PageGroup Annual Report 2023

FY2023 Annual Report · PageGroup

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Annual Report
& Accounts

2023

CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT
Highlights ....................................................................................................................................................1

Message from our CEO ...............................................................................................................................2

Chair’s Introduction ......................................................................................................................................3

Overview .....................................................................................................................................................5

Business Model ...........................................................................................................................................7

Strategic Review ........................................................................................................................................13

KPIs ..........................................................................................................................................................19

Q&A with Nicholas Kirk, CEO .....................................................................................................................23

Culture & Engagement Framework ............................................................................................................25

Sustainability and TCFD .............................................................................................................................42

Risk Management ......................................................................................................................................58

Principal Risks and Uncertainties ...............................................................................................................60

Non-Financial and Sustainability Information Statement .............................................................................68

Stakeholder Engagement ..........................................................................................................................69

Review of the Year .....................................................................................................................................76

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Chair’s Introduction to Corporate Governance ...........................................................................................81

Our Board of Directors ...............................................................................................................................83

The Executive Board ..................................................................................................................................88

Corporate Governance Report ..................................................................................................................90

Nomination Committee Report ..................................................................................................................97

Audit Committee Report ..........................................................................................................................101

Directors’ Remuneration Report – Annual Statement ...............................................................................107

Directors’ Remuneration Report ..............................................................................................................109

Directors’ Report .....................................................................................................................................132

Directors’ Statements of Responsibility ....................................................................................................135

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Independent Auditor’s Report ..................................................................................................................136

Consolidated Income Statement ..............................................................................................................143

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.................................................................................143

Consolidated and Parent Company Balance Sheets ...............................................................................144

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity .........................................................................................145

Statement of Changes in Equity – Parent Company .................................................................................146

Consolidated and Parent Company Cash Flow Statements ....................................................................147

Notes to the Financial Statements ...........................................................................................................148

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Shareholder Information and Advisers .....................................................................................................179

PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup is one of the world’s leading specialist recruitment consultancies, with a
global presence through our 135 offices over 37 countries.

MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

GROSS
PROFIT

HIGHLIGHTS
£1,007.1m
-6.3%* 2022: £1,076.3m

CONVERSION
RATE***

11.8%
2022: 18.2%

OPERATING
PROFIT

£118.8m
-39.4%** 2022: £196.1m

BASIC EARNINGS
PER SHARE

24.4p
-44.2% 2022: 43.7p

*in constant currency at prior year rates
** Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina

***Operating Profit as a percentage of Gross Profit

ORDINARY AND
SPECIAL DIVIDEND

32.24p
2022: 42.38p

countries

NICHOLAS
KIRK

With great pleasure, I welcome
you to our 2023 Strategic Report,
in which I will present our business
model and strategic framework.
After that, we will talk about our Strategic Review, which also
includes a feature on our new Group Strategy and Vision which
we launched in September 2023. After that, I will walk you
through our capital allocation strategy and how we view the
current state of the market.

We continue to tie the four essential components of the
performance criteria in our current executive share plans to
performance, as determined by our financial and non-financial
KPIs and the risks that accompany it.

7,859

headcount

135

offices

1
1

PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023CHAIR’S
INTRODUCTION

Angela Seymour-Jackson
Chair

2023 Performance

2023 was an important year for the Group, following the
Board’s appointment of Nicholas Kirk as our new CEO. In
conjunction with the Board, Nick has led the development
of our new Strategy and set ambitious new goals for the
Group. Despite tough trading conditions, the Group has
proven resilient and the Board was pleased to recommend a
final dividend of 11.24 pence per share.

Elsewhere, trading conditions in Greater China continued
to be particularly tough, with the recovery after COVID-19
lockdowns being slower than anticipated. We now have
c. 200 fee earners in Mainland China compared to c. 340
in Q2 2022, albeit now a third are manager grade or above
with an average tenure of over six years. This will put us in a
good place to grow market share when conditions improve.

The tougher macro economic conditions we began to see
at the end of 2022 continued into 2023. Despite these
conditions, the Group delivered robust results. Overall for
the year, gross profit declined 6.3% in constant currencies
against 2022 to £1,007.1m. We delivered operating profit of
£118.8m, albeit this was after a net restructuring cost of
c. £2m, which is discussed in more detail on page 79.

EMEA was our most resilient region, delivering growth of
0.3%, due mainly to the strength of our business in Germany,
particularly within our Technology-focused Interim business.

Conditions in the US were also particularly challenging,
with uncertainty around market conditions, especially
within Technology, impacting both candidate and client
confidence. Latin America delivered strong results, with
growth of 8% and we also saw good growth in the Middle
East and Africa of 11%.

Trading remained tough in the UK, which was down 16%
for the year. We continued to see clients deferring hiring
decisions and increased caution from candidates.

Strategy

In 2022, having delivered on the previous vision with £1bn
of gross profit and £200m of operating profit, a key priority
for the Board in 2023 was establishing a new Vision and
Strategy for the Group.

Nick and his Executive Board led this process with input from
all our key Stakeholder groups, including our Customers, our
People and our investors.

The new Strategy will take the Group through to 2030
and is based on three key strategic goals. A goal that
targets the Group on delivering £400m of operating profit
for our Shareholders and our People. A social impact goal
of changing 1 million lives that speaks to our People, our
Customers and our investors. Finally, a client net promoter
score goal of 60 or above, from a starting point of 52 in
2022, which reflects our focus on Customer-centricity that
sets us apart from many of our competitors and is key for
our clients and our People.

The new Strategy is about leveraging our existing global
platform with a focus on targeted growth whilst maximising
profit, building on what the Group is famous for.

For more details of the new Strategy, please refer to pages
17 to 18.

Board Composition

On 10 April 2023, we were pleased to welcome Babak
Fouladi to the Board. Babak brings extensive technology
experience to the Group from his roles at MTN Group plc,
Vodafone Group plc and Koninklijke KPN MV.

Patrick De Smedt, our previous Senior Independent Director,
did not seek re-election at the Company’s AGM in 2023,
having been on the Board since 2015. I would like to thank
Patrick for his significant contributions to the success of
the Group during this time. Ben Stevens was appointed as
Senior Independent Director at the Company’s AGM
in 2023.

We continue to support the FTSE Women Leaders Review
and the requirement to disclose the gender balance of senior
management. On the Board as at 31 December 2023,
female representation was 50% and on our Executive Board
female representation was 30%. At the Director level, female
representation was 45% as at 31 December 2023. In 2021,
we signed up to the UN Global Compact Network with a
target of achieving gender equality in senior management
roles by 2030 and have set clear gender targets at all levels
of our organisation to enable us to achieve this goal. Full
details of the work undertaken by the Board during the year
are set out in the Corporate Governance Report.

Our 2023 Global Employee Engagement Survey again
showed positive results, with 90% of our People feeling
proud to work at PageGroup.

In 2021, we established the Group’s Shadow Executive
Board. This was a huge success, bringing different
perspectives to our Executive Board on key business
topics. During 2023, the Shadow Board made a number
of key recommendations during the year, covering our
Strategy development, Page values, job architecture and
communications.

Sustainability

In 2023, we reaffirmed our commitment to sustainability and
social impact by putting our social impact target to change
one million lives at the core of our new corporate Strategy.
We also aligned our carbon targets to the Science Based
Targets initiative (SBTi) and are committed to Net Zero across
our full value chain by 2050, with near-term reduction targets
across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2030.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by a further 15% in
2023 as we continued to transition offices to renewable
energy. Our total value chain GHG emissions (Scope 1,
2 and 3) remained broadly stable. We are committed to
achieving our targets and know we must continue to drive
activities to reduce emissions over time, particularly in our
upstream value chain. In addition, we continue to offset
our carbon impact for emissions that we are not yet able
to avoid. Our sustainability business, where we place
candidates into green and sustainability-related roles, almost
doubled in 2023.

This year we also strengthened our social impact
programmes with a focus on social inclusion and support for
employment for under-represented groups. We are building
long-term charity partnerships to help maximise our impact.
For example, through our Empowering Talent programme we
work with a range of groups to open doors to employment
opportunities they are not always afforded. This includes
activities such as running workshops to support re-
employment of people aged by 50+ in Switzerland.

Further details of our progress on sustainability, greenhouse
gas reporting and climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD)
are included in the Sustainability section.

Looking ahead

As we enter 2024, a high degree of macro economic and
geopolitical uncertainty remains across the majority of our
markets. However, against this backdrop, we continue to
see high levels of candidate shortages and vacancies, along
with strong fee rates and salary levels. We have a flexible
business model and remain confident in our ability to weather
any uncertainty in 2024.

I am hugely proud of the achievements made by the Group
in 2023. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all of
our People for their dedication this year and I look forward to
another successful year in 2024.

Strategic Report

Our Strategic Report on pages 2 to 80 has been reviewed
and approved by the Board.

Angela Seymour-Jackson
Chair

Dividends

In 2023, despite the tougher macro economic conditions, we continued
to deliver Shareholder returns. We paid an interim dividend of £16.2m and
a special dividend of £50.0m in October 2023. We have now paid special
dividends of over £300m in the last six years. We generated cash from
operations of £211.9m in 2023, ending the year with net cash of £90.1m.

Based on this cash position, the levels of distributable reserves and our
2023 results, we are proposing a final dividend of 11.24p. This, combined
with the interim dividend of 5.13p paid in October, represents a total
ordinary dividend of 16.37p, an increase of 4.5% on 2022. This ordinary
dividend of 16.37p is covered 1.5 times by earnings, with a yield of 3.4%.
If the special dividend is included, using the year end share price of 487p,
this yield increases to 6.6%.

Dividend Per Share (p)

Purpose, Culture and Vision

Special dividend

41.71

26.71

42.38

28.71

32.74

15.87

17.03

12.73

15.0

15.67

16.87

4.3

4.30

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

At PageGroup, our purpose is to change lives and this
is integral to everything we do. We are driven to see the
development and success of our candidates, clients
and our People. Our values are reflected throughout the
organisation, and we believe this culture sets us apart from
our competitors.

In accordance with the requirements of the UK Corporate
Governance Code, all members of the Board are engaging
effectively with employees. This is carried out in several
forums, including attendance at employee meetings, virtual
events and regular employee surveys.

PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023OVERVIEW

PAGE 7 BUSINESS MODEL

PAGE 19 KPIs

FINANCIAL

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

OPERATIONAL

FINANCIAL

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

OPERATIONAL

• Highly profitable

• Sustainable organic growth

• Team-based service

• Strong brands

• Gross profit growth

• Gross profit per fee earner

• Employee

• Maintain a strong

balance sheet

• Highly cash
generative

• Diversification to mitigate
cyclicality by geography,
brand and discipline

• Focus on operational

efficiency

delivery

• Talent and skills

development/retention

• Effective use of

technology

• Perm:Temp ratio

• Fee earner headcount

satisfaction survey

• Cash

• Earnings per share

growth

• Conversion rate

• Measurement
performed
at a granular level

• D&I review ratings

PAGE 9 STRATEGY

FINANCIAL

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

OPERATIONAL

Long-term investment into core
strategic markets:

• Core

• Technology

• Page Executive

• Strategic Customer Solutions

• To be the leading
specialist recruiter
in each of the
markets in which
we operate

• Career development

structure

• Training

• Global mobility

• Assurance of a
quality service

• Effective recruitment

process

PAGE 107 REMUNERATION

FINANCIAL

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

OPERATIONAL

• EPS growth: three year

• Strategic targets

cumulative

• PBT performance

• Comparator gross profit

growth

• Systems and innovation

• Leadership
and people
development

• Retention/
succession

• Cost and financial

management

• Risk management and

internal controls

• IT strategic development

PAGE 58 RISKS

PAGE 16 DIVIDEND POLICY

FINANCIAL

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

OPERATIONAL

FINANCIAL

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

OPERATIONAL

• Macro economic

• Shift in business model

• People

• Technology; systems

exposure

• Foreign exchange
translation risk

• Delivery of operational

efficiencies

development

• Attraction

and retention

transformation and change;
data security; brand reputation;
financial management and
control; fiscal and legal
compliance

• Maintain a strong
balance sheet

• Maintain core ordinary

dividend

• Return surplus cash
to Shareholders by
special dividends and/
or share buybacks

• Ensure dividends are
paid at sustainable
levels such that
investment in the
business and its people
is maintained

• First use of cash is to satisfy
operational and investment
needs, as well as to hedge
liabilities under the Group’s
share plans

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023BUSINESS MODEL

OUR MODEL AT WORK

OUR
PEOPLE

An experienced senior
management team and high-
quality consultants. Expertise
in premium candidate sourcing
and advocating for clients and
candidates.

OUR
CULTURE

Diverse and inclusive culture
with ingrained values of how to
do business ethically. We have
created an environment where
developing our People and
achieving results for the Customer
is paramount.

OUR
RELATIONSHIPS

We work closely with our
clients and candidates. Our
Customer-centric ethos upholds
our reputation, maintains our
competitive edge and enables
our business to thrive.

OUR
BRAND AND SCALE

Global reach, with deep local
knowledge. Specialist industry and
market knowledge. High levels of
operational efficiency.

TECHNOLOGY
& INNOVATION

Focused on how best to acquire,
engage and nurture Customers
to build long-term relationships.
The use of technology allows us
to leverage growth and improve
our conversion rate.

FINANCIAL
CAPABILITY

Our business is supported by a
strong balance sheet and significant
cash flow generation.

OUR PURPOSE

CLIENTS
• Sector expertise
• Appropriate candidate shortlist
• Professional high-quality service

Our Value
Proposition Model

CONSULTANTS
• Team-based structure and

compensation

• Access to jobs across entire Group
• Consistent process

LEADS TO...
• Repeat business
• Greater exclusivity
• Future candidates

LEADS TO...
• Rapid career promotion
• Career opportunities
• Reward and recognition

CANDIDATES
• Professional high-quality service
• Market understanding and client profiling
• Career advice

LEADS TO...
• Career-long relationships
• Peer recommendations
• Future clients

UNDERPINNED
BY OUR VALUES

EARN
TRUST

GROW
CONNECTIONS

MAKE A
DIFFERENCE

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D

ORGANIC,
HIGH-MARGIN,
DIVERSIFIED
GROWTH:

With a core focus
on organic growth,
our broad-based
capabilities enable us
to capitalise on market
opportunities around
the globe, avoiding
over-reliance on one
geography or discipline.

SCALABLE &
FLEXIBLE
CAPACITY:

Our brand and scale
enable us to build
an unrivalled skillset,
together with the ability
to respond quickly
to changing market
conditions.

TALENT AND
SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT:

The recruitment, retention
and development of talent
is fundamental to
driving our meritocratic
growth model.

Our strategic framework is
outlined on page 9.

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S

EMPLOYEES
Supportive, inclusive culture
where they experience real
opportunities for development
and a long and rewarding career.

INVESTORS
Look for investment growth and
seek confidence their investment
is under sound stewardship.

CUSTOMERS
Rely on us to provide world-class
specialist recruitment services
and solutions to help drive their
business and careers forward.

COMMUNITIES &
GOVERNMENT

Need businesses that have a
positive impact.

SUPPLIERS
Seek strong and enduring
partnerships based on fair terms.

Stakeholder engagement is outlined
on page 69.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

PageGroup is focused on delivering against three key objectives to achieve its
Strategic Vision and deliver sustainable financial returns. These are to:

LOOK FOR ORGANIC, HIGH-MARGIN AND DIVERSIFIED GROWTH

NURTURE AND DEVELOP OUR PEOPLE, DRIVING OUR MERITOCRATIC GROWTH MODEL

Our business model is centred on delivering organic and
diverse growth. As recruitment is a cyclical business and
impacted by the strength of economies, diversification
is an important component of our Strategy, reducing
our reliance on any individual market or business and
thereby increasing the strength of the Group.

Our Strategy therefore is to expand and diversify the
business by industry sectors, professional disciplines,
geographies and brands, with the objective of being the
leading specialist recruitment consultancy in each of our
chosen markets.

With less reliance on any one individual country, brand
or discipline, the business is better positioned to face
adverse market conditions. Our global presence and
strategic investments made in recent years have enabled
us to capitalise on opportunities coming out of the
pandemic.

In 2007, prior to the global financial crisis, our Non-UK
business represented 61% of the Group and it now
represents 88%. We have also successfully diversified
away from Accounting and Financial Services, with this
discipline making up 54% of total Group gross profit
in 2007, compared with 33% in 2023. These changes
highlight the success of our diversification Strategy.

PageGroup’s historical success across major global
economies has helped us to identify the markets likely
to produce long-term gross profit growth at attractive
conversion rates. This enables us to offer a premium
service that is valued by our clients and also attracts the
highest calibre of candidates.

We recognise that our employees are key to our
long-term success. The recruitment, retention and
development of talent is a key priority for the Group. We
recruit from a diverse set of backgrounds and value our
consultants’ experiences greatly.

We have clear and defined career pathways for
consultants through to senior management and Board
level. This helps to ensure that we retain the best talent
and develop our People for leadership positions. We
have a proven track record of internal promotion and
international career moves and the newly evolving hybrid
working model will provide greater opportunities in this
area.

Our highly experienced management team have the
longest tenure in the industry and are passionate in
developing the next generation of Page leaders. Many

of our management team have international experience
and this has helped with global knowledge sharing and
best practice. It additionally allows us to capitalise on
opportunities and react to market conditions effectively.
Increasingly, we are promoting within regions and many
of the leaders have had long-standing careers in those
markets, combined with valuable local expertise.

We introduced our continuous listening strategy in 2020
and the insights from these initiatives have allowed us to
build understanding and drive change and improvement.
We are committed to diversity and inclusion and have
made significant progress in this area in recent years.
Underpinned by our global diversity and inclusion
framework, we have numerous internal communities to
ensure our employees have networks to connect, share
and learn.

POSITION THE BUSINESS TO BE SCALABLE EFFICIENTLY AND HIGHLY FLEXIBLE TO
REACT TO MARKET CONDITIONS

Our ability to respond quickly to changes in market
conditions is critical to managing the business efficiently
through economic cycles. Our team-based structure
and profit share business model has proven highly
scalable on a global basis.

The small size of our specialist teams enables us to
grow gross profit quickly with incremental fee-earner
headcount. When market conditions tighten, this
headcount is reduced mostly via natural attrition to
ensure a lower cost base in a slowdown.

Having invested years in training and developing our
highly capable management teams, our objective is to
ensure we retain this expertise within the Group. By
following this course of action, we typically gain market

share during downturns and position our businesses
for market-leading growth when economic conditions
improve.

Our global footprint requires high levels of operational
efficiency in order to achieve this strategic objective.
Our focus on shared service centres has delivered
greater economies of scale and efficiencies. It has
driven consistency, increased flexibility and improved
the quality of the service provided to our operational
business. Collectively, our shared service centres
allow us to be more agile, reduce our fixed costs and
remove constraints on how fast we can react to market
conditions.

WHAT WE DO

PageGroup is a worldwide leader in specialised recruitment. We have 46 years
of recruitment experience and deliver recruitment services to clients across 37
countries through our network of 135 offices.

DISCIPLINE
EXPERTISE

PERM AND
TEMP MIX

We’ve developed PageGroup’s
reputation as a global recruitment
leader through our focus on
specialist areas of the market,
replicated across our international
network. Within our four broad
discipline categories, we operate
across 14 specialist discipline
teams. We then specialise
further within these (e.g. Digital
Marketing within Marketing)
to ensure we provide expert
recruitment services to our
clients.

PageGroup is the
international market leader
for permanent recruitment in
the majority of the countries
in which we operate. We
also have a substantial
and growing temporary
recruitment business in
markets where temporary
placements for professionally
qualified candidates are
culturally accepted.

GEOGRAPHIC
REACH

Our substantial and well-
balanced business reaches
across all regions, including
Latin America and Asia.
Our global model allows us
to source candidates from
domestic and international
markets and provide a
comprehensive service to
both local and multinational
clients.

9
9

PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023OUR STRATEGY

The Group’s Strategy aims to expand and diversify the business organically by
professional disciplines, brands and geographies, with the objective of being the
leading specialist recruitment consultancy in each of our chosen markets.

OUR BRANDS

With typical margins above those of Michael
Page and Page Personnel, our executive search
division of PageGroup provides a range of search,
selection and talent management solutions for
organisations on a permanent and interim basis.
Recognised for our powerful in-house research
function, speed and flexibility of response, and
assignment completion rates, organisations
worldwide use Page Executive to secure their
senior talent. The roles on which we focus
typically sit at the sub-board and Board levels.

The original PageGroup brand is normally
established as the first business in each
new country that we enter. Michael Page is
comprised of 25 specialisms, each providing
a service to a specialist area of the market,
recruiting permanent, temporary, contract
and interim opportunities, typically at qualified
professional and management level. The
businesses we work with range from SMEs to
global blue-chip organisations.

Page Personnel offers specialist recruitment
services to clients requiring permanent,
temporary or contract employees. Mirroring
the geographical and sector coverage of
Michael Page, it provides specialist services to
organisations requiring talent at professional
clerical and support levels.

Our newest brand, Page Outsourcing, harnesses
the power of the other PageGroup brands. Our
flexible recruitment outsourcing solution allows
our clients to focus on their core business.
The Page Outsourcing offering includes both
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and
Managed Service Provision (MSP), together with
a number of Outsourcing Consultancy solutions.
Page Outsourcing represents an opportunity
for the Group to accelerate growth across all
segments of the market.

A FOCUS ON ORGANIC GROWTH

PageGroup’s business model has proved itself both through economic cycles and as the business has expanded into a global
enterprise. At its core is a focus on organic growth.

Team profit-led
compensation
A focus on team-based
performance rather than the
individual promotes positive
corporate behaviour and
consistent quality of service for
both clients and candidates.

Global management
mobility
We regularly move experienced
managers and directors into
markets where they can add the
most value and guide the business
through the challenges of a market
cycle, while allowing us to retain
and motivate key senior talent.

Experienced
management pool

Experience through economic
cycles and across geographies and
disciplines reduces our learning curve,
maximises scalability and is
crucial for placing resources where
they will add the most value.

ORGANIC
GROWTH

Career development
structure

PageGroup offers its
consultants a well-defined
and varied career in
recruitment. This includes a
clear development structure
with significant opportunities
for the most talented.

Productivity-led expansion
Our operational metrics focus on
productivity by team, discipline and
geography. This bottom-up approach
aligns expansion criteria throughout
the Group, focusing and optimising
investment on key priorities.

Agile and responsive
Recruitment is a fast-paced
and dynamic business. Our
agility gives us the confidence to
respond quickly to opportunities
and challenges as they appear.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023STRATEGIC REVIEW

OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Our true competitive advantage is the combination of the below four factors and the balance we have achieved in
the business over the past 47 years. We generate funds through fees earned for placing candidates in permanent,
temporary and contract roles.

SCALE

BRAND

Our scale enables PageGroup to commit to markets
through economic cycles, which, combined with
our strong financial standing, has given clients the
confidence to build lasting relationships with us.
Temporary staff also derive comfort from our financial
strength that their services will be paid for.

The breadth of our client base globally, even in our new
markets, gives us the ability to offer diverse expertise
across a wide range of complementary specialisms and
geographies, enhancing our offering to the market and
the candidate pools we can access.

Our scale has led to us having an unrivalled skillset with
high levels of experience, which is available to clients of
any size and across all sectors in which we operate.

We deliver specialised sector experience operated
via four key brands: Page Executive, Michael
Page, Page Personnel and Page Outsourcing,
supported by supplementary brands throughout our
international locations.

The first class reputation of our brands gives high-
quality candidates assurance to place key decisions
on their future in our hands. Our superior level of
expertise and the knowledge of our consultants
inspires trust and assurance of service quality, for
both clients and candidates, enabling our brands to
outperform other recruitment businesses.

CULTURE

DATA AND
TECHNOLOGY

PageGroup’s culture is unique and sets us apart from
the competition. Our global culture delivers a consistent
approach, both internally and externally, whilst remaining
accepting of each of our market’s local characteristics.

A diverse team brings different perspectives and insight to
our business, and our promotion of diversity and inclusion
ensures we add value to the markets we recruit into on
behalf of our clients. We work closely with our clients to
source and recruit from a diverse talent pool to provide
them with the best candidate.

We have ingrained values of how we do business ethically
and make long-term decisions.

Our purpose and values that are the key to our success
are set out on page 26.

The digital revolution has transformed the recruitment
market. The impact of technology on the behaviours
and expectations of both clients and candidates
continues to grow at pace. Our innovation approach is
focused on how best to acquire, engage and nurture
customers to build long-term relationships.

Our internal Business Technology function focuses on
designing, implementing and exploiting scalable global
systems. By improving our processes and tools, we
empower consultants to be more productive. In our
operational business we are utilising technologies,
such as Customer Connect, to engage with customers
throughout their journey.

The use of our global data and insights allows us
to leverage growth in the business and improve our
conversion rate.

MARKET DYNAMICS

The professional recruitment sector has always been highly sensitive to fluctuating economic conditions and is
influenced strongly by client and candidate confidence. Market liquidity can change rapidly, whether in terms of
candidate confidence or availability of jobs.

It can also be localised, by geography or discipline, and differ between temporary and permanent placements
in the same market.

In a number of geographic regions, such as Greater China or Latin America, our potential markets are very
large, yet relatively immature. This provides not only significant market share opportunities, but also challenges
in areas such as business development. New markets can take time to reach maturity, but the advantages of
being an early mover and being able to build scale can be considerable.

As well as the influence of the general macro economic environment on business activity, there are a number of
market-based drivers that can impact financial performance materially.

These are split into elements which affect market liquidity and those which influence consultant productivity
and therefore gross profit. It is the nature of the professional recruitment market that strong market conditions
will see drivers align in both elements and this can have a dramatic impact on our overall performance.

MARKET LIQUIDITY

IMPACT

CANDIDATE AVAILABILITY

CANDIDATE CONFIDENCE

Often highly discipline/geography-specific,
especially at midpoints in the cycle as client
confidence grows. This is a key driver of most
other elements, as the quality of a recruiter is
most clearly demonstrated through their ability
to source difficult-to-find candidates.

A major influence on market liquidity where
the macro environment is sufficiently stable,
candidates will look to progress their careers,
which helps to drive job liquidity.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

Mainly visible through improvement in gross profit, a buoyant market helps to drive
consultant productivity.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

GROSS PROFIT AND PRODUCTIVITY

CAPITAL ALLOCATION POLICY

IMPACT

WAGE INFLATION
Reflects level of
candidate shortage
and liquidity within a
particular discipline or
geography, plus macro
economic conditions.

FEES/RATES
Group average
typically moves
within a c. 10%
range over the
cycle (19.5%-22%).

TIME TO HIRE
As candidates become scarcer,
companies shorten the decision
making process in order not to
lose preferred candidates. This
is particularly noticeable since
COVID-19, with video interviewing
also reducing time to hire.

The Group’s Strategy is to operate a policy of financing the activities and development of the Group (including our
sustainability objectives) from our retained earnings and to maintain a strong balance sheet position. We first use our cash for
our operational and investment requirements, as well as hedging our liabilities under the Group’s share plans.

Over and above this requirement, we review our liquidity to make returns to Shareholders, primarily by way of ordinary
dividends. Our policy is to grow the ordinary dividend over the course of the economic cycle, in line with our long-term
growth rate. We believe this will enable us to sustain the ordinary dividend payments during a downturn, as well as
increasing it during more prosperous times.

Beyond these two priorities, cash generated will be returned to Shareholders through supplementary returns, using either
special dividends or share buybacks.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

Notable influence on both gross profit and also conversion rate. Productivity, especially in
permanent recruitment, is significantly enhanced as these market drivers align positively.

As a result of the new Group Strategy and Vision, as previously announced in September 2023 at our Capital Markets
Event, the way that we strategically categorise our markets has been updated from 2022. For further details on our new
Strategy and Vision, please refer to pages 17 to 18.

MARKET CATEGORIES

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATION

OUR NEW
STRATEGY

Having delivered on our previous vision, namely £1bn of Gross
Profit and £200m of Operating Profit in 2022, it was important
to set our new Strategy and vision for the Group. We took
input from our Customers, People and investors, as well as
the demographic and technology trends that are shaping our
industry. The new Strategy will take the Group through to 2030
and has three key strategic goals:

OPERATING
PROFIT

£400m

SOCIAL IMPACT
LIVES
CHANGED

CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE

60+ NPS

OPERATING
OPERATING PROFIT
PROFIT

The first goal of the new Strategy is a financial one – to deliver £400m of Operating Profit by 2030 for our Shareholders and our
People, more than double our previous record year. This is based on targeting gross profit of just under £2bn, at a conversion rate in
excess of 20%. We will do this by building on our existing strengths and leveraging our global platforms. We will focus on what we do
best at a city and country level, growing our business in the areas where we see the greatest potential for profitable growth.

The first pillar of growth is our core business, which we define
as Michael Page and Page Personnel that covers all disciplines
except technology. Our focus in the core business is to build on
our previous investment strategy, strengthening our market-leading
positions and, in addition, no longer pursuing more marginal
business lines in certain geographies.

BEYOND THE CORE
Leveraging our global platforms

MAXIMISING
OUR CORE

TECHNOLOGY

PAGE EXECUTIVE

STRATEGIC CUSTOMERS

Technology recruitment is a scale
play for Page, enabling us to build
high-volume, high-value business.
It is a market we already have a
high level of experience in, as it is
our second largest discipline. We
will build on our existing strengths
in this area whilst targeting key
strategic investment opportunities.
We have collected valuable learnings
through our IT contracting business
in Germany, where we are delivering
at record levels. We will now look
to take these learnings elsewhere
in the Group, starting in France and
Japan. Our strategic goal is to build
a £350m gross profit business by
2030, with a 20% conversion rate.

We will build our capabilities in
Page Executive, where our global
offering has been well received by
clients who are keen to look beyond
geographic borders to identify the
best leadership talent. Our objective
is not to compete directly with the
global executive search firms, but
to grow our reputation in the market
that sits just above the Michael Page
brand, through to the lower end of
where the global executive search
firms operate. Our goal by 2030 is to
grow Page Executive into a business
generating over £200m of gross
profit, with a conversion rate well
above the average for the Group.

Strategic Customers is focused
on creating business partnerships,
building out our capabilities
and offering to our strategic
Customers, to create long-
term mutual value. Our Page
Outsourcing brand will play
a significant role in this area
to respond to evolving client
demand. With our global footprint,
combined with our capabilities
in delivery and insights, we are
best placed to develop a client
solutions business. Our goal by
2030 is to deliver a global Strategic
Customers business with gross
profit of £500m, at a conversion
rate of 20%.

OPERATING
SOCIAL
PROFIT
IMPACT

Since 2020, we have been committed to the goal of changing one million lives by 2030. By the end
of 2023, we had changed just over 500,000 lives. We are driven to have a positive impact in the
communities in which we operate. We will work to become an industry role model for ESG and we
will achieve this by consciously focusing on the area of Social Impact by capitalising on our People
expertise.

Progress against our Social Impact goal is measured by the number of people whose lives we have
changed by placing them into decent work as well as the number of people who access our social
impact programmes, including skills-sharing volunteering events.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Our third goal is focused on
delivering a best-in-class
Customer experience. As a
cross-industry benchmark, this
would see us exceeding what is
classed as ‘excellent’. This is a
critical measure of how we build
deeper, repeat relationships with
clients to ensure our long-term
success.

GOOD

FAIR

60+

NPS

55
in 2023

Source: Bain & Company, an NPS score above 0 is fair, above 20 is good and above 50 is excellent.

CASH CONVERSION
A continued highly cash generative model

We will continue to run a highly cash generative business model. With this, we anticipate being able to make continued high
levels of Shareholder returns via growing the ordinary dividend and making supplementary returns.

Limited increase
in working capital
requirements

Will continue to hedge
liabilities under the
Group’s share plans

No significant
increase in Capex
requirement

CASH CONVERSION OF >90%

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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

We use the following key performance indicators to measure the our progress against our strategic objectives:

FINANCIAL

Gross profit growth (%)*

49.1

20.2

5.0

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023
-6.3

-28.1

* Increase in gross profit in constant currency over
the prior year

How measured:
Our revenue consists principally of placement fees for
permanent candidates and the margin earned on the
placement of temporary candidates. Revenue less cost of
sales expressed as the percentage change over the prior
year represents gross profit.

Why it’s important:
This performance indicator shows the income growth in
the business. The foreign exchange movements in our
international markets can impact it significantly, so the
metric is recorded in both reported and constant currency.

How we performed in 2023:
Gross profit decreased 6.3% in constant currencies and
6.4% in reported rates against 2022. This was due to the
tough trading conditions in 2023, which impacted client
and candidate confidence.

Relevant strategic objective:
Organic growth.

Cash (£m)

166.0

154.0

131.5

97.8

90.1

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

How measured:
Cash and short-term deposits.

Why it’s important:
The Group’s cash conversion and generation capabilities
along with success in managing working capital are reflected
by the level of cash. It ensures that we remain financially
robust through cycles as it determines our ability to return
cash to our Shareholders and reinvest in the business.

How we performed in 2023:
Cash decreased to £90.1m (2022: £131.5m). The decline
was as a result of the tougher trading conditions impacting
results, as well as having paid out £100.1m in dividends
during 2023.

Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

Basic earnings per share (p)

32.2

43.7

37.2

24.4

2019

2020
-1.8

2021

2022

2023

How measured:
The annual profit attributable to the equity Shareholders
of the Group divided by the weighted average number of
shares that were issued during the year.

Why it’s important:
This calculates the Group’s profitability for a given share
and gives comparison with previous years.

How we performed in 2023:
The Group saw a 44.1% decrease in basic EPS to 24.4p,
due to the decline in operating profit from our record year
in 2022.

Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

Ratio of permanent vs
temporary placements

Gross Profit

Perm

Temp

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

How measured:
Gross profit from permanent and temporary placements in
terms of the percentage of the Group’s total gross profit.

Why it’s important:
It gives a picture of the operational gearing potential of the
business, which is significantly greater for the permanent
placements as most of the countries in which the Group
operates have a culture that justifies low temporary
placements. The ratio shows both our geographic spread
and the current stage of the economic cycle.

How we performed in 2023:
The ratio decreased from 2022 to 73:27 (2022: 77:23).
Market conditions were tougher within permanent
recruitment, whereas temporary recruitment was more
resilient to the uncertainty, as is normally the case in tougher
economic conditions.

Relevant strategic objective:
Diversification.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

Fee earner headcount growth (%)

18.2

14.2

2019
-1.5

2020

2021

2022

2023

-14.6

-15.7

Gross profit per fee earner (£’000)

159.4

159.0

157.2

140.4

113.3

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

How measured:
The number of directors and fee earners involved in revenue-
generating activities for the year, in terms of the percentage change
in comparison to the previous year.

Why it’s important:
The growth in fee earners indicates the Group’s confidence in
upcoming macro economic outlook, as it is a key factor which
determines the future demand of our services which will be
expected to be delivered through fee earners.

How we performed in 2023:
Net fee earner headcount decreased by 1,092, or 15.7% in the
year, resulting in 5,851 fee earners at the end of the year. As trading
conditions became more challenging from the end of 2022 into
2023, we reduced our headcount accordingly, with reductions in
all regions.

Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

How measured:
The gross profit for the year over rolling monthly average number of
fee-generating staff.

Why it’s important:
This is used as a productivity metric, which is affected by the level
of market activity and resource allocation within the business.
It shows how efficiently the Group is utilising its fee earners to
generate gross profit.

How we performed in 2023:
Productivity was flat in constant currencies on 2022, but declined
0.3% in reported rates to £159.0k (2022: £159.4k). Whilst we
experienced tough trading conditions in 2023, our action on fee
earner headcount through the year meant productivity stayed flat on
2022 and at record levels for the Group.

Relevant strategic objective:
Organic growth.

Conversion rate (%)

17.1

19.2

18.2

11.8

2.8

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

How measured:
Operating profit (EBIT) expressed as a percentage of gross profit.

Why it’s important:
This indicates the level at which the Group is successful in increasing
fee-earner productivity, managing business costs along with the extent
of investment being directed towards future growth.

How we performed in 2023:
The Group’s conversion rate for the year decreased to 11.8% (2022:
18.2%). This was reflective of the tougher trading conditions during the
year, partly offset by the reduction in fee earner headcount.

Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

Employee index

How measured:
A significant output of the Company’s periodically taken employee surveys.

Positive
engagement
score

85%

Why it’s important:
Productivity is increased and critical talent is retained inside the Company when
there is a great work environment and motivated workforce.

How we performed in 2023:
We recorded an 85% positive score for employee engagement in the latest
Employee Engagement Survey in 2023. This compares with 87% in the last
equivalent survey performed in 2022, which was a record year in terms of
financial performance. The 2023 survey was a combination of questions,
including: how valued our People felt; how proud they were to work for
PageGroup; and how they can see their work relates to PageGroup’s purpose of
changing lives.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

GHG EMISSIONS

To become Net Zero
across our full value chain
by 2050

How measured:
The GHG Protocol was applied in the measurement of direct and indirect GHG
emissions.

TOTAL GHG
emissions –
CO2e tonnes
-1%

Intensity values of
GHG emissions

Tonnes of
CO2e per
employee

+10%

Why it’s important:
The CO2e impact of our operations and value chain is examined in absolute
terms in the emissions estimates.

How we performed in 2023:
Total GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) decreased by -1% to 64,518 tCO2e.
Operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) reduced by -15% to 2,534
tCO2e due to the continued transition of our offices to renewable energy. Value
chain emissions (Scope 3) decreased by -1% to 61,984 tCO2e. A reduction in
emissions from our supply chain and waste was offset by increased commuting
and travel in our first full year without disruption from COVID-19.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

How measured:
The property and vehicle emissions per 1,000 people is a measure of intensity
levels of GHG emissions. The most accurate indicator of PageGroup’s activity
levels is thought to be headcount, which is unaffected by factors like business
mix or fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

Why it’s important:
The GHG measurements are normalised and contextualised with the Group’s
evolving business profile, especially with regard to staff expansions with the help
of intensity values. It helps to find the areas where emissions reduction efforts
have been successful.

How we performed in 2023:
Tonnes of CO2e per employee increased by 10% to 7.9 tonnes of CO2e per
employee. The percentage reduction in headcount was greater than the
reduction in overall emissions. Therefore, intensity values have increased.

Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Q&A WITH NICHOLAS KIRK

Introduction

Nicholas joined as a consultant in 1995 in the newly created
Michael Page Sales business and was promoted to Managing
Director in 2007. In 2009, he transferred across to Page
Personnel with a brief to transform the operating model. He
spent the next 4 years expanding into new disciplines and
rapidly growing the Page Personnel business. Nick was
promoted to Regional Managing Director in 2013 and took
on the additional responsibility of Michael Page Finance in the
UK. In 2018, he was promoted to UK Managing Director and
in 2021 he extended his remit to run operations in the UK and
North America.

Nick succeeded Steve Ingham as Chief Executive Officer on
1 January 2023 and in conjunction with the Board, led the
development of our new Strategy, setting ambitious new goals
for the Group.

What are your reflections after one year as CEO?

Clearly 2023 has been a tough year in terms of the trading
conditions we have faced in the majority of our markets.
Despite these conditions, it’s clear that the Group is in great

shape. We have a diverse service offering and an international
platform, where in many markets we are the clear market
leader.

Our People remain at the heart of our business and our
purpose-driven culture sets us apart from the competition.
We have a highly experienced management team throughout
the organisation and our Executive Board has an average of
21 years’ experience across all of the Group’s markets.

During 2023, we took the opportunity to review and refine
our cost base. Through this review, we identified a number
of areas where we could right-size our business. We believe
these actions will help us drive an improved conversion rate in
future years.

What was the background for the new Strategy?

When I was appointed as CEO in January of 2023, I took on
responsibility for a Group that had not only delivered two back-
to-back record years, but had also delivered on the Vision that
we set out in 2012. Namely, £1bn of gross profit and
£200m of operating profit. Our previous Strategy focused on
categorising our geographic markets into three distinct groups:

Our People remain at the heart
of our business and our purpose-
driven culture sets us apart from
the competition.

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large, high potential; large, proven; and small and medium,
high margin. This categorisation gave us a framework for our
investment decisions and the Strategy paid off.

The diversification and globalisation that we undertook as
part of the last Strategy came at a cost as we adopted a
land-and-expand policy in numerous new countries and
cities, whilst also launching new business lines. We now
plan to build on our successes and market know-how to
increase conversion rates to sit consistently above 20%.
Alongside that we will continue to deliver growth and
capital returns, building on the £1.2bn we have returned to
Shareholders since flotation.

To achieve our goals, we will need to reshape our focus
across different aspects of the business. First and foremost,
we will drive conversion rates by making operating profit
our primary financial strategic goal. To do this we will
increase our levels of focus and prioritisation. We have built
an incredibly powerful and diverse platform through the
previous Strategy. Now is the time to optimise that platform.

What is your outlook for 2024?

Looking forward, there remains a high level of global macro
economic and political uncertainty in the majority of our
markets. However, against this backdrop, we continue to
see candidate shortages and good levels of vacancies.

Given our highly diversified and adaptable business
model, with a cost base that can be adjusted rapidly and
a strong balance sheet, we believe we are well-positioned
to weather the uncertainty and continue to make strong
Shareholder returns.

Are Technology and AI a threat to recruitment?

The capacity for automation and AI to drive efficiencies
in recruitment is becoming clearer by the day and we are
fully embracing that change. Our long and successful track
record of recruiting skilled experts in specialist positions,
as well as management and leadership roles, tells us that
the human interaction is vital to deliver the most successful
recruitment outcomes for both clients and candidates. Our
consultants provide valuable expertise, market knowledge
and insight to both sets of Customers we work with, acting
as a trusted partner, working with clients to shape their
talent management strategies, and with candidates to help
navigate their career journeys.

We will continue to partner with premium technology
vendors and surround our consultants with the best tools
to remove the heavy lifting and free up their time to engage
with Customers. We will build on our existing technology
platforms, working closely with our global partners in
Salesforce, Microsoft and Google. We are clear that whilst
automation of an administrative task may save time, it can
also remove an important human touchpoint that allows
our consultants to build stronger relationships and generate
valuable market information.

You continue to make supplementary
Shareholder returns, will this continue?

We operate a highly cash generative business model, with
high levels of cash conversion. We have a clear capital
allocation strategy, with three defined uses of cash. We
first use our cash to satisfy our operational and investment
requirements, and to hedge our liabilities under the Group’s
share plans. We then review our liquidity over and above
this requirement to make returns to Shareholders, firstly by
way of ordinary dividend.

Our policy is to grow this ordinary dividend over the course
of the economic cycle, in line with our long-term growth
rate. We believe this enables us to sustain the level of
ordinary dividend payments during a downturn, as well as
increasing it during more prosperous times. The nature of
our business is that should we experience sustained tough
market conditions, our working capital position unwinds
over a number of years, allowing us to sustain dividend
payments.

Cash generated in excess of these first two priorities will be
returned to Shareholders through supplementary returns,
using special dividends or share buybacks. Since flotation
in 2001, we have returned over £1.2bn to Shareholders,
over half of which has come via supplementary returns.

Clearly there is a heightened degree of macro economic
uncertainty in the majority of the markets in which we
operate, but we will continue to monitor our liquidity in 2024
and will make returns to Shareholders in line with the above
policy.

What progress have you made in the area
of ESG?

This year we changed over 133,000 lives, putting us on
track to deliver our ambition to change one million lives by
2030. Total GHG emissions were broadly stable this year
and we have put the foundations in place to make sure we
deliver our targets to reduce emissions over time.

We continue to make progress towards our gender diversity
target of 50:50 by 2030 and are ahead of plan to achieve
this.

We are continuing to establish a meaningful global
sustainability business, which despite tough conditions in
2023 almost doubled in size. We are on track to be carbon
positive by 2026.

The progress we are making is down to the hard work
of employees across our organisation. From facilities,
procurement, finance, and operations – every employee is
building sustainability considerations into their day-to-day.
Whether that be through volunteering time towards one
of our social impact programmes, recruiting candidates
into ESG positions or making conscious decisions around
business travel.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

OUR CULTURE

All our actions at PageGroup are a reflection of our culture and our culture is the heart of our business. Our aim is to foster a
sense of belonging among our team members and to provide exceptional service to our Customers. It is not sufficient to declare
our culture as inclusive; we strive relentlessly to create an environment where all our People can tangibly experience and embrace
the power of their ideas and hard work, understanding that they have the ability to impact lives positively. Our Purpose is precisely
this: to change lives, and we achieve this by seeking to uphold our values consistently in our interactions with colleagues and
Customers.

This section of the report focuses on the perspectives of our team members, offering valuable insights into the significance of our
culture to us and how we ensure we remain on the right path. On page 27, our Culture and Engagement Framework provides a
roadmap that guides us and enables us to articulate our approach to, and assessment of, our culture.

OUR PURPOSE

WHY WE DO
WHAT WE DO

Our Purpose articulates the underlying
motivation for our actions and why we are
engaged in our business. As a Company
focused on people, our Purpose extends
its relevance not only to our own team
members, but also to our Customers, the
communities in which we operate, and
society at large.

Arman Zareyan
Managing Director, Global Talent,
Leadership & Culture • HR & Talent

At Page, we believe our culture is a competitive advantage. In 2023, we launched
a new business Strategy and re-evaluated the cultural components that we believe
fortify our ability to execute against a global Strategy yet remain uniquely, Page.

With this context, we sharpened our cultural enablers centred around High
Performance, Employee Experience and Inclusivity. Specifically, we reimagined
our performance management approach, refreshed values and behaviours,
refined our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), redesigned employee surveys, and
re-organised our teams to integrate our strategic ambitions.

We took a collaborative and consultative approach across all levels of the
organisation in all aspects of design and development. For example, EVP was
guided by a team of internal and external colleagues, whilst the values and
behaviours were co-created and crowdsourced with employees across all levels,
markets, functions, and brands.

In 2024, we will unleash a series of enablers centred around executing against a
new Strategy. We will do this by building upon the following key areas, introducing
a refreshed performance management approach and EVP, embedding values
and behaviours, maintaining our continuous listening strategy, and focusing on
employee experience and integrating DE&I with social impact.

OUR VALUES

HOW WE
WANT TO
WORK

Our values are central to everything we do. They
are core to our business and play a key part in what
makes us unique. They are the foundation to our
processes, fundamental to our approach to business
and inspiration for our People. There is no doubt that
our values go deeper than the words themselves;
they are lived and breathed in every capacity across
the Group.

EARN TRUST
GROW CONNECTIONS
MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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OUR PURPOSE

OUR VALUES

WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

HOW WE WANT TO WORK

OUR PEOPLE

Our People are at the heart of Page, so ensuring they are seen, heard
and understood is paramount. It is therefore so important that inclusion
is truly interwoven throughout everything we do. This could be our
Employee Resource Groups, our globally celebrated campaigns, employee
engagement or indeed our service delivery to Customers.

EARN TRUST
GROW CONNECTIONS
MAKE A DIFFERENCE

OUR PEOPLE

AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
WHERE EVERYONE CAN THRIVE

OUR CUSTOMERS

STAYING AHEAD –
LEADING OUR INDUSTRY

PageGroup is all about People

Customers at the centre of our business

Creating opportunities to engage with People through
key life moments; having valuable conversations
– more frequently and with more relevant dialogue.

Career progression
Clear and challenging career paths to support
you to reach your potential.

Talent development
Industry-leading training.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
A culture of inclusion.

Giving back to others
Changing lives in the communities where we live
and work.
Rewards & recognition
Celebrating success; fostering a high-trust,
high-performance culture.

Aiming to be the most customer-centric recruiter
and setting us apart from the competition
by delivering an excellent experience for our
Customers. Staying ahead – leading our industry
to best support our Customers.
Improving processes and tools to support
consultant productivity.

Leveraging technology
Improving our Customer experience.

Innovative approaches
Providing a more effective service.

Building relationships
Going further to build lasting relationships with our
clients, candidates and consultants.

Through a personal, professional service creating
the opportunity for candidates and clients to reach
their potential.

OUR MEASURES

KEEPING US ON TRACK, FOCUSED ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

OUR PEOPLE

Employee voice

Talent development

Retention

Career progression
& mobility

Diversity, Equity &
Inclusion

Rewards & recognition

Health & wellbeing

OUR
CUSTOMERS

Engaging our Customers – NPS,
Customer satisfaction

Retaining our Customers – repeat
business, Preferred Supplier Agreements

Innovation

EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

Public commitments

Awards

Sheri Hughes
Global DE&I
and Social Impact
Director

As a talent solutions organisation, People are
front and centre of everything we do. Whether
our employees or our Customers, it is imperative
we embed our values of earning trust; growing
connections and making a difference.

It is our culture that enables us to do that
effectively, because we focus on progress and
never stand still. Having an inclusive culture
means we ask questions, listen to feedback and
put the right strategy in place to get better and
do better. By doing the right thing internally with
our People and our commitment to Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion, this means we can support
our Customers to do the same and drive change,
growth and innovation.

We engaged with Employees
in a Global Pulse Survey to
check how our new global
Strategy landed one month
after its launch.

I am aware of PageGroup’s
new global Strategy

92%

My leadership team have actively
communicated PageGroup’s new
global Strategy

88%

GLOBAL EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
SURVEY APRIL 2023

Our 2023 Have Your Say Global Employee
Engagement Survey showed high levels of
engagement across a range of indices. This
survey is designed to measure employee
satisfaction and engagement. We perform
well when compared to external benchmarks
and pay close attention to any trend data. Our
survey provides insight for our People & Culture
function and together within our leadership
teams enables employee engagement planning.

I am proud
to work at
PageGroup

90%

At PageGroup, I can
be my authentic self
at work

86%

Our leaders
demonstrate inclusive
behaviour at PageGroup

85%

My work gives me
a sense of personal
accomplishment

83%

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023
INCLUSION AND BELONGING

We are a people powered business that means our People come first and in order to bring this to life, there has to be a strong
sense of inclusion and belonging for all.

This has been of the utmost importance to us for a long time and we strive to ensure that we have an inclusive culture, full of
compassion and trust, where all employees are seen, respected and thrive at work.

We are wholly committed to developing and retaining talent via promoting through equal opportunities and inclusion in the
workplace. The three pillars of our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy are: Setting an Example; Pushing Boundaries; and
Shaping the Future. Within that we focus on six key areas which highlight specific activities where we can measure progress.
Below demonstrates the key components to the DE&I lifecycle at Page.

Our Ability@Page network aims to
ensure accessibility for all abilities.

To ensure a fully accessible working environment for all abilities, in our view, starts with an understanding
of the barriers that exist so that they can be removed or adjusted. This leads to greater representation
of employees from disabled communities, which in turn makes our service offering more inclusive and
accessible to disabled Customers. The value of having a business full of people with varying abilities has a
profound impact on our organisation. By providing and fostering an inclusive culture that removes barriers
for those with disabilities opens up a plethora of opportunity and innovation for all involved. In 2023, we
commenced a Global Accessibility Audit, partnering with Deque (an organisation specialising in helping
organisations with making their websites more accessible), to understand the best way for us to stay
focused on improving accessibility and usability across the organisation.

Each year we work hard to promote awareness around disability, whether via global webinars for World
Mental Health Day or personal local stories discussing advocacy, allyship and accessibility for International
Day of Persons with Disabilities. We use multiple methods to reach and engage with our employees, giving
space for understanding and opportunities for education, growth and action.

TARGETS /
MEASUREMENTS
To create greater
accountability for driving
change through recognition
and reward.

CULTURE

To create a sense of belonging
and a culture of inclusion, where
everyone can be their authentic
self and succeed at work.

Diversity, Equity
& Inclusion

TALENT
SUCCESSION &
DEVELOPMENT
Ensuring that we are
creating opportunity
for our People and
leveraging our talent
pipelines.

PROMOTION
PROCEDURES
To create diverse
shortlists, to review High
Potentials (HiPs) talent
lists, to stop judging
people in a linear way, to
remove bias, to provide
full transparency, to build
trust around the promotion
process.

TALENT
RETENTION

Retain a greater
proportion of our HiPs
talent with an emphasis
on progression into
senior leadership roles.

TALENT
ATTRACTION
To create a more diverse
talent pool through rehires
and new hiring which
accelerates our goal of
improved representation
across targeted groups.

The term “Wellbeing” is
very close to my heart
as I am a firm believer in
enabling work cultures to
support not just mental health,
but also physical, financial
and social wellbeing – thereby
fostering a balanced work life,
and encouraging open dialogue
amongst us all.

I truly feel that having a strong
Ability@Page agenda not only
contributes to a more productive
workforce but also to a
healthier society!

– Akshay Chopra, Global Talent Manager
& Ability@Page Chair for the UK

As a woman and a person with
a disability, I feel honoured to
work for a company that values
equality and inclusion. I have
always had the opportunity to
discuss workplace accommodations and
be heard. The seriousness with which
suggestions are received is remarkable,
as is the commitment to creating a more
diverse and accommodating environment
for everyone.

– Paola Caruso, Assistant, Brazil

World Mental Health Day
is an essential opportunity
to raise awareness of
the issues involved in
preserving mental health.
For example, the support
that carers can provide
in supporting people
suffering from mental
disorders, but also about
the vital importance of
self-preservation when you
are an ally.

– Timothée
Simonnet,
Social Impact
Manager, France

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Our Families@Page network seeks
to provide a welcoming workplace
which accommodates families and
personal lives.

Our best-in-class parental policies,
flexible/hybrid working model and
support for our People. For example,
in the UK free emergency dependents
care is in place, so that our employees
can put their families first.

The flexibility provided by extended
paternity leave at Page was very
helpful. We all know how complex it
is to balance work and personal life
and even more during late pregnancy
and the first weeks of a newborn,
especially with another dependent
sibling. I was lucky to have the
support of our management team in
Brazil and to use these 4 weeks to be
closer to my wife and daughters.

After these 4 weeks of Paternity
Leave I could even enjoy a little bit
more flexibility on my regular routine,
being able to work from home an
extra day while also resuming my
regular routines with candidates and
clients, It made me put in a lot of
effort to finish the year on a high note
and I was delighted to be promoted
to Partner a few weeks after I got
back to work.

– Marcelo Botelho,
Partner Page
Executive, Brazil

Families@Page has been
so brilliant. I recently
used the Speak to an
Expert service about
the challenges that we
were having with my 4 year old
starting school. I was able to get an
appointment within 48 hours, and
4 weeks on I can happily say that we
have implemented the plan and my
son is really happy to go into school
and is also sleeping, eating and
getting himself dressed a lot more
independently which is a huge relief
as a parent! I only wish I had used the
service more often and won’t hesitate
to reach out if I need someone to talk
to again.

– Jodie Franklin, Talent Development
Manager, UK

Unlike most companies
I am aware of, we have a
nursing room in our office
and it is designed very
thoughtfully.

Before my enhanced maternity
leave was over, I was informed
of our ‘Phased return to work’
policy. This transitional return to
work program helped me to come
back to work with more ease and
flexibility, all while knowing that my
employer truly cares about not just
me, but also my family!

– Kanika Sagar, Research Associate,
Singapore

Embracing all sexual orientations
and gender identities

When it comes to LGBTQ+
inclusion, PageGroup is front and
centre. We have worked hard over
the years to listen to our People and
to promote allyship, advocacy and a
lived experience of truly belonging.

It’s crucial to remember the
power of visibility for the
LGBTQ+ community because
it breaks down stereotypes
and paves the way for the
necessary acceptance and inclusion of all.
Our actions and words must continue to rise,
day after day.

– Lydie Brunisholz, Senior Director,
Page Personnel, France

I was so proud to be representing Melbourne on the
International stage at the International Gay & Lesbian
Football Association and World Pride this year.

I always knew I worked for a pretty great business but that’s
been taken to the next level with not only talking the talk but
walking the walk, and sponsoring the Melbourne Rovers! It was a great feeling
to have the backing of not only the business, but also my teammates and peers
on the ground in Sydney who came to watch me play and cheer me on - such an
unexpected but fantastic surprise! Knowing that I was valued by my colleagues
for not just what I brought to the table from a commercial perspective but to
take an interest in my personal pursuits, really did make me feel valued.

– Claire Stuart, Partner, Page Executive, & Chair, Pride@Page, Australia

Driving gender equity and equality
2023 has seen our Senior
Female Leaders Network have an
opportunity to informally engage
with our CEO and CPO as well as
build on their relationships with their
peers. This forum remains a valuable
way for members to learn from one
another, share insights and foster
connections outside of their own
region.

Our global mentoring programme remains
pivotal to our Women@Page strategy with
hundreds of pairs across the world. It is as a
result of connecting our women with senior
role models that has lead to educating the
wider business on topics such as women’s
health in the workplace.

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M
E
T
A
T
S
L
A
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A
N
F

N
O
T
A
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R
O
F
N

L
A
N
O
T
D
D
A

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Page’s fast-paced,
agile, performance-
driven and rewarding
environment, fed me
with numerous opportunities over
the years and allowed me to thrive in
a constant manner. From rewarding
great performers, to offering
international mobility opportunities
within the network, Mentorship,
Leadership training programs,
etc, one can feel the business’
investment in its people.

– Vishma Soorjee, Associate Partner,
Michael Page, Mauritius

Where a multicultural workforce thrives

Unity signifies our commitment to embracing all cultural
differences. This in part is about educating and raising
awareness, but also to appreciate and celebrate different
culture, festivals and traditions. Across the globe, we
facilitate safe spaces, run training sessions that open up
discussions and learning as well as put on webinars to
amplify our story telling of different cultural lived experiences
across our employees. It is important we try to make sure
everyone feels included and there are opportunities to have
different ethnicity, origins and race recognised. An example
of how we try to demonstrate our commitment to Unity@
Page is that in 2023 we launched flexible bank holiday
options, so that employees can manage the public holidays
to suit their own religious beliefs and cultural background.

Lean In Circles started from March and
3 circles are meeting up bi-monthly.

These support groups have been a space
for people to connect, coach and help each
other to reach their goals and overcome
obstacles they encounter on a daily basis
regardless of the titles.

– Tokine Atsuta, Talent
Development Specialist, Japan

We don’t all start from the same place, so in order to be equitable, we need to
right that wrong and break down barriers and create opportunities. I may not
understand what a woman goes through personally, but my job is to support
and reassure them that all barriers will be removed, so that they can reach their
potential. As UK Exec Sponsor for Women@Page I take my role as an ally and
advocate really seriously as it’s about how we ensure our business safeguards and
promotes equity for all.

– James Barrett, Managing Director Michael Page Technology,
& Exec Sponsor for Women@Page, UK

In line with our UN SDG targets, we continue to work towards 50:50 gender balance in senior management by 2030. In 2023, we
increased our gender balance in senior management (Associate Director and above); 45% of this population are female. Additionally,
we are pleased to report continued improvement on our female representation at the senior level as defined by the Corporate
Governance Code; as at 31 December 2023, 36.6% of our Executive Board and direct reports were female (30.8% : 2022).

BOARD
DIRECTORS

SENIOR
MANAGEMENT1

OTHER
EMPLOYEES

Male

Female

Male

Female

3
2
0
2

4
(50%)

3
2
0
2

4
(50%)

3
2
0
2

568
(55%)

3
2
0
2

456
(45%)

Male

Female

2,766
(39%)

3
2
0
2

4,362
(61%)

3
2
0
2

2
2
0
2

4
(50%)

2
2
0
2

4
(50%)

2
2
0
2

574
(57%)

431
(43%)

2
2
0
2

3,315
(40%)

2
2
0
2

4,939
(60%)

1. The data above reflects those that PageGroup considers to be its senior management. The Companies Act 2006 definition of senior managers requires
the directors of PageGroup’s subsidiaries to be considered senior management and the data calculated in accordance with that definition is 570 male and
456 female.

Hispanic Heritage Month is one of
my favorite times of year. It’s an
opportunity to celebrate the Hispanic/
Latin culture while driving awareness
around ways to support the community
and driving impactful change. This year
was filled with exciting events from
hosting a North America-wide trivia
game to doing a fundraiser in LA for
the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. We
also had a Hispanic Heritage Month
Safe Space discussion. We plan on
meeting monthly to stay connected!
Overall, it was a hugely successful
month and we’re looking forward to
continuing the celebrations!

– Melody Mercado, Principal,
Page Executive, US

Unity@Page has
been pivotal to what
it means for me as
a Black woman in the workplace.
Having been a mentor in Cycle
2 of the Reverse Mentoring
programme, the outcome of
our honest and challenging
discussions led to a whole new
training programme being created
around Inclusive Behaviours and
language. This in turn gave me a
truly safe space amongst my peers
to have the confidence to express
my true feelings and express
openly what I’ve always wanted to
say for the first time in my 28 year
career. It really meant the world.

– Catherine Osaigbovo, Partner,
Page Executive, UK

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023INTERNS & APPRENTICESHIPS

HEALTH & WELLBEING

10,000 BLACK INTERNS

10,000 ABLE INTERNS

My internship at Page provided me
with a platform and opportunity to
grow in confidence. Furthermore,
having the support and guidance of
the team meant that I was trusted
to take on projects that would not
only aid in the development of my
existing abilities but also in the
establishment of new ones. Overall,
I am appreciative of the experiences
and exposure I gained whilst working
at Page, all thanks to the 10,000
Black Interns Programme.

– Anyi-Ajong Nkohkwa,
Summer 2023 intake

YOUNG APPRENTICES
PROGRAMME – BRAZIL

The 10,000 Able Internship
opportunity at PageGroup
has been a fantastic
insight into the world of
recruitment. Every day is
different and I thoroughly
enjoyed meeting new
people from all walks of life.
Although a big company,
PageGroup are so inclusive
and I recommend anyone to
sign up for their internship
programme. It isn’t just
experience on the CV, it’s
a step forward in your own
personal development and
it would be a mistake to not
take up this opportunity.

– Brendan Sathees, Summer
2023 intake

This is a programme aimed at young apprentices aged between 16 and
20 in their first professional experience and from minority groups. In this
programme, we provide the necessary support for young apprentices from
the moment they arrive at the Company. During their Onboarding they are
assigned a buddy for the first six months as well as there being constant
support for managers to ensure that these young talents can be retained
and developed in PageGroup.

YOUNG APPRENTICE PROGRAMME – BRAZIL

My experience as a young apprentice here at PageGroup has been
fascinating. From the first day, I was warmly welcomed by the entire
Page Interim team and introduced to many learning and development
opportunities. I have been challenged daily, which has helped me
grow professionally and improve skills such as communication,
resilience, and teamwork. As my first experience, this has been even
more rewarding. I have a very positive feeling about continuing my
journey and I am grateful for this great opportunity as my first step
into the professional world.

– Wendel Britos, Young Apprentice, Brazil

Health & Wellbeing is an important element of our culture and our approach centres around providing
the right working environment to foster positive interactions and support. Across the world, many of our
offices have been refurbished to suit different working styles and allow for alternative ways to collaborate.
Hybrid, flexible and dynamic working remains an important factor to give all employees a mechanism
to accommodate the where, when and what if scenarios. Our resources include a wellbeing toolbox,
Mental Health First Aiders/Champions, PageBreaks (time off to recharge), wellness activities and open
communication to understand one another better and support with meaningful actions.

Each week, we share a post
regarding physical or mental
health for what we call “Wellness
Wednesday”. These posts
include everything from healthy
recipes, fitness videos and tips, breathing
exercises, and health resources beyond our
EVP. Wellness Wednesday has become a
great platform for the North American Page
community to deepen our relationship to
wellbeing and interact with each other by
sharing tips and personal experiences.

– Kelli Laska, Senior HR Manager, USA

Page Break has
helped a working dad
like me in balancing
my work and family,
especially since I have
2 young boys.

– Jeffrey Ng,
Regional Director,
Singapore

NURTURING
TALENT

We understand that each employee
needs to feel in control of their own
career pathway. To foster this, we use
our internal job board that we launched
this year which gives full transparency
of career opportunities that are available
across the Globe. This allows for
non-linear career paths and helps the
business to provide all the necessary
tools, skills and development resources
to support every employee in search
of their own career goals. This is
supported by our learning platform and
robust talent development programmes.

At Page, we are
committed to
developing our People
to help them pursue our purpose
– PageGroup changes lives – and
achieve our goals and ambitions
with excellence. We support the
development of our workforce
through experiences that
support the mindset and skillset
for today’s challenges, and their
readiness for the challenges of
tomorrow.

– Edith Defaut, Talent Development
Director, Continental Europe

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023APAC TALENT FORUM (ATF)

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Acknowledgment and reward are key to a successful work culture, and our approach to rewarding our
staff is wider than financial incentives alone. We invest the time and effort to acknowledge the valuable
contributions made by our employees to our business and Customers. Our reward programmes
encompass a diverse array of benefits, such as the opportunity to take extra time off and access discounts
related to retail, leisure, health, and wellbeing.

Recognising our team members’ performance, promotions, dedication, and the value they bring to their
roles is indispensable for their retention and career development. We take great pride in celebrating
accomplishments, significant milestones, and the individuals responsible for them, regardless of their
location. Throughout the year, we marked work anniversaries, team achievements, and promotions by
hosting team gatherings and virtual events. Through our internal online communication platform, Viva
Engage, every employee has the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of their fellow
team members and colleagues worldwide.

GLOBAL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY APRIL 2023

I believe I have the opportunity for
personal development and growth
at PageGroup

There is a clear link
between my performance
and compensation

83%

65%

I am satisfied with the benefits
provided at PageGroup

75%

Overall, I would say this
is a great place to build
my career

80%

I am extremely grateful to be
part of the ATF. It was great to
get exposure to MDs in other
regions.

Personally, I most enjoyed the
process of working with my
sponsor to get insight from
someone very different to me
and have the opportunity to
learn and develop.

– May Wah Chan,
Regional Director,
Vietnam

I had a positive
experience with ATF,
working with my sponsor and
acting on the feedback from the
APAC board.

This network has also enabled
me to connect with other APAC
board members to discuss
specific strategic initiatives.

– Brodie McDougall, Regional
Director, Australia

FUTURE FOUNDATIONS

I am incredibly grateful for
my experience in the Future
Foundations Program. As
someone who recently
relocated and joined our
US Leadership Team, this
program has been essential
in helping me integrate and
succeed in my new role.

– Devi Rishi,
Operating Director,
North America

I have really enjoyed
and feel grateful to be
a part of the Future
Foundations Program
thus far. It’s so
important to collaborate with other
directors and I feel this gives us all
a great opportunity to do so.

I’m also very grateful for the MD
participation in this program and
have found it very helpful to learn
from my sponsor.

– Lindsey Ferruzzi Director,
North America

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023OUR CUSTOMERS

CULTURE AND THE BOARD

The relationships we build with our clients and
candidates are absolutely front and centre of
our business. The importance we place on those
relationships with our Customers is reflected in our
Net Promoter Score being one of the three key goals
to be delivered by 2030 through our new Strategy.

The Board understands that fostering a positive culture is vital for the continued success of the Group. Board
members share collective responsibility for ensuring the business delivers an experience our Stakeholders
expect. Twice a year the Board examines, monitors and reviews the Company’s Culture & Engagement
Framework in deep dive sessions designed to give real insight into how it feels to work and interact with us as a
business. The sessions are held with the Chief People Officer and senior members of the DE&I team and provide
an opportunity for Board members to assess, through numerous data points, trends, areas of potential concern
or priorities where resource should be focused. Together with the information and channels described in the
employee and Customer voice section below, they provide a rich picture of the organisation’s culture.

Patrick Hollard

Chief Customer Officer

CLIENT NET PROMOTER SCORE

2022

2023

RESULTS FROM OUR CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION SURVEY 2023

82% Satisfied

Candidates

93%

Satisfied
Clients

PageGroup is a people business. We base our success on
how we deliver a truly excellent Customer experience. We
are therefore constantly looking at ways we can improve
our services to add value to our clients’ businesses and
our candidates’ careers.

Our clients, from large and recognisable brands to small or
medium-sized enterprises, look to us to provide them with
expertise and insight to help them reach their potential,
grow their business and maximise the efficiency of their
teams. Our market knowledge across multiple geographies
and sectors delivered through our consultants is relevant
at a local level but equally provides the backbone to our
suite of insights products that enables our larger clients to
address their more complex hiring needs. We recognise the
challenges that larger and often more global businesses
face in sourcing talent and know we are ideally placed to
partner with them to meet their needs. We are providing
additional tools and insights in areas such as DE&I as well
as differentiated processes through our global platforms,
so that our Strategic Customers are one of the four growth
pillars in our new Strategy.

For our candidates seeking to advance their careers,
we provide an excellent digital journey, but equally we
understand that having a human at the heart of the
process is critical. We need to be able to understand each
candidate’s needs to be useful to them. Whether through
our digital channels or our People, our interactions with
candidates should be personalised to deliver a relevant
experience. Engaging with Page needs to feel seamless
and our platforms must allow our People to build deep,
recurring relationships. This is what sets us apart and
allows us to stay true to our purpose of changing lives.

PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

The importance that Board members place on
the governance of culture is both assuring and
representative of the role our culture plays in
making Page a special place to work.

Anouska Perera
Deputy General Counsel

In 2023, items covered in the Board’s review of culture
included the following:

Have your Say Survey
with trend and
benchmark data

Rewards and
Recognition

Talent
Development

Listening
Strategy

Global senior
leadership
gender data

Leadership Diversity
programmes

Spotlight on
social impact
initiatives

Career progression
and mobility

Health &
Wellbeing
actions

The Board’s review of culture showed no material cause for concern and that the Company’s culture is aligned
with our purpose, values and Strategy. As culture is a key asset powering the Company’s future growth, the
Board’s focus on creating positive social impact through transparent and equitable culture will remain at the
forefront of its work in 2024.

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A
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E
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A
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V
O
G
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T
A
R
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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER VOICE

SUSTAINABILITY

The Board’s continuous listening strategy draws upon a
variety of actions and involvement to ensure the voice of our
employees is understood in the boardroom. The Board has
not chosen one of the three prescribed methods set out in
the Corporate Governance Code, instead it considers that
the alternative arrangements permitted by the Code, and
which are well established across the Group, provide the
most effective method of engagement to ensure the voice of
employees is well understood. The alternative arrangements
described below ensures all Directors have experience of
what matters most to our employees and can bring their skills
and experience to the areas that are relevant to our People.
In respect of the year under review, the Board considers
that there has been meaningful and effective employee
engagement.

Actions to understand the employee voice is a key part of the
work of all our Directors. The Board has a standing agenda
item where Board members share employee voice activity
undertaken since the previous meeting. For example, a
number of Executive and Non-Executive Directors attended
the launch of our Asian and Black leaders network and several
of our Non-Executive directors have attended and spoken
at our Women in Leadership events throughout the year.
Company-run events such as those mentioned above provide
opportunities for Directors to speak to employees outside of a
formal Boardroom setting. Company events are supplemented
with office visits and Directors meet with our senior leaders
through presentations on strategy and business performance
and at least one informal event, such as a dinner. New
directors also spend time with our operations colleagues to
understand the role of a recruitment consultant; this induction
was recently undertaken by Babak Fouladi, the most recent
appointment to the Board.

2023 saw the launch of the Group’s new Strategy and
considerable work was undertaken to ensure our employees
were an integral feature of the Strategy, both in terms of
what was important to them and their views on the future
direction of the Company. Executive Directors engaged with
key Stakeholders within the business and fed back to the
Board to help crystalise the Strategy and the enabling drivers

behind it. The landing of the Strategy culminated in a number
of townhalls to employees and a global pulse survey to ensure
sufficient cascade, the results of which were reviewed by the
Board. We are pleased to report that 92% of people confirmed
that they are aware of our new Strategy. Further, a dedicated
engagement site was established where employees could ask
questions about the new Strategy, with a 48 hour turnaround
time.

Directors have access to the Company’s primary
communication platform, Viva Engage, which provides insight
into the thoughts and issues of importance to employees. This
is further facilitated through the reporting on the Company’s
Speak-Up helpline, with every report and the corresponding
Company actions taken, being reported to Board members.
On-going survey results are shared with the Board including
the Have Your Say annual survey data and on and off
boarding survey results to ensure that employee sentiment
is understood as it evolves. The Board also benefits from
updates about the work of the Company’s Executive Shadow
Board and the activities it undertakes in a given year. For
example, in 2023 the Executive Shadow Board considered a
range of topics including future ways of work, culture, DE&I
and sustainability.

Understanding the experience and needs of our Customers
is equally important for the Board to fulfil its responsibilities
in respect of promoting our Purpose and values. The culture
review sessions described above include understanding
Customer key metrics and progress of the Company’s
Completely Customer Programme. Customers were placed
at the heart of the new Strategy with one of our three key
strategic goals being to achieve a client Net Promoter Score
of 60+ across the global business. Board members also had
a dedicated session with the Chief Data & Marketing Officer
to understand candidate experience and candidate journeys
with a view to monitoring whether this is innovative and at the
forefront of our industry.

For further details of the Board’s activities with all of its
Stakeholders, please see pages 69 to 75.

AWARDS, PARTNERSHIPS AND RECOGNITIONS

Cross Company
Allyship Programme

We strive to be the best in recruitment at driving a sustainable business for our future and our world. Social impact and
our ambition to change one million lives by 2030 is at the heart of what we do and central to our new corporate Strategy.
In recognition of this, alongside the increasing interest and expectation from our investors and others on our sustainability
performance, for 2023, we have integrated our sustainability reporting into our Annual Report and Accounts.

Progress against our sustainability targets and details of key activities in each area can be found on pages 43 to 50.
PageGroup’s TCFD response is on pages 52 to 57. Details on our sustainability performance, our GHG emissions
assurance statement and our basis of reporting can be found at www.page.com/sustainability.

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY AND GOVERNANCE

Page’s sustainability strategy, spanning Environmental,
Social and Governance issues, focuses our attention on the
areas of biggest impact to our business, to society and to
the planet. As a recruitment company, people and society
are at the core of what we do and central to our Strategy.
This is where we believe we can move the dial – we change
lives through creating opportunities for employment. As a
multinational business with operations across 37 countries,
we know we must also help combat climate change and
operate as a responsible organisation with the highest
standards of governance and ethics.

Therefore, our key strategic objectives are:

Environment: to support the transition to Net Zero by
reducing our value chain emissions, and recruiting into roles
that drive positive environmental and social outcomes.

Social: to help create an equitable society and change lives
by giving back as a best-in-class recruiter, corporate citizen
and employer.

Governance: Operate as a responsible business, with
transparent sustainability-related disclosures.

These objectives are supported by four global targets.
We deliver these targets by embedding sustainability
considerations across our business. The Board provides
ultimate oversight and governance over our sustainability
programme. The Board has delegated day-to-day

management and responsibility of the programme to the
Sustainability Committee, chaired by Kelvin Stagg (CFO). The
Sustainability Committee sets our strategic direction, and we
then have a range of specialists and passionate individuals
within our consultant community and all of our support
functions such as HR, Procurement & Facilities, Legal and
Finance, that turn global ambitions into real business action.

Progress is monitored internally throughout the year by
tracking a set of internal metrics for sustainability, such as
business travel, and progress against our targets is disclosed
externally in our annual reporting.

Further details on our Sustainability governance can be found
on page 52.

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE 2023

The Sustainability Committee meets regularly throughout
the year. In 2023, it discussed a range of topics including
compliance with emerging sustainability regulation, the
Group’s strategy for Social Impact and options for driving
sustainability performance throughout the organisation,
including sustainability-related KPIs.

The Sustainability Committee also recommended
PageGroup’s science-based targets and detailed
implementation roadmaps, which were subsequently
approved by the Executive Board and the Board.

Sustainability
vision:
The best in
recruitment
at driving a
sustainable
future for our
business and
our world

L
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E

S
T
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R
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T

To support the transition to
Net Zero by reducing our
value chain emissions, and
recruiting into roles that
drive positive environmental
and social outcomes

L
A
C
O
S

To help create an
equitable society and
change lives by giving
back as a best-in-class
recruiter, corporate
citizen and employer

E Operate as a
C
N
A
N
R
E
V
O
G

responsible
business, with
transparent
sustainability-
related disclosures

To positively
change over one
million lives in the
ten years to 2030

To increase gender
diversity within our
senior management
to 50/50 by 2030

To establish a
meaningful global
sustainability
business by 2026

To become Net Zero
across our full value chain
by 2050

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

PROGRESS AGAINST SUSTAINABILITY TARGETS

SOCIAL

Target

Measure

2023
Performance

Progress
since 2022

Baseline
year

Progress against
baseline

TO POSITIVELY
CHANGE OVER ONE
MILLION LIVES IN THE
TEN YEARS TO 2030

The number of
people we place
into decent work

90,216 people
accessed
decent work
through
PageGroup
placements

The number of
people that access
our social impact
programmes

43,359 people
accessed our
social impact
programmes

Total number of
lives positively
changed

133,575 lives
positively
changed

-16%

2020

366,653 people
accessed decent
work

+50%

2020

-2%

2020

142,263 people
accessed our
social impact
programmes

508,916 lives
positively changed

TO TARGET AN
INCREASE IN
GENDER DIVERSITY
WITHIN OUR SENIOR
MANAGEMENT TO
50/50 BY 2030

The number of
women within
leadership
roles within our
business, globally

45% female vs
55% males

+ 2
percentage
point

2020

16 percentage
point increase in
female leaders

ESTABLISH A
MEANINGFUL GLOBAL
SUSTAINABILITY
BUSINESS BY 2026

Percentage
growth of net fees
generated from
sustainability roles

+78% y-o-y
growth in our
sustainability net
fees

+78%

2019

TO BECOME NET ZERO
ACROSS OUR FULL
VALUE CHAIN BY 2050*

Scope 1 & 2

2,534 tCO2e

-15%

2022

Scope 3

61,984 tCO2e

-1%

Total Scope 1, 2 &
3 emissions

64,518 tCO2e

-1%

2022

+415% growth in
sustainability net
fees

-15% decrease
in Scope 1 & 2
emissions

-1% decrease in
Scope 3 emissions

-1% decrease in
total Scope1,2 & 3
emissions

*In 2023, we replaced our existing carbon target with ambitious Net Zero value chain science-based targets, which have been formally submitted
to the SBTi for validation. Details on our progress against these can be found on page 49.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2023

61%

of offices powered by
renewable energy

OVER
500,000

lives positively
changed since we set
our target in 2020

SECOND YEAR
RUNNING

achieved a
B CDP score

COMMITTED
TO SET

Science-based targets,
including to be Net Zero
across our full value
chain by 2050

PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

ALMOST
DOUBLED

the growth of our
sustainability business

Our purpose to change people’s lives is the meaning behind our business and guides what we do at PageGroup, including
our approach to Social Impact. We want to positively change over one million lives by 2030, and are committed to using our
skills, networks, and influence to give everyone the opportunities to reach their potential in the world of work.

As a recruitment company, we are well placed to make a difference as we can reach hard to identify talent, understand work
trends and the needs of our clients. Over the past year we have continued to deepen our focus on supporting people facing
social disadvantage, and have fostered collective action across the Group around two key social impact initiatives:

• Hidden Talent: removing barriers to work for people with disabilities and neurodiversity.

• Empowering Talent: opening doors to employment opportunity for people from under-represented groups.

SOCIAL IMPACT HIDDEN TALENT

Over one billion people, or one in six of the world’s population, have a disability. Whilst many workers living with a disability go
on to forge successful careers, the majority faces a range of challenges with accessing and sustaining employment.

We are passionate about promoting disability inclusion in the job market and we have been working for several years to
dismantle barriers to the workplace for this hidden pool of talent. Through our DE&I Solutions teams based in the UK, Brazil,
Spain, Italy and Singapore, we support our clients to recruit diverse talent, with a particular focus on people with disabilities.
We have also built long-term partnerships with disability charities and support their beneficiaries with our recruitment skills
through workshops, coaching programmes and by hosting internships at Page. Below shines a spotlight on some of the
activities undertaken in 2023.

PARTNERING WITH THE LIGHTHOUSE
FUTURES TRUST TO SUPPORT YOUNG
ADULTS WITH NEURODIVERSITY IN THE UK

Neurodiverse young people face a range of barriers when
they come to taking their first steps into the workplace.
Our UK Leeds office partnered with The Lighthouse Futures
Trust to host eight-month internships for three young people
with differing neurodiverse conditions. Towards the end of
the internship, the interns wrote their CVs, secured interviews
and prepared for these with the help of Page colleagues.
They were delighted when Ben went on to secure an
apprenticeship with a civil engineering company.

As a whole experience it was a positive
one for many reasons, including the
way the whole team welcomed me and
throughout the year. I feel like I have a
ball of confidence to take into my new
job. I wouldn’t be in it if it wasn’t for my
internship so thank you to everyone for
the opportunity.

– Ben, Intern

REVERSE DISABILITY MENTORING FOR
OUR EMPLOYEES IN BELGIUM

Our dedicated charity partner in Belgium, Diversicom, advocates
for people with disabilities to support diversity in the job market.
We have supported the charity through coaching, networking, and
mentoring programmes, helping people with disabilities transition
into jobs.

This year, the Diversicom team hosted workshops at
our Brussels and Antwerp offices for 50 Page employees about
Autism and DYS/ADHD and invisible disabilities.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

SOCIAL IMPACT EMPOWERING TALENT

At PageGroup, we understand the importance of tackling social inequalities to build a fairer and more equitable society. We
recognise that not everyone starts with the same opportunities to find and maintain meaningful work. Through our initiative
Empowering Talent, we partner with a range of charities and our clients to open doors to employment opportunity for people from
under-represented communities.

CASE STUDIES

LATAM’S TECH CHANGEMAKERS:
EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES THROUGH
IT SKILLS

Having partnered with Recode for several years in Brazil,
this year we launched a regional charity partnership to
create a Latin American community of Tech Change
Makers. Our aim was to digitally empower 200 women
and young people from low-income communities with
the skills they need to create innovative technological
solutions to local social problems.

The Tech Change Makers project made me
feel confident in putting my thoughts into
action and to try to be a multiplier for the
common good. No one is better than anyone
else, only some do more than others, and
strengthening ourselves is the best tool to
shine and become self-independent.

– Karina Andrea Rumbo, Participant in the Tech
Change Makers Project

RESHAPING CAREERS WITH THE
SINGAPORE CANCER SOCIETY (SCS)

In partnership with the SCS’s Return to Work programme, our Southeast
Asian leadership team was humbled to welcome cancer survivors
to PageGroup’s Singapore office for a Career Training Seminar. They
heard from PageGroup’s Regional Financial Director, who shared his
own personal journey as a cancer survivor, before moving into sessions
covering CV writing, interview preparation and searching for employment.

The Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) is excited to partner with Michael Page in
empowering cancer survivors to regain employment and normalcy. We eagerly anticipate
the ongoing support and collaboration with Michael Page in this transformative endeavour
and look forward to organising more workshops in the future.

– Mark Lin, Head of Department, Psychosocial Services, SCS

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES
BY GIVING BACK

Worldwide, PageGroup and our
People are deeply passionate
about supporting the communities
in which we live and work. Our
wider community engagement and
charitable efforts take many shapes
and forms, from volunteering at food
banks and reconstructing schools,
through to sporting fundraisers and
donations of workplace clothing.

IN TOTAL, WE DONATED
£259,266

in 2023

AND VOLUNTEERED
7,394 hours

CASE STUDIES

FUNDRAISING FOR CANCER CENTER IN
THE USA

EMPOWERING CHILDREN THROUGH
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME SUPPORT
IN INDONESIA

Over the past five years, PageGroup Indonesia
has partnered with Kampung Kids Foundation to
provide a scholarship programme for more than 250
underprivileged students, from elementary to high
school, to help cover their tuition and school supplies
every year. Led by the Indonesian Social Impact
team, we have donated over IDR 413,600,000
(£21,400) to support the children with their
education, and have seen ten students graduate!

For me our Boston office
exemplifies compassion in
action, embodying the spirit of
giving. Our office has raised
over $20,000 in just two years
for Dana-Farber Cancer Center.
Through tireless fundraising
initiatives, our team has not
only demonstrated the power of
community but also showcased
the profound impact that
collective efforts can have in
advancing cancer research and
patient care. We will continue to
support Dana-Farber as they
continue to crack the cancer
code.

– Sean Rogerson, Managing Director,
Boston, USA

SUPPORTING OVER 50S INTO THE
WORKPLACE IN SWITZERLAND

Level + was launched by the employment service of
the State of Geneva to support and accelerate the re-
employment of people aged 50+. PageGroup’s office in
Geneva has been working with Level + since January 2023.

Michael Page is playing an active role in
our Level + pilot programme. By running
“Communication & Influence” workshops,
their expertise enables our talent to
enhance their employability by identifying
their communication styles and adapting
their messages for optimum impact.
A big thank you to Michael Page for its
unwavering commitment to us and its
high-quality support for our talent!

– Julien de Tassigny, Community
& Project Manager, Level+

RESTORATION PROJECT OF
RURAL SCHOOL IN COLOMBIA
In Colombia, we worked with Fundación
Construyendo Sonrisas (Foundation
Building Smiles) to repair facilities at a rural
primary school in Tabio, Cundinamarca,
changing the lives of more than 50 children.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023ENVIRONMENT

We care about the risk that climate change poses to society. We also
understand that new skills and new jobs are needed to address these
challenges through the creation of new industries, markets, products
and services. As a global recruitment company, we believe we are well
placed to support the workforce transformation required to deliver the
change. As such, we have two main areas of environmental focus:

1. Reducing our impact on the environment, by becoming Net Zero

across our full value chain.

2. Establishing a meaningful sustainability business, where we place

top talent into green jobs.

REDUCING OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

GHG emissions

In accordance with the Large and Medium-sized Companies
and Group (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 (as
amended), and the Streamlined Energy and Carbon reporting
requirements, PageGroup reports on all Scope 1 – direct
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (relating to the combustion
of fuel and the operation of any facility); and Scope 2 – energy
indirect GHG emissions (through the purchase of electricity,
heat, steam or cooling). In addition, PageGroup reports on
Scope 3 – other indirect emissions. All material Scope 3
categories are disclosed.

Data for our sustainability reporting covers the period
1 October 2022 - 30 September 2023. Energy consumption
has been calculated using invoiced electricity data in offices
and all emissions have been calculated in line with the GHG
Protocol Corporate Reporting Standard using Ecometrica, an
external sustainability software platform.

In 2023, we made ongoing improvements to our data quality
and methodologies to reduce our reliance on estimates and
increase the accuracy of our GHG emissions figures. We
conducted pilots to measure actual waste in our offices,
expanded our commuting survey and increased the number
of suppliers we collect actual data for, to supplement sector-
based intensity averages applied to our spend profile.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions continue to be calculated using
invoiced energy data and company car mileage reports from
our lease providers. Homeworking emissions are calculated
using Ecometrica’s geographically specific homeworking model
combined with headcount and working from home figures.

In 2023 we engaged ERM CVS to provide Independent Limited
Assurance for selected ESG KPIs. Please see the assurance
report provided on page.com/sustainability, along with our
basis of reporting document which outlines further detail on
our methodology.

Overall total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions have decreased
slightly in 2023. We continue to make strong progress in
transitioning our offices to renewable energy, reducing the
use of natural gas heating and working with our facilities

management partners to improve the way we measure and
manage waste in our offices. However, these reductions
have been offset by increases in business travel (including in
company cars) and commuting in our first full year free from
COVID-19 disruption.

GHG emission reduction targets

We support the Paris Agreement goal of pursuing efforts to
limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.
This will require global greenhouse gas emissions to halve this
decade and achieve a Net Zero position by 2050.

That is why we updated our carbon targets to align with the
Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Net Zero standard,
ensuring our emissions reduction strategy is in line with the
best in our industry and the United Nations definition of Net
Zero1.

We are committed to being Net Zero across our full value
chain, which means reducing our emissions towards zero as
far as possible, with residual emissions balanced by carbon
removals. We have also set near-term science-based targets
to ensure we make meaningful progress this decade.

Our targets are outlined below and have been submitted to the
SBTi for formal validation.

Near-term targets:
• 60% reduction in absolute Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by

2030 from a 2022 baseline year.

• 25% reduction in absolute Scope 3 emissions from

purchased goods and services and business travel by 2030
from a 2022 baseline year.

Long-term, Net Zero target:
• 95% reduction in absolute Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by

2050 from a 2022 baseline year.

• 90% reduction in absolute Scope 3 emissions by 2050 from

a 2022 baseline year.

See page 49 for a summary of our progress to date against the
near-term targets and for our carbon reduction plan.

1.The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines Net Zero emissions as the point when “anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period.”

ABSOLUTE SCOPE 1, 2 AND 3 GHG EMISSIONS

Emissions Source (tCO2e)

2022

2023

UK and
offshore

Global
(excluding
UK and
offshore)

Global
(including
UK and
offshore)

UK and
offshore

Global
(excluding
UK and
offshore)

Global
(including
UK and
offshore)

% change
in total
emissions
(vs previous
year)

Scope 1 Direct GHG Emissions

Natural gas

Company owned vehicles1

Scope 2 Indirect GHG Emissions
(Market-Based)

Purchased electricity (market based)2

Company owned electric vehicles1

141

168

167

792

170

622

933

256

677

1,881

2,049

1,877

2,044

979

157

822

1,034*

176

858

11%

-31%

27%

1,429

1,500*

-27%

1,425

1,476

-28%

380%

Total Scope 3 GHG Emissions (consisting
of the below categories)

10,031

52,297

62,328

9,003

52,981

61,984*

-1%

Category 1: Purchased Goods & Services3,4

7,695

41,754

49,449

7,434

41,179

48,613*

-2%

Category 3: T&D losses and upstream
emissions

Category 5: Waste Generated in Operations5

Category 6: Business travel6

194

170

411

Category 7: Homeworking7 & Commuting11

1,561

1,038

1,232

1,948

1,347

6,210

2,118

1,758

7,771

118

687

743

1,031

1,149*

-7%

101

2,162

8,508

122*

2,849*

9,251*

-94%

62%

19%

Total tonnes of CO2e

10,3408

54,970

65,310

9,129

52,389

64,518

-1%

GHG EMISSIONS INTENSITY

Number of employees9

Tonnes of CO2e per employee

1,404

7.48

7,616

8.2

9,020

7.2

1,245

6,895

7.3

8.0

8,140

7.9

-10%

10%

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

Scope 1 energy consumption (MWh)10,11

Scope 2 energy consumption (MWh)12

Scope 3 energy consumption (MWh)13

Total energy consumption (MWh)

701

2,266

3,576

6,543

3,247

8,690

11,831

23,768

3,948

10,956

15,407

30,311

346

1,457

1,058

2,861

3,915

7,769

17,802

29,486

4,261

9,226

18,860

32,347

-16%

22%

3 .

Company car travel for personal use is excluded from emissions. In 2022, it was assumed 75% of travel was for personal use. In 2023, for Spain, France,
Italy and the Netherlands, the assumption was replaced with more accurate estimates based on an analysis of known trips resulting in higher percentages for
personal use.

Gaps in electricity data have been estimated based on historical consumption data. Where historical data is unavailable, floorspace is used to estimate electricity
consumption.

Purchased goods and services emissions are calculated using global aggregated figures for procurement spend. Figures for the UK have been estimated by
apportioning global emissions to the UK, based on UK FTE as a percentage of global FTE.

Purchased goods and services includes emissions from our contractor business. In 2022, spend-based estimates were used to estimate emissions for this
category. In 2023, these were replaced with estimates based on the actual number of contractors and the nature of their employment (remote IT and HR
professionals).

In 2022, emissions associated with landfilled waste and water were estimated using average intensity metrics per FTE. In 2023, these estimates have been
replaced with averages based on a series of waste measurement pilots conducted across the business. This has resulted in the decrease in emissions.

PageGroup reported global emissions associated with air travel, rail, taxi, bus, accommodation, car rentals and expensed fuel for business travel.

7. Homeworker emissions have been calculated based on Ecometrica’s homeworking model using FTE data.

8. Total tonnes of CO2e and Tonnes of CO2e per employees in the UK in 2022 have been restated.
9. 2022 FTE is the total headcount for PageGroup as per September 2022. 2023 FTE is the total headcount for PageGroup as per September 2023.

10. Energy 1 MWh = 1,000 kWh.

11. Energy consumption from Scope 1 relates to energy from fuel for Company vehicles and natural gas use in offices.

12. Energy consumption from Scope 2 relates to electricity use in offices.

13. Energy consumption from Scope 3 relates to energy from fuel associated with business travel (cars and taxis) and fuel associated with commuting (employee-

owned vehicles).

* This metric is subject to external independent limited assurance by ERM Certification and Verification Services Limited (‘ERM CVS’). For the results of the
assurance, see ERM CVS’s assurance report and PageGroup’s Reporting Criteria on www.page.com/sustainability.

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PROGRESS AGAINST TARGETS

ESTABLISHING A MEANINGFUL SUSTAINABILITY BUSINESS

Target

60% reduction
in Scope 1 & 2
emissions by 2030

Progress vs
baseline (2022)

-15% in Scope 1
& 2 emissions

Commentary and mitigating actions

Our Scope 1 & 2 emissions continued to decrease this year. We
successfully transitioned more of our offices to renewable energy. 61% of
our offices are now renewable. However, increased company car usage
has increased our Scope 1 emissions. We remain focused on electrifying
our company car offering, improving energy efficiency in our offices and
ensuring we have renewable energy where possible. These measures will
help us move towards our 2030 reduction target.

25% reduction in
emissions from
purchased goods
and services and
business travel by
2030

+0.5% in Scope
3 emissions
from purchased
goods and
services and
business travel

Scope 3 emissions from these categories have remained broadly stable
in 2023. Decreases due to a slight reduction in procurement activity this
year have been offset by increases in business travel. The uptick in travel
is reflective of the fact that 2023 was the first year, post-COVID-19, where
all key markets were open. The carbon reduction plan below outlines the
steps we will take to help us move towards our 2030 reduction target.

CARBON REDUCTION PLAN

Our strategy to reduce emissions in line with our Net Zero
ambition is focused on six key areas:

controls, processes and reporting to enable us to improve
the way we monitor and manage our travel going forward.

Renewable, efficient and green offices: We
are proactively reducing our energy consumption by
increasing energy efficiencies throughout our offices. For
example, in 2023, we carried out several new office fit
outs with a heavy focus on energy saving initiatives. We
will continue to transition our offices to renewable energy.
Where infrastructure prevents a straightforward transition
to renewable energy, we will support regions to explore
alternatives.

Adopting electric vehicles (EV): We continue to
provide a range of electric vehicles within our company car
offering. Where EV charging infrastructure is limited, we are
committed to offering hybrid vehicles as the next best option
and, where possible, we offer electric charging points in our
offices.

Reducing business travel: In 2023, we developed
updated global guidance on necessary business travel and
permitted modes of travel. Our aim is to reduce overall travel
and increase travel via public transport. We are reviewing

Encouraging low carbon commuting and
homeworking: In 2023, we launched a global Commuting
Survey, to better understand employee commuting habits,
and how we can develop a strategy to support low carbon
commuting. COVID-19 has changed the way we work, and
we are committed to flexible working and supporting our
employees to work remotely.

Transitioning to a low-carbon supply chain:
Addressing our supply chain emissions is central to meeting
our emissions reductions targets relating to our near and
long-term SBTs. This will require collaboration with our
suppliers so that we can work together to reduce emissions
from the products and services we purchase.

Raising awareness and changing behaviours: We will
engage employees to encourage positive behaviours around
sustainability, to minimise emissions both inside and outside
of work.

As a recruitment company, we are well placed to support
the economy’s transition to Net Zero. As new industries
and markets emerge, others will change, and some will
disappear altogether. There is a significant global workforce
transformation attached to this which creates both
employment opportunities and risks.

Our skills and core expertise means we can play a role in
driving positive outcomes from this change in two ways:

First, by promoting inclusive and decent work attached to the
Net Zero transformation. Within our Sustainability business
we have recruitment consultants around the world placing
candidates into green jobs and specifically sustainability-
related roles from Chief Sustainability Officers to ESG
Analysts. Our Sustainability business continued its significant
growth in 2023, increasing by almost 80% this year alone.

We are proud of the progress we are making to place
candidates into positions that drive positive environmental
and social outcomes.

Second, by taking an active role in mitigating the
employment risks attached to Net Zero. At Page, we believe
no person, community or region should be left behind
as the employment landscape changes. So, in 2023, we
established The Green Jobs Foundation as a founding
member. The foundation’s purpose is to mitigate employment
risks driven by climate change, by providing a voice
from business on green jobs globally. The foundation will
collaborate with current and future job seekers, businesses,
other NGOs and government to increase awareness of, and
access to, green jobs.

CASE STUDIES

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

CLIENT EXPERIENCE

Working with Page was a very
positive experience. It had a
very “lean” recruitment process
where the first contact made
by the recruiter was explicit
and enlightening about the
challenge. Then, a second
interaction with the Company,
where they explained the
role and what was intended
in more detail. It was a very
quick process, with very good
feedback and helpful follow up
from Page after each step.

– Carla Vilar, Portugal Quality
Country Manager, Fusion Fuel

Transener is the leading public
electricity transmission company
in Argentina. We worked with
PageGroup to recruit a Safety,
Hygiene and Environment Manager
– a strategically important position.
Working with Page was a dynamic,
close and effective process.
Their expertise and knowledge of
sustainability issues ensured we
were presented with candidates
who not only met the technical
requirements, but also shared
our vision of sustainability and
corporate responsibility.

– Gastón Orazi, HR Director, Transener

In 2023, we continued to offset the emissions we have not yet been able to avoid. Offset emissions do not count towards our
reported GHG emissions reductions. Working with Climate Impact Partners, we supported the carbon removal projects below,
which were selected based on an employee vote.

GREEN JOBS: STATE OF THE NATION

CommuniTree
Reforestation,
Nicaragua
Working with thousands
of smallholder farmers to
create long-term income
opportunities from grow-
ing trees on underused
parts of their land.

Darkwoods Forest
Conservation, Canada
Protecting approximately
156,000 acres of Boreal
forest from subdivision,
high-impact logging
and other environmental
threats.

The Green Jobs Foundation will produce best practice guides, webinars
and in-person events, all cross referenced with leading research, policy
and advocacy. Its inaugural report “Green Jobs: State of the Nation”
highlights the growth of Green Jobs in the UK but also the need to do
more to nurture green skills and generate job opportunities in the local
areas that would benefit the most.

You can find out more at www.greenjobsfoundation.org

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023A RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

At PageGroup, we recognise the significance of applying the principles of good governance to our organisation and maintaining
a culture of ethics and compliance. We take our responsibilities in upholding the human rights of those across our value chain,
in maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of our data and systems and in complying with relevant tax laws and obligations
very seriously.

Details on our approach to the above can be found below and on pages 63 to 65 and page 80.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE UN’S 2030
AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABILITY
DEVELOPMENT
PageGroup is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact
(UNGC). We consider our agreement to the UNGC as an indication of
the importance we place on ethical leadership and good governance
through values-based strategies, policies, operations and relationships
when engaging with all Stakeholders.

We are proud to contribute to the SDGs, which we view as targets
and objectives that build on each other to achieve a more sustainable
future and make progress toward addressing the blockages to
developing a prosperous future globally.

Through our core business activities and sustainability agenda we
make significant and direct contributions to SDG 5: Gender Equality,
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10: Reduced
Inequalities and SDG 13: Climate Action, and these are our primary
goals. Our activities to date to widening access to sustainable
economic opportunities has also contributed to a further 11 SDGs (1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16 and 17).

HUMAN RIGHTS
PageGroup recognises the fundamental
rights of people, including all our People,
partners, vendors, suppliers, and contractors
as part of our commitment to the UNGC.

In 2023, we deepened our commitment to
human rights by:

• Developing a global human rights policy.

• Integrated human rights and due diligence
into our responsible procurement strategy.

• Invested in resources and staff for human
rights risk assessment in our value chain.

• Promoted and increased employee

awareness of our “Speak-Up” helpline
to ensure our employees and those in
our supply chain can speak up in all
situations.

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING
As an organisation we are committed to promoting
responsible procurement by integrating sustainability
across our procurement processes. We strive for a Net
Zero supply chain that reflects our values and that supports
us to achieve our sustainability goals.

In 2023, PageGroup implemented the EcoVadis
supplier platform to support our approach to managing

environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk and
compliance of our value chain. The platform monitors and
manages supply chain sustainability, runs risk analyses and
reports on the sustainability performance of our suppliers.
Going forward, it will allow us to engage our suppliers
more effectively on sustainability-related matters and help
us to embed sustainability into our procurement decision
making.

ACCREDITATIONS

FRANCE

SPAIN

SWITZERLAND

we support

Since 2021, PageGroup has
been committed to the UN
Global Compact corporate
responsibility initiative and its
principles in the areas of human
rights, labor, environment, and
anti-corruption.

TASK FORCE ON CLIMATE-RELATED
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES

This section outlines PageGroup’s climate-related financial disclosures covering all four pillars and 11 recommended disclosures
set out by the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD). These are consistent with all of the TCFD recommendations
pursuant to Listing Rule 9.8.6 (R ) (8). Our disclosures also meet the Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial
Disclosure) Regulations 2022 amended sections 414C, 414CA, and 414CB of the Companies Act 2006 and requirements
under UK Climate-related Financial Disclosures (CFD).

GOVERNANCE

Governance A): describe the Board’s
oversight of climate-related risks and
opportunities.

The Board provides ultimate oversight and governance
over PageGroup, including its Sustainability programme
and strategy. The Board has delegated responsibility for the
identification and management of climate-related risks to the
Sustainability Committee (further details in Governance B).

During 2023, Sustainability and climate were dedicated
agenda items on two occasions. The Board reviewed and
approved PageGroup’s science-based targets and plans
and the Board monitored PageGroup’s progress against its
sustainability strategy and considered its climate-related risks
and opportunities.

Throughout the year, dedicated updates and all minutes
of the Sustainability Committee were made available to
the Board. The Board also receives an annual update on
progress against climate-related issues and targets from the
Sustainability Committee allowing it to provide feedback on
current status.

The Audit Committee considers ESG reporting risk under its
‘Risk and Internal Control’ agenda as set out on pages 103
to 104. GHG emissions data form part of the ongoing internal
audit of risks and controls and were included within the Audit
Committee’s review. There were no material risks arising.

Sustainability metrics, including the establishment of science-
based targets and plans form part of the CEO and CFO’s
remuneration plan (ESIP) as set out on page 117. The
Remuneration Committee reviews and assesses progress
against ESIP targets annually.

The Board and Committees mentioned above consider
climate-related issues in guiding PageGroup’s overall
Strategy, risk management, business plans and budgets.
For example, in 2023 the Board approved PageGroup’s
science-based targets and plans. Costs for climate-related
activities, such as the investment in carbon removals to offset
PageGroup’s GHG emissions, are included in annual global
budgets.

Governance B): describe management’s
role in assessing and managing climate-
related risks and opportunities.

The Executive Board (see pages 88 to 89) has day-to-day
management responsibility of PageGroup, including the
Sustainability programme. The Executive Board ensures focus
on sustainability at a local and regional level. Five percent
of the CEO and CFO’s ESIP remuneration is linked to ESG
metrics, including progress to combat the efforts of climate
change, as detailed in Metrics and Targets C.

PageGroup’s principal body for identifying, managing,
and addressing climate-related issues is the Sustainability
Committee, which was established in 2020. The Sustainability
Committee’s membership includes our most senior leaders
and Executive Board representation. Its members in 2023
were Kelvin Stagg (Chief Financial Officer), Joanna Bonnett
(Head of Sustainability), Eamon Collins (Chief Marketing
and Data Officer), Patrick Hollard (Chief Customer Officer),
Rebecca Grattan (Chief People Officer), Olly Watson
(Chief Transformation Officer), May Wah Chan (Regional
Director, Vietnam) and Samira Touam (Head of Internal
Communications).

The Sustainability function, led by the Head of Sustainability
in 2023, is responsible for the identification of climate-related
risks, as well as driving carbon reduction and risk mitigation
strategies through the business. The Sustainability function
also provides internal reports on sustainability and climate-
related metrics, such as air travel and company car usage,
to country Managing Directors on a bi-annual basis. Climate-
related issues are raised by the business to the Sustainability
Committee via the Head of Sustainability.

The Sustainability Committee meets regularly to discuss
sustainability at PageGroup, including climate-related
risks and opportunities and the associated climate-related
goals and targets. The Sustainability Committee monitors
progress against climate goals and targets, supports country
management and Group functions on sustainability and
climate matters, and discusses recommendations to be taken
to the Executive Board and Board. In 2023, this included
the approval of PageGroup’s science-based targets and
carbon reduction plans covering business travel quotas and
the implementation of EcoVadis, a supply chain assessment
platform that will enable us to better monitor and manage our
suppliers’ ESG performance, including their GHG emissions
and targets. Its activities are further discussed on page 42.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

STRATEGY

Strategy A): describe the climate-related risks and opportunities the organisation
has identified over the short, medium, and long term.

At PageGroup, we define short term as 0-1 year, medium term as 1-5 years, and longer term as 5+ years, as these are
aligned to the business’ Strategy and planning time horizons. A description of the identified risks and opportunities is
included below. Strategies B and C then outline the impact of the risks, our risk mitigation strategies and the strategic
implications. We believe the overall impact of climate-related risks to be low or negligible and we consider that we have
strong processes and strategies in place to mitigate these risks and take advantage of the opportunities. The risks
outlined below have been identified in accordance with the processes described in Risk Management A.

Physical risks:

• Acute physical: Reduced revenue due to workforce disruption during extreme weather events. Extreme

weather events, such as floods, cold extremes, and heatwaves, have the potential to impact our direct operations by
restricting our employees’ ability to get to work, or communicate with candidates and clients. This risk is already being
felt in some countries such as Indonesia and could be exacerbated in the medium to long term.

• Chronic physical: Increased costs or reduced revenues from disruption to operations in ‘high risk’

locations. Chronic changes to weather conditions may have an impact on our physical office locations, or the
locations of our employees in the medium to long term.

Transition risks:

• Regulation: Failure to comply with current and emerging GHG regulation. In the short term, PageGroup is
already subject to current GHG emissions and climate risk reporting requirements and regulation. Going forward,
regulation is likely to become more stringent in many regions where PageGroup operates. We will continue to monitor,
anticipate and keep pace with changes to regulation to ensure compliance.

• Market (energy): Increased costs because of higher energy prices. PageGroup is reliant on several elements

to achieve its carbon reduction plan, including the procurement of renewable energy. We also voluntarily use credible
carbon offsets to neutralise residual emissions. There is a risk in the medium term that the availability of renewable
electricity may become limited, or that the cost will increase. Also, the cost and availability of quality carbon offsets is
uncertain, and costs could increase over time.

• Market (client disruption): Reduced revenue from decreased demand for services from clients in ‘high risk’
sectors. Given the nature of our business, the impact of climate change can come through our client base. Market
risks and opportunities will arise from client disruption in sectors and regions which are likely to be most impacted by
climate risk, potentially leading to reduced demand for recruitment services. For example, this would include clients
in heavy carbon emitting sectors. As demand for services in certain sectors shifts, this may also require PageGroup
recruitment consultants to develop new or evolved specialisms, for example in the field of green jobs. This risk could
be felt in the medium to long term.

• Reputation: Reduced revenue from decreased demand for services and negative workforce impacts,

if PageGroup were to fail to meet client, Shareholder, and employee expectations around
decarbonisation. PageGroup has observed an increasing interest and focus on its climate performance
from Stakeholders. Failure to act sufficiently may result in loss of clients and/or higher employee attrition
in the medium to long term. Equally, demonstrating leadership and taking action creates an opportunity
to increase revenues with stronger climate credentials leading to increased demand for PageGroup
services from new and existing clients.

Transition opportunities:

• Products & services: Increased revenue from increased demand for low carbon

services. There will be opportunities in emerging clients, sectors and roles that are likely to
grow quickly during a transition to a low carbon economy. We believe climate change and
the required business upheaval will create an opportunity for PageGroup in the medium
to long term in the form of the transition creating new and changing employment
opportunities. This will also provide an opportunity for our recruitment consultants to
expand their careers and specialisms to focus on those sectors and roles most profitable
under a low carbon economy, for example in the field of green jobs.

Strategy B): describe the impact of
climate-related risks and opportunities
on the organisation’s businesses,
Strategy and financial planning.

The risks and opportunities have been assessed to consider
their impact on our businesses, Strategy and financial
planning. The size of this impact is described in the table
overleaf.

Impact of climate risks on PageGroup’s Strategy:

In 2023, we developed a new corporate strategy, which was
informed by a consideration of our sustainability-related risks
and opportunities, including climate. The Strategy is focused
on increasing operating profit, having a positive social impact
and is centred around our Customers. Driving social impact
is at the heart of this Strategy as we know this is where
we can use our skills as a recruiter to make the biggest
difference.

We assessed our corporate Strategy against physical and
transition risks identified overleaf. The largest climate-
related risks and opportunities for PageGroup come through
our client portfolio: there are opportunities to provide
human capital services to organisations transforming their
workforces to deliver their Net Zero objectives; equally, there
are risks that the clients we work with will be disrupted by
climate change and their demand for recruitment services will
decrease. Therefore, we need a strategy that enables us to
anticipate and respond to our client’s human capital needs,
that will allow us to capitalise on the growth of green jobs
and one that does not heavily expose us to industries that
will be most disrupted by climate change.

PageGroup’s Strategy is well positioned to deliver the
above. By focusing on Customer centricity and building
out capabilities for strategic Customers, we will be able to
anticipate and respond to their workforce transformation
needs, including in the field of sustainability. It will also enable
us to continue to grow our specialised recruitment into green
jobs and closely understand our Customers’ expectations of
PageGroup’s climate performance and targets.

Our Customers remain diversified across industry and
geography, meaning PageGroup is not heavily exposed
to heavy emitting industries or those that are likely to be
disrupted by climate change. Also, our growth areas of Page
Executive and Technology recruitment are in disciplines and
industries with low climate-related risks.

PageGroup’s sustainability strategy has also been developed
to mitigate against climate risks and take advantage of the
opportunities. Notably, our targets to become Net Zero and
to establish a meaningful global sustainability business.

Impact of climate risks on financial planning:

Climate risks and opportunities are embedded into financial
planning. The PageGroup global sustainability team budget
is reviewed and approved annually, to include costs to
deliver our climate strategy. The allocation of budget for
sustainability and climate-related issues is made on the basis
of project-specific business cases and the overall plan for
the sustainability function. Costs for business travel, office
leasing, supplier management and employee benefits, such
as Company car offerings are managed via local/functional
budgets, which are reviewed and approved annually.

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Strategy C): describe the resilience of the organisation’s
strategy, taking into consideration different climate-related
scenarios, including a 2°c or lower.

PageGroup is resilient to the impact of climate-change under different climate-related
scenarios, including a 1.5°C, a 2°C and a 8.5°C scenario. An assessment of the risks
& opportunities found most to be negligible or low risk. PageGroup’s GHG emissions
reductions targets and Sustainability function are in place and have been established to
mitigate against risks. PageGroup’s business strategy means revenues are diversified
across industries, geographies and disciplines, allowing PageGroup to respond to
climate-related disruption and capitalise on opportunities, under any climate scenario.

The table overleaf details the impact and resilience of the business against each risk and
opportunity.

Scenario analysis methodology:

Physical: The physical risk assessment was undertaken by the third-party supplier,
Ecometrica, and covered a range of scenarios covering a baseline data set (1981
– 2010), 1.5°C and 2°C Paris Aligned Scenarios and a ‘worst case’ scenario using
8.5°C. The analysis looked at nine risk indicators, covering changes in frequency and/or
duration of floods, drought, heatwaves, and exposure to risk from sea level rises across
2030, 2040, 2050 and 2090 timeframes.

Transition: The transition risk assessment leveraged the 2021 Climate Biennial
Exploratory Scenario (CBES) to review risks and opportunities. It used both the early
action and late action scenarios where global warming is limited to 1.8 °C by 2050.
Our high-level analysis combined internal Company data such as GHG emissions and
revenues by sector with variables from the CBES, such as industry-level real gross value
projections to estimate revenue exposure to climate-sensitive sectors across 2030, 2040
and 2050 timeframes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

Physical

Risk

Likelihood &
gross impact

Resilience and management response

Acute physical: Reduced revenue
due to workforce disruption during
extreme weather events.

Likely

Low impact

Chronic physical: Increased
costs or reduced revenues from
disruption to operations in “high
risk” locations.

Likely

Low impact

PageGroup is well mitigated against this risk under all scenarios that
have been assessed. We have virtual working in place globally, and our
employees can work and communicate with clients and candidates from
either the office or home.

The majority of PageGroup’s offices are located in countries where
vulnerability to climate change is relatively low and readiness to improve
resilience in the context of climate change is relatively high. PageGroup
is also well mitigated against this risk as we operate 3-10 year leases,
offering flexibility for shifting office locations. This risk is managed by local
Managing Directors and those making office decisions.

Transition

Risk

Regulation: Failure to comply
with current and emerging GHG
regulation.

Likelihood &
gross impact

About as likely
as not

Low impact

Market (energy): Increased costs
because of higher energy prices.

About as likely
as not

Low impact

More likely than
not

Low impact

Reputation: Reduced revenue
from decreased demand for
services and negative workforce
impacts, if PageGroup was to fail
to meet client, Shareholder and
employee expectations around
decarbonisation.

Resilience and management response

PageGroup has a sustainability team and legal team that monitor
emerging regulatory obligations. PageGroup is currently in compliance
with all mandatory regulation and is preparing for upcoming regulation
such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Management for this risk sits with the Sustainability function and the
Sustainability Committee.

PageGroup has a target to reduces its Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 60%
by 2030. A key element of this is to reduce energy consumption, thus
reducing PageGroup’s reliance and exposure to energy price fluctuations
and the cost of carbon offsets and mitigating against this risk.

In 2023, PageGroup updated its carbon targets to align to the Science
Based Targets initiative. This is the ‘gold standard’ for carbon target
setting and in line with the most mature client, Shareholder and employee
expectations. PageGroup is making strong progress in reducing Scope
1 & 2 emissions and is developing plans to ensure Scope 3 emissions
reduce over time. Whilst we acknowledge there is an underlying risk
attached to our reputation, we believe our response to date as well
as our future plans will effectively mitigate the risk. The Sustainability
Committee and Sustainability function have overall responsibility to
review carbon targets, GHG reduction plans and performance to ensure
PageGroup is meeting Stakeholder expectations.

Market (client disruption):
Reduced revenue from decreased
demand for services from clients
in ‘high risk’ sectors.

About as likely
as not

Low impact

PageGroup has a diverse client base across industry sectors,
professional disciplines, geography, and brands. Therefore, PageGroup
is not exposed heavily to any one sector, geography or individual markets
or businesses.

There is also an opportunity for increased demand in recruitment services
– and therefore greater revenues – from clients that will grow and have
strong business performance during the transition to a low carbon
economy, for example those in the renewable energy sector.

Overall, PageGroup’s client portfolio is more aligned to industries ex-
pected to grow under a Net Zero economy than those in heavy emitting
sectors. As such, the risk is well mitigated against.

Opportunity

Risk

Products & services: Increased
revenue from increased demand
for low carbon services.

Likelihood &
gross impact

More likely than
not

Low to medium
impact

Resource efficiency: Reduced
operating costs through energy
efficiency gains, limited business
travel spend.

More likely than
not

Low impact

Resilience and management response

PageGroup has a target to establish a meaningful sustainability
business by 2026 and has made strong progress in growing it year
on year. Since 2019, the business has grown more than four-fold.
This opportunity is managed by local Managing Directors.

PageGroup has committed to near- and long-term Science-based
Targets. PageGroup’s existing and future decarbonisation activities
will drive some cost savings (e.g. reduced energy consumption and
reduced business travel). Therefore, PageGroup is already taking
advantage of this opportunity. The Sustainability Committee and
Sustainability function have overall responsibility to review carbon
targets and GHG reduction plans.

Key

Low

For the purposes of TCFD reporting, impact thresholds are defined as below.

<5% of annual gross profit

Medium

5-10% of annual gross profit

High (material)

>10% of annual gross profit

RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk management A): describe the
organisation’s processes for identifying
and assessing climate-related risks.

Climate-related risks are integrated into a multi-disciplinary
Company-wide risk management process (see Risk
Management C) as well as in a specific climate-related
risk management process. Ecometrica, a climate risk
assessment expert, conducted a climate change risk
assessment to provide climate risk resilience solutions
for the Group’s 135 sites across the globe. The risks
identified through the Ecometrica analysis (outlined in
Physical risks, see above table) were discussed and
actioned by the Sustainability Committee. In 2022, further
analysis was undertaken to review the transition risks,
particularly focused on PageGroup’s market exposure to
client revenues from high carbon emitting sectors. This
assessment was repeated in 2023 and will be conducted
annually to provide continuous monitoring of risks and
opportunities.

Risk management B): describe the
organisation’s processes for managing
climate-related risks.

The Sustainability Committee is tasked by the Board with
leading on the assessment and management of climate-
related risks and opportunities. Plans to mitigate, transfer,
accept or control principal and emerging risks identified
are discussed and monitored and adjusted as required
by the Sustainability function. The response strategy and
management for specific climate risks is outlined in the
table above. A description of prioritisation and materiality is
covered in Risk Management C.

Risk management C): describe how
processes for identifying, assessing,
and managing climate-related risks
are integrated into the organisation’s
overall risk management.

Climate-related risks are assessed within the annual cycle
of enterprise risk assessment. Risk is the responsibility
of the Head of Internal Audit and risks are owned by
functional units across the organisation. Risk surrounding
climate sits with the Sustainability function.

The status of risk and controls are reported formally
twice annually – and include an assessment of climate
and sustainability-related risks, controls and mitigating
actions – which is conducted by the Sustainability
team. Climate-related risks are categorised based on
PageGroup’s existing risk impact and likelihood thresholds
and categories (financial, strategic, people, operational).
The scenario analysis described in Strategy C enables a
broad assessment of financial impact. Categorising risks
in this way allows for relative comparison and prioritisation
of climate-related risks, as well as comparison and
prioritisation against broader emerging and principal
business risks as part of the annual cycle of enterprise risk
assessment.

Existing and emerging regulatory requirements relating to
climate change – such as mandatory disclosures on GHG
emissions and carbon transition plans – are included as
part of PageGroup’s risk assessment.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023METRICS AND TARGETS

Metrics and targets A): disclose the
metrics used by the organisation
to assess climate-related risks and
opportunities in line with its Strategy and
risk management process.

PageGroup uses a range of metrics to assess and manage
climate-related risks & opportunities. Scope 1, 2 and 3
GHG emissions, including emissions from its supply chain,
employee homeworking & commuting, are monitored half
yearly and externally disclosed annually. We also monitor
growth in net fees from Page’s Sustainability recruitment
business to assess its alignment with the opportunity to
provide a low carbon service offering.

Current and historic performance against these metrics can
be found on pages 43, 48 and 50. Internally, PageGroup
tracks and reports these metrics at a country level to ensure
there is local action and accountability.

An internal price on carbon is not currently applied.

Metrics and targets B): disclose
Scope 1, Scope 2 and, if appropriate,
Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
and the related risks.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions are disclosed on page 48.

Metrics and targets C): describe the
targets used by the organisation to
manage climate-related risks and
opportunities and performance against
targets.

Performance against our science-based target is found on
page 49 and performance against our target to establish a
meaningful sustainability business is found on pages 43
and 50.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Process

See Strategic Framework on page 9.

Effective risk management is essential to achieving our
business objectives.

Our operational risks are those that the Board has agreed
can be handled by management on a day-to-day basis.

Our management team, at all levels, continuously assesses
our business environment and ensures that we both identify
and manage the risks we face to an acceptable level.

They are supported by a Group-wide process which consists
of local risk registers that capture and assess the gross risks
to our business objectives, the key controls that mitigate
these risks and the resulting level of net risk.

Our Board sets and communicates our business risk appetite
against which these assessments are measured.

Any risks outside of our risk appetite require either corrective
action, are insured or have been accepted at a Group level.

To ensure we have a global picture of our business risks,
local registers are consolidated twice per annum, and
combined with top down reviews from senior management,
are presented to the Executive and Audit Committee for
review on behalf of the Board.

In the intervening periods, the risks associated with changes
in either the external environment or internal operations are
discussed as part of our ongoing business reviews and are
responded to accordingly.

In key risk areas we have also established compliance teams
whose role it is to ensure our key controls are effective on
an ongoing basis. These are in IT security, data regulation
compliance, revenue recognition, project management and
regional legal teams.

Our Internal Audit programme is aligned to provide
assurance on the controls that mitigate the principal risks
identified from this process.

Our risk management process categorises our principal risks
into Strategic, Financial, People and Operational.

The Board focuses on Strategic, People and Financial risks.
For these, we report KPIs which we use to monitor the risk
impact, and the rewards and incentives we apply to ensure
effective management.

These are included within our risk registers and are reviewed
by the Board on an exceptions basis.

The risks around cyber security and compliance with data
protection legislation are such exceptions which are currently
reviewed at Board level on an ongoing basis.

Our risk appetite and net risk levels

Recruitment is inherently sensitive to business sentiment and
thus financially dependent on the economic cycle.

PageGroup operates in this environment with a low risk
appetite, seeking to mitigate its strategic risks, maintain a
strong financial position and only taking the operational risks
it has the experience and capability to manage.

Our growth model is organic and profit focused, rolling out
the proven disciplines for our brands to a wide geographic
spread. We drive this by ensuring consistency of model and
business culture across the Group.

We continue to focus on the services we provide to our
Customers, clients and candidates, ensuring quality
engagements in a manner that meets both their needs and
expectations as well as our targets for process efficiency.

We maintain a strong sales-driven, meritocratic culture with a
commitment to operating in an ethical, legal and sustainable
manner.

We operate a conservative financial position with a strong
balance sheet, reflecting the degree of operational gearing
inherent in the business.

We monitor our net risk position on an ongoing basis
against our Board approved risk appetite and ensure, where
possible, that management action is focused on risks which
we can appropriately further mitigate.

This measured approach to taking risk ensures we are best
placed for success globally.

CONTROLS

Business Reviews/
Internal Control
Checklists

FUNCTIONS

Management

OUR RISK AND CONTROL FRAMEWORK

Policies and Procedures

Compliance Checks

Risk Registers

Group Finance

Audit Reports
Quarterly Updates

Compliance Teams

Risk Management

Group Financial Control

Internal Audit

REVIEW

Executive Board

Board/
Audit Committee

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023RISK CATEGORIES

STRATEGIC

PEOPLE

Shift in business model

Transformation and
change

Customer and brands

Global event

FINANCIAL

Macro economic exposure

Foreign exchange
translation risk

People attraction,
development and
retention

OPERATIONAL

Information systems

Cyber security

Fiscal and legal compliance

Financial management
and control

Data protection regulations

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The Board’s view of direction of travel of gross risk:

Similar to
prior year

Lower than
prior year

Increased since
prior year

Global economies in 2023 continued to feel the effects of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in the Ukraine
and more latterly the conflict in the Middle East. Pressures from these events have driven Governmental fiscal management
to control the resulting inflation and have increased national debts. These have resulted in a series of more negative economic
growth forecasts. Recruitment remained resilient, but the subdued economic growth is starting to feed through with increased
caution on both the client and candidate sides. We continue to see demand for quality skilled candidates and in specific growth
sectors. 2023 has also seen an acceleration in Artificial Intelligence in the workplace with applications such as ChatGPT. These
events will invariably change working practices including those of recruitment. Through our diversified offer of Perm and Temp,
geographical spread and range of disciplines, as well as our focus on Customer and societal impact, we are well positioned to
respond to these changes.

Emerging risks

In addition to our principal risks, we also identify any emerging risks that could have a significant impact on the Group’s
activities. In our 2023 review we continue to recognise Environmental, Social and Governance risks, in particular climate change
and diversity and inclusion, as such risks. Having reassessed the potential impact we continue to incorporate specific elements
of these risks within our current principal risks. We will continue to monitor this position and to determine current appropriate
mitigating actions. Climate change is currently reflected in macro economic exposure: People, Fiscal and Legal compliance;
Customer and Brands; Global Event risks; and diversity and inclusion in People, Legal, Customer and Brand.

NET RISK MOVEMENT

RISK LEVEL

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

1. Shift in business model

2022

2023

PRINCIPAL RISKS

STRATEGIC

2. Transformation and change

3. Customer and brands

4. Global event

5. People

6. Information systems

7. Cyber security

8. Fiscal and legal compliance

9. Financial management

and control

2022
/23

2022

2023

2022
/23

2022 2023

2023

2022

2022
/23

2022/
23

2021
/22

10. Data protection regulations

2022/
23

11. Macro economic exposure

2022

2023

12. Foreign exchange translation

2022
/23

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

PageGroup Risk Appetite

SHIFT IN BUSINESS MODEL

NET RISK LEVEL INCREASED

Nature of risk
• We fail to take advantage of technology opportunities to

support our drive on productivity, and client and candidate
experience.

• The emergence of new technology platforms and providers
offering HR solutions and consulting may lead to increased
competition and pressure on margins which may adversely
affect the Group’s results if we are unable to respond
effectively.

Significant influencing factors
• Further acceleration of digital, automation and Artificial

Intelligence is creating opportunities to use technology in
new ways, to improve our productivity and address our
Customers’ needs.

• Electronic platforms have become an established feature

of lower level recruitment.

Mitigating actions
• We have established a multi-disciplined Global

transformation team led by our Chief Transformation
Officer which will enable us to support the evaluation and
implementation of new capabilities in a more agile and
globally consistent way.

• We are trialling the use of AI applications, utilising our

global data and infrastructure to significantly enhance our
recruitment capabilities.

• We are reviewing our delivery models including location
strategy and how we develop our shared service centre
capability.

• We continue to partner with our strategic vendors, among

them Microsoft, Accenture, Salesforce and Google,
in continuing forward-looking conversations about
technology.

• Through our focused Competitive Edge programme, we

train our consultants in the use of the new technologies to
enable them to resource candidates for our clients at an
overall cost that they cannot match.

• Our Global IT capability is based around standard

applications and processes, and an outsourced service
model with leading edge providers that enables us to
respond effectively to required changes.

• Continued investment in data and business intelligence
processes will support internal decision making and
provide an opportunity to deliver information services to
our Customers.

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TRANSFORMATION AND CHANGE

NET RISK LEVEL INCREASED

4 GLOBAL EVENT

Nature of risk
• Evolving capabilities and business environment mean that
we need to continuously improve the services we deliver
and how we deliver them. In some cases, this requires a
step change in capability. A failure to recognise this need
to change would impact our business.

• Poor management of our change programmes to achieve

this could lead to excessive costs or poor delivery
impacting service levels and anticipated benefits.

Significant influencing factors
• To deliver our Strategy successfully will require a

transformation in how we work. Key to this will be to focus
and prioritise our activities effectively, and secondly to
evolve and optimise our delivery capabilities with the focus
on profitability as well as growth.

Mitigating actions
• We have put in place a multi-disciplinary global

transformation team led by our Chief Transformation
Officer.

• The team are putting in place a global governance process

which will drive how we evaluate, prioritise and deliver
business change including the benefits measurement
process.

• The team will facilitate business change programmes with

all programmes being managed by business leaders.

• All global change programmes will be managed through

this team.

CUSTOMERS AND BRANDS

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

Nature of risk
• Our focus on strategic clients and Page Outsourcing

creates demand for a more bespoke service offering which
is more likely to be at the forefront of technology. We need
to be able to satisfy their demand at a cost that meets our
objectives.

• The relevance of the client and candidate engagement we
offer could impact our success in acquiring, engaging and
nurturing new clients and candidates.

• The quality of the services we provide to both clients and
candidates could have a significant impact on how our
brand is viewed.

• We continue to see the reputational impact one-off events
can quickly have with the adoption of social media. Any
event that could cause reputational damage is a risk to
the Group, such as a failure to comply with regulations, or
loss or theft of confidential data anywhere in our operating
environment.

Significant influencing factors
• Our Strategy review recognised the specific opportunities

and needs of our strategic Customers.

• Activity levels across disciplines and industry sectors have

shifted, particularly towards technology.

• Expectations of business in relation to Environmental,

Social and Governance have accelerated in all three areas.

Mitigating actions
• We continue to work with our global strategic partnerships

(LinkedIn, Seek, WeChat): to engage with potential
significant new entrants (e.g. Google for jobs); and monitor
developments in technology in other business segments.

• Diversification of media programmes using data for
targeting on ‘traditional’ digital channels (Google,

Facebook, Yahoo, Bing, Baidu) in conjunction with
establishing a team to review our approach to data
management. We work with the global media agency
Merkel and use a single global ad-tech platform which
supports both effectiveness and efficiency, and enables
innovation in seeking out candidates.

• The use of Salesforce Marketing Suite and tools, such as
Thunderhead to enable segmentation and personalised
activity programmes, are fully integrated into our
Salesforce-based Customer Connect programme as it is
rolled out across the Group.

• Our teams support the global transformation team in
identifying and assessing innovations that enable the
ongoing development of our proposition from idea
generation and piloting to implementation.

• Policies and training on the most appropriate uses of

social media, both in recruitment processes and in general
use, to meet regulatory requirements and to adhere to
good common practices.

• We have tried and tested crisis management response
processes at Group and regional level. These include
experienced senior personnel from all functions who can
respond quickly and appropriately, incorporating current
media and working with specialist third parties as required.
The availability and use of Teams has further enhanced the
process.

• Our Strategy recognises the need for us to drive benefit to
society and contribute to tackling environmental concerns
supported by good governance. We ensure that our
Customers are informed of our activities and that these
activities continue to align with external expectations. Our
Strategy includes a target of changing people’s lives.

Nature of risk
• An external event occurs that significantly disrupts business
and world economies requiring a response in excess of
‘normal’ contingency planning.

Significant influencing factors
• Over the past two decades we have experienced the

global financial crisis and the COVID-19 global pandemic,
followed by the war in the Ukraine, major unpredictable
incidents that have had immediate and severe long-lasting
impacts.

• The geopolitical environment continues to be sensitive to
tensions between the West and Russia, US, Japan and
China and the activities of North Korea as well as the
conflict in the Middle East.

• The internet has created a global dependency on
technology for the effective operation of business.

Mitigating actions
• We have a Group-led Crisis Management policy and
process which covers the Group in the occurrence of
unpredictable events. This lays out the processes to be
followed in developing appropriate responses. The Crisis
Management process has been cascaded to all Group
and regional business leaders. Our Crisis Management

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

processes have been further reinforced by learning from
the COVID-19 response.

• We maintain a strong ethical culture which ensures that
whatever situation the business faces, the focus is to
protect our employees, clients and candidates, as well as
ensuring that we fulfil our broader social responsibilities.

• A conservative financial strategy, which maintains a strong
balance sheet and healthy cash balances and facilities.

• Experienced and agile management team and structure,

regionally based and in a good position to liaise with Group
and local management.

• A systems capability that means we are not tied to facilities

either for our People or the services that we deliver.

• A flexible workforce that can be deployed to focus on any

areas of opportunity and be appropriately scaled.

• Critical suppliers are chosen for their resilience capabilities
and regular checks are conducted to ensure these are
being maintained.

• Within any event there are opportunities. Our People are

trained to identify these and to develop offerings in support
of business. In doing so we ensure that we behave in an
ethical manner.

PEOPLE

NET RISK LEVEL INCREASED

Nature of risk
• We are unable to recruit people with the right potential in a

competitive market for talent.

• A lack of DE&I and appropriate culture limits our employer

attractiveness.

• Ability to offer the flexibility or working practices new

employees demand.

Retention

• Ability to retain our high performers due to pressures on
remuneration coupled with change in work-life balance.

• We do not provide an environment, working practices and

processes that suit our People.

• A lack of diversity impacts on our ability to retain talent.

• A lack of opportunity impacts our ability to retain talent.

Development

• We do not maximise the potential of our People by failing

to provide development opportunities.

Attrition

• We do not manage leavers efficiently.

• Leavers have a detrimental impact on our reputation.

Significant influencing factors
• Economic activity and outlook continues to be subdued

and uncertain, making candidates more cautious.

• Remuneration pressures have continued albeit inflationary

pressures are reducing at a time when business
affordability has tightened.

• Our new Strategy has introduced a significant level of

change in responsibilities and reporting lines as well as
location and skillsets.

• The next generation of employees demand ever greater

business involvement and support on current social issues.

Mitigating actions
• Our employee selection and onboarding programme is

focused on supporting people to make them successful
more quickly.

• We have developed and applied a principles-based

approach to flexible working, supporting management in
implementation at a local level.

• We provide ongoing training via our digital learning platform

with blended learning programmes to support our new
ways of working, regularly updating the programmes to
reflect employees’ needs.

• We communicate continuously with our people using tools
such as Viva Engage, ensuring they understand how to
best contribute to the business.

• We have further enhanced development of our diversity
and inclusion programmes globally to ensure we can
recruit and retain from all groups of society as our
workplace is attractive and inclusive to all. We have
continued to develop our focus on ESG through our work
on Culture & Engagement. Shadow Boards have been set
up at Executive Board, regional and country levels to gain
input on how the business develops from as wide a range
of backgrounds as possible. Our changing lives target has
been included as a core deliverable of our new Strategy.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

PEOPLE

• We continue to review our benefits offering to ensure they

are competitive and in line with markets.

• We have in place maternity leave policies designed to

support our People in each region.

• Employee wellbeing will continue to be a key element of

our People agenda, which will be further developed as part
of our Sustainability strategy.

• We promote the Group Purpose refined in our latest

strategy review.

• Our performance management process drives clarity
and focus on objectives and behaviours. We take a
global talent, succession and development approach to
ensure a strong talent pipeline and address any gaps at
MD level and above. We continue to invest in leadership
development programmes: Page leadership excellence,
Global Director Academy and Executive leadership
development.

• As part of our continuous listening strategy, we conducted
the ‘Have your say’ survey again this year and continue to
gain feedback from our People in structured programmes
for our new starters and surveying our leavers. Actions are
in place to improve areas where we could do better. The
results of our survey show strong progress and high levels
of engagement.

• We have developed our HR reporting capabilities for
actionable data. This will extract data from our Global
Employee Data Management system.

• To support the organisational changes following our
strategy review, a HR transformation team has been
established to support management in effectively delivering
the changes required, ensuring a smooth transition in
delivering our recruitment services to our clients as well as
maintaining our employee engagement.

OPERATIONAL

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

NET RISK LEVEL DECREASED

Nature of risk
Change

• The business does not appropriately control programme

and project delivery.

• Strategic BusTech-led programmes do not deliver the

stated business objective.

• Poorly controlled changes are made or changes are poorly

• Strategic programmes’ objectives are agreed with and

reported on to the Executive Board.

• A global project management office process sets out
controls for the delivery of programmes and projects.

• Technical changes to critical systems managed in line with
defined process to protect the integrity and stability of
these systems.

executed, which impacts on service levels.

Services

• A disruption of service due to a failure of our internal

processes or procedures or due to a failure of, or at, our
third-party service providers.

• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery is not sufficient

to allow business operations to continue.

Data

• Systems are implemented without the necessary data

protection controls.

Significant influencing factors
• PageGroup has established global standard processes
where possible, using a blend of internal expertise and
experienced, recognised outsourced partners. Systems
are built on a global platform where possible – for
example, Customer Connect.

Mitigating actions
Change

• New requests for programmes and projects are approved
and prioritised through a global demand process before
commencement.

• Single Points of Failure for critical systems are reviewed on

a regular basis and mitigating actions put in place.

• Appropriate support agreements and service levels are in

place with vendors.

• For issues that occur, incident management will follow a
defined process to minimise disruption to business users.

• We have defined our third-party management policies and
processes with dedicated service managers supported
by the Senior leadership team and a dedicated IT
procurement function.

• Recovery time and recovery point objectives (RTO, RPO)
for critical systems are agreed with the business and
tested.

Data

• Business Technology processes are compliant with data

regulation requirements.

• New systems are designed in compliance with data

regulation legislation.

OPERATIONAL

CYBER SECURITY

Nature of risk

Loss of data or systems due to the actions of:

• Malicious outsiders – targeted attack of PageGroup

systems.

• Malicious insiders – assisted or generated attack by a

disgruntled employee or contractor.

• Accidental outsiders – errors caused by our suppliers.

• Accidental insiders – successful phishing, social

engineering, business email compromise.

Significant influencing factors
• The move to using public cloud services for business-

critical activities, our significant email use, and extensive
use of social media have increased the Group’s exposure
to external threats, as reflected in a high gross risk rating.

• Cyber-attacks continue to increase globally and we have
the potential to be impacted directly or indirectly via our
supply chain.

• We see impersonation attacks, using consultant profiles,
that target potential candidates. These attacks link to the
creation of false Michael Page Websites to ‘validate’ the
scam.

• The most common route into an organisation’s network is
via phishing emails (over 90%). As Page relies heavily on
the use of email, and it is normal to receive emails from
unknown senders, our exposure to phishing remains high.

• Business email compromise (BEC), whereby an executive’s
email is compromised and used to authorise payments or
extract confidential information has also increased since
the pandemic.

• Patching of our global systems to ensure we are securing

our systems from vulnerabilities remains a challenge.

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

Mitigating actions
• Our dedicated Information Security Team continues to

mature and identify areas for continued improvement. Our
Security Improvement Plan has remained on track. We
have launched several additional defences that continue to
reduce the opportunity of a cyber-attack. They include:

• Our Cyber Insurance Policy, whilst not ‘preventative,’ does
give us access to specialist resources that could help us
recover faster.

• Warning banners on all emails to identify potential phishing

attacks, for all users.

• An ‘anti-impersonation’ tool that prevents email

compromise attacks.

• Active web monitoring identifies malicious website

registrations attempting to use the PageGroup brand or
where a website is actively mimicking ourselves to falsely
attract clients and candidates away from our business. The
process now in place allows us have them taken down.

• Updated and enhanced our multi factor authentication

methodologies to continue to ensure secure access to our
systems (similar to banking applications).

• Password quality enhancements, ensuring users select

very highly secured passwords.

• Implementation of a new security and privacy management
tool to identify and manage risks more cohesively across
our global business.

• Better governed vulnerability and patch management

process including new reporting dashboards.

• Fine-tuning, and automating SOC Alerts in recognition of

our current changes in working practices.

• Implementation of ISO27001 Certification – a globally

recognised and externally assessed InfoSec Framework.

• Accreditation to Cyber Essentials Plus – UK Government

Cyber Standard.

FISCAL AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

Nature of risk
• The Group operates in a large number of jurisdictions
that have varying legal, regulatory, tax and compliance
requirements as well as those placed on a UK Plc.

employment law regulations, data protection requirements,
anti-competition laws and cross-border tax requirements.

• New and evolving legislation will continue to impact how
we operate in areas such as ESG and fiscal changes.

• The Group’s focus on Page Outsourcing and Strategic

• With global accounts there is a greater need to ensure tax

Customers, increased “Flex” recruitment models, as well
as evolving Customer service within shared service centres
means that we are likely to enter more complex contractual
services.

• Global accounts are looking to pilot hybrid-delivery models

for key clients that would involve utilising the shared
service centres.

• Any breach of the above requirements could have a

significant adverse effect on the reputation of the Group’s
brands or financial results.

Significant influencing factors
• Commercial drive from the Group in non-perm business
and Page Outsourcing’s MSP offering, present both new
and country specific legal requirements, in particular,
licensing requirements, recruitment specific legislation,

and invoicing structures are compliant.

Mitigating actions
• The Group’s fiscal requirements are managed by Group
and regional finance management to regulatory and
legislation policies, supported by external advisors in each
country.

• As part of the development of our Page Outsourcing

model our legal team for this brand leads in establishing
policy and guidelines and setting the support processes to
enable adherence to requirements.

• Group Treasury, through a Global Treasury Policy, direct

and support regional management in addressing banking,
funding and the requirements of economic sanctions.

• Group Tax co-ordinate with regional management and tax

advisors on the Group’s tax matters.

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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CONTROL

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

FINANCE

Nature of risk

Failure to maintain adequate financial and management
processes and controls could lead to :

• Poor quality management decisions, resulting in the Group

not achieving its financial targets.

• Errors in the Group’s financial reporting leading to

reputational damage, penalties, fines or legal action.

• Loss or misappropriation of Company assets .

Failure to standardise systems and processes could
lead to:

• Excessive costs within the finance function.

• A lack of ability to adapt to changes in business

requirements.

Significant influencing factors
• Recent governance reviews following major business

failures have not proceeded through to legislation. The
level of impact and timing have reduced the level of change
required in the short term.

Mitigating actions
• We maintain strong financial policies and procedures with
clear lines of authority. Group, regional and local finance
teams ensure these policies as well as local statutory
requirements are adhered to. The Group Finance function
reviews monthly management account submissions.

• Shared service centres, under a global reporting structure,
have increased resilience and introduced greater levels of
process standardisation and improved controls. Global
process owners oversee the maintenance of our finance
processes

• We have an established global finance system enabling
standardisation on best practice and global visibility of
finance transactions. Access is managed centrally with
predefined rights and a regular review of segregation of
duties conflicts.

• There are compliance teams located in each region that

support local, regional and Group management in ensuring
revenues are appropriately recognised as well as a global
transactional process risk and controls team who support
management to ensure appropriate controls are in place.

• The shared service centres have improved opportunities for
career paths for finance professionals allowing hiring and
retention of higher calibre personnel.

• We have risk and controls registers which are owned

and embedded within the businesses. Risk reporting is
aggregated globally and reviewed every six months by the
Executive, Audit Committee and the Board.

• We have strengthened our local finance business

partnering capability to work with management in support
of commercially sound decision making. This has been
supported by the establishment of a global FP&A function
and a standard BI reporting capability.

10 DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

Nature of risk
• Personal data breaches are committed by our employees

and/or third-party vendors. (Cyber security risks are picked
up separately).

• Data requests cannot be fulfilled within deadlines imposed

by regulators.

• Regulator guidance on regulatory action against

companies including imposition of fines for data protection
breaches is evolving and may result in more severe
penalties. In the event of an incident, where our processes
and documentation are deemed insufficient the scale of
any fine may be increased.

• Our interpretation of data protection laws may prove to be
incorrect following clarification by the courts and/or data
protection regulators.

• The use of international delivery centres means there are

transfers of data.

Significant influencing factors
• Data Protection regulations in the UK and Europe are now

well established. European data protection regulators
(including the UK regulator) are actively following up on
complaints of breaches of the GDPR.

• Stricter data protection regulations are being introduced in

other regions including LATAM, the US, and China.

• Increased demand of utilising delivery centres, heightens
our data protection responsibilities and increases our risk
profile.

• As more of our systems support has been outsourced,
together with Page Outsourcing’s reliance on using third

parties to service their business models, our reliance
on third parties to have processes in place to effectively
manage our data has increased.

Mitigating actions
• We maintain a regional approach to ensuring legal

requirements are met effectively with specialist resources
used to support internal management.

• We have an ongoing employee data protection training
programme, (including ePrivacy) delivered via our global
training platform. Data management training is compulsory.

• We have regional teams, including legal support, in place
where required who respond to data requests and data
related queries including from regulators.

• We have in place an external DPO that regulates our

reporting requirements and provides us with an external
view.

• Our contracts with third parties ensure that responsibilities

around data management are clear and understood
and our third-party management processes have been
appropriately aligned.

• We also have a Crisis Management policy to address

external data breaches, including informing authorities and
Customers.

• Information Security conduct onsite visits to our shared

service centres and delivery centres, to confirm that they
are comfortable with the internal controls in place.

• See Cyber Security risk for mitigating activities regarding

data protection loss due to system attacks.

11 MACRO ECONOMIC EXPOSURE

NET RISK LEVEL INCREASED

Nature of risk
• Recruitment activity is driven largely by economic factors
and levels of business confidence. Businesses are less
likely to need permanent new hires and employees are less
likely to move jobs when they do not have confidence in
the economy, leading to reduced recruitment activity.

• Whilst a shallow or short-term reduction in activity may see
a transfer between Perm and Temp placements, a severe
or prolonged economic decline is likely to impact both
permanent and temporary recruitment activity adversely.

• During periods of rapid economic expansion, increasing
demand for candidates puts pressure on processes and
resource levels and our ability to fill vacancies. While
with reduced economic activity this risk is likely to abate,
we may see continued issues in ‘pockets’ of the global
economy that represent opportunity for growth.

Significant influencing factors
• Geopolitical factors have continued to be an economic
determinant in 2023. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and
subsequent sanctions continue to impact economies
globally. China’s claim over Taiwan also remains a potential
hotspot and the conflict in the Middle East has added to
the level of risk.

• Fiscal management of high levels of inflation in the post

COVID-19 environment, exacerbated by geopolitical issues
is the dominant driver of economic performance.

• Some industry sectors, however, continue to be more
resilient and similarly countries are seeing significantly

different levels of economic contraction or growth despite
the forecast for overall Global growth slowing.

Mitigating actions
• We use our geographical spread to invest in countries and
regions where growth is highest and manage resource
levels in areas that are not growing.

• Continue to develop our brands of Page Executive,

Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Outsourcing
targeted to the needs of geographies and Customers.

• Further develop our disciplines to take opportunities in

growing sectors and those that recover the quickest. We
are continuing to focus on and drive our technology across
the globe.

• Our Strategy review heightened the focus on profitable

growth opportunities.

• We have maintained and continue to increase the

proportion of our cost structure that is variable so that we
can respond quickly, both during periods of contraction
and rapid growth, for example, supporting our consultants
with technology, our moves to shared service centres and
IT to a global service-based model.

• We continue to balance our permanent and temporary/

contracting recruitment mix in line with business levels in
each market. The temporary business tends to be more
resilient in times of economic downturn.

• We protect key resources in the short term so that we can

capitalise when the economies recover.

12 FOREIGN EXCHANGE

NET RISK LEVEL STABLE

Nature of risk

• Material changes in the strength of Sterling against the
Group’s main functional currencies affects the Group’s
reported Sterling profits in the financial statements
significantly.

• As we continue to expand our overseas operations
successfully, our translation exposure to Sterling
increases.

Mitigating actions

• Our Group Treasury function reviews our global cash

• The main functional currencies in addition to Sterling are

position on a daily basis.

the Euro, US and Australian Dollars.

Significant influencing factors

• Repatriation of funds and conversion back to Sterling

protects against any significant Sterling recovery.

• Uncertainty in the global environment continues with the

• We do not hedge the translation of our profits.

war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East.

• The US Dollar as a safe haven currency has strengthened
leaving Sterling at a relatively low value. The performance
of the UK economy relative to Europe has more of an
effect now that we have left the Eurozone.

• Our communications focus on ensuring the market

correctly adjusts for any impact.

• We have little cross-border trading activity, so the impact

on transactions is limited to intercompany items.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

GOING CONCERN

The Board has undertaken a review of the Group’s forecasts
and associated risks and sensitivities in the period from the
date of approval of the financial statements to March 2025
(review period).

The Board considered a variety of downsides that the Group
might experience, such as a global downturn, a cyber-attack
resulting in significant reputational damage and loss of clients
and candidates, and the Group’s business model becoming
ineffective due to new innovations such as recruitment via
social media. All modelled scenarios would be expected to
impact gross profit and headcount, impacting conversion.

The Group had £90.1m of cash as at 31 December 2023,
with no debt except for IFRS 16 lease liabilities of £110.9m.
Debt facilities relevant to the review period comprise a
committed £80m RCF maturing December 2027, an
uncommitted UK trade debtor discounting facility (up to
£50m depending on debtor levels) and an uncommitted
£20m UK bank overdraft facility. Under these latest forecasts,
the Group is able to operate without the need to draw on its
available facilities. The forecast cash flows indicate that the

VIABILITY STATEMENT

Assessing the prospects of the Company

Our strategy and the key risks we face are described on
pages 13 to 16. A business forecasting process is performed
on a quarterly basis, with a budget for the following year
created during October and November, and presented to the
Board in December. Reforecasts are then prepared quarterly.
The Board reviews the Group’s strategy and approves an
annual Group budget. Performance is then monitored by
the Board through the review of monthly reports showing
comparisons of results against budget, quarterly forecasts
and the prior year, with explanations provided for significant
variances. Discussion around strategy is undertaken by
the Board in its normal course of business, as well as at an
annual dedicated Strategy Day.

We also prepare longer term projections that drive our
strategic plan. These are typically three years. Our strategic
plan provides a clear vision for the Group, aligns the Group
to one clear culture, provides clarity on investment priorities,
branding, belief in achievable goals, and clarity on the goals
for our financial Vision.

The period over which we confirm longer term
viability

Within the context of the above, in accordance with provision
31 of the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Board has
assessed the viability of the Group.

Given the inherent uncertainty involved, the period over
which the Directors consider it possible to form a reasonable
expectation as to the Group’s longer term viability is the
three-year period to 31 December 2026. This period has
been selected as it is short enough to present the Board
and, therefore, users of the Annual Report with a reasonable

Group will comply with all relevant banking covenants during
the review period.

Despite the macroeconomic and political uncertainty that
currently exists, and its inherent risk and impact on the
business, based on the analysis performed there are no
plausible downside scenarios that the Board believes would
cause a liquidity issue.

Given the Group’s resilient performance in 2023, the level of
cash in the business and the Group’s borrowing facilities, the
geographical and discipline diversification, limited Customer
concentration risk, as well as the ability to manage the cost
base, the Board has concluded that the Group has adequate
resources to continue in operation, meet its liabilities as they
fall due, retain sufficient available cash and not breach the
covenants under the RCF for the foreseeable future, being
a period of at least 12 months from the date of the approval
of the financial statements. The Board therefore considers it
appropriate for the Group to adopt the going concern basis
in preparing its financial statements.

degree of confidence, whilst still providing an appropriate
longer term outlook. Whilst the Board has no reason to
believe the Group will not be viable over a longer period, the
Board has taken into account the short-term visibility inherent
in a recruitment business with a permanent recruitment bias.

Stress testing

The forecasting and budgeting process is also supported
by scenarios that encompass a broad range of potential
outcomes. These scenarios are designed to explore
the resilience of the Group to the potential impact of
the significant risks as set out on pages 58 to 66, or a
combination of those risks. A range of scenarios were
considered, including cyber incidents, disintermediation by
way of innovation, changes in technology, movements in
foreign exchange rates, and a global downturn. For each
individual scenario, we modelled a 10% decline in gross
profit, recovering to be flat in Year 3. We also modelled a
worst-case scenario, where the combination of factors led
to a decline in gross profit in line with the 2008-2009 Global
Financial Crisis for the first two years, and then flat in year 3,
compounded by further additional factors as well as a 10%
strengthening of Sterling. We have assumed that, as in the
past, as downside risks materialise our headcount will flex
through natural attrition in line with the drop in gross profit,
such that the impact on operating profit is partially mitigated.

As seen in the global financial crisis in 2009, as well as during
the pandemic, working capital from both permanent and
temporary recruitment unwinds, providing the Group with a
sizeable cash buffer.

The scenarios were designed to be severe, but plausible
and were modelled individually and in combination. In each

case, the Group remained viable throughout. However, it is
considered extremely unlikely that this combination of events
would ever occur.

Controls are also in place, where possible, to mitigate the
impact of these scenarios and these are described on pages
58 to 66.

Various events may also alert the Main and Executive Boards
to a potential threat to viability, for example, macro-events
drive the recruitment industry; a drop in GDP in a particular
country may lead to a reduction in gross profit growth rates.

We consider that this stress-testing-based assessment of
the Group’s prospects is reasonable in the circumstances
given the inherent uncertainty involved.

Confirmation of longer term viability

The Directors confirm that their assessment of the principal
risks and uncertainties facing the Group was robust. Based
upon the robust assessment of the principal risks and

uncertainties facing the Company and the stress-testing
based assessment of the Company’s prospects, all of
which are described above, the Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Company will be able to continue in
operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the
period to 31 December 2026. However, we operate in an
environment of limited visibility, dependent upon confidence
in the global marketplace. Further weakness in the macro
economic outlook may cause us to adapt our Strategy
during the three-year period in response, leading to a re-
evaluation of additional risks involved which might impact the
business model.

Compliance with Section 414 of the Companies
Act 2006

We have complied with the requirements under the
provisions of the Companies Act 2006 contained in Sections
414CA and 414CB of the Companies Act 2006. Our Non-
financial and Sustainability Information Statement can be
found below.

NON-FINANCIAL AND SUSTAINABILITY
INFORMATION STATEMENT

The following chart details where you can find further information in this Annual Report on each of the key areas of disclosure
that these Sections 414CA and 414CB require.

Description

Business Model

Non-financial Key Performance Indicators

Description and management of principal risk and impact of business activity

Employees

Social and community

Respect for human rights

Anti-corruption and anti-bribery

Environmental matters

Page

21 to 22

60 to 68

25 to 41

25 to 41 and 44 to 46

25 to 41, 44 to 46 and 51

96 and 106

42 to 43 and 47 to 50

TCFD aligned Climate-related Financial Disclosures, meeting the requirements of the new
mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements under UK CFD.

52 to 57

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

HOW THE BOARD FULFILS ITS SECTION 172 DUTIES

This section of the Strategic Report and the pages to which
it refers, comprises the Company’s section 172(1) statement
together with statements set out earlier in this report and
illustrates how these principles are embedded into how
Directors engage with our Stakeholders.

In 2023, the Board sought to anchor the Group’s new
Strategy in addressing the needs of its Stakeholders.
These requirements formed the foundation on which
the new Strategy was built.

The disclosure below seeks to illustrate how the Board
engages with the Group’s various Stakeholders. The Board’s
understanding of Stakeholders’ interest is central to its
responsibilities and Stakeholder engagement takes place

through various mediums depending on the Stakeholder
group. This engagement process enables the Board to hear
what matters most to our Stakeholders, and have regard to
their interests over the long term. The various considerations
surrounding our key Stakeholders including engagement
methods, decision making, and their importance to our
Strategy with the Board’s oversight, are summarised in this
section of the Strategic Report.

The Board considers the likely impact of any decision, identifies
Stakeholders who may be affected and potential impact as
part of their decision-making process. In addition, the Board,
together with the Directors considers current or emerging risks
of each Stakeholder group as part of the overall principal risk
assessment which is contained on pages 58 to 66.

ENGAGEMENT PERFORMANCE KEY HIGHLIGHTS

EMPLOYEES

Strong employee engagement in 2023:

82%
“My leadership team at
PageGroup creates a
culture of inclusion.”

90%
“I am proud to
work at Page.”

89%
“PageGroup is committed to
inclusion in the workplace.”

INVESTORS

Four conferences,
two roadshows,
and 29 meetings.

Two Capital
Market Events,
on technology
and Strategy.

CUSTOMERS

Interim dividend of
5.13p per ordinary
share and a special
dividend of 15.87p
per share paid in
October 2023.

Final dividend for
the year of 11.24p
per ordinary share.

Setting a global strategic
goal of accomplishing a 60+
Net Promoter Score from our
clients.

Enhancing and improving our
technology platforms to allow us
greater collaboration and insight
with our Customers.

SOCIETY & GOVERNMENT

Expansion of social impact
RECODE to support
people from lower socio-
economic backgrounds
into technology careers.

15% Decrease in
operational GHG
emissions (absolute
Scope 1 & 2 emissions).

133,575 Lives changed
through job placements and
social impact programmes.

SUPPLIERS

Commercial and Legal
Review of our key technology
partner to ensure alignment with
our technology strategy.

Investment into Global ESG tool that
tracks ESG credentials of our suppliers
to ensure we are driving sustainability in
our global supply chain.

Our Directors hold diverse industry expertise and have
deep board experience that enables them to understand the
needs and resonate with, our Stakeholder groups. It enables
our Directors to assist the Board with its decision-making.

Our Directors engage with our People at an operational and
regional level, ensuring that they are equipped to understand
our business.

Engagement activities are undertaken by all Directors,
whether they are Executive or Non-Executive, with the Board
taking collective responsibility for understanding, balancing
and acting in accordance with Stakeholder interests.

Embedding our culture, values and Strategy is
at the heart of the Board’s responsibilities. Focus on the
long-term sustainable success of the Company is carried out
through the use of Stakeholder feedback to set, oversee and
drive the Company’s culture, values and Strategy.

Our Directors discharging their responsibilities effectively
means all our Stakeholder groups are valued and impacted

positively. This may be by cultivating an environment where
our People thrive, by maintaining the highest standards of
customer service, collaboration with our Customers and
Suppliers, or by leading the business effectively to generate
returns to Investors, and the communities in which we live,
work and serve.

The information that the Board receives is critical to
how we engage with our Stakeholders. The Board receives
an array of information which is reviewed regularly and it
engages directly with a cross section of our Stakeholders
who are invited to participate in both internal and external
Stakeholder initiatives.

Monitoring tangible progress is a key component of
the Board’s Shareholder engagement strategy. It monitors
progress through reviewing trend data and updates from
management and face to face interactions.

WHO ARE OUR STAKEHOLDERS?

SUPPLIERS
We take care to select, onboard and
engage with our suppliers, ensuring a
fair, strong and long-term relationship.

OUR PEOPLE
We strive to ensure our People have a
supportive, inclusive culture and are
equipped with tools to develop themselves
and experience a long and rewarding career.

OUR KEY
STAKEHOLDERS

SOCIETY
& GOVERNMENT
Require organisations to
comply with their regulatory
obligations and have a
positive impact on society.

INVESTORS
Look for continued
investment growth and seek
confidence their investment
is under sound stewardship.

CUSTOMERS
Play a pivotal role in our purpose.
They rely on us to provide global,
best-in-class specialist recruitment
services and solutions to help
drive their business objectives and
careers forward.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023WHY ARE OUR STAKEHOLDERS
IMPORTANT TO OUR BUSINESS MODEL?

OUR PEOPLE

INVESTORS & SHAREHOLDERS

Our People are our greatest asset and are instrumental
in shaping who we are as an organisation. Our
engagement initiatives are focused on being an
inclusive global employer of choice that attracts high-
performing talent with shared values, so that collectively
we are driven to change people’s lives.

Retaining long-term investment and
attracting new investors is key to our
success and long-term sustainability.
Investors will only be attracted to us, and
stay with us, if we approach Stakeholder
groups thoughtfully and ethically.

CUSTOMERS

SOCIETY & GOVERNMENT

SUPPLIERS

Our clients depend on us to
secure the right talent. In an
ever-changing market, they
rely on us to solve their short
and long-term recruitment
needs. Candidates we place
choose us to help them find
organisations that match
their values and where they
can develop and grow their
careers.

Preserving our reputation as
a responsible and sustainable
business is of the utmost
importance. The Board is
committed to changing lives
in the communities where we
live and work and acting as
governments expect and require.
Anything less is contrary to our
culture and values.

In order to fulfil our strategic
goals and be the best, we need
to partner with businesses that
are innovative, work well with our
People, understand our Customers
and mirror our high standards and
ambitions. The Board understands
how critical these partnerships are
to support mutual and sustainable
growth, which enables us to
maintain our competitive edge.

ENGAGEMENT

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
PROVIDED TO DIRECTORS

WHO ENGAGES?

All Company virtual events.

Regional in person townhalls and
office visits.

Local and Executive Shadow Boards,
including reporting to the Board.

Reverse mentoring programmes.

Group-wide communications through
our networking tool, Viva Engage.

Group-wide “Have Your Say Survey”
and pulse surveys, including
engagement on our Strategy.

Biannual Culture & Engagement
sessions, including KPI measures and
DE&I review.

“Speak-Up” helpline review.

Gender pay gap reporting and
monitoring of gender targets.

Outputs from functional and
regional employee champions and
representatives.

All Company virtual events provide
material updates on business
performance and employee initiatives
and are led by Executive Directors.

Throughout the year Executive
Directors visited several offices both in
and outside of the UK.

Non-Executive Directors attended and
participated in person to Company-led
events.

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOME

FEEDBACK

DECISION

Survey data shows that our
People will stay with us if we
can provide them with rewarding
careers. They want greater
visibility on opportunities that are
available to them.

Significant investment was made into
launching our global internal job board
to showcase all roles and provide
our People with the opportunity to
apply and be considered for internal
opportunities around the world.

LINK TO STRATEGY

We want to retain and develop
our talented People, and by
offering a range of opportunities
across our business, we can
ensure that we can deliver on
our purpose of changing lives.

FEEDBACK

Mental health awareness is
central to our People and
they seek different ways in
which they can address their
own personal wellness in the
workplace.

DECISION

Awareness campaigns of our tools,
benefits and employee assistance
programmes are communicated, and
wellness initiatives take place regionally.
For example, in the UK, we increased
wellness leave, allowing employees to
take time off as part of their wellness
regime.

LINK TO STRATEGY

Providing an inclusive and
supportive environment allows
our People to perform at their
best.

FEEDBACK

It is crucial that our purpose
and values are clear in order
to be able to resonate with
our People throughout the
organisation.

DECISION

We have reaffirmed our purpose to
change lives as a cornerstone of
our new Strategy and refreshed our
values to “Grow Connections”, “Earn
Trust” and “Make a Difference”.

LINK TO STRATEGY

Our purpose and values are
fundamental and vital to ensure
our People feel connected both
to the organisation and our
Strategy.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023INVESTORS & SHAREHOLDERS

ENGAGEMENT

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
PROVIDED TO DIRECTORS

WHO ENGAGES?

Investor roadshows.

Investor conferences.

Individual Investor meetings.

Engagement calls with proxy agencies.

AGM.

Investor Relations Reports including
roadshow feedback.

Proxy ratings and reports (ISS, Glass
Lewis, IVIS and PIRC).

Remuneration Policy engagement and
approval.

Capital Market Events (Technology,
Sustainability and refreshed Strategy).

Feedback from Capital Markets
Events.

This continues to be a shared
responsibility for all Directors of the
Board.

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOME

FEEDBACK

DECISION

LINK TO STRATEGY

The Board is committed to ensure
that Investor views are reflected in the
Company’s Capital Returns Policy. In
2023 a consultation exercise took place
with key Stakeholders to understand
their views on the most appropriate
method for any available capital returns
for our Shareholder base.

FEEDBACK

Our Investors were keen that our
refreshed Strategy should focus on
building on our existing strengths by
continuing to grow in our high potential
markets. Investors sought assurance
that our organic growth Strategy would
be maintained.

The Board reviewed
engagement feedback from
Investors, and determined
capital returns should be by
way of special dividends, as
opposed to a share buy back
programme.

Listening and responding to
our investors helps us retain
long-term Shareholders and
attract new investment, which in
turn sets us up for sustainable
growth.

DECISION

LINK TO STRATEGY

To focus on our existing
strengths by leveraging
our global platforms in the
Technology sector, Page
Executive and Strategic
Customers and to maximise
our core business at a 20%
conversion rate.

Meeting Shareholder
expectations and delivery of a
Strategy which they buy into is
key to the Company’s success
and stability.

CUSTOMERS

ENGAGEMENT

Client performance
review meetings, deep-
dive Customer strategy
sessions, webinars and
thought-leadership articles.

Frequent dialogue with our
candidates, providing them
with access to webinars,
research and guidance on
their careers.

PERFORMANCE
INFORMATION PROVIDED
TO DIRECTORS

Net Promoter Scores.

Google review surveys –
clients and candidates.

Quarterly Board reports on
Information Security and
Data Protection.

Update on Completely
Customer Programme.

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOME

WHO ENGAGES?

Engagement takes place at various levels including with
the Executive Directors and senior management.

Non-Executive Directors, together with our Chief Marketing
and Data Officer, review feedback from our Customers.

Directors attend strategy sessions in markets where
Customers are a key component of the discussion.

Data and information security is a key responsibility of the
Group and therefore a shared Board matter. Key metrics
regarding performance are discussed quarterly at Board
meetings.

FEEDBACK

DECISION

Our SME clients seek local
expertise with a track record
that provides insight and choice,
enabling them to access candidate
talent pools, where their employer
brand would be unlikely to reach.

To invest and continually improve
our technology, such as Customer
Connect, and Page Insights.
Together with focusing on wider
candidate audiences offering
guidance and information on
employers and organisations that
they may not have considered.

LINK TO STRATEGY

As a global provider of
recruitment services we need to
truly understand our Customers
and flex our services to their
profile.

FEEDBACK

Our large clients look to us to
provide them with insights and
solutions to support areas of talent
scarcity in key specialisms of data,
technology, Sustainability and DE&I.

DECISION

LINK TO STRATEGY

The establishment of Strategic
Customer Solutions allows as a
strategic growth pillar allows us to
harmonise our specialists to deliver
in these key areas.

To be successful it is essential
that we offer a variety of
recruitment services and
operating models that listen and
align to our Customer needs.

CASE STUDY

Our Capital Markets Event in June this year provided Investors
with valuable insights into our innovative and technology-driven
approach to changing lives and driving impactful Sustainability
initiatives.

Investors were provided with a live demonstration of Page
Insights, showcasing the power of data in driving Customer
engagement, to a tour around our Global Customer Connect
platform - a fully integrated sales and marketing platform that
fosters productivity across our business. Additionally, Investors
were provided with insight into our Sustainability work.

Throughout the event our experts were available to receive
feedback and answer questions from our Investors.

Details of our Capital Market Events throughout 2023 can be
viewed at www.page.com

FEEDBACK

The key to continued success is
ensuring consistently high levels
of customer service across our
markets; anything less will impact
on our ability to retain and maintain
our client base.

DECISION

LINK TO STRATEGY

An essential tenet of our new
Strategy when setting our strategic
goals is to a achieve a 60+ Net
Promoter Score from our clients.

First class customer service
combined with anticipating
future resourcing requirements
are what win us repeat
business, and allow us to
grow while maintaining our
competitive edge.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

SOCIETY & GOVERNMENT

ENGAGEMENT

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
PROVIDED TO DIRECTORS

WHO ENGAGES?

Engagement with Shareholders, ratings
agencies, Customers and suppliers on
Sustainability matters.

Charity programmes that support under-
represented communities into employment.

Review and involvement in consultations
relating to emerging ESG regulation.

Attendance and participation at key events,
including Anthropy 2023.

Sustainability performance summary
and metrics including feedback from
the Sustainability Committee

Annual consideration of tax strategy.

Directors are advised of all material
litigation and/or significant regulatory
engagement via reporting from
the General Counsel & Company
Secretary.

Engagement, on the whole,
is delegated to Executive
Directors and senior
management, who provide
regular in-person feedback to
the Board.

The Board having oversight
responsibilities discharged
via reporting provided on the
engagement activities.

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOME

FEEDBACK

Increasing
expectations on
breadth and quality
of non-financial
disclosures, as
Corporate Net
Zero science-
based targets are
encouraged.

DECISION: The Company has committed to voluntary Net
Zero science-based targets, which have been submitted for
validation to the Science Based Targets initiative.

Near Term Targets: 60% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions;
and 25% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from business travel
and supply chain, by 2030 versus a 2022 baseline.

Long-Term Target: Net Zero across full value chain by 2050.

GENDER EQUALITY | DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC
GROWTH REDUCED INEQUALITIES | CLIMATE ACTION

LINK TO STRATEGY

On-going focus
and progress on
our Sustainability
capabilities is
of fundamental
importance to the
Company’s long-term
success.

SUPPLIERS

ENGAGEMENT

Supplier selection, verification
and onboarding process.

Regular vendor management
review meetings, including
financial reviews of the
service.

PERFORMANCE
INFORMATION PROVIDED
TO DIRECTORS

Reviews of contractual
performance metrics and
assurance activities.

Modern Slavery statement
and KPIs.

ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOME

WHO ENGAGES?

Group procurement, vendor management, together
with the internal stakeholders that procure the service.

The Board reviews the output, in particular on
information security, modern slavery risks, and
approves large supplier arrangements. The Board then
determines any actions required.

FEEDBACK

Large strategic supplier
partnerships should be
reviewed regularly to
ensure they represent
the optimal engagement
model.

DECISION

To ensure that we are building and leveraging our
technology, the Board reviewed and approved
a multi-year investment with our key technology
supplier, which moves our engagement from
time and materials support to a full added value
outsourcing model.

LINK TO STRATEGY

Ensuring our Suppliers are
aligned with our strategic
goals is paramount to the
success of the Company.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Financial summary

2023

2022

Change

Revenue

Gross profit

Operating profit

Profit before tax

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Total dividend per share (excl. special dividend)

Total dividend per share (incl. special dividend)

£2,010.3m

£1,990.3m

£1,007.1m

£1,076.3m

£118.8m

£117.4m

24.4p

24.3p

16.37p

32.24p

£196.1m

£194.4m

43.7p

43.5p

15.67p

42.38p

+1.0%

-6.4%

-39.4%

-39.6%

-44.2%

-44.1%

*At constant currency – all growth rates in constant currency at prior year rates unless otherwise stated

** Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina

Change
CC*

+1.1%

-6.3%

-39.4%**

At constant exchange rates, Group revenue increased 1.1%
to £2,010.3m (2022: £1,990.3m), but gross profit decreased
6.3% to £1,007.1m (2022: £1,076.3m) for the year ended
31 December 2023. Gross profit per fee earner was flat in
constant currencies but decreased by 0.3% in reported rates
to £159.0k (2022: £159.4k).

The Group’s revenue and gross profit mix between
permanent and temporary placements were 37:63 (2022:
42:58) and 73:27 (2022: 77:23) respectively. This is reflective
of the tougher trading conditions during the year, particularly
within permanent recruitment, whereas temporary was more
resilient. Revenue from temporary placements comprises the
salaries of those placed, together with the margin charged.

This margin on temporary placements was broadly in line
with 2022 at 21.5% (2022: 21.6%). Overall, pricing remained
strong, as we continued to see candidate shortages and
high levels of vacancies in the majority of our markets.

Total Group headcount decreased by 1,161 in the year to
7,859. This comprised a net decrease of 1,092 fee earners
(15.7%) and 69 operational support staff (3.3%). We reduced
our headcount in all four quarters, with reductions in all
regions, in line with the tougher trading conditions seen
throughout 2023.

In total, administrative expenses increased 0.9% to £888.3m
(2022: £880.2m). The Group’s operating profit from trading
activities totalled £118.8m (2022: £196.1m).

Gross profit

Year-on-year

EMEA

Americas

Asia Pacific

Total

Permanent

Temporary

REGIONAL REVIEWS

% of Group

2023 (£m)

2022 (£m)

Reported

55%

17%

16%

12%

549.5

173.3

159.6

124.7

538.5

193.4

195.3

149.1

100%

1,007.1

1,076.3

73%

27%

733.6

273.5

826.3

250.0

+2.0%

-10.4%

-18.3%

-16.4%

-6.4%

-11.2%

+9.4%

+0.3%

-9.2%

-14.3%

-16.4%

-6.3%

-10.9%

+8.9%

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (EMEA)

ASIA PACIFIC

EMEA

(£m)

Growth rates

Asia Pacific

(£m)

Growth rates

(55% of Group in 2023)

Gross profit

Operating profit

Conversion rate (%)

2023

549.5

92.2

16.8%

2022

538.5

122.1

22.7%

Reported

+2.0%

-24.5%

+0.3%

-25.7%

(16% of Group in 2023)

Gross profit

Operating profit

Conversion rate (%)

2023

159.6

11.6

7.3%

2022

195.3

35.2

18.0%

Reported

-18.3%

-67.0%

-14.3%

-62.5%

Market presence
EMEA is the Group’s largest region, contributing 55% of
the Group’s gross profit in the year. With operations in 17
countries, PageGroup has a strong presence in the majority of
EMEA markets and is the clear leader in specialist permanent
recruitment in the two largest, France and Germany, and
many of the others. Across the region, permanent placements
accounted for 67% and temporary placements 33% of gross
profit.

Performance
In constant currencies, revenue grew 2.5% to £1,117.2m
(2022: £1,069.3m) and gross profit grew 0.3% to £549.5m
(2022: £538.5m).

We delivered resilient results in EMEA, despite trading
conditions that became tougher as the year progressed.

France, the Group’s largest market, was flat, despite tougher
trading conditions in Michael Page, down 2%, whereas
Page Personnel was more resilient, up 1%, due to the higher
degree of temporary recruitment. Germany, our second largest
market, grew 4% for the year against a tough comparator
in 2022, with the standout performance in our Technology-
focused Interim business, up 15%. Elsewhere in the region,
Benelux and Southern Europe both declined 1%. The Middle
East and Africa grew 12%.

The region delivered operating profit of £92.2m (2022:
£122.1), with a conversion rate of 16.8% (2022: 22.7%). This
was the highest conversion rate in the Group, despite the
tougher macro-economic conditions as the year progressed.
Headcount across the region decreased by 271 (6.6%) during
the year, to 3,814 at the end of 2023 (2022: 4,085).

THE AMERICAS

Americas

(£m)

Growth rates

(17% of Group in 2023)

Gross profit

Operating profit

Conversion rate (%)

2023

173.3

17.7

10.2%

2022

193.4

17.9

9.2%

Reported

-10.4%

-0.8%

-9.2%

-1.4%*

Market presence

The Americas accounted for 17% of the Group’s gross
profit in 2023, with North America representing 55% of the
region and Latin America, 45%. The US, where we have
7 offices, has a well-developed recruitment industry, but
in many disciplines, especially technical, there is limited
national competition of any scale. PageGroup’s breadth of
professional specialisms and geographic reach is uncommon
and provides a real competitive advantage.

Latin America is a highly under-developed region, where
PageGroup enjoys the market leading position with over 800
employees in seven countries. There are few international
competitors and none with regional scale. Across the
Americas, permanent placements accounted for 84% of
gross profit and temporary placements 16%.

Performance

In constant currencies revenue increased 12.9% to £311.7m
(2022: £282.9m) while gross profit declined 9.2% to
£173.3m (2022: £193.4m). This is representative of current
market conditions, where trading is much tougher within

* Excluding the impact of hyperinflation in Argentina

permanent recruitment, whereas temporary has been more
resilient.

In North America, gross profit decreased 20%, with tough
market conditions throughout the year. The US declined
20% due to tough trading conditions impacting candidate
and client confidence, particularly within Technology and
Financial Services. Over 90% of our gross profit in the US is
permanent recruitment, where conditions have been much
tougher during 2023.

Latin America grew 8%, albeit this was partially due to
the hyperinflationary environment in Argentina. Excluding
Argentina the region grew 3% for the year. Brazil was up 2%,
whereas Mexico was down 6% and the other four countries
increased 13%, collectively.

The Americas delivered operating profit of £17.7m (2022:
£17.9m) due to the resilience of our business in Latin
America, offset by tougher trading conditions in the US,
where we have strategically held on to our headcount.
Across the region, headcount decreased by 361 (21.4%) in
2023 to 1,329 (2022: 1,690).

Market presence

Asia Pacific represented 16% of the Group’s gross profit
in 2023, with 78% of the region being Asia and 22%
Australia. Other than in the financial centres of Hong Kong,
Singapore and Tokyo, the Asian market is generally highly
under-developed and offers attractive opportunities in both
international and domestic markets at good conversion
rates. With a highly experienced management team,
more than 1,300 staff and limited competition, the size of
the opportunity in Asia is significant. Across Asia Pacific,
driven by cultural attitudes towards white collar temporary
recruitment, permanent placements accounted for 85% and
temporary placements only 15% of gross profit, well below
the Group average.

Australia is a mature, well-developed and highly competitive
recruitment market. PageGroup has a meaningful presence
in permanent recruitment in the majority of the professional
disciplines and major cities in Australia.

Performance

In Asia Pacific, in constant currencies, revenue declined

6.1% to £284.8m (2022: £318.4m) and gross profit declined
14.3% to £159.6m (2022: £195.3m).

We experienced tough market conditions in Asia Pacific
during 2023, particularly within Greater China, where gross
profit declined 29% with Mainland China down 31% and
Hong Kong down 23%. Whilst COVID restrictions were
eased, the recovery was slower than anticipated. This also
impacted trading in South East Asia, which was down 16%,
with Singapore down 18%. India delivered the standout
result and a record year, up 6% on 2022. Japan was down
2% on 2022. Conditions were also tough in Australia which
was down 10% on 2022.

The region delivered operating profit of £11.6m (2022:
£35.2m), with the conversion rate decreasing to 7.3% (2022:
18.0%). This was a result of the tougher trading conditions
across the region and our decision to strategically hold on
to our headcount in China, partially offset by the reduction
in headcount elsewhere. Headcount across the region
decreased 290 (15.7%) in the year, ending the year at 1,552
(2022: 1,842).

UNITED KINGDOM

(12% of Group in 2023)

Gross profit

Operating (loss)/profit

Conversion rate (%)

(£m)

Growth rate

2023

124.7

(2.7)

-2.2%

2022

149.1

20.9

14.0%

-16.4%

<100%

Market presence

The UK represented 12% of the Group’s gross profit in
2023, operating from 22 offices covering all major cities. It
is a mature, highly competitive and sophisticated market
with the majority of vacant positions being outsourced to
recruitment firms. PageGroup has a market leading presence
in permanent recruitment across the UK and a growing
presence in temporary recruitment. In the UK, permanent
placements accounted for 69% and temporary placements
31% of gross profit.

The UK business operates under all four of our brands, with
representation in 13 specialist disciplines via the Michael
Page brand. There remain opportunities to increase the size
and breadth of our reach under the higher salary-level Page

Executive brand and by building on our existing strengths
across Michael Page and Page Personnel.

Performance

In the UK, revenue decreased 7.2% on 2022 to £296.7m
(2022: £319.6m) and gross profit decreased 16.4% from
£149.1m in 2022 to £124.7m. Michael Page declined 19%
and Page Personnel 11%.

Operating result for the year decreased to a loss of -£2.7m
(2022: profit of £20.9m). While the UK trading business was
profitable despite the tougher trading conditions, the high
proportion of senior management and operational support
based in the UK meant the region had a negative conversion
rate of 2.2%. Headcount decreased 239 (17.0%) in the year
to 1,164 at the end of December 2023 (2022: 1,404).

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Operating profit and conversion rates

The Group’s organic growth model and profit-based team
bonus ensures cost control remains tight. Approximately
three-quarters of costs were employee related, including
wages, bonuses, share-based long-term incentives, and
training & relocation costs. Depreciation and amortisation for
the year totalled £66.8m (2022: £60.6m).

The Group’s conversion rate for the year decreased from
18.2% in 2022 to 11.8%. This was due to the more
challenging trading conditions experienced through 2023 in
the majority of our markets, partially offset by the reduction in
fee earner headcount.

As part of this refined strategy and our increased focus on
our conversion rate target, we have already implemented a
number of initiatives to reduce our cost base. These initiatives
mainly focused on: removing management layers; some small
office closures including our onshore presence in Sweden;
and re-sizing our operational support function to reflect the
reduction in fee earner headcount.

These initiatives have incurred a one-off restructuring cost in
2023 of £10.6m, offset by the majority of the cost savings
being realised in FY23. The net negative impact this year was
c. £2m. Going forward, we expect these initiatives to deliver
annualised savings of c. £20m per annum compared to our
FY23 cost base from FY24 onwards.

EMEA was the Group’s most profitable region in 2023, with
a conversion rate of 16.8%. This was reflective of the region
experiencing more resilient trading conditions through 2023.
Conversion in Asia Pacific fell to 7.3% (2022: 18.0%) due
primarily to the continued tough conditions in Greater China,
as well as our strategic decision to hold on to our experienced
headcount in this market. The Americas’ conversion rate was
10.2%, with tougher market conditions in the US but Latin
America being more resilient. While the UK trading business
was profitable despite the tougher trading conditions, the high
proportion of senior management and operational support
based in the UK meant the region had a negative conversion
rate of 2.2%.

A net interest charge of £1.4m (2022: £1.7m) was primarily
due to an IFRS 16 interest charge of £2.5m.

Earnings per share and dividends

In 2023, basic and diluted earnings per share decreased to
24.4p and 24.3p respectively (2022: 43.7p basic and 43.5p
diluted), as a result of the decrease in profits due to the
tougher trading conditions.

The Group’s strategy is to operate a policy of financing the
activities and development of the Group from our retained
earnings and to maintain a strong balance sheet position. The
first use of our cash is to satisfy our operational and investment
requirements and to hedge our liabilities under the Group’s
share plans. We then review our liquidity over and above these
requirements to make returns to shareholders, firstly by way of
an ordinary dividend.

Our policy is to grow this ordinary dividend over the course
of the economic cycle, in line with our long-term growth rate.
We believe this will enable us to sustain the level of ordinary
dividend payments during a downturn as well as to increase it
during more prosperous times.

A proportion of the cash generated in excess of these
first two priorities will be returned to shareholders through
supplementary returns, using special dividends or share
buybacks.

Given the high levels of surplus cash, we paid an interim
dividend of 5.13 pence per share, an increase of 4.5%
over the 2022 interim dividend. In addition, in line with our
policy of returning surplus capital to shareholders, we also
paid a special dividend of 15.87 pence per share. Taking
both dividends together, this amounted to a cash return to
shareholders of £66.2m, paid out in October 2023.

The Board has proposed a final dividend of 11.24p (2022:
10.76p) per ordinary share, up 4.5% on the 2022 final
dividend. When taken together with the interim dividend of
5.13p (2022: 4.91p) per ordinary share, this is an increase
in the total dividend for the year of 4.5%. The proposed final
dividend, which amounts to £35.4m, will be paid on 21 June
2024 to shareholders on the register as at 17 May 2024,
subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting
on 3 June 2024.

We will continue to monitor our cash position in 2024 and will
make returns to shareholders in line with the above policy.

Cash flow and balance sheet

Cash flow in the year was strong, with £212.0m (2022:
£246.4m) generated from operations. The closing cash
balance was £90.1m at 31 December 2023 (2022: £131.5m).
The decrease on 2022 is due primarily to the cash returned
to shareholders through the payment of dividends in the year,
totalling £100.1m.

On 9 December 2022, PageGroup entered into a five year
£80m committed multi-currency revolving credit facility
agreement with HSBC and BBVA. In addition, PageGroup
maintains an uncommitted Confidential Invoice Facility
with HSBC whereby the Group has the option to discount
receivables in order to advance cash. The Invoice Facility is
for up to £50m depending on debtor levels. Neither of these
facilities were drawn as at 31 December 2023. These facilities
are used on an ad hoc basis to fund any major Group GBP
cash outflows.

Income tax paid in the year was £59.0m (2022: £61.6m) and
net capital expenditure was £30.8m (2022: £29.6m).

Total dividends of £100.1m were paid in 2023 (2022:
£133.2m). Cash receipts from share option exercises in 2023
reflected the share price over that period, with £1.9m in 2023,
compared to £0.4m in 2022. In 2023, £17.5m (2022: £14.8m)
was also spent on the purchase of shares by the Employee
Benefit Trust to satisfy future committed obligations under our
employee share plans.

The most significant item in our balance sheet was trade
receivables, which amounted to £270.5m at 31 December
2023 (2022: £307.8m), comprising permanent fees invoiced
and salaries and fees invoiced in the temporary placement
business, but not yet paid. Day’s sales in debtors decreased
due to temporary recruitment, which has a shorter collection
period, being more resilient in 2023 than permanent
recruitment.

Taxation

The tax charge for the year was £40.4m (2022: £55.4m).
This represented an effective tax rate of 34.4% (2022:
28.5%). The rate is higher than the UK rate for the calendar
year of 23.5% (2022: 19%) principally due to the impact of
higher tax rates in overseas countries, changes to deferred
tax recognition and disallowable expenditure. There are
some countries in which the tax rate is lower than the UK,
but the impact is small either because the countries are
not significant contributors to Group profit, or the tax rate
difference is not significant.

In 2023, the tax rate was impacted primarily by higher tax in
overseas countries (5.6%), derecognition of losses and other
tax attributes of (2.3%), prior year adjustments of (0.3%) and
other permanent differences (2.4%), principally employee
related expenditure and entertainment expenses.

The tax charge for the year reflects the Group’s tax strategy,
which is aligned to business goals. It is PageGroup’s policy
to pay its fair share of taxes in the countries in which it
operates and deal with its tax affairs in a straightforward,
open and honest manner. The Group’s tax strategy is set

out in detail on our website in the Investor section under
“Responsibilities”.

Share options and share repurchases

At the beginning of 2023 the Group had 9.8m share options
outstanding, of which 5.7m had vested, but had not been
exercised. During the year, options were granted over 2.6m
shares under the Group’s share option plans. Options were
exercised over 0.6m shares, generating £1.9m in cash,
and options lapsed over 0.4m shares. At the end of 2023,
options remained outstanding over 11.4m shares, of which
6.1m had vested, but had not been exercised. During 2023,
3.9m shares were purchased by the Group’s Employee
Benefit Trust, and no shares were cancelled (2022: 2.9m
shares were purchased and no shares were cancelled).

Approved by the Board on 6 March 2024 and signed on its
behalf by:

Kelvin Stagg

Chief Financial Officer

370

330

290

250

210

£m

170

130

CASH FLOW WATERFALL 2023

20.0

57.8

191.9

30.8

40.0

17.5

131.5

100.1

(40.1)

1.9

9.0

90.1

Dec 2022

EBITDA

Working
Capital

Tax and net
interest

Net
Capex

Lease
payment

EBT share
purchases

Dividends

Share options
exercised

Exchange

Dec 2023

Cash

Increase

Decrease

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION TO
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

OUR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
FRAMEWORK

Angela Seymour-Jackson

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the Company’s
Corporate Governance Report for the financial year ended 31 December
2023. Throughout 2023 the Board worked hard to establish and
communicate the Group’s new Strategy, identifying the areas of our
business that will maximise our future growth. As the Company enters
its next phase, the Board is confident that as a business we are set up
for success and poised to capitalise on our strengths. While trading
conditions were undoubtedly tougher in 2023, as a business we took
decisive action, including incurring some one-off restructuring costs
which makes us better positioned to execute on our new Strategy in the
years to come.

Our Strategy

2023 was an exciting year for the business, as we launched
our new Strategy which aims to be customer-led, insight-
driven and people powered.

We set our three strategic goals: £400m of operating profit;
change 1 million lives and reach a 60+ Net Promoter Score
and we reaffirmed our Purpose and refreshed our values.

To deliver our strategic goals we identified our key growth
pillars which can be summarised as leveraging our global
platform in Technology recruitment, doubling down on Page
Executive, maximising our core business and strengthening
our Strategic Customers Solutions offering.

Further details and background on our new Strategy are set
out on pages 17 and 18.

Corporate Governance

This Corporate Governance Report sets out how the Company
has complied with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018
(the “Code”). It details the work and activities of the Board, and
the work of its Committees and the annual evaluation process
for the year under review.

The Main Board and the Committee structure is outlined
on page 82. This framework allows the Board to determine
the overall strategic direction of the Group. It underpins its
core values, policies, and procedures, which in turn, creates
a culture in which our business and employees can act
effectively and with integrity.

Board composition

In April 2023, the Board welcomed Babak Fouladi as a Non-
Executive Director. Babak was appointed due to his extensive
technology experience. Full details of which can be found in
Babak’s biography on page 87. Patrick De Smedt stepped
down from the Board at the Company’s 2023 AGM. I would
like to thank Patrick for his contribution to the Board.

The Board regularly reviews the Board composition for key
skills and diversity, and it is committed to ensuring that we
always have the right skills to support the Company in its
strategic objectives. The Board meets the Parker Review
Recommendations and has equal gender balance.

Further details of the Board’s work on diversity are set out in
the Nomination Committee Report on pages 99 and 100.

Board activities

In 2023, the Board focused on the smooth transition of the
new CEO, offering support and guidance throughout the
year, and it spent a considerable amount of time on the new
Strategy for the Group and ensured that Stakeholder interests
were encapsulated into the Strategy.

In addition, throughout 2023, the other key activities
undertaken by the Board included reviewing the Group’s
financial results and evaluating the Group’s technology
investment.

Full details of how the Board took into account Stakeholder
interests throughout the year are set out on pages 69 to 75.

Looking ahead to 2024

While the current outlook remains uncertain, I remain confident
that the Company, through its commitment to delivering on its
Strategy, will enhance and set up the business for long-term
sustainable growth for the benefit all our Stakeholders.

I hope you find the Corporate Governance Report informative.
The Board will be available at the Annual General Meeting on
3 June 2024 to respond to any questions you may have.

Angela Seymour-Jackson

Chair

6 March 2024

THE BOARD

The Board’s role is to provide strategic leadership of the Group within a framework of prudent
and effective controls which enable risk to be assessed and managed. It has a formal schedule of
matters reserved for its decision. More details on pages 90 to 96.

NOMINATION
COMMITTEE

AUDIT
COMMITTEE

REMUNERATION
COMMITTEE

SUSTAINABILITY
COMMITTEE *

Responsible for
ensuring that the
Company has the
executive and non-
executive leadership
it requires and
a diverse talent
pipeline.

Details on pages
97 to 100.

Responsible for
the integrity of the
Company’s financial
statements and
performance, ensuring
the necessary internal
controls and risk
management systems
are in place and
effective.

Details on pages
101 to 106.

Responsible
for the review,
recommendation and
implementation of the
Group’s remuneration
strategy, its framework
and cost.

Details on pages
107 to 131.

Responsible for
monitoring progress
against sustainability
targets, as well as
implementing the
Group’s Strategy and
contribution to the
environment and social
impact.

Details on pages 42
to 57.

GENERAL COUNSEL
& COMPANY
SECRETARY

Responsible for ensuring
the Board complies with
all legal, regulatory and
governance requirements.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER (CEO)

Key responsibility is to develop
and deliver the Group’s Strategy
within the policies and values
established by the Board.

CHIEF FINANCIAL
OFFICER (CFO)

Responsible for
managing the financial
risks, reporting and
planning of the Group.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive Board is chaired by the CEO. The Executive Board is
responsible for overseeing operations in our regions and for overseeing
business functions Group-wide.

Details on pages 88 to 89.

* The Committee has delegated responsibility for ESG strategy and for reporting progress to Board. It is chaired by the CFO and
includes relevant members of the Executive Board and employee representatives.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ANGELA SEYMOUR-JACKSON

CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Date of Appointment: Director, October 2017, Chair, May 2022

Past Roles:

Angela has previously held Executive roles with Aegon UK, RAC Motoring Services Limited and Aviva
UK Limited, and was Senior Advisor to Lloyds Banking Group (insurance). Prior to that Angela held
senior marketing roles with Bluecycle.com Limited, CGU Insurance plc, General Accident plc and the
Norwich Union Insurance Group. Angela has also served as a Non-Executive Director of esure plc and
Rentokil Initial plc. She was Deputy Chair, Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee of GoCompare.com Group until February 2021 when GoCompare.com Group was
acquired by Future plc.

Other Current Appointments:

Non-Executive Director of Future plc and Janus Henderson Group plc. Non-Executive Director and
Senior Independent Director of Trustpilot Group plc. Angela is also the Deputy Chair of Pikl, a start-up
insurance business.

Board Committees: Nomination (Chair)

Skills and Experience:

• Wealth of experience in service focused organisations

•

Experienced executive and non-executive in several sectors

• Strong marketing and commercial skills

• Strong strategic understanding

•

Extensive experience of the complexities of businesses with a large geographical footprint

Contribution:

Angela Seymour-Jackson is well positioned to lead the Board given her extensive experience of non-
executive and senior executive positions within a number of industries. Her deep understanding of
the Group’s business enables her to ensure the needs of the business are met across the range of
strategic and governance matters affecting the Company.

NICHOLAS KIRK

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Date of Appointment: January 2023

Past Roles: Nick joined as a consultant in 1995 in the
newly created Michael Page Sales business and was
promoted to Managing Director in 2007. In 2009, he
transferred across to Page Personnel with a brief to
transform the operating model. He spent the next four years
expanding into new disciplines and rapidly growing the
Page Personnel business. Nick was promoted to Regional
Managing Director in 2013 and took on the additional
responsibility of Michael Page Finance in the UK. In 2018,
he was promoted to UK Managing Director and in 2021
he extended his remit to run operations in the UK and
North America. Nick succeeded Steve Ingham as Chief
Executive Officer on 1 January 2023 and in conjunction with
the Board, led the development of a new Strategy setting
ambitious new goals for the Group.

Other Current Appointments: None

Board Committees: None

Skills and Experience:

•

29 years’ service with the Group and recruitment
industry

• Significant experience of leading business operations in

key markets

• Strong track record of delivering growth

•

Extensive understanding of the Group’s culture,
purpose and values

•

Excellent leadership, entrepreneurial and strategic skills

Contribution: With a proven track record of leading
the business in key markets such as the UK and North
America, Nick’s contribution has been critical to the success
of the Group to date. Nick has an extensive understanding
of the Company and the skills and experience to ensure
the Company continues to deliver on its Strategy to
Shareholders and its wider Stakeholders.

KELVIN STAGG

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Date of Appointment: June 2014

Past Roles: Kelvin joined PageGroup plc in July 2006 as
Group Financial Controller and Company Secretary. He
was appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer in October
2013. In June 2014, Kelvin was appointed Chief Financial
Officer. Prior to joining the Group, Kelvin spent six years
at Allied Domecq and four years at Unilever in a variety
of finance functions. He has significant international
experience and has high levels of compliance, change
management and systems implementation experience,
across almost every finance discipline. He is a Chartered
Management Accountant.

Other Current Appointments: None

Board Committees: Sustainability (Chair)

Skills and Experience:

•

More than 16 years in the Group with a detailed
knowledge of the Group’s operations

•

Extensive experience in finance, audit and risk
management

Significant international experience including roles in
the UK, Continental Europe and Asia

High levels of compliance, change management, and
systems implementation experience, across almost
every finance discipline

• Strong network of finance professionals

Contribution: Kelvin Stagg is integral to the Company’s
long-term success as he manages the financial risks,
reporting and planning of the business, contributes to
the Company’s Strategy and oversees global delivery
of all business technology services to the business
including implementation of all large-scale projects. He
has extensive experience of managing multi-discipline
areas and having been employed for over 16 years at the
Company, he understands the operation of the business
at all levels.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023SYLVIA METAYER

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DATE OF APPOINTMENT: September 2017

Past Roles: Sylvia was previously the Chief Growth Officer
of Sodexo SA leading strategy, digital, marketing and sales
and a member of the Sodexo Group Executive Committee.
She has also held a variety of finance and general
management roles in companies operating in a number of
sectors, including Danone SA, Mattel Inc, Vivendi Universal
Publishing SA, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt & Co.

Other Current Appointments: Member of the
Supervisory Board and Chair of the Audit & Compliance
Committee of Keolis SAS, the International Advisory Board
of HEC Business School, Paris, the “French Tech” Advisory
Board to the French Government, Non-Executive Director
and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee of Animalcare
Group plc, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the
Nomination/Remuneration Committee of Groupe AdP SA.

Board Committees: Audit, Nomination, Remuneration

Skills and Experience:

•

Extensive experience and understanding of
international markets, including North America,
Europe, China, India, Latin America and South East
Asia

•

Extensive experience in business development,
financial management, and general management

Extensive experience in designing and delivering
diversity programmes

•

Leading and delivering change

• Developing high-performance teams

• Strong understanding of Finance, HR, IT, Digital, Sales,

and Marketing functions

• Proven ability for delivering Shareholder value

• Strong strategic understanding

Contribution: Sylvia Metayer has significant experience
working for international organisations in finance and
general management leadership positions. Her guidance
and observations on the demands and challenges in
the various international markets in which the Company
operates supports strongly the Company’s expansion and
its ongoing success. Further, her financial acumen adds
additional strength and depth to the Company’s strategic
decision-making.

BEN STEVENS

SENIOR INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR
Date of Appointment: January 2021

Past Roles: Ben was previously the Group Finance
Director and member of the Board of British American
Tobacco (“BAT”) plc, having spent 29 years with the
company in a variety of finance and operational roles in the
UK and overseas. Prior to that, he held commercial and
finance roles at both Thorn EMI plc and BET plc. He has
also held non-executive director roles with Trifast plc in the
UK and with ITC Ltd in India. He holds a Bachelor’s degree
in Economics from University of Manchester and MBA from
Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.

Other Current Appointments: Non-Executive Director
and Chair of the Audit Committee and Transaction
Committee of ISS A/S.

Board Committees: Audit (Chair), Nomination,
Remuneration

Skills and Experience:

• CFO of a FTSE 100 public company for over ten years

• Extensive line management experience having been

Director, Europe for BAT and Managing Director of
BAT’s operations in Pakistan and in Russia.

• Extensive experience in financial, audit and risk

management

• Significant international experience through roles in the

UK and overseas

Contribution: Ben Stevens brings a range of skills to
the Board and the Audit Committee. He has extensive
international executive leadership experience, having
led the finance function of a FTSE 100 business for a
number of years. He has also worked internationally and
managed international businesses throughout his career.
This experience makes him well placed to understand
a wide range of business issues. He has a deep
understanding and proven track record regarding the role
and responsibilities of the Audit Committee in a large listed
Group, given his current non-executive position as Audit
Committee Chair at ISS A/S.

KAREN GEARY

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Date of Appointment: April 2022

MICHELLE HEALY

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Date of Appointment: October 2016

Past Roles: Between 1998 and 2013, Karen was the
Group HR Director at The Sage Group plc. Subsequent
to this Karen held Group HR executive positions with
Wandisco, Inc based in the US and with Micro Focus
International, the FTSE 100 software company, as
Chief Human Resources Officer, having initially joined
the business as a Non-Executive Director and Chair
of the Remuneration Committee in 2016. Karen was
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee at ASOS plc until December 2022.

Other Current Appointments: Karen is currently Non-
Executive Director, Senior Independent Director, and Chair
of the Remuneration Committee of Mobico plc, and a
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee of Sabre Insurance Group plc.

Board Committees: Audit, Nomination and Remuneration
(Chair)

Skills and Experience:

• Over 20 years of international Human Resources

experience in the technology industry, particularly in
Europe and the US

• Extensive experience of designing, building and leading
HR and Reward functions across a range of listed
international businesses

• Deep understanding of business strategy and

operating models coupled with experience in how to
support and maximise organisations’ potential as they
develop and grow

• Experienced in leading and delivering change

management initiatives

Contribution: Karen Geary brings a range of skills to the
Board and the Remuneration Committee. She has a deep
understanding of business strategy and its interaction
with people strategy. With more than 20 years’ experience
in executive and non-executive roles, she has extensive
knowledge of HR and reward within listed international
companies, making her well equipped to be an effective
Chair of the Remuneration Committee.

Past Roles: Before joining Kerry Group plc, Michelle was
Group People & Culture Officer for ISS World Services A/S.
Prior to this she has held a number of senior executive
roles including Director, Group Integrated Change
Programme at SABMiller plc and General Manager UK &
Ireland for British American Tobacco plc, having previously
undertaken a number of senior HR roles within the Group.
Michelle’s executive career spans four global listed
companies and she has lived and worked in nine countries
across Europe and Asia.

Other Current Appointments: Chief Human Resources
Officer, Kerry Group plc

Board Committees: Audit, Nomination, Remuneration

Skills and Experience:

•

Extensive experience in global human resources
leadership

•

Extensive experience in leading and delivering
organisational change and transformation

• Breadth and depth of leadership experience in global
listed businesses in service, consumer and business
to business

• Strong and commercial mindset and approach

•

Extensive experience in general management

Contribution: The Company’s long-term success is
highly influenced by ensuring it has a well thought through
human capital strategy. It recognises its people are at the
heart of everything it does, particularly as an organically
grown business. Michelle Healy offers the Board deep
insight into its approach in this respect. She has held a
number of senior HR leadership roles while also having run
businesses at an operational level.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023BABAK FOULADI

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Date of Appointment: April 2023

Past Roles:

Babak was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on
10 April 2023. Until August 2023 he was Chief Technology
& Digital Officer and Member of the Board of Management
at Koninklijke KPN NV, the telecommunications company
based in the Netherlands. Prior to this he has held a
number of senior technology positions in the telecoms
sector including Chief Technology Officer at MTN Group plc
and Chief Technology Officer (Romania and then Spain) at
Vodafone Group plc.

Skills and Experience:

• Expert in the implementation of highly complex, large-

scale international technology projects

• Extensive experience of leading infrastructure projects,
including digital transformation, data management,

systems development and network deployment across
a range of different markets

• Wide experience of operations and general commercial

management

• Strong strategic understanding of risk management
particularly in respect of transformation and change

Contribution:

Babak’s extensive technology experience ensures the
Board is well equipped to make informed decisions on
all aspects of its technology and innovation programmes.
His international experience in large multi-national
organisations brings valuable global knowledge to the
strategic issues facing PageGroup in the various markets
in which it operates around the world.

KAYE MAGUIRE

GENERAL COUNSEL & COMPANY SECRETARY
Date of Appointment: October 2018

Past Roles: Kaye started her career in private practice,
working for international law firms including, Hogan Lovells,
Allen & Overy and Jones Day. She then spent over 9 years
at Legal & General where she held a variety of senior
positions including Head of Legal at Legal & General Group
plc and Chief Resourcing & Legal Officer at Legal & General
Investment Management Limited. She joined PageGroup
in 2018, and was appointed to the Executive Board in
January 2023.

Skills and Experience:

• 20 years’ experience in legal and company secretarial

matters for public companies

• Extensive listed company, compliance, litigation and

corporate governance experience

• Experience of building, developing and leading high-

performing legal and company secretarial functions
within international businesses

•

International experience working for FTSE businesses
across various sectors and jurisdictions

Contribution:

Kaye brings extensive technical and strategic experience
to the Group. She has deep experience of advising boards
on a range of contentious and non-contentious legal issues
including governance and regulatory matters, international
and multi-jurisdiction contracts, transactions and large-
scale litigation.

Attending Board and Board Committee meetings, her
experience serves the Board well in terms of ensuring legal
and governance matters are anticipated, considered and
addressed.

THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

NICHOLAS KIRK

KELVIN STAGG

KAYE MAGUIRE

CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
See biography on page 84.

CHIEF FINANCIAL
OFFICER, EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
See biography on page 84.

GENERAL COUNSEL
& COMPANY
SECRETARY
See biography on page 87.

PATRICK HOLLARD

CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER
Patrick started his career with Peat Marwick/KPMG in Europe. Patrick joined Michael Page,
France, in 1996. He was promoted to Director and founded operations in Brazil in 2000, Mexico
in 2005, Argentina in 2007, Chile in 2010, Colombia in 2012, Peru in 2014 and Panama in 2018.
He has been on the Executive Board since 2010 and led operations in Latin America, Middle
East and Africa until earlier this year. In 2023, Patrick took over responsibility for strategic customers including
our outsourcing operations and our advisory solutions. He is a member of the Group of Counselors of Foreign
Trade of France, Administrator of the French Lycée in São Paulo, and an active member of the Young Presidents
Organisation. Patrick is a member of the Sustainability Committee.

NICOLAS BECHU

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Northern & Central Europe, UK, and Asia Pacific
Nicolas joined Michael Page in France (Paris) as a Consultant in the Finance practice in 1995 and was
promoted to Director in 2000. In 2002, he launched the newly established business in Belgium and
was promoted to Managing Director in 2003. In 2007, Nicolas moved to Milan to manage the PageGroup operations
in Italy. In 2010, he transferred to the Netherlands and became responsible for Northern Europe. In 2021, he joined
the Executive Board. In 2023, Nicolas was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, leading commercial operations in
Northern & Central Europe, UK, and Asia Pacific.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

ISABELLE BASTIDE

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

France, Southern Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Africa
Isabelle began her career in the banking sector, then quickly moved into the recruitment sector where
she managed a portfolio of large national accounts. She joined Page Personnel France in 1999 as
a consultant in Finance and was quickly promoted to Director. In the 2000s she grew a number of
disciplines resulting in a very strong market position for the French business. Isabelle was appointed
as Managing Director in 2007, and in 2014 she launched Page Outsourcing. She is a member of the Executive
Board and is in charge of France and the Iberia region. In 2023, Isabelle was promoted to Chief Operating Officer,
leading commercial operations in France, Southern Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.
She is a board member at Prism’Emploi, the French staffing association and she collaborates closely with non-profit
organisations to drive positive societal impact. In 2023, Isabelle’s contribution to the staffing industry was recognised
when she was included within the SIA’s 2023 Global Power 150 Women in Staffing.

ANTHONY THOMPSON

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Page Executive
Originating from South Australia, Anthony commenced his Michael Page career in Hong Kong in
2001. He led and established multiple businesses and brands across Hong Kong and Mainland
China and was promoted to Managing Director in 2006. In 2012, he was promoted to Regional Managing Director,
Greater China with multiple offices across Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2015, Anthony moved to
Singapore with additional responsibility for our six countries in South-East Asia and subsequently India, Japan and
Australia, and in 2018 he was appointed to the Executive Board. In 2023, as part of announcing our new Strategy, a
key element of which includes growing our Page Executive business, Anthony was promoted to lead this business as
its Chief Executive Officer.

EAMON COLLINS

CHIEF MARKETING AND DATA OFFICER
Eamon joined the Group in 2007 as UK Marketing Director and previous to this he held senior
marketing and communication roles at Samsung and Hitachi. Eamon became the Group Marketing
Director in 2012 and was responsible for the Group’s global brand, communications, and digital
channels. During his time in this role, he oversaw significant changes both to the platforms that
PageGroup uses in reaching Customers and to the marketing teams worldwide that work on them. Eamon’s
remits include responsibility for marketing strategy, including digital presence, the Customer value proposition, and
our data programme. Eamon is a member of the Sustainability Committee.

OLIVER WATSON

CHIEF TRANSFORMATION OFFICER
Oliver joined Michael Page in 1995. He was appointed Director of Michael Page UK Sales in 1997
and then Managing Director in 2002. In 2006, he was appointed Regional Managing Director for
Michael Page UK Sales, Marketing and Retail. In 2007, he launched Michael Page Middle East
and in 2009, he became Regional Managing Director for Michael Page UK Finance, Marketing
and Sales, Middle East, Scotland, and Ireland. In recent years he led and grew PageGroup’s operations in the USA
and Canada. In 2018, Oliver was appointed COO with responsibility for increasing productivity through innovation,
technology, and people. He has been responsible for the Group’s technology functions, shared service centres and
ensuring the adoption of new initiatives, and been key in ensuring the successful roll-out of the Group’s operating
system, Customer Connect. In 2023, Oliver became Chief Transformation Officer for the Group, responsible for
implementing PageGroup’s transformation and change activities. Oliver is a member of the Sustainability Committee.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT

The Board and its operation

The Board of PageGroup plc is the body collectively responsible for the overall management and conduct of the Group’s
business, and approving and overseeing implementation of its Strategy. It has the powers and duties set out in relevant laws
of England and Wales and in its Articles of Association.

The Board plays an active role in establishing the Group’s purpose, values and Strategy. Its role is to provide strategic
leadership to the Group within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enables risk to be anticipated, assessed
and managed. The Board is responsible collectively for promoting and leading on the long-term success of the Group,
generating value for all its Stakeholders and changing lives to benefit wider society.

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Composition of the Board

As at 31 December 2023 the Board comprised the Chair,
the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and
five independent Non-Executive Directors.

The Board welcomed Babak Fouladi as a Non-Executive
Director this year. His executive experience in technology
makes him well placed to guide and advise the Board on
the Company’s technology strategy and objectives.

The biography of each of the Directors and their
contribution to the Board can be found on pages 83 to 87.

As Chair, Angela Seymour-Jackson has overall
responsibility for the leadership of the Board and ensuring
its effectiveness. The composition of the Board is kept
under regular review to ensure it has the necessary skills
and experience to lead the Group. The Board has a range
of experience, skills and backgrounds which allows it
to engage in constructive challenge, provide strategic
guidance and to offer up specialist advice.

The Board monitors the independence of the Directors,
engages in constructive debate with management and sets
the Group’s Strategy. All current Non-Executive Directors
are independent in line with the Corporate Governance
Code and the Chair was independent on her appointment
to the Board.

There is clear division of the role and responsibilities
between the leadership of the Board and that of the
Executive Directors (for further details please refer to the
Corporate Governance Framework on page 82). While
the Board is responsible collectively for the success of the
Company, the Chair manages the Board to ensure that
the Company has appropriate objectives and an effective
strategy. The Chair ensures that the Chief Executive Officer
has a team to implement the approved Strategy and
that there are procedures in place to inform the Board of
performance against objectives. The Chair also ensures that
the Company operates in accordance with the principles of
good corporate governance. The Chair’s other significant
commitments are set out on page 83. The Board considers
that these are not a constraint on the Chair’s agreed time
commitment to the Company.

Ben Stevens was appointed Senior Independent Director
from 1 June 2023, and he acts as an alternative channel
of communication for Shareholders. He is also a sounding
board for the Chair and serves as an intermediary for other
Directors.

The Chief Executive Officer has the overall responsibility
for day-to-day management on matters affecting the
operation and performance of the Group, and the delivery
of the Board’s strategy. The Chief Executive Officer chairs
the Executive Committee (known within the Group as the
“Executive Board”). and delegates aspects of authority, as
permitted under the Corporate Governance framework, to
the Executive Board. The Executive Board is collectively
responsible for executing the delivery of the annual operating
plans. The Chief Executive Officer also leads the programme
of communication with Shareholders.

Executive and Non-Executive Directors are equal members
of the Board and have collective responsibility for Board
decisions. The Non-Executive Directors bring a diverse
wealth of skills and experience to the Board and its
Committees.

The Board has a formal schedule of matters reserved which
include:

• Group Strategy and corporate objectives;

•

determining the nature and extent of the Board’s risk
appetite;

determining major changes to the nature, scope or
scale of the business of the Group;

corporate governance matters;

approval of Nomination Committee recommendations
on the appointment and removal of Directors and
succession planning;

changes to the Group’s capital structure and approval
of any business plan prior to a new entity being
established in a new territory;

significant changes to the Group’s corporate structure
and management control structure;

•

financial reporting, audit and tax matters;

• material contracts and transactions not in the ordinary

course of business;

• material capital expenditure projects;

•

approval of the annual budget;

obtaining major finance; and

communications with Stakeholders and complying with
regulatory requirements.

The schedule of matters are reviewed annually by the
Board.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023
Induction, training and information

A suite of relevant training, advice and information is
provided to Directors to enable the Board to function
effectively and efficiently. This is achieved through a variety
of means including internal and external presentations from
senior executives within the business, advisors and tailored
guidance briefings circulated to Board members. As and
when new Directors join the Board, the Chair of the Board,
assisted by the General Counsel & Company Secretary are
responsible for their induction. On appointment to the Board,
each Director discusses with the Chair and the General
Counsel & Company Secretary the extent of training required.
The programme typically consists of individual meetings with
senior executives, office visits, attending senior management
meetings and work shadowing to understand the day-to-day
activities of the business.

Nicholas Kirk was appointed as CEO at the beginning of
the year. He understands the business deeply given his
prior roles within the Company and he was provided with
tailored training on relevant aspects of regulatory compliance
including, but not limited to, the listing rules.

On appointment as Non-Executive Director, Babak Fouladi
was provided with a detailed induction pack and undertook
a tailored induction programme that focused on the Group’s
culture, values, Stakeholders, operations, Strategy and
governance. In addition, he also undertook training from
the Company’s corporate legal advisers and spent time
shadowing our People.

Directors update and refresh their knowledge and familiarity
with the Group through participation at meetings with,
and receiving presentations from, senior management.
This enables them to stay close to the challenges and
opportunities arising within the business.

All Directors have access to the advice and services of the
General Counsel & Company Secretary. The General Counsel
& Company Secretary is present at all Board meetings and is
responsible to the Board for ensuring that Board procedures
are complied with as well as advising the Board on legal

matters, including forthcoming legislation and corporate
governance matters. Where necessary, external advisors will
also attend meetings to update and take any questions that
are concerning the Board.

The Board Committees and Directors are also able to access
independent professional advice at the Group’s expense if
the Directors deem it necessary in order for them to carry out
their duties and responsibilities.

The Board operates an annual cycle of matters for its
consideration, supplemented with strategic topics and
governance matters. The frequency of meetings and the
Board agendas are also kept under regular review to ensure
any matter that requires discussion at, or escalation to,
the Board can be accommodated. For each Board and
Committee meeting Directors receive a pack of relevant
papers and information on the matters to be discussed.
The Board uses a third party board platform to distribute
information quickly and securely. At Board meetings, the
Chief Executive Officer presents a comprehensive update
on the business issues across the Group and the Chief
Financial Officer presents a detailed analysis of the Group’s
financial performance. The Board also receives at each
Board Meeting an Investor Relations Report, including any
feedback from investors and Investor Roadshows. Members
of the Executive Board, Regional Managing Directors and
other senior managers may also attend relevant parts of
Board meetings and the Board Strategy Day in order to
make presentations on their areas of responsibility. All of the
above gives a comprehensive view on the issues facing the
business and enables robust review of the current and future
performance of the Group.

Committees

The Board Committees are the Audit Committee, Nomination
Committee and Remuneration Committee and the Board
has delegated responsibility for sustainability matters to the
Sustainability Committee and receives regular updates and
reporting from this Committee. For further details please see
pages 42 and 52.

Board activities

During the year, the Board held eight meetings, together with a separate dedicated Strategy Day. The Board’s strategy sessions
consisted of deep-dive sessions on Page Executive, Strategic Customers, Technology and the business technology strategy
and People and culture. A non-exhaustive list of the of key activities considered, reviewed and monitored are set out below.

Our People

Investors

Customers

Communities and Government

Suppliers

FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE

STRATEGY

• Group’s financial results
throughout the year

• Key metrics on the Group’s cash
position, headcount, productivity
and costs

•

The annual budget and quarterly
forecasts

• Capital returns policy

COMPLIANCE AND
REGULATION

• Corporate Governance updates,
forthcoming legislation and
emerging risks

• Schedule of matters reserved and

delegation of authorities

• Board and Committee evaluation

• Modern slavery update and KPIs

•

Information Security and Data
Protection reporting

ESG commitments and target
monitoring

•

Establishing new strategic goals &
growth pillars

• Analysis of our global markets

•

Focus on high performing
Technology sector markets

• Global costs review

• Review of business efficiency and
transformation workstreams

• Business technology strategy

CULTURE AND
ENGAGEMENT

• Culture Framework measures and

data. Please see page 27
for further details

• Diversity & inclusion initiatives

update

•

Employee voice: engaging with
our People and reviewing outputs
from surveys

• Purpose and Values

Pages 69 to 75 provide full details of how the Board has taken into account Stakeholder interests in accordance with section 172
of the Companies Act. The key above provides an additional snapshot of where Stakeholder groups have been considered as
part of the Board’s work and decision-making.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Committees

The Audit and Remuneration Committees are comprised
solely of independent Non-Executive Directors. The
Nomination Committee is comprised of Non-Executive
Directors and is chaired by the Chair of the Board, who was
independent on appointment. Details of the composition
and activities of the Committees can be found in the Audit
Committee Report on pages 101 to 106; the Nomination
Committee Report on pages 97 to 100; and the Directors’
Remuneration Report on pages 109 to 131. Their terms
of reference are reviewed annually, copies of which can be
found on the Company’s website at www.page.com.

Each of the Committees mentioned above reviews its
effectiveness and makes recommendations to the Board
about any changes necessary. The Chair of the Board
and the Chairs of each of its Committees will be available
to answer Shareholders’ questions at the Company’s
forthcoming Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2024.

The General Counsel & Company Secretary, or their
nominee, acts as secretary to each of these Committees
and minutes of meetings are circulated to all Committee
members and to all members of the Board unless it would be
inappropriate to do so.

Principles

The Sustainability Committee, which oversees the Group’s
Sustainability strategy, is chaired by the Chief Financial
Officer and reports to the Board. Details of the membership
and activities of the Sustainability Committee can be found
on pages 42 to 57.

The Group also has an Executive Committee, known as the
Executive Board, which is chaired by the Chief Executive
Officer. Biographies for Executive Board members can
be found on page 88 to 89. The Executive Board meets
regularly and is responsible for assisting the Chief Executive
Officer in the performance of his duties. These include the
development and implementation of strategy, operational
plans, policies, procedures and budgets.

Compliance with the UK Corporate
Governance Code

During the year ended 31 December 2023 and to the date of
this document, the Company has applied the principles and
complied with all of the provisions of the Code. The Code
is publicly available on the FRC website (www.frc.org.uk).
Please see below for details regarding the application of the
principles of the Code.

Board leadership and
Company Purpose
(A-E)

Division of
responsibilities
(F-I)

Composition,
succession and
evaluation (J-L)

(Risk – pages 58 to 59,
Culture & Engagement
– pages 25 to 41 and
Stakeholder Engagement
– pages 69 to 75)

Pages 81 to
82 and 90 to
96 (Corporate
Governance
Report)

Pages 83 to 87
and 97 to 100
(Nomination
Committee Report
and Directors’
Biographies)

Audit, risk and internal
control (M-O)

Remuneration
(P-R)

Pages 60 to 68, 90
to 96 and 101 to 106
(Corporate Governance
Report, Audit Committee
Report, Principal Risks,
Going Concern and
Viability Statement)

Pages 109 to
131 (Directors’
Remuneration
Report)

Board and Committee attendance

The table opposite sets out the number of
meetings of the Board held during the year and
individual attendance by the Directors at these
meetings, demonstrating commitment to their
role as Directors of the Company. Attendance
by the relevant members of each Committee
can be found on page 102 (Audit Committee),
page 98 (Nomination Committee) and page 112
(Remuneration Committee). The Board met eight
times during the year. During the year under
review the Non-Executive Directors met on several
occasions without the Executive Directors being
present. The Senior Independent Director reviewed
the performance of the Chair and Directors had the
opportunity to meet without the Chair present.

Director

No. of meetings attended

Angela Seymour-Jackson

8 out of 8

Karen Geary

Patrick De Smedt1

Michelle Healy

Nicholas Kirk

Babak Fouladi2

Sylvia Metayer3

Kelvin Stagg

Ben Stevens

8 out of 8

2 out of 2

8 out of 8

5 out of 6

7 out of 8

8 out of 8

1. Patrick De Smedt attended all meetings that he was eligible to attend before he stepped down as Non-Executive Director.

2. Babak Fouladi was unavailable to attend one meeting due to an unavoidable prior commitment to attend an AGM in connection with his Executive role.

3. Sylvia Metayer could not attend due to a conflicting third party Board commitment.

Succession planning

Senior management development and succession planning
discussions are held annually. These discussions focus on
the development and succession of the Executive Directors,
Executive Board members and other senior managers in the
Group over the short, medium and longer term. The aim of
these sessions is to ensure that senior executives are being
developed and that there is a diverse pipeline of talented
senior individuals within the business. Development and
succession planning is a critical part of the Chief Executive
Officer’s performance objectives for annual bonus and long-
term remuneration. The Group operates Talent, Succession
& Development programmes across the business which
assess development needs and nurture high-potential
employees throughout the various stages of their careers.
Diversity considerations are a fundamental element of the
programmes.

In addition, the Nomination Committee also considers the
breadth and depth of experience of the Non-Executive
Directors and considers on a regular basis succession
planning for the Board as a whole, further details on which,
and the Board’s policy on diversity, both at Board level and
the Group, can be found in the Nomination Committee
Report on page 99 and the Strategic Report on pages
25 to 41.

Performance evaluation

The Board is committed to effective evaluation of its
performance and that of its Committees and Directors
in accordance with the Code. In 2022, Constal Limited
(“Constal”) undertook an independent review of the Board
and Committees. In light of Board changes during the year
Constal were engaged again in 2023 to provide an additional
independent review; its prior knowledge of the Company
was considered valuable in determining the Board and
Committees’ progress and effectiveness.

Constal is a specialist, independent third party Board
effectiveness advisor with no connection to the Company or
individual Directors. Constal was chosen in 2022 following a
detailed tender process. Constal’s experience and deep-dive
interview approach was considered the most appropriate
evaluation process for the Board and its Committees.

Bernice Dunsmuir of Constal led the review. Bernice is
independent to the Company, with no connection to the
Group. She has over 25 years’ legal experience specialising
in Corporate Governance and complies with CGI Code of
Practice for Independent board reviewers.

The priorities for 2023 included ensuring that the Board
sufficiently supported the new CEO to manage an orderly
transition process and maintained a close working
relationship with the Executive Board, while continuing to
monitor progress on areas of investment and of critical
strategic importance. The Board evaluation focused on
the participation and engagement of the Board in setting
and launching the new Strategy and also looked at what
measures are needed for the Strategy implementation to
ensure that success and progress is measured and reviewed
appropriately by the Board.

CEO transition: The 2023 Board evaluation rated the CEO
transition highly and highlighted the support and guidance
that was provided to the CEO and the active role the Board

played in shaping the long-term strategy. The Chair’s
performance was commended and the Board was reported
to have focused on the right matters.

Strategy: Throughout the year, the evaluation found that
the Board had dedicated significant time with the CEO,
CFO and the Executive Board to review and set the new
Strategy. The Board also engaged and reviewed Stakeholder
feedback. The Board and/or its Committees also kept close
to the financial performance of the Company, its People and
Culture, and the business technology strategy.

The objective and scope of the annual evaluation was
to assess all aspects of the Board and the Committees’
effectiveness. The review took the format of individual
interviews between the evaluator and all Directors, and the
General Counsel & Company Secretary. Detailed reporting
of the findings on an anonymous basis were provided. The
Senior Independent Director also conducted a review of the
Chair.

The areas evaluated included:

•

the Board’s performance over the last year;

• CEO transition;

• Board composition and the Chair;

• Boardroom dynamics and use of Board time,

information and governance process;

•

training and development needs;

• Risk identification and management;

• People, talent management and culture;

• Stakeholder engagement;

• Chair and Directors’ performance over the year; and

effectiveness of the Committees.

A comprehensive report on the evaluation was prepared for,
and discussed by, the Board. Initially, this was to consider
the report and a follow-up session has been held to agree
actions arising out of the review.

The 2023 evaluation overall concluded that:

•

the Board and its Committees are adding value through
focused engagement. The debates are well informed,
and time is allocated to the right matters;

the Board is well led by the Chair, and of particular note
was the support and guidance provided to the CEO
during the transition period;

the Board and Committees have an appropriate mix of
skills (for further details see page 97); and

there are good levels of trust and engagement between
the members of the Board.

The evaluation identified some areas for consideration for
continued Board effectiveness which will be adopted during
the year. For example, the Board has agreed the cadence of
strategic KPIs.

Constal has reviewed and agreed with the reporting
contained within this report regarding the performance
evaluation.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Directors’ confirmation

Conflict of interest

The Company has implemented robust procedures in line
with the Companies Act 2006, requiring Directors to seek
appropriate authorisation from the Board prior to entering
into any outside business interests which have, or could
have, a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or may
conflict, with the Group’s interests. These procedures have
operated effectively throughout the year under review. The
Nomination Committee is responsible for reviewing possible
conflicts of interest. It makes recommendations to the Board
as to whether a conflict should be authorised and the terms
and conditions on which any such authorisation should be
given by the Board. Please see page 97 of the Nomination
Committee report which provides further details about
how the Board considered conflicts in respect of Directors’
additional appointments.

Only Directors without an interest in the matter being
considered will be involved in any decision involving a
potential conflict and each Director must act in a way they
consider, in good faith, will promote the success of the
Group. All Directors are aware of their continuing obligation
to report any new interests, or changes in existing interests,
that might amount to a possible conflict of interest in order
that these may be considered by the Board and appropriate
authorisation given.

Angela Seymour-Jackson

Chair

6 March 2024

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual
Report in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Having taken advice from the Audit Committee, the Board
considers the Annual Report and Accounts, taken as a
whole, as fair, balanced and understandable and that it
provides the information necessary for Shareholders to
assess the Company’s position, performance, business
model and strategy. Neither the Company nor the Directors
accept any liability to any person in relation to the Annual
Report except to the extent that such liability could arise
under English law.

Relations with Shareholders Understanding the views of
Shareholders and active engagement with our Shareholders
is always considered a key priority for the Board. The Chief
Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer supported
by the Investor Relations team make themselves available,
wherever possible, to meet with Shareholders and analysts
at their request. In 2023, two investor roadshows were held
and four investor relations conferences were attended. There
were also 29 individual meetings, telephone or video calls.
The meetings were held either in person or virtually. This
regular engagement was supplemented with presentations to
analysts after our quarterly, interim and full-year results.

The Annual Report and Accounts are available to all
Shareholders either in hard copy or via the Company’s
website www.page.com. The website contains up-
to-date information on the Group’s activities, published
financial results and the presentations used for briefings
and investor meetings held during the year. These are
available to download. The Annual General Meeting is an
additional opportunity for Board members to meet with
Shareholders and investors and give them the opportunity
to ask questions. Final voting results are published through
a Regulatory Information Service and on the Company’s
website following the meeting. The Board looks forward
to the Annual General Meeting in 2024 and engaging with
Shareholders.

Re-election of Directors

The Code requires all Directors to stand for election or re-
election at each Annual General Meeting. All Directors will
submit themselves for election or re-election at the forthcoming
Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2024.

Internal control and risk management

The Board retains responsibility for the Group’s overall risk
appetite and for the effectiveness of its risk management
and internal control systems. The procedures established by
the Board have been designed to meet the requirements of
the Group and the risks to which it is exposed and these are
reviewed on a regular basis.

These procedures also provide an ongoing process for
identifying, evaluating and managing principal and emerging
risks. The system of internal control includes financial,
compliance and operational controls, which are designed to
meet the Group’s needs. These controls aim to safeguard
Group assets, ensure that proper accounting records are
maintained, and that financial information used within the
business and for publication is reliable and supports the
successful delivery of the Group’s Strategy. Any system of
internal control can only provide reasonable, but not absolute,
assurance against material misstatement or loss. In practice
the Board delegates the day to day implementation of the
Board’s policy on risks and control to executive management
and this is monitored by the Group’s Internal Audit function
which reports back to the Board through the Audit Committee.

The key elements of our system of internal control are as
follows:

Group Organisation – The Board of Directors meets at
least eight times a year and holds extra meetings where this
is considered necessary. The Board meetings focus both on
strategic issues and operational and financial performance.
There is also a defined policy on matters reserved strictly for
the Board which is reviewed on an annual basis. The Regional
Managing Director, supported by a Regional Finance Director,
of each of our regions is accountable for establishing and
monitoring internal controls within our respective regions.

Annual Business Plan – The Board reviews the Group’s
Strategy and business plan. Performance is then monitored
by the Board through the review of monthly reports showing
comparisons of results against budget or modelling, and the
prior year, with explanations provided for significant variances.

Policies and Procedures – Policies and procedures are
documented over both financial controls and non-quantifiable
areas such as the Group’s whistleblowing policy and its policy
relating to anti-bribery and corruption and gifts and hospitality.

Risk Management – The Board has established a framework
for identifying current and emerging risks, and processes and
controls for managing risk, both at a strategic and operational
level. As a minimum, this is reviewed on an annual basis. In
2023, this was conducted at the half year and full year.

Internal Audit – The Group’s Internal Audit function examines
business process controls throughout the Group on a risk
basis and reports the findings to the Executive Board and

Audit Committee. Agreed actions are monitored and reported
to the Audit Committee, who in turn report to the Board.

Confirmations from Executive Management – The
Managing Director and Finance Director of our operations in
each country formally certify twice a year whether the business
has adhered to the system of internal control during the period,
including compliance with Group policies. The statement also
requires the reporting of any significant control issues that
have emerged, including suspected or reported, so that areas
of concern can be identified and investigated as required.
These confirmations and supporting controls self-assessment
questionnaires are reviewed by the Internal Audit function and
a summary of findings is provided to the Audit Committee for
review.

In accordance with the requirements of the Code and the
recommendations of the FRC’s Guidance on Risk Management
and Related Financial and Business Reporting, the Board has
reviewed and agreed its approach to risk and its risk appetite
when considering its Strategy and the management of its risks.
It has also considered its longer term viability. Details on the
Board’s risk appetite and its assessment of its longer term
viability can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 60 to
68. The Board, with the assistance of the Audit Committee,
has carried out a review of the effectiveness of the Group’s risk
management and internal control systems, including a review
of the Internal Audit activities and the financial, operational and
compliance controls for the period from 1 January 2023 to the
date of this Annual Report.

This review covered strategic, operational and principal risks
and the effectiveness of the control environment applied to
those principal risks across the business. The Board discusses
and formally confirms its understanding of the key risks
affecting the Group and its risk appetite. This follows deep dive
risk review sessions at the Audit Committee. These reviews are
guided by an annual audit plan, and adjusted during the year.

No significant failings or weaknesses were identified.
A confirmation of any necessary actions is, therefore, not
provided. However, had there been any such failings or
weaknesses the Board confirms that necessary actions would
have been taken to remedy them.

Culture

The Board is committed to the oversight and monitoring of the
Company’s culture. Full details of the Board’s approach to its
duties regarding the Group’s Culture can be found on page 40.

The Board understands that a well run and trusted
whistleblowing policy and helpline is a key tool for strong
and effective corporate governance, compliance and risk
management. The Company operates an external global
confidential ‘Speak-Up’ helpline supported by a Speak-Up
policy available on each country’s website and translated
into all local languages. The Board reviews all reports to
the helpline including the Company’s response. In 2023, 17
instances to the Speak-Up helpline were recorded. All reports
related to local HR matters. All instances raised via the Speak-
Up helpline were discussed at the Board and it was satisfied
with the Company’s approach to each report.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023NOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT

Angela Seymour-
Jackson
Committee Chair

This section of the Annual Report and Accounts sets out the Nomination
Committee Report for 2023.

The work of the Committee helps shape the culture and future leadership
of the business. The Committee’s focus in 2023 included ensuring a strong
succession pipeline is in place for Executive Board positions, and key
senior leadership more broadly. Diversity considerations played a large part
in our thinking, as did understanding the investment being made in talent
development. Given the launch of the new Strategy, the Committee worked
with the CEO to ensure our best leaders are in place to execute on our
strategic goals.

In 2023, the Committee welcomed its newest member,
Babak Fouladi. Babak’s experience adds real value to the
Committee, particularly in terms of being able to evaluate
the technology strategy and plans within the business. His
previous executive experience working for a number of global
companies will enable him to bring fresh perspectives to the
Board. Babak’s full biography can be found on page 87.

The Committee aims to have a diverse range of skills and
backgrounds and regularly evaluates its strengths and
gaps. During the year the Board’s skills and competencies
were reviewed. The table below details the outcome of this
review. The Committee was satisfied that the Board and its
Committees currently contain the appropriate mix of skills,
experience and knowledge.

In 2023, the Committee recommended to the Board that the
appointments of Sylvia Metayer and Ben Stevens be extended
for a further three-year term. Sylvia’s overall business acumen
coupled with her knowledge of executional excellence for
large complex customers is invaluable as we seek to grow
our Strategic Customer Solutions business. Ben Stevens
is the Company’s Senior Independent Director (“SID”) and
Chair of the Audit Committee. He brings decades of financial
management experience and a deep understanding of the
needs of the Company’s Stakeholders especially investors.
It was for these reasons that he was appointed to succeed
Patrick De Smedt as SID. Sylvia and Ben’s full biographies are
set out at pages 85 and 86.

June 2023. Board and Committee appointments are for three-
year periods. As mentioned above, Sylvia Metayer’s and Ben
Steven’s appointments were extended for a further three-year
period (see page 124 for further details). No Director is entitled
to vote in respect of their own continuing appointment.

The Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel & Company
Secretary are regularly invited to attend meetings and other
individuals such as the Chief People Officer and external
advisers may attend meetings by invitation only, when this
is considered appropriate and valuable. Members view this
arrangement as fostering appropriate challenge and debate
regarding the recommendations made by the Committee to
the Board.

Additional commitments
Details of all Committee members’ other significant
commitments can be found on pages 83 to 87. All additional
commitments are considered by the Committee and
approved prior to commencement. In 2023, the Committee
considered the interim appointment of Karen Geary as
Remuneration Chair of Sabre plc. The Committee considered
that this did not interfere with Karen Geary’s duties and time
commitment to the Company now or in the future.

Angela Seymour-Jackson was considered as independent at
the time of appointment as Chair of the Board.

Board Skills / Competencies

Skill/Competency

Strength

Patrick De Smedt stepped down from the Board at the 2023
AGM. I would like to thank him for his significant contribution
to the Board and the Committee.

Finance

Audit & Risk

Purpose
Overarching all of the Committee’s work is the principle of
ensuring the Company provides an inclusive environment.
The Committee is an important component of the Company’s
governance framework and the Group’s Strategy.

The Nomination Committee is responsible for ensuring that the
Company has the Executive and Non-Executive leadership it
requires, both now and for the future. It reviews and challenges
where it identifies gaps in succession plans for key senior roles.
It also seeks to ensure that talented individuals are provided
with meaningful opportunities to develop.

Membership
During the year under review the members of the Committee
were myself, as Chair of the Committee, Babak Fouladi,
Karen Geary, Michelle Healy, Sylvia Metayer and Ben Stevens.
Patrick De Smedt stepped down from the Committee in

Public Company Governance

Legal and Regulatory1

Sales & Distribution

Technology

Data Management/Data Privacy/Information
Security

HR/Talent Management/(DE&I)

ESG/Sustainability

Business Transformation & Change

Key:

Not represented

Strong experience

1. The General Counsel & Company Secretary attends all Board and Committee
meetings.

Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of the Committee are to:

• assess and nominate members to the Board in accordance

with fair processes and diversity considerations;

• maintain the right mix of character, skills and experience on

the Board and its Committees;

• make recommendations to the Board on development and

succession plans for members of the Board and
senior management;

• approve job descriptions and written terms of appointment

for Directors;

• review the independence of Non-Executive Directors,

taking into account their other directorships; and

• set diversity related targets and consider diversity and

of existing Board members and the requirements of the
Company and its future Strategy.

The recruitment process places importance on diversity
considerations. Candidates are identified and selected
against objective criteria including their skills and experience
while having due regard to the benefits of diversity on the
Board. Shortlisted candidates are assessed and interviewed
by members of the Committee and the Board. Thereafter a
recommendation of appointment is made to the Board. This
process was followed with respect to the appointment of
Babak Fouladi. Full details of the process were set out in last
year’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Attendance during the year

During 2023, the Committee met on four occasions.

inclusion objectives in terms of the Group’s talent pipeline
and new senior appointments.

Details of the members’ attendance at meetings of the
Committee are set out in the following table.

Succession planning

The Committee monitors length of tenure for the Board and
Committee members to ensure ongoing independence and
considers succession plans both in the short and long term,
especially for key roles on the Board and those that require
specific skills or experience, such as the Chairs of the Audit
and Remuneration Committees. In addition, executive
development and succession planning discussions are held
annually.

When the Committee considers an appointment it follows
a formal and transparent procedure. It is assisted in its
search for new Non-Executive Directors by an independent
executive search company. With each new search the
Committee selects the executive search company which
it considers the most appropriate and relevant for the
assignment. With each assignment a detailed candidate
profile is compiled and discussed by the Committee, taking
into consideration the balance of skills and experience

Director

Babak Fouladi1

Karen Geary

Michelle Healy

Sylvia Metayer

No. of meetings attended

3 out of 3

4 out of 4

Angela Seymour-Jackson

4 out of 4

Ben Stevens

Patrick De Smedt2

4 out of 4

1 out of 2

1. Babak Fouladi was not eligible to attend a meeting as it was held prior to his
appointment.

2. Patrick De Smedt did not attend a meeting that took place the day before he
stepped down from the Committee.

Committee’s focus during 2023

Activities and areas of focus for the Committee
in 2023 were as set out below.

Executive Board and
Succession Management

Talent Succession and
Development

Appointment of Senior
Independent Director

Board composition and
appointment renewals

Parker Review progress
and ethnicity targets

Spotlight on Talent, Development
and Succession

In 2023 the Committee worked with the Group’s
Global Talent, Leadership & Culture Director to
launch a development centre and programme
for top talent amongst our senior leaders with
potential for promotion to Executive Board
positions in the future. We partnered with
preeminent leadership organisation, YSC, to
assess potential and offer deliberate development
opportunities. The assessment centre drilled
down into leadership capability and potential and
the programme provides tailored development
focus on the following competencies: Enterprise
leadership and global mindset; Inclusive
leadership and allyship; Corporate Governance;
Data informed decision making; and Change
and transformational leadership.

S
T
N
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M
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T
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S
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A
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F

N
O
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A
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R
O
F
N

L
A
N
O
T
D
D
A

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

OBJECTIVE

Maintain Board and Committee
membership to be at least 40% female.

STATUS

Board and each Board Committee currently
has at least 50% female representation
which exceeds the 40% objective.

M
E
T

OBJECTIVE

Meet the Parker Review recommendation
of one Director from a minority ethnic
background by 2024.

M
E
T

STATUS

Babak Fouladi was appointed due to his
extensive technology experience. He was
appointed in April 2023.

OBJECTIVE

Ensure at least one of the senior Board
positions (Chair, Chief Executive Officer,
Senior Independent Director or Chief
Financial Officer) is a woman.

M
E
T

STATUS

Angela Seymour-Jackson is the Chair of the
Company.

OBJECTIVE

Female representation of at least 40%
within senior management and their
direct reports as defined by the Corporate
Governance Code (the “Code”).

STATUS

As at 31 December 2023, 36.6% of senior
management as defined by the Code and
their direct reports were female.

OBJECTIVE

50:50 gender split for management
grades across the global organisation.

STATUS

As at 31 December 2023 there were 45%
women and 55% men holding positions
of Associate Director (and equivalent) and
above.

O
N
G
O
N
G

Committee evaluation

In 2023, the performance of the Committee was evaluated as part
of an externally facilitated performance review. Constal Limited
(“Constal”) was engaged to evaluate the effectiveness of the Board
and its Committees. Constal has no other connection to the Group
or individual Directors and conducted a Board and Committee
evaluation in 2022. It was considered worthwhile to ask Constal
to undertake a further evaluation given its prior knowledge of the
Group’s governance and its ability to independently assess the
impact of the appointments of a new Board member, new CEO and
new Senior Independent Director in 2023.

The evaluation process involved interviews with Committee members
and reporting on an anonymised basis. The evaluation covered how
the Committee performed and how the Committee could improve
its effectiveness. The review found that the Committee is working
well. It highlighted that the CEO appointment and transition had been
managed very successfully. It identified some focused suggestions
for improvement that will be implemented during the year. In 2024,
the Committees will focus on understanding the talent pipeline below
the Executive Board and continue to manage talent, succession and
development for Board and senior leadership positions.

Further details of the evaluation can be found on page 94.

Diversity

As a recruitment company we are committed passionately to
promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace both
internally and externally. Our Company Purpose is to change lives,
diversity, equity and inclusion is therefore inextricably linked to
our Strategy.

The Parker Review recommendations published in March 2023 set
a new objective for FTSE 350 companies to set a target for ethnic
minority representation in senior management. The Committee drew
upon various data points in setting the target. This included current
diversity within this population, Parker Review guidance including
considering UK census data, and an intention to set an achievable,
minimum target. Accordingly, the Group’s minimum target is that
10% of the Executive Board and their direct reports identify as from
an ethnic minority background by 2027. Other actions being taken to
improve ethnic minority representation across the business includes
our reverse mentoring programme where senior executives are
mentored by colleagues from a different ethnic background to their
own, ensuring our Shadow Boards comprise diverse talent across
our global operations, and running campaigns to promote key events
such as Black History Month and our Unity@Page network.

The Board and its Committees’ diversity and inclusion policy is
reviewed annually and is available on the Company’s website at
www.page.com.

The Nomination Committee implements the policy and a summary
of key objectives regarding diversity and inclusion are set out in this
report:

• to ensure Board and Committee membership is diverse in age,
gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability or educational and
socio-economic background;

• requirement for diverse shortlists for non-executive positions; and
• maintain Board and Committee membership to be at least

40% female.

The Committee recognises while progress has been made in
achieving its gender diversity targets, it must retain sharp focus to
achieve the Group’s goals.

A summary of the actions which we have implemented to
change this are below:
• a mentoring programme is in place for senior women

throughout the organisation;

• there is ongoing and continued support for the Women@
Page global network aimed at engagement, enablement
and empowerment of women across the organisation; and
• there are regular tracking reports charting progress against

• Managing Directors and above have diversity objectives

gender targets.

linked directly to their remuneration;

Gender representation in senior management and direct reports – 31 December 2023

Men

63.4%

Women

36.6%

As determined in accordance with the definition contained in the Corporate Governance Code.

Gender representation in Board and senior management – 31 December 2023

Number
of Board
members

Percentage
of the
Board

Number of senior positions
on the Board (CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)

Number in
executive
management

Percentage
of executive
management

Men

Women

Not specified/prefer not to say

50%

As determined in accordance with the definition contained in the FCA’s Listing Rules.

70%

30%

Ethnicity representation in Board and senior management – 31 December 2023

Number
of Board
members

Percentage
of the Board

Number of senior positions
on the Board (CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)

Number in
executive
management

Percentage
of executive
management

White British or other White
(including minority-white groups)

Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups

Asian/Asian British

Black/African/Caribbean/Black
British

Other Ethnic group (including Arab)

Not specified/prefer not to say

87.5%

12.5%

100%

As determined in accordance with the definition contained in the FCA’s Listing Rules. Information in relation to the Board and senior management is collected by
asking each relevant individual to complete a questionnaire aligned to the requirements and definitions in the FCA’s Listing Rules on a confidential and voluntary
basis through which they self-report (or choose not to report) the requested data.

For additional information, as at 31 December 2023 gender
composition of the Audit and Remuneration Committees
was 40% male: 60% female. The Nomination Committee
was 33.3% male: 66.7% female.

As at 31 December 2023, the Company met all three of the
diversity targets set out in the FCA’s Listing Rules. As noted
above, the Board has 50% female representation, one of the
four senior positions on the Board is held by a woman and
the Board composition included a Director from an ethnic
minority background.
Plan for 2024
The success and development of our People is integral to the
success of the new Strategy and the Committee must ensure

it supports and nurtures talent to achieve the business’s
goals.

The Talent, Development and Succession programme
launched in 2023 has an 18-month duration. Accordingly,
the Committee looks forward in 2024 to assessing the value
the programmes are adding to the Group’s talent strategy.
Further, the Committee will keep under review progress in
respect of diversity targets and continue to monitor the skills
composition of the Board.

Angela Seymour-Jackson,
Nomination Committee Chair

6 March 2024

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100

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

Ben Stevens
Committee Chair

Below is the Audit Committee report for the financial year ended
2023. A key area of focus for the Committee is to ensure financial
reporting is accurate and informative. The Company experienced
tougher trading conditions throughout the year and therefore it
was important for the Committee to focus on providing insight into
how the Company was performing, ensuring that the Company’s
internal controls were fit for purpose, and monitoring the current and
emerging risks facing the business.

Purpose
The Audit Committee is a fundamental part of the Group’s
governance framework given that it safeguards the integrity of
the Company’s financial statements and external reporting of
Company performance. It must also ensure that the necessary
internal controls and risk management systems are in place
and effective.

Membership
In 2023, the Committee’s members were Ben Stevens
Committee Chair, Michelle Healy, Sylvia Metayer and Karen
Geary. Patrick De Smedt and Babak Fouladi also served
as Committee members during the year. Patrick De Smedt
ceased being a Committee member on 1 June 2023 when
he stepped down from the Board at the AGM. Babak Fouladi
joined the Committee on 10 April 2023. Babak is a valuable
addition to the Committee, with a strong understanding of
risk management especially in respect of large transformation
and change technology projects.

The Committee’s membership contains members with recent
and relevant financial and corporate governance experience
derived from a range of sectors, providing the members
with the skill set to perform the work of the Committee.
The quality of the Committee’s work is further enhanced by
training, which takes place on an ongoing basis through
updates provided by the Company’s External Auditor
or internal finance team, on developments in corporate
reporting. The General Counsel & Company Secretary also
advises the Committee on legislative or regulatory changes
or areas of relevance or interest to the Group.

Only members of the Committee are entitled to attend
meetings. Other individuals, such as the Chair of the Board,
the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the
General Counsel & Company Secretary, the Director of
Internal Audit and the external Audit Partner are regularly
invited to attend meetings as necessary. The Committee can
invite others to attend as appropriate.

The Board assesses the competence of those sitting on
the Committee annually. In 2023, it was satisfied that Ben
Stevens had recent and relevant financial experience as
required by the Corporate Governance Code (the “Code”)
and competence in accounting as required by the Financial
Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency

Rules. This assessment was based on his prior experience
as a FTSE 100 Chief Financial Officer and his Audit
Committee Chair experience in other large organisations.
Sylvia Metayer also has relevant financial and accounting
experience and other members of the Committee have a
sufficiently wide range of business experience and expertise
such that the Committee has competence relevant to the
sector in which the Company operates.

For further details, the relevant qualifications and experience
of the Committee members are shown in their biographies on
pages 83 to 87. In 2023, the performance and effectiveness
of the Committee were independently and externally
reviewed by Constal Limited. Full details can be found on
pages 94 and 113.

The Committee met with the Director of Internal Audit and
the External Auditor during the year without the presence
of management in order to provide an opportunity for
confidential discussion. The Director of Internal Audit and the
External Auditor also met with, and have direct access on an
ongoing basis to, the Chair of the Committee.

Principal areas of focus
The Committee is committed to maintaining and monitoring
the quality and integrity of financial reporting, as well as
assessing the Company’s risk management systems and
internal control environment. The Committee concentrated
on ensuring continued accuracy of financial reporting and
trading updates, as well as monitoring risks and emerging
risks associated with the business.

Set out in the table on page 103 is a summary of the main
activities of the Committee during 2023.

The Committee received regular updates to monitor the
Company’s preparedness in anticipation of proposed
corporate governance and audit reforms. Deep-dive sessions
were held on data protection and privacy controls in respect
of payroll vendors.

In line with previous years, the tax strategy and treasury policy
were reviewed by the Committee and recommended for
approval by the Board.

The Committee met on seven occasions. Committee meetings
are set to coincide with key dates in the financial reporting
calendar and the audit cycle. The Committee is provided with
sufficient resources to undertake its duties.

Details of the members’ attendance at the meetings of the
Committee are as follows:

information for Shareholders to assess the Company’s
business model, Strategy and performance.

Director

No. of meetings attended

Sylvia Metayer1

6 out of 7

Patrick De Smedt2

3 out of 3

Michelle Healy

Ben Stevens

Karen Geary

Babak Fouladi3

7 out of 7

4 out of 5

1. Sylvia Metayer could not attend a meeting due to a conflicting third party

Board commitment.

2. Patrick de Smedt attended all meetings that he was eligible to attend before

his retirement from the Committee on 1 June 2023.

3. Babak Fouladi could not attend a meeting due to a third party AGM

commitment.

Financial reporting
In its financial reporting to Shareholders and other
Stakeholders, the Board seeks to ensure that it presents a
fair, balanced and understandable assessment of the Group’s
position and long-term sustainability, providing necessary

The Company has an established process for reviewing
the Annual Report and Accounts to ensure that it is fair,
balanced and understandable. The process was followed
this year and included: ensuring compliance with the
regulatory requirements for the Annual Report and Accounts;
a thorough review of going concern analysis; a process
to determine the accuracy, consistency and clarity of the
data and language; and a detailed review by all appropriate
parties including external advisers. To document the process
a checklist of all the elements of the process was completed
and cascaded. Sign-off was implemented through the
Group’s management structure to provide assurance to
the Committee that the appropriate procedures had been
undertaken by all Group companies.

The Committee has reviewed the Company’s 2023 Annual
Report and Accounts.

It provided comments that were incorporated into the Annual
Report and Accounts and has advised the Board that, in
its opinion, the Annual Report and Accounts taken as a
whole is fair, balanced and understandable and provides
the information necessary to assess the Company’s
performance, business model, Strategy and risks.

Significant accounting issues and areas of judgement
The Committee focuses particularly on key accounting policies and practices adopted by the Group and any significant areas
of judgement that may impact materially reported results as well as the clarity of disclosures, compliance with financial reporting
standards and the relevant requirements around financial and governance reporting. Details on accounting policies can be found
on pages 148 to 153.

Out of the accounting issues and areas of judgement reviewed by the Committee during the year one was considered significant
which was addressed as follows:

Significant issue

How the Committee addressed the issue

Revenue
Recognition

Context: Revenue recognition for permanent and temporary placements, with particular focus
on Period-end cut off and appropriate accounting treatment in accordance with IFRS and Group
accounting policies.

Revenue from permanent placements is derived from both retained assignments (income recognised
on completion of defined stages of work) and non-retained assignments (income recognised at the
date an offer is accepted by a candidate and where a start date has been determined). There is a
risk that a candidate reverses their decision to take up a placement before the start date and as
such the revenue recognised would be reversed. A provision is made by management, based on
past historical experience, for the proportion of those placements where this is expected to occur.
Revenue from temporary placements, which represents amounts billed for the services of temporary
staff, including the salary cost of these staff, is recognised when the service has been provided.

Actions taken: As in previous years, the Committee assessed the Group's revenue recognition
policies relative to IFRS and the sector to ensure that they are appropriate, and challenged
management on the internal control and compliance processes over revenue recognition, taking into
account the views of Internal Audit and the External Auditor. The External Auditor explained to the
Committee the procedures they performed and the areas of challenge addressed to management
in respect of revenue recognition, in particular Period-end cut-off. On the basis of their audit work,
the External Auditor concluded that the revenue recognised in 2023 is materially in accordance with
the Group’s revenue recognition policy and IFRS, and the provision for expected revenue reversals is
materially appropriate.

Conclusions and rationale: The Committee concluded that the approach to revenue recognition
was consistent with the policies and the judgements made were appropriate.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023
Main activities of the Audit Committee during 2023
The Committee has an agreed rolling programme of agenda items which the Committee Chair and General Counsel & Company
Secretary keep under regular review to ensure that all key financial reporting and risk matters are properly considered. The list
below summarises the key items considered by the Committee during the year.

JANUARY

APRIL

Review of Financial
Statements

OCTOBER

Review of Financial
Statements

• Quarter 4 Results and Full Year

• Quarter 1 trading update

• Quarter 3 trading update

• Annual FRC letter - responses

Risk and Internal Control

Trading Update

MARCH

Review of Financial
Statements

• Judgemental and Accounting

issues

• External Auditor’s year-end

report

• Fair, balanced and

understandable review

Going Concern Analysis

• Viability statement

• Confirmation of external
auditor’s independence

• Draft preliminary results

announcement and 2022
Annual Report and Accounts

• Management letter of

representation

Risk and Internal Control

• Internal Audit report

• GDPR and Review of Data
Protection Risk Register

Compliance

• Review of litigation register

• Meeting between External
Auditor without Executive
Directors

• Meeting between Head of

Internal Audit without Executive
Directors

External Auditor

• External Auditor effectiveness

and rigour survey

Compliance

• Global Transactional Finance

presentation

External Auditor

• External Audit FY23 Planning

Report

Compliance

• Update on payroll vendors

JULY

Review of Financial
Statements

• Quarter 2 trading update

AUGUST

Review of Financial
Statements

• Draft interim results

announcement

DECEMBER

Review of Financial
Statements

• Review of 2023 Annual Report

and Accounts process

• Judgemental and accounting

Issues

Risk and Internal Control

• Internal Audit update

• Judgemental and accounting

• Approval of Internal Audit plan

Issues

• Going concern analysis

• Internal audit update

• Risk review and confirmation of
principal and emerging risks

• Review of Group insurance

renewal

for 2024

• Risk review and confirmation of
principal and emerging risks

• Annual review of anti-bribery

compliance

External Auditor

• Audit progress update report

• Review and approval of audit fee

• Review of Exceptional Items

Compliance

Policy

External Auditor

• External Auditor’s interim

review

• Interim review of management

letter of representation

• Scope of the full year audit

• Non-audit fees review

Compliance

• Year-end legislative and

procedural matters

• Terms of reference review

• Annual Committee evaluation

• UK Corporate Governance

Code compliance

• Review of Internal Audit

Tax and Treasury

• Review of Tax strategy

• Review of litigation register

• Review of Treasury matters and

• Corporate Governance Code –

Treasury policy

audit changes

• Meeting between Head of
Internal Audit and External
Auditors without Executive
Directors

External Auditor’s independence
and effectiveness
The Committee monitors the objectivity, independence and
effectiveness of the External Auditor, Ernst & Young LLP
(“EY”). The Committee seeks to meet best practice and
comply with audit legislation with regard to audit firm rotation
and the provision of non-audit services including: the FRC’s
Audit Committees and the External Audit: Minimum Standard
(“Minimum Standard”); the provisions of the Code; and the
Competition and Market Authority Audit Order 2014.

EY was first appointed as the Company’s External Auditor
in 2011. The Company last held a competitive tender of
external audit services in 2020 and following a rigorous
process, EY was successful. In accordance with applicable
law and regulation, the Company will re-tender the external
audit at least every ten years and will change the External
Auditor at least every 20 years.

The Committee reviews regularly the objectivity and
independence of the External Auditor and has concluded this
is achieved by:

• obtaining assurances, subject to safeguards, from the
External Auditor that adequate policies and procedures
exist within its firm to ensure that the firm and staff are
independent of the Group by reason of family, finance,
employment, investment and business relationship (other
than in the normal course of business);

• meeting with the External Auditor without management

being present;

• enforcing a policy of reviewing all cases where it is

proposed that a former employee of the External Auditor
be employed by the Group in a senior management
position or at Board level;

• monitoring the External Auditor’s compliance with

applicable UK ethical guidance on the rotation of audit
partners;

• approving non-audit services undertaken by the External

Auditor;

• the rotation of the lead Audit Partner after five years. Joe

Yglesia is currently the lead Audit Partner, having taken on
that role following the completion of the 2020 Audit; and

• the quality, performance and effectiveness of the External

Auditor is reviewed annually by the Committee. This
covers the quality of robust challenge provided by the
audit team and of key components of the audit and the
level of expertise and resources applied to the audit. It also
provides assurance that there are no issues which could
adversely affect the external auditor’s independence and
objectivity.

The Committee reviews the following:

• robustness of the External Auditor’s plan and its

identification of key risks and whether the plan has been
met;

• approach to and execution of the agreed plan;

• robustness (including the audit team's ability to challenge
management) and perceptiveness of the External Auditor
in handling key accounting and audit judgements including
demonstrating professional scepticism and independence;

• quality and content of reports provided to the Committee
by the External Auditor including reporting on internal
controls;

• feedback from management which is ascertained from

staff surveys completed by employees involved in the audit
process;

• the External Auditor’s management letter to assess the

External Auditor’s understanding of the Company and its
business and whether recommendations have been acted
on; and

• communications in and outside of meetings between the

External Auditor and the Committee.

In light of the above review, the Committee concluded that
the quality and effectiveness of EY’s external audit for 2023
was of sufficiently high standard.

In accordance with the FRC’s revised Ethical Standard 2019,
the Committee reviewed all non-audit services to ensure
the non-audit services are closely linked to the audit itself
or required by law or regulation. The total non-audit fees in
respect of non-audit services for the year amounted to £7k.

In accordance with the FRC’s Minimum Standard, the
Committee has a policy safeguarding the independence of
the external auditor providing non-audit services. The policy
specifies permitted non-audit work and places caps on the
amount of non-audit work that can be undertaken. The CFO
must authorise all non-audit work and the Audit Committee
Chair is notified of all the non-audit work undertaken.

The non-audit fees for the year under review relate
to certifying revenue in the Netherlands for local filing
requirements, and factual reporting on revenue and payroll
expenses required for the French business. EY also
performed interim review procedures in respect of the half-
year results which amounted to £56k. EY’s audit fee for the
year was £1.8m.

The Committee considers the planned scope of assurance
provided across the Group on an annual basis to consider
whether changes are required to continue to obtain the
necessary level of assurance.

Internal control and risk management
The Board’s responsibilities for, and their report on, risk
management and the systems of internal control and their
effectiveness are set out in the Corporate Governance
Report on page 95.

On behalf of the Board, the Audit Committee undertakes
a robust assessment of principal and emerging risks. This
involves reviewing the Group’s risk assessment procedures
and risk registers and its longer term viability. The risk
assessment takes account of all top down and aggregate
risk and presents the effectiveness of the controls to mitigate
the principal risks of the business, including environmental,
social and governance matters, inherent in the strategy of
the business and its plan. The risk assessments consider
the level of gross risk to the business, the effectiveness of
controls in mitigating those risks and the resulting net risk
level. If the net risk level is above the Group’s risk appetite,
management develop further remedial action plans.

There are processes across the Group to consider emerging
risks. Within our Group operational risk assessment and
reporting process cycle, twice per annum management are
formally required to consider and disclose any emerging
risks. These are reviewed at a Group level together with a
top down perspective gained from discussion with senior
management. In addition, our internal audit programme
reviews the basis of risk submissions with local management
for principal risks, including any emerging risks. The principal
risk reports are independently reviewed with the External
Auditor to identify the potential risks that the Group should
be considering and anticipating.

The risk review identified that over the course of the year
global economic growth forecasts had continued to slow

103

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023well and effectively. Given that our new Strategy was
adopted in 2023 and that trading conditions are uncertain, it
was noted that the Committee should schedule to monitor
the risks associated with the implementation of the Strategy
as appropriate.

In 2024, the Committee’s focus will also remain on its
primary responsibilities of ensuring the integrity of financial
statements and trading statements and it will continue to
review the Group’s internal control and risk management
systems for any possible improvements.

Further details of the process and outcome of the Board and
Committee evaluation process can be found in the Corporate
Governance Report on pages 93 to 94.

Fraud
The Committee reviews the procedures for the prevention
and detection of fraud in the Group. Suspected cases of
fraud must be reported to the CFO and the Director of
Internal Audit and investigated by operational management
and Internal Audit. The outcome of any investigation is
reported to the Committee. A register of all suspected
fraudulent activity and the outcome of any investigation is
kept and is circulated to the Committee on a regular basis.
During the year in question, no frauds of a significant or
material nature were reported.

Anti-bribery and corruption and business ethics
The Company has a Code of Conduct which can be found
on its website www.page.com. This sets out the standards
of behaviour by which all employees of the Group are bound
and is based on the Company’s commitment to acting
professionally, fairly and with integrity.

The Group maintains a zero tolerance approach against
corruption. It has an established anti-bribery and corruption
policy, which includes guidance on the giving and receiving of
gifts and hospitality. This policy applies throughout the Group
and is complemented by anti-bribery and corruption training.
In order to capture any concerns that employees or external
parties may have in relation to bribery and corruption, the
policy highlights internal contacts who can assist in any
queries surrounding gifts and hospitality or concerns around
bribery and corruption. Senior management (as defined by
the Corporate Governance Code) and their direct reports
are required to sign a statement requiring disclosure of
any conflicts of interest. Compliance with the anti-bribery
and corruption policy is reviewed annually by the Internal
Audit function and reported to the Committee. The review
undertaken in 2023 showed there was a good understanding
of the issues and no breaches were reported. Additionally,
the Company operates a global “Speak-Up” helpline and
actively promotes its use for any ethical matters.

All matters raised on the helpline were investigated and
referred to the relevant HR teams. For further details see
page 95.

Compliance with Statutory Audit Services Order
The Company confirms that it has complied with the
provisions of the CMA’s Statutory Audit Services for
Large Companies Market Investigation (Mandatory Use
of Competitive Tender Processes and Audit Committee
Responsibilities) Order 2014 for the financial year under
review.

AUDIT COMMITTEES AND THE EXTERNAL AUDIT: MINIMUM STANDARD COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

The Company and the Audit Committee considered and applied the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) “Audit
Committees and the External Audit: Minimum Standard” published in May 2023. The Audit Committee Report
discusses how the Company has complied with the Minimum Standard, (in particular the requirements of
paragraph 24) during the financial year. There were no regulatory inspections in relation to the Company’s audit
for financial year ended 31 December 2023 and no requests made by Shareholders in connection with the
Company’s audit.

In accordance with its terms of reference, the Committee oversaw the relationship with the external auditor. This
included an assessment of the external auditor’s overall effectiveness, including by reference to a number of
the factors set out in paragraph 16 of the Minimum Standard, assessing the auditor’s expertise, qualifications,
independence, objectivity, and overall effectiveness over the external audit.

The Committee continued to understand the risks to audit quality and maintain high quality audits over the course
of the year while receiving an efficient service from the external auditor. The Committee receives an annual report of
audit results which includes the details of any quality issues or concerns reported during the audit. The Committee
meets regularly with the External Auditor, with and without the presence of management, and are able to raise any
concerns about audit quality on an ongoing basis.

The Committee monitors the effectiveness of the external auditor through an annual effectiveness survey distributed
to management. In FY2023, EY continued to receive positive feedback.

The Committee noted the findings of the Financial Reporting Council’s latest inspection of audit quality of EY.

In accordance with paragraph 24 of the Minimum Standard, details on the Company’s accounting policies can be
found on pages 148 to 153.

Following its assessment of audit quality, the Committee is satisfied that EY have demonstrated their effectiveness
as an auditor and produced sufficiently high quality audits over the course of the year under review. The Committee
concluded that the external auditor and audit process were effective, and a recommendation was made to the
Board on the reappointment of EY as the auditor for the year ending 31 December 2024 at the forthcoming AGM.

Ben Stevens

Audit Committee Chair

6 March 2024

and consequently global economic trading conditions had
worsened. The Group’s experience of cyclical markets, and
its global footprint, mitigates this risk to the extent currently
possible.

The release and adoption of large language models, such as
ChatGPT, has been seen as both a potential threat and an
opportunity to the business model. In 2023, the Company
assessed and monitored the use and development of Artificial
Intelligence and its impact on the business.

Transformation and Change is identified as a risk area for the
Group. In 2023, a Transformation function was established to
lead and manage large scale projects.

The Committee remains vigilant with regard to data protection
and cyber security risks, cognisant that this is an area that
requires an on-going programme of investment, monitoring
and improvements in order to stay up to date and keep
systems and data secure and compliant. During the period
under review, no material information security breaches or third
party breaches were reported and the Committee held a deep-
dive review session on the Company’s compliance with data
protection regulations.

Full and further details of the Group’s principal and emerging
risks and the areas of mitigation can be found on pages 60
to 68.

The Company’s risk review procedures include, at a minimum,
half-year and full-year reports to the Committee from the
Director of Internal Audit on the performance of the system of
internal controls and on its effectiveness in managing material
and emerging risks and identifying any control failings or
weaknesses.

The Committee reviews the Group’s risk management process
annually, with the outcome being reported to the Board. This,
together with regular updates to the Board on material risks,
allows the Board to make the assessment on the system
of internal controls and the residual risks for the purpose of
making its public statement. The risk process, together with
the key risks and their indicators, have been identified and
mitigating actions are described in the Strategic Report on
pages 58 to 66.

Where weaknesses have been identified in the system of
internal controls for the mitigation of risks to an acceptable

level, plans to strengthen the control system are put in place.
Action plans in this respect are regularly monitored until
complete. During the period under review there were no
control failings or weaknesses that resulted in material losses
for the Group.

Internal audit activities
The Group’s Internal Audit function comprises a Director of
Internal Audit and a team of internal auditors and we have a
co-source agreement in place with a third party internal audit
provider. The Director of Internal Audit reports to the Audit
Committee and works with the CFO and CEO to determine
priorities. He also has direct access to the Committee and
the Board. This ensures there is opportunity for frank and
open dialogue. The Director of Internal Audit’s remuneration is
determined by the Chair of the Committee in consultation with
the CFO to ensure independence.

The scope of work for the Internal Audit function is agreed
with the Committee annually with the findings from internal
audits being reported to the Executive Board and the Audit
Committee. Businesses are audited on a rotational risk-based
approach to assess the effectiveness of controls to mitigate
risks to an acceptable level. All major risks are addressed
in this process, including Group functions and change
programmes as are those around governance, environmental
and social related matters. Actions to maintain and improve
the effectiveness of the control environment are agreed with
the Executive Board and are monitored and reported to the
Committee. Risks are also reviewed regularly and required
changes are made to the risk profile, and where necessary, to
the activity of Internal Audit. All changes to the Internal Audit
plan are agreed with the Chair of the Committee and the
Committee.

Committee evaluation
The activities of the Committee were reviewed as part of
the Board and Committee evaluation process. In line with
the Corporate Governance Code, the annual review of the
Committee was facilitated externally, by the appointment of
Constal Limited. The review covered the Committee’s remit
and overall performance, including assessing the Committee’s
performance in identifying, monitoring and managing risks.

The outcome of the review was that the Committee is working

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION
REPORT

In 2023 we were pleased with the response to our Policy
renewal at the June 2023 AGM, with over 88% of Shareholders
supporting our updated Remuneration Policy. We heard feedback
that Shareholders were seeing a continued alignment between
corporate performance and reward delivered to our senior
leadership. Since the Executive Single Incentive Plan (ESIP) was
launched in 2017, we have seen a strong correlation between pay
and performance, and a structure that drives material levels of share
ownership in the business and alignment to the wider Shareholder
experience. I would like to reiterate my thanks to all Shareholders
who participated in our extensive consultation process and shared
their views and perspectives with us.

Karen Geary,
Committee Chair

SECTION 1

Our approach and structure

We have used the ESIP for many years, and it has been shown
to be an effective structure to align pay and performance
through highly volatile economic conditions.

We believe the ESIP works well in our industry and achieves:

• alignment of pay with Company performance;

• recognition of the highly cyclical nature of the industry in

which PageGroup operates;

• reduction in undue volatility to drive performance and

retention of Executives through all stages of the economic
cycle; and

• a focus on development of shareholding by Executives to

align with the wider Shareholder experience.

We have successfully appointed Nicholas Kirk into the
CEO role and he now participates in the ESIP, alongside
Kelvin Stagg, our CFO. The ESIP structure has the trust
of participants, and high confidence by Shareholders and
Shareholder bodies alike.

The structure takes a long-term approach to reward, using
realised performance over a 3-year period to make awards
(partly in cash and mostly in shares) and for these shares
to be subject to continued holding periods. It can mean a
time period of up to 8 years between the start of business
performance assessment and access to shares by an
individual: 3 years of business performance, followed by
up to 3 years for vesting to occur and then a further 2-year

mandatory holding period if the shareholding of the Executive
is below the shareholding requirement in place.

This long-term view is important as we consider awards we
are making now, covering a range of business performance
through the preceding 3-year period, including a year of record
performance for the Group in 2022 and a far tougher trading
environment as we progressed through 2023.

2023 performance outcomes

The ESIP is assessed through the combination of both annual
and longer term 3-year metrics. The economic climate was
more challenging for the business during 2023, as widely
communicated through regular trading updates. Prompt
actions by the business addressed cost pressures and enabled
the business to deliver a profit (PBT) outcome of £117.4m.

Steps taken by the business were linked to our refreshed
Strategy and included acceleration of some actions to
generate future cost savings and holding back on some other
areas of expenditure. We outlined these actions during regular
market updates. As a Committee we wanted to encourage
leadership to progress the new Strategy as rapidly as possible
and avoid any scope for holding back on actions simply
because they were not reflected in the original budgets we set
(which were used to determine PBT targets within the ESIP
for 2023). We therefore adjusted the PBT range downwards
at both the top and bottom of the range by £2m (the net value
of the impact) to ensure that the targets were as stretching as
when originally set. The final outcome reflected performance

For other Executive Committee members (known
internally as the Executive Board) we discussed and
approved changes to reward for 2024, designed to drive
standardisation and create greater alignment of individuals
through reward to collective business achievement. This
included the way that key strategic goals are cascaded and
then assessed as part of the determination of future annual
bonus awards.

Driving effective governance

The Committee undertook an effectiveness review during
the year, which found the operation and activity of the
Committee to be strong. We openly discussed findings and
recommendations for how we can further evolve the way in
which we operate.

We continue to monitor potential changes in the Corporate
Governance Code and any changes in expectations offered
by key Shareholders. We reviewed our existing provisions
around malus and clawback during the year and confirmed
that they already meet the expectations of the proposed
changes within the Corporate Code, which will apply to
PageGroup from 1 January 2025, and we actively monitor
the wider landscape, so we have understanding and
confidence that our approach is right for the business while
meeting expectations around corporate governance.

Conclusion

I hope that through this disclosure you can get a clear
understanding of the alignment between pay and
performance for our senior leaders. 2023 has been an
important year for the business as Nick Kirk began his role as
CEO and we refreshed our Strategy for the next stage of our
growth journey. As we conclude 2023 and enter 2024 we
find ourselves at a tougher economic standpoint, and
the business is focussed on driving profitable growth. We are
confident in our ability to implement our new Strategy driving
the long-term profitability of the Group, and with associated
reward contingent on successful delivery against targets
we have set.

I look forward to effective ongoing dialogue with
Shareholders on reward and for your support for our
Committee activities at the forthcoming AGM.

Karen Geary

Remuneration Committee Chair

6 March 2024

at the lower end of the set range, consistent with the
wider challenging economic trading conditions that we
experienced.

Strategically we have seen Nick Kirk take on the CEO role
and successfully refresh our Strategy, with strong feedback
from our investor community, and our internal employees.
This leadership has given clear direction to the business and
a path to deliver future growth. We also saw strong delivery
against our stated goals on ESG, as documented further
within this disclosure.

Longer term metrics delivered stronger outcomes, reflecting
the aggregated performance over the 3-year period of
assessment, including a record year for the business in
2022. This included absolute Earnings Per Share (“EPS”)
performance significantly above the stretch level of the
range set, and relative gross profit performance against a
peer group where PageGroup was ranked top against the
comparator group by some margin.

The Committee was happy that with the small adjustment
to the PBT range, the formulaic outcomes derived through
the ESIP were consistent with the underlying business
performance over the respective performance period.

Target setting and implementation of reward
for 2024

Target setting for the year ahead is done with reference
to our internal plans and budgets and having considered
analyst forecasts. Profit delivery will continue to form 30%
of the overall ESIP assessment.

We have agreed to consolidate the Strategic and ESG
sections of the ESIP into a single section for 2024,
remaining at 15% of the total opportunity. This has been
done to recognise the increasing overlap or integration
of items viewed as being linked to ESG within core
strategic objectives. We remain committed to the external
commitments we have made around changing lives and
driving gender diversity within the workplace.

The 3-year metrics will remain the same: an absolute metric
based on EPS performance and a relative metric linked
to our performance vs a comparator group. We have set
an EPS growth range for 2024 to 2026 of 5% to 15% per
annum growth from our 2023 baseline.

The economic conditions remain uncertain and the business
is committed to effective cost management. Neither
Executive Director will receive a pay increase for the year
with salaries remaining at 2023 levels.

Wider workforce

The Committee regularly reviewed the approach to reward
across the organisation. This included reviewing our Gender
pay position in the UK, and the steps being taken to
standardise overall job architecture across the business, so
people have clarity around career paths and routes to future
progression, and how this may influence the way they may
be rewarded.

107

108

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023SECTION 2: AT A GLANCE

WHAT EXECUTIVES WERE PAID IN 2023 – SINGLE FIGURE

ESIP – 2023 AND 2024

BASE SALARY & BENEFITS

NICHOLAS KIRK

CEO

KELVIN STAGG

CFO

ESIP 2023 OUTTURN

• Salaries were effective from

1 January 2023.

• Benefits include a pension
allowance paid at a rate
consistent with that paid across
the wider UK workforce (7%).

ESIP

• Final award 78.9% of maximum
for CEO and 78.7% of maximum
for CFO.

• 40% payable in cash, remainder

delivered in deferred shares vesting
on 2nd and 3rd anniversary of
award.

TOTAL

Salary
£600,000

Benefits
£67,018

Salary
£414,000

Benefits
£53,998

• Overall award 78.9% of maximum for CEO and 78.7% of maximum for CFO.

ASSESSMENT/WEIGHTING

50%

100%

ACHIEVEMENT FOR CEO/CFO (% MAX)

ESIP
£1,775,250

Maximum
£2,250,000

ESIP
£1,221,041

Maximum
£1,552,500

Indicates Maximum Potential

Total

£2,442,268

ESIP

£1,775,250

Base pay
and benefits

£667,018

Total

£1,689,039

ESIP

£1,221,041

Base pay
and benefits

£467,998

PBT 2023
(30%)

Strategic (10%)

ESG (5%)

EPS (2021 to 2023)
(25%)

Relative Gross Profit
(2021 to 2023)
(30%)

33% / 33%

95% / 91.3%

90% / 92.5%

100% / 100%

• Opportunity level of 375% of salary for each Executive.

• 40% of award delivered in cash, remainder in deferred shares released on 2nd and 3rd anniversary of award.

ESIP 2024 STRUCTURE

• Overall opportunity for both Executive Directors at 375% of salary.

2023 SINGLE FIGURE

£2,442,268

£1,689,039

2022 SINGLE FIGURE
FOR RESPECTIVE ROLE

£2,322,901

£1,222,675

CHANGE (2022 TO 2023)

+5%

+38%

PBT 2024
(30%)

Strategic & ESG
2024 (15%)

EPS (2022 to 2024)
(25%)

Relative Gross Profit (2022 to 2024)
(30%)

ANNUAL
PERFORMANCE
(45% of total)

3-YEAR
PERFORMANCE
(55% of total)

KEY POINTS

• Consolidation of Strategic
and ESG metrics into
single category

• See diagram on page 120
for full operation of the
ESIP for 2024

• Overall weighting between
annual and long-term
assessment unchanged

109

110

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023KEY METRICS

SHAREHOLDING BY EXECUTIVES

• Actual holding of 95% of salary for CEO and 682% of salary for CFO against requirement of 200% of salary at year end. Nick Kirk
is forecast to achieve the 2x shareholding requirement within five years from the date of his appointment as CEO as expected
through implementation of our agreed Policy. The table below includes shares held by Nick through incentives from PageGroup
prior to his appointment to the CEO position on 1 January 2023.

Shareholding as percentage of salary – Executive Directors
As at 31 December 2023

35% 60% 95%

Nicholas
Kirk

CEO

Kelvin
Stagg

CFO

538%

144%

682%

Shareholding

Requirement

= 200% of salary

100%

200%

300%

400%

500%

600%

700%

Ordinary shares

Other unvested incentives (net)

ESIP shares (net)

GENDER PAY GAP
Our latest disclosures on Gender Pay Gap can
be accessed through the Company’s website
www.page.com.

CEO PAY RATIO
See pages 127 to 128 for more details

Gender Pay (UK)

Median

Mean

CEO Pay Ratio

25th percentile Median

75th percentile

As at 5 April 2022

As at 5 April 2021

As at 5 April 2020

As at 5 April 2019

18%

24%

19%

14%

19%

24%

19%

SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE (P)

700

600

500

523.0

633.5

447.4

487.0

461.2

31 Dec 2019 31 Dec 2020 31 Dec 2021 31 Dec 2022 31 Dec 2023

400

300

200

100

111

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

75:1

88:1

43:1

50:1

49:1

57:1

27:1

160:1

105:1

32:1

31:1

37:1

17:1

64:1

PROFIT DELIVERY (PBT £M)
200

180

160

140

120

100

144.2

194.0

167.0

117.4

15.0

2020

2019

2021

2022

2023

SECTION 3: ANNUAL REPORT ON REMUNERATION

Only members of the Committee are entitled to attend
meetings. Other individuals, such as the Chair of the Board,
the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the
Chief People Officer, the General Counsel & Company
Secretary and external advisers, may attend meetings by
invitation when appropriate.

No Director takes part in discussions relating to their
own remuneration. The Committee last conducted
a review of its Remuneration Advisers in 2018 and
following a comprehensive tender process appointed
PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) as the advisers to the
Committee. PwC is one of the founding members of the
Remuneration Consultants Group and as such adheres to
the code of conduct in relation to executive remuneration
consulting in the UK.

PwC’s appointment commenced in November 2018 and
the Committee is satisfied the advice received is objective
and independent.

The annual fees paid to PwC totalled £80k plus VAT.
PwC provide unrelated tax advice during the year through
separate teams. The Committee is satisfied that these
activities did not compromise the independence or objectivity
of the advice it received from PwC. PwC’s core services are
provided on a fixed fee arrangement, with additional items
provided on a time and materials basis.

During 2023, the Committee met six times and considered
the following topics:

This part of the report has been prepared in accordance with
Part 3 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups
(Accounts and Reports) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. The
information on pages 115 to 117 has been audited where
required under the Regulations. The elements of the Directors’
Annual Remuneration Report subject to audit are the:

a. single total figure for remuneration and the accompanying

notes;

b. details of the performance against metrics for variable

awards included in the single total figure table;

c. details of the ESIP award made in 2023;
d. section on outstanding share awards;
e. payments to past Directors; and
f. payment for loss of office.

During the year under review the members of the Committee
were Karen Geary, Patrick De Smedt, Michelle Healy, Sylvia
Metayer, Ben Stevens and Babak Fouladi. Details of the
members’ attendance at meetings of the Committee are
below:

Director

Karen Geary

Patrick De Smedt 1

Michelle Healy

Sylvia Metayer

Ben Stevens 2

Babak Fouladi 3

No. of meetings attended

6 out of 6

2 out of 3

6 out of 6

5 out of 6

4 out of 4

1. Patrick De Smedt did not attend a meeting that took place the day

before he stepped down from the Committee.

2. Ben was unable to make the February meeting but provided his

comments in advance to the Committee Chair.

3. Babak Fouladi joined the Company on 10 April 2023 and attended all

Committee meetings held after this appointment.

FEBRUARY 2023

MARCH 2023

MAY 2023

• Outcomes of reward for ESIP 2022

• Target setting for operation of ESIP
2023 including determination of
annual targets (strategic and financial)

• Vesting of share awards from previous

ESIP awards

• Drafting of remuneration report for

2022 Annual Report

• Gender pay gap disclosure

in the UK and activities taken
globally to look at fairness of
pay

• Finalisation of Directors’
Remuneration Report

• Forward-looking target-setting
for EPS (for period 2023 to
2025)

• Discussion of ESG metrics

and assessment

• Wider Executive Board

reward structure

AUGUST 2023

OCTOBER 2023

DECEMBER 2023

• Feedback from

Shareholders and
Shareholder bodies
following the 2022 AGM

• Update on market trends
from Committee advisor

• Terms of reference for the

Committee

• Future alignment of incentives
to business strategy below the
Executive Board

• Employee survey feedback and

insight on reward

• Process for evaluation of strategic
performance for 2023 and target
setting for 2024

• Committee effectiveness evaluation

• Executive Board performance

assessment for 2023

• Target setting for 2024 including

reward structure across Executive
Board

• Forecast outcomes under financial

metrics for 2023

S
T
N
E
M
E
T
A
T
S
L
A
C
N
A
N
F

N
O
T
A
M
R
O
F
N

L
A
N
O
T
D
D
A

112

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

COMMITTEE EVALUATION

LINKAGE OF COMPANY PERFORMANCE INTO ESIP OUTCOMES

The Board went through an evaluation process in 2023 facilitated externally by Constal Limited. This included assessment of
the operation of the Remuneration Committee and its overall effectiveness. The evaluation concluded that the Committee was
performing strongly and was effective in discharging its responsibilities. An action that will be adopted in 2024 will be to continue
and increase use of reward plan summaries in Committee meeting papers. For more details about the Board and Committee
evaluation process, see pages 93 to 94.

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION AS A SINGLE FIGURE (AUDITED)
The tables below report a single figure for total remuneration for each Executive Director for the years ended 31 December 2023
and 31 December 2022.

Salary
£’000

Note 1

Benefits
£’000

Pensions
£’000

Note 2

Note 3

Subtotal
for Fixed
Pay
£’000

Nicholas Kirk 5

2023 600

Steve Ingham

2022 658

Kelvin Stagg

2023 414

2022 383

157

667

840

468

482

ESIP -
Deferred
Shares
£'000

Note 4

1,065

890

733

445

Subtotal
for
variable
pay
£’000

Total
£’000

1,775

2,442

1,483

2,323

1,221

741

1,689

1,223

ESIP -
Cash
£’000

Note 4

710

593

488

296

Notes:
1. Salary and fees represent the salary and fees paid in cash in respect of the financial year.
2. Benefits represent the taxable value of the benefits provided in the year and comprise a Company car or cash equivalent; fuel; permanent health insurance;

medical insurance; and life insurance.

3. Pension includes the cash value of Company contributions to defined contribution pension plans and cash payments in lieu of pension contributions. In line
with our Remuneration Policy, these were fixed at the level paid in 2019 through December 2022 for Kelvin Stagg and Steve Ingham. Contributions for both
Kelvin Stagg and Nick Kirk aligned to the rates for the UK wider workforce commencing 1 January 2023 (currently 7%).

4. The ESIP payment is determined using a balanced scorecard of short and long-term performance measures. Under the Policy 40% of the award is

expected to be delivered in cash and is shown in the “ESIP – Cash” column. The remaining 60% of the ESIP is delivered in deferred shares which vest in
future tranches, as shown in the “ESIP – Deferred Shares” column.

5. Nick Kirk was appointed as CEO effective 1 January 2023 when Steve Ingham stood down from his role.

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION AS A SINGLE FIGURE
The tables below report a single figure for total remuneration for each Non-Executive Director for the years ended 31 December
2023 and 31 December 2022.

Patrick De Smedt

Michelle Healy

Sylvia Metayer

Karen Geary 1

Angela Seymour-Jackson

Ben Stevens

Babak Fouladi 3

1. Karen Geary joined the Board in April 2022.

Year
2023

2022

2023

2022

2023

2022

2023

2022

2023

2022

2023

2022

2023

2022

Fees £’000s
29

232

174 2

n/a

2. This was for the proportion of the year after her appointment as Chair of the Board, as well as Non-Executive Director and Remuneration Chair fees for the

earlier part of the year.

3. Babak Fouladi joined the business on 10 April 2023.

There were no payments to past Directors or any payments for loss of office during 2023.

PBT: The Group’s PBT for 2023 in constant currencies was
£117.4m, compared to £191m in 2022, £166.6m in 2021
and £15.5m in 2020.

A constant currency adjustment was not performed in
Argentina due to the level of hyperinflation and currency
devaluation, consistent with the Q4 trading update.

The business saw challenging market conditions including
a focus on temporary placements as clients sought flexible
options in the face of changing economic conditions.

Strategic Performance: Full details of the strategic
objectives set for each Executive Director and the associated
performance against them is shown on pages 115 to 116.
Performance has been assessed against the objectives that
were set for the Executives and the formulaic outcome of this
process is disclosed within this report.

EPS: A cumulative EPS target for the period 2021 to 2023
was set, requiring EPS performance over the 3 years of
72p to deliver maximum awards. The business comfortably

exceeded this level, with cumulative EPS over the period of
105.3p, resulting in full awards under this metric.

Relative Gross Profit: The Committee determined awards
under this metric using all publicly available data as at
9 February 2024 (the date of the respective Remuneration
Committee meeting). The peer group contains organisations
with different year-ends and with different timings of
scheduled public announcements. This was the approach
adopted by the Committee when the ESIP structure (and use
of this metric) was decided in 2017 and has been applied
consistently since the ESIP has been in operation. This
meant that full data was publicly available for all of the peer
group other than two companies (where data through to
Q3 2023 was used).

PageGroup delivered upper quartile relative gross profit
performance against the peer group resulting in an award of
100% of maximum for this metric. PageGroup delivered the
highest performance of the whole comparator group with
performance well in excess of the Upper Quartile level.

FORMULAIC BREAKDOWN OF 2023 ESIP (AUDITED)

Performance Metrics

Weighting

Target and Outcome

Achievement (% of max)

CEO

CFO

Annual Performance Metrics – 2023

Profit Before Tax

30%

Threshold (25% award) = £113m

Award Level 33%

Stretch (100% award) = £155m or above

Actual PBT in constant currencies was £117.4m

Strategic Goals

Sustainability Metrics

10%

See breakdown in table

3-year Performance Metrics (Jan 2021 to Dec 2023)

95%

90%

91.25%

92.5%

Cumulative EPS

25%

Threshold EPS = 48p (25% vesting)

Award Level = 100%

Relative Gross Profit Growth

30%

Stretch EPS = 72p (100% vesting)

Actual cumulative EPS = 105.3p

Based on average growth over the 3-year period
compared to peer group.

Median = 25% vesting through to Upper quartile =
Full vesting

PageGroup Actual = 21% growth. Median was
10.2%, Upper Quartile 11.1%

Award Level = 100%

Overall (% maximum)

78.9%

78.7%

DISCRETION APPLIED BY COMMITTEE
As part of the refined Strategy and increased focus on
conversion rates, a number of actions were taken during the
year to support rapid implementation of the new Strategy.
These included one-off costs (such as the closure of some
office locations) and savings made by decisions to not
incur certain costs that had originally been planned. The
net impact of these for the year was £2m, and represent
costs not foreseen or planned when targets were originally
set by the Committee. These costs were highlighted to
Shareholders through trading updates and capital market
events during the year.

The Committee adjusted the PBT target range down (at the
top and bottom of the PBT range) by this value to ensure

that leaders were not penalised by the decision to accelerate
delivery of the updated Strategy, and this adjustment
was taken on the basis that the amended range was as
challenging as when originally set by the Committee.

It did not exercise any further discretion (either up or down)
other than this adjustment to the PBT target range to
recognise the inclusion of costs not planned when the target
was originally set.

The Committee was happy that with this small adjustment
to the PBT range, the formulaic outcomes derived through
the ESIP were consistent with the underlying business
performance over the period.

113

114

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023FINAL AWARD CALCULATION AND DELIVERY (AUDITED)

CFO – Kelvin Stagg

Theme

Weighting

Objective

Measure

Key Achievements

Achievement
(% of max)

91.25%

Total

Market Focus
& Growth

25%

50%

Productivity
& Strategy
Refresh

Progress in key
identified areas
during year in line
with wider Strategy

• Growth rates compared
to wider business in line
with 2023 F0 budget

• Variation of outcomes to

planned budget

• Interaction and feedback from

85%

Investor Base / Analysts

• Strategic focus aligned to

growth pillars within refreshed
Strategy

Successful refresh
and execution of
the Page Strategy
during 2023

Reset the Page
Vision, Values
and Purpose (as
needed)

Communicate
the new Strategy
to inspire
and motivate
colleagues and
build confidence
with investors

Define leadership
team structure /
membership
to support
future Strategy,
underpinned by
succession plans

• Effective Strategy

• Preparation and input into

95%

presentation to Board
leading to subsequent
sign off and endorsement

• Changes communicated

to the business.

Strategy refresh

• Feedback from colleagues
on new Strategy – levels
of engagement and
understanding of changes

• Initial responses to

• Feedback from capital

updated Strategy from
key Stakeholders,
including Shareholders
and employees

markets days held during
2023

• Further globalisation of shared
service centre operations with
associated business savings

• Efficiency solutions

implemented, including
automation of previously
manual tasks

• Any required subsequent

• New finance organisational

90%

structure changes /
amended role scope
defined & implemented

design launched and
embedded to support
Strategy refresh

• Development plans in

• Promotion of individuals into

place for Executive Board
successors

• Board session to review

talent pipeline and
discuss associated
actions

senior finance roles

• Capability framework for

finance talent created and
implemented including
identification of successors /
backfills for key roles.

Achievement
(% of max)

95%

85%

25%

Talent
Development
and Inclusion

Calculation

Maximum Opportunity (% salary)

Final Award (% of maximum)

Final Award (% of salary)

Salary used for ESIP calculation

Final Award Value

Delivery

CEO

375%

78.9%

295.9%

£600,000

£1,775,250

CEO

Cash Award (March 2024) (40% of the total award)

£710,100

Share Award in March 2024 of shares to value
shown in table (representing 60% of the award).

£1,065,150

Vesting to occur in March 2026 and March 2027
and subject to further holding period in event
shareholding guidelines are not met at point of vest.

CFO

375%

78.7%

294.9%

£414,000

£1,221,041

CFO

£488,417

£732,625

STRATEGIC GOALS: TARGETS AND OUTCOMES WITHIN 2023 ESIP (AUDITED)

CEO – Nicholas Kirk

Theme

Weighting Objective

Measure

Key Achievements

Total

Market Focus
and Growth

25%

Productivity
& Strategy
Refresh

50%

Talent
Development
and Inclusion

25%

Progress in key
identified areas
during year in line
with wider Strategy

• Growth rates compared to
wider business in line with
2023 budget

• Variation of outcomes to

planned budget

• Key focus and demonstrable
progress in highlighted areas
including Page Executive,
Technology and Strategic
Customers.

Successful refresh
and execution of
the Page Strategy
during 2023

Reset the Page
Vision, Values
and Purpose (as
needed)

Communicate the
new Strategy to
inspire and motivate
colleagues and
build confidence
with investors

Define leadership
team structure /
membership
to support
future Strategy,
underpinned by
succession plans

• Effective Strategy

• New Strategy developed

100%

presentation to Board
leading to subsequent sign
off and endorsement

• Changes communicated to

and endorsed by the Board

• Subsequent communication
of new Strategy to internal
and external audiences

the business

• Initial responses to

updated Strategy from key
Stakeholders, including
Shareholders and employees

• Positive reactions from

each audience with high
levels of engagement from
subsequent employee
survey

• Feedback from capital

markets days held during
2023

• Any required subsequent

structure changes /
amended role scope defined
& implemented

• Development plans in

place for Executive Board
successors

• Board session to review

talent pipeline and discuss
associated actions

• New structure established
across Executive Board

95%

• Detailed discussion of talent

pipeline with Board

• Updated roles across

Executive Board defined to
support Strategy refresh

• External calibration and
assessment of future
identified successors to
understand potential and
identify development areas

• Capability framework

created and emergency
successors identified for all
Executive Board members

115

116

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023SUSTAINABILITY METRICS: TARGETS AND OUTCOMES WITHIN 2023
ESIP (AUDITED)

Targets were set against two key areas previously identified by the business where longer term targets have been set through
to 2030. Both link to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals and are key areas where PageGroup can make a positive
contribution.

CHANGE IN BOARD REMUNERATION COMPARED TO OTHER EMPLOYEES
The following table shows the percentage change in the annual remuneration of Directors from 2019 onwards as well as a
comparator number showing the average percentage change for employees (excluding Directors) of the listed Parent Company
on a full-time equivalent basis.

Theme Weighting Objective

Measure

Attainment

Total

Changing
Lives

50%

Gender
Diversity

50%

Create an
equitable
society by
giving back
as a best-in-
class recruiter,
corporate
citizen and
employer

Ensure
progress
towards
changing
1 million lives
by 2030

Assessment made considering:

• Increased progress

• Cumulative progression

towards the 1 million target
since inception of metric

• Activity during 2023 that has
supported this, focussing
on number of people placed
into work and people
accessing social impact
events

• Increase in breadth of

programmes offered and
global coverage of activities
– including use of application
of skills as a recruiter to give
back

• Commit to science-based

targets (SBT) and develop a
plan for their achievement

towards 2030 target
over prior year (+ 3%)

• Strategic charity

partnerships developed
globally

• “Giving back as a

recruiter” social impact
events held across
multiple countries

• Progress on science-
based targets with
targets submitted for
verification

• Strong scores from
employee base on
engagement and belief in
Company sustainability
initiatives

Increase
number of
women within
leadership
roles globally
across the
business

Drive progress
towards 2030
Gender Goal

Assessment will be made
by looking at the cumulative
progress since 2020 towards
the 2030 target. Maximum
awards would be made for
evidence that business is
on track to meet (or exceed)
target. Final awards would be
made by reference to:

• Cumulative progress since

2020

• Continued progress
in 2023 on gender
diversity within senior
management to reach
50/50 target by 2023
(currently 44.5% vs 28%
in 2020)

• Significant increase in

female representation on
Executive Board during
2023

• Progress made during

• Executive Directors

2023 itself including gender
balance of promotions
and gender balance within
succession plans

providing mentorship
to female leaders
as well as through
formal development
programmes (such as
Inspire)

Achievement (% of
max)

CEO
90%

CFO
92.5%

Change in Salary / Fees

Change in Benefits 3

Change in Annual Cash Incentive

2023
vs
2022

2022
vs
2021

2021
vs
2020 2

2020
vs
2019

2023
vs
2022

2022
vs
2021

2021
vs
2020

2020
vs
2019

2023
vs
2022

2022
vs
2021

2021 vs
2020

2020
vs
2019

Nicholas Kirk 1

n/a

Kelvin Stagg

(5%)

65%

(17)%

Not
calculable

(100%)

Michelle Healy

(5%)

n/a

95%

100%

Sylvia Metayer

(5%)

n/a

Angela Seymour-
Jackson 6

33%

148% 7%

(5%)

n/a

Ben Stevens 5

11%

18%

n/a

Babak Fouladi

n/a

Karen Geary 7

40%

n/a

85%

Wider
PageGroup
Employees 4

(5%)

Not
calculable 8

(100%)

1. Nick Kirk joined the Board on 1 January 2023.
2. Wider PageGroup employees represents average UK increase. The increases for the Executive Directors between 2020 and 2021 reflect the voluntary

waiver of 20% of salary during Q2 2020. The increase in contractual salary levels from 2020 to 2021 was 1.5% for each Executive.

3. Excludes pensions. As outlined in previous remuneration disclosures, the value of pension contributions payable to each Executive was set at a fixed

level (based on that received in 2019) before moving to a level equivalent to the wider workforce from the end of 2022.

4. This shows the contrast of changes of reward elements between 2019 and 2023. The wider PageGroup employees reflects all employees of Michael

Page International Recruitment Limited as at 31 December 2023. Calculations have been derived on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis to enable
effective comparison.

5. The change in fee for Ben Stevens reflects the fact that he was Chair of the Audit Committee for all of 2022 and only part of 2021. The fee change from

2022 to 2023 reflects his appointment as Senior Independent Director effective 1 June 2023.

6. The 2021 vs 2022 and 2022 vs 2023 changes for Angela Seymour-Jackson reflect her appointment as Chair effective 1 May 2022.
7. Karen Geary joined the Board on 1 April 2022.
8. It is not possible to calculate the percentage change for 2021 following nil bonus awards in 2020.

117

118

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023POLICY IMPLEMENTATION FOR 2024

Executive Directors

Policy Area

2024 Implementation

Base salaries will be fixed at the current level for 2024. The CEO salary will be £600,000 and the CFO
Salary £414,000

No changes to benefits provided compared to 2023

Allowances for each executive will be in the form of a cash supplement, based on the levels equivalent
to the wider UK workforce of the Company (currently 7%)

Base Salaries

Key Features:

• Attract, retain and reward
high calibre Executive
Directors

Benefits

Key Features:

• Competitive benefits

including car allowance,
private medical insurance
for the individual and family,
permanent health insurance
and life assurance

Pensions

Key Features:

• Executive Directors

may receive a defined
contribution pension benefit
or cash supplement

Incentives

Key Features:

The core operation of the ESIP will be unchanged for 2024. Further detail is shown below and
discussed in more detail within this disclosure

• Rewards both short and
long-term performance.
Aligns interests of Executive
Directors with Shareholders

Overall opportunity for both Executive Directors will be 375% of salary. Awards will be determined
following year end with 40% of the award delivered in cash and the remainder in deferred shares which
vest equally on the second and third anniversary of award subject to continued employment. These
are then subject to a further holding period depending on the overall shareholding level at the point of
release

Time
frame

Annual -
2024

PBT (30%)

Strategic
(including
ESG) (15%)

Detail

Targets for the year are set by the Committee and will be disclosed on
a retrospective basis. These are determined by considering internal
budgets, analyst expectations and market conditions

Strategic metrics have been set for each Executive Director for the
year ahead and will be disclosed retrospectively. They represent key
activities or goals consistent with our refreshed Strategy announced
during 2023

We have decided to combine the Strategic and ESG sections into a
single section for the operation of the ESIP for 2024, with the strategic
targets set having clear elements that relate to ESG and our stated
external commitments in this area

EPS (25%)

3-year
2022-
2024

Measured on a point-to point basis over the 3-year period from
the 2021 baseline. Threshold annual growth of 5% (25% of award)
through to maximum awards for annual growth of 15% or above

Measurement in constant currency

Relative
Gross Profit
Growth (30%)

Assessed against comparator group: Current list of companies:
SThree, Robert Half, Randstad, Robert Walters, Adecco, Hays,
Manpower

Performance range: Below median = no award. Median = 25% of
award through to 100% of award for upper quartile performance

In the event of material change of one of the companies within the
comparator group (e.g. due to M&A activity) the Committee retains
flexibility to adjust the peer group with a stated desire to capture
organic growth only

Measurement in constant currency

Non-Executive Directors

No changes will be made to fee levels for the Chair or Non-Executive Directors for 2024.

ESIP OPERATION FOR 2024

ESIP 2024 – OPERATION

MAXIMUM OPPORTUNITY = 375% OF SALARY

Assessment

Delivery

2022

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

Measures, Weightings
and Time Period

PBT (30%)

Strategic and
ESG (15%)

EPS (2022 to 2024)
(25%)

Relative Gross Profit
(2022 to 2024) (30%)

40% of award
in cash

60% of award
in deferred
shares

Cash
paid

Dividends

Under the single plan dividend equivalents will
accrue in respect of any shares deferred but not
yet released. Dividend equivalents are paid, in
accordance with the rules, at the time of vesting.

deferred

Half of
shares vest

holding period*

Half of
shares vest

holding period*

* Holding Period

Vested shares have to be held for a further two years if the shareholding
guidelines have not been met at point of release (except for sales to meet
a resulting tax liability).

HISTORY OF EPS TARGETS: APPROACH AND APPLICATION
We look to set EPS targets at the start of the respective 3-year performance period. Outlined below are all the EPS targets that
have been set by the Committee for the ongoing operation of the ESIP.

ESIP Scheme

EPS Period

Agreed Cumulative
EPS Range (pence)
/ Annual Growth
Rate (%)

Notes

ESIP 2023

January 2021 - December 2023

48p - 72p

ESIP 2024

January 2022 - December 2024

5% - 15%

ESIP 2025

January 2023 - December 2025

3% - 12%

ESIP 2026

January 2024 - December 2026

5% - 15%

As outlined in the 2021
Annual Report, assessment
of EPS will move to be carried
out on a “point-to-point”
basis for the period 2022-24
and beyond. There will be no
amendment to calculation of
EPS growth across previous
performance periods.

* As disclosed in previous Directors’ Remuneration Report disclosures, the EPS calculation for the operation of the ESIP for 2022 and beyond
(assessments of EPS beginning on 1 January 2020 onwards) will be determined on a constant currency basis.

119

120

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023EPS TARGET FOR JAN 2024 – DEC 2026

In line with the approach taken in the past two years, we will
measure EPS over the forthcoming 3-year period (2024-2026)
on a “point-to-point” basis and are disclosing the target set
by the Committee at the start of the respective performance
period. We will compare the EPS achieved in 2026 against
that delivered in 2023 to derive the equivalent annual growth
achieved over the three-year period.

We have determined an EPS range for the period 2024 to
2026 which is based on threshold annual growth of 5% per
annum from the 2023 baseline through to stretch performance
of 15% per annum. We determined this range reflecting
current analysts’ consensus forecasts for 2024 followed by

annual growth rates in 2025 and 2026. We believe this is a fair
range for the business for the next three years with stretching
performance required to generate awards near or at the top of
the stated range.

Non Executive Directors

Policy Area

Fees

Key features

• Attract, retain and fairly
reward high calibre
individuals.

2024 Implementation

Year ending
31 December 2023

Year ending
31 December 2024

Chair

Non-Executive basic fee

Additional fees payable

Senior Independent Director

Chair of the Audit Committee

£232,000

£60,000

£10,000

£14,000

Chair of the Remuneration Committee £14,000

£232,000

£60,000

£10,000

£14,000

EXECUTIVE SHAREHOLDING AND ALIGNMENT TO THE ORGANISATION
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION REPORT

Details of all outstanding share awards are provided later in the report. We have shown all ordinary shares held by each
Executive. Additionally, and consistent with our approach in previous years, we have included any shares awarded under the
ESIP that have not yet vested (which are not subject to any further Company performance conditions). Additionally, we have
included any unvested shares (not subject to Company performance conditions) awarded to Nick Kirk under incentive plans
prior to his appointment as CEO, shown on a net of tax basis. It is forecast that Nick will achieve the required shareholding
requirement well in advance of the five years from appointment, as required under our Policy.

Shareholding as percentage of salary – Executive Directors
As at 31 December 2023

35% 60% 95%

Nicholas
Kirk

CEO

Kelvin
Stagg

CFO

538%

144%

682%

Shareholding

Requirement

= 200% of salary

100%

200%

300%

400%

500%

600%

700%

Ordinary shares

Other unvested incentives (net)

ESIP shares (net)

For illustration, we have shown below the impact that changes to the share price would have on overall shareholding levels for
each Executive.

SHARES AWARDED IN 2023 (AUDITED)
Conditional awards of deferred shares were made in March 2023 in relation to awards made in respect of the operation of the
2022 ESIP.

Number of shares awarded

Face value at date of award

Vesting

Kelvin Stagg

101,182

£444,800

Shares vest in two tranches equally on the
second and third anniversary of award, subject to
continued employment.

Nicholas Kirk

Kelvin Stagg

Shareholding (As %
of salary)
Change in indicative
Value

Shareholding (As %
of salary)
Change in Indicative
Value

Calculated shareholding
level (as % of salary)
if share price decrease
of 10%

Shareholding as a
percentage of salary as
at 31 December 2023
(based on a share price
of £4.87).

Calculated Shareholding
level (as % of salary) if
share price increase
of 10%

86%

95% (£0.57m)

105%

Decrease of £57k

Increase of £57k

614%

682% (£2.82m)

750%

Decrease of £282k

Increase of £282k

Awards were made on 16 March 2023. The share price used to make awards was 439.6p being the middle market quotation price
on 15 March 2023. The Committee was comfortable that the price used to make awards was appropriate, calculated in line with the
ESIP structure and Plan rules, and represents awards against delivery of performance already achieved by the Executives.

No share awards were made to Nick Kirk in March 2023. Some shares vested under awards made in previous years under incentive
arrangements in place prior to his appointment as CEO. His current shareholding is provided in detail on pages 122 to 123.

The share price at the start of the year was 459.8p and was 487p on 31 December 2023. The low and high share prices during the
year were 365p and 495p respectively.

OUTSTANDING SHARE AWARDS
This section sets out the share interests of the incumbent Executive Directors as at 31 December 2023 under the Executive
Single Incentive Plan.

Kelvin Stagg – ESIP

Grant Date

Number of
shares at
1 January 2023

Granted
during
the year

13 March 2020

53,140

15 March 2021

20,407

15 March 2021

20,408

15 March 2022

54,552

15 March 2022

54,552

16 March 2023

50,591

Vested
during
the year

(53,140)1

(20,407)2

TOTAL

203,059

101,182

(73,547)

Lapsed
during
the year

Number of
shares at
31 December 2023

20,408

54,552

50,591

230,694

Vesting

13 March 2023

15 March 2023

15 March 2024

15 March 2025

16 March 2025

16 March 2026

1. A sufficient number of shares were sold to cover applicable taxes with the balance of 28,101 shares held
2. A sufficient number of shares were sold to cover applicable taxes with the balance of 10,791 shares held

121

122

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Nicholas Kirk – Management Incentive Plan (MIP)

Nick does not hold any unvested awards under the ESIP. He does have currently unvested awards under the Management
Incentive Plan (MIP) which were awards from prior years made prior to his appointment as CEO.

Grant Date

15 March 2021

15 March 2022

TOTAL

Shares with future Company
Performance Linkage1

Shares – vesting subject to continued
employment as at 31 December 20232

Scheduled Vesting

76,635

63,295

139,930

15 March 2024

15 March 2025

1. Shows shares within the total number awarded that have vesting linked to Company performance conditions as at 31 December 2023.
2. Shows shares that will vest subject to continued employment with no further Company performance conditions.

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ SHAREHOLDINGS (AUDITED)
It is the Company’s policy that Executive Directors are required to build and hold a direct beneficial holding in the Company’s
ordinary shares of an amount equal to two times their base salary. The beneficial interests of the Directors who served during 2023,
and their connected persons, in the ordinary shares of the Company are shown in the table below. The table does not include
interests in shares which are subject to ongoing Company performance conditions but does include shares awarded but not yet
vested under the ESIP (or similar incentive), calculated on a net of tax basis.

Ordinary
shares held
as at 31 Dec
2023

Unvested Share
Award (ESIP) as
at 31 Dec 2023

Unvested shares
held under previous
awards prior to
appointment to
Executive Director1

% of salary
held 2

Shareholding
guideline

Ordinary
shares held
as at 31 Dec
2022

Executives

Nicholas Kirk

43,433

Nil

139,930

Kelvin Stagg

457,219

230,694

nil

95%

682%

200%

23,244

418,327

Non-Executives

Michelle Healy

Sylvia Metayer

Angela Seymour-
Jackson

3,150

Ben Stevens

5,748

Karen Geary

Babak Fouladi 3

n/a

915

5,748

Notes:
1. This includes unvested shares which are not subject to Company performance conditions as at 31 December 2023 awarded to Nick Kirk prior to his

appointment as CEO.

2. This uses the closing share price on 31 December 2023 of £4.87 per share and includes unvested shares awarded under the ESIP calculated on a post-tax

basis. The highest and lowest share prices during the year were £3.65 and £4.95 respectively.

3. Babak Fouladi was appointed as a Director on 10 April 2023.

There were no changes in the Directors’ interests between 31 December 2023 and the date of this report.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SPEND ON PAY
The graph below shows details of the Company’s retained profit after tax, distributions by way of dividend, shares purchased by
the Michael Page Employee Benefit Trust, overall spend on pay to all employees (see Note 4) in the financial statements on page
156, overall spend on Directors’ pay as included in the single figure table on page 113 and the tax paid in the financial year. The
percentage change to the prior year is also shown.

700

600

500

£m

400

300

200

100

682.5

681.9

2022

2023

-44%

-25%

139.0

77.1

133.2

100.1

Proﬁt after
tax (£m)

Dividends
paid (£m)

18%

14.8

17.5

Shares
purchased by
the EBT (£m)

Overall spend
on pay (£m)

15%

4.1

4.7

Overall spend
on Directors’
pay (£m)

-4%

61.6

59.0

Tax paid
(£m)

SERVICE CONTRACTS AND LETTERS OF APPOINTMENT

All Executive Directors’ service contracts contain a twelve-
month notice period. The service contracts also contain
restrictive covenants preventing the Executive Directors from
competing with the Group for at least six months following
the termination of their employment and preventing the
Executive Directors from soliciting key employees, clients
and candidates of the employing Company and Group
companies for twelve months following termination of
employment. The Remuneration Committee has the right to
exercise mitigation in the event of termination.

Non-Executive Directors, including the Chair of the Board,
are engaged under letters of appointment and do not have
service contracts with the Company. They are appointed
for a fixed term of three years, during which period the

appointment may be terminated by either party upon
giving one month’s written notice or in accordance with the
provisions of the Articles of Association of the Company.
There are no provisions on payment for early termination in
the letters of appointment. After the initial three-year term,
Directors may be reappointed for a further term of three
years, subject to annual re-election at each year’s Annual
General Meeting.

Where any Director’s letter of appointment was renewed
during the year they were not entitled to vote on their own
appointment. Copies of the service contracts and letters
of appointment are available for inspection during normal
business hours at the Company’s registered office.

Executive Director

Service Contract Date

Unexpired Term

Notice Period

Nicholas Kirk

Kelvin Stagg

18 October 2022

No specific term

12 months

27 July 2014

No specific term

12 months

Non-Executive Directors

Letter of Appointment/
Reappointment Date

Unexpired Term at 31 December 2023

Michelle Healy

Sylvia Metayer

30 August 2022

1 September 2023

Angela Seymour-Jackson

20 December 2021

Ben Stevens

Karen Geary

4 December 2023

10 March 2022

Babak Fouladi

22 December 2022

21 months

32 months

16 months

36 months

15 months

27 months

1. Angela Seymour-Jackson’s appointment letter is dated 20 December 2021. Her appointment as Chair of the Board commenced

on 1 May 2022 with a three-year term.

123

124

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023STATEMENT OF VOTING AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
At the Company’s Annual General Meeting held on 1 June 2023, Shareholders approved the existing Remuneration Policy. The table
below shows the results of the binding voting on the Remuneration Policy and the advisory vote on the Directors’ Remuneration
Report put to Shareholders. Each resolution required a simple majority of the votes cast to be in favour in order for each of the
resolutions to be passed.

Resolutions

AGM

Votes For

Votes Against %

Votes Withheld

Remuneration Policy

1 June 2023

251,088,739

88.72

31,916,890

11.28

1,687

Directors’ Remuneration Report

1 June 2023

250,134,256

88.38

32,871,373

11.62

1,687

TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN
The performance graph below shows the movement in the value of £100 invested in the shares of the Company compared to an
investment in the FTSE 250 index and the FTSE Support Services index over the period 31 December 2013 to 31 December 2023.
The graph shows the Total Shareholder Return generated by the movement in the share price and the reinvestment of dividends.

The FTSE 250 index and the FTSE Support Services index have been selected as the Company was a member of each index
throughout the period. The table below shows the total remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer over the same ten-year period.

CEO

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Incumbent

Steve Ingham

Nicholas
Kirk

Single remuneration total

£1,494k

£2,074k

£2,089k

£3,660k

£4,340k

£3,769k

£1,171k

£2,606k £2,323k £2,442k

SECTION 4: REMUNERATION FOR EMPLOYEES

BELOW THE BOARD

Our remuneration philosophy is cascaded through
the organisation and we focus on rewarding collective
achievement and team-based success. At senior levels, we
use a combination of shares and cash to achieve this and
drive alignment with the business. At more junior levels,
variable reward is delivered through cash only.

Overall reward is benchmarked on a regular basis to the
respective local market and is linked to skill and experience
in role. We offer a wider range of benefits that evolves over
time. This includes Company provided benefits, but also

extends to a range of policies to support work-life balance
and wellbeing.

The Company does not consult formally with employees
on remuneration matters in relation to executive pay or
Remuneration Policy design, but does review information
on employee satisfaction with reward throughout the
organisation, including results to reward questions from the
“Have Your Say” employee engagement questionnaire, which
is now run on an annual basis.

REWARD ACROSS THE PAGEGROUP BUSINESS

We operate within a broad reward framework across the
organisation, designed to enable effective progression of
talent and grow our own pipeline of talent for the future.
We focus on how we drive team-based behaviours to create
better Customer relationships to support our Strategy of
organic growth.

Employees typically receive salary and a range of benefits
driven by local market norms and practice. Most of our

employees also have access to variable pay schemes linked
to the success they help create.

Our regular activities to engage with our staff (see page 38)
give us valuable insight into our reward offer and areas of
reward that are working and opportunities for change. We
discuss our overall approach as a Board and the way that
reward may be expected to change as someone progresses
through the organisation.

Short-term incentives
(% of maximum) (note 1)

Long-term incentives
(% of maximum)

Executive Single Incentive
Plan (% of maximum)

n/a

71%

68%

60%

n/a

60%

55.35% 96.1%

96%

n/a

91%

87.7%

75.4%

16.5%

74.4%

60.1% 78.9%

BASE SALARY

31 Dec 2013

31 Dec 2014

31 Dec 2015 31 Dec 2016

31 Dec 2017

31 Dec 2018

31 Dec 2019

31 Dec 2020

31 Dec 2021

31 Dec 2022

31 Dec 2023

227.96

180.59

180.07

194.84

164.40

161.17

178.57

149.18

144.72

170.77

154.49

121.08

250

200

150

144.77

161.86

162.42

100

100.0

103.66

100.62

86.45

125.59

141.54

122.92

134.19

115.77

114.18

115.09

123.36

115.24

108.53

107.19

90.69

EXTERNAL DIRECTORSHIPS
No Executive Directors earned any fees from external directorships during the year ending 31 December 2023.

PageGroup

FTSE 250

FTSE SS

Salaries are set with reference to the skills and
experience of the individual and reflect the local
market ranges. The career journey of the fee earning
population enables regular pay reviews on achievement
of performance-based targets which will contribute

to the success of the team. For others, salaries are
usually reviewed annually and adjusted in consideration
of business affordability, individual performance and
local market rates of pay.

BENEFITS

We operate across a range of countries where we see
very different practices in terms of benefit provision.
Our benefits typically include items such as pension
provision, life insurance and medical cover. The levels

of contribution or investment in benefits will be driven
by local market factors rather than a single global
approach.

VARIABLE PAY

The variable pay of the consultant population is driven
by team-based incentives, designed to drive people
to work collectively. These deliver cash awards, which
reflect both the performance of the team and the
respective performance of the individual consultant.
A small number of consultants work on an individual
commission basis linked to the specific nature of the
role they perform.

At a leadership level we also offer deferred cash
incentives to drive retention of talent, in addition to the
bonus structures available.

At senior leadership levels we provide access to share-
based incentives, designed to enable individuals to
build up a holding in Company shares and fully align
them to the Shareholder experience.

125

126

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023COMMITTEE INSIGHT AND FOCUS
The Committee receives an annual overview of the reward structure in place across the organisation including any changes that have
taken place. Subsequent discussion included the following themes and responses:

Theme

Findings

Linkage of reward with
performance assessment

• All colleagues participate in performance management processes which give

clarity over both what someone is expected to accomplish and how this should be
achieved

• It is achieved through the combination of:

Goals: expected outputs over the review period

KPIs: actions and metrics expected in pursuit of the goals

Behaviours: that should be demonstrated in pursuit of the above

• Specific behaviours are based around defined criteria linked to seniority of role

• Overall attainment is linked directly to awards under variable plans and any future

salary adjustments

Provision of benefits across a
global organisation

• Regular assessments are made of market competitiveness of benefits within our key

markets, using external benchmark data

• Benefits do vary between countries reflecting different market norms

• Any proposed change to benefits offered is done through engagement with the

regional HR and finance leaders, with proposals reviewed centrally depending on the
level of cost investment

Way that awards under variable
pay plans are governed through
the business

• Funding of bonus pools is managed with finance teams with central oversight

• Country leaders make proposals on allocation of bonuses which are reviewed by

their respective managers

• All proposals are collated centrally to review levels of spend and affordability

Alignment to culture and linkage to
diversity and inclusion

• There is a demonstrable cascade of key objectives through the organisation. As
an example, all Managing Directors have designated targets within variable plans
requiring progress on key diversity and inclusion metrics

Ways that the organisation gains
insight into employee satisfaction
with reward

• Questions are included within the “Have Your Say” engagement survey (which is now

run annually) linked to pay and benefits and trends tracked over time

• Pulse surveys and use of internal technology (e.g. Viva Engage) monitors responses

to key questions and tracks changes

• Engagement sessions with staff members, including those attended by Non-

Executive Directors

• Feedback from employees who choose to leave us (gained through exit surveys)

CEO PAY RATIO
This is the fifth year that we have disclosed the ratio of CEO remuneration to that of our employees in the UK.

COMMENTARY ON THE RATIO
The volatility in the CEO pay ratio since 2019 reflects the changeable market conditions and derived business performance, and
the greater leverage of reward towards variable pay for more senior people within the organisation, including Executive Directors.
The changes are broken out in more detail below:

Change in CEO Single Figure 2022 to 2023 (£k)

3,000

2,500

£k

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

-115

-58

292

2,323

2,442

Single Figure
disclosed 2022

Change
in pension

Decrease
in salary

Increase in
value of ESIP

Single Figure
disclosed 2023

Change in CEO reward

Reward Change

Commentary

Change in salary

This decrease is due to the incoming salary of Nicholas Kirk (£600k) being below the outgoing CEO
salary level.

Change in benefits

There were no changes in benefits provided between 2022 and 2023

Change in ESIP value

The award under the 2023 ESIP was 78.9% of maximum, which was an increase from the 2022
award (60.1%).

APPROACH AND CALCULATION
We have elected to use Option A to calculate the ratio as we believe this gives the most accurate insight into employee pay and
benefits and closest comparison to the CEO single figure value. The reward structure for our CEO is weighted far more towards
variable reward than most of our employees within the UK. Therefore, we expect future changes to this ratio to be linked to
changes in variable award levels under the ESIP and future share price movement.

We also recognise that the earnings profile across our UK employees means that both the mean and median can be useful
measures. We have provided two supplementary ratios for illustration as follows:

Scenario

Resulting CEO Single
Figure

Resulting CEO Pay to
Median Ratio

Incumbent

Calculation Method

25th Percentile Median

75th Percentile

CEO single figure compared to UK mean FTE earnings

£2,442k (as disclosed)

37:1

CEO Pay Ratio

CEO “On-Target” Remuneration compared to 2023 UK Median FTE
Reward

£1,792k 1

36:1

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

Nicholas Kirk

Option A

Steve Ingham

Option A

75:1

88:1

43:1

50:1

49:1

57:1

27:1

160:1

105:1

32:1

31:1

37:1

17:1

64:1

We believe that the median ratio is consistent with the Company’s wider policies on employee reward, pay and progression.

1. This value is the target CEO value provided within our Directors’ Remuneration Policy agreed by Shareholders at the June 2023 AGM.

The employee figures for our UK workforce to calculate the ratios are as follows:

Scenario

Total pay and benefits – 2023

Change on 2022

Total salary 2023

Change on 2022

25th Percentile

£32,370

+1%

£28,380

+6%

Median

£49,150

+3%

£39,380

+10%

75th Percentile

£76,580

+5%

£60,040

+7%

These values are calculated on a full-time equivalent basis as required under the regulations, based on our UK workforce as at 31 December.

127

128

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023SECTION 5: OUR REMUNERATION POLICY

Our current Remuneration Policy was approved by Shareholders at the 2023 AGM. The full policy can be found at www.page.com/
remuneration-policy. We have provided an overview of the key features of the Policy below and the way this aligns to Provision 40 of
the UK Corporate Governance Code.

ALIGNMENT WITH PROVISION 40

Our Remuneration Policy aligns with Provision 40 of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 as explained below:

Clarity

Simplicity

Alignment to culture

We engage actively
with Shareholders and
demonstrate how their
views and perspectives are
considered in the development
of our Policy.

We look to describe the structure of reward clearly to
both participants and Shareholders through effective
disclosures. Target documents are issued to Executives
each year to ensure clear understanding of the way
reward will be delivered and assessed.

The Policy aligns to our business
model and reflects alignment
to our Strategy. Measures used
to determine awards link to our
strategic priorities.

Predictability

Proportionality

Risk

Examples of the range of
outcomes under the Policy
are shown within the scenario
graphs.

This demonstrates the way
that different performance
levels change reward
outcomes for individuals and
the associated impact of
changes in the Company’s
share price.

A significant proportion of the total reward opportunity is
performance driven, with clear linkage between business
metrics and variable reward outcomes.

Metrics for variable awards are key KPI measures
for the business and align to delivery of Strategy and
performance against goals set.

A significant proportion of variable awards are delivered
in shares and Executives are required to develop and
maintain a material shareholding in the business to fully
align to the Shareholder experience.

The Committee retains ultimate
discretion to vary outcomes
from formulaic results if they
do not judge this to reflect
accurately underlying business
performance.

Malus and Clawback provisions
apply to all awards and we
operate post-cessation
shareholding requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE EXECUTIVE SINGLE INCENTIVE PLAN (ESIP)

We introduced the ESIP in 2017 as the way we deliver variable
reward to our Executive Directors. It was introduced to align
with the PageGroup business model. It provides a structure
that:

The ESIP is motivational, trusted by our Executives and its key
features have subsequently been cascaded to lower levels of
leaders within the business to drive alignment and consistency
in the way we operate reward.

• aligns pay firmly with performance;

• recognises the cyclical nature of the industry;

• reduces undue volatility to drive performance and retention
of Executives throughout all stages of the economic cycle;
and

• ensures that Executives build up meaningful shareholdings

to align with Shareholders.

The ESIP structure rewards Executives for the appropriate
delivery of our Strategy and value to Shareholders. The
Committee believes this model is an appropriate fit for
PageGroup’s business. The ESIP recognises the cyclical nature
of the recruitment sector and, as a way of motivating leaders,
drives superior business outcomes and acts as a retention
mechanism through the economic cycle.

It allows us to implement a pay for performance philosophy
without undue volatility, drives higher levels of shareholding
in the business and ensures alignment of Executives with
the experience of Shareholders. The phased nature of share
vesting further supports alignment and management of reward
volatility.

We heard strong support for the ESIP structure from
Shareholders through our extensive consultation process
ahead of renewing our Remuneration Policy at the 2023 AGM.
They cited that they were comfortable with the structure and
saw it as an effective way of aligning performance and reward.

SUMMARY OF OUR AGREED POLICY
Below is a summary of the Remuneration Policy approved by Shareholders at the 2023 AGM.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ POLICY TABLE

Base Salary

Benefits

Pension

Incentives

Shareholding

Purpose

Attract, retain
and reward high
calibre Executive
Directors.

Attract, retain
and reward
high calibre
Executive
Directors.

Rewards both short and
long-term performance.
Aligns interests of Executive
Directors with Shareholders.

To align Executives to
Company performance
through meaningful levels of
mandatory shareholding.

Post-cessation Policy to
align executives beyond
termination of employment.

Executive
Directors
may receive
a defined
contribution
pension
benefit or cash
supplement.

Operation

Competitive
benefits including
car allowance
or company car
(including running
costs), private
medical insurance
for the individual
and family,
permanent health
insurance and
four times salary
life assurance.
Provision of
relocation
assistance and
any associated
costs or benefits
(including but not
limited to housing
benefits, personal
tax advice and
school fees) upon
appointment if/
when applicable.
The Company
may also provide
tax equalisation
arrangements.

Salary levels
(and subsequent
increases)
are set after
reviewing various
factors including
individual and
Company
performance,
role and
responsibility,
internal
relativities such
as the increases
awarded to
other employees
and prevailing
market levels
for Executive
Directors at
companies of
comparable
status and
market value,
considering
the total
remuneration
package.
Salaries are
normally
reviewed
annually. Salary
is paid monthly,
and increases
are generally
effective from
1 January.

Aim for market
competitive
salaries.

Awards are paid in cash
(40%) and deferred shares
(60%) vesting at defined future
dates subject to continued
employment.

Shareholding requirements
are operated to align
Executive Directors’
interests with those of
Shareholders.

The current requirement is
200% of base salary. This
will be achieved through the
application of 2-year post-
vest holding periods (net of
tax), and is expected to be
reached within five years
from appointment.

A post-cessation
shareholding policy will
require leavers to hold
2x salary for the first
12 months post cessation
and 1x salary for the
subsequent 12 months.

The plan consists of metrics
linked to annual performance
only, and other metrics that
consider performance over a
3-year period. At least 50%
of any award will depend on
assessment against longer
term metrics.

Performance will be measured
against a balanced scorecard,
to support the Company’s
Strategy. Performance targets
will be a mix of financial
and strategic targets, which
may comprise, but are not
limited to, the following:
PBT; key strategic projects;
people development; cost
management; relative Gross
Profit vs a comparator group;
and EPS. A maximum of 25%
vesting will apply for threshold
performance. A minimum of
80% of the possible award will
normally be linked to financial
metrics.

A post-vesting holding period
applies. Directors who have
not reached the shareholding
requirement of 200% of
base salary will be required
to hold vested shares from
each tranche of the ESIP for
a further two years post-
vesting, except for sales for
the purposes of meeting
tax liabilities on vesting and
exercise.

Dividend equivalents accrue
during the vesting period but
are only released to the extent
awards vest.

Malus and clawback
provisions will apply to the
total award, including cash
and deferred portions, for
misstatement of performance,
substantial failure of
risk control, and gross
misconduct.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ POLICY TABLE (CONTINUED)

Base Salary

Benefits

Pension

Incentives

Shareholding

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

Maximum Salaries will not normally increase

by more than RPI +5% except
increases in excess of this may be
awarded in the case of new Executive
Directors where it is appropriate to
offer a below market salary initially on
appointment and a series of staged
increases, subject to performance
and experience in role, to bring to a
market competitive salary.

Competitive
benefits in line
with market
practice.

New appointments at
the Executive Director
level will receive a cash
allowance in line with the
wider UK workforce.

Pension contribution
levels for incumbent
Executive Directors will
align to the prevailing
rate of the wider UK
workforce.

Maximum awards
for participants –
375% of salary.

The Directors present their Report together with the
consolidated financial statements for the year ended
31 December 2023. Certain information that fulfils the
requirements of the Directors’ Report can be found
elsewhere in this document as noted in the table below.
This information is incorporated into this Directors’ Report
by reference. Pages 90 to 96, 132 to 134 and 179 also
comprise the Directors’ Report for the year ended
31 December 2023.

Kaye Maguire
General Counsel
& Company Secretary

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

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS’ POLICY TABLE

Element

Purpose and Link to Strategy Operation

Fees

Attract, retain and fairly reward
high calibre individuals.

Reviewed by the Board after recommendation by the Chair
of the Board and Chief Executive (and by the Committee in
the case of the Chair) considering individual responsibilities,
such as Committee Chairship, time commitment, general
employee pay increases, and prevailing market levels at
companies of comparable status and market value.

Fee increases are normally reviewed annually and are
generally effective from 1 January.

Non-Executive Directors also receive reimbursement of
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with Company
business and the Company may settle any tax incurred in
relation to these.

Maximum Opportunity

The maximum
aggregate fees for all
Directors allowed by the
Company’s Articles of
Association is £1m.

Current fee levels are
set out in the Directors’
Annual Remuneration
Report.

Likely future developments ..........................................4

Policy on disability .................................................... 133

Employee engagement and
Stakeholder consideration ...........25 to 41 and 69 to 75

Greenhouse gas emissions and
energy consumption ........................................ 47 to 48

Directors’ interests ........................................ 121 to 123

Share capital and acquisition of own shares .............132

I look forward to continued discussions with Shareholders over the coming year and for your support for our Committee activities at
the AGM.

Directors’ disclosure of information to the
auditor in respect of the audit ...................................135

The Directors’ Remuneration Report has been approved and signed on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Karen Geary

Remuneration Committee Chair

6 March 2024

Directors’ Responsibility Statement...........................135

Going concern ............................................................67

Viability Statement ......................................................67

Powers of Directors ..................................................134

Share capital and Shareholder rights

Directors

The composition of the Board at the date of this report
can be found on pages 83 to 87. The Directors who
served during the year were Angela Seymour-Jackson,
Karen Geary, Michelle Healy, Sylvia Metayer, Ben Stevens,
Patrick De Smedt, Babak Fouladi, Nicholas Kirk and
Kelvin Stagg. Babak Fouladi joined the Board on 10 April
2023 and Patrick De Smedt retired from the Board at the
AGM held on 1 June 2023.

All current Directors will seek re-election at the Company’s
2024 Annual General Meeting.

Results and dividends

The results for the year are set out in the Consolidated
Income Statement on page 143.

An analysis of revenue, profit and net assets by region is
shown in Note 2 on pages 153 to 155.

A final dividend for 2022 of 10.76p per ordinary share
was paid on 19 June 2023; an interim dividend for 2023
of 5.13p per ordinary share was paid on 13 October
2023; and a special dividend of 15.87p per share was
also paid on 13 October 2023. The Directors recommend
the payment of a final dividend for the year ended 31
December 2023 of 11.24p per ordinary share on 21 June
2024 to Shareholders on the register of members on
17 May 2024.

If approved by Shareholders at the Annual General
Meeting, this will result in a total ordinary dividend for the
year of 16.37p per ordinary share (2022: 15.67p). This,
together with the payment of the special dividend, gives a
total dividend for the year of 32.24p (2022: 42.38p).

– Details of employee share schemes ..........171 to 172

Share capital

Subsidiary and associated undertakings
and branches ................................................162 to 167

As at 31 December 2023 the Company’s issued capital
comprised a single class of 328,618,774 ordinary shares
of 1p each, totalling £3,286,187.74. At the Annual
General Meeting held on 1 June 2023 the Shareholders
authorised the Company to purchase up to a maximum of
10% of the issued share capital in the market. No shares
were repurchased during the year. Shareholders also
authorised the Directors to allot shares up to an aggregate
nominal value of £1,095,395.91. Further resolutions in
respect of these matters will be put to Shareholders at the
forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The Directors are

131

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not aware of any agreements between holders of securities
that are known to the Company and may result in restrictions
on the transfer of securities or on voting rights.

Stakeholders and employment policy and
employee involvement

Pages 69 to 75 of the Strategic Report and the pages to which
it refers, comprise the Company’s section 172(1) statement
together with the statements as to how the Directors have
engaged with employees and had regard to their interests and
how the Directors have had regard to the Company’s business
relationships with Customers, suppliers and other external
Stakeholders.

The Group believes in inclusivity and diversity in the workplace.
It is committed to giving full, fair and transparent consideration
to applications for employment made by those with disabilities
and ensuring continued employment of those who may
become disabled during their employment. As an organisation
the Group seeks to ensure that training, career development
and promotion is fair in all circumstances.

The Directors have also engaged with employees and taken
their interests into account in respect of decision making.
The Group is committed to employee involvement throughout
the business. Employees are kept well informed of the
performance and strategy of the Group through personal
video briefings, regular online interactive townhall meetings,
Viva Engage (the Group’s internal social collaboration site),
emails and other communications from the Chief Executive
Officer and members of the Executive Board. Further details of
employment policies and employee involvement can be found
in the Strategic Report on pages 25 to 41.

Directors’ indemnities

The Company purchased and maintained Directors’ and
Officers’ Liability Insurance throughout the period under review,
which gives appropriate cover for legal actions brought against
the Directors. The Company granted separate indemnities to
the Directors to cover liabilities arising from third parties. The
extent of the indemnities provided is as permitted under law.

Financial instruments and financial risk
management

Details of the Group’s use of financial instruments, including
financial risk management objectives and policies of the Group,

and exposure of the Group to certain financial risks can be
found in Note 22 on pages 173 to 176.

Significant agreements containing change of
control provisions

The Group has an invoice discounting facility that terminates
on a change of control, with prepaid amounts being repayable.
The Group also has available to it an £80m revolving credit
facility with HSBC and BBVA which includes a provision
entitling lenders to cancel the facility in the event of a change
of control such that loan amounts would be repayable. This
facility is nil drawn at the balance sheet date. Directors’ and
employees’ contracts do not normally provide for payment for
loss of office or employment as a result of a change of control.
However, the Company operates several share and share
option schemes for the benefit of its Executive Directors and
employees, the rules of which contain provisions which may
cause options and share awards granted to vest on a change
of control.

Political contributions

No political donations, expenditure or contributions were made
during the year. The Company has a policy of not making
political donations to political organisations or independent
election candidates anywhere in the world as defined by the
Political Parties, Election and Referendums Act 2000.

Post balance sheet events

There have been no significant post balance sheet events
since 31 December 2023.

Listing Rule 9.8.4

There is no information required to be disclosed under Listing
Rule 9.8.4.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held on
3 June 2024.The notice of meeting will be made available
on the Company’s website www.page.com and posted
separately to Shareholders that have requested this.

Substantial Shareholders

At 31 December 2023, the Company had been notified, in accordance with the FCA Disclosure Guidance and Transparency
Rules, of the undermentioned noted interests in its ordinary share capital. The percentage of voting rights shown below are as at
the date of notification.

Shareholder

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Marathon Asset Management Limited

Heronbridge Investment Management LLP

Franklin Templeton Institutional LLC

The Capital Group Companies, Inc
Apex Group Fiduciary Services Ltd as Trustee of the Michael Page Employees’ Benefit
Trust

No. of voting
rights
32,145,738

% of voting
rights
9.78%

16,622,412

16,303,888

16,104,930

14,647,804

14,457,299

5.06%

4.96%

4.93%

4.46%

4.40%

The Company received no notifications between 1 January 2024 and the date of this report. Since the date of disclosure, the
above shareholdings may have changed.

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION SUMMARY

The following summarises certain provisions of the
Company’s Articles of Association (as adopted on 3 June
2021) and applicable English Law (including the Companies
Act 2006 (the “Act”), as amended) as required by applicable
law and regulation.

Share capital and rights attaching to shares
The Company has one class of share in issue being
328,618,774 ordinary shares with a nominal value of one
pence each. No shares are held in treasury and there are no
persons holding shares that carry special rights with regard
to the control of the Company.

The Articles of Association provide that subject to any rights
or restrictions attached to any shares, on a show of hands
every member and every duly appointed proxy present shall
have one vote. Every corporate representative present who
has been duly authorised by a corporation has the same
voting rights as the corporation would be entitled to. On a
poll every member present in person or by a duly appointed
proxy or corporate representative shall have one vote for
every share of which they are a holder or in respect of which
their proxy or corporate representative has been made. No
member shall be entitled to vote in respect of any share
held by them if any call or other sum payable by them to the
Company remains unpaid.

Any form of proxy sent by the Shareholders to the Company
in relation to any general meeting must be delivered to the
Company (via its registrars), whether in written or electronic
form, not less than 48 hours before the time appointed for
holding the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the
person named in the appointment proposes to vote.

Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares may by ordinary
resolution declare dividends, but no such dividend shall
exceed the amount recommended by the Directors. If, in
the opinion of the Directors, the profits of the Company
available for distribution justify such payments, the Directors
may, from time to time, pay interim dividends on the shares
of such amounts and on such dates and in respect of
such periods as they think fit. The profits of the Company
available for distribution and resolved to be distributed shall
be apportioned and paid proportionately to the amounts paid
up on the shares during any portion of the period in respect
of which the dividend is paid. The Shareholders may, at a
general meeting of the Company declaring a dividend upon
the recommendation of the Directors, direct that it shall be
satisfied wholly or partly by the distribution of specific assets.

If the Company is wound up, the liquidator can, with the
sanction of a special resolution passed by the Shareholders
and any other sanction required by law, divide among the
Shareholders all or any part of the assets of the Company
and he/she can value assets and determine how the division
shall be carried out as between the Shareholders or different
classes of Shareholders. The liquidator can also, with the
same sanction, transfer the whole or any part of the assets to
trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the Shareholders.
No Shareholder will be compelled to accept assets which are
subject to a liability.

Limitations on the transfer of shares
Any member may transfer all or any of his shares in
certificated form by instrument of transfer in the usual
common form or in any other form which the Directors may
approve.

Where any class of shares is for the time being a participating

security, title to shares of that class which are recorded
as being held in uncertificated form, may be transferred
(to not more than four transferees) by the relevant system
concerned.

The Directors may in their absolute discretion refuse to
register any transfer of shares (being shares which are not
fully paid or on which the Company has a lien), provided
that if the share is listed on the Official List of the Financial
Conduct Authority such refusal does not prevent dealings in
the shares from taking place on an open and proper basis.

The Directors may also refuse to register a transfer of shares
(whether fully paid or not) unless the transfer instrument:

(a) is lodged at the registered office, or such other place as
the Directors may appoint, accompanied by the relevant
share certificate(s);

(b) is in respect of only one class of share; and

The Directors of the Company may refuse to register the
transfer of a share in uncertificated form to a person who
is to hold it thereafter in certificated form in any case where
the Company is entitled to refuse (or is excepted from the
requirements) under the Uncertificated Securities Regulations
2001 to register the transfer.

English law treats those persons who hold the shares and
are neither UK residents nor nationals in the same way as
UK residents or nationals. They are free to own, vote on and
transfer any shares they hold.

Powers of the Directors
Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company,
subject to the provisions of the Articles of Association,
statutory restrictions and any authorisation or directions given
by resolution, including powers relating to the issue and/or
buying back of shares by the Company.

Director’s appointment, retirement and removal
Subject to the provisions of the Articles of Association, a
Director may be appointed by ordinary resolution.

In addition, the Directors may appoint a person who is willing
to act as a Director, and is permitted by law to do so, to be a
Director, either to fill a vacancy or as an additional Director. A
Director so appointed shall retire at the next Annual General
Meeting, notice of which is first given after their appointment
and shall then be eligible for reappointment.

At each Annual General Meeting all Directors at the time the
notice of that Annual General Meeting is given shall retire
from office and be subject to re-election by the Shareholders.

In addition to any power of removal under the Act, the
Company may, by special resolution, remove a Director
before the expiration of their period of office.

A Director shall cease to hold office in certain circumstances
specified in the Company’s Articles of Association.

Amendments to the Articles of Association
Subject to the Act, the Articles of Association of the
Company can be altered by special resolution of the
members.

By order of the Board

Kaye Maguire
General Counsel & Company Secretary
6 March 2024

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023DIRECTORS’ STATEMENTS
OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report
and the Group financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and regulations. Detailed below are statements
made by the Directors in relation to their responsibilities,
disclosure of information to the Company’s auditor and going
concern.

1. Financial Statements and accounting records

Company law of England and Wales requires the Directors
to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under
that law the Directors have elected to prepare the Group and
Parent Company financial statements in accordance with
UK-adopted international accounting standards (“IFRSs”).
Under company law the Directors must not approve the Group
financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give
a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and
the Company and of the profit or loss of the Group and the
Company for that period.

In preparing these financial statements the Directors are
required to:

• select suitable accounting policies in accordance with IAS 8
Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and
Errors and then apply them consistently;

• make judgements and accounting estimates that are

reasonable and prudent;

• present information, including accounting policies, in a

manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and
understandable information;

• provide additional disclosures when compliance with the

specific requirements in IFRS is insufficient to enable users
to understand the impact of particular transactions, other
events and conditions on the Group’s financial position and
financial performance;

• in respect of the Group financial statements, state whether
UK-adopted international accounting standards have been
followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and
explained in the financial statements;

• in respect of the Parent Company financial statements, state
whether UK-adopted international 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 appropriate to presume that the Company and/or
the Group will not continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s

and Group’s transactions and disclose with reasonable
accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and
the Group and enable them to ensure that the Company and
the Group financial statements comply with the Companies Act
2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets
of the Group and Parent Company and Group and hence for
taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of
fraud and other irregularities.

Under applicable law and regulations, the Directors are also
responsible for preparing a Strategic Report, Directors’ Report,
Directors’ Remuneration Report and Corporate Governance
Report that comply with that law and those regulations.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity
of the corporate and financial information included on the
Company’s website.

2. Directors’ Responsibility Statement

The Directors confirm, to the best of their knowledge:

• that the consolidated financial statements, prepared in
accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities,
financial position and profit of the Parent Company and
undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole;
and

• that the Annual Report, including the Strategic Report,

includes a fair review of the development and performance
of the business and the position of the Company and
undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a
whole, together with a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties that they face.

3. Disclosure of information to the Auditor

Having made the requisite enquiries, so far as the Directors
are aware as at the date of this Statement, there is no
relevant audit information (as defined by section 418(3) of
the Companies Act 2006) of which the Company’s auditor is
unaware and the Directors have taken all the steps they ought
to have taken as a Director to make themselves aware of any
relevant audit information and to establish that the Company’s
auditor is aware of that information.

Kelvin Stagg

Chief Financial Officer

6 March 2024

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF PAGEGROUP PLC

Opinion

In our opinion:

• PageGroup plc’s Group financial statements and Parent Company financial statements (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 31 December 2023 and of the
Group’s profit for the year then ended;

•

the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards;

the Parent Company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international
accounting standards as applied in accordance with section 408 of the Companies Act 2006; and

•

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

We have audited the financial statements of PageGroup plc (the ‘Parent Company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) for the year
ended 31 December 2023 which comprise:

Group

Parent Company

Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2023

Balance sheet as at 31 December 2023

Consolidated income statement for the year then ended

Statement of changes in equity for the year then ended

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the year then ended

Statement of cash flows for the year then ended

Consolidated statement of changes in equity for the year then ended

Related notes 1 to 25 to the financial statements, including a
summary of significant accounting policies

Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended

Related notes 1 to 25 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 UK-adopted
international accounting standards and as regards the Parent
Company financial statements, as applied in accordance
with section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International
Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable
law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further
described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statements section of our report. We believe that the
audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate
to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We are independent of the Group and Parent 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.

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 the audit.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that
the Directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting
in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Our evaluation of the Directors’ assessment of the Group
and Parent Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going
concern basis of accounting included

• Confirming our understanding of the Director’s

going concern assessment process, performing our
own related risk assessment, and engaging with

management early to ensure all key factors were
considered in their assessment.

• Assessing the appropriateness of the duration of

the going concern assessment period to 31 March
2025 and considering the existence of any significant
events or conditions beyond this period based on our
knowledge arising from other areas of the audit.

• Reviewing borrowing facilities to confirm both their

availability to the Group, alongside the consideration of
the key covenants on such facilities.

• Testing the assessment for clerical accuracy.

• Assessing whether assumptions made were reasonable,
including testing key assumptions in the forecasts
by reference to historical trends, independent sector
forecasts and other information where available. Key
assumptions include those over revenue, gross profit
and cash.

• Considering the appropriateness of management’s

base case and downside scenarios, to understand how
severe conditions would have to be to breach liquidity
and whether the reduction in profitability required
has no more than a remote possibility of occurring.
Management considered a downside scenario to be a
reduction in gross profit of 25% against FY23 actuals.

• Performing independent sensitivity analysis on
management’s assumptions including applying
incremental adverse cashflow sensitivities such as a
reverse stress test which would breach liquidity. These
sensitivities included the impact of certain severe but
plausible scenarios, evaluated as part of management’s
work on the Group’s long term viability, materialising
within the going concern period; and

• Reviewing the appropriateness of the Group’s going

concern disclosures included in the Annual Report.

135

136

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified
any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that,
individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the
Group and Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going
concern for a period to 31 March 2025.

In relation to the Group and Parent Company’s reporting on
how they have applied the UK Corporate Governance Code,
we have nothing material to add or draw attention to in relation

to the Directors’ statement in the financial statements about
whether the Directors considered it appropriate to adopt the
going concern basis of accounting.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with
respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections
of this report. However, because not all future events or
conditions can be predicted, this statement is not a guarantee
as to the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.

OVERVIEW OF OUR AUDIT APPROACH

Audit scope

• We performed an audit of the complete financial information of 8 components and audit procedures on specific

balances for a further 9 components.

• The components where we performed full or specific audit procedures accounted for 93% of profit before tax,

90% of revenue and 84% of total assets.

Key audit matters

• Revenue recognition for permanent and temporary placement

Materiality

• Overall Group materiality of £6.4m which represents 5% of profit before tax adjusted for non-recurring items

An overview of the scope of the Parent
Company and Group audits

Tailoring the scope

Our assessment of audit risk, our evaluation of materiality and
our allocation of performance materiality determine our audit
scope for each company within the Group. Taken together,
this enables us to form an opinion on the consolidated
financial statements. We take into account size, risk profile,
the organisation of the Group and effectiveness of Group-wide
controls, changes in the business environment, the potential
impact of climate change and other factors such as recent
internal audit results when assessing the level of work to be
performed at each company.

In assessing the risk of material misstatement to the Group
financial statements, and to ensure we had adequate

quantitative coverage of significant accounts in the financial
statements, of the 46 reporting components of the Group,
we selected 17 components covering entities within Australia,
Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy,
Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland,
United Kingdom and United States, which represent the
principal business units within the Group.

Of the 17 components selected, we performed an audit of the
complete financial information of 8 components (“full scope
components”) which were selected based on their size or risk
characteristics. For the remaining 9 components (“specific
scope components”), we performed audit procedures on
specific accounts within that component that we considered
had the potential for the greatest impact on the significant
accounts in the financial statements either because of the size of
these accounts or their risk profile.

Revenue

Full scope components 1

Specific scope components1

Total

Profit before tax

Full scope components

Specific scope components

Total

Total assets

Full scope components2

Specific scope components

Total

2023

60%

30%

90%

64%

29%

93%

67%

17%

84%

2022

57%

30%

87%

66%

25%

91%

65%

15%

80%

1. The Group audit risk in relation to revenue recognition was subject to audit procedures at each of the full and specific scope locations with significant revenue streams

(being 7 full scope components and 9 specific scope components).

2. We tested the right-of-use asset in respect of IFRS 16 and included this within the total assets coverage in the current year.

Of the remaining 29 components that together represent
7% of the Group’s profit before tax none are individually
greater than 2% of the Group’s profit before tax. For these
components, we performed other procedures, including
analytical review procedures on a country-by-country basis,
enquiries of regional and Group management, obtaining an

understanding of the Group wide entity level controls over
all components, assessing the results of the Internal Audit
reviews, and testing of consolidation journals to identify any
potential risks of material misstatement to the Group financial
statements.

The charts below illustrate the coverage obtained from the work performed by our audit teams.

10%

60%

Revenue

30%

29%

Profit
before
tax

64%

17%

16%

67%

Total
assets

Full scope

Specific scope

Other procedures

Changes from the prior year

Spain and Netherlands, which were specific scope in the
prior year, were assessed as full scope in the current year
due to their increased contribution to the Group relative to
others, replacing the US which was revised to specific scope
for the same reason.

Consistent with the prior year we have introduced a level of
unpredictability into our audit scope and reflected the growth
in certain emerging markets. As such, Switzerland was
reassessed as specific scope from review scope in the prior
year.

Involvement with component teams

In establishing our overall approach to the Group audit, we
determined the type of work that needed to be undertaken
at each of the components by us, as the primary audit
engagement team, or by component auditors from other
EY global network firms operating under our instruction.
Of the 8 full scope components and 9 specific scope
components, audit procedures were performed on 1 and
6 of these directly by the primary audit team. For the 7 full
scope components and 3 specific scope components,
where the work was performed by component auditors, we
determined the appropriate level of involvement to enable us
to determine that sufficient audit evidence had been obtained
as a basis for our opinion on the Group as a whole.

The Group audit team continued to follow a programme
of planned visits that has been designed to ensure that
the Senior Statutory Auditor visits full and specific scope
components on a rotational basis. During the current year’s
audit cycle, visits were undertaken by the primary audit team
to the component teams for Hong Kong, China, Belgium,
France, Netherlands, and Spain. These visits involved
discussing the audit approach with the component team
and any issues arising from their work, meeting with local
management (in certain cases through video conferences),
and reviewing relevant audit working papers on risk areas.
For the UK and US components, there were regular face to
face interactions between the primary team and component
team due to the Senior Statutory Auditor being located in
the same location as the UK and US component team.
There were regular discussions on the audit approach and
any issues arising from the work. Communication has been
maintained throughout the audit with the Senior Statutory
Auditor covering the same areas described above for all non-
UK component teams.

The primary team interacted regularly with the component
teams where appropriate during various stages of the audit,
reviewed relevant working papers and were responsible

for the scope and direction of the audit process. At critical
periods of the audit, we increased the use of online
collaboration tools to facilitate team meetings, information
sharing and the evaluation, review and oversight of
component teams. We requested more detailed deliverables
from component teams, and we utilised fully the interactive
capability of EY Canvas, our global audit workflow tool, to
review remotely the relevant underlying work performed.
This, together with the additional procedures performed at
Group level, gave us appropriate evidence for our opinion on
the Group financial statements.

Climate change

Stakeholders are increasingly interested in how climate
change will impact PageGroup plc.

Given the nature of the business in a non-carbon intensive
industry, where remote working has become typical,
management do not consider there to be a material impact.
The Group has determined that the most significant future
impacts from climate change on its operations will be from
severe weather events impacting office-based locations,
however, with a predominantly leased property footprint
the Group considers there to be little risk of significant
business disruption or significant financial impacts from
climate change. Furthermore, the transition risks are not
considered by management to be material. Whilst the risks
from climate change are not considered to be material, the
most significant future impacts are explained on pages 52 to
57 in the required Task Force for Climate Related Financial
Disclosures and on pages 60 to 66 in the principal risks
and uncertainties. They have also explained their climate
commitments on pages 47 to 49. All of these disclosures
form part of the “Other information,” rather than the audited
financial statements. Our procedures on these unaudited
disclosures therefore consisted solely of considering whether
they are materially inconsistent with the financial statements
or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or
otherwise appear to be materially misstated, in line with our
responsibilities on “Other information”.

In planning and performing our audit we assessed the
potential impacts of climate change on the Group’s business
and any consequential material impact on its financial
statements.

The Group has explained in its Significant Accounting
Policies disclosures how they have reflected the impact
of climate change in their financial statements. Significant
judgements and estimates relating to climate change are
included in Note 1.

Our audit effort in considering the impact of climate change
on the financial statements was focused on evaluating

137

138

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023management’s assessment of the impact of climate risk,
physical and transition, their climate commitments, and
whether these have been appropriately reflected in the
financial statements. As part of this evaluation, we performed
our own risk assessment to determine the risks of material
misstatement in the financial statements from climate change
which needed to be considered in our audit.

We also challenged the Directors’ considerations of climate
change risks in their assessment of going concern and viability

and associated disclosures. Where considerations of climate
change were relevant to our assessment of going concern,
these are described above.

Based on our work we have not identified the impact of climate
change on the financial statements to be a key audit matter or
to impact a key audit matter.

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 our opinion thereon, and we do
not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Key
observations
communicated
to the Audit
Committee

We concluded
that revenue
recognised
for permanent
and temporary
placements
is correctly
recorded in
accordance
with the Group’s
revenue
recognition
criteria and
UK-adopted
international
accounting
standards.

Risk

Our response to the risk

Revenue recognition

Procedures designed to address risk of cut-off:

Revenue recognition for permanent
and temporary placements - Refer
to the Audit Committee Report
(page 102); Accounting policies
(page 148); and Note 2 of the
Consolidated Financial Statements
(page 153).

The Group has reported
permanent placement revenue of
£738.6m (2022: £832.0m) and
temporary placement revenue of
£1,271.7m (2022: £1,158.3m).

For permanent placements there
is a risk around the timing of
revenue recognition as revenue
is recognised when customer
and candidate agreement is
achieved, which may be several
months in advance of the start of
employment. Consequently, there
is a risk that:

• recognition occurs before

revenue recognition criteria have
been met;

• period end cut-off is performed

incorrectly.

Temporary placement revenue is
recognised when the customer
has approved the timesheet.
Consequently, there is a risk that:

• revenue is recognised before an
approved timesheet has been
submitted; or

• that period end cut-off is
performed incorrectly.

We performed the following full and specific scope audit procedures
over this risk area at 16 components, which covered 90% of the
revenue balance:

• for permanent and temporary revenue streams, we identified and
assessed the process and design of key controls to validate that
revenue recognition was appropriate and applied in accordance with
the Group’s accounting policies.

• for all 16 components, we used data analytics covering all revenue
transactions in the year to test the correlation between revenue,
accounts receivable and cash. This included analysing revenue and
gross profit trends.

• performed period-end cut off testing for a sample of revenue

transactions to assess whether all revenue recognition criteria for
the permanent and temporary placements had been met and that
revenue had been recognised in the correct period.

• performed testing of cash collections made post year-end for a

sample of balances to validate the existence of accrued revenue and
trade receivable balances. For those transactions not collected in
cash we verified documents to check all revenue recognition criteria
had been met.

Other audit procedures performed in respect of revenue
recognition:

• to address the risk of management override, we performed journal

entry testing over revenue, focusing on management-initiated entries
and top-side adjustments specifically around year-end.

• compared the level of permanent placement revenue reversals over
the last 12 months, which occur as a result of non-completion of
contractual placements, to the provision recorded against accrued
income to determine if the assumptions used to calculate the
provision were appropriate. We also re-performed the provision
calculation to confirm its accuracy.

For all other components which represent 10% of the revenue
balance:

We performed audit procedures centrally on a country-by-country
basis to address the risk of an undetected material error occurring in
all other components representing 10% of the Group’s revenue. These
comprised analytical review of revenue and gross profit, and ratio
analysis of key performance indicators including revenue and gross
profit per fee earner.

Our application of materiality

We apply the concept of materiality in planning and
performing the audit, in evaluating the effect of identified
misstatements on the audit and in forming our audit opinion.

Materiality

The magnitude of an omission or misstatement that,
individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be
expected to influence the economic decisions of the users
of the financial statements. Materiality provides a basis for
determining the nature and extent of our audit procedures.

We determined materiality for the Group to be £6.4 million
(2022: £9.7 million), which is 5% (2022: 5%) of profit before

tax adjusted for non-recurring items, of £128.0m (2022:
profit before tax of £194.3m). We believe that profit before
tax adjusted for non-recurring items provides us with a
consistent year-on-year basis for determining materiality
and is the most relevant performance measure to the
Stakeholders of the entity. Detailed audit procedures are
performed on material non-recurring items.

We determined materiality for the Parent Company to be
£6.1 million (2022: £8.1 million), which is 0.5% (2022:
0.5%) of total net assets. We believe that total assets is an
appropriate basis to determine materiality given the nature of
the Parent Company as the holding company of the Group.
The materiality was capped at the Group allocated materiality
of £1.5m (2022: £1.4m).

Starting basis

• Profit before tax £117.4m (2022 profit before tax £194.3m)

Adjustments

• Adjusted for non-recurring items:

– Restructuring costs of £10.6m (2022: nil)

Materiality

• Profit before tax adjusted for non-recurring items £128.0m (basis

for materiality) (2022: Profit before tax £194.3m)

• Materiality of £6.4m (2022: £9.7m) (5% of materiality basis)

During the course of our audit, we reassessed initial
materiality and final materiality used actual results in the
determination of our final materiality.

(2022: £0.48m), which is set at 5% of planning materiality,
as well as differences below that threshold that, in our view,
warranted reporting on qualitative grounds.

Performance materiality

The application of materiality at the individual account
or balance level. It is set at an amount to reduce to an
appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate
of uncorrected and undetected misstatements exceeds
materiality.

On the basis of our risk assessments, together with our
assessment of the Group’s overall control environment,
our judgement was that performance materiality was 75%
(2022: 75%) of our planning materiality, namely £4.8m
(2022: £7.2m). We have set performance materiality at this
percentage due to lower likelihood of misstatements based
on prior periods’ experience.

Audit work at component locations for the purpose of
obtaining audit coverage over significant financial statement
accounts is undertaken based on a percentage of total
performance materiality. The performance materiality set for
each component is based on the relative scale and risk of
the component to the Group as a whole and our assessment
of the risk of misstatement at that component. In the current
year, the range of performance materiality allocated to
components was £0.9m to £2.1m (2022: £1.4m to £3.1m).

Reporting threshold

An amount below which identified misstatements are
considered as being clearly trivial.

We evaluate any uncorrected misstatements against both the
quantitative measures of materiality discussed above and in
light of other relevant qualitative considerations in forming our
opinion.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in
the annual report set out on pages 1 to 135, including within
the Strategic Review and Corporate Governance set out on
pages 13 to 135, other than the financial statements and our
auditor’s report thereon. The Directors are responsible for
the other information contained within the annual report.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover
the other information and, except to the extent otherwise
explicitly stated in this report, we do not express any form of
assurance conclusion thereon.

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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material
misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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 agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to
them all uncorrected audit differences in excess of £0.32m

We have nothing to report in this regard.

139

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Other matters we are required to address

•

Following the recommendation from the audit
committee, we were appointed by the Company in
June 2021 to audit the financial statements for the year
ended 31 December 2021 and subsequent financial
periods.

• The period of total uninterrupted engagement including
previous renewals and reappointments is 13 years,
covering the years ended 31 December 2011 to 31
December 2023.

• The 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.

Jose Yglesia (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Ernst & Young LLP, Statutory Auditor

London

6 March 2024

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

•

the Strategic report and the Directors’ Report have been
prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by
exception

In the 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 any material
misstatements in the Strategic Report or the Directors’ Report.

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

• we have not received all the information and explanations

we require for our audit.

Corporate Governance Statement

We have reviewed the Directors’ statement in relation to going
concern, longer-term viability and that part of the Corporate
Governance Statement relating to the Group and Parent
Company’s compliance with the provisions of the UK Corporate
Governance Code specified for our review by the Listing Rules.

Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have
concluded that each of the following elements of the Corporate
Governance Statement is materially consistent with the financial
statements or our knowledge obtained during the audit:

• Directors’ statement with regards to the appropriateness of
adopting the going concern basis of accounting and any
material uncertainties identified set out on page 67;

• Board’s confirmation that it has carried out a robust

assessment of the emerging and principal risks set out on
page 95;

•

the section of the annual report that describes the review
of effectiveness of risk management and internal control
systems set out on page 95; and;

the section describing the work of the Audit Committee set
out on pages 101 and 103.

Responsibilities of Directors

As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities
statement set out on page 135, 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 and Parent Company’s
ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable,
matters related to going concern and using the going concern
basis of accounting unless 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.

Explanation as to what extent the audit was
considered capable of detecting irregularities,
including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance
with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our
responsibilities, outlined above, to detect irregularities, including
fraud. 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 or intentional misrepresentations, or through
collusion. The extent to which our procedures are capable of
detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.

• Directors’ explanation as to its assessment of the Group’s
prospects, the period this assessment covers and why the
period is appropriate set out on page 67;

However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and
detection of fraud rests with both those charged with
governance of the Company and management.

• Director’s statement on whether it has a reasonable

expectation that the Group will be able to continue in
operation and meets its liabilities set out on pages 67 to 68;

• Directors’ statement on fair, balanced and understandable

set out on page 96;

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory
frameworks that are applicable to the Group and determined
that the most significant are those that relate to the reporting
framework (UK-adopted international accounting standards, the
Companies Act 2006 and UK Corporate Governance Code) and

the relevant tax compliance regulations in the jurisdictions
in which the Group operates and the EU General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). There are no significant,
industry specific laws or regulations that we considered in
determining our approach.

• We understood how the Group is complying with those
frameworks by making enquiries of management,
Internal Audit, those responsible for legal and
compliance procedures and the Company Secretary.
We corroborated our enquiries through our review
of board minutes and papers provided to the Audit
Committee, correspondence received from regulatory
bodies and attendance at meetings of the Audit
Committee, as well as consideration of the results of our
audit procedures across the Group. Our assessment
included: incorporating data analytics across our
audit approach, journal entry testing with a focus on
manual consolidation journals and journals meeting
our defined risk criteria based on our understanding
of the business; enquiries of the legal counsel, Group
management, Internal Audit and all full and specific
scope management; review of Board and Audit
Committee reporting; and focused testing as referred to
in the key audit matters section above.

• We assessed the susceptibility of the Group’s financial
statements to material misstatement, including how
fraud might occur by meeting with management from
various parts of the business including management
and finance teams of the local markets where
appropriate, Head Office, the Audit Committee, the
Internal Audit function, the Group legal function and
individuals in the fraud and compliance department to
understand where it considered there was susceptibility
to fraud; and assessing whistleblowing incidences
for those with a potential financial reporting impact.
We also considered performance targets and their
propensity to influence management to manage
earnings.

• We considered the programmes and controls that the

Group has established to address risks identified, or
that otherwise prevent, deter and detect fraud; and
how senior management monitors those programmes
and controls. Where risk was considered as higher, we
performed audit procedures to address each identified
fraud risk. Based on this understanding we designed
our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with
such laws and regulations. Our procedures included
enquires of Group management, legal counsel and
Internal Audit; journal entry testing, with a focus on
management initiated or top-side adjustments identified
based on characteristics of journal posting date and
times, account pairings, specific key words and phrases
derived from forensic investigations experience; and
consideration of any specific bribery, corruption or other
regulatory risk.

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

141

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

For the year ended 31 December 2023

CONSOLIDATED AND PARENT COMPANY BALANCE SHEETS

As at 31 December 2023

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Administrative expenses

Operating profit

Financial income

Financial expenses

Profit before tax

Income tax expense

Profit for the year

Attributable to:

Owners of the parent

Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share (pence)

Diluted earnings per share (pence)

The above results relate to continuing operations.

Note

2023
£’000

2,010,303

(1,003,171)

1,007,132

(888,317)

118,815

2,236

(3,615)

117,436

(40,368)

77,068

2022
£’000

1,990,287

(913,993)

1,076,294

(880,215)

196,079

1,104

(2,817)

194,366

(55,354)

139,012

77,068

139,012

24.4

24.3

43.7

43.5

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive (loss)/income for the year

Items that may subsequently be reclassified to profit and loss:

Currency translation differences

Actuarial loss on retirement benefits

Deferred tax from actuarial loss on retirement benefits

Total comprehensive income for the year

Attributed to:

Owners of the parent

Note

2023
£’000

77,068

(12,353)

(1,735)

435

63,415

2022
£’000

139,012

15,441

–

154,453

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

Right-of-use assets

Intangible assets

- Goodwill and other intangibles

- Computer software (including assets

held under construction)

Investments

Deferred tax assets

Other receivables

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Current tax receivable

Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Provisions

Lease liabilities

Current tax payable

Net current assets/(liabilities)

Non-current liabilities

Other payables

Lease liabilities

Deferred tax liabilities

Provisions

Total liabilities

Net assets

Capital and reserves

Called-up share capital

Share premium

Capital redemption reserve

Group

Company

Note

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

47,452

36,123

98,386

100,996

1,859

1,955

30,239

38,045

–

19,856

13,017

–

553,276

547,837

18,641

–

13,224

1,157,419

1,081,498

210,809

208,984

1,710,695

1,629,335

380,243

437,247

23,384

17,233

90,138

131,480

493,765

585,960

–

704,574

794,944

1,710,695

1,629,335

(259,856)

(289,108)

(1,393,028)

(1,315,006)

(4,298)

(2,772)

(31,746)

(31,268)

(5,958)

(18,050)

–

(301,858)

(341,198)

(1,393,028)

(1,315,006)

191,907

244,762

(1,393,028)

(1,315,006)

(10,156)

(14,951)

(79,187)

(78,564)

(2,342)

(4,543)

(1,345)

(6,683)

(96,228)

(101,543)

–

(398,086)

(442,741)

(1,393,028)

(1,315,006)

306,488

352,203

317,667

314,329

3,286

99,564

932

(66,813)

(56,626)

19,985

32,338

932

–

249,534

272,709

213,885

306,488

352,203

317,667

3,286

99,564

932

–

210,547

314,329

63,415

154,453

Reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust

Currency translation reserve

Retained earnings

Total equity

143

144

The financial statements of PageGroup plc (Company Number 3310225) set out on pages 143 to 178 were approved by the Board of
Directors and authorised for issue on 6 March 2024. The Company’s profit for the financial year amounted to £98.0m (2022: £150.8m).

Signed on behalf of the Board of Directors

Nicholas Kirk,
Chief Executive Officer

Kelvin Stagg,
Chief Financial Officer

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY – PARENT COMPANY

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Called-
up share
capital
£’000

Share
premium
£’000

Capital
redemption
reserve
£’000

Note

Reserve
for shares
held in the
employee
benefit trust
£’000

Currency
translation
reserve
£’000

Retained
earnings
£’000

Total
equity
£’000

3,286

99,564

932

(47,338)

16,897

266,764

340,105

Called-up
share capital
£’000

Share
premium
£’000

Note

Capital
redemption
reserve
£’000

Balance at 1 January 2022

3,286

99,564

932

Profit for the year

Total comprehensive income for
the year

Credit in respect of share schemes

Dividends

Balance at 31 December 2022 and
1 January 2023

Profit for the year

Total comprehensive income for
the year

Credit in respect of share schemes

Dividends

Retained
earnings
£’000

187,018

150,787

Total equity
£’000

290,800

150,787

5,989

(133,247)

(127,258)

5,989

(133,247)

(127,258)

–

3,286

99,564

932

210,547

314,329

–

97,963

5,439

97,963

5,439

(100,064)

(94,625)

(9,288)

– (133,067)

(142,355)

Balance at 31 December 2023

3,286

99,564

932

213,885

317,667

Balance at 1 January 2022

Currency translation differences

Net income recognised
directly in OCI

Profit for the year

Total comprehensive income for the year

Purchase of shares held in the employee
benefit trust

Exercise of share plans

Transfer from reserve for shares held in
the employee benefit trust

Credit in respect of share schemes

Debit in respect of tax on share schemes

Dividends

Balance at 31 December 2022 and
1 January 2023

Currency translation differences

Actuarial expense on retirement benefits
net of tax

Net loss recognised
directly in OCI

Profit for the year

Total comprehensive (expense)/income
for the year

Purchase of shares held in the employee
benefit trust

Exercise of share plans

Transfer from reserve for shares held in
the employee benefit trust

Credit in respect of share schemes

Credit in respect of tax on share schemes

Dividends

–

15,441

–

15,441

–

139,012

15,441

139,012

154,453

(14,838)

–

5,550

–

(14,838)

447

(5,550)

–

5,989

(706)

– (133,247)

(133,247)

3,286

99,564

932

(56,626)

32,338

272,709

352,203

–

(12,353)

–

(12,353)

–

(1,300)

(12,353)

(1,300)

(13,653)

–

77,068

(12,353)

75,768

63,415

(17,529)

–

7,342

–

(17,529)

1,946

(7,342)

5,501

1,016

5,501

1,016

– (100,064)

(100,064)

(10,187)

–

(98,943)

(109,130)

Balance at 31 December 2023

3,286

99,564

932

(66,813)

19,985

249,534

306,488

145

146

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023CONSOLIDATED AND PARENT COMPANY CASH FLOW STATEMENTS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Group

Company

For the year ended 31 December 2023

Profit before tax

Note

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

117,436

194,366

97,963

150,787

Depreciation and amortisation charges

10/11/12

66,781

60,592

Impairment of receivables

Loss on sale of property, plant and
equipment, and computer software

Share scheme charges

Net finance cost

Operating cash flow before changes in working
capital

Decrease/(Increase) in receivables

(Decrease)/Increase in payables

Cash generated from operations

Income tax paid

Net cash from operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

Purchases of intangibles

Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and
equipment, and computer software

Interest received

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Funds from Treasury Company

Dividends paid

Interest paid

Lease liability principal repayment

Issue of own shares for the exercise of options

Purchase of shares held in the employee benefit trust

Net cash used in financing activities

–

819

5,501

1,379

4,398

5,989

1,713

–

12,544

–

191,916

267,058

97,963

163,331

46,057

(61,509)

(121,967)

(244,369)

(26,002)

211,971

(58,963)

153,008

40,821

246,370

(61,598)

184,772

(27,348)

(21,982)

(4,033)

(9,693)

587

2,236

2,080

1,104

(28,558)

(28,491)

24,004

81,038

–

100,064

133,247

(100,064)

(133,247)

(100,064)

(133,247)

(1,070)

(1,213)

(40,045)

(35,896)

1,946

447

(17,529)

(14,838)

(156,762)

(184,747)

–

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

(32,312)

(28,466)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning
of the year

Exchange (loss)gain on cash and cash equivalents

131,480

153,983

(9,030)

5,963

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

90,138

131,480

1. MATERIAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Statement of compliance

PageGroup plc is a Company incorporated in the United
Kingdom under the Companies Act.

Under that law the Directors have elected to prepare
the Group and Parent Company financial statements in
accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards (“IFRSs”).

Basis of preparation

The financial statements of PageGroup plc consolidate the
results of the Company and all its subsidiary undertakings.
As permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006,
the profit and loss account of the Company has not
been included as part of these financial statements. The
Company’s profit for the financial year amounted to £98.0m
(2022: £150.8m).

The Group’s consolidated financial statements have been
prepared on an accruals basis and under the historical cost
convention, except for the revaluation of derivatives. The
Group’s financials are presented in Sterling and all values
are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds (£’000) except
when otherwise indicated.

Basis of consolidation

(i) Subsidiaries

The consolidated financial statements comprise the
financial statements of the Group and its subsidiaries
as at 31 December 2023. Control is achieved when the
Group is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its
involvement with the investee and has the ability to affect
those returns through its power over the investee.

(ii) Transactions eliminated on consolidation

Intragroup balances and any unrealised gains and losses or
income and expenses arising from intragroup transactions,
are eliminated in preparing the consolidated financial
statements. Unrealised losses are eliminated in the same
way as unrealised gains, but only to the extent that there is
no evidence of impairment.

(iii) Employee Benefit Trust

Shares in PageGroup plc held by the trust are shown as a
reduction in Shareholders’ funds.

(iv) Changes in accounting policy – new accounting
standards, interpretations and amendments

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those
of the previous financial years except for the following
amendments to IFRS effective as of 1 January 2023:

• Amendments to IAS 12: Deferred Tax related to Assets

and Liabilities arising from a single transaction

• Amendments to IAS 1 and IFRS Practices Statement 2 -

Disclosure of accounting policies

The adoption of these accounting standards or
interpretations did not have any impact on the accounting
policies, financial position or performance of the Group.

•

IAS 12 International Tax Reform: Pillar Two Model Rules

On 19 July 2023, the UK Endorsement Board adopted the
Amendments to IAS 12 International Tax Reform: Pillar Two
Model Rules, issued by the IASB in May 2023. PageGroup
has applied the mandatory temporary exception to the
accounting for deferred taxes arising from the jurisdictional
implementation of the Pillar Two model rules. Further details
are included at note 7.

Standards issued but not yet effective

The standards and interpretations that are issued, but not yet
effective, up to the date of issuance of the Group’s financial
statements are disclosed below. The Group intends to adopt
these standards, if applicable, when they become effective.

• Amendments to IAS 1: Classification of Liabilities as

Current or Non-current; effective date 1 January 2024

• Amendments to IAS 1: Non-current liabilities with

Covenants; effective date 1 January 2024

The amendments are not expected to have a material impact
on the Group.

Going concern

The Board has undertaken a review of the Group’s forecasts
and associated risks and sensitivities, in the period from the
date of approval of the financial statements to March 2025
(review period).

147

148

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023a) Revenue and income recognition

Revenue, which excludes value added tax (VAT), constitutes
the value of services undertaken by the Group from its principal
activities, which are recruitment consultancy and other ancillary
services. These consist of:

•

revenue from temporary placements, which represents
amounts billed for the services of temporary staff,
including the salary cost of these staff. This is recognised
when the service has been provided;

revenue from permanent placements is typically based on
a percentage of the candidate’s remuneration package
and is derived from both retained assignments (income
recognised on completion of defined stages of work)
and non-retained assignments (income recognised at
the date an offer is accepted by a candidate and where
a start date has been determined). The latter includes
revenue anticipated, but not invoiced, at the balance
sheet date, which is correspondingly accrued on the
balance sheet within accrued income. A provision is made
against accrued income for possible cancellations of
placements prior to, or shortly after, the commencement
of employment; and

•

revenue from amounts billed to clients for expenses
incurred on their behalf (principally advertisements) is
recognised when the expense is incurred.

The present value of revenue recognised is equal to the cash
funds receivable as invoices are settled within a year of initial
recognition. Interest income is accrued on a time basis, by
reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective
interest rate applicable.

b) Cost of sales

Cost of sales consists of the salary cost of temporary staff and
costs incurred on behalf of clients, principally advertising costs.

c) Gross profit

Gross profit represents revenue less cost of sales and consists
of the total placement fees of permanent candidates, the
margin earned on the placement of temporary candidates and
the margin on advertising income.

d) Foreign currency translation

(i) Functional and presentation currency

Items included in the financial statements of each of the
Group’s entities are measured using the currency of the
primary economic environment in which the entity operates
(“the functional currency”). The consolidated financial
statements are presented in Sterling, which is the Company’s
functional and presentation currency.

currency are translated into the presentation currency as
follows:

•

assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are
translated at the closing rate at the date of that balance
sheet;

income and expenses for each income statement are
translated at average exchange rates; and

all resulting exchange differences are recognised in other
comprehensive income.

e) Intangible assets

(i) Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition
over the fair value of the Group’s share of the net identifiable
assets of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition.
Goodwill on the acquisition of subsidiaries is included
in intangible assets. Goodwill is stated at cost less any
accumulated impairment losses. Goodwill is allocated to cash-
generating units and is not amortised, but is tested at least
annually for impairment (see accounting policy h). Gains and
losses on the disposal of an entity include the carrying amount
of goodwill relating to the entity sold.

over its expected useful life at the following rates:

•

Leasehold improvements 10% per annum or period of

lease if shorter

•

Furniture, fixtures and equipment 10-20% per annum

• Motor vehicles 25% per annum

g) Investments

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

h) Impairment of assets

(i) Non-financial assets

Assets that have an indefinite useful life are not subject to
amortisation and are tested annually for impairment. An
impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the
asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount.

The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair
value less costs to sell and value in use. For the purposes
of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest
levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows
(cash-generating units).

(ii) Computer software

(ii) Financial assets

Computer software acquired separately is measured on
initial recognition at cost. Computer software developed
by the Group is measured at the cost incurred in relation
to the development of software and related applications.
Costs are capitalised when they fulfil the criteria in IAS 38
regarding internally developed intangible assets. The Group
applies judgement, which is not considered as significant,
in capitalising the development cost by assessing if it will
generate probable future economic benefits. Costs which
are incurred after the release of software or costs which are
incurred in order to enhance existing products are expensed in
the period in which they are incurred.

(iii) Software under construction

Software under construction relates to cost capitalised in relation
to the development of a new operating system and related
applications. Costs are capitalised when they fulfil the criteria
in IAS 38 regarding internally developed intangible assets.
While still under construction, assets are tested for impairment
annually. Assets are moved from software under construction to
computer software when they become available for use.

(iv) Trademark

Acquired trademarks are stated at cost and are written down
over five years on a straight-line basis, which represents the
estimated useful life of the intangible asset.

The Company and Group recognise an allowance for
expected credit losses (ECLs) for all debt instruments not
held at fair value through profit or loss. ECLs are based on
the difference between the contractual cash flows due in
accordance with the contract and all the cash flows that the
Group expects to receive, discounted at an approximation of
the original effective interest rate.

ECLs are recognised in two stages. For credit exposures
for which there has not been a significant increase in credit
risk since initial recognition, ECLs are provided for credit
losses that result from default events that are possible within
the next 12 months (a 12-month ECL). For those credit
exposures for which there has been a significant increase
in credit risk since initial recognition, a loss allowance is
required for credit losses expected over the remaining life
of the exposure, irrespective of the timing of the default (a
lifetime ECL).

For trade receivables and contract assets, the Group applies
a simplified approach in calculating ECLs. Therefore, the
Group does not track changes in credit risk, but instead
recognises a loss allowance based on lifetime ECLs at each
reporting date. The Group has established a provision matrix
that is based on its historical credit loss experience, adjusted
for forward-looking factors specific to the debtors and the
economic environment as well as potential cancellations.

(ii) Transactions and balances

(v) Amortisation

i) Taxation

Foreign currency transactions are translated into the respective
functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the
dates of the transactions.

Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the
settlement of such transactions and from the translation at
year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities
denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the
income statement.

(iii) Group companies

The results and financial position of all the Group entities (none
of which has the currency of a hyperinflationary economy)
that have a functional currency different from the presentation

Amortisation is charged to the income statement on a straight-
line basis over the estimated useful lives of intangible assets
unless such lives are indefinite. Goodwill has an indefinite
useful life. Computer software is amortised at 20% per annum
unless it is considered to have a shorter life, in which case the
period of amortisation is reduced. The cumulative amount of
goodwill written off directly to retained earnings in respect of
acquisitions prior to 31 December 1997 is £311.7m (2022:
£311.7m).

f) Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at original cost less
accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated to write
off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset evenly

Income tax expense represents the sum of the current tax
and deferred tax charges. The tax currently payable is based
on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from profit
as reported in the income statement because it excludes
items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible
in other years and it further excludes items that are never
taxable or deductible. The Group’s liability for current tax
is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or
substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.

Deferred tax is recognised on differences between the
carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial
statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the
computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using the
balance sheet liability method.

Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all taxable
temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised
to the extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be
available against which deductible temporary differences can
be utilised. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if
the temporary difference arises from goodwill or from the
initial recognition (other than in a business combination) of
other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither
the taxable profit nor the accounting profit or that did not give
rise to equal taxable and deductible temporary differences.

Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary
differences arising on investments in subsidiaries, except
where the Group is able to control the reversal of the
temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary
difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future. The
carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each
balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no
longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected
to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset
realised.

Deferred tax is charged or credited to the income statement,
except when it relates to items charged or credited directly
to OCI or equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt
with in OCI or equity.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a
legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against
current tax liabilities and when they relate to income taxes
levied by the same taxation authority and the Group intends
to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis.

IAS 12 has been amended to add the exception to
recognising and disclosing information about deferred tax
assets and liabilities that are related to tax law enacted or
substantively enacted to implement the Pillar Two model
rules published by the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (the “Pillar Two legislation”). The
amendments require that entities shall disclose separately
its current tax expense/ income related to Pillar Two income
taxes, and the qualitative and quantitative information
about its exposure to Pillar Two income taxes. The Group
will disclose known or reasonably estimable information
that helps users of financial statements to understand the
Group’s exposure to Pillar Two income taxes.

j) Pension costs

The Group operates defined contribution pension schemes.
The assets of the schemes are held separately from those
of the Group in independently administered funds. The
pension costs charged to the income statement represent
the contributions payable by the Group to the funds during
each period.

k) Leases

(i) Right-of-use assets

The Group recognises right-of-use assets at the
commencement date of the lease (i.e. the date the underlying
asset is available for use). Right-of-use assets are measured
at cost, less any accumulated depreciation and impairment
losses, and adjusted for any remeasurement of lease
liabilities. The cost of right-of-use assets includes the amount
of lease liabilities recognised, initial direct costs incurred,
and lease payments made at or before the commencement
date less any lease incentives received. Unless the Group is
reasonably certain to obtain ownership of the leased asset at
the end of the lease term, the recognised right-of-use assets

149

150

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the shorter of its
estimated useful life and the lease term. Right-of-use assets
are subject to impairment.

reportable segments are on a regional basis. Transactions
between segments are recorded and allocated on an arms-
length basis.

(ii) Lease liabilities

m) Dividend distribution

At the commencement date of the lease, the Group recognises
lease liabilities measured at the present value of lease
payments to be made over the lease term.

The lease payments include fixed payments (including
in-substance fixed payments) less any lease incentives
receivable, variable lease payments that depend on an index or
a rate, and amounts expected to be paid under residual value
guarantees. The lease payments also include the exercise
price of a purchase option reasonably certain to be exercised
by the Group and payments of penalties for terminating a
lease, if the lease term reflects the Group exercising the option
to terminate. The variable lease payments that do not depend
on an index or a rate are recognised as expense in the period
on which the event or condition that triggers the payment
occurs.

In calculating the present value of lease payments, the
Group uses the incremental borrowing rate at the lease
commencement date if the interest rate implicit in the lease is
not readily determinable. After the commencement date, the
amount of lease liabilities is increased to reflect the accretion of
interest and reduced for the lease payments made.

In addition, the carrying amount of lease liabilities is
remeasured if there is a modification, a change in the lease
term, a change in the in-substance fixed lease payments or a
change in the assessment to purchase the underlying asset.

(iii) Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets

The Group applies the short-term lease recognition exemption
to its short-term leases of machinery and equipment (i.e.
those leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less from
the commencement date and do not contain a purchase
option). It also applies the lease of low-value assets recognition
exemption to leases of office equipment that are considered
of low value (i.e. below £5,000). Lease payments on short-
term leases and leases of low-value assets are recognised as
expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

iv) Judgement in determining the lease term of contracts with
renewal options

The Group determines the lease term as the non-cancellable
term of the lease, together with any periods covered by an
option to extend the lease if it is reasonably certain to be
exercised, or any periods covered by an option to terminate
the lease, if it is reasonably certain not to be exercised.

The Group has the option, under some of its leases to lease
the assets for additional terms of three to ten years. The Group
applies judgement in evaluating whether it is reasonably certain
to exercise the option to renew. That is, it considers all relevant
factors that create an economic incentive for it to exercise the
renewal. After the commencement date, the Group reassesses
the lease term if there is a significant event or change in
circumstances that is within its control and affects its ability to
exercise (or not to exercise) the option to renew (e.g. a change
in business strategy).

l) Segment reporting

IFRS 8 requires operating segments to be identified on the
basis of internal reports about components of the Group that
are regularly reviewed by the Board to allocate resources to
the segments and to assess their performance. Information
provided to the Board is focused on regions and as a result,

Dividend distribution to the Company’s Shareholders is
recognised as a liability in the Group’s financial statements in
the period in which the dividends are approved by (for final
dividends) or paid to (for interim dividends) the Company’s
Shareholders.

n) Share-based compensation

The Group operates a number of equity-settled, share-based
compensation plans. The accounting treatments for the Group
and Parent Company are described below:

(i) Share option schemes

The fair value of the employee services received in exchange
for the grant of the options is recognised as an expense in
the income statement of the Group with a corresponding
adjustment to equity. In the parent company, it is capitalised
as an investment, with a corresponding adjustment to equity.
The total amount to be expensed over the vesting period
is determined by reference to the fair value of the options
granted, excluding the impact of any non-market vesting
conditions (for example, earnings per share). Non-market
vesting conditions are included in assumptions about the
number of options that are expected to become exercisable.

At each balance sheet date, the estimate of the number
of options that are expected to become exercisable is
revised. The Group recognises the impact of the revision of
original estimates, if any, in the income statement, and the
corresponding adjustment to equity over the remaining vesting
period.

(ii) Management Incentive Plan

Where deferred awards are made to Directors and senior
executives under the Management Incentive Plan, to reflect
that the awards are for services over a longer period, the value
of the expected award is charged to the income statement
of the Group on a straight-line basis over the vesting period
to which the award relates. In the Parent Company, it is
capitalised as an investment in the subsidiary that is receiving
the employee service, with a corresponding adjustment to
equity.

(iii) Employee Single Incentive Plan (ESIP)

Awards under the ESIP are paid in cash (40%) and Shares
(60%), which vest in three tranches over a three-year period.
The value of expected award is charged to the income
statement of the Group relative to these vesting periods.

(iv) Tax on share schemes

Where options or shares are net settled in respect of
withholding tax obligations, these are accounted for as
equity settled transactions. Payments to local tax authorities
are accounted for as a deduction from equity for the shares
withheld.

o) Deferred cash bonus

The Group operates a bonus scheme for some members of
staff whereby bonuses are deferred for three years from date
of award. The bonuses are paid in full if the employee remains
employed for the entire three-year period.

p) Repurchase of share capital

When share capital recognised as equity is repurchased,
the amount of the consideration paid, including any directly

attributable costs, is recognised as a change in equity.

q) Provisions

A provision is recognised in the balance sheet when the
Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a
result of a past event, and it is probable that an outflow of
economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation.
Provisions are measured at the Directors’ best estimate
of the expenditure required to settle the obligation at the
balance sheet date, and are discounted to present value
where the effect is material.

r) Pension liabilities

There are some further statutory schemes in other territories
not recognised in the financial statements, which are
immaterial individually and in aggregate.

s) Financial assets and liabilities

Financial assets are classified, at initial recognition, and
subsequently measured at amortised cost, fair value through
other comprehensive income (OCI), and fair value through
profit or loss.

The classification of financial assets at initial recognition
depends on the financial assets’ contractual cash flow
characteristics and the Group’s business model for
managing them. With the exception of trade receivables that
do not contain a significant financing component or for which
the Group has applied the practical expedient, the Group
initially measures a financial asset at its fair value plus, in the
case of a financial asset not at fair value through profit or
loss, transaction costs. Trade receivables that do not contain
a significant financing component or for which the Group
has applied the practical expedient are measured at the
transaction price determined under IFRS 15.

The Group’s financial assets at amortised cost include
trade and other receivables. In order for a financial asset to
be classified and measured at amortised cost or fair value
through OCI, it needs to give rise to cash flows that are
“solely payments of principal and interest (SPPI)” on the
principal amount outstanding. This assessment is referred to
as the SPPI test and is performed at an instrument level.

The Group’s business model for managing financial assets
refers to how it manages its financial assets in order to
generate cash flows. The business model determines
whether cash flows will result from collecting contractual
cash flows, selling the financial assets, or both.

Cash and cash equivalents includes cash-in-hand, deposits
held at call with banks, and other short-term highly liquid
investments with original maturities of three months or less.
Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an
integral part of the Group’s cash management are included
as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the
purpose of the statement of cash flows. Prepayments and
accrued income are held at amortised cost.

All financial liabilities are recognised initially at fair value and,
in the case of loans and borrowings and payables, net of
directly attributable transaction costs.

The Group’s financial liabilities include trade and other
payables and derivative financial instruments.

Financial liabilities are classified, at initial recognition,
as financial liabilities through profit or loss, loans and
borrowings, payables, or as derivatives designated as
hedging instruments in an effective hedge, as appropriate.
The Group has derivative contracts at the balance sheet
date that have been valued at fair value through the income
statement.

t) Areas of accounting estimation

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with
IFRSs requires the use of certain accounting estimates
and judgements. It also requires management to exercise
judgement in the process of applying the Company’s
accounting policies.

Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are
based on historical experience and other factors, including
expectations of future events that are believed to be
reasonable under the circumstances.

In preparing the Consolidated Financial Statements
management has considered the impact of climate change,
particularly in the context of the risks identified in the TCFD
disclosures on pages 52 to 57 this year and the stated Net
Zero targets. These considerations did not have a material
impact on the financial reporting judgements and estimates.
In particular, management has considered the impact of
climate change in respect of the following areas:

•

the Group’s going concern assessment to March 2025
and viability of the Group over the next three years;

cash flow forecasts used in the impairment assessment
of non-current assets including goodwill; and

carrying value and useful economic lives of plant,
property and equipment and intangibles.

Whilst there is no medium-term impact expected from
climate change, management is aware of the ever-evolving
risks associated with climate change and will continue to
monitor these and their impact on the judgements and
estimates made in the Group’s Consolidated Financial
Statements.

The following are areas where appropriate accounting
necessarily involves management judgement and estimation.
However, none of the estimates described are considered to
have a significant risk of resulting in a material adjustment to
the carrying amount of the related assets and liabilities within
the next financial year. Accordingly, they are not considered
to be major sources of estimation uncertainty.

(i) Trade and other receivables

There is uncertainty regarding Customers who may not be
able to pay as their invoices fall due as at 31 December
2023. In total the Group holds £281.7m of Gross Trade
Receivables (2022: £320.8m). A provision for £11.1m (2022:
£13.0m) has been recognised based on the expected credit
losses, cancellations or balances which are in litigation.

In reviewing the appropriateness of the provisions in respect
of recoverability of trade receivables, consideration has been
given to the economic climate in the respective markets, the
ageing of the debt and the potential likelihood of default. If
the economic climate was to deteriorate across a number
of countries the portfolio could be impaired by an amount
greater than materiality. This scenario is however considered
sufficiently remote such that no reasonably possible changes
in assumptions are likely to cause material further impairment
next year. Please see note 22 for an analysis of expected
credit losses and cancellations.

151

152

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023(ii) Deferred Tax

in respect of previous years.

At 31 December 2023, PageGroup’s deferred tax assets are
£19.9m (2022: £18.6m). The ultimate realisation of deferred
tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future
taxable income during the periods in which those temporary
differences become deductible or in which tax losses can be
utilised. The tax effect of deductible temporary differences
and unused tax losses are recognised as a deferred tax asset
when it becomes probable that the tax losses and deductible
temporary differences will be utilised. In making assessments
regarding deferred tax assets, management considers the
scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future
taxable income, the availability to carry back losses and tax
planning strategies.

At 31 December 2023, based upon the projections for future
taxable income over the periods in which deferred tax assets
are deductible, management believes that it is more likely than
not that PageGroup will realise the benefits of these deductible
differences. The amount of deferred tax assets considered
realisable could however be reduced in subsequent years if
estimates of future taxable income during their carry forward
periods are reduced, or rulings by the tax authorities are
unfavourable. Estimates are therefore subject to change due to
both market-related and government-related uncertainties, as
well as PageGroup’s own future decisions.

(iii) Uncertain tax positions

Current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income
for the year, using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted
at the balance sheet date, and any adjustments to tax payable

2. SEGMENT REPORTING

All revenues disclosed are derived from external Customers.

Uncertain tax positions are assessed and measured on an
issue by issue basis within the jurisdictions that we operate
using management’s estimate of the most likely outcome.
Where management determines that a greater than 50%
probability exists that the tax authorities would accept the
position taken in the tax return, amounts are recognised in the
consolidated financial statements on that basis. Where the
amount of tax payable or recoverable is uncertain, the Group
recognises a liability or asset based on either: management’s
judgement of the most likely outcome; or, when there is a wide
range of possible outcomes, a probability weighted average
approach. The Group recognises interest on late paid taxes
as part of financing costs. The Group recognises penalties, if
applicable, as part of administrative and other expenses.

These estimates include management judgements about the
probable outcome of uncertain tax positions. Management
base their judgements on the latest information available about
the positions expected to be taken by each tax authority.
Actual outcomes and settlements may differ from the estimates
recorded in these consolidated financial statements however
we do not anticipate a significant risk of resulting in a material
adjustment. The uncertain tax position provision recognised as
at 31 December 2023 is £3.3m (2022: £3.0m).

u) Employee Benefit Trust

The Employee Benefit Trust is considered a separate legal
entity and not an extension of the Parent Company. It is
included in the consolidated results of the Group as it is
deemed to have control of the entity.

The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group’s accounting policies described in Note 1. Segment
operating profit represents the profit earned by each segment including allocation of central administration costs. This is the
measure reported to the Group’s Board, the chief operating decision maker, for the purpose of resource allocation and assessment
of segment performance. Segments are aggregated in accordance with management ownership, determined by the possession of
similar characteristics such as geography, market maturity and economic environment. No judgements were applied to identify the
reportable segments.

(a) Revenue, gross profit and operating profit by reportable segment

2023

EMEA

Asia Pacific

Americas

United Kingdom

Operating profit

Net financial expense

2022

EMEA

Asia Pacific

Americas

United Kingdom

Operating profit

Net financial expense

Revenue
£’000

1,117,150

284,821

311,653

296,679

–

Gross
profit
£’000

549,511

159,636

173,312

124,673

–

2,010,303

1,007,132

Revenue
£’000

1,069,346

318,359

282,942

319,640

–

Gross
profit
£’000

538,488

195,276

193,397

149,133

–

1,990,287

1,076,294

Operating
profit
£’000

92,176

11,613

17,749

(2,723)

118,815

(1,379)

117,436

Operating
profit
£’000

122,079

35,244

17,885

20,871

196,079

(1,713)

194,366

The analysis below is of the carrying amount of reportable segment assets, liabilities and non-current assets. Segment assets
and liabilities include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis.

The individual reportable segments exclude income tax assets and liabilities. Non-current assets include property, plant and
equipment, computer software, goodwill and other intangibles.

(b) Segment assets, liabilities, non-current assets and capital expenditure by reportable segment

EMEA

Asia Pacific

Americas

United Kingdom

Segment assets/liabilities

Income tax

EMEA

Asia Pacific

Americas

United Kingdom

EMEA

Asia Pacific

Americas

United Kingdom

Total assets

Total liabilities

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

322,635

338,251

250,651

248,585

99,919

98,697

128,299

116,647

159,939

194,514

58,548

50,333

32,596

69,995

60,635

45,476

681,190

777,711

392,128

424,691

23,384

17,233

5,958

18,050

704,574

794,944

398,086

442,741

Property, plant and
equipment

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

16,101

14,072

5,269

5,947

20,135

47,452

6,194

7,378

8,479

36,123

Intangible assets

2023
£’000

2,044

30,014

32,098

Right-of-use assets

Lease liabilities

2023
£’000

70,907

12,486

7,989

7,004

2022
£’000

61,760

17,415

11,950

9,871

2023
£’000

76,867

16,854

10,257

6,955

2022
£’000

2,296

110

37,589

40,000

2022
£’000

65,136

20,042

14,434

10,220

The below analysis in note (c) and (d) relates to the requirement of IFRS 15 to disclose disaggregated revenue by streams and
region.

98,386

100,996

110,933

109,832

153

154

The above analysis by destination is not materially different to the analysis by origin.

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023(c) Revenue and gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements

3. PROFIT FOR THE YEAR

Permanent

Temporary

Revenue

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

Gross profit

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

738,563

832,014

733,657

826,321

1,271,740

1,158,273

273,475

249,973

2,010,303

1,990,287

1,007,132

1,076,294

d) Revenue generated by permanent and temporary placements by reportable segment

Permanent

Temporary

Year ended
31 December
2023
£’000

Year ended
31 December
2022
£’000

Year ended
31 December
2023
£’000

Year ended
31 December
2022
£’000

Profit for the year is stated after charging:

Employment costs (Note 4)

Net exchange losses

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment – owned (Note 10)

Amortisation of intangibles (Note 12)

Expected credit losses (Note 22)

Expected credit losses recovered / reversed (Note 22)

Loss on sale of property, plant and equipment and computer software

Restructuring costs

Depreciation of right-of-use assets (Note 11)

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

681,927

682,467

4,114

3,184

13,475

11,230

11,879

13,509

35,114

25,265

(33,652)

(20,477)

819

4,398

10,615

41,427

35,853

369,582

380,002

747,568

689,344

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor:

135,462

170,029

149,359

148,330

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the Company’s annual accounts

927

860

146,916

170,970

164,737

111,972

Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and associates for other services:

EMEA

Asia Pacific

Americas

United Kingdom

86,603

111,013

210,076

208,627

738,563

832,014

1,271,740

1,158,273

The analysis in note (e) revenue and gross profit by discipline (being the professions of candidates placed) has been included as
additional disclosure over and above the requirements of IFRS 8 “Operating Segments”.

(e) Revenue and gross profit by discipline

Revenue

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

Gross profit
2023
£’000

2022
£’000

Accounting and Financial Services

720,927

720,783

332,282

343,659

Technology

360,392

328,286

138,069

149,634

– The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation

Total audit fees

– Audit related assurance services

– Other non-audit services

Total non-audit fees

Total fees

898

802

1,825

1,662

1,890

1,727

During the year, the Company incurred restructuring costs of £10.6m before associated savings. These costs relate principally to
redundancy payments and small office closures.

Legal, HR, Secretarial and other

315,811

339,257

163,308

185,138

4. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

Engineering, Property & Construction, Procurement & Supply Chain

427,850

400,959

242,897

251,686

Marketing, Sales and Retail

185,323

201,002

130,576

146,177

2,010,303

1,990,287

1,007,132

1,076,294

The average number of employees (including Executive Directors) during the year and total number of employees (including
Executive Directors) at 31 December 2023 were as follows:

Management

Client services

Administration

Employment costs (including Directors’ emoluments) comprised:

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Pension costs – defined contribution plans

Share-based payments and deferred cash plan

2023
Average
No.

2022
Average
No.

At 31 Dec
2023
No.

At 31 Dec
2022
No.

439

5,895

2,121

8,455

416

6,341

1,952

426

5,425

2,008

445

6,498

2,077

8,709

7,859

9,020

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

575,486

583,683

68,900

64,077

25,769

24,252

11,772

10,455

681,927

682,467

No staff are employed by the Parent Company (2022: none) hence no remuneration has been disclosed for the Company.
Remuneration for Directors for their services on behalf of the Parent Company are included in the Directors’ Remuneration
Report on pages 107 to 131.

155

156

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 20235. FINANCIAL INCOME/(EXPENSES)

7. CURRENT TAX ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

Financial income

Interest receivable

Financial expenses

Interest payable

Interest on lease liabilities

2023
£’000

2,236

(1,072)

(2,543)

(3,615)

6. INCOME TAX EXPENSE

The charge for taxation is based on the effective annual tax rate of 34.4% on profit before tax (2022: 28.5%).

Analysis of charge in the year

UK income tax at 23.50% (2022: 19.00%) for year

Overseas income tax

Adjustments in respect of prior years

Deferred tax

Adjustment in respect of prior years

Origination and reversal of temporary differences

Derecognition of losses and other tax attributes

Impact of tax rate changes

Deferred tax income

Total tax expense in the income statement

2023
£’000

5,163

32,571

1,965

39,699

(1,641)

(372)

2,673

669

40,368

Reconciliation of effective tax rate
Profit before taxation

Profit before tax multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK

Effects of:

Disallowable items and other permanent differences

Unrelieved overseas losses

Derecognition/(recognition) of overseas losses and other tax attributes

Other tax movements

Higher tax rates on overseas earnings

Other tax overseas

Movement of rate difference

Adjustment to tax charge in respect of prior periods

Tax expense and effective rate for the year

Tax recognised directly in other comprehensive income

Remeasurement of retirement benefit obligations

Tax recognised directly in equity

Relating to settled transactions

2023
£’000
117,436

27,597

2022
£’000
194,366

23.5

36,930

2,851

2,797

(124)

356

6,518

325

2.4

(0.1)

0.0

0.3

5.6

0.0

0.3

2,193

895

3,792

(790)

5,141

7,831

(118)

(520)

40,368

34.4

55,354

2023
£’000

435

2023
£’000

1,016

2022
£’000

1,104

(1,213)

(1,604)

(2,817)

2022
£’000

15,425

39,501

(1,861)

53,065

1,341

(3,622)

4,688

(118)

2,289

55,354

19.0

1.1

0.5

2.0

(0.4)

2.6

4.0

(0.1)

(0.3)

28.5

2022
£’000

–

2022
£’000

(706)

We have generated profits in overseas countries which have higher tax rates and are subject to additional taxes on profits which
have contributed 5.6% to the tax rate in 2023. Disallowable and other permanent differences are broadly in line with prior years and
contributed 2.4% to the tax rate in 2023. Net derecognition of overseas losses and other tax attributes, that we could not recognise
due to the requirement to have profits against which to offset in the foreseeable future, increase the rate by 2.3%. Adjustments in
respect of prior periods are one-off in nature and had a negligible impact. These combine to add to the basic UK rate of 23.5% to
give the total effective tax rate of 34.4%.

The UK corporation tax rate increased to 25% (from 19%) on 1 April 2023. This was previously enacted in 2021 and UK deferred
taxes at balance sheet dates have been measured using these enacted tax rates and reflected in these financial statements.

The current tax asset of £23.4m (2022: £17.2m), and current tax liability of £6.0m (2022: £18.1m) for the Group, and current tax
asset and liability of £nil (2022: £nil) for the Parent Company, represent the amount of income taxes recoverable and payable in
respect of current and prior periods.

Pillar Two legislation has been enacted or substantively enacted in certain jurisdictions in which the Group operates, including
the UK. The legislation will be effective for the Group’s financial year beginning 1 January 2024. The Group is in scope of the
Pillar Two legislation and has performed an assessment of the Group’s potential exposure to Pillar Two income taxes. The
assessment of the potential exposure to Pillar Two income taxes is based on the most recent country-by-country reporting
prepared for the Group and management is not currently aware of any circumstances under which this might change. Based on
this assessment, the Group does not expect any material potential exposure to Pillar Two top-up taxes.

8. DIVIDENDS

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:

Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2022 of 10.76p per ordinary share (2021: 10.30p)

Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 of 5.13p per ordinary share (2022: 4.91p)

Special dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 of 15.87p per ordinary share (2022: 26.71p)

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

33,889

32,740

16,166

15,607

50,009

84,900

100,064

133,247

Amounts proposed as distributions to equity holders in the year:

Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 of 11.24p per ordinary share (2022: 10.76p)

35,449

34,207

The proposed final dividend had not been approved by the Board at 31 December 2023 and therefore has not been included as
a liability. The proposed final dividend of 11.24p (2022: 10.76p) per ordinary share will be paid on 21 June 2024 to Shareholders
on the register at close of business on 17 May 2024.

9. EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:

Earnings

Earnings for basic and diluted earnings per share (£’000)

77,068

139,012

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

Number of shares

Weighted average number of shares used for basic earnings per share (‘000)

Dilutive effect of share plans (‘000)

Diluted weighted average number of shares used for diluted earnings per share (‘000)

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

The above results relate to continuing operations.

Basic

number

315,784

318,166

1,311

1,204

317,095

319,370

pence

24.4

24.3

43.7

43.5

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the Company by the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year, excluding unallocated ordinary shares purchased by the Employee
Benefit Trust and held in the reserve.

Diluted

Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume
conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. This calculation determines the number of shares that could have been
acquired at fair value (determined as the average market price of the Company’s shares) based on the monetary value of the
subscription rights attached to the outstanding share options. The number of shares calculated in the basic earnings per share
is then adjusted to reflect the number of shares deemed to be issued for nil consideration as a result of the potential exercise of
existing share options. The remaining share options that are currently not dilutive and hence excluded from the dilutive earnings
per share calculation remain potentially dilutive until they are either exercised or they lapse.

157

158

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 202310. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Group

2023

Cost

At 1 January

Additions

Disposals

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

At 31 December

Depreciation

At 1 January

Charge for the year

Disposals

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

At 31 December

Net book value

At 31 December

2022

Cost

At 1 January

Additions

Disposals

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

At 31 December

Depreciation

At 1 January

Charge for the year

Disposals

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

At 31 December

Net book value

At 31 December

Leasehold
improve-
ments
£’000

Furniture,
fixtures and
equipment
£’000

Motor
vehicles
£’000

48,501

16,872

(8,324)

(1,726)

55,323

34,873

4,876

(7,643)

(1,309)

30,797

48,168

7,352

(2,331)

(1,316)

51,873

28,520

7,422

(2,034)

(685)

33,223

3,851

3,124

(737)

(311)

5,927

1,004

1,177

(323)

(207)

1,651

Total
£’000

100,520

27,348

(11,392)

(3,353)

113,123

64,397

13,475

(10,000)

(2,201)

65,671

24,526

18,650

4,276

47,452

Leasehold
improve-
ments
£’000

Furniture,
fixtures and
equipment
£’000

46,802

5,980

(6,694)

2,413

48,501

34,493

4,592

(5,990)

1,778

34,873

44,061

13,387

(10,534)

1,254

48,168

32,557

6,079

(10,361)

245

28,520

Motor
vehicles
£’000

2,049

2,615

(823)

Total
£’000

92,912

21,982

(18,051)

3,677

3,851

100,520

1,026

559

(600)

1,004

68,076

11,230

(16,951)

2,042

64,397

13,628

19,648

2,847

36,123

11. LEASES

Group

Right-of-use assets

At 1 January 2022

Additions

Disposals

Depreciation expense

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

At 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2023

Additions

Disposals

Depreciation expense

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

At 31 December 2023

Lease liabilities

As at 1 January

Additions

Disposals

Interest expense

Payments

Effect of movements in foreign exchange

As at 31 December

Property
£’000

Motor Vehicles
£’000

Other assets
£’000

Total
£’000

86,256

27,979

(2,034)

(28,352)

5,323

89,172

29,752

(973)

(31,175)

(2,823)

83,953

7,696

9,629

(37)

(6,891)

327

10,724

11,463

–

(9,690)

1,302

13,799

1,004

666

–

(610)

1,100

–

(562)

–

634

2023
£’000

(109,832)

(40,397)

(2,543)

39,995

1,786

94,956

38,274

(2,071)

(35,853)

5,690

100,996

41,311

(973)

(41,427)

(1,521)

98,386

2022
£’000

(102,340)

(38,274)

2,201

(1,604)

36,433

(6,248)

(110,933)

(109,832)

2023
£’000

33,983

25,421

39,362

19,858

2022
£’000

33,482

28,524

38,071

15,090

118,624

115,167

The following are the undiscounted contractual maturities for lease liabilities:

Less than a year

Between 1 and 2 years

Between 2 and 5 years

Over 5 years

There was £nil (2022: £0.3m) of low value and short-term leases expensed directly to the statement of profit or loss. Combined
with the payments above, a total of £40.0m (2022: £37.8m) in lease payments have been made during the year.

159

160

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 202312. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Group

IMPAIRMENT TESTS FOR GOODWILL

Goodwill is allocated to the Group’s cash-generating units (CGUs) identified according to the country of operation. A summary of
the goodwill allocation is presented below:

Computer
software,
assets under
construction
£’000

Computer
software
£’000

Subtotal
£’000

Goodwill
£’000

Trademark
£’000

Subtotal
£’000

Total
£’000

78,543

1,153

79,696

1,539

1,691

3,230

82,926

3,065

(784)

(150)

872

3,937

(784)

(150)

(54)

(34)

(54)

(34)

4,033

(838)

(184)

80,674

2,025

82,699

1,539

1,699

3,238

85,937

41,651

11,730

(784)

(137)

52,460

41,651

11,730

(784)

(137)

52,460

1,275

42,926

149

(54)

149

(54)

11,879

(838)

(128)

1,379

53,839

2023

Cost

At 1 January

Additions

Disposals

Transfers
Effect of movements in
foreign exchange

At 31 December

Amortisation

At 1 January

Charge for the year

Disposals

Effect of movements in
foreign exchange

At 31 December

Net book value

At 31 December

28,214

2,025

30,239

1,539

320

1,859

32,098

The Group has one individually material intangible asset (Customer Connect) which is the Group’s CRM platform. The net book
value at 31 December 2023 is £23.3m (2022: £29.7m). The useful economic life is seven years in line with the expected life of the
asset.

USA

Singapore

2023
£’000

1,274

214

1,539

2022
£’000

1,274

214

1,539

In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are calculated by preparing cash flow forecasts derived from the
most recent financial budget, management projections for five years, followed by an assumed growth rate of 0% (2022: 0%),
which does not exceed the long-term average growth rate of the relevant markets and reflects long-term wage inflation fee
growth. Management applied a discount rate of 8% (2022: 8%), representing the weighted average cost of capital for the Group,
to the estimated future cash flows to calculate the terminal value of those cash flows. If the recoverable amount of an asset
is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An
impairment loss is recognised as an expense. Management believes that no reasonably possible change in any of the above key
assumptions would cause the carrying value of goodwill allocated to any CGU to materially exceed its recoverable amount.

The Group tests goodwill annually for impairment, or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might be impaired. It is
the opinion of the Directors that at 31 December 2023 there was no impairment of goodwill.

13. INVESTMENTS

Company

Cost at 1 January 2023

Transactions relating to share plans for subsidiaries’ employees

Cost at 31 December 2023

Subsidiary undertakings
£’000

547,837

5,439

553,276

The Company’s subsidiary undertakings at 31 December 2023, their principal activities and countries of incorporation are set out
below:

Computer
software,
assets under
construction
£’000

Computer
software
£’000

Subtotal
£’000

Goodwill
£’000

Trademark
£’000

Subtotal
£’000

Total
£000

Name of undertaking

Michael Page International
Argentina SA

Country of
incorporation

Principal
activity

Registered office

Argentina

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Personnel Argentina Servicios
Eventuales SA

Argentina

Recruitment Consultancy

Cordoba 883, Piso 9, Ciudad de Buenos Aires,
C1054AAH, Argentina

2022

Cost

At 1 January

Additions

Disposals

Transfer

Effect of movements in
foreign exchange

At 31 December

Amortisation

At 1 January

Charge for the year

Disposals

Effect of movements in
foreign exchange

At 31 December

Net book value

At 31 December

72,769

9,601

(8,391)

4,130

5,286

–

(4,130)

434

(3)

78,055

9,601

(8,391)

–

431

1,539

1,611

3,150

81,205

–

(12)

9,693

(8,391)

–

419

78,543

1,153

79,696

1,539

1,691

3,230

82,926

30,955

13,319

(3,060)

437

41,651

–

30,955

13,319

(3,060)

437

41,651

–

1,085

32,040

190

13,509

–

(3,060)

437

1,275

42,926

36,892

1,153

38,045

1,539

416

1,955

40,000

Michael Page International (Australia)
Pty Limited

Australia

Recruitment Consultancy

Level 21, 9 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW
2000, Australia

Michael Page International Austria GmbH

Austria

Recruitment Consultancy

Wien Canettistraße 5, Wien, 1100, Austria

Michael Page International (Belgium) NV/SA

Belgium

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Interim (Belgium) NV/SA

Belgium

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page International Do Brasil -
Recrutamento Especializado Ltda

Brazil

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Interim Do Brasil - Recrutamento
Especializado Ltda

Brazil

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Personnel do Brasil - Recrutamento
Especializado e servicos corporativos Ltda

Brazil

Recruitment Consultancy

Place du Champ de Mars 5 , 1050 Brussels,
Belgium

Rua Olimpíadas nº 205, sala: 111, 112, 113
e 114 - 11º andar, Vila Olímpia, São Paulo,
04551-000 - SP, Brasil

161

162

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Name of undertaking

Country of
incorporation

Principal
activity

Registered office

Michael Page International Canada Limited

Canada

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page International Chile Ltda

Chile

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Personnel International Chile Ltda

Chile

Recruitment Consultancy

Suite 515, Bay Adelaide Centre, 333 Bay St.,
Toronto, ON, M5H 2R2, Canada

Magdelana 181, Piso 1, Depto. 1601, Las
Condes, Santiago 7550055, Chile

Magdelana 181, Piso 1, Depto 1601, Las
Condes, Santiago 7550055, Chile

Name of undertaking

Michael Page International Limited

Country of
incorporation

Principal
activity

England and
Wales

Non-trading

Registered office

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page International 1982 Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page International Investment Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Page Consulting Chile Ltda

Chile

Recruitment Consultancy

Av. El Bosque Norte 0177, Office 602, Santiago,
755-0100, Chile

Michael Page International Finance Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Empresa de Servicios Transitorios Page Interim
Chile Limitada

Chile

Recruitment Consultancy

Magdelana181, Piso 1, Depto 1601, Las Condes,
Santiago 7550055, Chile

Page Personnel (UK) Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page (Beijing) Recruitment Co., Ltd

China

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page (Shanghai) Recruitment Co., Ltd

China

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Contracting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd

China

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page International Colombia SAS

Colombia

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Interim Colombia SAS

Colombia

Non-trading

Michael Page Czech Republic s.r.o

Czech Republic Recruitment Consultancy

Room 1009 1012, 10/F, West Tower, World
Financial Centre, No.1 East 3rd Ring Middle
Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 100020

Level 18, HKRI Taikoo Hui Tower2, 288 Shimen Yi
Road, JingAn District, Shanghai 200041, China

Room 1812 1801-1811, /18, HKRI Taikoo Hui,
No.288 Shimen Yi Road, Jing’An, Shanghai,
200041, China

Calle 81 # 11 – 08 Piso 11, Bogotá, D.C.,
Colombia

Pobřežní 249/46, Karlín, Praha 8, 186 00, Czech
Republic

Michael Page Partnership Limited

Michael Page Employment Services Limited

LPM (Professional Recruitment) Limited

Accountancy Additions Limited

Slamway Limited

Assessment Centre Limited (The)

LPM (Group Services) Limited

Page Partnership Limited (The)

Sales Recruitment Specialists Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Recruitment Consultancy

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Holding company

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page Holdings Limited

Michael Page International Holdings Limited

Michael Page International Recruitment Limited*

England and
Wales

Support services

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Holding company

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Recruitment Consultancy

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page International Southern Europe
Limited*

England and
Wales

Holding company

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page UK Limited

England and
Wales

Non-trading

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page Recruitment Group Limited

Page Outsourcing UK Limited

England and
Wales

Holding company

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Recruitment Consultancy

200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business
Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK

Michael Page International France SAS

France

Recruitment Consultancy

MP Financial Services France SAS

France

Support services

Page Personnel SAS

France

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page Business Services SARL

France

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page Ingénieurs et Informatique SARL

France

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page Tertiaire SARL

France

Recruitment Consultancy

164 Avenue Achille Peretti, 92522 Neuilly-sur-
Seine, Paris, France

Michael Page Nord SARL

France

Recruitment Consultancy

14 place du Général de Gaulle – 59000 LILLE

Michael Page Sud SARL

France

Recruitment Consultancy

9 Rue des Cuirassiers, 69003 LYON, France

163

164

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Name of undertaking

Country of
incorporation

Principal
activity

MP Advertising SAS

France

Support Services

Registered office

Name of undertaking

Country of
incorporation

Principal
activity

Registered office

164 Avenue Achille Peretti, 92522 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris,
France

Michael Page International Mexico
Servicios Corporativos SA de CV

Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Newton 293, Piso 3, Col. Polanco, Vseccion, Del.
Miguel Hidalgo, Z.C., CDMX, 11570, Mexico

Page Consulting SARL

France

Recruitment Consultancy

164 Avenue Achille Peretti, 92522 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris,
France

Page Interim Mexico Servicios
SA de CV

Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Newton 293, Piso 3, Col. Polanco, Vseccion, Del.
Miguel Hidalgo, Z.C., CDMX, 11570, Mexico

MP EDP SARL

France

Support Services

164 Avenue Achille Peretti, 92522 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris,
France

Page México Operaciones
PG S.A. DE C.V.

Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Newton 293, Piso 3, Col. Polanco, Vseccion, Del.
Miguel Hidalgo, Z.C., CDMX, 11570, Mexico

Michael Page International
Monaco SARL

Michael Page International
(Deutschland) GmbH

France

Recruitment Consultancy

7 Rue de l’Industrie, 98000 Monaco

Page Consulting México S.A. DE C.V. Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Germany

Recruitment Consultancy

Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany

Page Resourcing Process S.A. DE C.V. Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Page Personnel Services GmbH

Germany

Recruitment Consultancy

Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany

Page Internacional ADM S.A. DE C.V. Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Newton 293, Piso 3, Col. Polanco , Vseccion, Del.
Miguel Hidalgo, Z.C., CDMX, 11570, Mexico

Newton 293, Piso 3, Col. Polanco, Vseccion, Del.
Miguel Hidalgo, Z.C., CDMX, 11570, Mexico

Page Personnel (Deutschland)
GmbH

Germany

Recruitment Consultancy

Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany

Michael Page International Maroc
SARL AU

Morocco

Recruitment Consultancy

93 - 93A Capital Tower B76, Angle Abdelkrim
Bencherif et Main Street, Casablanca, Morocco

Page Contracting GmbH

Germany

Recruitment Consultancy

Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany

Michael Page International (Nederland)
B.V.

Netherlands

Recruitment Consultancy

Strawinskylaan 421, 107XX, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hong Kong

Recruitment Consultancy

Suite 1701, 17F Central Tower, 28 Queen’s Road Central,
Central Hong Kong

Page Interim B.V.

Netherlands

Recruitment Consultancy

Strawinskylaan 421, 107XX, Amsterdam, Netherlands

India

Recruitment Consultancy

5th Floor, 2 North Avenue, Maker Maxity, Bandra-Kurla
Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai 400051, India

Michael Page International Panama S.A.Panama

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page International
(Hong Kong) Limited

Michael Page International
Recruitment Pvt Ltd

Michael Page International
(Ireland) Limited

Michael Page International
Italia Srl

PT Michael Page Internasional
Indonesia

Indonesia

Recruitment Consultancy

Ireland

Recruitment Consultancy

One Pacific Place, Suites B-F, Level 12, Sudirman Central
Business District, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav 52-53, Jakarta
12190, Indonesia

6th Floor, Southbank House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4,
Ireland

Italy

Recruitment Consultancy

Galleria Passarella, 2, Milan, 20122, Italy

Page Personnel Italia SpA

Italy

Recruitment Consultancy

Galleria Passarella, 2, Milan, 20122, Italy

Michael Page International Peru S.R.L Peru

Recruitment Consultancy

Punta Pacifica, Blvrd Pacifica Oceania Business
Plaza, Torre 2000, Piso 43, Panama

Calle Las Orquídeas 675 esq. Andrés Reyes - Piso 5,
Oficina 501, San Isidro 15046, Peru

Page Personnel Servicios Temporales
Peru S.R.L

Peru

Recruitment Consultancy

Calle Las Orquídeas 675 esq. Andrés Reyes - Piso 5,
Oficina 501, San Isidro 15046, Peru

Michael Page International Recruitment
(Philippines) Inc.

Philippines

Recruitment Consultancy

PageGroup Corporate Services
(Philippines) Inc.

Philippines

Support services

21/F Units 4-5 Zuellig Building, Makarti Avenue, Cnr
Paseo de Roxas and Sta Potencia Street, Makarti
City, Metro Manila, Philippines

24th Floor, Philam Life Tower, 8767 Paseo De Roxas
Avenue, Bel-Air, Makati City 1226, Philippines

Michael Page International
(Japan) K.K.

Michael Page Limited

Japan

Recruitment Consultancy

6F Hulic Kamiyacho Building, 4-3-13 Toranomon, Minato-
ku, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan

Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia

Recruitment Consultancy

8210 Khalid bin Al-Walid St - Al-Rawda neighborhood,
Riyadh 13211 – 4844, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Michael Page International (Poland)
Sp.z.o.o

Michael Page International Portugal -
Empressa de Trabalho Temporario e
Servicos de Consultadoria Lda

Poland

Recruitment Consultancy

Chmielna 69, Warsaw, Poland

Portugal

Recruitment Consultancy

Av. Liberdade nº 180 A, 3º andar, Lisboa, 1250-146,
Portugal

Agensi Pekerjaan Michael Page
International (Malaysia) SDN BHD

Malaysia

Recruitment Consultancy

Level 27, Integra Tower, The intermark, 348 Jalan Tun
Razak, Kuala Lumpur, 50400, Malaysia

MICPAGE Services Lda

Portugal

Recruitment Consultancy

Av. Liberdade nº 180 A, 3º andar, Lisboa, 1250-146,
Portugal

Page Contracting (Malaysia)
Sdn Bhd

Malaysia

Contracting/Temporary
placements

Suite Teal PV, 16F The Pavillion Tower, Jalan Raja Chulan,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

PageGroup International Recruitment
S.R.L.

Romania

Recruitment Consultancy

169A Calea Floreasca, Building A, Floor 4, Office
2007, Register 02, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania

Michael Page (Mauritius) Limited

Mauritius

Recruitment Consultancy

5th Floor Atchia Building, Cnr of Suffren and Eugene
Laurent Streets, Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius

Michael Page International Pte Limited* Singapore

Recruitment Consultancy

Michael Page International
(Mauritius) Limited

Mauritius

Recruitment Consultancy

5th Floor Atchia Building, Cnr of Suffren and Eugene
Laurent Streets, Port Louis, Republic of Mauritius

Page Personnel Recruitment Pte Ltd

Singapore

Recruitment Consultancy

One Raffles Place, #09-61 Office Tower Two,
Singapore 048616

Mexico

Recruitment Consultancy

Newton 293, Piso 3, Col. Polanco , Vseccion, Del. Miguel
Hidalgo, Z.C., CDMX, 11570, Mexico

Michael Page International (SA) (Pty)
Limited

South Africa

Recruitment Consultancy

2 Maude Street, The Forum, 5th Floor, Sandton City,
Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa

Michael Page International Mexico
Reclutamiento Especializado, S.A.
de C.V.

165

166

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Name of undertaking

Country of
incorporation

Principal
activity

Registered office

Michael Page Holding España SL

Spain

Holding company

PageGroup Technology Services SL

Spain

IT consultancy services

Paseo De La Castellana 130, 8º Planta, Madrid, 28046,
Spain

Page Group Europe SL

Spain

Support Services

Plaza Europa 21-23 P. 5, 08908 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat,
08908, Spain

14. TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES

Current

Trade receivables

Less allowance for expected credit losses

Net trade receivables

Other receivables

Page Group Spain Recursos Humanos
ETT SA

Spain

Recruitment Consultancy

Paseo De La Castellana 130, 8º Planta, Madrid, 28046,
Spain

Accrued Income (net of revenue reversals)

Michael Page International (Sweden) AB Sweden

Recruitment Consultancy Mäster Samuelsgatan 42, Stockholm 111 57, Sweden

Michael Page International
Switzerland SA

Switzerland

Recruitment Consultancy

12, Quai de la Poste, Geneva, 1204, Switzerland

Michael Page International Company
Limited

Taiwan

Recruitment Consultancy

8F-1 Shin Kong Xin Yi Financial Building,
36-1 Songren Road Xin-Yi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110

Michael Page Limited

Thailand

Holding company

Michael Page International Recruitment
(Thailand) Limited

Thailand

Recruitment Consultancy

689 Bhiraji Tower at EmQuartier, 41st Floor, Unit 4108-4109,
Sukhumvit Road, North Klongtong, Vadhana, Bangkok,
10110, Thailand

Michael Page International Nem Istihdam
Danışmanlığı Limited Şirketi

Turkey

Recruitment Consultancy

Büyükdere Cad. Kanyon Ofis Binası No: 185 K: 21 Levent,
Istanbul, 34394, Turkey

Michael Page International
(UAE) Limited

United Arab
Emirates

Recruitment Consultancy

202 & 204, Level 2, Currency House - Building 1, Dubai
International Financial Centre, Dubai, 506702, United Arab
Emirates

Michael Page International (UAE) Limited
– QFC Branch

United Arab
Emirates

Recruitment Consultancy Morison Menon Chartered Accountants & Partners LLC,
Office No. 4, 4th floor, Shoumoukh Towers, Tower A, Al
Sadd, Doha, Qatar

Michael Page International Inc.*

United States

Recruitment Consultancy

622 Third Avenue, 29th Floor, New York, NY10017, USA

Page Outsourcing Inc.

United States

Recruitment Consultancy

251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, New Castle County,
Delaware 19801, USA

Michael Page International (Vietnam)
Co. Limited

Vietnam

Recruitment Consultancy

Level 9, Saigon Centre, Tower 2, 67 Le Loi Street, Ben Nhge
Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

*The equity of these subsidiary undertakings is held directly by PageGroup plc. All companies have been included in the
consolidation and operate principally in their country of incorporation.

The percentage of the issued share capital held is equivalent to the percentage of voting rights held. The Group holds 100% of all
classes of issued share capital. The share capital of all the subsidiary undertakings comprise ordinary shares.

The following subsidiaries are exempt from the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to the audit of accounts under
section 479A of the Act:

• Michael Page International Southern Europe Limited

•

LPM (Professional Recruitment) Limited

• Michael Page International Holdings Limited

• Michael Page Partnership Limited

Group

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

Company
2023
£’000

2022
£’000

281,652

320,794

(11,144)

(12,960)

270,508

307,834

10,187

83,426

16,122

21,535

88,951

18,927

380,243

437,247

–

13,017

–

1,157,419

1,081,498

13,224

–

13,224

1,157,419

1,081,498

Prepayments

Non-current

Amounts due from Group companies

Other receivables

The fair values of trade and other receivables are not materially different to those disclosed above.

The Group’s exposure to credit and currency risks and impairment losses related to trade and other receivables is disclosed in
Note 22. The entire accrued income balance of £83.4m (2022: £89.0m) is not past due. A provision of £3.6m (2022: £4.7m) has
been provided for at year end for potential future revenue reversals.

All amounts due from Group undertakings are unsecured, interest-free and repayable on demand. Settlement of non-current
amounts of £1.2m due to the Parent Company from Group companies is not expected within one year.

15. TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES

Current

Trade payables

Amounts owed to Group companies

Other tax and social security

Other payables

Accruals

Non-current

Other tax and social security

Accruals

Group

2023
£’000

Company

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

8,383

11,101

–

61,557

33,595

–

1,392,889

1,314,866

61,079

36,629

–

156,321

180,299

139

140

259,856

289,108

1,393,028

1,315,006

1,045

9,111

10,156

422

14,529

14,951

–

The fair values of trade and other payables are not materially different to those disclosed above.

All amounts due to Group undertakings are unsecured, interest-free and repayable on demand. The Group’s exposure to
currency and liquidity risk related to trade and other payables is disclosed in Note 22.

The Group has an unfunded retirement indemnity plan relating to a pension scheme in France. At 31 December 2023, the
Group’s commitment was £2.3m (2022: £0.6m) with the movement due to changes in actuarial assumptions recognised in other
comprehensive income. There are some further statutory schemes in other territories not recognised in the financial statements,
which are immaterial individually and in aggregate.

167

168

STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 202316. PROVISIONS

At 1 January 2022

Foreign exchange

Provided

Utilised

Released

At 31 December 2022 and 1 January 2023

Foreign exchange

Provided

Utilised

Released

At 31 December 2023

Current

Non-current

Total provisions

Dilapidation

Dilapidations

NI on Share Schemes

6,967

724

1,302

(262)

(1,603)

7,128

(1,019)

1,351

(310)

(622)

6,528

2,343

(499)

(1,083)

844

736

(347)

1,233

Other

1,395

1,467

(247)

(1,157)

1,483

(133)

617

1,013

(1,900)

1,080

Total

10,705

832

2,270

(1,592)

(2,760)

9,455

(1,152)

2,704

356

(2,522)

8,841

2023 (£’000)

2022 (£’000)

4,298

4,543

8,841

2,772

6,683

9,455

A provision has been recognised for dilapidation costs associated with our office portfolio, where the Group is committed to make good on
the property sites on lease termination.

Social security contributions on share options

The provision for social security contributions on share options is calculated based on the number of options outstanding at the reporting
date that are expected to be exercised. The provision is based on market price of the shares at the reporting date which is the best
estimate of the market price at the date of exercise. It is expected that the costs will be incurred during the exercise period of 1 January
2024 to 31 December 2024.

17. GROUP BORROWING FACILITIES

The following are the major deferred tax assets/(liabilities) recognised by the Group, and the movements thereon, during the
current and prior reporting periods.

Share-based
payments
£’000

Tax losses
£’000

Provisions
£’000

Related party
transactions
£’000

At 1 January 2023

Recognised in OCI/equity for the year

Recognised in profit or loss for the year

Exchange differences

At 31 December 2023

At 1 January 2022

Recognised in OCI/equity for the year

Recognised in profit or loss for the year

Exchange differences

At 31 December 2022

1,064

950

(669)

1,352

2,077

(824)

(191)

1,064

881

–

6,384

7,295

1,253

–

(443)

881

Other
£’000

729

435

9,945

4,677

–

(2,200)

(3,007)

(1,177)

(420)

7,325

(15)

1,655

(100)

(113)

Total
£’000

17,296

1,385

(669)

(498)

17,514

4,458

7,520

3,997

19,305

–

5,198

289

9,945

–

(824)

(3,458)

(3,395)

(2,289)

615

4,677

127

729

1,104

17,296

The temporary differences shown under “Other” of (£0.1m) (2022: £0.7m) predominantly includes such differences in relation to
fixed assets (£2.6m) (2022: £0.8m), differences between the Group GAAP, IFRS, and the local GAAP of each country in which
PageGroup operates and differences between recognition of income and expense for accounting and tax purposes and other
items of (£1.1m) (2022: £3.4m), IFRS 16 of £1.3m (2022: £1.1m) and other items of £2.3m (2022: £2.2m). The realisation of the
deferred tax asset in respect of losses is dependent upon generating future taxable profits in the territories in which the deferred
tax assets have arisen.

The recognition of deferred income tax assets is supported by management’s forecasts of future profitability of the relevant
countries. Management consider these forecasts are sufficiently reliable to support recovery of these assets. Where the
forecasts of future profits are insufficient to support recovery, no deferred income tax assets have been recognised.

The net deferred tax asset of £17.5m (2022: £17.3m) includes £5.8m of deferred tax assets in relation to entities that have
incurred an accounting loss in either 2023 and 2022. In line with the most recent budgets which forecast profits for these
entities, management expects these losses to be substantially recovered within three years.

At 31 December 2023, £41.3m (2022: £40.8m) of deductible temporary differences, unused tax losses and tax credits have
not been recognised due to uncertainty over the taxable profits available to support the realisation of these attributes. The tax
effected balances are £12.8m (2022: £12.3m).

At 31 December 2023, the Group had an available £80m committed RCF facility maturing 9 December 2027, uncommitted bank overdraft
facilities of £21m (2022: £21m), and an uncommitted £50m invoice discounting arrangement with HSBC Limited based on the carrying
amount of UK trade receivables of £30.5m (2022: £22.4m). None of the facilities were drawn at year end (2022: £nil).

The balance includes gross unrecognised tax losses of £29.0m (2022: £26.8m) of which £23.5m have no expiry, £1.6m that will
expire at various dates to 31 December 2028 with the remainder of £3.9m expiring at various dates to 31 December 2034. The
single most material country which has unrecognised tax losses is Brazil with £21m (2022: £16m).

All uncommitted facilities are repayable on demand. The Group’s exposure to interest rate, foreign currency and liquidity risk for financial
assets and liabilities is disclosed in Note 22.

The Group’s overseas subsidiaries have net unremitted earnings of £161.8m (2022: £188.7m), resulting in temporary differences
of £27.1m.(2022: £33.9m). No deferred tax has been provided in respect of these differences since the timing of the reversals
can be controlled and it is probable that the temporary differences will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

18. DEFERRED TAX

Certain deferred tax assets and liabilities have been offset where permissible in accordance with the Group’s accounting policy.
The following is the analysis of the deferred tax balances (after offset) for balance sheet purposes:

19. CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL

Deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities

2023
£’000

19,856

(2,342)

17,514

2022
£’000

18,641

(1,345)

17,296

Allotted, called-up and fully paid ordinary shares of 1p each

At 1 January

Shares issued

At 31 December

2023

2022

£’000

Number of
shares

£’000

Number of
shares

3,286

328,618,774

3,286

328,618,774

–

3,286

328,618,774

3,286

328,618,774

At the last AGM held on 1 June 2023, the Company’s Directors were authorised to allot shares up to a nominal value of
£1,095,396, so a total authorised capital of 438,158,365 shares representing a nominal value of £4,381,584.

169

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Share option plans

The Group has share option awards currently outstanding under a Share Option Scheme (SOS). These plans are described
below.

At 31 December 2023 the following options had been granted and remained outstanding in respect of the Company’s ordinary
shares of 1p under the Michael Page Share Option Scheme. The Group has no legal or constructive obligation to repurchase
or settle the options in cash.

Year of grant

Balance at
1 January
2023

2013 (Note 1)*

149,500

2014 (Note 1)*

403,333

2015 (Note 1)*

295,000

2016 (Note 1)*

145,000

2017 (Note 1)*

175,000

2018 (Note 1)*

1,349,865

2019 (Note 1)

1,613,570

2020 (Note 1)

1,676,111

2021 (Note 1)

1,838,192

2022 (Note 1)

2,185,000

Granted
in year

Exercised
in year

Lapsed
in year

No. of
options
outstand-
ing at 31
December
2023

Base
EPS/OP
range†

Exercise price
per share

Exercise period

–

(137,500)

(12,000)

– OP range

442.0p

March 2016 – March 2023

(10,000)

(20,000)

373,333 OP range

484.0p

March 2017 – March 2024

–

(20,000)

–

295,000 OP range

526.0p-534.0p

March 2018 – March 2025

145,000 OP range

406.0p-427.0p

March 2019 – March 2026

155,000 OP range

435.44p

March 2020 – March 2027

–

(55,000)

1,294,865 OP range

529.0p

March 2021 – March 2028

(23,999)

(75,898)

1,513,673 OP range

458.2p-473.80p

March 2022 – March 2029

(423,800)

(8,400)

1,243,911 OP range

332.0p-387.47p

March 2023 – March 2030

–

(51,667)

1,786,525 OP range

480.1p

March 2024 – March 2031

(105,000)

2,080,000 OP range

492.8p-509p

March 2025 – March 2032

(80,000)

2,521,500 OP range

439.6p

March 2026 – March 2033

2023 (Note 1)

–

2,601,500

Total 2023

9,830,571

2,601,500

(615,299)

(407,965) 11,408,807

Weighted
average
exercise price
2023 (£)

4.61

4.40

3.69

4.74

4.61

Total 2022

7,886,861

2,185,000

(121,288)

(120,002)

9,830,751

Weighted
average
exercise price
2022 (£)

4.52

4.94

4.57

4.42

4.61

* These options have fully vested
† The Operating Profit ranges for each award are fully disclosed in Note 1 of this Note. 6,125,316 options were exercisable at the end of 2023 at a weighted
average exercise price of £4.56 (2022: £4.42). The weighted average share price at the date of exercise was £3.69 (2022: £4.57).

Note 1

Share Option Scheme

Executive Directors of the Company are not eligible to participate in this plan. Any exercises of awards made under this plan are
settled by shares held in the Employee Benefit Trust.

This share option scheme was created in 2009 to provide an effective plan under which to grant awards from 2009 onwards. It was
the Board’s view that grants made under the existing ESOS, which would have required an increase over the 2008 base earnings per
share of at least 3% per annum above the growth in the UK Retail Price Index by 2011, would not be achievable due to the impact
of the global downturn on the Group’s EPS and thus would not provide the required retention incentive. Further grants under the
SOS have been made in each year from 2011. The performance conditions for these grants are also linked directly to the Group’s
Operating Profit.

For grants between 2012 and 2015, if Operating Profit is in excess of £50m, a proportion of the award equivalent to the amount
of Operating Profit achieved will vest up to a maximum of 100% if the Operating Profit is £100m or more. As Operating Profit of
£118.3m was achieved in 2017, the performance criteria have been fully achieved and these awards have fully vested.

For the 2016 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £75m, 2% of the award will vest for every additional £1m of Operating Profit
achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £125m or more. As Operating Profit of £142.5m was achieved in 2018,
the performance criteria have been fully achieved and these awards have fully vested.

For the 2017 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £50m, 25% of the award will vest, 1% of the award will vest for every additional
£1m of Operating Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £125m or more. As Operating Profit of £146.7m
was achieved in 2019, the performance criteria have been fully achieved and these awards have fully vested.

For the 2018 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £75m, 25% of the award will vest. 1% of the award will vest for every
additional £1m of Operating Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £150m or more. As Operating
Profit of £168.5m was achieved in 2021, the performance criteria have been fully achieved and these awards have fully vested.

For the 2019 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £100m, 1% of the award will vest for every additional £1m of Operating
Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £200m or more. As Operating Profit of £196.1m was achieved
in 2022, 96% of the performance criteria have been achieved and these awards have partially vested.

For the 2020 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £100m, 1% of the award will vest for every additional £1m of Operating
Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £200m or more. As Operating Profit of £196.1m was achieved
in 2022, 96% of the performance criteria have been achieved and these awards have partially vested.

For the 2021 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £75m, 25% of the award will vest. 1% of the award will vest for every
additional £1m of Operating Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £150m or more. As Operating
Profit of £118.8m was achieved in 2023, 68% of the performance criteria have been achieved and these awards have partially
vested.

For the 2022 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £125m, 25% of the award will vest. 1% of the award will vest for every
additional £1m of Operating Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £200m or more.

For the 2023 grant, if Operating Profit is in excess of £125m, 1% of the award will vest for every additional £1m of Operating
Profit achieved, up to a maximum of 100% at Operating Profit of £225m or more.

Other share-based payment plans

The Company also operates a Management Incentive Plan for the Executive Directors and senior employees and a Long-Term
Incentive Plan for the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and other senior employees. Details of these plans are
disclosed in the Directors’ Remuneration Report and are settled by the physical delivery of shares, currently satisfied by shares
held in the Employee Benefit Trust, to the extent that service and performance conditions are met. Movements on these plans
are shown below:

As at 1 January 2023

Granted

Lapsed

Exercised

As at 31 December 2023

LTIP/ESIP

MIP

607,990

2,369,265

303,566

1,043,446

–

(430,995)

(221,016)

(548,085)

690,540

2,433,631

Share option valuation and measurement

In 2023, options were granted on 16 March with the estimated fair value of £0.92 (2022: granted on 15 March with the
estimated fair value of £0.97). Share options are granted under service and non-market performance conditions. These
conditions are not taken into account in the fair value measurement at grant date. There are no market conditions associated
with the share option grants. The options outstanding at 31 December 2023 have an exercise price in the range of 332p to
534p and a weighted average contractual life of 6.7 years. The fair values of options and other share awards granted during the
year were calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The inputs into the model were as follows:

Share price (£)

Average exercise price (£)

Weighted average fair value (£)

Expected volatility

Expected life

Risk free rate

Expected dividend yield

Share Option Plans

Management Incentive Plan

2023

4.40

0.92

38.31%

5 years

4.69%

6.87%

2022

4.92

0.97

38.14%

5 years

1.76%

5.82%

2023

4.40

Nil

3.58

38.31%

3 years

4.69%

6.87%

2022

4.92

Nil

3.93

38.14%

3 years

1.76%

5.82%

Expected volatility was determined by reference to historical volatility of the Company’s share price in the last 36 months. The
expected life used in the model has been adjusted, based on management’s best estimate, for the effects of non-transferability,
exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations. Expectations of early exercise are incorporated into the Black-Scholes
option pricing model.

The Group recognised total expenses of £5.5m, excluding social security, (2022: £6.0m) related to share-based payment
transactions during the year.

171

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 202320. RESERVES

Share premium

The share premium account has been established to represent the excess of proceeds over the nominal value for all share issues,
including the excess of the exercise share price over the nominal value of the shares on the exercise of share options.

Capital redemption reserve

The capital redemption reserve relates to the cancellation of the Company’s own shares.

Reserve for shares held in the Employee Benefit Trust

At 31 December 2023, the reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust consisted of 14,883,172 ordinary shares (2022:
12,359,110 ordinary shares) held for the purpose of satisfying awards made under the Management Incentive Share Plan, the ESIP
and the SOS, representing 4.5% of the called-up share capital with a market value of £72.5m (2022: £57.0m).

There are 13,236,001 (2022: 10,712,614) of these shares held in the trust on which dividends are waived.

Currency translation reserve

Since first-time adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards, the currency translation reserve comprises all foreign
exchange differences arising from the translation of the financial statements of foreign operations that are integral to the operations
of the Company.

21. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

Cash at bank and in hand

Short-term deposits

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows

Net funds

Group

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

90,138

131,480

–

90,138

–

131,480

Company
2023
£’000

2022
£’000

–

The Group operates multi-currency cash concentration and notional cash pools, and an interest enhancement facility. The Eurozone
subsidiaries and the UK-based Group Treasury subsidiary participate in the cash concentration arrangement, the Group Treasury
subsidiary retains the notional cash pool and the Asia Pacific subsidiaries operate the interest enhancement facility. The structures
facilitate interest compensation of cash whilst supporting working capital requirements.

22. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

The Group has exposure to the following risks from its use of financial instruments:

(i) credit risk

(ii) liquidity risk

(iii) market risk

This note presents information about the Group’s exposure to each of the above risks, the Group’s objectives, policies and
processes for measuring and managing risk, and the Group’s management of capital. Further quantitative disclosures are included
throughout these consolidated financial statements.

The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the establishment and oversight of the Group’s risk management framework.

The Group’s risk management policies are established to identify and analyse the risks faced by the Group, to set appropriate risk
limits and controls, and to monitor risks and adherence to limits. Risk management policies and systems are reviewed regularly to
reflect changes in market conditions and the Group’s activities. The Group, through its training and management standards and
procedures, aims to develop a disciplined and constructive control environment in which all employees understand their roles and
obligations.

The Audit Committee oversees how management monitors compliance with the Group’s risk management policies and procedures
and reviews the adequacy of the risk management framework in relation to the risks faced by the Group. The Audit Committee
is assisted in its oversight role by Internal Audit. Internal Audit undertakes both regular and ad hoc reviews of risk management
controls and procedures, the results of which are reported to the Audit Committee.

(i) Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the Group if a client or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual
obligations, and arises principally from the Group’s receivables from clients. Management has a credit policy in place and the
exposure to credit risk is monitored on an ongoing basis.

At the balance sheet date there were no significant concentrations of credit risk. The maximum exposure to credit risk is
represented by the carrying amount of each financial asset in the balance sheet.

Trade and other receivables

Total trade receivables (net of allowances) held by the Group at 31 December 2023 amounted to £270.5m (2022: £307.8m).

An initial credit period is made available on invoices. No interest is charged on trade receivables from the date of the invoice
during this credit period. An impairment analysis is performed at each reporting date using a provision matrix to measure the
expected credit losses. The Group has established a provision matrix that is based on its historical credit loss experience
adjusted for forward-looking factors specific to the debtors and the economic environment.

Included in the Group’s trade receivables balance are debtors with a carrying amount of £106.0m (2022: £127.3m) that are past
due at the reporting date for which the Group has not provided as the amounts are still considered recoverable. The Group does
not hold any collateral over these balances. The days’ sales of these receivables at the year end is 42 days in excess of the initial
credit period (2022: 45 days).

In the table below, the provision includes expected credit losses.

The ageing of trade receivables at the reporting date was:

Not past due

Past due 0-30 days

Past due 31-150 days

More than 150 days

2023

2022

Gross trade
receivables
£’000

Provision
£’000

Net trade
receivables
£’000

Gross trade
receivables
£’000

Provision
£’000

Net trade
receivables
£’000

165,572

(1,066)

164,506

181,728

(1,155)

180,573

62,744

41,406

11,930

(405)

(29)

(9,644)

62,339

41,377

2,286

71,646

53,350

14,070

(456)

(339)

(11,010)

71,190

53,011

3,060

281,652

(11,144)

270,508

320,794

(12,960)

307,834

The Group’s exposure to credit risk is influenced mainly by the individual characteristics of each client. The demographics of
the Group’s client base, including the country in which clients operate, also has an influence on credit risk. The geographic
diversification of the Group’s revenue also reduces the concentration of credit risk.

The majority of the Group’s clients have been transacting with the Group for several years, with losses rarely occurring. In
monitoring client credit risk, clients are grouped according to their credit characteristics, including geographic location, industry,
ageing profile, maturity and existence of previous financial difficulties.

Movement in the allowance for expected credit losses

Balance at beginning of the year

Expected credit losses recognised on receivables

Amounts written off as uncollectable

Amounts recovered/reversed during the year

Balance at end of the year

2023
£’000

12,960

35,114

(3,278)

(33,652)

11,144

2022
£’000

11,086

25,265

(2,914)

(20,477)

12,960

The allowance for expected credit losses represents a provision for debts which the Group estimate may be irrecoverable,
including £6.7m (2022: £6.7m) of debts in litigation.

The impairment recognised represents the difference between the carrying amount of these trade receivables and the present
value of the expected liquidation proceeds. The Group does not hold any collateral over these balances.

173

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023Exposure to credit risk

Currency rate risk

The maximum exposure to credit risk for receivables at the reporting date by geographic region was:

EMEA

United Kingdom

Asia Pacific

Americas

Net trade receivables

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

171,473

191,699

36,521

27,903

34,611

45,101

32,027

39,007

270,508

307,834

The fair values of trade and other receivables are not materially different to those disclosed above and in note 14. There is no
material effect on pre-tax profit if the instruments are accounted for at fair value or amortised cost.

(ii) Liquidity risk management

Ultimate responsibility for liquidity risk management rests with the Board, which has built an appropriate liquidity risk management
framework that aims to ensure that the Group has sufficient cash or credit facilities at all times to meet all current and forecast
liabilities as they fall due. It is the Directors’ intention to continue to finance the activities and development of the Group from
retained earnings.

Cash surpluses were invested in short-term deposits, with any working capital requirements being provided from Group cash
resources, Group facilities, or by local overdraft facilities. The Group also operates a multi-currency notional cash pool to facilitate
interest and balance compensation of cash and bank overdrafts.

The following are the contractual maturities of financial liabilities:

2023

Lease liabilities

Trade payables

Less than
1 month
£’000

2,832

6,915

1-3
months
£’000

5,664

1,451

3-12
months
£’000

25,487

Accruals and other payables

124,431

29,368

36,116

More than
12 months
£’000

84,641

9,111

2022

Lease liabilities

Trade payables

Less than
1 month
£’000

3,432

10,547

1-3
months
£’000

5,503

349

3-12
months
£’000

24,547

191

More than
12 months
£’000

81,685

–

Accruals and other payables

154,942

26,657

34,969

14,259

The above are the contractual cashflows before discounting at the incremental borrowing rate.

Capital is equity attributable to the equity holders of the Parent. The primary objective of the Group’s capital management is to
ensure that it maintains a strong credit rating and healthy capital ratios to support the business and maximise Shareholder value.
The Group manages its capital structure and makes adjustments to it in light of changes in economic conditions. To maintain or
adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the dividend payment to Shareholders, return capital to Shareholders through
share repurchases with subsequent cancellation, or issue new shares. No changes were made in the objectives, policies or
processes for managing capital during the years ended 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2022.

(iii) Market risk and sensitivity analysis

The Group’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates,
but these risks are not deemed to be material. However, a sensitivity analysis showing hypothetical fluctuations in Sterling against
the Group’s main exposure currencies is shown on the next page. There has been no material change in the Group’s exposure to
market risks or the manner in which it manages and measures the risk.

Interest rate risk management

Borrowings are arranged at floating rates, thus exposing the Group to cash flow interest rate risk. The Group does not consider this
risk as significant. The benchmark rates for determining floating rate liabilities are based on relevant national LIBOR equivalents.

The Group publishes its results in Sterling and conducts its business in many foreign currencies. As a result, the Group is subject
to foreign currency exchange risk due to exchange rate movements. The Group is exposed to foreign currency exchange risk
as a result of transactions in currencies other than the functional currencies of some of its subsidiaries and the translation of the
results and underlying net assets of foreign subsidiaries.

The main functional currencies of the Group are Sterling, Euro, Chinese Renminbi, Swiss Franc, Singapore Dollar, Hong Kong
Dollar, Australian Dollar and US Dollar. The Group does not have material transactional currency exposures. The Group is
exposed to foreign currency translation differences in accounting for its overseas operations. The Group policy is not to hedge
translation exposure.

In certain cases, where the Company gives or receives short-term loans to and from other Group companies with different
reporting currencies, it may use foreign exchange rate derivatives to manage the currency exposure that arises on these loans.
It is the Group’s policy not to seek to designate these derivatives as hedges.

All derivative financial instruments are classified as derivatives at fair value through the income statement. The Group does not
use derivatives for speculative purposes. All transactions in derivative financial instruments are undertaken to manage the risks
arising from underlying business activities.

Information on the fair value of derivative financial instruments held at the balance sheet date is shown in the table below. Net
losses of £1.8m (2022: gains of £3.4m) have been included as part of the foreign exchange losses for the year (note 3).

Fair values are not adjusted for credit risk, as required by IFRS 13, because credit impact is not material given the low fair value
levels. All derivative instruments are classified as level 2 instruments.

Derivative financial instruments

Derivative assets

Derivative liabilities

Net derivative assets / (liabilities)

Sensitivity analysis – currency risk

Derivatives at fair value

2023
£m

1.3

(0.3)

1.0

2022
£m

3.2

(0.4)

2.8

A 10% strengthening of Sterling against the following currencies at 31 December 2023 would have increased/(decreased) equity
and profit or loss by the amounts shown below. This is reflective of the exchange rates movements experienced by the Group
over the last 3 years. This analysis is applied currency by currency in isolation, i.e. ignoring the impact of currency correlation,
and assumes that all other variables, in particular interest rates, remain constant. The analysis is performed on the same basis
for 2022. The amounts generated from the sensitivity analysis are forward-looking estimates of market risk assuming certain
adverse market conditions occur. Actual results in the future may differ materially from those projected, due to developments in
the global financial markets which may cause fluctuations in interest and exchange rates to vary from the hypothetical amounts
disclosed in the table below, which therefore should not be considered a projection of likely future events and losses.
Profit before tax

Equity

Euro

Australian Dollar

Swiss Franc

Chinese Renminbi

Hong Kong Dollar

Singapore Dollar

United States Dollar

Other

2023
£’000

(9,521)

(1,143)

(411)

(768)

(490)

(1,566)

(1,847)

(2,759)

2022
£’000

(12,682)

(1,741)

(597)

(1,016)

(720)

(1,560)

(1,741)

(3,184)

2023
£’000

1,524

735

154

194

168

(58)

(483)

185

2022
£’000

(2,102)

(356)

(76)

169

292

274

(973)

(246)

A 10% weakening of Sterling against the above currencies at 31 December would have had a similar but opposite effect on the
above currencies to the amounts shown above, on the basis that all other variables remain constant.

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 202323. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

FIVE-YEAR SUMMARY

Capital Commitments

The Group had £nil contractual capital commitments as at 31 December 2023 relating to property, plant and equipment (2022: £nil).
The Group had £nil contractual capital commitments as at 31 December 2023 relating to computer software (2022: £nil).

Guarantees

Subsidiary undertakings within the Group have provided unsecured guarantees of £9.9m (2022: £9.0m) in the ordinary course of
business. It is not anticipated that any material liabilities will arise from these contingent liabilities.

The Company has provided guarantees amounting to £3.9m (2022: £4.0m) in respect of bank and other facilities of subsidiaries in
the ordinary course of business.

The Company is the named Guarantor in respect of the £80m Multicurrency Revolving Credit Facility Agreement maturing
9 December 2027 where Michael Page Recruitment Group Limited is the named Borrower. The Facility was undrawn as at
31 December 2023 (2022: undrawn).

VAT Group registration

Revenue

Gross profit

Operating profit

Profit before tax

2019
£’000

2020
£’000

2021
£’000

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

1,653,948

1,304,791

1,643,740

1,990,287 2,010,303

855,450

610,249

877,720

1,076,294 1,007,132

146,669

17,028

168,510

196,079

118,815

144,245

15,544

166,645

194,366

117,436

Profit attributable to equity holders

103,445

(5,742)

118,356

139,012

77,068

Conversion†

Basic earnings per share (pence)

17.1%

32.2

2.8%

(1.8)

19.2%

18.2%

11.8%

37.2

43.7

24.4

As a result of Group registration for UK VAT purposes, the Company is contingently liable for VAT liabilities arising in other
companies within the VAT group which at 31 December 2023 amounted to £3.1m (2022: £6.7m).

† Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit.

24. EVENTS AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE

There have been no material events after the balance sheet date that require disclosure.

25. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Identity of related parties

The Company has a related party relationship with its Directors and members of the Executive Committee, and subsidiaries
(Note 13).

Transactions with key management personnel

Key management personnel are deemed to be the Directors and members of the Executive Committee as detailed in the
biographies on pages 83 to 89. The remuneration of Directors and members of the Executive Committee is determined by the
Remuneration Committee having regard to the performance of individuals and market trends. The transactions for the year were:

Related party transactions

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Short-term benefits

Pension costs – defined contribution plans

Share-based payments

2023
£’000

7,878

894

422

4,194

13,459

2022
£’000

8,608

860

525

230

3,152

13,375

Company

Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties of the Company, have been eliminated on
consolidation. Details of transactions between the Parent Company and subsidiary undertakings are shown below.

Dividends received

Amounts owed
by related parties

Amounts owed
to related parties

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

2023
£’000

2022
£’000

Transactions

97,936

163,331

1,157,419

1,081,498

1,392,889

1,314,866

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
AND ADVISERS

Annual General Meeting

To be held on 3 June 2024 at 9.30am at 200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX.

Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023

To be paid (if approved) on 21 June 2024 to Shareholders on the register of members on 17 May 2024.

General Counsel & Company Secretary

Kaye Maguire

Company number

3310225

Registered office, domicile and legal form

The Company is a limited liability company incorporated and domiciled within the United Kingdom.

The address of its registered office is:

200 Dashwood Lang Road,
Bourne Business Park,
Addlestone,
Surrey,
KT15 2NX

Auditor

Ernst & Young LLP
1 More London Place
London SE1 2AF

Solicitor

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Exchange House
Primrose Street
London EC2A 2EG

Banker

HSBC Bank plc
60 Queen Victoria Street
London EC4N 4TR

Joint corporate brokers

Citigroup
33 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5LB

HSBC Bank plc
8 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5HQ

Registrar

Link Group
10th Floor
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds LS1 4DL

Financial PR

FTI Consultancy
200 Aldersgate
Aldersgate Street
London EC1A 4HD

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STRATEGIC REPORTCORPORATE GOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSADDITIONAL INFORMATIONPageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023PageGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2023