless the Board 
determines otherwise, in which case 
the Committee will determine the 
performance conditions that apply to 
any awards to Executive Directors.  
If awards are subject to performance 
conditions, the Committee may waive 
or amend them if an event occurs 
which causes the Committee to 
determine an amended or substituted 
performance condition would be more 
appropriate and not materially more 
difficult to satisfy.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    65

GOVERNANCE  continued

Approved payments

Chair and Non-Executive Directors

The Committee reserves the right to 
make any remuneration payments 
and/or payments for loss of office 
(including exercising any discretions 
available to it in connection with such 
payments) notwithstanding that they 
are not in line with the Policy set out 
above where the terms of the 
payment were agreed (i) before the 
2019 AGM (the date the Company’s 
first shareholder-approved Directors’ 
Remuneration Policy comes into 
effect) or (ii) at a time when the 
relevant individual was not a Director 
of the Company and, in the opinion of 
the Committee, the payment was not 
in consideration for the individual 
becoming a Director of the Company. 
For these purposes “payments” 
includes the Committee satisfying 
awards of variable remuneration and, 
in relation to an award over shares, 
the terms of the payment are “agreed” 
at the time the award is granted.

Performance measures  
and targets

Annual bonus and  
deferred bonus awards 

Under our performance measurement 
framework, the Committee considers 
detailed management information 
which is linked to the Group’s 
‘quantitative anchors’. 

The quantitative anchors are 
designed to support our key principle 
to create, maintain and improve value 
to our three groups of stakeholders 
– customers, shareholders and 
employees. They have been 
developed to reflect our commitment 
to our stakeholders, support the 
Company’s culture and ensure 
alignment with our strategy.

They may include factors such as 
inter alia, financial performance, risk, 
compliance, conduct, internal controls, 
client and client adviser metrics and 
delivery of strategy.

Approach  
to Fees

To attract  
Non-Executive 
Directors  
with relevant 
experience to 
ensure the 
appropriate 
balance on  
the Board and  
the effective 
management of 
the Company

Operation

Opportunity

Other Items

There is no 
maximum fee. 

The fees  
are subject  
to maximum 
aggregate limits, 
as set out in  
the Articles of 
Association.

The Company 
reimburses 
reasonable 
expenses 
incurred by  
the Chair and 
Non-Executive 
Directors in the 
performance of 
their duties.  
This includes  
(but is not 
limited to) travel 
expenses and  
tax thereon  
and independent 
professional 
advice.

Non-executive 
Director fees  
are reviewed 
annually.  
The review is  
by reference  
to the time 
commitment and 
responsibility of 
the role and will 
not necessarily 
result in an 
increase.

None of the 
Non-Executive 
Directors, 
including the 
Chair, is eligible 
for performance 
related 
remuneration or 
share awards.

clawback applying, or (v) if the 
Company is required to operate 
clawback by any relevant regulator.

Clawback only applies when there are 
unvested awards.

Malus and clawback

The PSP under which deferred bonus 
awards are intended to be made, 
contains malus and limited clawback 
provisions under which the Company 
can reduce an unvested award or 
clawback from a vested or unvested 
cash bonus, SIP or deferred bonus 
award during any period when the 
employee has an unvested deferred 
bonus award. This ability is limited to 
the following circumstances:  
(i) the employee’s gross misconduct, 
(ii) a material misstatement and/or 
significant downward revision in 
financial results, (iii) an error in 
relation to the extent to which an 
award has vested and/or been 
granted, (iv) any other circumstance 
which the Committee considers has 
(or would have if made public) a 
sufficiently significant impact on the 
reputation of the Company to justify 

66    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Scenario charts

The charts below illustrate the 
amount the EDs could receive in the 
first year in which the Policy is in 
operation. The charts are based on 
the following assumptions:

Pay Scenario

Basis of Calculation

Minimum

Expected

Maximum

Fixed remuneration only, consisting of the salaries as at 
the beginning of financial year 2019, benefits received in 
2018 and £10,000 pension.

Fixed remuneration as at the beginning of financial year 
2019, plus the expected value of cash bonus (30%) and 
the deferred bonus (33%).

Fixed remuneration as at the beginning of financial year 
2019, plus the maximum combined cash bonus and 
deferred bonus PSP at 100%.

All scenarios exclude share price 
growth and dividends.

IAN TAYLOR - REMUNERATION OPPORTUNITY FOR 2019 (£’000)

0

100k

200k

300k

400k

500k

600k

700k

800k

900k

Minimum

100%

Expected

Maximum

64%

54%

17%

19%

23%

23%

Annual salary

Cash bonus

Deferred bonus award

ALEXANDER SCOTT - REMUNERATION OPPORTUNITY FOR 2019 (£’000)

0

100k

200k

300k

400k

500k

600k

700k

800k

900k

Minimum

100%

Expected

63%

18% 19%

Maximum

51%

25%

24%

Annual salary

Cash bonus

Deferred bonus award

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    67

GOVERNANCE  continued

Effect of share price increase

(1) Were the Company’s share price 
to increase by 50%, Ian Taylor’s total 
actual remuneration would increase 
to £947k under a ‘maximum’ scenario 
– driven by the increased value of 
deferred bonus awards (granted under 
the PSP and SIP).

(2) Were the Company’s share price 
to increase by 50%, Alexander Scott’s 
total actual remuneration would 
increase to £595k under a ‘maximum’ 
scenario – driven by the increased 
value of deferred bonus awards 
(granted under the PSP and SIP).

Recruitment remuneration

When determining the remuneration 
package for a newly appointed 
Executive Director, the Committee 
would seek to apply the following 
principles: 

▪  The package should be market 
competitive to facilitate the 
recruitment of individuals of 
sufficient calibre to lead the business. 
At the same time, the Committee 
would intend to pay no more than it 
believes is necessary to secure the 
required talent.

▪  When determining the design and 

composition of the package,  
the Committee will consider the 
size, content and scope of the role,  
the candidate’s skills, experience 
and expertise and the market rate 
for the role.

▪  New EDs will normally receive a 

base salary, benefits and pension 
contributions in line with the policy 
described on pages 61 to 65 and 
would also be eligible to join the 
annual bonus and deferred bonus 
awards up to the limits set out in 
the Policy.

▪  Where an individual forfeits 
outstanding variable pay 
opportunities or contractual rights 
at a previous employer as a result 
of appointment, the Committee  
may offer compensatory payments 
or awards, in such form as the 
Committee considers appropriate, 
taking into account all relevant 
factors including the form of 
awards, expected value and vesting 
timeframe of forfeited opportunities.

▪  When determining any such 

“buyout”, the guiding principle 
would be that awards would 
generally be on a “like-for-like” 
basis unless this is considered by 
the Committee not to be practical  
or appropriate.

▪  The maximum level of variable 
remuneration which may be 
awarded (excluding any “buyout” 
awards referred to above) in respect 
of recruitment is in line with the 
current maximum limit under the 
Policy table above.

▪  Where an Executive Director is 
required to relocate from their 
home location to take up their role, 
the Committee may provide 
assistance and include benefits  
such as relocation (either via 
one-off or on-going payments or 
benefits) or tax equalisation. 

▪  In the event that an internal 

candidate is promoted to the Board, 
legacy terms and conditions would 
normally be honoured, including 
pension entitlements and any 
outstanding incentive awards. 

To facilitate any buyout awards 
outlined above, in the event of 
recruitment the Committee may grant 
awards to a new Executive Director 
relying on the exemption in the 
Listing Rules which allows for the 
grant of awards, to facilitate,  

68    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

in unusual circumstances, the 
recruitment of an Executive Director, 
without seeking prior shareholder 
approval or under any other 
appropriate Group incentive plan. 

The remuneration package for a 
newly appointed Non-Executive 
Director would normally be in line 
with the structure set out in the 
policy table for Non-Executive 
Directors on page 66.

The Committee is aware that the 
Policy and its limits may put it at  
a competitive disadvantage should 
the Company need to hire a new 
executive director externally. If a 
higher maximum award level is 
required on the basis of recruitment, 
the Company will put forward a new 
policy for shareholder approval at 
that time.

Service contracts and 
appointment letters

All EDs have written service contracts 
in place with an employing company 
in the Group, which were entered at 
the time of the Company’s IPO.  
All Non-Executive Directors have 
written appointment letters with the 
Company. Shareholders may inspect 
the terms of the EDs’ contracts or 
Non-Executive Directors terms of 
appointment at the Company’s 
registered offices.

EDs service contracts are terminable 
on six months’ notice on either side. 
In the event that notice is given to 
terminate an ED’s contract, the 
Company may make a payment in 
lieu of notice or place the individual 
on garden leave. Entitlement to any 
variable remuneration arrangements 
will be determined in accordance with 
the relevant plan rules and this Policy.

EDs’ service contracts do not make 
any other provision for termination 
payments. Provision is made for 
salary, life insurance, private medical 
insurance, pension arrangements, 
holiday and sick pay.

The Chair and the Non-Executive 
Directors have been appointed for 
three year terms, subject to renewal 
thereafter. The Chair and Non-Executive 
Directors each have notice periods  
of three months and may receive  
fees during their notice period.  
The Chair and Non-Executive 
Directors may receive independent 
professional advice.

The Chair and the Non-Executive 
Directors receive no benefits from 
their office other than their fees and 
the reimbursement of expenses 
incurred in the performance of their 
duties and the benefit of directors’ 
and officers’ liability insurance.  
They are not eligible to participate  
in the Group pension arrangements 
or life insurance arrangements.

Payment for loss of office

In the event that the employment of 
an ED is terminated, any compensation 
payment will be determined by 
reference to the terms of the 
individual Director’s service 
agreement and the individual’s 
statutory rights. The Company may 
at its discretion make a payment in 
lieu of notice equal to base salary, 
pension, contributions/cash 
equivalent and the cost of providing 
life assurance and private medical 
benefits only. The Company may,  
at the Committee’s discretion,  
make the payment by way of a lump 
sum or by instalments over what 
would have been the notice period 
and might be subject to mitigation.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    69

GOVERNANCE  continued

The Company may place the ED on 
gardening leave for the duration of 
their notice period. 

It is the Company’s intention that  
the service contracts for any new EDs 
will contain equivalent provisions.

The Company reserves the right to 
make such payment as may be 
necessary to discharge its legal 
obligations to the director or by way 
of settlement of any claim arising in 
connection with the cessation of a 
director’s office or service, including 
reimbursement of legal expenses. 

The Company may also pay out 
placement costs.

Annual bonus (cash and deferred)

Annual bonus payments may be 
made if the Committee consider it 
appropriate, any payment would be 
pro-rated for time, and normal 
performance considerations would 
apply. In line with the normal policy, 
the award may be in cash or  
deferred shares.

Deferred bonus awards

If an Executive Director dies, the 
Committee may permit deferred 
bonus awards to be exercised within 
the 12 month period immediately 
following death.

If an Executive Director is a good 
leaver, unvested deferred bonus 
share awards will normally vest on 
the vesting date. The Committee has 
discretion to permit awards to vest 
early, on cessation of employment.  
“Good leaver” means ceasing 
employment due to injury, ill-health, 
disability, redundancy or the employing 
company or undertaking ceasing to 
be under the control of the Company, 
or any other reason at the discretion 
of the Committee.

If an Executive Director leaves other 
than as a good leaver or on death, 
any unvested deferred bonus share 

awards may ordinarily lapse on 
termination of employment.  
The Committee has discretion to 
permit the Executive Director to retain 
and exercise such awards until the end 
of the exercise period or such earlier 
date as the Committee may determine.

In any case where the Executive 
Director ceases to be an employee 
before the vesting date of an award, 
the award will be reduced pro-rata to 
the proportion of the vesting period 
worked, unless the Committee 
determines otherwise and, if the 
award is subject to performance 
conditions, the Committee shall also 
have the discretion to determine the 
extent to which performance 
conditions have been met or may 
waive the performance conditions.

All staff SIP

SIP awards are not forfeitable on 
leaving and SIP shares will be 
transferred to the ED upon leaving.

Change of control

Treatment of corporate events
On a change of control or voluntary 
wind up of the Company deferred 
bonus awards, which have been 
earned in respect of previous 
performance periods, will normally 
vest in full, but may be reduced 
pro-rata to the proportion of the 
vesting period up to the relevant 
corporate event, unless the Committee 
determines otherwise. If the awards 
are subject to performance conditions, 
the Committee shall also have the 
discretion to determine the extent to 
which performance conditions have 
been met or may waive the 
performance conditions.

The Committee also has the discretion 
to treat a demerger of the Company 
that is an exempt distribution as 
an early vesting event on the same 
basis as a change of control.

70    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

While the Committee does not 
specifically consult with employees  
on its Remuneration Policy for EDs, 
the Committee is mindful of the 
salary increases, the pension and 
benefits framework and bonus 
awards applying across the whole 
business when considering the 
remuneration package of EDs.

Consideration of shareholder views

Whilst the Committee did not directly 
consult with shareholders in the 
shaping of the Remuneration Policy, 
the Committee welcomes shareholders’ 
views on executive remuneration.  
In the formulation of the 
Remuneration Policy, the Committee 
took into account general good 
governance, best practice and 
shareholder and investor guidance.

The Remuneration Committee takes 
very seriously the view of shareholders 
when making any changes to 
executive remuneration, and it is  
the Committee’s intention to consult 
with major shareholders in advance 
of making any material changes to 
remuneration arrangements.

Consideration of employment 
conditions elsewhere in  
the Company

Remuneration arrangements are 
determined throughout the Group 
based on the same principle,  
which is to create, maintain and 
improve our value to our three 
groups of stakeholders – customers, 
shareholders and employees. 
Whenever possible we are committed 
to sharing profits between all three 
groups of stakeholders.

Our commitment to our stakeholders 
is reflected in our approach to 
remuneration which is consistent for 
all employees. The Committee is 
focussed on ensuring reward is 
aligned to our culture and our 
strategy, and alignment with the 
wider workforce is a key feature of our 
distinctive approach to remuneration. 

Our incentive structure is aligned 
across the workforce and all employees 
are made awards under the same 
performance framework. In line with 
our remuneration principles, pension 
contributions for EDs are aligned with 
those available to the wider workforce 
and EDs do not receive any benefits 
which are not available to all 
employees, save that the CEO is 
entitled to overnight accommodation  
in London during the week.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    71

GOVERNANCE  continued

Directors’ remuneration  
annual report

This report details the remuneration 
arrangements in place for people who 
were directors of the Company during 
the financial year. Judith Davidson, 
Stuart Bazely and Jeremy Brettell 
resigned from the board of the 
Company on 1 October 2017 in 
preparation for listing. In light of the 
fact that the largest payment 
applicable to that service is less than 
£1,000, the amount is de minimis in 
accordance with s15(d) of part 3 of 
The Large and Medium-sized Companies 

and Groups (Accounts and Reports) 
(Amendment) Regulations 2013  
and the Company is not reporting  
on those Directors’ remuneration in  
this Remuneration Report. They did 
not receive any remuneration on  
the day that they were Directors of 
the Company.

There have been no changes to 
Director’s remuneration throughout 
the year save for the annual bonus 
award made in December 2017 and 
pursuant to the annual pay review 
made in June 2018. 

How the Policy was applied in 2017/18

Summary of Total Remuneration – Executive Directors (audited)

Director

Ian Taylor

Alexander Scott

Michael Howard

Gross 
Basic 
Salary

Benefits

Annual Bonus

LTIP

Pension

Total

Cash 
bonus

Deferred 
shares

Year

2018

2017

2018

2017

2018

2017

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

£’000

384

366

253

242

0

0

481

401

01

01

0

0

200

146

100

75

0

0

127

0

82

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10

8

10

9

0

0

769

560

445

326

0

0

1Benefits for Ian Taylor were £48,407 for 2018 and £39,686 for 2017. 1Benefits for Alexander Scott were £497 for 2018 and £421 for 2017. 
The difference is the value of overnight accommodation for Ian Taylor.

Michael Howard receives nil 
remuneration for the Company, but his 
employer ObjectMastery Services Pty 
Ltd receives a fee of AUD 50,000 for 
his executive appointment to IAD Pty, 
a company within the Group.

72    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
 
 
Base salary

The EDs’ basic annual salaries were  
in the Prospectus published at IPO. 
The basic annual salaries for Ian Taylor 
and Alexander Scott were reviewed  
in June 2018 in accordance with the 
Company’s all-employee pay review 
resulting in the following changes to 
the annualised salary figures:

Director 

Ian Taylor

Alexander Scott 

Basic annual salary as 
per the Prospectus 
£’000

Salary effective 1 June 
2018
£’000

379

250

395

260

Benefits

Incentives

The CEO is entitled to overnight 
accommodation in London during the 
working week. Otherwise, EDs do not 
receive any benefits which are not 
available to all employees. Benefits 
for CEO and CFO comprise private 
health care.

▪  Our performance framework is 
also distinctive – We do not set 
predefined targets. Instead the 
Committee considers qualitative and 
quantitative actual performance 
against four ‘quantitative anchors’:

▪  – Profitability
▪  – Customer
▪  – Risk and Regulation
▪  – Strategy delivery.

As well as individual performance.   

IntegraFin has a distinctive culture 
focussed on our three stakeholders – 
customers, shareholders and employees. 
Our incentive structure has been 
developed to support this culture:

▪  Alignment across all staff  

– All staff are eligible for an annual 
bonus award. Our incentive structure 
is aligned across the workforce and 
all employees are made awards under 
the same performance framework.

▪  Modest incentive opportunity  
– Our maximum total incentive 
opportunity for Executive Directors 
is only 100% of salary, and ordinarily 
in practice we do not expect awards 
to exceed 65% of salary.  

▪  Deferred bonus awards – Part of 
the incentive award is in cash and 
part is in shares through deferred 
bonus awards. We maintain 
flexibility on the proportion of each. 
Deferred bonus awards is our preferred 
long-term alignment mechanism 
and we do not operate a long-term 
incentive plan, as we believe 
long-term targets have the potential 
to drive inadvertent behaviours.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    73

GOVERNANCE  continued

Annual bonus (cash and deferred 
share) awards for the 2018 financial 
year were as follows:

Cash award

Deferred award

Director

Ian Taylor

Alexander Scott

£’000

200

100

50.6% of salary

38.5% of salary

£’000

127

82

32.2% of salary

31.5% of salary

The bonus for the CEO and CFO are 
recommended by the Board Chair  
and the CEO respectively, after 
consultation with Board members.  
The Remuneration Committee members 
consider detailed management 
information (MI) throughout the year 
which covers factors such as inter alia, 
financial performance, risk, compliance, 
conduct, internal controls, client and 
client adviser metrics, and delivery  
of strategy.

This year, as in past years,  
the Committee reviewed the  
Board Chair’s and the CEO’s proposals 
in that context, and considered 
whether the Executive Directors  
had delivered appropriate customer, 
financial and strategic performance 
whilst also managing risk and 
maintaining internal controls.  

Each year the Committee uses the 
following ‘quantitative anchors’ to 
frame that discussion and challenge:

Quantitative anchor

Financial 
performance 

Customer

Risk and regulation

Planned financial performance has been delivered, 
with improved financial performance metrics 
compared to the previous financial year.

The business continues to maintain or improve  
its market share and achieve high standards of 
satisfaction with clients and their advisers. 

From a risk appetite and conduct perspective 
management have shown appropriate adherence 
to internal, legal and regulatory policies, laws  
and rules. 

Monitoring, auditing and other assurance activities 
demonstrate appropriate attention to maintaining 
the internal control environment. 

Strategy delivery 

The successful listing was the key event during  
the year.  

This was delivered on time with no significant 
unexpected issues and in a cost effective way. 

Advisers commented favourably on the quality of 
preparation and documentation and the listing at 
the top end of the share price range was a highly 
satisfactory outcome.

74    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Based on a holistic assessment of 
Group performance, including 
consideration of the quantitative 
anchors and taking into account 
individual performance, the Committee 
granted Ian Taylor an annual bonus 
award equal to 83% of salary and 
Alexander Scott an award equal to 
70% salary.

The proportion of the 2018 annual 
bonus payable as deferred bonus 
awards will be granted following the 
announcement of the Company’s 
annual results. Awards will vest after 
three years and will be subject to 
malus and clawback provisions as 
detailed in the Remuneration Policy. 
Performance conditions will not apply 
to these awards as detailed in the 
Remuneration Policy.

No deferred share awards were made 
in the 2018 financial year.

LTIPs

The Company does not propose to 
make any awards to EDs that are 
dependent on performance conditions 
relating to more than one year.  
No such award were made in the 
2018 financial year.

SIP

EDs are able to participate in the SIP. 
The Board may make an award to 
participants of Free Shares up to  
the value 3% of salary or £3,600 
(whichever is lower) and may  
permit participants to subscribe for 
Partnerships Shares up to the value 
of 1.5% of salary or £1,800 
(whichever is lower). For every 
Partnership Share purchased,  
the Company has agreed to award 
two Matching Shares. The £3,600  
and £1,800 limits are set by applicable 
legislation and will be revised 
automatically in the event of any 
changes to the legislation.

No SIP awards were made in the 
2018 financial year. The Board has 
considered the Company’s 
performance in the 2018 financial 
year and, with the approval of  
the Remuneration Committee,  
has approved the making of the 
maximum SIP award to qualifying 
employees (including Ian Taylor and 
Alexander Scott) when the Company 
is not in a closed period. This will be 
following the announcement of the 
Company’s financial results.

Pension contributions

Pension contributions for Ian Taylor 
and Alexander Scott are currently 
made by reference to the relevant 
personal allowance at £10,000 per 
Executive Director. In line with our 
remuneration principles, pension 
contributions for Executive Directors 
are aligned with those available to 
the wider workforce. 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    75

GOVERNANCE  continued

Percentage change in CEO 
remuneration compared to 
average employee

The graph shows the percentage 
movement in the salary, benefits and 
annual cash bonus for the Chief 
Executive between the current and 
previous financial year compared to 
that for the average Group employee.

The SIP scheme is provided to all 
staff, including EDs, and is not 
included above.

PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN CEO REMUNERATION 
COMPARED TO AVERAGE EMPLOYEE

e
g
n
a
h
c

e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
P

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

31.4%

22.0%

17.9%

4.0%

2.5%

Salary

Benefits

CEO

Average Employee

0.0%

Bonus

Notes to the table: 
The CEO received an annual bonus in 2018 enhanced primarily in respect  
of the delivery of the IPO. The average staff annual bonus was the same as 
previous years. The table does not include salary and benefits movement for 
Australian employees as their employment benefit package differs from the 
UK staff package in recognition of different compensation and benefit rules in 
Australia. The Company has therefore deemed it inappropriate to include their 
remuneration in this comparison.

Relative importance of spend on pay

The following table sets out the 
percentage change in profit, 
dividends and overall spend on pay in 
the year ending 30 September 2018, 
compared to the year ending  
30 September 2017.

IFRS profit after tax

Dividends

Employee remuneration costs

2018
£’000

32,906

30,780

28,646

2017
£’000

29,889

13,532

25,474

Percentage
Change

10%

128%

12%

Payments to past directors

Judith Davidson, Stuart Bazely and 
Jeremy Brettell resigned from the 
board of the Company on 1 October 
2017 in preparation for listing.  
In light of the fact that the largest 
payment made to them following 
their resignation in relation to that 
service as directors of the Company 
is less than £1,000, the amount is 
considered de minimis in accordance 
with s15(d) of Part 3 of The Large 
and Medium-sized Companies and 
Groups (Accounts and Reports) 
Regulations 2008. Therefore the 
Company is not reporting on 
payments made to them following 

the termination of their office in  
this Remuneration Report.

Patrick Snowball resigned as  
Non-executive Chair of the Board  
on 22 August 2018. His total 
remuneration for his period of office 
is set out below.

Stuart Bazely and Jeremy Brettell 
continue to be Non-Executive 
Directors for IFAL and have been 
remunerated for those services. 
Judith Davidson continues to be an 
employee and Executive Director  
of entities within the Group and is 
remunerated for these services by 
the Group’s services company.

76    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
 
Payments for loss of office

The outgoing Non-Executive Directors 
and Chair received fees in respect of 
their appointment up to the effective 
date of their resignation from office. 

None of the outgoing Directors 
received a termination payment.

Shareholding requirements and 
Directors’ share interests

No share awards were awarded to 
EDs during the financial year. 
EDs of IHP and their connected 
persons are subject to the terms  
of a shareholder lock-up entered into 
prior to the Company’s admission  

to the main market (“Admission”). 
The shareholder lock-up expires on 
27 February 2019. 

Following the expiry of the lock-up 
provisions there are no minimum 
shareholding requirements in place 
that would limit the number of shares 
that could be sold.

Director/Connected person

Ian Taylor

Furley Page Executor & Trustee Company 
Limited

Frances Taylor

Patrick Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Anna Taylor

Michael Howard

Ganymede Retirement Nominees Pty Ltd

Ganymede Investments Pty

Alexander Scott

Christopher Munro

Patrick Snowball

Judith Davidson

Patrick Sweeney

Oliver Sweeney

David Johnson

Candida Johnson

Jonathan Gunby

Cheryl Gunby

Edward Gunby

Matthew Gunby

Neil Holden

Caroline Banszky

Victoria Cochrane

Stuart Bazley 

Jeremy Brettell 

Shares held at  
30 September 2018 

2,610,630

-

4,410,402

5,095,270

229,652

229,652

229,652

43,950,000

0

0

0

6,088,247

1,148,260

1,426,324

61,530

574,130

2,719,919

574,130

97,578

1,039,152

51,648

970,256

51,648

51,648

0

0

0

0

0

Shares held at 
1 October 2017 

 11,886 Class C

   7,000 Class D

7,000 Class D

24,000 Class C

1000 Class D

1000 Class D

1000 Class D

217,501 Class B

2,177 Class A

8,602 Class B

10,000 Class C

0

5,000 Class D

9,736 Class A

0

2,500 Class D

10,459 Class A

74 Class B

2,500 Class D

450 Class D

4,500 Class D

250 Class D

4,250 Class D

250 Class D

250 Class D

0

0

0

0

0

No Directors have any vested or unvested share awards as at the end of the Financial Year.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    77

GOVERNANCE  continued

Shareholder return  
Performance Graph and CEO  
pay over the same period

This graph shows the Company’s 
total shareholder return performance 
from Admission to 30 September 2018.

The Company has chosen to show 
total shareholder return against the 
FTSE 250 total return over the same 
period, as the Board considers this to 
be the most appropriate comparator.

e
g
n
a
h
c

e
g
a
t
n
e
c
r
e
P

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN PERFORMANCE VS FTSE250 
OVER THE INITIAL FINANCIAL PERIOD

03/2018 04/2018 05/2018 06/2018 07/2018 08/2018 09/2018

Integrafin Holdings plc

FTSE 250

The following table shows the Chief 
Executive Officer’s remuneration for 
2017/18:

CEO 2018

CEO single figure of remuneration

Annual bonus payout (as a % of maximum opportunity) 

LTIP vesting out-turn (as a % of maximum opportunity) 

£769k

83%

N/A

Chair and Non-Executive Director 
remuneration

The remuneration paid to the Chair 
and Non-Executive Directors were set 
prior to Admission and no increases 
have been applied since then.  
In respect of the financial year 
ending 30 September 2018 the 
amounts are as follows.

At the point of the 2018 award the 
annual bonus was operated on an 
uncapped basis. In order to facilitate 
comparison, the current 100% of 
salary cap has been applied 
retrospectively.

Element of remuneration by Director

Year

Fees 
£’000

Expenses 
£’000

2018

2017

2018

2017

2018

2017

2018

2017

2018

2017

57

24

52

36

7

-

0

-

89

24

0

0

0

0

0

-

0

-

0

0

Christopher Munro

Neil Holden

Caroline Banszky

Victoria Cochrane

Patrick Snowball

De minimis expenses are for 
reimbursement of extraordinary 
communication costs and taxable 
travel expenses grossed up for the 
tax payable thereon.

78    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
 
DIRECTORS’ REPORT

Directors

Details of unexpired contract terms

The Directors present their report 
and Financial Statements for the year 
ending 30 September 2018.

The content of the “Management 
Report” required by the FCA 
Disclosure and Transparency Rule 
DTR4.1 can be found in the Strategic 
Report and the Governance section  
of the Annual Report and Accounts. 
An individuation of the likely future 
developments can also be found in 
the Strategic Report and the  
Business Model and Strategy report.

Information disclosed in accordance 
with the requirements of the 
applicable sections of the FCA Listing 
Rule LR9.8 (Annual Financial Report) 
can be found here:

Details of Long-Term Incentive Schemes 
– The Directors’ Remuneration Report

Directors’ Interests in the Company’s 
Shares 
– The Directors’ Remuneration Report

Major Shareholders’ Interests 
– Directors’ Report

Directors’ unexpired contract terms 
– Directors’ Report

Directors transactions in the 
Company’s Shares 
– Director’s Report

The review of the business and 
principal risks and uncertainties are 
disclosed within the Strategic Report.

The Directors who served during the 
financial year were as follows:

Christopher Munro 

Michael Howard 

Ian Taylor 

Alexander Scott 

Neil Holden 

Caroline Banszky  
(from 22 August 2018)

Victoria Cochrane  
(from 28 September 2018)

Patrick Snowball  
(to 22 August 2018)

Judith Davidson  
(to 1 October 2017)

Jeremy Brettell  
(to 1 October 2017)

Stuart Bazely  
(to 1 October 2017)

According to the Register of 
Directors’ Interests in the Company, 
no rights to subscribe for shares or 
share options were granted or 
exercised by any of the Directors or 
their immediate families during the 
financial year.

Caroline Banszky and Victoria 
Cochrane are standing for election  
at the upcoming AGM.

All other Directors are standing for 
re-election at the upcoming AGM.

The following Non-Executive Directors 
will have the stated unexpired 
contract terms when they stand for 
re-election at the AGM.

Director

Christopher Munro

Neil Holden

Caroline Banszky

Victoria Cochrane

Unexpired 
Contract Term 
(years)

2

1

2.75

2.75

Status of Company

The Company is registered as a 
public limited company under the 
Companies Act 2006.

For details of the Company’s 
organisational structure and 
subsidiaries, please see page 6.

Share Capital

Structure of the Company’s Capital

The Company has 331,322,014 
ordinary £0.01 shares in issue.  
There are no treasury shares.

Voting Rights

At any General Meeting, on a show  
of hands, any member present in 
person has one vote and every proxy 
present who has been duly appointed 
by a member entitled to vote on a 
resolution has one vote. On a poll 
vote every person present in person 
or by proxy has one vote for every 
share held. All shares carry equal 
voting rights and there are no 
restrictions on voting rights.

Restrictions on Share Transfers

There are restrictions on the transfer 
of shares held by Executive Directors 
and Senior Managers who are subject 
to the terms of the shareholder 
Lock-up. The shareholder Lock-up 
ends on 27 February 2019 after 
which date there will be no 
restrictions on share transfers.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    79

 
 
 
GOVERNANCE  continued

Substantial Shareholders

As at 5 December 2018 the Company 
had been notified of the following 
interests in 3% or more of the 
Company’s issued ordinary share 
capital disclosed to the Company 

under Disclosure Guidance and 
Transparency Rule 5. The information 
provided below was correct as at the 
date of notification. It should be 
noted that these holdings are likely  

to have changed since notified to the 
Company. However notification of 
any change is not required until the 
next applicable threshold is crossed. 

Shareholder

BlackRock Inc

Number of 
Ordinary 
Shares at 30 
September 
2018

% of  
Voting Rights 
at 
30 September 
2018

Number of 
Ordinary 
Shares at 5 
December 2018

% of  
Voting Rights  
at 
5 December 
2018

Nature of 
Holding

Indirect

20,192,627

6.09%

16,625,002

5.01%

Securities 
Lending

Contracts for 
difference 

53,374

0.02%

4,604,056

1.38%

1,748,483

0.52%

2,362,825

0.71%

Montanaro Asset 
Management Limited

Indirect

9,982,000

3.01%

8,782,000

2.65%

The percentage provided was correct 
at the date of notification.

The interests of the Directors, and 
any persons closely associated, in the 
issued share capital of the Company  
are shown on page 77.

80    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Directors’ interests 

Indemnity provision

A person connected to Michael Howard, 
Ganymede Retirement Nominees Pty Ltd 
transferred its entire shareholding in 
the Company to Ganymede Investments 
Pty Ltd on 14 August 2018.

Directors’ and officers’ insurance  
is in place to indemnify the Directors 
against liabilities arising from the 
discharge of their duties as Directors 
of the Company.

Dividends

Employee information

In the 2018 financial year the 
Company paid one interim and one 
special dividend. Both dividends were 
paid by reference to the Company’s 
issued and allotted share capital prior 
to the share capital reorganisation on 
22 February 2018.

An interim dividend of 5.9 pence per 
share, which equates to £19,418,436.04, 
was paid on 12 January 2018.

A special dividend of 3.4 pence  
per share, which equates to 
£11,372,780.00, was paid on  
22 January 2018.

An interim dividend of 6.4 pence  
per share, which equates to 
£21,204,608.90, has been declared 
by the Board and will be paid in 
January 2019.

The Company has no employees 
(2017: nil), but the Group has 519 
employees (2017: 467). The Group 
continues to promote a culture 
whereby employees are encouraged 
to develop and contribute to the 
overall aims of the business and does 
not discriminate on any grounds.

Auditors

BDO LLP has indicated its willingness 
to continue in office. A resolution to 
reappoint BDO LLP as auditors for the 
ensuing year will be proposed at the 
next AGM.  

Each of the persons 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 (s)he ought to have taken as a 
Director in order to make themselves 
aware of any relevant audit information 
and to establish that the Company’s 
auditor is aware of that information. 
This confirmation is given and 
should be interpreted in accordance 
with the provision of s418 of the 
Companies Act 2006.

This confirmation is given in accordance 
with the provisions of section 418 of 
the Companies Act 2006.

By order of the Board

Ian Taylor 
Chief Executive Officer 

Alexander Scott 
Chief Financial Officer

12 December 2018 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    81

 
 
 
GOVERNANCE  continued

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ 
RESPONSIBILITIES 

The Directors are responsible for 
preparing the Annual Report and the 
Financial Statements in accordance 
with the Companies Act 2006 and for 
being satisfied that the Annual Report 
and Financial Statements, taken as a 
whole, give a fair, balanced and 
understandable view which provides 
the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Company’s 
position and performance, business 
model and strategy. 

The Directors are also responsible for 
preparing the Financial Statements  
in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 
as adopted by the European Union.

Company law requires the Directors 
to prepare Financial Statements for 
each financial year which give a true 
and fair view of the state of affairs of 
the Company and Group and of the 
profit or loss of the Group for that year. 

In preparing those Financial Statements, 
the Directors are required to:

▪  Select suitable accounting policies 
and then apply them consistently;

▪  Make judgements and estimates 
that are reasonable and prudent;

▪  State whether applicable accounting 

standards have been followed, 
subject to any material departures 
disclosed and explained in the 
Financial Statements; and

▪  Prepare the Financial Statements on 
the going concern basis unless it is 
inappropriate to presume that the 
Company and Group will continue  
in business.

The Directors are responsible for 
keeping adequate accounting records 
that show and explain the Group’s 
transactions, disclose with reasonable 
accuracy at any time the financial 
position of the Company and enable 
them to ensure that the Financial 
Statements comply with the 
Companies Act 2006.

They are also responsible for 
safeguarding the assets of the Company 
and Group and hence for taking 
reasonable steps for the prevention 
and detection of fraud and other 
irregularities.

The current Directors, at the date of 
approval of this report, confirm that 
they have taken all of the steps that 
they ought to have taken as Directors 
to make themselves aware of any 
information needed by the Company’s 
auditor for the purposes of the audit, 
and to establish that the auditor is 
aware of that information. The Directors 
are not aware of any relevant audit 
information of which the auditor  
is unaware.

The Directors consider it appropriate 
to adopt the going concern basis of 
accounting in preparing the consolidated 
Financial Statements as they believe 
the Group will continue to be in 
business, and meet any liabilities as 
they fall due, for a period of at least 
twelve months from the date of 
approval of the Financial Statements.

By order of the Board

David Johnson 
Company Secretary

12 December 2018

82    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

▪  the Directors’ statement set out on 
page 35 in the Financial Statements 
about whether the Directors 
considered it appropriate to adopt 
the going concern basis of accounting 
in preparing the Financial Statements 
and the Directors’ identification of 
any material uncertainties to the 
Group and the parent company’s 
ability to continue to do so over a 
period of at least twelve months 
from the date of approval of the 
Financial Statements;

▪  whether the Directors’ statement 
relating to going concern required 
under the Listing Rules in accordance 
with Listing Rule 9.8.6R(3) is 
materially inconsistent with our 
knowledge obtained in the audit; or

▪  the Directors’ explanation set out  

on page 35 in the Annual Report as 
to how they have assessed the 
prospects of the Group, over what 
period they have done so and why 
they consider that period to be 
appropriate, and their statement as 
to whether they have a reasonable 
expectation that the Group will be 
able to continue in operation and 
meet its liabilities as they fall due 
over the period of their assessment, 
including any related disclosures 
drawing attention to any necessary 
qualifications or assumptions.

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S 
REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF 
INTEGRAFIN HOLDINGS PLC

Opinion

We have audited the Financial 
Statements of IntegraFin Holdings plc 
(the ‘parent company’) and its 
subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) for the year 
ended 30 September 2018 which 
comprise the Consolidated and 
Company Statement of Profit and Loss 
and Other Comprehensive Income, 
Consolidated and Company Statement 
of Financial Position, Consolidated and 
Company Statement of Cash Flows, 
Consolidated and Company Statement 
of Changes in Equity and notes to the 
Financial Statements, including a 
summary of significant accounting 
policies. The financial reporting 
framework that has been applied in 
their preparation is applicable law and 
International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the 
European Union and, as regards the 
parent company Financial Statements, 
as applied in accordance with the 
provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

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 2018 and of the 
Group’s and parent company’s  
profit for the year then ended;

▪  the Group Financial Statements 
have been properly prepared in 
accordance with IFRSs as adopted 
by the European Union;

▪  the parent company Financial 

Statements have been properly 
prepared in accordance with IFRSs 
as adopted by the European Union 
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; and, as regards the group 
Financial Statements, Article 4 of 
the IAS Regulation.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance 
with International Standards on 
Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and 
applicable law. Our responsibilities 
under those standards are further 
described in the Auditor’s responsibilities 
for the audit of the Financial Statements 
section of our Report. We are 
independent of the Group and the 
parent company in accordance with 
the ethical requirements that are 
relevant to our audit of the Financial 
Statements in the UK, including the 
FRC’s Ethical Standard as applied  
to listed public interest entities,  
and we have fulfilled our other ethical 
responsibilities in accordance with 
these requirements. We believe that 
the audit evidence we have obtained 
is sufficient and appropriate to 
provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to principal 
risks, going concern and viability 
statement

We have nothing to report in respect 
of the following information in the 
annual report, in relation to which the 
ISAs (UK) require us to report to you 
whether we have anything material 
to add or draw attention to:

▪  the disclosures in the annual report 

set out on page 31 that describe the 
principal risks and explain how they 
are being managed or mitigated;

▪  the directors’ confirmation set out on 

page 34 in the Annual Report that they 
have carried out a robust assessment 
of the principal risks facing the group, 
including those that would threaten its 
business model, future performance, 
solvency or liquidity;

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    83

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters 
that, in our professional judgement, 
were of most significance in our audit 
of the Financial Statements of the 
current period and include the most 

significant assessed risks of material 
misstatement (whether or not due to 
fraud) that we identified. These matters 
included 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.

Matter

Audit response

IT Risk and Revenue 
Recognition

Our procedures focussed on the key IT processes and controls over IT systems critical to 
the recognition and calculation of revenue. 

The Group’s revenue is 
made up of distinct 
components, primarily 
from fees due from 
investment administration 
services, life assurance 
business and consultancy 
services.

There is a presumption 
associated with revenue 
that a fraud risk exists 
due to its nature as the 
main driver of profit for 
the Group. 

Revenue is automatically 
calculated by the IT 
system based on Transact 
published rates. Due to 
the high level of 
automation involved by 
both the client and audit 
team, any fraud or error 
associated with revenue 
recognition may result in 
a material misstatement 
of the Financial 
Statements.  

Because of the level of 
automation involved and 
because of the significant 
effect that a weakness or 
failure in the IT system 
over revenue may cause, 
this is considered to be a 
key audit matter.

We updated our understanding of the Group’s key IT applications, processes and controls 
that drive the recognition and calculation of revenue by carrying out walk-through procedures. 

We then performed the following procedures:

▪  We tested the operating effectiveness of the IT General Controls (ITGCs) governing 
Logical Access Control, Program Change Control and Data Processing Management; 

▪  We tested the operational effectiveness of relevant application interfaces; 

▪  We performed testing on relevant reports and information extracted from the IT system 
to ensure accuracy and completeness of information produced by the entity (‘IPE’); and

▪  In respect of the migration that occurred in the year of a key accounting system we 
performed testing to show that the access rights were transferred on a like for like 
basis, and further tested that a trial balance reconciliation was performed and signed 
off by management to confirm that the transfer was complete and accurate. 

Controls testing:

▪  We tested the controls in place over accuracy of inputs into the trading system, as these 

represent key controls over the accuracy and completeness of revenue recognition;

▪  We tested controls in place covering the identification and resolution of rejected trades 

to provide assurance over revenue recognised; and 

▪  We tested the controls in place covering the approval of fee exceptions, as changes in 

rates could affect revenue recognised.

Tests of detail and substantive analytical procedures:

We tested the accuracy and completeness of revenue by performing a recalculation of 
key income streams including annual commission; buy commission and wrapper fee 
income. This was then compared against the amount recognised in the Financial 
Statements;

We performed data analytics procedures on trades from the underlying database within  
the IT system to identify revenue items that appeared to be irregular in relation to our 
understanding of the normal course of business and then investigated any anomalies 
identified (e.g. duplicate trades). For trades that appeared to be anomalies, we obtained 
an understanding of their nature and corroborated this against the underlying client 
system and other records to confirm validity; and

We have assessed the revenue accounting policies and confirmed they are applicable to 
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union.

84    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Our application of materiality

We apply the concept of materiality 
both in planning and performing our 
audit, and in evaluating the effect of 
misstatements. We consider 
materiality to be the magnitude by 
which misstatements, including 
omissions, could influence the 
economic decisions of reasonable  
users that are taken on the basis  
of the Financial Statements. 
Importantly, misstatements below 
these levels will not necessarily be 
evaluated as immaterial as we also 
take account of the nature of identified 
misstatements, and the particular 
circumstances of their occurrence, 
when evaluating their effect on the 
Financial Statements as a whole.

Based on professional judgement,  
we determined materiality for the 
Financial Statements as a whole  
as follows:

Group Materiality

Overall Materiality 

Materiality for policyholder assets and liabilities and 
associated income statement line items

FY 2018

Basis for materiality 

£2.05m

5% of profit on ordinary activities before taxation 
attributable to shareholders of £40.9 million

£146.89m

1% of total assets of £14.69 million 

We consider profit before tax to be the 
most significant determinant of the 
Group’s financial performance used by 
shareholders. Based on the guidance 
on the audit of insurers issued in the 
United Kingdom issued by the Financial 
Reporting Council we have applied a 
higher materiality for the policyholder 
assets and liabilities, solely for the 
purpose of identifying and evaluating 
the effect of misstatements that are 
likely only to lead to a reclassification 
between line items within assets and 
liabilities. The entities manage 
investment linked assets on behalf of 
their clients (long-term insurance 
business). Any liability owed to its 
client is covered by the assets held by 
the entities and the investment return 
derived on the associated assets is 
offset by the change in provision for 

investment contract liabilities. 
Therefore using total assets is 
appropriate for determining this 
materiality level.

For each component in the scope  
of our group audit, we allocated a 
materiality that is less than our 
overall group materiality. 

Audits of the components were 
performed at a materiality level 
calculated by reference to a proportion 
of Group materiality appropriate to the 
relative scale of the business concerned. 

We agreed with the Audit Committee 
that we would report to the committee 
all individual audit differences identified 
during the course of our audit in 
excess of £41,000. For policyholder 
assets and liabilities and associated 
income statement line items we 
agreed with the Audit Committee that 
we would report to the committee all 
individual audit differences identified 
during the course of our audit in excess 
of £2.94 million. We also agreed to 
report differences below these 
thresholds that, in our view, warranted 
reporting on qualitative grounds.

For components out of scope of our 
Group audit and considered non-
significant, these components were 
principally subject to analytical review 
procedures, together with additional 
testing over audit risk areas.

There were no misstatements 
identified during the course of our 
audit that were individually, or in 
aggregate, considered to be material 
in terms of their absolute monetary 
value or on qualitative grounds.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    85

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

An overview of the scope  
of our audit

We carried out a full scope audit.  
Our audit approach was developed  
by obtaining an understanding of the 
Group’s activities and the overall 
control environment. Based on this 
understanding we assessed those 
aspects of the Group’s transactions 
and balances which were most likely 
to give rise to a material misstatement.

As part of designing our audit, we 
determined materiality and assessed 
the risks of material misstatement in 
the Financial Statements. In particular, 
we looked at where the Directors 
made subjective judgements. 

Seven of the components within  
the Group required an audit of their 
complete financial information. Of these, 
five components were considered 
financially significant as they each 
either contributed greater than 15% 
of the Group’s profit before tax, net 
assets or total expenses. The remaining 
two components required an audit 
due to Company law requirements. 

Of the in scope components, five 
components were audited by BDO 
LLP while two of the components 
were audited by KPMG, which 
contributed 55% of profit before tax. 

In respect of the two non-significant 
components, which contributed 3% 
of profit before tax, the Group audit 
team performed certain audit 
procedures over the financial 
information relevant to the 
consolidated Financial Statements. 

These procedures were performed to 
an appropriate level of materiality 
having regard to the level of Group 
materiality descripted above as well 
as aggregation risk. All significant 
components of the Group have 
conterminous year ends.

We gained an understanding of the 
legal and regulatory framework 
applicable to the Group and the 
industry in which it operates, and 

considered the risk of acts by the 
Group which were contrary to 
applicable laws and regulations, 
including fraud. These included but 
were not limited to compliance with 
Companies Act 2006, the FCA listing 
and Disclosure Transparency Rules 
(DTR), the principles of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code, industry 
practice represented by IFRS, as 
adopted by the European Union. 

We designed audit procedures to 
respond to the risk, recognising that 
the risk of not detecting a material 
misstatement due to fraud is higher 
than the risk of not detecting one 
resulting from error, as fraud may 
involve deliberate concealment by,  
for example, forgery, misrepresentations 
or through collusion. 

We focussed on laws and regulations 
that could give rise to a material 
misstatement in the Group Financial 
Statements. Our tests included,  
but were not limited to:

▪  agreement of the financial 

statement disclosures to underlying 
supporting documentation;

▪  enquiries of management;

▪  review of minutes of board meetings 

throughout the period; and

▪  considering the effectiveness of  

control environment in monitoring 
compliance with laws and regulations 

There are inherent limitations in the 
audit procedures described above 
and the further removed 
noncompliance with laws and 
regulations is from the events and 
transactions reflected in the Financial 
Statements, the less likely we would 
become aware of it. As in all of our 
audits we also addressed the risk of 
management override of internal 
controls, including testing journals 
and evaluating whether there was 
evidence of bias by the Directors that 
represented a risk of material 
misstatement due to fraud.

86    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Other information

The other information comprises 
the information included in the 
Annual Report, other than the 
Financial Statements and our 
auditor’s report thereon. The 
Directors are responsible for the 
other information. Our opinion on the 
Financial Statements does not cover 
the other information and, except to 
the extent otherwise explicitly stated 
in our report, we do not express any 
form of assurance conclusion 
thereon. In connection with our audit 
of the Financial Statements, our 
responsibility is to read the other 
information and, in doing so, consider 
whether the other information is 
materially inconsistent with the 
Financial Statements or our 
knowledge obtained in the audit or 
otherwise appears to be materially 
misstated. If we identify such 
material inconsistencies or apparent 
material misstatements, we are 
required to determine whether there 
is a material misstatement in the 
Financial Statements or a material 
misstatement of the other 
information. If, based on the work  
we have performed, we conclude that 
there is a material misstatement of 
the other information, we are 
required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

In this context, we also have nothing 
to report in regard to our responsibility 
to specifically address the following 
items in the other information and to 
report as uncorrected material 
misstatements of the other information 
where we conclude that those items 
meet the following conditions:

▪  Fair, balanced and understandable 

Group’s performance, business 
model and strategy, is materially 
inconsistent with our knowledge 
obtained in the audit; or

▪  Audit committee reporting  

set out on page 46 – The section 
describing the work of the Audit 
Committee does not appropriately 
address matters communicated by 
us to the Audit Committee; or

▪  Directors’ statement of compliance 
with the UK Corporate Governance 
Code set out on page 41 – The parts 
of the Directors’ statement required 
under the Listing Rules relating to 
the Company’s compliance with the 
UK Corporate Governance Code 
containing provisions specified for 
review by the auditor in accordance 
with Listing Rule 9.8.10R(2) do not 
properly disclose a departure from  
a relevant provision of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code.

Opinions on other  
matters prescribed by the 
Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, the part of the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report to be 
audited has been properly prepared 
in accordance with the Companies 
Act 2006.

In our opinion, based on the work 
undertaken in the course of the audit:

▪  the information given in the 

Strategic Report and the Directors’ 
Report for the financial year for 
which the Financial Statements are 
prepared is consistent with the 
Financial Statements and those 
reports have been prepared in 
accordance with applicable legal 
requirements;

set out on page 82 – By the 
Directors that they consider the 
Annual Report and Financial 
Statements taken as a whole is fair, 
balanced and understandable and 
provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the 

▪  the information about internal 
control and risk management 
systems in relation to financial 
reporting processes and about share 
capital structures, given in 
compliance with rules 7.2.5 and 
7.2.6 in the Disclosure Guidance 

and Transparency Rules sourcebook 
made by the Financial Conduct 
Authority (the FCA Rules), is 
consistent with the Financial 
Statements and has been prepared 
in accordance with applicable legal 
requirements; and

▪  information about the Company’s 
corporate governance code and 
practices and about its administrative, 
management and supervisory 
bodies and their committees 
complies with rules 7.2.2, 7.2.3  
and 7.2.7 of the FCA Rules.

Matters on which we are required 
to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and 
understanding of the Group and the 
parent company and its environment 
obtained in the course of the audit, 
we have not identified material 
misstatements in:

▪  the Strategic Report or the 

Directors’ Report; or

▪  the information about internal 
control and risk management 
systems in relation to financial 
reporting processes and about share 
capital structures, given in 
compliance with rules 7.2.5 and 
7.2.6 of the FCA Listing Rules.

We have nothing to report in respect 
of the following matters in relation to 
which the Companies Act 2006 requires 
us 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 and the part of the 
Directors’ remuneration report to be 
audited are not in agreement with the 
accounting records and returns; or

▪  certain disclosures of Directors’ 

remuneration specified by law are 
not made; or

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    87

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

▪  we have not received all the 

information and explanations we 
require for our audit; or

▪  a corporate governance statement 

has not been prepared by the 
parent company.

Responsibilities of Directors

As explained more fully in the 
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities 
set out on page 82, the Directors are 
responsible for the preparation of the 
Financial Statements and for being 
satisfied that they give a true and fair 
view, and for such internal control as 
the Directors determine is necessary 
to enable the preparation of Financial 
Statements that are free from 
material misstatement, whether due 
to fraud or error.

In preparing the Financial Statements, 
the Directors are responsible for 
assessing the Group’s and the 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 the 
Directors 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 for the 
audit of the Financial Statements

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 an auditor’s report that includes 
our opinion. Reasonable assurance is 
a high level of assurance, but is not a 
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 the 
aggregate, they could reasonably be 
expected to influence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis 
of these Financial Statements.

A further description of our 
responsibilities for the audit of the 
Financial Statements is located on 
the Financial Reporting Council’s 
website at: www.frc.org.uk/ 
auditorsresponsibilities.  
This description forms part of our 
auditor’s report.

88    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Other matters which we are 
required to address

Following the recommendation of the 
Audit Committee, we were appointed 
by the Board of Directors to audit  
the Financial Statements for the  
year ending 30 September 2011  
and subsequent financial periods.  
The period of total uninterrupted 
engagement is 8 years, covering the 
years ending 30 September 2011 to 
30 September 2018.

The non-audit services prohibited by 
the FRC’s Ethical Standard were not 
provided to the Group or the parent 
company and we remain independent 
of the Group and the parent company 
in conducting our audit.

Our audit opinion is consistent  
with the additional report to the  
Audit Committee.

Use of our report

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.

Neil Fung-On  
(Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of BDO LLP, 
Statutory Auditor

London

12 December 2018

BDO LLP is a limited liability partnership 
registered in England and Wales  
(with registered number OC305127).

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    89

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Revenue

Fee income

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Administrative expenses

Net income attributable to policyholder returns

Operating profit

Operating profit attributable to policyholder returns

Operating profit attributable to shareholder returns

Investment returns

Interest income

Profit on ordinary activities before taxation

Profit on ordinary activities before taxation  
attributable to policyholder returns

Profit on ordinary activities before taxation  
attributable to shareholder returns

Policyholder tax

Tax on profit on ordinary activities

Profit for the financial year

Other comprehensive income

Note

2018
£’000

2017
£’000

5

7

10

10

8

10

10

9

91,194

(824)

90,370

80,242

(599)

79,643

(49,683)

(42,837)

5,309

45,996

5,309

40,687

23

211

46,230

5,6071

42,413

5,607

36,806

-

178

42,591

5,309

5,607

40,921

36,984

(5,178)

(5,521)1

(8,146)

32,906

(7,181)

29,889

Exchange gains/(losses) arising on translation of foreign operations

Total other comprehensive income for the financial year

(66)

(66)

10

10

Total comprehensive income for the financial year

32,840

29,899

Earnings per share

Earnings per share – basic and diluted

All activities of the Group are classed as continuing.

1Restated see Note 10

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

90    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

6

9.9p

9.0p

 
COMPANY STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Administrative expenses

Operating loss

Dividend income

Interest income

Profit on ordinary activities before taxation

Tax on profit on ordinary activities

Profit for the financial year

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income for the financial year

All activities of the Company are classed as continuing.

Note

2018
£’000

2017
£’000

-

-

-

-

-

-

7

(3,377)

(3,377)

(1,015)

(1,015)

34

40,130

19,281

8

9

93

36,846

24

18,290

-

-

36,846

18,290

-

-

36,846

 18,290

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    91

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Non-current assets
Loans and receivables
Intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment
Deferred tax asset
Deferred acquisition costs

Current assets
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Other prepayments and accrued income
Trade and other receivables
Investments and cash held for the benefit of policyholders
Cash and cash equivalents

Current Liabilities
Trade and other payables
Liabilities for linked investment contracts
Current tax liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Provisions for liabilities 
Deferred income liability
Deferred tax liabilities

Net assets

Capital and reserves
Called up equity share capital
Capital redemption reserve
Share-based payment reserve
Foreign exchange reserve
Non-distributable reserves
Non-distributable insurance reserves
Profit or loss account
Total equity

Note

11
12
21
14

16
17
18
15

19
15

23
20
21

24 
25
26
27
28

2018
£’000

1,189
12,966
1,813
44
46,073
62,085

2017
£’000

1,873
12,986
1,858
50
38,295
55,062

6,219
11,471
4,058
14,489,933
116,849
14,628,530

8,895
10,202
1,456
11,947,6521
105,829
12,074,034

14,764
14,489,933
3,195
14,507,892

15,208
11,947,6521
2,803
11,965,663

19,137
46,073
12,570
77,780

11,831
38,295
10,781
60,907

104,943

102,526

3,313
2
530
(24)
5,722
501
94,899
104,943

57
2
308
42
5,722
501
95,894
102,526

These Financial Statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 12 December 2018 and are signed on their 
behalf by:

Ian Taylor, Director 
Company Registration Number: 08860879

1Reclassified from non-current to current

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

92    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

COMPANY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

Non-current assets
Investment in subsidiaries
Loans and receivables

Current assets
Prepayments
Other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables

Net assets

Capital and reserves
Called up equity share capital
Profit or loss account
Share-based payment reserve
Total equity

Note

13

15
18

19

24 

26

2018
£’000

14,563
1,189
15,752

33
52
26,309
26,394

723
723

2017
£’000

14,213
1,873
16,086

-
7
20,081
20,088

1,156
1,156

41,423

35,018

3,313
37,760
350
41,423

57
34,961
-
35,018

These Financial Statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 12 December 2018 and are signed on their 
behalf by:

Ian Taylor 
Director
Company Registration Number: 08860879

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    93

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

Cash flows from operating activities

Profit before tax

Adjustments for:

Amortisation and depreciation

Share-based payment charge

Interest on cash held

Investment returns

Increase in loans and receivables

2018
£’000

2017
£’000

46,230

44,889

608

350

(211)

(23)

(3,871)

571

-

(178)

-

(269)

Increase in investments and cash held for the benefit of policyholders

(2,542,281)

(631,181)

(Decrease)/increase in payables

Decrease in current asset investments

Increase in liabilities for linked investment contracts

(Decrease)/increase in provisions

(444)

2,676

2,542,281

9,101

920

81

631,181

(1,432)

Cash generated from operations

54,416

44,582

Income taxes paid

(12,932)

(13,684)

Net cash flows from operating activities

41,484

30,898

Investing activities

Acquisition of tangible assets

Decrease/(increase) in loans

Interest on cash held

Investment returns

Net cash used in investing activities

Financing activities

Equity dividends paid

Net cash used in financing activities

(542)

684

211

23

376

(434)

(1,873)

178

-

(2,129) 

(30,780)

(30,780)

(13,521)

(13,521)

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

11,080

15,248

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

105,829

90,571

Exchange gains/(losses) on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

(60)

10

116,849

105,829

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

94    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

Cash flows from operating activities

Profit before tax

Adjustments for:

Interest

Decrease/(increase) in loans and receivables

(Decrease)/increase in payables

2018
£’000

2017
£’000

36,846

18,290

(93)

(78)

(433)

(24)

1

769

Cash generated from operations

36,242

19,036

Investing activities

Interest received

Decrease/(increase) in loans

Net cash used in investing activities

Financing activities

Equity dividends paid

Net cash used in financing activities

93

684

777

24

(1,873)

(1,849) 

(30,791)

(30,791)

(13,528)

(13,528)

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

6,228

3,659

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

20,081

26,309

16,422

20,081

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    95

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Non 
distrib- 
utable 
reserves
£’000

Share 
capital
£’000

 Other 
reserves
£’000

Share-
based 
payment 
reserve
£’000

Non 
distrib- 
utable 
insurance 
reserves
£’000

Retained 
earnings
£’000

Total 
equity
£’000

Balance at 1 October 2016

57

5,722

34

308

501

79,622

86,244

Comprehensive income for  
the year:

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Other movement

Total comprehensive income 
for the year

Distributions to owners:

Dividends 

Total distributions to owners

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Balance at 1 October 2017

57

5,722

Comprehensive income for the 
year:

Profit for the year

Movement in currency translation

Total comprehensive income 
for the year

Distributions to owners:

Issue of share capital

Dividends 

Other movement

Total distributions to owners

Balance at 30 September 2018

-

-

-

3,256

-

-

3,256

3,313

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

10

-

10

-

-

44

-

(66)

(66)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

29,889

29,889

-

(96)

10

(96)

29,793

29,803

(13,521)

(13,521)

(13,521)

(13,521)

308

501

95,894

102,526

-

-

-

-

-

222

222

530

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

32,906

32,906

-

(66)

32,906

32,840

(3,256)

-

(30,780)

(30,780)

135

357

(33,901)

(30,423)

501

94,899

104,943

5,722

(22)

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

96    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

Share 
capital
£’000

Share 
premium
£’000

Capital 
redemption 
reserve
£’000

Share- 
based 
payment 
reserve
£’000

Balance at 1 October 2016

57

Comprehensive income for  
the year:

Profit for the year

Total comprehensive income 
for the year

Distributions to owners:

Dividends 

Total distributions to owners

-

-

-

-

Balance at 1 October 2017

57

Comprehensive income for  
the year:

Profit for the year

Total comprehensive income 
for the year

Distributions to owners:

Issue of share capital

Dividends 

Other movement

Total distributions to owners

Balance at 30 September 2018

-

-

3,256

-

-

3,256

3,313

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

350

350

350

Retained 
earnings
£’000

Total 
equity
£’000

614

671

18,290

18,290

18,290

18,290

(13,528)

(13,528)

(13,528)

(13,528)

34,961

35,018

36,846

36,846

36,846

36,846

(3,256)

-

(30,791)

(30,791)

-

350

(34,047)

(30,441)

37,760

41,423

Notes 1 to 34 form part of these Financial Statements

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    97

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.  Basis of preparation and significant accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation 

The Financial Statements have been prepared and approved by the Directors in accordance with Part 15 of the 
Companies Act 2006, Schedule 3 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) 
Regulations 2008 and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the EU. 

The Financial Statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, except for the revaluation of certain 
financial instruments, which are stated at their fair value, have been prepared in pound sterling, which is the 
functional currency of the Company and are rounded to the nearest thousand.

The Financial Statements have been prepared on a going concern basis following an assessment by the Directors.  
The Company has a net asset position, strong solvency position, is currently profitable and, based on the latest 
forecasts, expects to remain profitable. As a result, the Board has reasonable expectation that the Company has 
adequate resources to continue in operational existence from at least 12 months from the date of approving these 
Financial Statements. 

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated Financial Statements incorporate the Financial Statements of the Company and its subsidiaries. 
Where the Company has control over an investee, it is classified as a subsidiary. The Company controls an investee  
if all three of the following elements are present: power over the investee, exposure to variable returns from the 
investee, and the ability of the investor to use its power to affect those variable returns. Control is reassessed 
whenever facts and circumstances indicate that there may be a change in any of these elements of control. 

Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is obtained by the Company and are deconsolidated 
from the date that control ceases. Acquisitions are accounted for under the acquisition method. Intercompany 
transactions, balances, income and expenses, and profits and losses are eliminated. 

The Financial Statements of all of the wholly owned subsidiary companies are incorporated into the consolidated 
Financial Statements. Two of these subsidiaries, IntegraLife International Limited (ILInt) and IntegraLife UK Limited 
(ILUK) issue contracts with the legal form of insurance contracts, but which do not transfer significant insurance risk 
from the policyholder to the Company, and which are therefore accounted for as investment contracts. In accordance 
with IAS 39, the contracts concerned are therefore reflected in the consolidated statement of financial position as 
investments held for the benefit of policyholders, and a corresponding liability to policyholders.

b) Future standards, amendments to standards, and interpretations not early-adopted in the 2018 annual 

Financial Statements.

At the date of authorisation of these Financial Statements the following standards, amendments to standards, and 
interpretations, which are relevant to the Group, have been issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ 

IFRS 9 sets out requirements for recognising and measuring financial assets and financial liabilities, introduces a  
new expected loss model for recognising impairments and requires enhanced disclosures in the Financial Statements. 
This standard replaces IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. The Group will adopt IFRS 9  
on 1 October 2018.

(i) Reclassification and re-measurement

IFRS 9 contains a new classification and measurement approach for financial assets that reflects the business model 
in which the assets are managed and their cash flow characteristics.

Reclassification and re-measurement requirements have been assessed against the financial instruments of the Group 
and, whilst certain financial instruments will be reclassified in line with the new categories, no financial instruments 
are expected to require re-measurement.

98    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

The below table highlights the key financial instruments and their reclassifications:

Financial instrument

IAS 39 classification

IFRS 9 classification

Trade and other receivables

Loans and receivables

Accrued fees

Loans and receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Loans and receivables

Amortised cost

Amortised cost

Amortised cost

Investments in quoted  
debt instruments

Fair value through profit and loss

Fair value through profit and loss

Listed shares and securities

Fair value through profit and loss

Fair value through profit and loss

Trade and other payables

Amortised cost

Loans

Loans and receivables

Amortised cost

Amortised cost

(ii) Impairment model

IFRS 9 replaces the incurred loss model in IAS 39 with an expected credit loss model. For assets in the scope of the 
IFRS 9 impairment model, impairment losses are generally expected to increase and become more volatile. 
Management has performed a preliminary assessment of the impact of the transition to an expected loss model and, 
assuming the makeup of balances as at 30 September 2019 is similar to the balances as at 30 September 2018,  
do not expect any material lifetime expected credit losses to be recognised.

IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

The standard provides a comprehensive new model for revenue recognition. The Group will be required to disclose 
information about its contracts with customers, disaggregating information about recognised revenue and information 
about its performance obligations at the end of the reporting period. 

The Group will adopt IFRS 15 on 1 October 2018. An assessment of the impact of IFRS 15 has been conducted, 
covering annual commission, wrapper fee income, buy commission and dealing income. Consideration has been  
given to the following steps, as per the requirements of IFRS 15:

▪ Identify the contract with the customer;

▪ Identify the performance obligations in the contract;

▪ Determine the transaction price;

▪ Allocate the transaction price to the obligations in the contract;

▪ Recognise revenue when the entity has satisfied its performance obligations.

It is the view of management that the revenue recognition methods currently employed by the Group satisfy the 
requirements of IFRS 15. This is because the contract, performance obligations and transaction price for all revenue 
streams can be clearly identified in the Transact terms and conditions, and all revenue is currently recognised only 
after all performance obligations have been satisfied. No material impact is therefore expected on the Group on 
adoption of the standard.

IFRS 16 Leases

IFRS 16 brings most leases on-balance sheet for lessees under a single lessee accounting model, eliminating the 
distinction between operating and finance leases.

The Group will adopt IFRS 16 on 1 October 2019. The Group intends to use the cumulative catch-up method of 
transition, which uses the net effect of applying IFRS 16 on the first day of the first accounting period in which the 
new standard is applied. The net effect is recognised through an adjustment of retained earnings or other relevant 
parts of shareholder’s equity.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    99

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

An assessment of the impact of adopting the standard has been conducted, which indicates that on adoption the Group 
will recognise right of use assets of approximately £5.3m and lease liabilities of approximately £6.3m. This will lead to 
an immaterial reduction in retained earnings, which is the cumulative effect of recognising the asset and corresponding 
liability for each of the leases. This negative impact is caused by a change in the timings of expenses, as operating 
lease accounting requires straight line recognition of expenses, whereas under IFRS 16 the effective interest method 
is used. This means that the interest expense on the lease liability is higher at first and reduces year on year.  
The negative impact will therefore reverse over the lives of the leases.

IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts

IFRS 17 was issued in May 2017 and will replace IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts. IFRS 17 establishes the principles for 
the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of insurance contracts within the scope of the Standard. 
The Group would be required to provide information that faithfully represents those contracts, such that users of the 
Financial Statements can assess the effect insurance contracts have on the entity’s financial position, financial performance 
and cash flows. The standard is effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021, subject to  
EU endorsement.

The Group has performed a preliminary assessment regarding the impact of IFRS 17 on the Financial Statements and, 
due to all contracts written by the business being investment contracts, it is deemed such impact will be negligible.

c) Critical accounting estimates and judgements

Critical accounting estimates are those which involve the most complex or subjective judgements or assessments.  
The areas of the Group’s business that typically require such estimates are the determination of the fair value for 
financial assets, impairment charges, deferred acquisition costs, deferred fee income and deferred taxes. Each of 
these is discussed in more detail in the relevant accounting policies and notes to the Financial Statements.

d) Principal accounting policies

Revenue recognition

Revenue represents the fair value of services supplied by the Group. The main revenue streams comprise: charges 
levied on the acquisition of assets, due when transactions complete; annual commission levied on the value of assets 
and cash held on the platform, due at the end of each month; and an annual wrapper charge levied on certain 
wrapper types, due at the end of each quarter. Charges are levied on Portfolios as stated in the Transact Terms and 
Conditions. Revenue is recognised as follows:

Fee income

Fees charged for administrating investment contracts comprise fees taken both on inception and throughout the life of 
the contract. All fee income is recognised as revenue in line with the provision of the investment administration services.

Deferred acquisition costs and deferred income liabilities

Incremental costs directly attributable to securing investment contracts are deferred. These costs consist of fees paid 
to policyholder financial advisers. The costs are capitalised as deferred acquisition costs and are amortised as an 
expense over the Directors’ best estimate of the life of the contract which is deemed to be sixteen years, as the 
services are provided. Equal service provision is assumed over the lifetime of the contract and, as such, the deferred 
costs are amortised on a linear basis over the expected life of the contract, adjusted for expected persistency. 

A corresponding deferred income liability is recognised in respect of charges taken from customers of the Company  
at the contracts’ inception to meet obligations to financial advisers. Deferred income liabilities are also amortised over 
the Director’s best estimate of the life of the contract, which is again deemed to be sixteen years.

Investment income

Interest on cash and coupon on shareholder gilts are the two sources of investment income received. Interest income 
is accrued on a time basis, by reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective interest rate applicable, 
which is the rate that exactly discounts estimated future cash receipts through the expected life of the financial asset 
to that financial asset’s carrying amount.

100    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Investments

Fixed asset investments in subsidiaries are stated at cost less any provision for impairment.

Other investments comprise UK Government fixed interest securities backing insurance contracts or held as 
shareholder investments. All investments are classified as ‘fair value through profit or loss at initial recognition’ and 
are stated at quoted bid prices which equates to fair value, with any resultant gain or loss recognised in profit or loss. 
Purchases and sales of securities are recognised on the trade date.

Investment contracts – investments and cash held for the benefit of policyholders

Investment contracts are comprised of unit-linked contracts in ILInt and ILUK. Investment contracts result in financial 
liabilities whose fair value is dependent on the fair value of underlying financial assets. They are designated at 
inception as financial liabilities at ‘fair value through profit or loss’. 

Valuation techniques are used to establish the fair value at inception and each reporting date. The Company’s main 
valuation techniques incorporate all factors that market participants would consider and are based on observable 
market data. The financial liability is measured both initially and subsequently at fair value. The fair value of a 
unit-linked financial liability is determined using the fair value of the financial assets contained within the funds linked 
to the financial liability.

Dividends

Equity dividends are recognised in the accounting period in which the dividends are declared and approved  
by shareholders.

Liquid resources

For the purposes of the statement of cash flows, liquid resources are defined as current asset investments and  
short term deposits.

Intangible non-current assets

Intangible non-current assets, excluding goodwill, are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and comprise 
intellectual property software rights. Intellectual property rights are amortised over seven years on a straight line 
basis as it is considered that the code is replaced every seven years, and therefore has a finite useful life. Goodwill is 
held at cost and, in accordance with IFRS, is not amortised but is subject to annual impairment reviews.

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. 
Cost includes expenditures that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the asset. Subsequent costs are included 
in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that  
future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to the Company and the cost can be measured reliably. 
Repairs and maintenance costs are charged to the profit and loss and other comprehensive income statement during 
the period in which they are incurred.

The major categories of property, plant, equipment and motor vehicles are depreciated as follows:

Asset class

All UK entities

Australian entity

Short Leasehold Land and Buildings

Straight line over the life of the lease Straight line over 40 years

Fixtures & Fittings

Straight line over 10 years

Reducing balance over 2 to 8 years

Equipment

Motor vehicles

Straight line over 3 to 5 years

Reducing balance over 3 to 10 years

N/A

Reducing balance over 2 to 8 years

Residual values, method of depreciation and useful lives of the assets are reviewed annually and adjusted if appropriate.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    101

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Impairment of non-financial assets

Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are tested for impairment when events or changes in 
circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Recoverable amount is the higher of an 
asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use (being the present value of the expected future cash flows of the 
relevant asset).

The Company evaluates impairment losses for potential reversals when events or circumstances warrant such consideration.

Goodwill is tested for impairment annually, and once an impairment is recognised this cannot be reversed. For more 
detailed information in relation to this, please see note 11.

Pensions

The Group makes defined contributions to the personal pension schemes of its employees. These are chargeable to 
profit or loss in the year in which they become payable.

Foreign currencies

Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into the functional currency at the exchange rate in effect at the date 
of the transaction. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated to sterling at the year end closing 
rate. Non-monetary assets denominated in a foreign currency that are measured in terms of historical cost are 
translated using the exchange rate in effect at the date when the fair value was determined. Foreign exchange rate 
differences that arise are reported net in profit or loss as foreign exchange gains/losses.

The assets and liabilities of foreign operations are translated to sterling using the year end closing exchange rate.  
The revenues and expenses of foreign operations are translated to sterling at rates approximating the foreign 
exchange rates ruling at the relevant month of the transactions. Foreign exchange differences arising on retranslation 
are recognised directly in the reserves.

Taxation

The taxation charge is based on the taxable result for the year. The taxable result for the year is determined in accordance 
with enacted legislation and taxation authority practice for calculating the amount of corporation tax payable. 

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognised where the carrying amount of an asset or liability in the statement of 
financial position differs from its tax base. Recognition of deferred tax assets is restricted to those instances where it 
is probable that taxable profit will be available against which the difference can be utilised. 

The amount of the asset or liability is determined using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by 
the reporting date and are expected to apply when the deferred tax assets/liabilities are recovered/settled.

Segmental reporting

Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating 
decision-maker. The chief operating decision-maker is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance 
of the operating segments and has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

For the year ended 30 September 2018, the business of ILUK and ILInt was the direct insurance of investment linked 
pensions business, written by single premium in the United Kingdom, single premium life assurance linked bonds and 
linked qualifying investment plans written in the United Kingdom. Insurance risk is minimal as all contracts have been 
classed as investment contracts.

ILInt and ILUK policyholder assets and liabilities

Investments held for the benefit of policyholders are stated at fair value and reported on a separate line in the 
statement of financial position. The assets are classified using the ‘fair value through profit or loss’ option with any 
resultant gain or loss recognised through the income statement. Investments held for the benefit of policyholders also 
includes cash and cash equivalents held within policyholders’ portfolios of assets.

102    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Investment inflows received from policyholders are invested in funds selected by the policyholders. The resulting 
liabilities for linked investment contracts are accounted for under the ‘fair value through profit or loss’ option, in line 
with the corresponding assets as permitted by IAS 39. 

As all investments held for the benefit of policyholders are matched entirely by corresponding linked liabilities,  
any gain or loss on assets recognised through the income statement are offset entirely by the gains and losses on 
linked liabilities. The net impact on profit is therefore £nil.

Client assets and client monies

IFAL client assets and client monies are not recognised in the parent and consolidated statements of financial position 
(see Note 22) as they are owned by the clients of IFAL.

Operating lease agreements

Rental costs under operating leases are charged to the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income on 
a straight line basis over the term of the lease. Where an incentive to sign the lease has been taken, the incentive is 
spread on a straight line basis over the lease term. Details of the operating lease commitments are set out in Note 28.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances, call deposits, money market OEIC funds and other short-term 
deposits with an original maturity of three months or less. The carrying amount of these assets approximates to their 
fair value.

Financial instruments

Financial assets and liabilities are recognised when the Company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the 
instrument. Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the assets have expired or 
have been transferred and the Company has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership. Financial 
liabilities are derecognised when the obligation specified in the contract is discharged, cancelled or expires.

At initial recognition, the Company classifies its financial instruments in the following categories:

(i) Financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss

A financial asset or liability is classified in this category if acquired principally for the purpose of selling or repurchasing 
in the short-term.

Financial instruments in this category are recognised on the trade settlement date, and subsequently, at fair value. 
Purchases and sales of securities are recognised on the trade date. Transaction costs are expensed in the consolidated 
profit and loss and other comprehensive income statement. Gains and losses arising from changes in fair value are 
presented in the consolidated profit and loss and other comprehensive income statement within “administrative 
expenses” for corporate assets and “net income attributable to policyholder returns” for policyholder assets in the 
period in which they arise. Financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss are classified as current 
except for the portion expected to be realised or paid beyond twelve months of the balance sheet date, which are 
classified as long-term. 

(ii) Loans and receivables 

Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in 
an active market. The Company’s loans and receivables comprise accrued fees, trade and other receivables, loans and 
cash and cash equivalents. These are included in current assets due to their short-term nature, except for loans which 
are included in non-current assets. Loans and receivables are initially recognised at the amount expected to be 
received, less, when material, a discount to reduce the loans and receivables to fair value. Subsequently, loans and 
receivables are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method less any provisions for impairment.

(iii) Financial liabilities at amortised cost

Financial liabilities at amortised cost comprise trade and other payables. These are initially recognised at the amount 
required to be paid, less, when material, a discount to reduce the payables to fair value. Subsequently, trade payables 
are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. They are classified as current liabilities due to 
their short-term nature.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    103

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Provisions for liabilities

Provisions are recognised when the Company has an obligation, legal or constructive, as a result of a past event,  
and it is probable that the Company will be required to settle that obligation. Provisions are estimated at the Directors’ 
best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the obligation at the reporting date, and are discounted to present 
values where the effect is material.

Trade and other payables

Other payables are short-term, not interest-bearing and are stated at their amortised cost which is not materially 
different to cost and approximates to fair value.

Impairment of financial assets

At each reporting date, the Company assesses whether there is objective evidence that a financial asset (other than  
a financial asset classified as fair value through profit or loss) is impaired. A financial asset is only impaired if there is 
objective evidence of impairment as a result of one or more events that have occurred after the initial recognition of 
the asset (a ”loss event”) and that loss event (or events) has an impact on the estimated future cash flows of the 
receivable that can be reliably estimated.

The criteria used to determine objective evidence of an impairment loss include:

(i) significant financial difficulty of the obligor;

(ii) delinquencies in interest or principal payments; and

(iii) it becomes probable that the borrower will enter bankruptcy or other financial reorganisation.

For equity securities, a significant or prolonged decline in the fair value of the security below its cost is also evidence 
that the assets are impaired.

If such evidence exists, the Company recognises an impairment loss, as follows:

(i)  Financial assets carried at amortised cost: The loss is the difference between the amortised cost of the loan or 
receivable and the present value of the estimated future cash flows, discounted using the instrument’s original 
effective interest rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced by this amount and the amount of the loss is 
recognised in the profit or loss for the period.

Share-based payments

Equity-settled share-based payment awards granted to employees are measured at fair value at the date of grant. 
The awards are recognised as an expense, with a corresponding increase in equity, spread over the vesting period  
of the awards, which accords with the period for which related services are provided.  

Shares issued under the scheme may not be sold until the earlier of three years after issue or cessation of employment 
by the Group. If the shares are held for five years they may be sold free of income tax or capital gains tax. There are 
no other vesting conditions.

2.   Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In preparing these Financial Statements, management has made judgements, estimates and assumptions about  
the future that affect the application of the Group’s accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, 
income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to estimates are recognised 
prospectively.

104    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
Impairment of accrued fees pending

The Group has recognised an impairment of £32,493 (2017: £128,073) for accrued fees owed by customers.  
This comprises accrued fees that have not been received after three months, and also all fees due on portfolios that 
comprise only limited liquidity assets. Management believes, based on past experience, that these fees are unlikely to 
be received, and an impairment has therefore been recorded in the statement of profit or loss.

In addition to the above, an amount of £251,279 (2017: £192,103) relates to accrued fees that are past due but not 
impaired. Management believes that these fees are likely to be received, and an impairment is therefore not required. 

3 .  Financial instruments

(i) Principal financial instruments

The principal financial instruments, from which financial instrument risk arises, are as follows:

▪ Trade and other receivables

▪ Accrued fees

▪ Cash and cash equivalents

▪ Investments in quoted debt instruments

▪ Listed shares and securities

▪ Trade and other payables

▪ Loans

(ii) Financial instruments by category 

As explained in Note 1, financial assets and liabilities have been classified into categories that determine their basis of 
measurement and, for items measured at fair value, whether changes in fair value are recognised in the profit and 
loss and other comprehensive income statement. The following tables show the carrying values of assets and liabilities 
for each of these categories.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    105

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Financial assets:

Fair value through profit or loss

Amortised cost

30 Sep 
2018 
£’000

30 Sep 
2017 
£’000

30 Sep 
2018 
£’000

30 Sep 
2017 
£’000

Cash and cash equivalents

Listed shares and securities

Loans and receivables

-

48

-

-

83

-

Investments in quoted debt instruments

6,171

8,812

Accrued income

Trade and other receivables

Investments and cash held for the 
policyholders

-

-

-

-

116,849

105,829

-

1,189

-

8,857

1,159

-

1,873

-

7,951

1,456

Total financial assets

14,496,152

11,956,547

128,414

117,109

14,489,933

11,947,652

-

-

Financial liabilities:

Trade and other payables

Accruals

Fair value through profit or loss

Amortised cost

2018 
£’000

-

-

2017 
£’000

-

-

2018 
£’000

3,157

6,599

-

9,756

2017 
£’000

5,572

3,795

-

9,367

Liabilities for linked investments contracts

14,489,933

11,947,652

Total financial liabilities

14,489,933

11,947,652

(iii) Financial instruments not measured at fair value

Financial instruments not measured at fair value include cash and cash equivalents, accrued fees, loans, trade and other 
receivables, and trade and other payables. Due to their short-term nature and/or annual impairment review, the carrying 
value of these financial instruments approximates their fair value. 

(iv) Financial instruments measured at fair value – fair value hierarchy

The table below classifies financial assets that are recognised on the statement of financial position at fair value in a 
hierarchy that is based on significance of the inputs used in making the measurements. The levels of hierarchy are 
disclosed on the next page.

Investments held for the benefit of policyholders are stated at fair value and reported on a separate line in the statement 
of financial position. The assets are classified using the ‘fair value through profit or loss’ option with any resultant gain or 
loss recognised through the income statement. 

Assets held at fair value also comprises investments held in gilts, and these are held at fair value through profit and loss.

The following table shows the Group’s assets measured at fair value and split into the three levels described below: 

▪  Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets; 

▪  Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset either directly  

(i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices); and

▪  Level 3: inputs for the asset that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

106    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

(v) Capital maintenance

The regulated companies in IntegraFin Group are subject to capital requirements imposed by the relevant regulators. 
As detailed in the CFOR, Group capital requirements for 2018 were £179.7 million (2017: £166.6 million *). 

The Group has complied with the requirements set by the regulators during the year. The Group’s policy for managing 
capital is to ensure each regulated entity maintains capital well above the minimum requirement.

(*includes ILInt estimate based on rules that came in to force in 2018 to enable comparison).

2018
Investments and assets held for the 
benefit of policyholders
Policyholder cash
Investments and securities
Bonds and other fixed-income securities
Holdings in collective investment schemes

Other investments
Total

2017
Investments and assets held for the 
benefit of policyholders
Policyholder cash
Investments and securities
Bonds and other fixed-income securities
Holdings in collective investment schemes

Other investments
Total

Level 1 valuation methodology

Level 1
£’000

Level 2
£’000

Level 3
£’000

Total
£’000

1,115,223
394,768
14,167
12,684,265
14,208,423
6,219
14,214,642

Level 1
£’000

1,091,744
351,308
12,378
10,260,975
11,716,405
8,895
11,725,300

-
127,537
504
141,279
269,320
-
269,320

Level 2
£’000

-
94,521
399
132,113
227,033
-
227,033

-
2,655
14
9,521
12,190
-
12,190

Level 3
£’000

-
1,541
5
2,668
4,214
-
4,214

1,115,223
524,960
14,685
12,835,065
14,489,933
6,219
14,496,152

Total
£’000

1,091,744
447,370
12,782
10,395,756
11,947,652
8,895
11,956,547

Financial assets included in Level 1 are measured at fair value using quoted mid prices that are available at the 
reporting date and are traded in active markets. These financial assets are mainly collective investment schemes  
and listed equity instruments.

Level 2 and Level 3 valuation methodology

The Group regularly reviews whether a market is active, based on available market data and the specific 
circumstances of each market. Where the Group assesses that a market is not active, then it applies one or more 
valuation methodologies to the specific financial asset. These valuation methodologies use quoted market prices 
where available, and may in certain circumstances require the Group to exercise judgement to determine fair value.

Financial assets included in Level 2 are measured at fair value using observable mid prices traded in markets that 
have been assessed as not active enough to be included in Level 1.

Otherwise, financial assets are included in Level 3. These are assets where one or more inputs to the valuation 
methodology are not based on observable market data. The key unobservable input is the pre-tax operating margin 
needed to price asset holdings. 

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    107

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Level 3 sensitivity to changes in unobservable measurements

For financial assets assessed as Level 3, based on its review of the prices used, the Company believes that any 
change to the unobservable inputs used to measure fair value would not result in a significantly higher or lower fair 
value measurement at year end, and therefore would not have a material impact on its reported results.

Changes to valuation methodology

There have been no changes in valuation methodology during the year under review. 

Transfers between Levels

The Company’s policy is to assess each financial asset it holds at the current financial year end, based on the last 
known price and market information, and assign it to a Level. 

The Company recognises transfers between Levels of the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period in 
which the changes have occurred. Changes occur due to the availability of (or lack thereof) quoted prices, whether a 
market is now active or not, and whether there are indications of impairment.

Transfers between Levels between 30 September 2018 and 30 September 2017 are presented in the table below at 
their valuation at 30 September 2018:

Transfers from

Transfers to

Level 1

Level 2

Level 2

Level 1

The reconciliation between opening and closing balances of Level 3 assets are presented in the table below:

Opening balance

Unrealised gains or losses in the year ended 30 September 2018

Transfers in to Level 3 at 30 September 2018 valuation

Transfers out of Level 3 at 30 September 2018 valuation

Purchases, sales, issues and settlement

Closing balance

 £’000 

16,153

19,172

£’000

4,214

(737)

8,644

(173)

242

12,190

Any resultant gains or losses on financial assets held for the benefit of policyholders are offset by a reciprocal 
movement in the linked liability.

4.  Risk and risk management

This note supplements the details provided in the Risk and Risk Management section of this report on pages 25 to 34.

Risk assessment

Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative values and/or qualitative judgements of risk related to a concrete 
situation and a recognised threat. Quantitative risk assessment requires calculations of two components of risk,  
the magnitude of the potential impact, and the likelihood that the risk materialises. There are also qualitative aspects 
that are more difficult to express quantitatively, but are still taken into account in order to fully evaluate the impact of 
the risk on the organisation.

(1) Market risk

Description of risk

Market risk is the risk of loss arising either directly or indirectly from fluctuations in the level and in the volatility of 
market prices of assets, liabilities and other financial instruments.

108    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Market risk from reduced income

The Company’s dividend income from its regulated subsidiary IFAL is exposed to market risk. IFAL’s main source  
of income is derived from annual management fees and transaction fees which are linked to the value of the 
clients’ portfolios.

A 1% change in market risk would have an immaterial impact on income.

IFAL mitigates the second order market risk by applying fixed per policy charges in addition to the charges determined 
based on clients’ linked portfolio values, offering an element of diversification to its income stream.

Market risk from direct asset holdings

The Company has limited exposure to primary market risk as its capital is invested in high quality, highly liquid,  
short-dated investments.

(a) Interest rate risk

The Company’s balance sheet and capital requirements are relatively insensitive to first order impacts from 
movements in interest rates. 

(b) Currency risk

The Company is not directly exposed to significant currency risk.

(c) Inflation risk

The Company has exposure related to expense inflation risk, where actual inflation deviates from expectations.  
The Company has no exposures to defined benefit staff pension schemes or client related index linked liabilities.

Expense inflation risk is mitigated through monitoring of expenditure and closely managing expenses in line with  
the business plan. 

(2) Credit (counterparty default) risk

Credit risk is the risk that the Company is exposed to a loss if another party fails to meet its financial obligations.  
For the Company, the exposure to counterparty default risk arises primarily from loans directly held by the Company.

Counterparty default risk exposure to loans

The Company has loans of £1,189k (2017: £1,873k).

Counterparty default risk exposure to Group companies

As well as inconvenience and operational issues arising from the failure of the other Group companies, there is also a 
risk of a loss of assets. The Company is due £52k (2017: £7k) from other Group companies.

Counterparty default risk exposure to other debtors

The Company has prepayments of £33k (2017: nil).

The Company has no other debtors arising, due to the nature of its business, and the structure of the Group.

Impact of credit risk on fair value

Due to the limited direct exposure that the Company has to credit risk, credit risk does not have a material impact  
on the fair value movement of financial instruments for the year under review. The fair value movements on these 
instruments are predominantly due to changes in market conditions.

(3) Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is the risk that funds are not accessible such that the Company, although solvent, does not have sufficient 
liquid financial resources to meet obligations as they fall due, or can secure such resources only at excessive cost.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    109

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

As a holding company, the Company’s main liquidity risk is related to paying out shareholder dividends and operating 
expenses it may incur. Additionally, the Company has made short term commitments, in the form of a capped facility 
arrangement, to Vertus Capital SPV1 Limited (“Vertus”) (as one of Vertus’ sources of funding) to assist Vertus in 
developing its business, which is to provide tailored niche debt facilities to adviser firms to fund acquisitions, 
management buy-outs and other similar transactions.

There are robust controls in place to mitigate liquidity risk, for example, through regular monitoring of expenditure,  
closely managing expenses in line with the business plan, and, in the case of the Vertus facility, capping the value of loans.

Maturity schedule

The following table shows an analysis of the financial assets and financial liabilities by remaining expected maturities 
as at 30 September 2017 and 30 September 2018.

Financial assets:

2017

Investments and cash held  
for the policyholders

Investments

Accrued income

Trade and other receivables

Loans

Cash

Total

2018

Investments and cash held  
for the policyholders

Investments

Accrued income

Trade and other receivables

Loans

Cash

Total

Up to  
3 months
£’000

3-12 
 months
£’000

1-5  
years
£’000

Over  
5 years
£’000

11,947,652 

-

-

8,812

7,906

1,557

-   

105,829 

-

20

-

-

-

-

7

-

1,040

-

-

-

-

-

833

-

Total
£’000

11,947,652

8,812 

7,913

1,577

1,873

105,829 

12,062,944 

8,832 

1,047 

833  12,073,656 

Up to  
3 months
£’000

3-12 
months
£’000

1-5  
years
£’000

Over  
5 years
£’000

14,489,933

-

-

6,219

8,857

1,462

-

116,849

-

50

-

-

-

-

-

7

1,189

-

14,617,101

6,269

1,196

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Total
£’000

14,489,933

6,219

8,857

1,519

1,189

116,849

14,624,566

110    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

 
Financial liabilities:

2017

Liabilities for linked investment 
contracts

Trade and other payables

Total

2018

Up to  
3 months
£’000

3-12 
months
£’000

1-5  
years
£’000

Over  
5 years
£’000

Total
£’000

11,947,652 

6,837 

11,954,489

-

2,530

2,530 

-

-

- 

-

-

11,947,652 

9,367 

-  11,957,019 

Up to  
3 months
£’000

3-12 
months
£’000

1-5
years
£’000

Over  
5 years
£’000

Total
£’000

Liabilities for linked investment 
contracts

Trade and other payables

Total

14,489,933

6,567

14,496,500

-

3,188

3,188

-

-

-

-

-

-

14,489,933

9,756

14,499,689

Financial assets held in portfolio investments and the corresponding liabilities are deemed to have a maturity of up 
three months since the liabilities are repayable on demand. In practice the contractual maturities of the underlying 
assets may be longer than three months, but the majority of assets held within portfolios are highly liquid.

(4) Outflow risk

Outflows occur when funds are withdrawn from the platform for any reason. Outflows typically occur where clients’ 
circumstances and requirements change. However, these outflows can also be triggered by operational failure, 
competitor actions or external events such as regulatory or economic changes.

Outflow risk is mitigated by focussing on providing exceptionally high levels of service. Outflow rates are closely 
monitored and unexpected experience is investigated. Despite the current challenging and uncertain economic and 
geopolitical environment, outflow rates remain low and stable.

(5) Expense risk

Expense risk arises where costs increase faster than expected or from one-off expense “shocks”. As a significant 
percentage of the Group’s expenses are staff related the key inflationary risk arises from salary inflation.

The Group’s expenses are governed at a high level by the Group’s Expense Policy. The monthly management accounts 
are reviewed against projected future expenses by the Board and by senior management and action is taken where 
appropriate. 

5.  Segmental reporting

The revenue and profit before tax are attributable to activities carried out in the UK. 

The Group has two classes of business as follows:

▪ provision of investment administrations services

▪ transaction of ordinary long-term insurance and underwriting life assurance.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    111

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Analysis by class of business is given below:

Revenue

Investment administration services

Insurance and life assurance business

Profit before tax

Investment administration services

Insurance and life assurance business

Net assets

Investment administration services

Insurance and life assurance business

2018
£’000

48,833

42,361

91,194

18,700

27,530

46,230

57,857

47,086

2017
£’000

44,019

36,223

80,242

17,224

25,367

42,591

51,176

51,350

104,943

102,526

The figures above comprise the results of the companies that fall directly into each segment, as well as a proportion 
of the results from the other Group companies that only provide services to the revenue-generating companies.  
This therefore has no effect on revenue, but has an effect on the profit before tax and net assets figures. 

Management has reviewed the classes of business and has determined that, as the provision of consultancy services 
does not generate revenue that is external to the Group, this should not be classified as a separate class of business. 
The profit before tax and net assets relating to this have therefore been included within the revenue-generating 
classes of business on a proportionate basis, for both the current year and the comparative period.

6.  Earnings per share

Profit

2018

2017

Profit for the year and earnings used in basic and diluted earnings per share

£32.9m

£29.9m

Number of shares

Number of shares used in basic and diluted earnings per share

331.3m

331.3m

Earnings per share

Earnings per share – basic and diluted

9.9p

9.0p

On 2 March 2018, as part of the IntegraFin Holdings plc listing process, a bonus share issue occurred resulting in the 
number of shares in issue increasing from 1,137,278 to 331,322,014. The nominal value of each share was also 
reduced through the bonus share issue process, from £0.05 to £0.01. The calculation of earnings per share for the 
current and comparative period presented has been adjusted retrospectively to reflect the new share structure.

Earnings per share is calculated based on the share capital of IntegraFin Holdings plc and the earnings of the 
consolidated Group. 

112    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

7.  Expenses by nature

The following expenses are included within administrative expenses:

Group

Depreciation

Amortisation

Wages and employee benefits expense

Other staff costs

Auditor’s remuneration:

-  auditing of the Financial Statements of the Company pursuant to the legislation

- auditing of the Financial Statements of subsidiaries 

- other assurance services

Other Auditor’s remuneration:

- auditing of the Financial Statements of subsidiaries

- other assurance services

Other professional fees

Regulatory fees

Impairment losses

Operating lease costs:

- Land and buildings

- Equipment

Other occupancy costs

Other costs

Total administrative expenses

Company

Wages and employee benefits expense

Other staff costs

Auditor’s remuneration:

-  auditing of the Financial Statements of the Company pursuant to the legislation

- other assurance services

Other professional fees

Regulatory fees

Other costs

Total administrative expenses

2018
£’000

588

20

34,282

704

49

84

90

146

141

4,183

2,058

32

2,044

9

1,580

3,673

2017
£’000

551

20

30,036

484

25

81

73

114

115

2,322

1,755

128

2,090

8

1,409

3,626

49,683

42,837

2018
£’000

523

141

49

16

2,298

19

332

3,377

2017
£’000

94

5

25

-

720

-

171

1,015

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    113

 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Wages and employee benefits expense

The average number of staff (including Executive Directors) employed by the Group during the financial year 
amounted to:

CEO

Client services

Finance 

Legal and compliance staff

Sales, marketing and product development staff

Software development staff

Technical and support staff

The Company has no employees (2017: nil).

2018
No.

1

232

59

29

41

92

53

2017
No.

1

201

54

25

37

84

49

507

451

Staff (including Executive Directors) costs during the year, included within administrative expenses, were as follows:

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Other pension costs

Share-based payment

2018
£’000

28,296

3,074

2,562

350

2017
£’000

25,474

2,268

2,294

-

34,282

30,036

Compensation of key management personnel

Key management personnel are defined as those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing 
and controlling the activities of the entity and as such, only Directors are considered to meet this definition. 

Short term employee benefits

Post employment benefits

Other benefits

Highest paid Director:

Short term employee benefits 

Other benefits

Post employment benefits

Number of Directors for whom pension contributions are paid

2018
£’000

2,130

41

48

2017
£’000

1,645

37

39

2,092

1,682

584

48

11

2

505

-

8

3

114    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

8.  Interest income

Interest income on bank deposits
Interest income on loans
Interest income on financial assets at 
fair value through profit or loss
Other interest

9.  Tax on profit on ordinary activities

Group

a) Analysis of charge in year

The income tax expense comprises:

Group
2018
£’000
129
82

-
-
211

Company
2018
£’000
11
82

-
-
93

Group
2017
£’000
64
16

98
-
178

Company
2017
£’000
8
16

-
-
24

Corporation Tax
Corporation Tax – (over)/under-provision in prior year

Movement in deferred tax asset (Note 21)
Movement in deferred tax liability (Note 20)
Deferred tax charge/(credit)
Total

b) Factors affecting tax charge for the year

2018
£’000
8,173
(33)
8,140

6
-
6
8,146

2017
£’000
7,234
9
7,243

(50)
(12)
(62)
7,181

The tax on the Group’s profit before tax differs from the amount that would arise using the weighted average tax rate 
applicable to profits of the consolidated entities as follows:

Profit on ordinary activities before tax
Less: policyholder tax
Effect of gross overseas withholding tax

Profit on ordinary activities multiplied by effective rate of Corporation Tax 19% 
(2017: 19.5%)
Deferred tax charge/(credit) (see Note 21)
Effects of:
Non-taxable dividends
Income/expenses not taxable/deductible for tax purposes multiplied by 
effective rate of Corporation Tax
Profits not taxable, multiplied by effective rate of Corporation Tax 19%  
(2017: 19.5%)
Corporation Tax – under/(over) provision in the prior year
Overseas tax
Profits charged at different rates to UK Corporation Tax rate

2018
£’000
46,230
(5,178)
(133)
40,919

7,775
6

(106)

597

(306)
(75)
133
122
8,146

2017
£’000
42,591
(5,521)
(109)
36,961

7,207
(50)

(91)

233

(292)
8
109
57
7,181

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    115

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Changes in tax rates

The main rate of UK Corporation Tax reduced from 20% to 19% with effect from 1 April 2017 and will reduce to 17% 
with effect from 1 April 2020. The reduction in Corporation Tax rates does not impact on the policyholder rate.

Company

a) Analysis of charge in year

Deferred tax charge/(credit) (see Note 21)

Total

b) Factors affecting tax charge for the year

Profit on ordinary activities before tax

2018
£’000

-

-

2018
£’000

36,846

2017
£’000

-

-

2017
£’000

18,290

Profit on ordinary activities multiplied by effective rate of Corporation Tax 19% 
(2017: 19.5%)

7,001

3,567

Effects of:

Non-taxable dividends

Income/expenses not taxable/deductible for tax purposes multiplied by 
effective rate of Corporation Tax

Group loss relief to ISL

10. Policyholder income and expenses - Group

Net income attributable to policyholder returns
Policyholder tax charge

(7,625)

(3,760)

468

156

-

2018
£’000
5,309
(5,178)

167

26

-

2017
£’000
5,607
(5,521)

This relates to income and expenses, and the associated tax charges, on policyholder assets and liabilities.  
As any gains and losses on assets are offset entirely by the gains and losses on linked liabilities, the net impact  
on profit is £nil. The remaining difference relates to the overseas tax charge and the movement on policyholder 
deferred tax, which are included within the shareholder tax charge in the statement of profit or loss and other 
comprehensive income.

The comparative figures for 2017 for both net income attributable to policyholder returns and policyholder tax charge, 
have been restated to deduct £2,298k in order to correct the deferred tax provision included in both numbers.  
The net effect on profit for the financial year and net assets is zero.

116    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

11. Intangible assets - Group

Cost

At 1 October 2017

At 30 September 2018

Amortisation

At 1 October 2017

Charge for the year

At 30 September 2018

Net Book Value

At 30 September 2017

At 30 September 2018

Cost

At 1 October 2016

At 30 September 2017

Amortisation

At 1 October 2016

Charge for the year

At 30 September 2017

Net Book Value

At 30 September 2016

At 30 September 2017

Software and 
IP rights

£’000

12,505

12,505

12,470

20

12,490

35

15

£’000

12,505

12,505

12,450

20

12,470

Goodwill

£’000

12,951

12,951

-

-

-

12,951

12,951

£’000

12,951

12,951

-

-

-

Total

£’000

25,456

25,456

12,470

20

12,490

12,986

12,966

£’000

25,456

25,456

12,450

20

12,470

55

35

12,951

12,951

13,006

12,986

Amortisation of intangibles is recognised within administrative expenses in the profit or loss account.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    117

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

Goodwill impairment assessment

The Group is required to test, on an annual basis, whether goodwill has suffered any impairment. The recoverable 
amount is determined based on value in use calculations. The use of this method requires the estimation of future 
cash flows and the determination of a discount rate in order to calculate the present value of the cash flows.

The goodwill relates to the acquisition of IAD Pty in July 2016.

The carrying amount of goodwill is allocated to the two cash generating units that are benefitting from the acquisition 
as follows:

Investment administration services

Insurance and life assurance business

Total

Other assumptions are as follows:

Discount rate

Period on which detailed forecasts are based

2018
£’000

7,314

5,637

2017
£’000

7,450

5,501

12,951

12,951

2018

4.5%

5 years

2017

4.4%

5 years

The recoverable amounts of the above cash generating units have been determined from value in use calculations 
based on cash flow projections from formally approved budgets covering a five year period to 30 September 2023. 
The results of this showed that no impairment has taken place throughout the historical financial period.

No sensitivity analysis has been performed on the basis that there were no reasonable foreseeable changes in the 
assumptions which would result in the recoverable amount falling below the carrying amount.

118    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

12. Property, plant and equipment – Group

Short 
Leasehold 
Land and 
Buildings

Equipment

Fixtures and 
Fittings

Motor 
Vehicles

£’000

£’000

Cost

At 1 October 2017

Additions

Disposals

Foreign exchange

At 30 September 2018

Depreciation

At 1 October 2017

Charge in the year

Disposals

Foreign exchange

At 30 September 2018

Net Book Value

At 30 September 2017

At 30 September 2018

Cost

At 1 October 2016

Reclassification

Additions

Disposals

Foreign exchange

At 30 September 2017

Depreciation

At 1 October 2016

Reclassification

Charge in the year

Disposals

Foreign exchange

£’000

1,708

42

-

(19)

1,731

680

164

-

(2)

841

1,028

889

£’000

1,615

-

95

-

(2)

£’000

2,072

502

(85)

(28)

2,462

1,433

379

(85)

(20)

1,707

639

755

£’000

1,613

307

208

(50)

(6)

263

2

(57)

-

208

165

22

(57)

-

130

98

77

£’000

553

(307)

17

-

-

1,708

2,072

263

525

-

155

-

-

902

214

356

(35)

(4)

356

(214)

23

-

-

Total

£’000

4,143

571

(142)

(52)

4,520

2,285

588

(142)

(23)

2,707

1,858

1,813

£’000

3,882

-

363

(93)

(9)

4,143

1,810

-

551

(72)

(4)

2,285

2,072

1,858

100

26

-

(5)

120

7

23

-

-

29

93

91

£’000

101

-

43

(43)

(1)

100

27

-

17

(37)

-

7

74

93

At 30 September 2017

680

1,433

165

Net Book Value

At 30 September 2016

At 30 September 2017

1,090

1,028

711

639

197

98

The Company holds no property, plant and equipment.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    119

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total
£’000

14,213

350

14,563

14,213

14,563

Total

£’000

14,213

14,213

14,213

14,213

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

13. Investment in subsidiaries

Company

At 1 October 2017

Additions (note 30)

At 30 September 2018

Net Book Value

At 30 September 2017

At 30 September 2018

At 1 October 2016

At 30 September 2017

Depreciation

Net Book Value

At 30 September 2016

At 30 September 2017

120    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

Name of Company

Holding

% Held

Incorporation 
and significant 
place of business Business

Direct holdings

Integrated Financial Arrangements Ltd

Ordinary Shares

100% 

United Kingdom

IntegraFin Services Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Transact IP Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Integrated Application Development Pty Ltd Ordinary Shares

100%

Australia

Investment 
Administration

Services 
Company

Software 
provision & 
development

Software 
maintenance

Objective Asset Management Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Dormant

Indirect holdings

IntegraFin Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Non-trading

Transact Nominees Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Non-trading

IntegraLife UK Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Life Insurance

IntegraLife International Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

Isle of Man

Life Assurance

ObjectMastery (UK) Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Consultancy

Objective Funds Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Dormant

Objective Wealth Management Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Dormant

IntegraFin (Australia) Pty Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

Australia

Non-trading

Transact Trustees Limited

Ordinary Shares

100%

United Kingdom

Non-trading

The Group has 100% voting rights on shares held in each of the subsidiary undertakings.

All the UK subsidiaries have their registered office address at 29 Clement’s Lane, London, EC4N 7AE. IntegraLife 
International Limited’s registered office address is at 18-20 North Quay, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 4LE. IntegraFin 
(Australia) Pty’s registered office address is at Level 4, 854 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia 3122. 
Integrated Application Development Pty Ltd’s registered office address is 19-25 Camberwell Road, Melbourne, Australia.

The above subsidiaries have all been included in the consolidated Financial Statements. The results of IntegraLife 
International Limited and IntegraLife UK Limited are included as described in the basis of consolidation accounting 
policy in note 1.

Integrated Financial Arrangements Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The principal 
activity of the Company and its subsidiaries is the provision of ‘Transact’, a wrap service that arranges and executes 
transactions between clients, their financial advisers and financial product providers including investment managers 
and stockbrokers.

IntegraFin Services Limited (ISL), is the Group services company. All intra-group service contracts are held by this 
services company.

Integrated Application Development Pty Ltd (IAD Pty) provides software maintenance services to the Group.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    121

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

IntegraFin Limited is the trustee of the IntegraSIP Share Incentive Plan, which was set up to allocate Class C Shares 
in the capital of the Company to staff. IntegraFin Limited undertakes no other activities.

Transact Nominees Limited holds customer assets as a nominee company on behalf of Integrated Financial 
Arrangements Ltd.

IntegraFin (Australia) Pty Limited is currently non-trading.

Transact IP Limited licenses its proprietary software to other members of the IntegraFin Group.

IntegraLife UK Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct 
Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Its principal activity is the transaction of ordinary long-term 
insurance business within the United Kingdom.

IntegraLife International Limited is authorised and regulated by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and its 
principal activity is the transaction of ordinary long-term insurance business within the United Kingdom through the 
Transact Offshore Bond.

14. Deferred acquisition costs

Opening balance

Capitalisation of deferred acquisition costs

Amortisation of deferred acquisition costs

Change in deferred acquisition costs

Closing balance

2018
£’000

38,295

14,836

(7,058)

7,778

46,073

2017
£’000

31,792

12,950

(6,447)

6,503

38,295

122    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

15. Investments and cash held for the benefit of policyholders

ILInt

Cash and cash equivalents held for the 
benefit of the policyholder

Investments held for the benefit of the 
policyholder

ILUK

Cash and cash equivalents held for the 
benefit of the policyholder

Investments held for the benefit of the 
policyholder

2018
Cost
£’000

2018
Fair value
£’000

2017
Cost
£’000

2017
Fair value
£’000

83,494

83,494

74,565

74,565

1,124,244

1,324,860

985,912

1,175,098

1,207,738

1,408,354

1,060,477

1,249,663

1,029,957

1,029,957

1,014,314

1,014,314

10,249,290

12,051,622

8,049,078

9,683,675

11,279,247

13,081,579

9,063,392

10,697,989

Total

14,489,933

11,947,652

All amounts are current as customers are able to make same-day withdrawal of available funds and transfers to  
third-party providers are generally performed within a month. The 2017 comparatives were reclassified on the 
Statement of Financial Position from non-current assets to current assets to better reflect the nature of the assets.

These assets are held to cover the liabilities for unit linked investment contracts. All contracts with customers are 
deemed to be investment contracts and, accordingly, assets are 100% matched to corresponding liabilities.

16. Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

Listed shares and securities

Gilts

Investments are all UK and sterling based and held at fair value.

17. Other prepayments and accrued income

Group 
30 Sep 2018 
£’000

Group
30 Sep 2017
£’000

48

6,171

6,219

83

8,812

8,895

Accrued income

Prepayments

Group
30 Sep 2018
£’000

Company
30 Sep 2018
£’000

Group
30 Sep 2017
£’000

Company
30 Sep 2017
£’000

8,857

2,614

11,471

-

33

33

7,951

2,251

10,202

-

-

-

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    123

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

18. Trade and other receivables

Amounts owed by Group undertakings

Interest receivable

Other receivables

19. Trade and other payables

Trade payables

PAYE and other taxation

Amounts due to Group undertakings

Other payables

Accruals and deferred income

20. Deferred income liability

Opening balance

Capitalisation of deferred income

Amortisation of deferred income

Change in deferred acquisition costs

Closing balance

Group
Sep 2018
£’000

Company
Sep 2018
£’000

Group
Sep 2017
£’000

Company
Sep 2017
£’000

-

-

4,058

4,058

52

-

-

52

-

5

1,451

1,456

7

-

-

7

Group
Sep 2018
£’000

Company
Sep 2018
£’000

Group
Sep 2017
£’000

Company 
Sep 2017 
£’000

129

1,301

-

6,712

6,622

14,764

6

44

367

50

256

723

265

1,229

-

7,259

6,455

15,208

2018
£’000

38,295

14,836

(7,058)

7,778

46,073

-

31

11

21

1,093

1,156

2017
£’000

31,792

12,950

(6,447)

6,053

38,295

124    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

21. Deferred tax

Deferred tax is calculated in full on temporary differences under the liability method using a tax rate of 19% (2017: 19%). 

Liabilities - Group

Balance brought forward

Release in year at 19% (2017: 19%) future corporation tax rate in respect of:

- Accelerated depreciation

Deferred tax (credit)/charge

Movement in policyholder tax

Balance carried forward 

Analysed as:

- Policyholder deferred tax

The Company has no deferred tax liabilities.

Assets – Group

Balance brought forward

Release in year at 19% (2017: 19%) future corporation tax rate in respect of:

2018
£’000

2017
£’000

10,781

8,495

-

-

(12)

(12)

1,789

12,570

2,298

10,781

12,570

12,570

10,781

10,781

2018
£’000

2017
£’000

50

(6)

44

-

50

50

Accelerated depreciation

Balance carried forward

22. Client monies and client assets

2018

Client monies

Client assets

2017

Client monies

Client assets

£’000

2,356,438

Amounts due to clients

30,756,997

Corresponding liability

£’000

2,297,792

Amounts due to clients

25,629,954

Corresponding liability

£’000

2,356,438

30,759,997

£’000

2,297,792

25,629,954

The above client monies are held separately in client bank accounts which are excluded from the Company’s net 
current assets. In addition, as the above client assets are held on behalf of Integrated Financial Arrangements Ltd by 
Transact Nominees Limited, the holdings are also excluded from the Company’s net current assets.

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    125

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

23. Provisions for liabilities

Balance brought forward

Increase in dilapidation provisions

Increase in ILInt non-linked unit provision

Increase/(decrease) in ILUK tax provision

Other provisions

Balance carried forward

Dilapidation provisions

ILInt non-linked unit provision

ILUK tax provision

Rent provision

Other provisions

Group
30 Sep 2018
£’000

Group
30 Sep 2017
£’000

11,831

15,550

52

7

7,150

98

44

4

(3,767)

-

19,137

11,831

374

36

323

29

18,527

11,377

102

98

102

-

19,137

11,831

The dilapidation provisions relate to the former leasehold premises at 5-7 Singer Street, the current leasehold 
premises at 29 Clement’s Lane, and the current ILInt leasehold premises at 18/20 North Quay, on the Isle of Man. 
The Group is committed to restoring the premises to their original state at the end of the lease term. Whilst it is 
probable that payments will be required for dilapidations, uncertainty exists with regard to the amount and timing of 
these payments, and the amounts provided represent Management’s best estimate of the Group’s liability. 

The rent provision relates to potential litigation regarding disputed rent. There is potential for a claim to be made 
against the Group until March 2019, though uncertainty exists as to the timing of any potential claim and whether the 
claim will be successful.

ILUK tax provision comprises claims received from HMRC that are yet to be returned to policyholders, charges taken 
from unit-linked funds and claims received from HMRC to meet current and future policyholder tax obligations.

126    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

24. Called up share capital – Company and Group

Allotted, called up and fully paid

2018
Number

Ordinary shares of £0.01 each

331,322,014

Ordinary Class A shares of £0.05 each

Ordinary Class B shares of £0.05 each

Ordinary Class C shares of £0.05 each

Ordinary Class D shares of £0.05 each

-

-

-

-

2017
Number

-

417,868

357,000

332,410

30,000

2018
£’000

3,313

-

-

-

-

2017
£’000

-

21

18

17

1

Immediately prior to admission to the London Stock Exchange, the share capital of the Company was increased from 
£56,863.90 to £3,313,220.14 by virtue of a bonus issue of a further: 122,017,456 A Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each; 
102,244,000 B Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each; 97,063,720 C Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each; and 6,859,560  
D Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each.

Immediately prior to admission each A, B, C and D share was then re-designated an Ordinary Share of £0.01 each.

All Ordinary Shares have full voting and dividend rights.

25. Capital redemption reserve – Group

Balance brought forward

Purchase of own shares

Balance carried forward

2018
£’000

2

-

2

2017
£’000

2

-

2

On 12 December 2013 IFAL was granted authority by shareholders to repurchase £4,500,000 worth of ordinary shares 
from shareholders. IFAL purchased 45,917 shares, and they were then cancelled, giving rise to a capital redemption 
reserve of £2,271. 

26. Share-based payment reserve

Balance brought forward

Movement in the year (Note 30)

Transfer to profit and loss reserve (Note 31)

Balance carried forward

27. Foreign exchange reserve – Group

Balance brought forward

Movement in the year

Balance carried forward

Group
2018
£’000

308

350

(128)

530

Company
2018
£’000

-

350

-

350

Group
2017
£’000

308

-

-

308

2018
£’000

42

(66)

(24)

Company
2017
£’000

-

-

-

-

2017
£’000

32

10

42

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    127

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  continued

28. Non-distributable reserves – Group

Balance brought forward

Premium on shares issued during the year

Balance carried forward

2018
£’000

5,722

-

5,722

2017
£’000

5,722

-

5,722

The share premium account per the Audited Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2017 has 
been reclassified as other non-distributable reserves. The share premium is held by one of the Company’s 
subsidiaries, Integrated Financial Arrangements Limited, so it is more appropriate to classify this within other reserves 
on a Group level.

29. Operating lease commitments

The total future minimum lease payments of operating leases are due as follows:

Group

Within 1 year

Within 2-5 years

Over 5 years

Land and 
Buildings
2018
£’000

2,704

9,555

-

Land and 
Buildings
2017
£’000

2,398

9,304

1,396

The lease commitments relate to the current leasehold premises at 29 Clement’s Lane, the current ILInt leasehold 
premises at 18/20 North Quay on the Isle of Man, and the current IAD Pty leasehold premises at 19-25 Camberwell Road, 
Melbourne, Australia.

30. Related parties

During the year the Company did not render nor receive any services with related parties within the Group, and at the 
year end the Company had the following intra-Group receivables:

Company

Integrated Financial Arrangements Ltd

IntegraFin Services Limited

IntegraFin Limited 

IntegraLife UK Limited

Amounts owed by/(to)  
related parties

2018
£’000

53

(358)

(9)

1

2017
£’000

6

-

(11)

1

The Group has not made any allowance for bad or doubtful debts in respect of related party debtors nor has any 
guarantee been given or received during 2018 or 2017 regarding related party transactions.

Payments to key management personnel, defined as members of the Board, are shown in the Remuneration Report. 
Directors of the Company received a total of £7.3m in dividends during the year. At the end of the year key 
management personnel held 16,319,523 IHP shares.

All of the above transactions are commercial, arm’s length transactions undertaken in the normal course of business.

128    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

31. Share incentive plan (SIP)

The Company introduced a SIP trust scheme for its staff in October 2005. The SIP is an approved scheme under 
Schedule 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings & Pensions) Act 2003.

This scheme entitled all who were employed in October 2005 to Class C shares in the Company, subject to their 
remaining in employment with the Company until certain future dates.

The trustee for this scheme is IntegraFin Limited, a wholly owned non-trading subsidiary of Integrated Financial 
Arrangements Ltd.

The cost to the Company in the financial year to 30 September 2018 was £nil (2017: £nil).

It was announced in the IHP Prospectus that the Company would make an annual share award to staff.

The new SIP is an approved scheme under Schedule 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings & Pensions) Act 2003, and entitles 
all eligible employees to ordinary shares in the Company. The shares will be held in a UK Trust.

The share awards will be made by the Company dependent on 12 months continuous service at 30 September 2018. 
The cost of the SIP is recorded in each of the Group subsidiaries that employs staff. The cost to the Group in the 
financial year to 30 September 2018 was £350k (2017: £nil). This reflects seven months of a full year’s benefit,  
as costs have been incurred from March 2018 onwards.

32. Share-based payments

The reduction in reserves of £128k is due to former members of staff leaving the scheme. There are no share options 
outstanding. All options have been exercised, and there have been no new share options granted.

33. Events after the reporting date

There are no events subsequent to the year end that require disclosure in, or amendment to, the Financial Statements.

34. Dividends

During the year to 30 September 2018 the Company paid an interim dividend of £19,418,436 (2017: £13,527,336) 
and a special dividend of £11,372,780 (2017: nil) to shareholders. The Company received dividends from subsidiaries 
of £40,130,000 (2017:£19,281,174).

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    129

OTHER INFORMATION

DIRECTORS, COMPANY DETAILS, ADVISERS

Executive Directors

Corporate Advisers

Ian Taylor

Michael Howard

Alexander Scott

Judith Davidson (resigned 1 October 2017)

Non-Executive Directors

Christopher Munro 

Patrick Snowball (appointed 1 October 2017  
and resigned 22 August 2018)

Jeremy Brettell (resigned 1 October 2017)

Neil Holden

Stuart Bazley (resigned 1 October 2017)

Caroline Banszky (appointed 22 August 2018)

Victoria Cochrane (appointed 28 September 2018)

Company Secretary

David Johnson

Independent Auditors

BDO LLP 
55 Baker Street 
London 
W1V 7EU

Solicitors

Eversheds Sutherland 
One Wood Street 
London 
EC2V 7WS

Peel Hunt LLP 
Moor House 
120 London Wall 
London 
EC2Y 5ET

Principal Bankers

NatWest Bank Plc 
135 Bishopsgate 
London 
EC2M 3UR

Registrars

Equiniti Group plc 
Sutherland House 
Russell Way 
Crawley 
RH10 1UH

Registered Office

29 Clement’s Lane 
London 
EC4N 7AE

Investor Relations

Mark Mochalski 020 7608 4900

Website

www.integrafin.co.uk 

Company number

08860879

130    INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

AGM  Annual General Meeting

ISA  Individual Savings Account

CASS  Client Assets Sourcebook

ISAs (UK) 

 International Standards on Auditing (UK)

CEO  Chief Executive Officer

CFO  Chief Financial Officer

COO  Chief Operating Officer

COREP 

 Common Reporting, as required by the 
Capital Requirements Directive IV

COSO 

 Committee of Sponsoring Organisation 
of the Treadway Commission

ED  Executive Director

ETF  Exchange-traded Fund

FCA  Financial Conduct Authority

FRC  Financial Reporting Council

FUD  Funds Under Direction

GDPR  General Data Protection Regulation

IT  Investment Trust

 MiFID II 

 Second Markets in  
Financial Instruments Directive

NED  Non-Executive Director

  Net inflow  Net new business onto the platform

OEIC  Open Ended Investment Company

ORSA  Own Risk and Solvency Assessment

Outflow  Business leaving the platform

SCR  Solvency Capital Requirement 

TCF  Treating Customers Fairly

 The Company  IntegraFin Holdings plc 

The Group 

 IntegraFin Holdings plc  
and its subsidiaries

GIA  General Investment Account

VCT  Venture Capital Trust

HMRC  Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs

IAD 

 Integrated Application Development Pty Ltd

ICA  Individual Capital Assessment 

ICAAP 

 Internal Capital Adequacy  
Assessment Process

IFAL  Integrated Financial Arrangements Ltd

IFRS 

 International Financial  
Reporting Standards

ILInt  IntegraLife International Limited

ILUK  IntegraLife UK Limited

Inflow  Gross new business onto the platform

IntegraFin  IntegraFin Holdings plc

IP  Intellectual Property

INTEGRAFIN ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2018    131

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
M137 September 2018

IntegraFin Holdings plc, 
29 Clement’s Lane, London, EC4N 7AE
Tel: (020) 7608 4900 Fax: (020) 7608 5300

(Registered offi ce: as above; Registered in England and Wales under number: 08860879)
The holding company of the Integrated Financial Arrangements Ltd group of companies.