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BUILDING HOMES
CHANGING LIVES

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION

MJ Gleeson plc specialises  
in low-cost house building  
and strategic land promotion.

MacDonald Park, Farnworth, Greater Manchester

STRaTegIC RepORT

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OTheR INFORmaTION

CONTENTS

Strategic Report

Financial highlights 

What We Do 

how We Operate 

Chairman’s Statement 

market Overview 

Chief executive’s Statement 

Business model 

Strategy 

Business Review 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

Non-financial Reporting 

Financial Review 

Risk management 

Governance

Board of Directors 

Chairman’s Introduction 

governance Report 

Directors’ Report 

audit Committee Report 

Remuneration Committee Report 

Remuneration policy Report 

annual Report on Remuneration 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Financial Statements

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities  

Independent auditors’ Report 

Consolidated Income Statement 

Statement of Financial position 

Statement of Changes in equity 

Statement of Cash Flows 

Notes to the Financial Statements 

Other Information

Five Year Review 

Further Information 

Corporate Directory 

Shareholder Information 

Financial Calendar 

Our Website 

72

73

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79

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104

104

104

104

104

1

2

4

6

8

10

14

16

18

22

26

28

32

36

38

39

44

48

54

56

64

REVENUE

+27.0%

2019: £249.9m, 2018: £196.7m

CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS

£30.3m

2018: £41.3m

PROFIT BEFORE TAX

+11.4%

2019: £41.2m, 2018: £37.0m

DIVIDEND FOR THE YEAR

+7.8%

2019: 34.5p, 2018: 32.0p

EARNINGS PER SHARE

+9.7%

2019: 61.0p, 2018: 55.6p

RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYED

25.9%

2018: 26.6%

Cover: Ammie and Harper, Woodthorpe Park, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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WhaT We DO

BUILDING HOMES
CHANGING LIVES

We employ people with outstanding skills which we bring together to 
build new homes and communities for the benefit of our customers, our 
shareholders and society at large.

WE SOURCE
LOW-COST SITES

WE DEVELOP
UNUSED LAND

We acquire land often in areas where no one else wants to 
build and that helps to keep our land costs low. This is an 
important first step in keeping our homes affordable. We are 
increasing the number of sites in our existing areas and 
expanding into neighbouring regions such as Lincolnshire and 
the West Midlands. 

Our developments are located in areas where there is often  
a need for social and economic regeneration; typically 
brownfield sites that would otherwise remain derelict or 
unused. Last year we invested approximately £150m in our 
development sites, creating attractive and well planned new 
homes for sale. 

NUMBER OF PLOTS IN THE PIPELINE 

NUMBER OF ACTIVE SITES

13,575

2018: 12,852

69

2018: 65

Photo: Canal Walk, Burnley, Lancashire

Photo: Keats Court, Worksop, Nottinghamshire

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MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

 
 
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WE BUILD
AFFORDABLE HOMES

WE CREATE
COMMUNITIES

The cost of buying a Gleeson home is less than renting for 
many buyers and can be as low as £56 per week for one of our 
average 2 bed semi-detached homes. More than 4 out of 5 of 
our customers are first-time buyers and their mortgage 
commitments remain sensibly low at less than 2.9 times 
household income versus the market average of 3.3 times. 

We sell our homes to local people and many of our buyers 
already live close to one of our sites. We do not build 
apartments and we are opposed to leasehold. We are about 
creating safe communities where people want to live. We build 
traditional brick homes using local suppliers and employ local 
trades on our sites, bringing jobs and investment to the 
community. 

AVERAGE SELLING PRICE

£128,900

2018: £125,200

Photo: The Black family, Cradock Court, Sheffield

Photo: Barnburgh View, Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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hOW We OpeRaTe

CONTINUING TO GROW OUR
GEOGRAPHICAL FOOTPRINT

MJ Gleeson plc specialises in low-cost house building  
and strategic land promotion. We have two distinct but 
complementary businesses: house building on 
brownfield land in the North of England and the Midlands 
and strategic land promotion in the South of England. 

BREAKDOWN BY DIVISION

OUR OPERATING AREAS

Revenue

£52.9m

£249.9m

Total

Operating profit

£13.0m

£41.0m*

Total

  Gleeson Homes
  Gleeson Strategic Land
*    After Group costs of £2.1m

£197.0m

£30.1m

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OTheR INFORmaTION

GLEESON HOMES

We build and sell low-cost homes to people 
predominantly on low incomes in areas of 
industrial decline and social and economic 
deprivation.

By establishing strong relationships with local 
authorities, Gleeson Homes acquires and redevelops 
sites where there is an obvious need for social and 
economic regeneration and builds new homes at 
affordable prices.

We deliver a unique social benefit by helping people to 
escape from housing poverty caused by the “rent trap” 
and into home ownership and wealth creation. Our 
homes are affordable enough to be sold to a couple  
on the current National Living Wage and mortgage 
repayments are often less than local council house 
rents.

We invest in the areas in which we build, ensuring that 
we leave a thriving community once our developments 
are complete.

GLEESON STRATEGIC LAND

We are a specialist land promoter that enhances 
the value of land by securing mainly residential 
planning consents. We focus on sites in the 
South of england that are appealing to a wide 
range of developers.

Gleeson Strategic Land has a team of highly skilled 
planning, technical and land specialists who identify 
development opportunities and work with stakeholders 
to promote the land through the planning system.

We have a long history of delivering value through 
securing planning consents that not only achieve  
best value but ultimately help to deliver attractive 
residential development in areas where housing 
shortage issues are often acute.

We invest intelligently in our land portfolio and work 
closely with landowners, land agents, local authorities 
and communities to secure residential planning 
consents that are sustainable and sensitive to  
local needs.

HOMES SOLD

1,529

2018: 1,225

STRATEGIC LAND  
PORTFOLIO (PLOTS)

21,730

2018: 22,838

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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ChaIRmaN’S STaTemeNT

Overview
The Group had an excellent year. Gleeson Homes delivered its 
largest annual volume growth, selling 1,529 homes, an increase of 
304 homes (24.8%) on the prior year’s total of 1,225. During the 
year we opened 19 new sites across the North of England and the 
Midlands and had on average 65 sales outlets (2018: 61).

Gleeson Strategic Land also performed strongly. Nine land sales 
were completed during the year, with the potential to deliver 1,755 
new homes in the South of England. The business added a further 
eight sites to its portfolio, which at the year end comprised 60 
sites (2018: 61 sites).

Review of Strategic Land 
In April 2019, the Board announced that it had appointed advisers 
to explore a range of options for the Group’s Strategic Land 
business. The Board also confirmed that a number of third parties 
had expressed interest in acquiring Strategic Land.

Having considered the options and expressions of interest, the 
Board has now concluded that the Group will derive greater 
long-term value from retaining Strategic Land than from selling it. 
The business is extremely well positioned to continue delivering 
strong profits and cash, with a healthy portfolio of sites and a 
highly skilled team.

Market context
Despite the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, the demand for our 
low-cost homes from young first-time buyers and low-income 
families in the North of England remains robust. Mortgage finance 
is available to our customers on attractive terms and many of them 
are also benefiting from the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme.  
We are supportive of this Scheme, but we believe that it should be 
amended so that it provides greater assistance to those who need 
it most, in particular young people on low incomes.

The Board believes that Gleeson Homes is less exposed to the 
potential problems arising from a no-deal Brexit than other large 
housebuilders. We operate predominantly in the North of England 
and employ small, locally-based suppliers and subcontractors on 
our development sites and do not rely on foreign labour. Our 
largest and most critical suppliers are well prepared for a no-deal 
Brexit. They have planned alternative supply routes and have built 
up short-term stocks to ensure that adequate supplies are 
maintained. 

I am pleased to report our highest annual 
growth in homes sold and another year of 
double-digit growth in profit. Our unique 
model continues to bring substantial 
benefits to our customers and to society 
more widely by helping predominantly 
young, first-time buyers and people on low 
incomes into home ownership.

Dermot Gleeson
Chairman

Meanwhile, there is no evidence that the prospect of Brexit is 
undermining the confidence of our actual and prospective 
customers. 

Gleeson Strategic Land continues to attract multiple bidders for 
land in the South of England, where demand for high-quality sites 
remains strong from both medium-sized and large housebuilders. 
This demand is underpinned by the continued need for new homes 
in areas of housing shortage.

Employees
The average number of employees during the year increased to 550 
(2018: 480). The actual number of employees at the year end was 
552 (2018: 509).

Towards the end of the year, the Group launched its new employee 
engagement survey “Your Voice”. The results of this are being 
collated and will provide us with a better understanding of how we 
can work together to develop the structure, ways of working and 
culture of our business. This will be fundamental to the next phase 
of our growth, which will be driven by the engagement of our 
people and a shared understanding of the “Gleeson Way”.

The Group’s strong performance during the year would not have 
been possible without the skill, commitment and hard work of our 
employees and subcontractors. On behalf of the Board, I would 
like to thank them very sincerely and very warmly indeed.

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OTheR INFORmaTION

Board changes
Following the departure of the former Chief Executive Officer, 
Jolyon Harrison, James Thomson was appointed to the Board in 
June 2019 as interim Chief Executive Officer. James was formerly 
Chief Executive of Keepmoat Homes Limited, one of the UK’s 
largest housebuilders, where he remains a Non-Executive Director.

The Board is well-advanced in a search process, which includes 
both internal and external candidates, to appoint a permanent 
Chief Executive Officer. We hope to announce the outcome of this 
process within the next three months.

The Board is also close to finalising a search process to find two 
new Non-Executive Directors. We recognise the value in bringing 
fresh talent and diversity to the Board and it is our intention to 
make these appointments shortly.

Delivering returns for our shareholders
Our earnings per share grew by 9.7% to 61.0 pence (2018: 55.6 
pence). In light of this, and of our confidence in the prospects for 
the current financial year and beyond, the Board is recommending 
a final dividend for the year of 23.0 pence per share (2018: 23.0 
pence per share).

Combined with the interim dividend, this will give a total dividend 
for the year of 34.5 pence per share (2018: 32.0 pence per share), 
an increase compared to the previous year of 7.8%.

Subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting 
(“AGM”), the final dividend will be paid on 13 December 2019  
to shareholders on the register at the close of business on  
15 November 2019. The ex-dividend date is 14 November 2019.

Outlook and summary
We remain comfortably on track to achieve our target of doubling 
Gleeson Homes’ sales to 2,000 units p.a. over the five years from 
2017 to 2022.

Meanwhile, the Board and the senior management team are united 
in their ambition to continue to grow the value of the Group on a 
sustainable basis.

Against this background, the Board is confident that our unique 
business model will continue to deliver significant growth in both 
revenue and profits in the current financial year and beyond.

Dermot Gleeson
Chairman
13 September 2019

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maRKeT OveRvIeW

THE UK HOUSING MARKET
IS FAILING TO MEET THE 
NEEDS OF HOME OWNERSHIP

The housing market is not serving 
young buyers and low-income families; 
the average price of a new home is 
nearly £300,000 and only a quarter of 
25 to 34-year-olds make it onto the 
housing ladder.   

THE DESIRE TO OWN REMAINS STRONG

UK home ownership rate (%)

80

70

60

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Over the last 10 years home ownership has fallen from a peak 
of around 73% in 2008 to around 65% in 2018. Most people 
still want to own their own home; home ownership provides 
stability and financial security with 86% of the population 
preferring to buy than rent1. Owning a property remains the 
most important milestone in life for many people.

1 

Redfern Review November 2016, British Social Attitudes Survey

1 IN 3 HOMES IN ENGLAND ARE RENTED

THE OWNERSHIP AGE GAP IS WIDENING 

Home ownership by age group (%)

Owned

Rented

North, East 
& Midlands

8.2m

4.3m

London 
& South

7.4m

4.3m

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2017

25-34

65 and over

There are now over 24 million homes in England. More than 
half, around 12.5 million, are in the North, Midlands and East of 
England with around 11.7 million in London and the South. 
One-third (8.6 million) of homes across England are rented 
with 4.3 million of these homes in the North, Midlands and 
East. Of these, around 2.1 million homes are privately rented 
and 2.2 million are rented from councils or housing 
associations.

Source: Labour Force Survey, Q4 various years

The demographic split of home ownership rates shows that the 
market continues to under-serve young people. Only a quarter 
of those aged 25 to 34 own their own home, which contrasts 
starkly with those approaching retirement where more than half 
were homeowners by their 30th birthday. The fundamentals of 
the housing market are unfavourable for young buyers and 
without help from the “bank of mum and dad” many young 
people will struggle to get on the housing ladder.

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TOO FEW HOMES ARE BEING BUILT

House building volumes (000) 

NEW HOMES ARE BUILT FOR THOSE THAT  
ALREADY OWN

Average price of new build homes (£000)

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

Government Target 300,000

All
Private enterprise

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2018

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

The house building industry in England has tried to respond, 
building around 170,000 new homes last year, up from 
160,000 in the previous year. Whilst the supply of new homes 
has increased over the last few years, it continues to fall a 
long way short of the Government’s target of 300,000 new 
homes a year.

TOO FEW NEW HOMES FOR SALE BELOW £150,000

Housing transaction volumes (000)

Below £150,000

Above £150,000

1 in15
new build

203

1 in 5
new build

254

14

64

New build

Resale

New build

Resale

As a whole, the industry is not building enough homes for sale 
below £150,000. In the North, Midlands and East of England 
only 6% of homes sold below £150,000 were new build 
compared to 20% of homes over £150,000. This ratio 
highlights the under-supply of affordable homes being built.
Whilst there are many terraced houses in the resale market, 
lenders often require higher deposits than for new build 
homes, which makes older terraced houses less affordable for 
many people and these are often more expensive to run.

500

400

300

200

100

0

Gleeson 
Homes

A

B

856

H

I

C
E
G
Other listed housebuilders 2018/19

D

F

The average price of a new build home in England last year 
was £293,000 and the majority of other listed housebuilders 
have an average selling price in excess of £300,000. That is 
clearly a price which is unaffordable to many young first-time 
buyers and families on low incomes.

There is a large, under-served market 
building low-cost homes for people 
who need them the most across the 
North of England and the Midlands.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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ChIeF eXeCUTIve’S STaTemeNT

Following my appointment in June 2019, I have had the opportunity 
to visit all of our area offices and over a third of our development 
sites, meet many of the people and start to understand the 
“Gleeson DNA” which is deeply embedded across the business.  
I have assessed the business against what I believe is critical to 
measuring the operational health of any housebuilder, including 
land buying, build process, quality, health and safety, sales and 
management structure. I am pleased to find that Gleeson is not 
only a robust business in these areas but continues to look for 
ways to improve and realise marginal gains. 

It is clear that we have a unique model and a team of highly skilled 
employees and subcontractors who are passionate about what  
we do. We believe in the value of not only building good quality 
low-cost homes for our customers, but also in creating 
communities and the benefits it brings to wider society, often 
transforming and regenerating areas previously blighted by 
industrial decline or neglect. 

Demand for our low-cost homes remains strong from first-time 
buyers. We have an experienced management team and we are 
comfortably on track towards achieving our stated target of 
doubling volumes to 2,000 new homes per year by 2022.

Homes operational performance
Gleeson Homes delivered record growth in volumes this year, 
selling 1,529 homes, an increase of 24.8% on the prior year. 
Our land pipeline increased by 5.6% to 13,575 plots (2018: 12,852) 
and the number of active outlets open at the year end increased  
by 6.2% to 69 sites. 

Operating profit grew by 14.9% to £30.1m. Operating margin fell 
from 17.1% to 15.3% but this was largely anticipated and a result  
of accelerating build rates on our existing sites and investment  
in overheads to support growth. Consistent with other major 
housebuilders, we have also experienced some cost pressures  
on labour and materials, but we expect this to stabilise over the 
forthcoming year.

I was delighted to join Gleeson as interim 
Chief Executive Officer. This is a business 
that I have admired from afar and, as I 
have got to know the business and its 
people over the last few months, it is not 
only every bit as impressive as I imagined, 
but more so.

James Thomson
Interim Chief executive Officer

Unique model
Our house prices remain truly affordable with the average selling 
price for the year being £128,900 (2018: £125,200). The increase 
was partly due to the mix of site locations and number of 2, 3 and 4 
bed homes sold, and our aim remains to keep our homes 
affordable to our customers whilst ensuring that we maximise our 
revenue opportunities over the life of a development. 

We sell to people who need a home with 4 out of every 5 customers 
being first-time buyers. We sell to young people with 88 homes 
sold this year being to people aged 21 or under.

We buy land at sensible prices and build good quality homes that 
families on low incomes can afford. Our buyers are often from  
the local area and want to remain living near family and friends.

Our model remains building traditional 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses 
with a front garden, back garden and a driveway. We firmly believe 
this is what our buyers want and they value traditional bricks and 
mortar. We do not build apartments and we do not engage in 
part-exchange sales and are therefore not exposed to the  
resale market. 

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KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 

Gleeson Homes volumes

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

1,013

904

751

561

1,529

1,225

Units (homes) sold continued a strong growth trajectory.

Gleeson Homes land pipeline (plots)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

13,575

12,852

11,588

9,284

7,496

5,065

Land continues to be available to buy at sensible prices.

Resilient market
Demand for low-cost homes in the North of England and the 
Midlands remains strong. We are extending our model with new 
sites soon to open in Lincolnshire and the West Midlands. We see 
no signs of demand abating and we continue to deliver one of the 
highest volume growth rates of any listed housebuilder.

More than 4 million homes are currently rented in our target market 
in the North of England and the Midlands. The vast majority of our 
buyers want to escape the “rent trap” and begin wealth creation 
through home ownership. 

Only one in fifteen (6%) of all house sales below £150,000 in the 
North of England and the Midlands is a new build home. This 
compares to three in fifteen (20%) of all house sales above 
£150,000. Gleeson is the only listed housebuilder dedicated to 
building low-cost homes in a market that is three times less 
well-supplied than the rest of the market and, as a result, provides 
significant opportunities for growth.

Our buyers are typically hardworking, lower-paid workers like 
teachers, nurses, bus drivers, firefighters and secretaries. They 
often have the ability to earn overtime and are not burdened by 
student debt. They are woefully under-served by the housing 
market and have seen the adverse impact on affordability over  
the last five years with house prices significantly outgrowing  
their wages. 

69

65

59

Over the last five years, average weekly wages have risen by  
14.5% whereas average house prices in England have risen by a 
staggering 24.6%. Our homes start at just £89,000 meaning that 
someone on the National Minimum Wage can afford to buy one of 
our homes. We remain committed to ensuring that home ownership 
is truly affordable for all.

Gleeson Homes active sites

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

48

43

35

Gleeson Homes opened 19 sites, completed 15 sites 
and increased net active sites by 4 sites during the year.

Gleeson Strategic Land portfolio (plots)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015 

2014 

21,730

22,838

21,505

21,111

21,150

21,500

Land interests represent over 12 years of sales.

Our buyers will buy a Gleeson home if it is well built, in the right 
location and the cost of ownership is less than, or similar to, 
renting. Ownership costs for a typical Gleeson home are less than 
the cost of renting and the lifetime cost of buying is significantly 
lower than renting, even if mortgage rates increase.

Buying a Gleeson home enables our customers to reduce their 
outgoings and live in a comfortable home that provides them with 
financial security and stability away from the uncertainties that 
often comes with living in rented accommodation. When Gleeson 
customers eventually retire, they will own their own home, have an 
asset to pass to their children and will not require the level of 
housing support that they would if they rented.

Just over two-thirds (68%) of our customers use the Government’s 
Help to Buy scheme and the average priced house purchased with 
Help to Buy this year was £134,480. The highest priced home that 
used the scheme was £199,995. Nearly all (99.9%) of our homes 
sold with Help to Buy would be below the new regional limits that 
will come into force in 2021. 

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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ChIeF eXeCUTIve’S STaTemeNT CONTINUED

Quality
We are skilled at building high-quality homes for sale at affordable 
prices. Gleeson Homes is uniquely focused on this segment of the 
market, with other housebuilders offering a higher priced product 
that does not meet the needs of our lower income customers. We 
are focused on quality and we will only hand over homes that we 
are proud of. 

Strategic Land operational performance
Operating profit grew from £12.6m to £13.0m from 9 land 
transactions in the year. Our Strategic Land business is in a strong 
position with an experienced management team and a healthy 
pipeline of 60 sites which could deliver over 21,000 residential 
plots. 

Although many major housebuilders have strong land banks we 
continue to see high demand for good quality consented land in 
the South of England. 

We are investing in further new sites and advancing our existing 
sites through the planning system. The current status of the 
portfolio and pipeline of new sites gives us confidence in the 
strength and sustainability of this business. 

Current trading and outlook
I’ve been greatly impressed by what I’ve seen so far. We have a 
unique business model, a clear target for growth and a highly 
skilled team to deliver it.

There is a great deal of land available in our target areas and 
opportunities for us to grow. Our homes continue to remain highly 
affordable and mortgage finance remains readily available. We 
have plenty of land on which to build homes, people to build them 
and a strong team that can grow the business in a controlled and 
profitable way.

The Gleeson Strategic Land business is in a strong position, with a 
healthy portfolio and we continue to add good quality sites to the 
portfolio on attractive terms.

We are confident that the current financial year will be another 
excellent year for the Group.

James Thomson
Interim Chief executive Officer
13 September 2019

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OTheR INFORmaTION

RESPONSIBLE
HOUSE BUILDING

Our business model is founded on a close engagement with our customers and 
their communities, productive cooperation with local landowners, empowerment 
of our people and fair treatment of our supply chain to ensure that we are 
building a “best in class” product.

Our model is unique and is driving growth which mutually benefits our 
customers, our communities and our shareholders.

Our commitment to freehold
We believe that wherever possible home ownership should 
include the land on which it is built. Where this is not 
possible the homeowner should not be penalised.

Wherever possible we sell our homes as freehold. We only 
sell homes as leasehold when we do not own the land and 
this applies to three of our developments in the North West 
where a peppercorn ground rent is payable on these homes.

Sustainable builders
Our unique approach to business was recognised in March 
2018 when we were voted the most sustainable PLC in the 
UK at the prestigious PLC Awards. The judges valued the 
responsible approach that we take to building low-cost 
homes including our use of environmentally-friendly 
materials, such as gravel driveways which have a lower 
carbon footprint than bonded materials and aid surface 
water drainage.

Living Wage Foundation
We are proud to be the only major housebuilder accredited 
by the Living Wage Foundation for paying our employees the 
real Living Wage, or higher. The only exception to this is for 
apprentices, where we pay above the Government’s 
guidance for apprentices.

The Gleeson apprenticeship scheme
Since 2010 the Gleeson apprenticeship scheme has trained 
many young people and this year we have a record 89 
apprentices starting in September. The national lack of 
skilled people such as bricklayers and joiners is adding to 
the housing crisis. We are recruiting apprentices to help fill 
the skills shortage through our apprenticeship scheme. 
When they qualify a large number continue to work for us or 
go on to a third year of their NVQ which can lead to becoming 
a trainee Site Manager. Our office in Sheffield is a registered 
CITB training centre which shows that we take their  
training seriously.

YourWatch®
Our trademarked YourWatch® scheme provides our 
residents with the anonymity to report their concerns 
without repercussion via the YourWatch® website. We share 
information with local police and residents, working in 
partnership with local police in many areas to reduce crime 
and antisocial behaviour. 

The Gleeson Community Sports Foundation
Since the inception of the Foundation seven years ago,  
we have sponsored over 100 junior sports teams by 
providing brand new kit and funding for teams in and  
around our developments.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

13

BUSINeSS mODel

DELIVERING
SUSTAINABLE VALUE

Our unique business model delivers value for shareholders, 
customers, communities and our employees. Our business 
model has two distinct divisions which are complementary  
in generating long-term sustainable value.

CORE ACTIVITIES

laND aCQUISITION

plaNNINg

BUIlD

GLEESON HOMES

Successful land buying
We partner with local authorities and 
private landowners to acquire land in 
socially and economically deprived 
areas which will benefit from 
development and investment.

We have a carefully targeted land 
buying strategy that has clearly 
defined and challenging hurdle rates. 
This ensures that we buy land at 
sensible prices so that our homes 
remain affordable.

Attractive developments
Our developments are designed to 
transform areas that are often blighted 
by urban neglect and dilapidation.  
Our sites are landscaped in a way that 
is attractive, environmentally friendly 
and sustainable.

We build a range of two, three and four 
bedroom detached and semi-detached 
homes that are planned around a 
well-established specification.

We work with local communities, local 
authorities and councils to ensure that 
our planned developments balance the 
needs of stakeholders, whilst ensuring 
our homes remain affordable.

Tightly controlled costs
We maintain tight control over build 
and material costs.

We partner with local suppliers and 
subcontractors wherever possible.

By using suppliers and subcontractors 
that are local to our sites, we provide 
jobs and investment in areas that are 
often most in need.

We ensure that our overhead costs are 
relatively low by having small and 
similarly structured management teams 
in each area office and by continuously 
measuring their relative performance.

GLEESON STRATEGIC LAND

New land opportunities
We enter into contractual agreements 
with landowners to promote their 
land through the planning process 
where we see an opportunity for 
sustainable residential or other 
development in the future.

Land promotion
Our team of specialist land surveyors 
and town planners, along with legal 
and technical experts, steer the land 
through the planning system towards 
achieving a viable and attractive 
planning consent.

We invest intelligently in the 
promotion of our sites, a process 
which can sometimes be long  
and complex.

14

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

GLEESON HOMES

GLEESON STRATEGIC LAND

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

CUSTOmeRS

OUTpUT

Providing affordable homes
We ensure that our homes are affordable 
and built to the specification that our 
customers expect. Our average selling 
price is £128,900 (2018: £125,200).

We offer our customers a range of 
bespoke financial packages, including a 
deposit saving scheme, to enable them 
to become homeowners.

Our developments provide new homes 
that are affordable to people from the 
local area. Our buyers are often young, 
motivated individuals and couples on 
low incomes who can afford to buy one 
of our homes and want to escape the 
burden of renting.

Community regeneration
Over the years, Gleeson Homes 
has played a key role in 
regenerating many challenging 
urban areas across the North  
of England and, more recently, 
the Midlands.

We have helped to re-establish 
local communities and invested 
in a wide range of projects near  
to our sites, transforming 
community facilities and 
sponsoring over 100 local junior 
sports teams.

Shareholder value
Gleeson Homes generated an 
operating profit of £30.1m 
(2018: £26.2m).

Stakeholder management
We have a long history of working with a 
range of mid-tier and large housebuilders 
to manage the sale of consented land.

Through careful promotion and sale, we 
provide high-quality consented land to 
developers who ultimately deliver 
attractive and sustainable residential 
development in areas where there is a 
housing need.

Housing supply
During the year Gleeson 
Strategic Land sold land 
interests with the potential  
to deliver 1,755 (2018: 1,970) 
plots for housing development 
to help ease the housing 
shortage in the South  
of England.

Shareholder value
Gleeson Strategic Land 
generated an operating profit 
of £13.0m (2018: £12.6m).

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

15

STRaTegY

CREATING SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
FOR OUR STAKEHOLDERS

Delivering an increasing number of affordable homes to 
people across the North of England and the Midlands and 
unlocking the potential of land in the South of England for 
residential or other development.

Gleeson Homes
The demand for new homes in England continues to outstrip 
supply and, even despite the uncertainties of Brexit, house prices 
continue to rise across many parts of the country. Nowhere is this 
felt more strongly than by young, hard working first-time buyers 
and people on low incomes who are caught in the “rent trap” and 
who are increasingly unable to get onto the housing ladder.

Gleeson Homes has a proven and successful track record in 
delivering new homes at affordable prices across the North of 
England and the Midlands. Working alongside local authorities, 
Gleeson Homes has led the regeneration of many under-served 
communities, enabling people to buy their own home and live and 
work in their local area. Through targeted land buying and careful 
cost control across our business, we remain committed to keeping 
our homes affordable to the sector of the housing market that we 
serve.

Targeted growth
In 2017, we set a target of 2,000 unit completions per annum within 
5 years. We delivered a record 1,529 new homes in the year to  
30 June 2019, an increase of 304 units (24.8%) over the prior year. 

Demand remains extremely strong and we are comfortably on track 
towards achieving our target.

Gleeson Strategic Land
The supply of new homes in the South of England continues to 
suffer due to a fragmented planning landscape and underlying 
inertia to new development in many areas.

Gleeson Strategic Land works to obtain planning consent on sites 
by navigating the complexities of the planning system. This 
enables us to supply high-quality consented land to developers, 
who can start to deliver new homes for sale typically within 12 to 
24 months of a planning consent.

Where residential consent is not a viable option then we may seek  
alternative types of planning permission such as for commercial  
use to provide much needed employment land.

16

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC pRIORITIeS

pROgReSS IN 2018/19

pRIORITIeS FOR 2019/20

GLEESON HOMES

Increase house building footprint

We will increase the number of active developments across the 
North of England and the Midlands, targeting areas that are in 
need of regeneration.

Build quality affordable homes

We will build good quality homes to the specification that our 
customers require. We will ensure that our homes are energy 
efficient and have low running costs. We will use appropriate 
construction methods to build efficiently.

We will tightly control build costs and acquire land in line  
with our defined hurdle rates. This will enable us to maintain 
profitability whilst keeping our average selling prices  
(“ASPs”) low.

Increase land pipeline

We will continue to acquire land to support the growth of 
Gleeson Homes. We will start building as soon as we have an 
acceptable planning approval.

GLEESON STRATEGIC LAND

Strategic land promotion

We will continue to invest in our portfolio of land interests and 
promote existing and new sites through the planning system to 
deliver maximum value to our stakeholders.

We were active on 69 sites at 30 June 2019 having opened  

19 new sites during the year and completed development on 15 sites.

Our pilot offices in Penrith and Ashington became fully staffed area 

offices, and we ended the year with 10 area offices across the North  

of England and the Midlands.

We will continue to open new sites and 

anticipate an increase to more than 80 active 

sites during the coming year.

We will remain on track towards achieving our 

2017 stated target of 2,000 unit completions per 

annum by 2022.

Last year MJ Gleeson plc was voted the most sustainable business in the 

UK at the national PLC Awards. This recognised our sustainable business 

model and approach to building affordable homes in areas that are most 

We will continue to use efficient building 

techniques in order to keep our costs low, 

selling prices affordable and to maintain  

in need of regeneration using cost-effective and environmentally-friendly 

strong margins.

materials.

Land continues to be available at sensible prices. Gross margin decreased 

on driveways where appropriate, which are 

from 32.7% to 30.1% as a result of costs associated with increased build 

environmentally friendly, cost-effective and aid 

rates, labour and material costs. However, we have mitigated the impact 

surface water drainage.

We will continue to use materials such as gravel 

as far as possible through tight control over costs and modest  

price increases. 

Our land pipeline of owned and conditionally purchased plots at 30 June 

We will continue to buy land at sensible prices to 

2019 increased by 5.6%, totalling 13,575 plots, of which 7,050 plots have 

support the growth of the business in 2019/20 

been purchased subject to planning permission.

and beyond.

On average, we completed the sale of the first house within 15 months  

of legally completing the purchase of a new site with an acceptable 

planning permission.

We will continue to seek planning permissions 

for attractive residential developments and will 

start on sites as soon as we have an acceptable 

planning permission.

At 30 June 2019, we had a land portfolio of 60 sites, which can deliver 

21,730 plots and 44 acres of commercial land.

During the year, we achieved planning consents on 8 sites and acquired 

interests in 8 new sites.

We will continue to invest in advancing our land 

portfolio through the planning system to ensure 

the delivery of sustainable profits and cash 

flows for 2019/20 and beyond.

 
 
 
 
 
STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

CURRENT TARGET
Double Gleeson Homes volumes
20172022

2017

1,013 units

BY 2022

2,000 units

STRaTegIC pRIORITIeS

pROgReSS IN 2018/19

pRIORITIeS FOR 2019/20

GLEESON HOMES

Increase house building footprint

We will increase the number of active developments across the 

North of England and the Midlands, targeting areas that are in 

need of regeneration.

Build quality affordable homes

We will build good quality homes to the specification that our 

customers require. We will ensure that our homes are energy 

efficient and have low running costs. We will use appropriate 

construction methods to build efficiently.

We will tightly control build costs and acquire land in line  

with our defined hurdle rates. This will enable us to maintain 

profitability whilst keeping our average selling prices  

(“ASPs”) low.

Increase land pipeline

We will continue to acquire land to support the growth of 

Gleeson Homes. We will start building as soon as we have an 

acceptable planning approval.

GLEESON STRATEGIC LAND

Strategic land promotion

We will continue to invest in our portfolio of land interests and 

promote existing and new sites through the planning system to 

deliver maximum value to our stakeholders.

We were active on 69 sites at 30 June 2019 having opened  
19 new sites during the year and completed development on 15 sites.

Our pilot offices in Penrith and Ashington became fully staffed area 
offices, and we ended the year with 10 area offices across the North  
of England and the Midlands.

Last year MJ Gleeson plc was voted the most sustainable business in the 
UK at the national PLC Awards. This recognised our sustainable business 
model and approach to building affordable homes in areas that are most 
in need of regeneration using cost-effective and environmentally-friendly 
materials.

Land continues to be available at sensible prices. Gross margin decreased 
from 32.7% to 30.1% as a result of costs associated with increased build 
rates, labour and material costs. However, we have mitigated the impact 
as far as possible through tight control over costs and modest  
price increases. 

We will continue to open new sites and 
anticipate an increase to more than 80 active 
sites during the coming year.

We will remain on track towards achieving our 
2017 stated target of 2,000 unit completions per 
annum by 2022.

We will continue to use efficient building 
techniques in order to keep our costs low, 
selling prices affordable and to maintain  
strong margins.

We will continue to use materials such as gravel 
on driveways where appropriate, which are 
environmentally friendly, cost-effective and aid 
surface water drainage.

Our land pipeline of owned and conditionally purchased plots at 30 June 
2019 increased by 5.6%, totalling 13,575 plots, of which 7,050 plots have 
been purchased subject to planning permission.

On average, we completed the sale of the first house within 15 months  
of legally completing the purchase of a new site with an acceptable 
planning permission.

We will continue to buy land at sensible prices to 
support the growth of the business in 2019/20 
and beyond.

We will continue to seek planning permissions 
for attractive residential developments and will 
start on sites as soon as we have an acceptable 
planning permission.

At 30 June 2019, we had a land portfolio of 60 sites, which can deliver 
21,730 plots and 44 acres of commercial land.

During the year, we achieved planning consents on 8 sites and acquired 
interests in 8 new sites.

We will continue to invest in advancing our land 
portfolio through the planning system to ensure 
the delivery of sustainable profits and cash 
flows for 2019/20 and beyond.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

17

 
 
 
 
BUSINeSS RevIeW

GLEESON HOMES
A UNIQUE LOW-COST 
BUSINESS MODEL

Gleeson Homes delivered its largest 
annual volume growth selling 1,529 
homes. 

During the year we opened 19 new sites and had on average 65 
selling outlets open compared to 61 during the prior year. The 
outlets are located across the North of England and the Midlands. 
The number of outlets at the end of the year increased to 69  
(2018: 65) and is expected to rise to 80 or more by the end of the 
current financial year.

The average selling price (“ASP”) for the homes sold in the year 
was £128,900 (2018: £125,200). The increase was influenced by  
a combination of factors: house price inflation, the mix of site 
locations and the mix of 2, 3 and 4 bed homes sold. Our aim is to 
ensure that our selling prices remain affordable for young first-
time buyers and low-income families.

Gross profit margin decreased to 30.1% (2018: 32.7%) mainly due 
to the costs associated with increased build rates and higher 
labour and material costs.

The increase in the volume of homes sold and higher ASP resulted 
in gross profit increasing by 18.4% to £59.3m (2018: £50.1m). 

Operating profit increased 14.9% to £30.1m (2018: £26.2m). 
Operating margin decreased from 17.1% to 15.3% as a result of 
lower gross margin and investment in overheads to support the 
growth plans of the business.

We continue to acquire land in the North of England and the 
Midlands at sensible prices. The pipeline grew by 723 plots to 
stand at 13,575 plots at 30 June 2019. Of these plots 6,525 are 
owned (2018: 6,475) and 7,050 plots are conditionally purchased 
(2018: 6,377). The mix of sites in the pipeline was, however, 
weighted towards slightly larger sites, with the number of sites in 
the land pipeline totalling 144 at year end, being 5 sites lower than 
the prior year end; 30 new sites were added to the pipeline, while 
35 sites were completed or did not proceed to purchase. In 
addition to owned and conditionally purchased plots, there are a 
further 473 (2018: 354) plots which are being actively considered 
for acquisition but will only proceed if they meet our strict  
returns criteria.

The Government’s Help to Buy Scheme remains popular with many 
of our customers, with 68% of the homes sold during the year 
utilising the scheme (2018: 66%). We also continued to provide our 
own range of bespoke packages to assist potential customers to 
become homeowners.

Gleeson Homes

UNITS SOLD

+24.8%

2019: 1,529 units
2018: 1,225 units

LAND PIPELINE

+5.6%

2019: 13,575 plots
2018: 12,852 plots

OPERATING PROFIT

+14.9%

2019: £30.1m
2018: £26.2m
Operating profit on unit sales (£m)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

Unit volumes

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

14.7

9.1

30.1

26.2

21.8

19.5

1,529 

1,225

1,013

904

751

561

18

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

CASE STUDY
HOME OWNERSHIP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
New homes in Longtown are being 
snapped up by local residents, 
including 19-year-old Sophie Jackson.

Home ownership may seem like a pipe dream to many young 
people, but a 19-year-old from Hethersgill has made her 
property dreams a reality thanks to a new Gleeson 
development in Longtown. 

We opened our Briar Lea Park development off Brampton Road 
in September 2018, with local residents quickly snapping up 
new build two, three and four bedroom semi and detached 
homes.  

Sophie Jackson recently completed on her first property after 
moving out of her mother’s village home to be closer to work. 
Initially believing a new build home to be out of her price 
range, Miss Jackson was surprised to discover that she could 
actually afford a three-bedroom semi-detached property after 
attending one of our Mortgage Clinic events. 

“The mortgage clinic actually helped a lot! I was able to ask a 
lot of questions and was absolutely delighted when they said 
that a three-bedroom home would be within my budget”, said 
Miss Jackson. “The development is close to my workplace and 
is also within walking distance of a few shops. It’s quite rural, 
but also close to Longtown, which is where I wanted to base 
myself after moving from Hethersgill. As I am only 19, I wanted 
a new build property so I could just move in and not worry 
about doing any DIY or renovation work. It was a bit of blank 
canvas when I first moved in, but it is nice and homely now.  
I was also able to choose my kitchen, which I just love!”

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

19

BUSINeSS RevIeW

GLEESON STRATEGIC LAND
INVESTING INTELLIGENTLY  
IN OUR LAND PORTFOLIO

We continue to replenish our land 
portfolio with high-quality new sites and 
to advance our existing sites through the 
planning system.

Revenue from Gleeson Strategic Land grew by 22.2% to £52.9m 
(2018: £43.3m) driven predominantly by the mix of sites sold in  
the year. The 9 sites sold totalled 203 acres with 8 of these having 
the potential to deliver 973 plots across the South of England, in 
addition to one legacy site that was jointly owned and capable of 
delivering 782 plots (2018: 1,970 plots).

Operating profit reflects the value added by Gleeson Strategic 
Land on land transactions through securing attractive residential 
planning consents and managing the onward sale to developers. 
Operating profit increased by 3.2% to £13.0m (2018: £12.6m) which 
was driven by the quality and mix of sites sold.

We continue to see strong demand from a wide range of developers 
including large national and mid-sized housebuilders. The land 
market, particularly for sites in prime locations in the South of 
England, remains buoyant despite the uncertainties caused
by Brexit.

At the year end, we had a portfolio totalling 60 sites (2018: 61 sites) 
with the potential to deliver 21,730 plots (2018: 22,838 plots)  
plus 44 acres of commercial land (2018: 67 acres). The portfolio 
comprises 770 plots (2018: 1,552 plots) that were wholly or part 
owned by the Group, 8,553 plots (2018: 8,754 plots) that were held 
under option, and 12,407 plots (2018: 12,532 plots) that were the 
subject of promotion agreements.

PLOTS SOLD

1,755 plots

2018: 1,970 plots

LAND PORTFOLIO

21,730 plots

2018: 22,838 plots

OPERATING PROFIT

+3.2%

2019: £13.0m
2018: £12.6m

Operating profit (£m)

The portfolio is at varying stages through the planning system and 
at 30 June 2019 we had 9 sites (2,929 plots) which were consented 
or had a resolution to grant; 6 sites which had a planning 
application submitted and awaiting decision; and 8 sites with 
applications being worked up prior to submission. The balance of 
the portfolio consists of sites which are being promoted through 
the development plan process.

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

13.0 

12.6

12.0

10.2

8.1

4.8

During the year, we secured planning consents for 8 sites and 
acquired interests in 8 other new sites. These new sites 
contributed a further 1,064 plots to the portfolio.

Opportunities for new land readily come forward and we use our 
knowledge and expertise to select and promote the sites where we 
see the potential for future residential development and where we 
can deliver maximum value for stakeholders.

Our Strategic Land team is based in Fleet, Hampshire and the 
portfolio continues to have a geographic bias towards the South of 
England. Sites in the portfolio are expected to realise value over 
the short, medium and long term driven by the planning context of 
each individual site.

Site sales 

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

9 

10

8

5

7

7

20

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

CASE STUDY
LAND SOUTH WEST OF AYLESBURY
The land forms part of a major strategic 
urban extension for 1,550 residential 
units with a relief road, primary school, 
community buildings and public open 
space.

During the year, Gleeson Strategic Land submitted a planning 
application for a 106 hectare site capable of delivering in the 
region of 1,550 new homes to the South West of Aylesbury. The 
area is allocated within the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan and is 
a greenfield site on the edge of the existing settlement.

Development of the site would include the provision of a link 
road through the site to divert traffic around the south of 
Aylesbury town centre. It would respect the principles of the 
Garden Town status of Aylesbury by providing 50% open 
space and also provide a new primary school and community 
buildings. We are working with the promoters of HS2 to protect 
the route alignment and provide appropriate mitigation in the 
form of landscape buffers and noise mitigation.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

21

CORpORaTe SOCIal ReSpONSIBIlITY

WE ARE RECOGNISED AS
AN ETHICAL BUSINESS

We have been recognised for our ethical approach 
to business which carefully considers our role in the 
community and the environment throughout our 
business activities. 

OUR PEOPLE

Employing local people
At Gleeson, we pride ourselves on giving back to the community 
and we specifically look at recruiting local people for our 
development sites. When searching for candidates, our 
recruitment team will prioritise location as a key factor as we value 
the importance and benefits of having local people working for us. 
Where possible, when a new site is opening, we target recruitment 
towards areas within close proximity of the site, ensuring that we 
not only provide affordable homes for local people, but we provide 
employment opportunities for them too. 

An example of the success of this initiative is James Harnett who 
started his employment at Gleeson Homes as a fork lift truck driver 
at our St. Aidan’s View development in County Durham. James is 
local to the area and has made great progress in his career with us, 
having recently been promoted to Assistant Site Manager after eight 
months of being a Trainee Assistant Site Manager.

Apprenticeship scheme
We are extremely proud of our apprenticeship scheme and we are 
dedicated to giving people the opportunity to start a career in the 
house building industry. The national shortage of skilled trades, 
such as bricklayers and joiners, is adding to the housing crisis.  
We are recruiting apprentices to help fill the skills shortage 
through our apprenticeship scheme. We are also continuing to 
invest in our office-based apprenticeships, both across our area 
offices and at our head office in Sheffield. Local school leavers 
are invited to join our technical, quantity surveying, land buying 
or finance departments.

The scheme is growing every year and in September 2019,  
we will welcome 30 trade and 15 office apprentices who will be 
commencing their first year of the apprenticeship programme,  
17 trade and 8 office apprentices who will be commencing their 
second year and 9 trade and 10 office apprentices who will be 
commencing their third year. 

Our apprenticeship scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for 
school leavers or those looking to start a new career in the house 
building industry. One example is Daniel Hawkes who works as  
an Apprentice Quantity Surveyor (QS) at our Gateshead Office. 
Dan has been with us for 2 years and we look forward to him 
joining our team when his apprenticeship ends as a full time 
Assistant QS.

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MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

 
STRaTegIC RepORT

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FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

Our commitment to mental health
Mental health awareness has become a massive focus in the UK 
over the last couple of years and we understand the significant 
impact that mental health can have in the construction industry. 
We have been working hard on a campaign to raise awareness of 
mental health and break down the stigma that surrounds it in the 
industry. This is something we feel extremely passionate about 
and we want to make sure our employees’ mental health is as 
much of a priority as their physical health. 

Our plan to support our employees has been approved by the 
mental health campaign “Time to Change”, which is a UK-wide 
movement aiming to reduce mental health-related stigma and 
discrimination. We will shortly be signing up to “The Employer 
Pledge” that demonstrates our commitment to change how we 
think and act about mental health in the workplace. In doing so,  
we will join over 900 other companies across the UK and a variety 
of different industries that are putting the mental health of their 
employees at the top of their agenda.

A team of Gleeson employees 
completed the Tough Mudder 
Challenge and raised over 
£1,600 for Mind, the mental 
health charity.

Women in construction
There is no escaping the fact that the construction industry is a 
male-dominated environment. However, at Gleeson Homes, we 
have some incredible trailblazing women working for us. From 
Assistant Build Managers to our first ever female Site Manager, 
these women are paving the way in our organisation and are role 
models for future generations of women who want to make a career 
in construction.

Julie Darby manages Fretson Park, a development with 103 plots 
about 3 miles from Sheffield city centre. She joined us in April 
2019 as the first female Site Manager at Gleeson Homes, having 
previously been a site manager elsewhere for 5 years. Being 
organised is key to any Site Manager role and this is one of the 
things that Julie enjoys the most. Big on customer care, Julie says 
“I absolutely love being a Site Manager and I love being the only 
woman on site but that can be a challenge in itself. Female Site 
Managers are few and far between and for the older men working 
on site, it’s a new concept. I have a brilliant team and the 
camaraderie is second to none. I’d love to see more women on site 
and I’m happy that I can inspire others to build a career in 
construction”.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

23

CORpORaTe SOCIal ReSpONSIBIlITY CONTINUED

OUR COMMUNITY

Gleeson Community Sports Foundation
Over the last seven years we have sponsored over 100 junior 
sports teams through the Gleeson Community Sports Foundation. 
By providing funding we are able to supply brand new kit for young 
people participating in many different activities including football, 
tennis, cricket, athletics, ice hockey and many more! 

One example is Wath Stars JFC who are an FA charter standard 
Junior Football Club. They were founded in 2010 to create a safe, 
fun, inclusive environment for children in the Dearne Valley area to 
play grassroots football. Currently the Club has over 120 children 
ranging from 6 to 17 years old, with 9 teams playing league 
football. In July 2019 the Club started up its first ever girls-only 
squad, one of very few in the area. The teams play in the Sheffield 
and District Junior Football league, which has over 100 registered 
clubs and boasts that out of the 23 players in the England 2018 
World Cup squad, 5 of those played as children in this league. An 
amazing statistic and fantastic inspiration for the young children 
who play in this league.

Engagement with local schools
We work closely with schools located near to our developments 
and projects include:
•  Design a bedroom competition – pupils design their dream 

bedroom in a shoebox and the winning design is recreated in 
one of our show homes on the site.

•  Site visits – we invite pupils to visit a local development to see 
the opportunities for a job in construction and house building. 

•  Health and safety talks – we visit local schools to discuss 

health and safety and the dangers of playing near a building 
site.

One example is Gracie-Mae Garner, aged 5, who designed this 
amazing Dr. Who-themed bedroom at our Crawford Park 
development in Blyth.

Many of the children in Wath Stars JFC live  
in underprivileged areas and through 
sponsorship and funding you help the Club  
to give these children a safe place to play the 
game we all love. Thank you!

Lisa Adams
Treasurer for Wath Stars JFC

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MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

YourWatch®
All of our buyers are automatically enrolled into YourWatch®, 
Gleeson’s neighbourhood watch online alert platform. The scheme 
has over 4,000 subscribers across our developments and is 
designed to keep residents updated on how to keep their homes 
and communities safe. 

YourWatch® is successful due to residents being able to report a 
problem anonymously. On receipt of the alerts we are able to send 
information to other residents and share this with the police where 
necessary. We continue to work with local residents, communities 
and local authorities to create safe and attractive places to live 
that transform the lives of residents and build community spirit.

The Bloomin’ Great Gleeson Garden Competition
This is the fourth year of the competition and our most popular  
to date with over 150 entries. Homeowners were invited to send  
in a photo of their garden for a panel of Gleeson staff to choose  
the winners. 

The standard of the entries we received was exceptional this year 
so choosing a winner was extremely difficult. The competition 
helps to increase community spirit whilst encouraging 
homeowners to maintain and show-off their gardens.

OUR ENVIRONMENT

Award winning 
In 2018 we were voted the most sustainable PLC in the UK at the 
prestigious PLC Awards. The judges were impressed with our 
sustainable approach to building low-cost homes and the way that 
we work with our local communities, providing both homes and 
employment to local people. They also valued our commitment to 
paying the real Living Wage, being the only major UK housebuilder 
accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.

Environmentally friendly materials
We use sustainable materials such as environmentally friendly 
gravel on driveways wherever possible. Gravel driveways emit less 
CO2, help to prevent flooding, deter burglars and car thieves and 
are a more affordable alternative throughout their life when 
compared to other surfaces. The amount of CO2 saved this year 
from using gravel on the driveways of all our homes versus tarmac 
would be in excess of 362 tonnes!

Greenhouse gas emissions
Our greenhouse gas emissions for the year ended 30 June 2019 are 
calculated in accordance with the requirements of the Greenhouse 
Gas Protocol – A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. 
Emissions have been calculated using the UK Government’s  
CHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting: 2019 and  
2018 respectively.

Scope 1: Emissions from combustion of fuel
Scope 2: Electricity, heat, steam and 

cooling purchased for own use

Total emissions

Emissions per £m revenue

Tonnes CO2e
2019

Tonnes CO2e
2018

3,358

2,910

397

3,755

15.03

264

3,174

16.13

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

25

NON-FINaNCIal RepORTINg

In this section we describe our approach to the environment, employees, social 
matters, human rights and anti-bribery and corruption in accordance with the new 
Non-Financial Reporting Regulations set out in sections 414CA and 414CB of the 
Companies Act 2006.

Employees
We are committed to ensuring that all of our employees and other 
stakeholders are treated fairly and equitably. This includes 
providing our employees and subcontractors with a safe and 
healthy working environment. 

We have an organisational culture which promotes diversity, 
inclusivity, personal development and respect. We want people to 
be part of our organisation and have a shared understanding of the 
Gleeson mission, vision and values.

Find out more about our:
•  policy on diversity, recruitment, equality and how we engage 

with our employees on page 45;

•  approach to employee relations and appointment of a new 

Workforce Representative on page 41;

•  health and safety reporting and the investment that we are 

making in our health and safety team on page 45;

•  gender pay gap reporting as set out in the Remuneration 

Committee Report on page 55 with the full report available at 
www.mjgleesonplc.com; and

•  commitment to employing local people, training and developing 
our apprentices, raising awareness about mental health and 
promoting women in construction on pages 22 to 23.

Anti-bribery and corruption
The Group is committed to the highest standards of ethics, 
honesty and integrity. Our anti-bribery and corruption policy 
outlines the expected standards of conduct that employees, 
subcontractors, suppliers and any other third parties who engage 
with our business are expected to follow. 

This includes rules around giving and receiving gifts, hospitality 
and entertainment; procedures for engaging new suppliers and 
subcontractors; and procedures for monitoring and raising “red 
flags” in relation to suspicious requests or invoices received by the 
business that could be an indicator of criminal activity including 
tax evasion.

Find out more about our:
•  whistleblowing policy and monitoring of malpractice reporting 

on page 51;

•  anti-bribery and corruption policies on page 51; and
•  reporting of registers of gifts and hospitality given or received 

by Directors and employees of the Group on page 51.

Human rights and social matters
The Group is committed to upholding basic human rights across 
our business and with our stakeholders. Our employee policies 
cover all aspects of basic human rights including time off for leave, 
dependents, parental leave allowances and flexible working 
arrangements.

Our grievance and fair treatment at work policies ensure that our 
employees, suppliers and subcontractors connected to our 
business can speak up about any concerns without fear of 
retribution.

We value the relationships that we have with our suppliers and 
subcontractors. The Group strives to pay a fair price and to pay 
them in line with the terms set. 

Find out more about our:
•  policy in regards to preventing modern slavery and human 
trafficking which can be found on our website at www.
mjgleesonplc.com; 

•  payment terms and performance in relation to payment 

practices which can be found at www.gov.uk; 

•  commitment to pay the real Living Wage or higher to our 

employees on page 55 ; and

•  commitment to provide freehold ownership, giving our buyers 
the right to buy the land on which their home is built and not 
under leasehold as set out on page 13.

Community and environment 
We recognise that we have a responsibility to reduce the impact of 
our operations on the environment within the scope of what we do 
as a business. Our aim is to create more sustainable ways of 
undertaking our operations to conserve energy, save money and 
deliver efficiency.

We also invest in the communities, local areas and the supply 
chain around our development sites. Wherever possible we employ 
local people and use local suppliers and subcontractors. This 
brings investment to the local community but also reduces the 
environmental impact of travel to and from our sites.

Find out more about our:
•  focus on using environmentally friendly construction materials 

such as gravel on driveways on page 25;

•  performance in relation to greenhouse gas emissions as the 
scale of our operations increase as set out on page 25; and
investment in the communities, schools and areas in which we 
operate on pages 24 to 25.

• 

26

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

 
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Barnburgh View, Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

27

FINaNCIal RevIeW

REVENUE

+27.0%

2019: £249.9m
2018: £196.7m

GROSS PROFIT

+14.9%

2019: £75.0m
2018: £65.3m

OPERATING PROFIT

EARNINGS PER SHARE

+11.1%

2019: £41.0m
2018: £36.9m

+9.7%

2019: 61.0 pence
2018: 55.6 pence

PROFIT BEFORE TAX

NET ASSETS PER SHARE

+11.4%

2019: £41.2m
2018: £37.0m

+8.4%

2019: 374 pence
2018: 345 pence

28

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

The Group delivered another year of 
strong growth with operating profit in 
Gleeson Homes up 14.9% and Group 
profit before tax up 11.4%.

Stefan Allanson
Chief Financial Officer

Profitability
Group revenue increased this year by 27.0% to £249.9m  
(2018: £196.7m). This was driven by revenue in Gleeson Homes 
which increased by 28.4% to £197.0m (2018: £153.4m) as a  
result of a 24.8% increase in the number of homes sold to 1,529  
(2018: 1,225) and an increase in average selling price (“ASP”) to 
£128,900 (2018: £125,200). Revenue in Gleeson Strategic Land 
increased by £9.6m to £52.9m (2018: £43.3m) mainly due to the 
mix of sites sold during the year.

Gross profit for the Group increased by 14.9% to £75.0m  
(2018: £65.3m). The gross profit of Gleeson Homes increased by 
18.4% to £59.3m (2018: £50.1m) despite gross profit margin 
reducing, as expected, from 32.7% to 30.1% due to both additional 
costs arising from faster build rates and higher labour and material 
costs. The gross profit of Gleeson Strategic Land increased by 3.3% 
to £15.7m (2018: £15.2m).

Administrative expenses increased by £5.6m (19.5%) as a result  
of investment in overheads to support business growth and pay 
increases. It also included full year running costs for the Gleeson 
Homes’ offices in Northumberland and Scunthorpe, which opened 
during the previous year. Additionally, the number of active sales 
outlets increased to 69 from 65 at the end of the prior year.

Operating profit from continuing operations was £41.0m  
(2018: £36.9m), an increase of 11.1% over the previous year.  
Growth in operating profit was driven by strong trading results in 
both Gleeson Homes and Gleeson Strategic Land. Operating profit 
for Gleeson Homes increased by 14.9% to £30.1m (2018: £26.2m) 
while operating profit for Gleeson Strategic Land increased by 
3.2% to £13.0m (2018: £12.6m).

Finance income of £0.9m (2018: £0.4m) consisted primarily of the 
unwinding of discounts on deferred receivables on land sales and 
shared equity receivables. Interest earned on unwinding of 
discounts was higher than the prior year as a result of carrying 
more deferred receivables during the year. Finance expenses of 
£0.7m (2018: £0.3m) consisted of interest payable on bank loans 
and overdrafts, bank charges and interest and unwinding of 
discounts relating to deferred payables on land purchases.

As a result, the Group delivered profit before tax of £41.2m  
(2018: £37.0m), an increase of 11.4% on the prior year.

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Tax
A total tax charge of £7.7m (2018: £6.6m) has been recorded, 
reflecting an effective rate of tax of 18.8% (2018: 17.8%).

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 

Divisional operating profit1 (£m)

Deferred tax assets relating to unused tax losses have been 
recognised to the extent that it is probable that taxable profits will 
be available against which the asset can be utilised. The Group 
now has £13.0m (2018: £21.2m) of gross tax losses, of which £4.1m 
(2018: £12.3m) are recognised in calculating the deferred tax asset.

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015 

13.0

12.6

12.0

30.1

26.2

22.8

10.2

8.1

19.5

17.4

The deferred tax asset recorded within the consolidated statement 
of financial position totals £2.7m (2018: £3.7m).

Discontinued operations
Discontinued operations incurred a loss after tax of £0.3m during 
the year (2018: £0.3m). This related to the costs of Gleeson 
Construction Services Limited, whose only activity is limited to 
resolving claims from the legacy businesses that were sold in  
2005 and 2006. The level of claims has now reduced to an 
insignificant level.

2014 

4.8

9.4

Group profit before tax (£m)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

17.3

12.2

Profit for the year
The profit after tax for the year was £33.3m (2018: £30.2m).

Total dividend (pence)

■  Gleeson Homes
■  Gleeson Strategic Land

41.2

37.0

33.0

28.2

24.0

34.5

32.0

30.3

41.3

34.1

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

14.5

10.0

6.0

Cash balance (£m)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

23.2

15.8

13.7

Return on capital employed2 (%)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

25.9

26.6

25.4

23.2

21.1

13.7

Normalised earnings per share (pence)

2019

2018

2017 

2016 

2015

2014

34.2

17.2

61.0

55.6

48.5

42.6

1   Gleeson Homes operating profit includes profit on land sales of £nil in 2019; 
£nil in 2018; £1.0m in 2017; £nil in 2016; £2.7m in 2015; and £0.3m in 2014.

2   Return on capital employed is calculated based on earnings before interest 

and tax (EBIT) from continuing and discontinued operations before 
exceptional items expressed as a percentage of the average of opening and 
closing net assets after deducting deferred tax balances and cash.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

29

Earnings per share
Reported basic earnings per share from continuing and 
discontinued operations increased by 9.7% to 61.0 pence (2018: 
55.6 pence).

Return on capital employed
Return on capital employed decreased by 70 basis points to 25.9% 
(2018: 26.6%) reflecting growth and increase in capital employed, 
which increased from £143.1m to £170.9m. This increase was 
driven by increased net receivables in Gleeson Strategic Land and 
increased investment in build WIP in Gleeson Homes.

Final dividend
Reflecting the financial strength of the Company as well as our 
confidence in the short-term outlook, the Board has proposed a 
final dividend of 23.0 pence per share (2018: 23.0 pence per share).

Combined with the interim dividend, the dividend for the full year 
totals 34.5 pence representing an increase of 7.8% on the prior 
year (2018: 32.0 pence per share).

The Board aims to maintain ordinary dividend cover between 1.75 
times and 2.75 times.

Statement of financial position
During the year to 30 June 2019, shareholders’ funds increased by 
8.4% to £203.9m (2018: £188.1m). Net assets per share increased 
to 374 pence, an increase of 8.4% year on year (2018: 345 pence).

In the year, non-current assets decreased by 27.6% to £22.0m  
(2018: £30.4m). The main reason for the change is the decrease  
in deferred receivables of £7.2m in addition to a £0.6m reduction 
in shared equity receivables and a decrease in deferred tax assets 
of £1.0m.

Current assets increased by 22.0% to £259.2m (2018: £212.4m), 
with inventories increasing by £22.6m to £183.1m and trade and 
other receivables increasing by £35.2m to £45.8m, offset by cash 
balances decreasing by £11.0m to £30.3m.

Total liabilities increased by 41.3% to £77.3m (2018: £54.7m).  
This was mainly due to trade and other payables of £73.8m (2018: 
£51.6m) being £22.2m higher due to an increase in deferred land 
payables in Gleeson Strategic Land.

 
 
FINaNCIal RevIeW CONTINUED

Cash flow
The Group generated £7.8m (2018: £21.6m) of cash in the year before 
the payment of dividends of £18.8m (2018: £14.4m), resulting in a net 
cash balance at 30 June 2019 of £30.3m (2018: £41.3m).

Operating cash flows before working capital movements generated 
£42.7m (2018: £38.6m). Investment in working capital of £27.9m 
(2018: £11.4m) resulted in cash generated from operating activities of 
£14.8m (2018: £27.2m).

Tax and interest payments amounted to £6.2m (2018: £5.3m).

Cash outflows from investing activities totalled £0.8m
(2018: £0.3m outflow). Net cash outflows from financing activities 
totalled £18.8m (2018: £14.4m), including £18.8m (2018: £14.4m) on 
dividend payments.

Treasury risk management
The Group’s cash balances are centrally pooled and invested, 
ensuring the best available returns are achieved whilst retaining 
sufficient liquidity for the Group’s operations. The Group deposits 
funds only with financial institutions which have a minimum credit 
rating of A. As the Group operates wholly within the UK, there is no 
requirement for currency risk management.

Bank facilities
During the year, the Group exercised the accordion option on its 
£20m bank borrowing facility with Lloyds Bank plc to increase the 
facility to £40m and extended it to 31 August 2021. The facility 
provides the Group with additional flexibility and was undrawn at the 
balance sheet date.

Subsequent to the year end, the Group has agreed heads of terms 
with Lloyds Bank plc to increase the facility to £70m for five years to 
September 2024. 

Pension
The Group contributes to a defined contribution pension scheme.  
A charge of £1.0m (2018: £0.7m) was recorded in the consolidated 
income statement for pension contributions. The Group has no 
exposure to defined benefit pension plans.

Stefan Allanson
Chief Financial Officer
13 September 2019

30

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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Woodhorn Park, Ashington, Northumberland

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

31

RISK maNagemeNT

The Group operates a system of internal control and 
risk management procedures in order to identify, 
monitor and control the Group’s material risks. These 
risks include but are not limited to the following:

RISK

DeSCRIpTION OF RISK

mITIgaTION

Economic environment
The impact of economic fragility and 
uncertainty in the market.

The risk has increased with 
uncertainty around the terms of UK 
exit from the EU as the deadline for 
withdrawal approaches. 

Mortgage availability
The limited availability of mortgages 
for house buyers.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

Land
An inability to source sufficient land 
at an acceptable cost to meet the 
Group’s business needs.

The risk has not changed during  
the year. 

Planning policy and regulations
The potentially damaging 
uncertainties in the planning regime 
may affect the Group’s ability to 
secure planning consents on a  
timely basis.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

People
An inability to attract, develop or 
retain good people.

The development of management 
capabilities as the Gleeson Homes 
business continues to expand.

A lack of senior level succession 
plans.

The risk has not changed during  
the year. 

Build costs
An inability to secure materials and 
skilled labour on a timely basis at 
suitable prices.

The risk has increased with raw 
material cost inflation and rising 
labour costs, together with shortages 
of certain subcontractors becoming 
more of a factor for UK 
housebuilders.

Any uncertainty in the wider economy, 
including interest rate rises, could affect 
buyer confidence and the demand for new 
houses. This could have a negative impact on 
revenue, profits, cash generation and the 
carrying value of the Group’s assets.

•  Sites are selected to meet the needs of the local 

community.

•  Prices and incentives are regularly reviewed.
•  Lead indicators of the housing market, such as visitors to 

sites and reservation rates, are closely monitored.

•  A cautious approach to funding is maintained.
•  Brexit preparations undertaken include discussions with 

our supply chain to mimimise disruption.

The availability of mortgage finance, 
particularly the deposit requirements for 
first-time buyers, is crucial to customer 
demand. Restrictions on mortgages granted 
could reduce demand for new homes and 
strategic land sites and negatively impact the 
Group’s revenue and profits.

•  Gleeson Homes provides a range of customer assistance 

packages.

•  We continually innovate to find additional ways to assist 

customers to buy a home.

•  We work with key lenders to ensure products are 

appropriate and available.

•  Help to Buy continues to provide support to new buyers.

Gleeson Homes needs to acquire consented 
land at sensible prices and in appropriate 
areas in the North, Midlands and East of 
England in order to construct and sell homes 
to deliver profit. Gleeson Strategic Land 
needs to acquire interests in land in the 
South of England so that it can promote the 
land through the planning system and 
subsequently sell it in order to deliver profit.

•  We have a clearly defined strategy and geographic 

focus.

•  We work closely with local authorities to identify and 
purchase otherwise unwanted land at sensible prices.

•  There is a formal appraisal process and rigorous 

adherence to margin requirements and rates of return.
•  The Group has further strengthened its land buying team 

during the year.

Increased complexity in some aspects of the 
planning process may slow down, or increase 
the cost of, the delivery of consented land for 
development or sale and so negatively impact 
the Group’s revenue and profits.

•  We have a very high level of in-house expertise devoted 
to monitoring and complying with planning regulations 
and to achieving implementable planning consents.
•  We consult with central government, parliament and 

local authorities, both directly and via industry bodies, 
in order to understand proposed changes to regulations 
and to highlight potential issues.

•  The National Planning Policy Framework supports our 

business model and should assist the planning 
application process.

The loss of key staff or the failure to attract, 
develop and retain people with the right skills 
may have a detrimental impact on the 
business.

•  We have an established leadership development and 
succession planning programme covering senior and 
mid-level management.

•  We have programmes that appropriately reward the 

The lack of development of Gleeson Homes’ 
management could restrict profitable and 
sustainable growth.

The lack of leadership arising from the 
sudden loss of senior management.

Shortages or increased cost of materials or 
skilled labour, the failure of key suppliers or 
the inability to secure supplies on 
appropriate credit terms could increase costs 
and delay construction.

achievement of performance targets.

•  The Group encourages employee share ownership.
•  Our apprenticeship scheme enables us to identify and 

secure the loyalty of talented individuals at an early age.

•  We perform regular performance and development 

reviews.

•  We monitor staff turnover and benchmark remuneration 

against competitors.

•  An interim CEO was appointed on the same day the 
incumbent CEO left the business and there was no 
disruption to the business. 

•  The Group has multiple suppliers for both labour 

contracts and material supplies.

•  The Group seeks to partner with the supply chain and 
has systems in place to monitor and control their 
performance.

•  Where appropriate, Group purchasing arrangements  

are in place to ensure the supply of materials at 
competitive prices.

•  A dedicated subcontractor procurement programme is 

employed to optimise the sourcing of scarce 
subcontractor resource.

32

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RISK

DeSCRIpTION OF RISK

mITIgaTION

Customer service
A failure to build new homes to the 
standard and quality that our 
customers expect, to not treat our 
customers fairly, or to not respond 
adequately to complaints or rectify 
defects in a timely and professional 
manner.

The risk is new this year.

Adverse publicity, damage to our reputation 
or a perception of poor build quality could 
lead to reduced levels of confidence from our 
buyers or demand from potential customers. 
Rectification of defects could lead to higher 
costs.

Health and safety
A failure to prevent unsafe practices 
within our construction activities, 
causing injury or death.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

Health and safety breaches can result in 
injuries to employees, subcontractors or site 
visitors, delays in construction, additional 
cost, reputational damage, criminal 
prosecution or civil litigation.

•  The Group has strengthened its Customer Services 

function and introduced a new portal “My Gleeson” for 
customers.

•  Senior management closely monitor Customer Service 

performance and responses.

•  We use reputable suppliers and subcontractors and 
there is close monitoring of onsite performance and 
build quality.

•  Our completion process requires an extensive detailed 

inspection of a property prior to handover.

•  Our documented policies and procedures are regularly 
reviewed and modified in order to ensure continuous 
improvement.

•  Dedicated health and safety personnel ensure 

implementation and adherence to these policies and 
procedures.

•  Performance is reviewed both by local management and 

the Board.

Latent defects/uninsured loss
Financial losses may result from 
latent defects that could arise on 
completed projects during the 
liability period.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

Corporate liquidity
The Group needs appropriate 
banking facilities for its short-term 
liquidity and long-term funding 
needs.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

Financial irregularity/ 
non-compliance
The Group could suffer loss from 
significant fraud, the 
misrepresentation of financial 
results or non-compliance with laws 
and regulations. This includes the 
failure to operate appropriate 
controls to ensure compliance with 
relevant tax legislation.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

Credit risk
The Group could suffer loss as a 
result of default from customers.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

Information technology
Failure of information management 
systems, loss of data or cyber attack.

The risk has not changed during  
the year.

The Group may be exposed to latent defects 
which occur during the liability period on 
completed construction contracts that have 
not been transferred to the purchaser of the 
relevant construction business. Although 
subcontractors will normally resolve such 
defects, the Group will become liable if the 
subcontractor is no longer trading, potentially 
resulting in additional cost.

•  We have experienced personnel dedicated to dealing 

with such claims.

•  Insurance policies are in place to minimise Group 

liabilities, wherever possible.

•  The provisions relating to completed contracts are 

reviewed on a regular basis.

•  The Company has segregated the continuing businesses 

of the Group from the Group’s legacy building 
contracting and engineering businesses.

The Group may be unable to meet short-term 
liabilities as a result of failure to manage 
liquidity.

•  The Group maintains strong financial disciplines.
•  Cash generation is controlled by robust budgeting, 
forecasting and cash management disciplines.

Lack of liquidity may also limit the Group’s 
ability to take advantage of business 
opportunities as they become available and 
consequently be a possible impediment to 
future growth.

•  The Executive Directors maintain regular contact with 

investors and lenders to ensure adequate bank facilities 
are in place with appropriate covenants and headroom.
•  The Group has borrowing facilities in place until August 
2021 and is currently in the process of increasing the 
facility to £70m for 5 years to September 2024.

Negative publicity could have an adverse 
effect on the Group’s reputation and the 
Group could experience lower confidence 
levels from customers and suppliers. Failure 
to comply with legislation could result in 
penalties and interest being levied on the 
Group.

•  The Group has financial and management controls 
designed to segregate duties and minimise any 
opportunities for fraud.

•  Financial reporting processes are the subject of rigorous 

and timely management reviews.

•  Staff training is conducted on compliance with laws and 

regulations including relevant tax legislation.

The Group has exposure to receivables on 
deferred payment terms, particularly on 
certain land sales.

•  Credit risk assessments are performed on all customers 

buying land on deferred terms.

•  The Group maintains security over the majority of land 

sold on deferred terms.

The Group could suffer operational 
inefficiencies or penalties as a result of a loss 
of data or system failure or as a result of 
cyber attack.

•  Industry standard systems are managed by a central IT 

team with outsourced support.

•  Contingency plans are in place and regularly tested.
•  The majority of data is held in secure externally managed 

servers.

Strategic Report approval statement
The Strategic Report, contained in pages 1 to 33, has been approved by the Board of Directors and is signed on its behalf by:

James Thomson
Interim Chief executive Officer
13 September 2019

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

33

 
 
 
GOVERNANCE

Board of Directors 

Chairman’s Introduction 

governance Report 

Directors’ Report 

audit Committee Report 

Remuneration Committee Report 

Remuneration policy Report 

annual Report on Remuneration 

36

38

39

44

48

54

56

64

34

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Lowfield Park, Bolton upon Dearne, South Yorkshire

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

35

BOaRD OF DIReCTORS

THE BOARD

The Board consists of the Chairman, two Executive 
Directors and three Non-Executive Directors.

Dermot Gleeson
ma (Cantab) 
Chairman

James Thomson
ma (Oxon), aCa
Interim Chief executive Officer

Stefan Allanson
aCma, FCT 
Chief Financial Officer and 
Company Secretary

Joined the Board in 1975. Dermot was 
appointed Chief Executive in 1988 and 
Chairman in 1994. He relinquished the  
post of Chief Executive in 1998. Previously 
employed in the Conservative Party 
Research Department, the European 
Commission and Midland Bank 
International Limited. Formerly a Trustee  
of the British Broadcasting Corporation, 
Chairman of the Major Contractors Group,  
a Board Member of the Housing 
Corporation, a Director of the Construction 
Industry Training Board and a Trustee of  
the Institute of Cancer Research. He is 
Chairman of the Nomination Committee.

Appointed to the Board on 10 June 2019 as 
interim Chief Executive Officer. James was 
previously Chief Executive of Keepmoat 
Homes, where he remains on the board as a 
Non-Executive Director. Prior to Keepmoat, 
James was Group Finance Director and  
Chief Operating Officer of DTZ (now part of 
Cushman & Wakefield). He is a Chartered 
Accountant, qualifying with 
PricewaterhouseCoopers and spent  
10 years in investment banking with HSBC 
and Deutsche Bank. James is a local 
authority councillor for the City of London 
and Deputy Chairman of the City of London 
Police Authority Board. 

Appointed to the Board in July 2015. Stefan 
joined the Group in June 2015 as Chief 
Financial Officer designate from Keepmoat 
Homes where he held the Deputy Chief 
Financial Officer role. Stefan qualified as  
an accountant in 1994, following which he 
held senior finance roles at Honda Motor  
Co Limited, BTP plc, The Skills Market 
Limited, The Vita Group Limited and  
Tianhe Chemicals. He is Chairman of the 
Disclosure Committee.

COMMITTEE KEY

Audit Committee

Remuneration Committee

Nomination Committee
Disclosure Committee

Committee Chairman

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Colin Dearlove
Ba, FCma, Cgma 
Non-executive Director

Ross Ancell
FCa (aNZ) 
Non-executive Director

Christopher Mills
Non-executive Director

Appointed to the Board in December 2007. 
Colin held a number of senior finance 
positions at Barratt Developments plc with 
the most recent being Group Finance 
Director from 1992 until his retirement in 
2006. He is the Senior Independent 
Director, Chairman of the Audit Committee 
and a member of the Remuneration and 
Nomination Committees.

Appointed to the Board in October 2006. 
Ross is Chairman of Churngold Construction 
Holdings Limited and Independent 
Non-Executive Director of Galaxy 
Entertainment Group Limited (listed in 
Hong Kong). Ross is a Fellow of Chartered 
Accountants Australia and New Zealand.  
He is Chairman of the Remuneration 
Committee and a member of the Audit and 
Nomination Committees.

Appointed to the Board in January 2009. 
Christopher is the founder of Harwood 
Capital Management Group and formerly 
Chief Investment Officer of J O Hambro 
Capital Management Limited from 1993  
to 2011. He is also Chief Executive and 
Investment Manager of North Atlantic 
Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC,  
a UK listed investment trust. Christopher  
is a Director of several publicly quoted 
companies, including Augean plc and  
EKF plc.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

37

I am pleased to introduce this report,  
which outlines the Company’s approach  
to corporate governance and sets out  
how the Board is taking steps to meet the 
requirements of the new Code.

Dermot Gleeson
Chairman

ChaIRmaN’S INTRODUCTION

As a premium listed company on the London Stock Exchange,  
the Group was subject to the 2016 edition of the UK Corporate 
Governance Code (“the Code”) for the year to 30 June 2019.  
The Board believes that compliance with the Code assists it to 
provide the Group with effective leadership and to embed good 
governance into the values, ethics and culture of the business.

The new Code of Conduct that was published in July 2018 applies 
to the Company for the year to 30 June 2020 and the Board is 
taking steps to meet the requirements of the updated Code.  
These include making changes to the composition of the Board 
and we are currently engaged in a search process for two new 
Non-Executive Directors. Our intention is to make these 
appointments shortly.

Following the departure of Jolyon Harrison, the Board is also 
currently engaged in a search process for a permanent Chief 
Executive Officer.

As Chairman, I am responsible for the leadership of the Board and 
for ensuring that it fulfils its responsibilities to all of the Group’s 
stakeholders. The Directors believe that the Board’s discussions 
should always be conducted courteously but should also be, 
when appropriate, robust and challenging. The Board also seeks 
to maintain a constructive dialogue with external stakeholders 
and to take account of shareholder feedback.

This report contains further details of the Group’s governance 
arrangements, together with the narrative reporting variously 
required by the Code, the Listing Rules and the Disclosure and 
Transparency Rules.

Dermot Gleeson
Chairman
13 September 2019

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Governance statement
During the period under review, the Company, as a premium listed 
company, was subject to the 2016 edition of the UK Corporate 
Governance Code (“the Code”) issued by the Financial Reporting 
Council (“FRC"). 

The Code recognises that not all of its provisions are necessarily 
relevant to smaller listed companies and the Code states that 
departures from its provisions should not be automatically 
treated as breaches of the Code. The Directors believe that the 
Code is correctly applied as and where relevant to the Company 
and are satisfied that in areas of departure from the Code the 
departure is for good reason.

Further explanations of how the main principles and the
supporting principles have been applied are set out on page 42.

The new Code of Conduct published in July 2018 (“the new Code”) 
applies to the Company from 1 July 2019 and the Company will 
disclose its compliance with the new Code in its Annual Report for 
the financial year ending 30 June 2020.

Board composition
At the date of this report, the Board comprises six Directors, four 
of whom are Non-Executive. The Directors’ biographies are set out 
on pages 36 and 37.

Following the departure of the former Chief Executive Officer, 
Jolyon Harrison, a new interim Chief Executive Office, James 
Thomson, was appointed to the Board in June 2019. All of the 
other Directors served throughout the year to 30 June 2019. 

The Board believes it maintains an appropriate balance of 
Executive and independent Non-Executive Directors given the size 
and nature of the business. In addition, the Board considers that 
it has a suitable balance of skills, knowledge and experience in 
order for it to discharge its duties and responsibilities effectively. 
This includes a combination of backgrounds and experiences 
which enable it to function effectively and have dialogue that is 
both constructive and challenging.

All of the Directors have access to the advice and services  
of the Company Secretary and may, in furtherance of their  
duties, take independent advice at the Company’s expense. 
Training is arranged as required to update and refresh their  
skills and knowledge.

On joining the Board, arrangements are made for all new Directors 
to meet their colleagues and other senior management to ensure 
an adequate induction to the Group. On resignation, any concerns 
raised by an outgoing Director are circulated by the Chairman to 
the remaining members of the Board.

Board effectiveness
The roles of the Chairman, Dermot Gleeson, and the Chief 
Executive Officer, James Thomson (appointed on an interim basis 
on 10 June 2019) and previously Jolyon Harrison (departed on  
10 June 2019), are clearly defined and they act in accordance with 
the main and supporting principles of the Code.

The Chairman is responsible for leadership of the Board and 
ensuring its effectiveness. This role includes ensuring that the 
Directors receive accurate, timely and clear information; 
facilitating the contribution of the Non-Executive Directors; and 
ensuring constructive relations between the Executive and
Non-Executive Directors.

The Chairman is in regular contact with the Chief Executive Officer 
to discuss current matters and has visited Group operations 
outside the Board meeting calendar to meet divisional directors 
and managers.

Board independence
During the year, Ross Ancell and Colin Dearlove were the Board’s 
independent Non-Executive Directors and fulfilled the 
requirement that a “smaller company”, as defined by the Code, 
should have two such directors. Colin Dearlove is the Senior 
Independent Non-Executive Director.

Ross Ancell will have completed 13 years of service and Colin 
Dearlove 12 years of service on the Board at the date of the 2019 
AGM on 5 December 2019. The Board greatly values both Ross 
Ancell’s and Colin Dearlove’s expertise and understanding of the 
Group’s operations and strategy. The Executive Board remains 
satisfied that both Ross Ancell and Colin Dearlove are independent 
of character and judgement, and their reappointment is in the 
interests of the Group and its shareholders.

The Board has also initiated a search process to find two new 
Non-Executive Directors. The intention is to make these new 
appointments to the Board shortly.

Neither Dermot Gleeson, Chairman, who has previously been 
Executive Chairman and, prior to that, held the post of Chairman 
and Chief Executive, nor Christopher Mills, who represents a 
major shareholder, Harwood Capital LLP, are considered to be 
“independent” within the definition of that term contained in  
the Code.

Dermot Gleeson has been connected with the Company for a long 
period and the Board greatly values his experience of the Group. 
The Board remains fully satisfied that he continues to perform 
effectively as a Non-Executive Director and as Chairman.

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39

gOveRNaNCe RepORT CONTINUED

Board diversity
We believe that it is in the interests of our shareholders that 
appointments to the Board are made on the basis of merit. We are 
unreservedly opposed to discrimination on the grounds of race, 
gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion or beliefs.

We also believe that there are substantial benefits to be had  
from having a Board composed of a diverse range of individuals, 
who are able to contribute to boardroom deliberations from 
different perspectives. This is a matter to which the Nomination 
Committee gives consideration in its annual review of the Board’s 
composition and for any new appointments.

For vacant Board positions, the Nomination Committee agrees  
a role description and a detailed specification of the kind of 
person for whom it is looking. The latter sets out the objective 
criteria against which the suitability of candidates will be 
assessed, including knowledge, experience, measurable skills 
and personal qualities. Care is taken to ensure that the criteria 
effectively prevent all forms of unfair discrimination influencing 
the selection process. 

Vacancies are extensively advertised. In addition, the Board 
normally appoints an executive search firm to help it to reach the 
widest possible pool of eligible candidates and to identify the 
individuals best qualified for the role.

The Board selects at least three of its Directors to act as a panel 
for the purpose of overseeing the selection process and it is 
committed to ensuring that everyone involved in the selection of 
candidates is fully aware of the UK’s equality legislation and the 
Board’s diversity policy.

Key actions of the Board
The Board is responsible to shareholders for the success of the 
Group. Its role is to set the strategic and financial framework within 
which the Group operates, to monitor and review the performance 
of each of the divisions and to ensure that the risks faced by the 
Group are effectively managed. To facilitate this, the Board and its 
Committees are provided with relevant and timely information in 
advance of all meetings and when otherwise required.

Due to the size and structure of the Group, all significant 
decisions are taken at Board level. There is a formal schedule of 
matters that are reserved for the Board or its Committees, which 
includes the approval of:
•  strategy and financial policy;
•  banking arrangements and any changes to them;
• 
interim and annual financial statements;
•  risk management and internal control policy;
•  major capital expenditure;
•  acquisition of land;
•  acquisitions and disposals;
•  Board structure and composition;
•  terms of reference of the Board’s sub-committees;
•  entering into or amending pension arrangements;
•  approval of contractual arrangements which fall outside 

authority delegated to Executive Directors;

•  dividend policy; and
•  pledging security over assets and providing Parent Company 

guarantees.

All these matters were reviewed by the Board at various times 
during the year. In addition, the Board receives updates on 
governance, regulatory and legal matters at various points in the 
year to assist the Board in maintaining compliance with the 
legislative requirements and best practice.

Board and Committee meetings
During the year, the Board met on six occasions. Board packs, which include a formal agenda, are circulated in advance of such 
meetings. Attendance by individual Directors at scheduled Board meetings and by members at scheduled Committee meetings was as 
set out below:

Attendance by individual Directors at scheduled Board and Committee meetings

Number of scheduled meetings^

Attendance

Dermot Gleeson

Ross Ancell

Colin Dearlove

Christopher Mills

Jolyon Harrison (departed 10 June 2019)

James Thomson (appointed 10 June 2019)

Stefan Allanson

Board

Audit  
Committee

Disclosure 
Committee

Remuneration 
Committee

Nomination 
Committee

6

6

6

6

5

5

1

6

4

n

4

4

n

4v

–

4v

2

n

n

n

n

2

–

2

2

n

2

2

n

1v

1v

2v

1

1

1

1

n

–

1v

1v

Includes the scheduled Board and Committee meetings that were held on 2 July 2019 in respect of the year ended 30 June 2019

^ 
n  Not a member of this Committee
v  Whilst not a member of this Committee, the Director was in attendance at meetings

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The Board is of the view that there is an adequate ongoing process 
for identifying, evaluating and managing the Group’s significant 
risks, which satisfies the internal control guidance for Directors 
detailed in provision C.2.1 of the Code. This process takes the 
form of a formal risk management policy supported by financial 
and management controls that are operated Group-wide and 
which are subject to both internal review by the Chief Financial 
Officer and internal auditor and external review as part of the 
statutory audit carried out by the auditors.

Shareholder relations
There is ongoing dialogue with institutional shareholders, 
including presentations following the publication of the interim 
and year end results and, as appropriate, at other times during the 
year. Feedback from these meetings is provided to the Board.

The Board also welcomes the interest of private investors and 
believes that, in addition to the Annual Report and the Company’s 
website, the AGM is an ideal forum at which to communicate with 
investors and encourage their participation. At the AGM, the 
Chairman, together with the Chairmen of the Audit, Remuneration, 
Disclosure and Nomination Committees, will be available to 
answer any relevant questions.

For investor relations the Company uses its website 
www.mjgleesonplc.com. The website includes statutory 
documents and communications to shareholders, such as the 
Annual Report and financial statements, and the interim report.

Employee relations
In line with the requirements of the new Code, Colin Dearlove was 
appointed as the Company’s Workforce Representative during the 
year. A programme and timetable for this role is currently being 
developed. Towards the end of the year, the Group launched its 
new employee engagement survey “Your Voice” and Colin 
Dearlove will receive the results of this survey, meet with the 
workforce and understand the outputs and actions being taken.  
It is also intended that he will receive any reports raised via the 
whistleblowing helpline where such reports are raised by 
employees. Further details of the actions undertaken by the 
Workforce Representative will be reported in the next Annual 
Report for the year to 30 June 2020. 

The main purpose of these meetings is to permit the Board and 
Committees to receive regular reports on the performance of the 
Group and address a wide range of key issues, including health 
and safety, operational performance, risk management and 
corporate strategy. Additional Board meetings may be convened 
from time to time in response to specific circumstances.

During the course of the year, the Non-Executive Directors met 
without the Executive Directors present, both with and without 
the Chairman being present.

The minutes of all meetings of the Board and of each of its 
Committees are recorded by the Company Secretary. As well as 
recording the decisions taken, the minutes reflect any queries 
raised by the Directors and record any unresolved concerns.

Board evaluation
During the year, under the leadership of the Chairman, the Board 
undertook an evaluation of its own performance. This was  
based on completion of a detailed questionnaire and individual 
discussions between the Chairman and the Directors. Being a 
smaller listed company, it was not considered necessary to have 
this year’s Board evaluation externally facilitated. Colin Dearlove, 
as the Senior Independent Director, conducted an evaluation  
of the Chairman’s performance in conjunction with his  
Non-Executive Director colleagues and with input from the 
Executive Directors. The outcome and conclusions reached from 
the conduct of these evaluations were discussed by the Board at 
its meeting in September 2019. It was concluded that the Board, 
its Committees and the Chairman continued to perform 
effectively.

Risk management and internal control
The Directors acknowledge their responsibility for the Group’s risk 
management procedures and systems of internal controls and for 
reviewing their effectiveness. Further details on the Group’s risk 
management procedures and systems of internal controls and 
how the Board and Audit Committee review their effectiveness are 
included in the Audit Committee Report on pages 48 to 52.

It should be recognised that all such systems and procedures are 
designed to manage, rather than eliminate, the risk of failure to 
achieve business objectives, and can only provide reasonable, 
rather than absolute, assurance against material misstatement or 
loss. Risk management and internal control within the Group’s 
divisions is delegated to the management responsible for the 
division, with the Board retaining ultimate responsibility.

The Group operates internal controls that ensure that the Group’s 
financial statements are reconciled to the underlying financial 
ledgers. A review of the consolidated accounts and financial 
statements is completed by management to ensure that the financial 
performance and position of the Group are appropriately reflected.

During the year being reported, and in making this statement,  
the Board carried out a robust assessment of the principal risks 
and uncertainties facing the Group, including those that would 
threaten the Group’s business model, future performance, 
solvency and/or liquidity.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

41

 
gOveRNaNCe RepORT CONTINUED

Compliance statement
The Company has complied with the main principles of the 2016 
edition of the UK Corporate Governance Code applicable to all 
premium listed companies. The following provisions are those 
where the Company is not strictly in compliance with the Code  
but where the Directors believe that it remains appropriate and 
justified, and which do not compromise the standards of good 
governance applied by the Board:

A.3.1, B.1.1
As covered under “Board independence”, the Chairman,  
Dermot Gleeson, has previously been Executive Chairman and, 
prior to that, held the posts of Chairman and Chief Executive.  
The Board has considered the guidance set out in the Code  
and believes that it is in the Company’s best interests that  
Dermot Gleeson be retained as Chairman.

B.1.1
As covered under “Board independence”, Ross Ancell and  
Colin Dearlove have both served on the Board for more than nine 
years from the date of their first election. The Board is satisfied 
that they remain independent in character and judgement and 
there were no relationships or circumstances which otherwise 
affect, or could appear to affect, their independence. 

Christopher Mills represents a major shareholder, Harwood 
Capital LLP, and is therefore not considered to be “independent” 
within the definition of that term contained in the Code.

B.6.3
As covered under “Board evaluation”, the performance of the 
Chairman is appraised by both the Non-Executive and Executive 
Directors. As a smaller listed company, it is felt that this is the 
most appropriate approach.

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is a Board sub-committee consisting entirely 
of Non-Executive Directors. The members of the Committee are 
Colin Dearlove (Chairman) and Ross Ancell. The Chairman invites 
the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and other 
senior management to attend, along with the Group’s internal and 
external auditors, when required.

The Audit Committee met on a number of occasions during the 
year to 30 June 2019, including four scheduled meetings, with 
both members being in attendance for all meetings.

A full report from the Audit Committee is presented separately on 
pages 48 to 52 and forms part of the Governance Report.

42

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

Disclosure Committee
The Disclosure Committee was set up by the Board in  
September 2016 to comply with the requirements of the Market 
Abuse Regulation (“MAR"), which came into effect on 3 July 2016.

The members of the Disclosure Committee are Stefan Allanson 
(appointed Chairman 10 June 2019, previously Jolyon Harrison  
who departed on 10 June 2019) and James Thomson. Other 
Directors, executives and external advisers may attend by 
invitation as appropriate. The Disclosure Committee’s formal 
terms of reference, which are reviewed annually, are available on 
the Company’s website and require it to:
•  draw up and maintain procedures, systems and controls for the 
identification, treatment and disclosure of inside information 
and to comply with other disclosure obligations falling on the 
Company under the Listing Rules and MAR;
implement, monitor compliance and review the adequacy of 
the Company’s disclosure policy, including where appropriate 
arranging for the dissemination of guidelines and training; and

• 

•  ensure that all regulatory announcements, shareholder 

circulars, prospectuses and other documents issued by the 
Company under any legal or regulatory requirement are 
scrutinised in order to ensure that they comply with applicable 
requirements.

The Disclosure Committee met on two occasions during the year 
to 30 June 2019. The main activities undertaken by the Disclosure 
Committee during the year included:
•  reviewing the regulatory announcements of the Group to 

ensure that these complied with the Company’s disclosure 
policy;

•  reviewing the list of insiders and any significant changes 
together with agreeing dates for closed trading periods;
•  confirming that there have been no instances of actual or 
potential inside information not being disclosed or being 
disclosed late to the market;

•  reviewing the Company’s disclosure and media policy;
•  reviewing disclosure items, the advice received and 
conclusions around any items of non-disclosure; and

•  reviewing the terms of reference of the Disclosure Committee 

such that these remain appropriate.

Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee is responsible for setting the 
remuneration of the Chairman and the Executive Directors.  
The members of the Remuneration Committee are Ross Ancell 
(Chairman) and Colin Dearlove.

The Remuneration Committee met on a number of occasions 
during the year to 30 June 2019, including two scheduled 
meetings, to consider and approve the remuneration of the 
Chairman and the Executive Directors.

Further details of the remuneration policy and the package for 
each Director serving during the year to 30 June 2019 are set out in 
the Remuneration Report on pages 54 to 69.

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Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee is a Board sub-committee consisting 
entirely of Non-Executive Directors. The members of the
Nomination Committee are Dermot Gleeson (Chairman), Ross 
Ancell and Colin Dearlove.

Viability statement
In accordance with provision C2.2 of the 2016 edition of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code, the Directors have assessed the 
viability of the Company and the Group over a longer period than 
the 12 months required by the “going concern” principle.

The principal responsibility of the Nomination Committee is to 
consider succession planning and appointments to the Board and 
to senior management, so as to maintain the appropriate balance 
of skills, knowledge and experience within the Company. The 
Nomination Committee’s formal terms of reference, which are 
reviewed annually, are available on the Company’s website and 
require it to: 
•  regularly review the structure, size and composition of the 

Board and to make recommendations regarding any 
adjustments that are considered necessary;
identify and nominate for consideration candidates for any 
Board vacancies that may arise;

• 

•  put in place plans for succession, in particular for the Chairman 

and Chief Executive Officer; and

•  make recommendations regarding the continued service (or 

not) of the Executive and Non-Executive Directors.

All Board appointments and reappointments are considered by 
the Nomination Committee. The Nomination Committee met on a 
number of occasions during the year to 30 June 2019 including on 
one scheduled occasion. The main activities undertaken by the 
Nomination Committee during the year included:
•  reviewing the requirements of the new Code of Conduct 

published in July 2018 including the requirements on the 
structure, size and composition of the Board; 

•  overseeing the appointment of a search agent and agreeing 

their terms of business for the recruitment of two independent 
Non-Executive Directors and a permanent Chief Executive 
Officer, outlining the skills and experience required;

•  reviewing leadership development and succession planning in 
respect of the Executive Directors and key management in the 
business; and

•  reviewing the terms of reference of the Nomination Committee 

such that these remain appropriate. 

Two separate independent search agents have been appointed for 
the recruitment of the new members of the Board. Neither of these 
search agents has any connection to the Company or Group.

The principle of boardroom diversity is strongly supported by the 
Board and the Group’s policy in respect of Board diversity is set 
out on page 40. For new appointments, the Nomination 
Committee agrees a description of the role and a specification 
based on skills, knowledge and experience and criteria which 
prevent all forms of discrimination.

The Board does not set specific targets for boardroom diversity, 
believing that appointments should be made on the basis of 
merit. In its search for new members of the Board, the Nomination 
Committee pays due regard to the impact of these appointments 
on Board diversity. 

The Directors conducted their assessment over a period of three 
years to 30 June 2022, which is in line with the Group’s financial 
budget review period and the operational period of a number of 
the Group’s housing developments. This has enabled a 
meaningful assessment of viability to be undertaken, utilising 
detailed financial budgets which incorporate individual site cash 
flow forecasts.

In making their assessment, the Directors have considered the 
business risks facing the Group and how the Group mitigates  
such risks, which are summarised on pages 32 and 33 of the 
Strategic Report.

The majority of risks in Gleeson Homes are operational in nature, 
and hence these risks are already taken into account in the 
individual site cash flow forecasts. The Directors have considered 
sensitivities to the individual site cash flow forecasts prepared 
based on realistically possible changes to principal assumptions 
such as build and sales rates, prices, build costs and gross 
margins. Additionally the Directors have considered further 
measures which may need to be taken to mitigate the impact of 
macroeconomic and industry-wide risks, including the ability of 
the Group to curtail investment expenditure in new land 
purchases and defer new site starts.

For Gleeson Strategic Land, the Directors have considered the 
impact of delays to the completion of land sales and reduction in 
land selling prices. The business model is such that it has the 
flexibility to reduce expenditure on progressing new and existing 
sites and to continue to realise cash from consented land albeit at 
lower levels of profitability.

Furthermore, a core principle of the Group is to maintain a 
cautious approach to debt funding, reflecting the inherent cyclical 
nature of the UK property market. After the year end, the Group 
has agreed heads of terms to increase its committed bank facility 
from £40m to £70m for 5 years to September 2024. This will give 
the Group additional flexibility in managing its working capital for 
growth and supports its viability assessment for the three year 
period.

Based on the results of this assessment, the Directors have a 
reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group will be 
able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall 
due over the three-year period of their assessment.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

43

DIReCTORS’ RepORT

The Directors have the pleasure of presenting the 
Annual Report and the audited financial statements 
for the year ended 30 June 2019.

Strategic Report
We present a review of the business during the year to 30 June 
2019 and of the position of the Group at the end of the financial 
year together with a description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties faced by the Group in the Strategic Report on pages 
1 to 33.

Governance statement
The Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules require certain 
information to be included in a governance statement in the 
Directors’ Report. Information that fulfils the requirements of the 
governance statement can be found in the Governance Report on 
pages 38 to 43.

Results and dividends
The results of the Group are set out in the consolidated income 
statement on page 78. The subsidiary companies affecting the 
profit or net assets of the Group in the year are listed in note 13 to 
the financial statements.

An interim dividend of 11.5 pence per share was paid to 
shareholders on 5 April 2019 (2018: 9.0 pence). The Board 
proposes to pay, subject to shareholder approval at the 2019 
AGM, a final dividend of 23.0 pence per share (2018: 23.0 pence) 
in respect of the 2019 financial year on 13 December 2019 to 
shareholders on the register at the close of business on
15 November 2019. On this basis, the total dividend for the year 
will be 34.5 pence per share (2018: 32.0 pence).

Business review
The review of the development and performance of the business 
of the Group during the year and the future outlook of the Group is 
set out in the Chairman’s Statement on pages 6 and 7, the Chief 
Executive’s Statement on pages 10 to 12 and the Business
Reviews on pages 18 and 20.

The key performance indicators are set out in the Strategic Report 
on pages 11 and 29. The Group’s policy in respect of financial 
instruments is set out within the accounting policies on pages 83 
to 86 and details of credit risk, capital risk management, liquidity 
risk and interest rate risk are given in note 16 to the financial 
statements.

Going concern
The Group’s business activities, together with the factors likely to 
affect its future development, performance and position, are set 
out in the Strategic Report on pages 1 to 33. The financial position 
of the Group, its cash flows, liquidity position and borrowing 
facilities are described in the Financial Review on pages 28 to 30.

The Group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements 
through its own cash resources and a bank borrowing facility, 
which was entered into in March 2016 and extended to August 
2021 during the year. At 30 June 2019, the Group had a cash 
balance of £30.3m (2018: £41.3m) and the bank borrowing facility 
was undrawn (2018: undrawn).

As part of their regular going concern review the Directors 
specifically address all the risk areas that they consider material 
to the assessment of liquidity and going concern.

This report is also discussed with the external auditors. Based  
on this analysis and an assessment of potential cash risks,  
the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has 
adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future and for at least 12 months from the date of the 
financial statements. Accordingly, the Directors continue to adopt 
the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial 
statements.

Political and charitable donations
The Company made no political donations in the year or in the 
previous year. Charitable donations during the year totalled
£2,000 (2018: £2,000).

Directors and Directors’ interests
The Directors of the Company and their biographical details are 
shown on pages 36 and 37. Jolyon Harrison left the business on  
10 June 2019 and James Thomson was appointed as the interim 
Chief Executive Officer on the same date. A search process for  
a permanent Chief Executive Officer is currently ongoing.

Details of any related party transactions with Directors of the 
Company are shown in note 27 to the financial statements.

The beneficial and non-beneficial interests of the Directors  
and their connected persons in the shares of the Company at  
30 June 2019 and as at the date of this report are disclosed in  
the Remuneration Report on page 66. Details of the interests of 
the Executive Directors in share options and awards of shares can 
be found on page 66 within the same report.

Appointment and replacement of Directors
The Company’s Articles of Association (“the Articles”) provide 
that at each AGM at least one-third of the Directors shall retire 
from office and shall be eligible for reappointment. However, the 
Board has determined that all Directors will be subject to annual 
re-election by shareholders and will do so at the next AGM of  
the Company to be held on 5 December 2019. Of the Directors 
standing for re-election, Stefan Allanson and James Thomson hold 
service contracts that may be terminated by the Group with a 
notice period of one year and six months respectively. 

Directors’ indemnity
Directors risk personal liability under civil and criminal law for 
many aspects of the Company’s main business decisions. As a 
consequence, the Directors could face a range of penalties 
including fines and/or imprisonment. In keeping with normal 
market practice, the Company believes that it is prudent and in 
the best interests of the Company to protect the individuals 
concerned from the consequences of innocent error or omission.

The Company obtains Directors’ and Officers’ liability insurance in 
order to indemnify Directors and other senior officers of the 
Company and its subsidiaries. This insurance policy does not 
provide cover where the Director or officer has acted fraudulently 
or dishonestly.

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In addition, subject to the provisions of and to the extent 
permitted by relevant statutes, under the Articles, the Directors 
and other officers throughout the year, and at the date of approval 
of these financial statements, were indemnified out of the assets 
of the Company against liabilities incurred by them in the course 
of carrying out their duties or the exercise of their powers.

Share capital
The Company has one class of share in issue, being ordinary 
shares with a nominal value of 2 pence each, with no right to fixed 
income.

We are committed to developing our employees so they can 
maximise their career potential, and our aim is to provide 
rewarding career opportunities in an environment where equality 
of opportunity is paramount. Our policy for selection and 
promotion is based on an assessment of an individual’s ability 
and experiences; we consider all applicants on their merits and 
have processes and procedures in place to ensure that individuals 
with disabilities are given fair consideration.

Every effort is made by the Group to retain and support employees 
who become disabled whilst in the employment of the Group.

The Company has issued share capital of 54,587,753 ordinary 
shares, with a nominal value of £1.1m. Further details are given in 
note 24 to the financial statements.

At 30 June 2019 the Group employed the following number of 
people (excluding Non-Executive Directors):

Substantial shareholdings
At 31 August 2019, the shareholdings noted below, representing 
3% or more of the issued share capital, had been notified to the 
Company.

Executive team
Senior management
Other employees

Name of Shareholder

Number  
of shares

Proportion  
of total

Total

Female

Male

Number

% Number

%

0
3
164

167

0%
13%
31%

30%

2
20
363

385

100%
87%
69%

70%

Total 
Number

2
23
527

552

Funds managed by Harwood Capital LLP 6,109,640
4,433,247
Schroder Investment Management
3,638,055
Sanford DeLand Asset Management
2,712,917
Royal London Asset Management
2,484,428
Standard Life Aberdeen
2,358,205 
Mrs J C Cooper & spouse*
1,896,193
Mr Jolyon Harrison
1,775,329
Polar Capital (London)
1,687,309
JP Morgan Chase & Co

11.19%
8.12%
6.66%
4.97%
4.55%
4.32%
3.47%
3.25%
3.09%

Employee involvement
The Group regularly provides its employees with information on 
matters of concern to them. We consult with our employees in 
order to ensure that their views can be taken into account when 
making decisions. In July 2019 we issued a company-wide 
employee engagement survey and will use the results to help 
shape business decisions going forward. We use our internal 
website “Gleegle” to disseminate information and engage with 
our employees.

*  of which 119,500 shares are held in discretionary trusts of which Mrs J C Cooper is 

a Trustee.

Employees
We are committed to ensuring that all employees, potential 
recruits and other stakeholders are treated fairly and equitably. 
The principles of equality and diversity are important to us and 
advancement is based upon individual skills and aptitude 
irrespective of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, 
age, religion or beliefs. Full consideration is given to the diverse 
needs of our employees and potential recruits and we are fully 
compliant with all current legislation.

The Group is committed to upholding basic human rights within 
its business. The Group generates all its revenue from operations 
within the United Kingdom and its supply chain is sourced from 
within the United Kingdom. Our supplier acceptance processes 
ensure we comply with national regulations and legislation. Our 
culture is aimed at ensuring that employees can grow to their full 
potential. We seek to improve employee retention by providing 
benefits that employees value including a Group stakeholder 
pension (including life assurance arrangements), private medical 
insurance, income replacement (PHI) arrangements and childcare 
vouchers. Employee share ownership continues to be encouraged 
through participation in the Group Share Purchase Plan.

Health and safety
The health and safety of our employees and subcontractors is 
paramount. There were 4 reportable injuries in the year (2018: 7)
and 2 (2018: nil) dangerous occurrences under the Reporting of 
Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 
(“RIDDOR”).

Towards the end of 2018, a new Head of Health and Safety was 
appointed. Three new Regional Health and Safety Advisors have 
joined the business in early 2019 to ensure health and safety 
support is in place for all of our area offices. These appointments 
have been made to ensure the health and safety challenges faced 
during continued growth in construction activities are properly 
managed and controlled.

Updated health and safety procedures have also been introduced. 
An example of this is the introduction of a new site inspection 
report. The new report has a simple “traffic light” scoring matrix 
replacing the previous numerical scored reports. This gives a 
clearer, simplified process for inspection reporting. Items within 
the report have been amended to ensure that relevant data and 
trends can be more easily analysed and reported.

The Board and management team are focused on the continued 
development of the health and safety function across the Group. 

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

45

 
Winding up
Under the Articles, if the Company is in liquidation, the liquidator 
may, with the sanction of a special resolution of the Company and 
any other authority required by law:

•  divide among the shareholders in specie the whole or any part 
of the assets of the Company and, for that purpose, value any 
assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as 
between the shareholders or different classes of shareholders; 
or

•  vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees upon such 

trusts for the benefit of shareholders as the liquidator with the 
like sanction shall think fit.

Variation of rights
The Articles specify that the special rights attached to any class  
of shares may, either with the consent in writing of holders of 
three-fourths of the issued shares of that class or with the 
sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of 
such holders (but not otherwise), be modified or abrogated.

Transfer of shares
Under and subject to the restrictions in the Articles, any 
shareholder may transfer all or any of their shares in certificated 
form by transfer in writing in any usual form or in any other form 
which the Board may approve. The Board may, save in certain 
circumstances, refuse to register any transfer of a certificated 
share not fully paid up. The Board may also refuse to register any 
transfer of certificated shares unless it is:
in respect of only one class of shares;
• 
• 
in favour of no more than four transferees;
•  duly stamped or exempt from stamp duty;
•  delivered to the office or at such other place as the Board may 

decide for registration; and

•  accompanied by the certificate for the shares to be transferred 
and such other evidence (if any) as the Board may reasonably 
require to show the right of the intending transferor to transfer 
the shares.

Repurchase of shares
Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and to any rights 
conferred on the holders of any class of shares, the Company may 
purchase all or any of its shares of any class, including any 
redeemable shares.

DIReCTORS’ RepORT CONTINUED

Greenhouse gas emissions
All disclosures concerning the Group’s greenhouse gas
emissions, as required to be disclosed under regulations
introduced by the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and
Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 are contained in the
Corporate Responsibility Report forming part of the Strategic
Report on page 25.

Shareholder additional information
Under Section 992 of the Companies Act 2006, the Company is 
required to disclose certain additional information where not 
covered elsewhere in this Annual Report:

Rights and obligations attaching to shares
Subject to the Companies Act 2006 and other shareholders’ 
rights, any share may be issued with such rights and restrictions 
as the Company may by ordinary resolution decide or, if no such 
resolution has been passed or so far as the resolution does not 
make specific provision, as the Board of Directors (“the Board”) 
for the time being of the Company may decide. Subject to the 
Companies Act 2006, the Articles and any resolution of the 
Company, the Board may deal with any unissued shares as it  
may decide.

Amendment to the Articles of Association
Any amendments to the Articles may be made in accordance with 
the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 by way of special 
resolution.

Voting
Under and subject to the provisions of the Articles and subject  
to any special rights or restrictions as to voting attached to any 
shares, on a show of hands, every shareholder present in person 
shall have one vote and on a poll every shareholder who was 
present in person or by proxy shall have one vote for every share 
of which they are the holder. Under the Companies Act 2006, 
shareholders are entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any 
of their rights to attend and to speak and vote on their behalf at a 
general meeting or class meeting.

Restrictions on voting
A shareholder shall not be entitled to vote at any general meeting 
or class meeting in respect of any shares held by them unless all 
calls and other sums presently payable by them in respect of that 
share have been paid.

Deadlines for voting rights
Full details of the deadlines for exercising voting rights in respect 
of the resolutions to be considered at the AGM to be held on
5 December 2019 are set out in the Notice of the AGM.

Dividends and distributions
The Company may, by ordinary resolution, declare a dividend to 
be paid to the shareholders but no dividend shall exceed the 
amount recommended by the Board. The Board may pay interim 
dividends and also any fixed rate dividend whenever the financial 
position of the Company justifies its payment in the opinion of  
the Board.

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Information rights
Beneficial owners of shares who have been nominated by the 
registered holder of those shares to enjoy information rights 
under Section 146 of the Companies Act 2006 are required to 
direct all communications to the registered holder of their shares, 
rather than to the Company’s registrars, Link Asset Services, or to 
the Company directly.

Auditor
The auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, have indicated their 
willingness to continue in office, and a resolution that they be 
reappointed will be proposed at the next AGM on 5 December 
2019.

Disclosure of information to auditor
The Directors who held office at the date of approval of this 
Directors’ Report confirm that, so far as they are each aware, 
there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s 
auditor is unaware, and the Directors have taken all the steps that 
they ought to have taken as Directors to make themselves aware 
of any relevant audit information and to establish that the 
Company’s auditor is aware of that information.

Annual General Meeting
The Notice of the AGM to be held on 5 December 2019, together 
with details of the Resolutions to be considered, will be sent out 
in a separate circular.

Deadlines for voting rights
Full details of the deadlines for exercising voting rights in respect 
of the resolutions to be considered at the AGM will be set out in 
the Notice of the AGM.

By order of the Board

Stefan Allanson
Company Secretary
13 September 2019

Appointment and replacement of Directors
The Directors shall not, unless otherwise determined by an 
ordinary resolution of the Company, be less than three or more 
than 15 in number. Directors may be appointed by the Company by 
ordinary resolution or by the Board.

A Director appointed by the Board shall retire from office at the 
next AGM of the Company but shall then be eligible for 
reappointment. The Board may appoint one or more Directors to 
hold any office or employment with the Company for such period 
(subject to the Companies Act requirements) and on such terms as 
it may decide and may revoke or terminate any such appointment. 
At each AGM any Director who has been appointed by the Board 
since the previous AGM and any Director selected to retire by 
rotation shall retire from office. At each AGM, one-third of the 
Directors are required to retire by rotation or, if the number is not 
an integral multiple of three, the number nearest to one-third but 
not exceeding one-third. In addition, any Director who has been a 
Director at the preceding two AGMs is required to retire by 
rotation, provided that they were not appointed or reappointed at 
either such AGM or ceased to be a Director and been reappointed 
since either such AGM. Notwithstanding this, the Board has 
determined that all Directors will be subject to annual re-election 
by shareholders at each AGM.

The Company may, by ordinary resolution of which special notice 
has been given in accordance with the Companies Act, remove any 
Director before their period of office has expired notwithstanding 
anything in the Articles or in any agreement between that Director 
and the Company.

A Director may also be removed from office by the service of a 
notice to that effect signed by or on behalf of all the other 
Directors, being not less than three in number.

Powers of the Directors
The business of the Company shall be managed by the Board 
which may exercise all the powers of the Company, subject to the 
provisions of the Articles and any ordinary resolution of the 
Company. The Articles specify that the Board may exercise all  
the powers of the Company to borrow money and to mortgage or 
charge all or any part of its undertakings, property and assets and 
uncalled capital and to issue debentures and other securities, 
subject to the provisions of the Articles.

Takeovers and significant agreements
The Company is party to the following significant agreements that 
take effect, alter or terminate on a change of control of the 
Company following a takeover bid:
•  the Company’s share schemes and plans;
•  the Company’s payment guarantee bonds except with prior 

written consent from the bond provider; and

•  the revolving credit facility whereby upon a “change of control” 

all amounts become due and payable.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

47

 
I am pleased to introduce the Audit 
Committee report which describes the 
work of the Committee this year in 
supporting the Board to fulfil its 
responsibilities.

Colin Dearlove
Chairman, audit Committee

aUDIT COmmITTee RepORT

Statement from the Chairman of the Audit Committee
I am pleased to introduce the Audit Committee report for the 
financial year ended 30 June 2019 which has been another busy 
year for the Committee. The Committee continues to play an 
important role in supporting the Board in a wide range of areas 
including corporate governance, risk management, financial 
reporting and control.

During the year, the Committee undertook all of its regular 
activities including receiving and reviewing the Annual Report and 
regulatory announcements made by the Company, examining 
going concern and viability, internal and external audit findings 
and internal controls and their effectiveness.

In addition, the Committee completed a number of other actions 
during the year including a review of the tax affairs of the Group 
and its readiness for the Senior Accounting Officer (“SAO”) regime 
as well as a specific review of costs and margin in Gleeson 
Homes, with input from external advisers. The Committee also 
undertook reviews of how gross margin is applied on a site-by-site 
basis, assessed Group credit risk, inventory recovery, legacy 
matters, and reviewed and approved the internal audit plan for 
the year to June 2020.

The Committee serves to ensure that the relevant codes and 
regulations are adhered to and that the business continues to 
operate in a well-controlled and financially responsible manner.

Colin Dearlove
Chairman, audit Committee
13 September 2019

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Audit Committee membership
The Audit Committee is a Board committee consisting entirely of 
Non-Executive Directors. The members of the Committee are  
Colin Dearlove (Chairman) and Ross Ancell.

Colin Dearlove, as Chairman of the Committee, has relevant 
financial experience as the former Group Finance Director of 
Barratt Developments plc. Ross Ancell also has recent relevant 
financial experience as Chairman of Churngold Construction 
Holdings Limited. The biographies and qualifications of the 
members are shown on pages 36 and 37. The Board has 
determined that the Audit Committee has competence relevant to 
the sector in which the Company operates.

The Chairman routinely invites the Chief Executive Officer, Chief 
Financial Officer and other senior management to attend meetings 
of the Committee, along with the Group’s internal and external 
auditors, when required. The Committee also meets with the 
Group’s internal and external auditors without the presence of the 
Company’s management.

Responsibilities and terms of reference
The role of the Committee is to:
•  monitor the integrity of the financial statements of the Group 

and any formal announcements relating to its financial 
performance, including any significant financial reporting 
judgements;

•  review and monitor the effectiveness of the Company’s internal 

controls and risk management systems;

•  review and monitor the effectiveness of the Company’s internal 
audit function including approval of the annual internal audit 
plan;

•  review the Company’s procedures for detecting fraud, 
preventing bribery and ensuring there are appropriate 
whistleblowing procedures in place;

•  oversee the relationship with the external auditor including 
their appointment, independence and objectivity and the 
effectiveness of the external audit process; and

•  develop the policy on the supply of external audit services by 
the external auditor, taking into account relevant ethical 
guidance.

Following a review by the Committee at its meeting in February 
2019 the terms of reference of the Committee were updated to 
include clarification that the Committee as a whole should have 
relevant experience in the sector in which the Company operates, 
and other minor amendments.

The Committee’s updated terms of reference can be found at 
www.mjgleesonplc.com

Activities during the year
The Committee met on four scheduled occasions during the year 
to 30 June 2019, with both members being in attendance for all 
meetings. Scheduled Committee meetings generally take place 
prior to Board meetings and the Committee Chairman provides the 
Board with a report on the activity of the Committee and the 
matters of particular relevance to the Board in the conduct of their 
work. The key activities undertaken by the Committee during the 
year were:

Financial reporting
The Committee reviewed the integrity of the Annual Report and 
formal announcements relating to the Group’s financial 
performance. Since the date of the last Annual Report, the 
Committee has reviewed:
•  the draft interim results for the 6 months to December 2018 
which were reviewed by the Committee at its meeting in 
February 2019; and

•  the draft 2019 Annual Report and preliminary announcement 
which were reviewed by the Committee at its meeting in 
September 2019.

At the request of the Board, the Committee considered whether 
the 2019 Annual Report taken as a whole is fair, balanced and 
understandable and whether it provides the necessary 
information for shareholders to assess the Company’s 
performance, business model and strategy. In doing so, the 
Committee received comments from management and the 
external auditors at its meeting in September 2019. It also 
reviewed the annual compliance procedures and management 
returns that support the Group’s financial reporting governance 
framework and risk management process for the year ended  
30 June 2019.

The Committee was satisfied that, taken as a whole, the 2019 
Annual Report is fair, balanced and understandable and provides 
sufficient information for shareholders to assess the Company’s 
performance, business model and strategy. The Committee 
recommended as such to the Board.

Going concern and viability reporting
The Committee examined the financial forecasts for the Group 
including scenarios to model the impact of potential downturns in 
the housing and strategic land markets. These were examined by 
the Committee in conjunction with both its review of the Annual 
Report and interim announcement. The Committee satisfied itself, 
and subsequently the Board, that the going concern basis of 
preparation continues to be appropriate in the context of the 
Group’s funding and liquidity position.

In accordance with the provisions of the Code, the Committee 
considered the time period over which it could reasonably assess 
the Group’s ability to continue to trade, taking into account the 
Group’s financial budget review period and operational forecasts. 
It concluded that this should remain a three-year period as 
explained on page 43. The Committee received detailed financial 
analysis based on the Group’s latest budgets with sensitivities 
applied over a three-year period and determined that there was a 
reasonable expectation that the Group will be able to continue in 
operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due. The Committee 
recommended statements to this effect to the Board to approve 
for inclusion in the Annual Report.

The viability statement is shown on page 43 of the Governance 
Report with further explanation of the timespan and variables 
considered.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

49

 
aUDIT COmmITTee RepORT CONTINUED

Credit risk monitoring
The Group carries a number of deferred receivables mainly 
relating to Gleeson Strategic Land in relation to land sales. At 
each of the meetings where the Committee considered going 
concern and viability, the Committee also separately examined 
the significant balances due, the level of security held and the 
performance of the counterparty to date. The Committee satisfied 
itself that the level of credit risk faced by the Group remains low 
overall.

Profit recognition
Throughout the year the Committee reviewed the processes, 
controls and assumptions for recognising margin on development 
sites including three particular areas: cost inflation, selling prices 
and contingencies. The Committee also received a report from 
external advisers, KPMG LLP, who completed a review of specific 
site valuations and the assumptions being used. 

Review of the Group’s risk register
The Committee reviewed the Group’s risk register at three of its 
meetings during the year such that, as the operational, political 
and economic environment changes, the Committee understands 
the risks faced by the Group and how these are addressed. This 
enables the Committee and the Board to ensure that the major 
risks facing the Group are monitored and that appropriate 
controls and mitigations are in place. As a result, the Committee 
and the Board understand and manage the balance of risks in the 
business.

Internal audit plan and findings
The Committee set the internal audit plan for the year ended  
30 June 2019 at its meeting in July 2018. As covered under 
“Internal audit”, the Committee received and reviewed reports 
from the internal auditor throughout the year on internal audits 
conducted across the business.

As described under “Significant issues considered during the 
year”, the Committee satisfied itself that the associated 
processes and controls have continued to operate effectively 
across the Group and the assumptions applied by management in 
relation to profit recognition are appropriate.

Other activities
During the year, the Committee also reviewed reports on IT and 
cyber crime updates, corporate criminal offences, anti-bribery, 
and malpractice monitoring, and a review by internal audit of 
payroll and CIS accounting.

Work in progress
The Committee reviewed reports from the Group’s internal auditor 
on the carrying value and recoverability of land and work in 
progress on selected Gleeson Homes sites. The Committee also 
received reports on the recoverability and carrying value of work 
in progress in Gleeson Strategic Land.

As described under “Significant issues considered during the 
year”, the Committee satisfied itself that the carrying value of 
land and work in progress remained appropriate.

Tax affairs of the Group
At its meeting in February 2019 the Committee received a 
comprehensive update covering the tax affairs of the Group. This 
included an update on the Senior Accounting Officer (“SAO”) 
regime and actions undertaken by the Group in readiness. The 
update covered all other aspects of Group taxes including VAT, 
corporation tax, deferred tax, land remediation relief, the 
construction industry scheme (“CIS”), employment taxes, stamp 
duty land tax, and other minor updates. 

The Committee also reviewed the Group’s Tax Strategy Statement 
and recommended its approval to the Board. 

Review of legacy matters
The Committee received and reviewed reports on claims 
associated with the legacy business, being the contracting and 
engineering businesses sold more than 10 years ago. Whilst  
the level of claims has reduced to an insignificant level, the 
Committee, in conjunction with the Chief Financial Officer, 
continues to monitor the status of claims and any liabilities.

Significant issues considered during the year
The significant issues considered by the Committee during the 
year are those that present a risk of material misstatement to the 
Group’s financial statements, being:

Carrying value of land and work in progress
The most significant asset carried by the Group is inventory, 
which includes land and work in progress. The Group carries 
inventories at the lower of cost and net realisable value, which is 
dependent on estimates of total build or land promotion costs and 
future selling prices. There is, therefore, a risk that land and work 
in progress is held at a value in excess of the lower of cost and net 
realisable value.

In addition, the allocation of inventories to cost of sales on the 
sale of individual homes is dependent on estimates of total build 
costs and future selling prices for each site as a whole. These 
estimates, therefore, impact on the timing and amount of profit 
margin recognised on sales of individual homes.

The Committee monitors the effectiveness of internal controls 
exercised over the key processes employed by the Group in site 
development activities and the forecasting of future costs, 
revenue and profits.

The Committee receives regular reports regarding sales of homes 
and the costs and possible future costs relating to individual 
sites. As covered under “Activities during the year”, the 
Committee reviewed the assumptions applied by management 
supporting the profit margin to be recognised on the sale of 
individual homes and concluded that they remain appropriate.

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OTheR INFORmaTION

The Committee also receives regular reports on the carrying value 
of land and work in progress in Gleeson Homes and Gleeson 
Strategic Land. The Committee reviewed these reports and 
debated them with the internal auditor and with management. The 
Committee satisfied itself that the carrying value of land and work 
in progress across the Group remained appropriate.

Effectiveness of internal controls and  
risk management systems
The Committee is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the 
effectiveness of internal controls and risk management systems 
on behalf of the Board. The Group’s system of internal control 
includes the following processes:
•  The Board and management committees meet regularly to 
monitor performance against key performance indicators 
which include cash management and financial and operational 
measures. A variety of financial and non-financial reports are 
produced to facilitate this review process.

•  The Board has established defined lines of authority to ensure 
that significant decisions are taken at an appropriate level.
•  The Group employs individuals of appropriate calibre and 
provides any training that is necessary to enable them to 
perform their role effectively. Key objectives and opportunities 
for improvement are identified through annual performance 
and development reviews.

•  Each division has defined procedures and controls to identify 
and minimise business, operational and financial risks. These 
procedures include segregation of duties, provision of regular 
performance information and exception reports, approval 
procedures for key transactions and the maintenance of proper 
records. Compliance with these procedures and controls is 
certified annually by management to the Committee.

•  The Group’s programme of insurance covers the major risks to 
the Group’s assets and business and is reviewed annually.
•  Authorities are in place that require divisional management to 
refer all investment and divestment decisions that exceed 
prescribed limits to either the Group Capital Committee or the 
Board for approval.

Regular reviews are undertaken in order to identify any changes in 
procedure that may be required in the light of changing 
circumstances.

The effectiveness of the overall internal control framework and 
risk management process is monitored by both the Audit 
Committee and the Board. As part of this, the Committee reviews 
the annual compliance returns completed by each divisional 
management team which confirm that key financial controls have 
been in operation throughout the year and that an effective 
control environment has been maintained.

Each divisional management team also completes an annual  
risk assessment. The results of this are reviewed by the 
Committee and risks identified are incorporated into the Group 
risk register. The Risk Management section on pages 32 and 33 
sets out details of the key risks that the business may face and 
how it mitigates them.

The Committee has satisfied itself that an appropriate system of 
internal controls and risk management processes have been 
maintained throughout the year to safeguard shareholder 
interests as well as the Group’s assets in accordance with the 
requirements of the Code.

Whistleblowing arrangements
The Company has operated a whistleblowing arrangement 
throughout the year whereby all employees of the Group are able, 
via an independent third party, to confidentially report any 
malpractice or matters of concern they have regarding the actions 
of employees, management and Directors and any breaches of the 
Company’s anti-bribery and corruption policy.

The Committee reviews the output of malpractice reporting at 
least every six months.

Anti-bribery and corruption policy
The Company values its long-standing reputation for ethical 
behaviour and integrity. Conducting its business with a zero 
tolerance approach to all forms of corruption is central to these 
values, the Group’s image and reputation. The Company policy 
sets out the standards expected of all Group employees in 
relation to anti-bribery and corruption and the Board has overall 
responsibility for ensuring this policy complies with the Group’s 
legal and ethical obligations and that everyone in the 
organisation complies with it.

This policy is also relevant for third parties who perform services 
for or on behalf of the Group. The Group expects those persons to 
adhere to this policy or have in place equivalent policies and 
procedures to combat bribery and corruption.

The Committee reviews a report on the registers of gifts and 
hospitality given or received by Directors and employees of the 
Group at least every six months.

Internal audit
The Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving the 
annual internal audit plan. This continues to cover a broad scope 
of activities across the Group focused on areas of risk and 
management judgement.

During the year, the Committee received nine reports from the 
internal auditor on the findings of internal audits conducted 
throughout the business, together with proposed 
recommendations to rectify any issues identified. The findings of 
these reports were actively debated by the Committee with the 
internal auditor and with management.

The Committee reviewed the effectiveness of the internal audit 
function and concluded that it has operated effectively and 
provided a suitable level of independent scrutiny across the 
operations of the Group.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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aUDIT COmmITTee RepORT CONTINUED

External audit
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were reappointed as the Company’s 
auditor following approval by shareholders at the AGM on  
6 December 2018.

At its meeting in February 2019, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
provided their audit strategy memorandum for the Committee, 
identifying their assessment of key risks in the Group’s financial 
reporting. For the 2019 financial year, as in prior years, the 
primary risk identified was in relation to the carrying value of land 
and work in progress.

The Committee formulates and oversees the Group’s policy on 
monitoring external auditor objectivity and independence in 
relation to non-audit services. As a result of the EU Audit Reforms 
Regulations (as amended 11 June 2016) the auditor is excluded 
from undertaking a range of work on behalf of the Group to ensure 
that the nature of non-audit services performed or fee income 
earned relative to the audit fees does not compromise and is not 
seen to compromise the auditor’s independence, objectivity or 
integrity.

For the year to 30 June 2019, there were no non-audit fees paid to 
the external auditor. Details of the audit fees incurred are 
disclosed in note 4 to the financial statements.

The Committee assesses the effectiveness of the external audit 
process annually with the auditor and with management. The 
Committee holds private meetings with the auditor on an annual 
basis. Matters discussed include the auditor’s assessment of 
business risks and management activity thereon, the 
transparency and openness of interactions with management and 
confirmation that there has been no restriction in scope placed on 
them by management.

The Committee ensures that the auditor has exercised 
professional scepticism in its audit. The Committee has reviewed 
and is satisfied with the performance of PricewaterhouseCoopers 
LLP. The auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, have indicated 
their willingness to continue in office, and a resolution that they 
be reappointed will be proposed at the next AGM of the Company 
on 5 December 2019.

Colin Dearlove
Chairman, audit Committee
13 September 2019

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OTheR INFORmaTION

Kerriane, Ashurst Park, Skelmersdale, Lancashire

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

53

RemUNeRaTION COmmITTee RepORT

Statement from the Chairman of the 
Remuneration Committee

Dear Shareholder,

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present our Directors’ 
Remuneration Report for 2019.

The report is split into three parts:
•  this letter, which provides an introduction to the report;
•  the proposed Directors’ Remuneration Policy for which we will 

be seeking shareholder approval at the 2019 AGM; and

•  the Annual Report on Remuneration, which describes how the 

policy was implemented in the year to June 2019 and how it will 
be implemented for the year to June 2020.

Our new Directors’ Remuneration Policy
Our current policy was approved by shareholders at the 2016 AGM 
and is approaching the end of its three-year term. A new policy will 
therefore be put to shareholders for approval at the 2019 AGM.

Our current policy received a 79.8% vote in favour. Our 2017 and 2018 
Annual Reports on Remuneration received votes in favour of 77.0%  
and 81.0% respectively. While the majority of shareholders have 
been supportive, we are aware of a number of areas where we are 
becoming increasingly out of line with best practice on 
remuneration.

The Committee has therefore used this opportunity to bring our 
remuneration arrangements into line with market practice and best 
practice over the next three-year policy period, taking into account 
changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code and shareholder 
feedback in recent years. The proposed remuneration policy has also 
been updated to ensure that it has sufficient flexibility over the next 
three years to support potential changes to business needs.

In particular:
•  Maximum pension opportunity for the interim Chief Executive 

Officer and any newly appointed Executive Directors will be aligned 
with the level available to the majority of the wider workforce.

•  Mandatory annual bonus deferral will apply from 2021.
•  A normal maximum Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP") 

opportunity of 150% of salary has been introduced. The current 
overall maximum LTIP opportunity of 300% of salary has been 
reduced to 200% of salary, to be used in exceptional 
circumstances only. 

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MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

I am pleased to set out the Group’s 
remuneration strategy and a significantly 
revised remuneration policy for which  
we will be seeking shareholder approval  
at the AGM.

Ross Ancell
Chairman, Remuneration Committee

•  Within-employment and post-employment shareholding 

guidelines have been introduced.

•  Malus and clawback circumstances have been expanded to 

include corporate failure.

The key policy changes are set out on page 56. 

Executive Director changes
As announced on 10 June 2019, Jolyon Harrison stepped down 
from the Board with immediate effect and remains on garden 
leave until 8 December 2019. The terms in respect of Jolyon 
Harrison’s cessation of employment, including the treatment of 
unvested LTIP awards, have not yet been agreed. Full disclosure 
will be provided once these terms have been agreed.

In line with the remuneration reporting regulations, estimated 
values have been included within the single total figure disclosure 
on page 64 for the 2015 LTIP and 2016 LTIP awards. This is on the 
basis that the Total Shareholder Return (“TSR") performance 
targets attached to the awards were met in full and therefore 
100% of the awards remain capable of vesting, notwithstanding 
that the Committee is still to determine whether such awards 
granted to Jolyon Harrison will ultimately vest.

James Thomson was appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer 
with effect from 10 June 2019. James Thomson’s remuneration 
arrangements are set out below.

 
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OTheR INFORmaTION

Pay and performance outcomes for 2019
The Group delivered another set of strong results during the year 
with profit before tax from continuing operations increasing by 
11.4% to £41.2m. Cash balances reduced, as expected, from 
£41.3m to £30.3m reflecting investment in Gleeson Homes, 
increased deferred receivables in Gleeson Strategic Land and 
higher dividend payments. Total dividends for the year are 
proposed to increase by 7.8% to 34.5 pence per share.

Annual bonus
The Chief Financial Officer’s annual bonus was based on the 
achievement of Group profit before tax for both continuing and 
discontinued operations of between £42.0m and £43.5m. The 
Group achieved profit before tax for both continuing and 
discontinued operations of £40.9m, which is an increase of 11.1% 
against the previous year. Accordingly, the Chief Financial Officer 
did not earn a bonus in respect of the year.

Two-thirds of Jolyon Harrison’s, the former Chief Executive Officer, 
annual bonus was based on the achievement of Group profit 
before tax targets, as disclosed above. The threshold was not met 
for the year. One-third of his bonus was based on non-financial 
succession and leadership development objectives. The 
Committee determined that the non-financial objectives were not 
achieved. Accordingly, Jolyon Harrison did not earn a bonus in 
respect of the year. 

LTIP
The 2016 LTIP granted to the Chief Financial Officer was based on 
the achievement of a three-year TSR performance condition which 
ended on 30 June 2019. The Group achieved a three-year TSR of 
902 pence against a target range of 585 and 650 pence per share. 
Accordingly, the LTIP is expected to vest in full. The vested award 
(net of tax) will be subject to a two-year holding period. 

The terms in respect of Jolyon Harrison’s cessation of employment 
have not yet been agreed. The Committee has therefore not 
determined whether the 2016 LTIP will ultimately vest.

The Committee considers that the outturn of both the annual 
bonus and long-term incentive award fairly represents the Group’s 
underlying financial performance over the respective performance 
periods.

Further information is set out on page 65.

Implementation in 2020
Base salary
The interim Chief Executive Officer’s salary has been set at 
£485,000.

The Executive Directors have voluntarily agreed to freeze their 
base salaries for the year to 30 June 2020 and the Chief Financial 
Officer’s salary remains unchanged at £315,000. The fees for 
Non-Executive Directors have also been frozen for the year.

Annual bonus
The maximum annual bonus opportunity will be 100% of salary for 
the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.  
For the interim Chief Executive Officer, 50% of the award will be 
based on profit performance and 50% on strategic and personal 
performance reflecting the terms agreed on his appointment. 
Strategic and personal performance metrics will be based on 
leadership development and management structure. 

For the Chief Financial Officer, the award will continue to be based 
wholly on profit performance. Details of the profit, strategic and 
personal performance targets will be fully disclosed in the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report for 2020. 

LTIP
The normal maximum long-term incentive opportunity will be 
150% of salary for both the interim Chief Executive Officer  
and Chief Financial Officer. The award will be based on the 
achievement of earnings per share (“EPS") performance (as 
regards two-thirds of the award) and relative TSR performance  
(as regards one-third of the award) measured over a period of 
three financial years ending 30 June 2022. The weighting of the 
performance metrics reflects the level of stretch required to 
maintain our current price earnings multiple compared to TSR 
comparator group peers. The Committee will review the weighting 
of the performance metrics annually. Any awards that vest will be 
subject to a two-year holding period.

EPS and relative TSR performance metrics provide further 
alignment with our overall strategy of creating value growth for 
our stakeholders. The use of these metrics also provides 
alignment with market practice and other housebuilders.

Further information is set out on page 68. 

Gender pay gap
During the year, the Committee reviewed the gender pay gap 
statistics for the Group. The Group’s median gender pay gap is 
8.7% versus the national average of 17.9%.

The Group does not discriminate on the grounds of gender and 
operates an equal pay policy. The Group is currently developing  
a number of initiatives to support the recruitment, retention and 
promotion of female employees within roles that have 
traditionally been male occupied.

Further details are set out in the Group’s gender pay report which 
can be found at www.mjgleesonplc.com.

Real Living Wage
The Group is proud to be the only major housebuilder to be 
accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. It pays all of its 
employees the real Living Wage or higher with the only exception 
being for apprentices, where it pays above the Government’s 
guidelines for apprentices.

The Committee looks closely at market data when it comes to 
approving employee pay and rewards to ensure that these remain 
competitive and enable the Group to attract and retain good 
quality staff.

Conclusion
We are committed to a responsible approach to executive pay as  
I trust that the proposed changes to the Directors’ Remuneration 
Policy demonstrates. I hope that you are supportive of our new 
policy. I will be available at the AGM to respond to any questions 
and discuss any aspects of the new policy, Annual Report on 
Remuneration or the Committee’s activities. 

Ross Ancell
Chairman, Remuneration Committee  
13 September 2019

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

55

RemUNeRaTION pOlICY RepORT

This part of the report sets out the remuneration policy for the 
Group and has been prepared in accordance with The Large and 
Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) 
(Amendment) Regulations 2013. 

General reward principles
In setting the remuneration policy for the Executive Directors, the 
Committee takes into account the following general principles:
•  to support an effective pay-for-performance culture which 

enables the Company to attract, retain and motivate Executive 
Directors who have the necessary experience and expertise to 
deliver the Group’s objectives and strategy;

•  to ensure that the remuneration packages are simple and 

transparent and take into account remuneration and related 
policies for the wider workforce;

•  to ensure alignment with the Company’s culture and clearly 

linked to the long-term strategy; 

•  to encourage long-term shareholdings that promote 

sustainable success and support alignment with shareholder 
interests;

•  to promote long-term sustainable performance through 

sufficiently stretching performance targets, whilst ensuring 
that the incentive framework does not encourage Executive 
Directors to take inappropriate business risks (including 
environmental, financial, social, health, safety and governance 
risks); and

•  to ensure that total remuneration delivered fairly reflects 

Company and individual performance.

Changes to the remuneration policy
The current policy was approved by shareholders at the 2016 AGM 
and is approaching the end of its three-year term. A new policy 
will therefore be put to shareholders for approval at the 
forthcoming AGM. Subject to approval the policy will take effect 
from the end of the AGM.

The Committee has updated the policy to take account of changes 
to the UK Corporate Governance Code, to provide further 
alignment with best practice, and to ensure that the policy has 
sufficient flexibility over the next three years to support potential 
changes to business needs. No substantial changes have been 
made to the variable pay structure. 

The Committee has consulted with major shareholders on the 
updated policy. The key policy changes are as follows:
•  The overall maximum pension opportunity of 25% of salary 

under the current policy has been removed. The Chief Financial 
Officer’s current pension opportunity of 15% of salary has been 
retained as it reflects a preexisting contractual arrangement. 
The maximum pension opportunity for the interim Chief 
Executive Officer and any newly appointed Executive Directors 
will be aligned with the level available to the majority of the 
wider workforce (currently 6.5% of salary). 

•  Up to 20% of maximum opportunity may be earned for 

threshold performance under the annual bonus. This has been 
increased from 0% in order to provide a modest bonus 
opportunity for achieving stretching targets at threshold. The 
Committee will set the threshold vesting level on an annual 
basis and will ensure that financial and non-financial targets 
are sufficiently stretching at both threshold and maximum 
taking into account internal budget and broker forecasts.

•  Mandatory deferral will apply to any bonuses earned in respect 

of the years to 30 June 2021 and 30 June 2022. Executive 
Directors will be required to defer one-third of any bonuses 
earned into shares for a two-year period. Voluntary deferral 
will continue to apply to any bonuses earned in respect of the 
year to 30 June 2020, reflecting the terms agreed with the 
interim Chief Executive Officer on appointment.

•  A minimum of 50% of the annual bonus shall be based on 

financial performance metrics. This has been reduced from the 
current minimum of two-thirds of the annual bonus to ensure 
that performance metrics can be appropriately aligned with the 
key financial and non-financial strategic areas of the business. 
The weighting of performance metrics for the year to 30 June 
2020 is set out on page 68. The Committee will review the 
weighting of performance metrics annually.

•  The overall maximum LTIP opportunity was previously 300% of 
salary. A normal maximum LTIP opportunity of 150% of salary 
has been introduced. The overall maximum LTIP opportunity 
has also been reduced from 300% to 200% of salary and will 
be used in exceptional circumstances only in line with best 
practice. 

•  The policy includes no provision to grant one-off long-term 

• 

• 

incentive awards to current Executive Directors outside of the 
LTIP.
Introduces flexibility to determine LTIP performance metrics 
annually to reflect the Group’s strategy and key performance 
indicators. This provides alignment with market practice.
Introduces within-employment and post-employment 
shareholding guidelines in line with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code and best practice.

• 

•  The circumstances in which malus and clawback may apply to 
annual bonus and LTIP awards have been expanded to include 
corporate failure.
Introduces flexibility to provide Non-Executive Directors with 
benefits linked to the performance of their duties, such as, but 
not limited to, the use of secretarial support and travel costs. 
This provides alignment with market practice. 

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Components of Executive Directors’ remuneration
The key elements of the remuneration package for each Executive Director are set out in the table below:

Element

BASE SALARY

Purpose and link  
to strategy

Provide a competitive base level of remuneration to support the recruitment and retention of Executive Directors 
with the necessary experience and expertise to deliver the Group’s strategy.

Operation

Salaries are normally reviewed annually taking into account a number of factors, such as, but not limited to:
• personal performance 
• Company performance 
• inflation and earnings forecasts

• state of the marketplace generally
• pay and conditions elsewhere in the Group

Maximum  
opportunity

While there is no prescribed maximum salary, increases will normally be in line with increases awarded to the 
wider workforce.

Salary increases above this level may be awarded to take account of individual circumstances such as, but not 
limited to:
• an increase in responsibilities or scope of the role;
•  an Executive Director’s development or performance in role (e.g. to align a newly appointed Executive Director’s 

salary with the market over time);

• where there has been a change in market practice; or
• where there has been a change in the size and/or complexity of the Group.

Increases may be implemented over such time as the Committee deems appropriate.

Performance  
targets

N/A

Element

BENEFITS

Purpose and link  
to strategy

Provide a competitive benefits package to support the recruitment and retention of Executive Directors with the 
experience and expertise necessary to deliver the Group’s strategy.

Operation

Maximum  
opportunity

Performance  
targets

The Company provides cash benefits and benefits in kind to Executive Directors. These include but are not 
limited to:
• company car or cash equivalent;
• private fuel;
• private medical insurance – family cover;
• life insurance;
• permanent health insurance;
• annual health check;
• holiday and sick pay;
• professional subscriptions; and
• reimbursement of expenses incurred on Group matters.

Other benefits may be offered based on individual circumstances (e.g. relocation allowances on recruitment).

Whilst there is no prescribed maximum, the value of benefits is based on the underlying cost to the Group, 
individual circumstances and market practice.

N/A

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57

 
 
RemUNeRaTION pOlICY RepORT CONTINUED

Element

PENSION

Purpose and link  
to strategy

Operation

Maximum  
opportunity

To provide an appropriate level of retirement benefits to Executive Directors.

The Company will contribute to the Group’s defined contribution pension scheme, or to personal pension 
arrangements at the request of the Executive Director. 

The Company may also consider a cash alternative (e.g. where an Executive Director has reached the HMRC’s 
lifetime or annual allowance limit).

Salary is the only element of the Executive Directors’ remuneration that is pensionable.

For the Chief Financial Officer, the maximum Company contribution or pension allowance is 15% of salary.

For the interim Chief Executive Officer and any newly appointed Executive Directors, the maximum Company 
contribution or pension allowance will be aligned with the level available to the majority of the wider workforce.

Performance  
targets

N/A

Element

ANNUAL BONUS

Purpose and link to 
strategy

To incentivise the achievement of key financial and strategic targets for the forthcoming year without encouraging 
excessive risk taking.

Operation

Awards are based on performance metrics set by the Committee (typically measured over a financial year) against 
financial and non-financial objectives. The Committee will determine the bonus to be delivered following the end 
of the relevant financial year based on performance against these metrics.

The Committee has the discretion to override the formulaic outturn of the bonus to determine the appropriate 
level of bonus payable where it believes the outcome is not truly reflective of underlying performance during the 
performance period and to ensure fairness to both shareholders and participants.

Executive Directors may elect to voluntarily defer up to 100% of any bonuses earned in shares for a two-year 
period. 

Mandatory deferral will apply to any bonuses earned in respect of the years to June 2021 and June 2022. Executive 
Directors will be required to defer one-third of any bonuses earned into shares for a two-year period. The 
Committee may, however, decide to pay such bonuses in cash where the amount to be deferred would, in the 
opinion of the Committee, be so small as to make the operation of deferral burdensome.

Amounts equivalent to any dividends or shareholder distributions may be made in respect of deferred bonus 
awards at vesting, if the Committee so determines. Such amounts will normally be paid in shares.

Malus and clawback provisions will apply. Further details are set out on page 61.

Maximum  
opportunity

Maximum opportunity of 150% of base salary. Maximum opportunity for the year to June 2020 will be set at 100% 
of salary.

Performance  
targets

Up to 20% of maximum is earned for threshold performance and up to 50% of maximum is earned for target 
performance. There will be broadly straight-line vesting between threshold, target and maximum.

Performance metrics are determined annually reflecting the Group’s strategy and key performance indicators.

A minimum of 50% of the bonus shall be based on financial performance metrics. 

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Element

LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN (“LTIP”)

Purpose and link  
to strategy

To incentivise and reward Executive Directors for delivering long-term performance and achievement of Group 
strategy, and provide alignment with shareholder interests.

Operation

Awards may be granted annually to Executive Directors in the form of a conditional share award, nil cost option or 
such form as has the same economic effect.

Vesting of awards will be dependent on the achievement of performance metrics set by the Committee, normally 
over at least a three-year performance period.

The Committee has the discretion to override the formulaic vesting outturn of the LTIP to determine the 
appropriate level of vesting where it believes the outcome is not truly reflective of underlying performance during 
the performance period and to ensure fairness to both shareholders and participants.

Awards will be subject to a two-year holding period following the end of the performance period, and shares will 
not typically be released until the end of the holding period. Alternatively, awards may be granted on the basis 
that shares can be acquired following the end of the performance period but that, other than to cover Income Tax 
and NIC and any exercise price, shares may not be disposed of or otherwise dealt with until the end of the holding 
period.

Amounts equivalent to any dividends or shareholder distributions may be made in respect of awards at vesting,  
if the Committee so determines. Such amounts will normally be paid in shares.

Malus and clawback provisions will apply. Further details are set out on page 61.

The normal maximum award is 150% of salary in respect of a financial year.

A maximum award of up to 200% of salary in respect of a financial year may be granted in exceptional 
circumstances (e.g. on recruitment).

Awards will vest between 20% and 100% for performance between threshold and maximum, with broadly 
straight-line vesting between these points.

Performance metrics are determined annually reflecting the Group’s strategy and key performance indicators.

Maximum  
opportunity

Performance  
targets

Element

HMRC TAX-QUALIFYING ALL-EMPLOYEE SCHEME

Purpose and link to 
strategy

The HMRC tax-qualifying all-employee scheme has been designed to encourage all employees to become 
shareholders in the Company and thereby align their interests with shareholders.

Operation

Maximum  
opportunity

Performance 
targets

The Company operates an all-employee scheme in which the Executive Directors are eligible to participate (which 
is in line with HMRC legislation and is open to all eligible staff).

The maximum set by legislation from time to time.

N/A

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RemUNeRaTION pOlICY RepORT CONTINUED

Remuneration policy for Non-Executive Directors

Element

FEES FOR NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

Purpose and link  
to strategy

To support the recruitment and retention of Non-Executive Directors and a Chairman with the necessary 
experience to advise and assist with establishing and monitoring the Group’s strategic objectives.

Operation

Fees for Non-Executive Directors are determined by the Chairman and the Executive Directors. Fees for the 
Chairman are set by the Remuneration Committee. 

Maximum  
opportunity

Fees may include a basic fee and additional fees for further responsibilities (e.g. chairing Board committees or 
acting as Senior Independent Director).

Fees are set at levels with reference to sector and similar sized UK listed companies. Time commitment and 
responsibilities are also taken into account.

The Chairman is part of the Group private health scheme. Non-Executive Directors may be eligible to receive 
benefits linked to the performance of their duties, such as, but not limited to, the use of secretarial support and 
travel costs. 

Fee increases will normally be in line with increases awarded to the wider workforce.

Fee increases above this level may be awarded to take account of individual circumstances such as, but not 
limited to:
• an increase in responsibilities, scope or time commitment of the role;
• where there has been a change in market practice; or
• where there has been a change in the size and/or complexity of the Group.

Overall fees paid to Non-Executive Directors will remain within the limits set by the Company’s Articles of 
Association.

Performance  
targets

N/A

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Post-employment: Executive Directors are required to retain a 
holding in “relevant shares” equal to:
•  200% of salary (or their actual shareholding at the point of 

departure if lower) for the first 12 months following departure;

•  100% of salary (or their actual shareholding at the point of 

departure if lower) for the subsequent 12 months.

“Relevant shares” do not include shares which the Executive 
Director has purchased or which have been acquired pursuant to 
LTIP awards granted before 1 July 2019. Unless the Committee 
determines otherwise, an Executive Director or former Executive 
Director shall be deemed to have disposed of shares which are not 
“relevant shares” before “relevant shares”. 

Remuneration policy for the broader employee population
The executive remuneration framework set out in this report 
follows similar principles as that applied to the Group’s senior 
leadership team to ensure that management is rewarded on a 
consistent basis. Any differences that exist arise either because 
of the Committee’s assessment of business need or commercial 
necessity.

The principles that underpin our executive remuneration 
philosophy also cascade throughout the organisation, although 
quantum will vary by level and the provision of certain 
components of remuneration (such as benefits, allowances and 
long-term incentives) will vary by seniority.

The Group operates an HMRC tax-qualifying all-employee scheme 
in order to encourage share ownership across the wider workforce.

Legacy arrangements
The Committee retains discretion to make any remuneration 
payment outside of policy:
•  where the terms of the payment were agreed before the policy 

came into effect;

•  where the terms of the payment were agreed at a time when 

the relevant individual was not a Director of the Company, and 
in the opinion of the Committee, the payment was not in 
consideration of the individual becoming a Director of the 
Company; or

•  to satisfy contractual arrangements under legacy remuneration 

arrangements.

Illustration of the application of remuneration policy
The following charts illustrate the future remuneration packages 
of the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer 
under the policy set for the year to June 2020 onwards for various 
indicative levels of performance:

Application of malus and clawback
Malus and clawback apply to annual bonus, deferred bonus and 
LTIP awards as follows:

Annual bonus

Deferred bonus

LTIP

Malus

Clawback

To such time as 
payment is made

Up to two years 
following payment

To such time as the 
award vests

N/A

To such time as the 
award vests

Up to two years 
following vesting

Malus and clawback may apply in the following circumstances:
•  material misstatement of the Group’s audited accounts;
•  an error in the information on which the award was granted or 

vests including an error in assessing any applicable 
performance metrics;

•  fraud or serious misconduct on the part of the participant;
•  censure or reputational damage to the Group that is a result of 

the participant’s behaviour or actions; or

•  a material corporate failure.

Selection of performance metrics and target setting
In the selection of performance metrics the Committee takes into 
account the Group’s strategic objectives and short and long-term 
business priorities. The performance metrics selected reward the 
delivery of stretching financial performance and the creation of 
shareholder value.

The performance targets chosen are set in accordance with the 
Group’s operating plan and are reviewed annually to ensure they 
are sufficiently stretching. In selecting the targets the Committee 
also takes into account analysts’ forecasts, economic conditions 
and the Committee’s expectation of performance over the  
relevant period.

The Committee retains discretion to vary or substitute 
performance metrics and/or targets if events occur (e.g. a change 
in strategy, a material acquisition and/or a divestment of a Group 
business or a change in prevailing market conditions) which cause 
the Committee to determine that the performance metrics and/or 
targets are no longer appropriate and that amendment is required 
so that they achieve their original purpose.

Share awards may be adjusted in the event of a variation of share 
capital or a demerger, dealing, special dividend or other event 
that may affect the Company’s share price.

Shareholding guidelines
The Committee introduced for the year to June 2020 formal 
within-employment and post-employment shareholding 
guidelines for Executive Directors.

Within-employment: Executive Directors are required to build up 
and retain a holding in shares equal to 200% of salary. Until the 
shareholding guideline is met, 50% of any shares vesting under 
the Deferred Bonus Plan or LTIP (post payment of Income Tax and 
NIC) must be retained.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The dates of the Executive Directors’ service agreements are:

J Thomson
J Thomson

Base salary, benefits and pension

Annual bonus

LTIP

£924k
£924k
16%
16%
26%
26%

£536k
£536k

100%
100%

58%
58%

£1,748k
£1,748k

41%
41%

28%
28%

31%
31%

£2,112k
£2,112k

52%
52%

23%
23%

25%
25%

Minimum 
Minimum 
performance
performance

Performance in 
Performance in 
line with expectations
line with expectations

Maximun
Maximun
 performance
 performance

Maximum performance 
Maximum performance 
(with 50% share 
(with 50% share 
price increase)
price increase)

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

S Allanson

Base salary, benefits and pension

Annual bonus

LTIP

£1,168k

40%

27%

33%

£1,404k

50%

23%

27%

£380k

100%

£632k

25%

60%

15%

Minimum 
performance

Performance in 
line with expectations

Maximun 
performance

Maximum performance 
(with 50% share 
price increase)

For the purpose of this analysis, the following assumptions have 
been made:
•  fixed elements comprise base salary, pension and other benefits;
•  base salary levels applying on 1 July 2019;
•  benefit levels are assumed to be the same as 2019;
•  minimum performance reflects fixed remuneration as above, 

and assumes no award under the annual bonus and no vesting 
is achieved under the LTIP;

•  performance in line with expectations reflects fixed 

remuneration as above, and assumes 50% of annual bonus is 
earned and 20% of the LTIP vests;

•  maximum performance reflects fixed remuneration as above, 

and assumes full bonus pay out and full vesting under the LTIP; 
and

•  the final illustration is based on the same assumptions as the 
maximum performance illustration, but also assumes, for the 
purposes of the LTIP, that share price increases by 50% over 
the performance period.

Service agreements and policy in respect of loss of office
The interim Chief Executive Officer’s service agreement is on a 
rolling basis and requires 6 months’ notice of termination on 
either side. This increases to 12 months’ notice of termination  
on either side in the event that the Committee confirms that the 
current incumbent’s role becomes permanent.

The Chief Financial Officer’s service agreement is on a rolling 
basis and requires 6 months’ notice of termination from the  
Chief Financial Officer and 12 months’ notice of termination from 
the Company.

62

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

Executive Director

James Thomson

Stefan Allanson

Date of service agreement

10 June 2019

29 June 2015

Payment in lieu of notice
The Company has discretion to make a payment in lieu of notice. 
Such payment may include salary and compensation for benefits 
and pension contributions for the unexpired period of notice. 

Annual bonus
The payment of a bonus will be at the discretion of the Committee 
on an individual basis and will be dependent on a number of 
factors, including the circumstances of the individual’s departure 
and contribution to the business during the financial year. 

Any bonus will normally be pro rated for time in service during  
the performance period and will normally, subject to performance, 
be paid at the usual time. In exceptional circumstances the 
Committee may decide that an Executive Director’s bonus will be 
paid early at the time of cessation of employment.

Any bonus earned for the year of departure and, if relevant,  
for the prior year may be paid wholly in cash at the discretion of 
the Committee. There will be no bonus payment in the event  
of gross misconduct or wilful neglect.

Deferred bonus plan
Awards under the deferred bonus plan will be determined by the 
Plan rules.

Unvested awards will normally lapse on cessation of employment. 
However, if a participant departs under good leaver provisions 
(i.e. participants who leave early on account of injury, disability, 
death, a sale of their employer or business in which they were 
employed, statutory redundancy, retirement or any other  
reason at the discretion of the Committee), then unvested  
awards may remain capable of vesting at the normal vesting  
date. In exceptional circumstances, the Committee may decide 
that the participant’s awards will vest at the date of cessation  
of employment. A pro rata reduction of the awards will be applied 
by reference to the time of cessation (although the Committee has 
discretion to disapply pro rating if the circumstances warrant it). 

LTIP
Awards under the LTIP will be determined by the Plan rules.

Unvested awards will normally lapse on cessation of employment. 
However, if a participant departs under good leaver provisions (i.e. 
participants who leave early on account of injury, disability, death,  
a sale of their employer or business in which they were employed, 
statutory redundancy, retirement or any other reason at the 
discretion of the Committee), then unvested awards will remain 
capable of vesting at the normal vesting date. To the extent that 
awards vest, a two-year holding period would then apply. In 
exceptional circumstances, the Committee may decide that the 
participant’s awards will vest and be released early at the date of 
cessation of employment or some other time (e.g. at the end of the 
performance period). In either case, vesting depends on the extent to 
which the performance metrics have been satisfied and a pro rata 
reduction of the awards will be applied by reference to the time of 
cessation (although the Committee has discretion to disapply time 
pro rating if the circumstances warrant it). 

If a participant leaves for any reason (other than summary dismissal) 
after an award has vested but before it has been released (i.e. during 
a holding period), their award will ordinarily continue to be released 
at the normal release date. In exceptional circumstances, the 
Committee may decide that the participant’s award will be  
released early. 

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

Change of control
Awards under the deferred bonus plan will vest early in the event 
of change of control or substantial exit. The level of vesting will be 
determined taking into account such factors that the Committee 
considers relevant including, but not limited to, the time served 
from the grant date to the date of the relevant event.

Awards under the LTIP will vest early in the event of a change of 
control or substantial exit. The level of vesting will be determined 
taking into account the extent to which performance metrics  
are satisfied at the date of the relevant event and, unless the 
Committee determines otherwise, awards will be pro rated for 
time served from the grant date to the date of the relevant event.

Other payments
In appropriate circumstances, payments may also be made in 
respect of accrued holiday, outplacement and legal fees.

Awards under the HMRC tax-qualifying all-employee scheme may 
vest and, where relevant, be exercised in the event of cessation  
of employment or change of control in accordance with the Plan 
rules. The terms applying to any buy-out awards on cessation of 
employment or change of control would be determined when the 
award is granted.

The Committee reserves the right to make any other payments in 
connection with an Executive Director’s cessation of employment 
where such payments are made in good faith in discharge of an 
existing legal obligation (or by way of damages for breach of such 
an obligation) or by way of settlement of any claim arising in 
connection with the cessation of employment. 

Chairman and other Non-Executive Directors’  
terms of engagement
The Chairman and the Non-Executive Directors are not employees; 
they have letters of appointment which set out their duties and 
responsibilities. The dates of each Non-Executive Director’s 
original appointment are as follows:

Non-Executive Director

Date of original appointment

Dermot Gleeson
Ross Ancell
Colin Dearlove
Christopher Mills

27/11/1975
01/10/2006
03/12/2007
01/01/2009

Expiry of current term 
(subject to re-election  
at the 2019 AGM)

30/09/2020
30/09/2020
30/09/2020
30/09/2020

All Non-Executive Directors have specific terms of engagement, 
being an initial period of three years which thereafter may be 
extended on an annual basis, subject to re-election at each AGM. 
The appointment of the Chairman may be terminated by either 
side on six months’ notice and the appointment of the other 
Non-Executive Directors may be terminated on either side on one 
month’s notice.

There is no entitlement to compensation in the event of Non-
Executive Directors’ fixed term agreements not being renewed or 
the agreement terminating earlier.

Recruitment policy
The remuneration of a new Executive Director will normally 
include salary, benefits, pension and participation in the annual 
bonus and LTIP schemes in accordance with the policy for 
Executive Directors’ remuneration. The Committee may include 
other elements of remuneration which it considers appropriate, 
subject to the principles and limits referred to below.

Salary will be set to reflect the skills and experience of the 
Executive Director being appointed and the market rate for the role. 

If it is considered appropriate to appoint a new Executive Director 
on a below market salary (for example, to allow them to gain 
experience in the role) their salary may be increased to a market 
level by way of a series of above-inflation increases over two to 
three years.

Although it is not the Company’s policy to provide buy-out awards 
as a matter of course, the Committee may offer additional cash 
payments and/or share-based awards (on a one-time basis or 
ongoing) where it considers these to be in the best interests of the 
Group (and therefore shareholders). Such payments or awards will 
be based solely on remuneration forfeited when leaving the 
former employer and will reflect the delivery mechanism, time 
horizons and performance requirement attaching to that 
remuneration. Such payments or awards are limited to the 
expected value of the remuneration forfeited. Where considered 
appropriate, such payments or awards will be subject to forfeiture 
or malus and clawback provisions on early departure. 

The Committee will not offer non-performance related variable 
remuneration. The maximum level of variable remuneration which 
may be granted (excluding buy-out awards) is 350% of salary.

Other elements may be included in the following circumstances:
•  An interim appointment being made to fill an Executive Director 

• 

• 

• 

role on a short-term basis.
If exceptional circumstances require that the Chairman or a 
Non-Executive Director takes on an executive function on a 
short-term basis.
If an Executive Director is recruited at a time in the year when it 
would be inappropriate to provide an annual bonus or LTIP 
award for that year. Subject to the limit on variable 
remuneration set out above, the quantum in respect of the 
period employed during the year may be transferred to the 
subsequent year.
If the Executive Director is required to relocate, reasonable 
relocation, travel and subsistence payments may be provided.

Any share awards referred to in this section will be granted as far 
as possible under the Company’s share plans. To the extent that 
this is not possible, share awards may be granted outside of these 
plans as permitted under the Listing Rules.

In the case of an internal appointment, any ongoing remuneration 
obligations or variable pay element awarded in respect of the 
prior role shall be allowed to continue according to its original 
terms, adjusted as relevant to take into account the appointment. 

Fees payable to a newly appointed Chairman or Non-Executive 
Director will be in line with the fee policy in place at the time of 
appointment.

Statement of consideration of employment conditions 
elsewhere in the Group
The Committee does not consult with employees on Directors’ 
remuneration but regularly reviews the remuneration of the wider 
workforce to ensure it is attuned to general pay and conditions 
when considering Directors’ remuneration (e.g. in determining 
salary increases for Executive Directors the Committee reviews 
salary increases across the Group).

Statement of consideration of shareholder views
The Committee consults with major shareholders and their 
representative bodies on remuneration matters, particularly if any 
material changes are proposed to the remuneration policy. In 
these instances the Committee seeks feedback from shareholders 
and develops and considers its proposals in light of this 
feedback. 

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

63

aNNUal RepORT ON RemUNeRaTION

The Remuneration Committee’s Annual Report on Remuneration for the year ended  
30 June 2019 is set out below, including remuneration for the year ended 30 June 2019 
and the implementation of the new Remuneration Policy for 2020.

 The auditor is required to report on the following information up to and including the table on Directors’ interest in shares.

Single total figure of remuneration for each Director for the years ended 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2018

Chairman
Dermot Gleeson

Executive Directors
James Thomson (appointed 10 June 2019)
Jolyon Harrison2 (departed 10 June 2019)
Stefan Allanson

Non-Executive Directors
Ross Ancell
Colin Dearlove
Christopher Mills

2019

Salary 
& fees
£000

Benefits
£000

Annual 
bonus
£000

Value of 
LTIP 
awards1
£000

Pension
£000

Total
£000

Salary 
& fees
£000

Benefits
£000

Annual 
bonus
£000

Value of 
LTIP 
awards1
£000

Pension
£000

Total
£000

2018

125

1

–

–

–

126

120

1

–

–

–

121

28
505
315

58
58
47

1
18
18

–
–
–

–
–
– 1,988
612
–

2

31
76 2,587
992
47

–
480
300

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

58
58
47

56
56
45

–
18
17

–
–
–

–

–
480 2,068
234
300

–

–
72 3,118
896
45

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

56
56
45

1,136

38

– 2,600

125 3,899 1,057

36

780 2,302

117 4,292

1 

2 

The 2018 column shows the value of 2015 LTIP awards that met their performance conditions at 30 June 2018. The 2019 column includes the value of the 2016 LTIP awards 
that met their performance conditions at 30 June 2019. These awards currently remain unvested and the amounts have therefore been calculated using the average share 
price for the three-month period to 30 June 2019 (£8.25). Also included in the 2019 column are amounts paid to the Executive Directors in respect of dividends earned on 
the 2015 LTIP awards that have met their performance targets and the dividend equivalents that are earned on the 2016 LTIP awards between the date of grant and the date 
of vesting. See page 65 for further details. For reference, the value of the 2015 LTIP awards disclosed in the Annual Report on Remuneration for the year ended 30 June 2018 
was calculated using the average share price for the three-month period to 30 June 2018 (£7.47). 
The TSR performance targets attached to the 2015 LTIP and 2016 LTIP awards were met in full and therefore 100% of the awards remain capable of vesting. However, the 
terms in respect of Jolyon Harrison’s cessation of employment have not yet been agreed. The Committee has therefore not determined whether the unvested 2015 LTIP and 
2016 LTIP awards will ultimately vest.

Notes to the single total figure of remuneration
Taxable benefits provided to Executive Directors
The main benefits available to the Executive Directors during the year to 30 June 2019 (and their associated values) were: car allowance 
of £13,000 for Jolyon Harrison, £13,000 for Stefan Allanson and £1,000 for James Thomson; car fuel of £3,000 for Jolyon Harrison, £3,000 
for Stefan Allanson and £nil for James Thomson; private medical insurance of £1,000 for Jolyon Harrison, £1,000 for Stefan Allanson and 
£nil for James Thomson; and matching shares granted under the HMRC tax-qualifying all-employee scheme of £1,000 for Jolyon Harrison 
and £1,000 for Stefan Allanson.

Determination of annual bonus
The annual performance-related bonus for the Chief Financial Officer for the year to 30 June 2019 was based wholly upon achieving a 
profit-related target. The profit-related target was the Group’s profit before tax both for continuing and discontinued operations in the 
year to 30 June 2019, with the threshold and maximum figures set as below and straight-line vesting between threshold and maximum.

Target

Threshold

Maximum

Profit measure
£m

Bonus achievable 
as percentage
of salary

42.0

43.5

0%

100%

The Group achieved profit before tax for both continuing and discontinued operations of £40.9m for the year to 30 June 2019. 
Accordingly, the threshold profit target was not met for the year and no bonus is to be paid to Stefan Allanson.

Two-thirds of the former Chief Executive Officer, Jolyon Harrison’s, annual bonus was based on the achievement of Group profit before 
tax targets, as disclosed above. The threshold was not met for the year. One-third of his bonus was based on non-financial succession 
and leadership development objectives. The Committee determined that these non-financial objectives were not achieved. Accordingly, 
no bonus is to be paid to Jolyon Harrison.

64

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

LTIP
The 2015 LTIP and 2016 LTIP awards were subject to performance targets based on TSR. TSR is defined as the average share price 
measured over the three months prior to the end of the performance period plus cumulative dividends per share paid over the 
performance period. Details of the TSR performance targets and performance outcome are set out in the tables below.

Threshold
Maximum
Actual performance

Outcome

December 2016 award  
(3 year performance period ended 30 June 2019)

September 2015 award  
(3 year performance period ended 30 June 2018)

TSR

5.85
6.50
9.02

Vesting %

20%
100%

TSR

4.92
6.15
8.02

Vesting %

20%
100%

100% of award to vest

100% of award to vest

Therefore, based on TSR performance, the vesting outcome is as follows:

Director

Award

Number of shares 
granted

Number of shares 
vesting based on 
performance

Dividend 
equivalents3, 4
£000

Total estimate 
value of award on 
vesting5
£000

Amount of award 
attributable to 
share price 
appreciation since 
grant6
£000

Jolyon Harrison2 (departed 10 June 2019)

September 20151

Stefan Allanson

December 2016

September 20151

December 2016

250,737

210,526

28,421

65,789

250,737

210,526

28,421

65,789

48

204

5

64

2,068

1,941

234

606

863

539

98

168

1.  The 2015 LTIP awards were scheduled to vest in full on 30 September 2018. However, in light of various business activities during the year the Board agreed to delay the 

vesting. The 2015 LTIP awards are expected to vest during the year to 30 June 2020.

2.  The terms in respect of Jolyon Harrison’s cessation of employment have not yet been agreed. The Committee has therefore not determined whether the unvested 2015 LTIP 

and 2016 LTIP awards will ultimately vest.

3.  The Committee determined that, until such time as the 2015 LTIP awards are vested, the dividends that would otherwise have been earned on the shares following the end 
of the performance period (equivalent to the number of shares that would have vested minus those sold to meet income tax and National Insurance obligations) were 
payable to the Executive Directors. 

4.   The 2016 LTIP included dividend equivalent terms such that additional plan shares are awarded based on the value of dividends payable on the number of vested plan 

shares between the award date and vesting date. This has been estimated based on dividends being reinvested into plan shares between the award date and vesting date 
and valued using the average share price over the last three months of the financial year (£8.25). 

5.  Calculated based on the average share price over the last three months of the financial year (£8.25). The total estimate value of award on vesting for the 2016 LTIP awards 

includes the estimated dividend equivalents.

6.  The Company’s share price increased by £3.44 and £2.56 respectively between the grant dates of the 2015 LTIP and 2016 LTIP awards and the year to 30 June 2019. 

Pension
The Executive Directors are eligible to participate in the MJ Gleeson Group Pension Plan, a defined contribution arrangement. During the 
year to 30 June 2019, Jolyon Harrison received pension contributions of 15% of salary (2019: £76,000) and Stefan Allanson received 
pension contributions of 15% of salary (2019: £47,000). The interim Chief Executive Officer, James Thomson, received cash in lieu of 
pension contributions of 6.5% of salary (2019: £2,000) in line with the proposed Directors’ Remuneration Policy.

LTIP awards granted in the year to 30 June 2019
The Committee granted conditional share awards under the LTIP equivalent to 150% of salary to the Chief Financial Officer on 9 October 
2018. Vesting of the awards is subject to TSR performance (as defined above) over the three-year period to 30 June 2021. The awards will 
vest following the end of the performance period once the Committee has determined whether the performance target has been 
satisfied. Vested awards are subject to a two-year holding period following the end of the performance period (on a net of tax basis). 
Details of the awards are set out below:

Director

Stefan Allanson

Number of shares 
granted

Face value at 
grant1

Threshold vesting
 For achieving TSR of £8.002

Maximum vesting
For achieving TSR of £10.002

67,500

475,000

20% of maximum

100% of maximum

1.  Calculated based on the mid-market closing share price as at 9 October 2018 (£7.04).
2.  Straight-line vesting between threshold and maximum.

Payment made to former Directors and payments for loss of office during the year to 30 June 2019
There were no payments made to former Directors and no payments for loss of office during the year. Full disclosure of the terms in 
respect of Jolyon Harrison’s cessation of employment will be provided once these have been agreed. 

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

65

aNNUal RepORT ON RemUNeRaTION CONTINUED

Directors’ shareholdings and share interests
There were no shareholding requirements for the Directors for the year to 30 June 2019.

The interests of the Directors serving during the year and of their connected persons in the ordinary share capital of the Company as at 
30 June 2019 (or date of departure if earlier) are as shown below:

Director

Chairman
D Gleeson

Executive Directors
J Thomson (appointed 10 June 2019)
J Harrison1 (departed 10 June 2019)

S Allanson

Non-Executive Directors
R Ancell
C Dearlove
C Mills2

Scheme

Owned outright

Unvested and 
subject to 
performance

Unvested and not 
subject to 
performance3 

Total  
as at 30 June 2019

Shares

1,086,821

–

–

1,086,821

Shares
Shares
LTIP 2015
LTIP 2016
LTIP 2017
LTIP 2018

Shares
LTIP 2015
LTIP 2016
LTIP 2017
LTIP 2018

–
1,895,923
–
–
–
–

16,505
–
–
–
–

Shares
Shares
Shares

–
–
6,109,640

–
–
–
–
221,538
–

–
–
–
69,231
67,500

–
–
–

–
270
250,737
210,526
–
–

269
28,421
65,789
–
–

–
1,896,193
250,737
210,526
221,538
–

16,774
28,421
65,789
69,231
67,500

–
–
–

–
–
6,109,640

1.  The terms in respect of Jolyon Harrison’s cessation of employment have not yet been agreed. The Committee has therefore not determined whether the unvested 2015 LTIP 

and 2016 LTIP awards will ultimately vest.

2.  Shares are held by funds managed by Harwood Capital LLP of which Christopher Mills is a Member/Director.
3. 

Includes matching shares granted under the HMRC tax-qualifying all-employee scheme that have not yet vested.

As at 31 August 2019, the total interests held by Joylon Harrison was 1,896,193 and Stefan Allanson was 16,823. The Company has not 
been advised of any other changes to the interests of Directors and their connected persons to those set out in the table above.

LTIP awards
Additional details of the outstanding LTIP awards held by Directors serving during the year are set out below.

Executive Director

Scheme

30 June 2018

Granted during 
year

Vested during year

Lapsed in year

J Harrison
(departed 10
June 2019)

S Allanson

LTIP 20151
LTIP 20162
LTIP 2017

LTIP 20151
LTIP 20162
LTIP 2017
LTIP 2018

250,737
210,526
221,538

28,421
65,789
69,231
–

–
–
–

–
–
–
67,500

–
–
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–
–

Share price at 
grant date

Total interests 
outstanding  
at 30 June 2019

End of 
performance 
period

4.82
5.70
6.50

4.82
5.70
6.50
7.04

250,737
210,526
221,538

28,421
65,789
69,231
67,500

30/06/18
30/06/19
30/06/20

30/06/18
30/06/19
30/06/20
30/06/21

1.  The 2015 LTIP awards were scheduled to vest in full on 30 September 2018. However, in light of various business activities during the year the Board agreed to delay the 

vesting. The 2015 LTIP awards are expected to vest during the year to 30 June 2020.

2.  The 2016 LTIP awards will vest once the Committee has approved the outcome of the performance targets.

66

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

TSR performance
We have compared the Company’s TSR performance over the last ten years with the TSR for the FTSE Small Cap Index, of which the 
Company is a member, and a comparator index of listed housebuilders. The comparator group consists of a group of listed 
housebuilders comprising Barratt Developments, Bellway, Bovis Homes, Crest Nicholson, Persimmon, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and 
Telford Homes.

MJ Gleeson plc TSR comparison to peer group and index 30 June 2009 to 30 June 2019

1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

01/07/2009

MJ Gleeson           Housebuilders           FTSE Small Cap

01/07/2010

01/07/2011

01/07/2012

01/07/2013

01/07/2014

01/07/2015

01/07/2016

01/07/2017

01/07/2018

30/06/2019

Chief Executive Officer’s remuneration 2010 to 2019

Year

Chief Executive Officer

2019 James Thomson (appointed 10 June 2019)

2019 Jolyon Harrison (departed 10 June 2019)

2018 Jolyon Harrison

2017 Jolyon Harrison

2016 Jolyon Harrison

2015 Jolyon Harrison

2014 Jolyon Harrison

2013 Jolyon Harrison (appointed 1 July 2012)

20121 N/A

2011 Chris Holt

2010 Chris Holt

Single figure of 
total remuneration
£000

Annual bonus paid 
against maximum 
opportunity

LTIP awards 
vesting against 
maximum 
opportunity

31

2,587

3,118

2,816

873

2,917

793

1,615

–

417

326

–

0%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

81%

–

0%

25%

–

100%2

100%2

100%

0%

100%

0%

100%

–

0%

0%

1  No Chief Executive Officer held office during 2012.
2 

The TSR performance targets attached to the LTIP awards granted in 2015 and 2016 were met in full and therefore 100% of the awards remain capable of vesting. However, 
the terms in respect of Jolyon Harrison’s cessation of employment have not yet been agreed. The Committee has therefore not determined whether the unvested 2015 LTIP 
and 2016 LTIP awards will ultimately vest.

Chief Executive Officer’s change in remuneration
Set out below is a comparison of the change in remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer from 30 June 2018 to 30 June 2019, compared 
to the change in remuneration of the Group’s salaried employees, excluding Executive Directors.

Chief Executive Officer

Average of salaried employees

Percentage change from 2018 to 2019

Annual  
salary

5.0%1

5.2%

Bonus

(100)%2

15.1%

Value of taxable 
benefits

(1.9)%1

7.1%

1 

For the purposes of the above table, salary and benefits for the year to 30 June 2019 are based on a pro rata combination of salary and benefits received by Jolyon Harrison 
and James Thomson.

2  No bonus was received by Executive Directors for the year to 30 June 2019 as the performance conditions were not met.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

67

aNNUal RepORT ON RemUNeRaTION CONTINUED

Relative importance of spend on pay
Set out below is the amount spent on remuneration for all employees of the Group (including Executive Directors) and the total amounts 
paid in distributions to shareholders over the year.

Remuneration for all employees

Total distributions paid

2019
£m

29.9

18.8

2018
£m

26.2

14.4

Difference in 
spend
£m

3.7

4.4

Difference as 
percentage

14.1%

30.6%

Implementation of the new policy for the year to 30 June 2020
Executive Directors
Base salaries
The Executive Directors have voluntarily frozen their base salaries for the year to 30 June 2020. The average increase for monthly paid 
salaried employees at 1 July 2019 was 4.4%.

James Thomson (appointed 10 June 2019)

Stefan Allanson

Base salary from
1 July 2019
£

485,000

315,000

Base salary for the 
year to
30 June 2019
£

485,000

315,000

Annual bonus
The maximum bonus that can be earned in the year will be 100% of base salary for both the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief 
Financial Officer. For the interim Chief Executive Officer, 50% of the award will be based on profit performance and 50% on strategic and 
personal performance reflecting the terms agreed on his appointment. Strategic and personal performance metrics will be based on 
leadership development and management structure. For the Chief Financial Officer, the award will be based wholly on profit 
performance. 

As noted on page 56, no mandatory deferral will apply to any bonus earned in respect of the year to June 2020, reflecting the terms 
agreed with the interim Chief Executive Officer on appointment.

Details of the profit, strategic and personal performance targets will be fully disclosed in the Directors’ Remuneration Report for the year 
to June 2020. 

Long term incentive plan
The Committee proposes to make awards to the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in the year to 30 June 2020. 
The maximum long-term incentive opportunity will be 150% of salary for both the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial 
Officer. The award will be based on the achievement of EPS performance (as regards two-thirds of the award) and relative TSR 
performance (as regards one-third of the award) measured over a period of three financial years ending 30 June 2022. Any awards that 
vest will be subject to a two-year holding period.

EPS and relative TSR performance metrics provide further alignment with the overall Group strategy of creating value growth for our 
stakeholders. The use of these metrics also provides alignment with market practice and other housebuilders. The weighting of the 
performance metrics reflects the level of stretch required to maintain our current price earnings multiple compared to TSR comparator 
group peers. The Committee will review the weighting of the performance metrics annually. The EPS and relative TSR performance 
targets for the proposed awards are set out below:

EPS

Relative TSR1

Threshold (20%) of 
awards vest2

Maximum (100%) of
awards vest2

74.6 pence

87.9 pence

Median Upper quartile

1.  To be compared against a group of listed houebuilders comprising Barratt Developments, Bellway, Berkeley, Bovis Homes, Countryside Properties, Crest Nicholson, 

Galliford Try, McCarthy & Stone, Persimmon, Redrow and Taylor Wimpey.
2.  Broadly straight-line vesting between threshold and maximum performance.

Pension
There are no changes to the pension benefits of the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer for the year to 30 June 
2020; current arrangements are set out on page 65. Executive Directors may continue to opt to receive a cash allowance in lieu of 
pension payments.

Chairman and Non-Executive Directors fees
In line with the decision by the Executive Directors to not accept an increase to their base salaries, the Committee determined that the 
Chairman’s fee should be frozen for the year to 30 June 2020. The Chairman’s fee therefore remains unchanged at £125,000 and this 
includes a fee of £10,500 for chairing the Nomination Committee. 

The Board as a whole determine the fees for the Non-Executive Directors. As above, these have also been frozen for the year to 30 June 
2020. The fees for the Non-Executive Directors therefore remain unchanged at £47,250 plus an additional, unchanged, fee of £10,500 for 
chairing a Board Committee. 

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The Remuneration Committee
During the year under review the Committee was chaired by Ross Ancell. The other Committee member is Colin Dearlove. Both of the 
Directors are independent Non-Executive Directors and they have no personal financial interest in matters to be decided, no potential 
conflicts of interest arising from cross directorships and no day-to-day involvement in running the business.

Biographical details of the members of the Committee are shown on pages 36 and 37, and details of their attendance at the meetings of 
the Committee during the year ended 30 June 2019 are shown on page 40.

Role and responsibilities of the Remuneration Committee
The Committee’s primary purpose is to make recommendations to the Board on the Group’s framework for executive remuneration.  
The Board has also delegated responsibility to the Committee for determining the remuneration, benefits and contractual arrangements 
of the Chairman and the Executive Directors. No individual is involved in deciding their own remuneration.

The Committee has written terms of reference, which are available on the Company’s website, and its responsibilities include:
•  recommending to the Board the policy for executive and senior management remuneration;
•  agreeing the terms and conditions of employment for Executive Directors, including their annual remuneration and pension 

arrangements, and reviewing such provisions for senior management;

•  agreeing the measures and targets for any performance-related bonus and share schemes;
•  agreeing the remuneration of the Chairman of the Board;
•  ensuring that, on termination, contractual terms and payments made are fair both to the Company and the individual so that failure is 

not rewarded; and

•  agreeing the terms of reference of any remuneration consultants that it appoints.

Activities during the year
The Committee met on a number of occasions during the year, two of which were scheduled meetings. Papers were circulated in advance 
of each meeting for all matters considered. The main activities undertaken by the Committee during the year included:
•  reviewing and approving the remuneration outcomes of the Executive Directors and senior management for the year ended  

30 June 2018 and assessing the fairness of these remuneration outcomes;

•  agreeing performance targets for the remuneration of the Executive Directors and senior management for the financial year ended  

30 June 2019 and monitoring progress against these targets during the year;

•  appointing remuneration consultants, Deloitte LLP, to advise on the proposed remuneration policy and reporting matters;
•  reviewing and approving the proposed remuneration policy that will be put to shareholders for approval at the 2019 AGM;
•  agreeing proposals for remuneration of the Executive and Non-Executive Directors, including the remuneration of the interim  

Chief Executive Officer, and application of the proposed remuneration policy for the year ending 30 June 2020;

•  reviewing proposals for a remuneration agreement for the former Chief Executive Officer, Jolyon Harrison, and working to reach an 

agreement on such proposals;

•  reviewing share awards vesting and approving amounts paid to the Executive Directors in respect of dividends earned on unvested 

shares that otherwise would have vested;

•  reviewing and approving proposals for staff pay and bonuses, including examining benchmarking data and market information from 

third party advisers;

•  reviewing and approving gender pay reporting for the Group; and
•  reviewing the terms of reference of the Committee such that these remain appropriate.

Remuneration Committee – support and advice
The Committee is supported by the Human Resources Director, Beth Broughton, and the Company Secretary, Stefan Allanson.  
The Company also took advice from Deloitte LLP who were appointed after the year end. 

Deloitte LLP is a founder member of the Remuneration Consultants Group and as such voluntarily operates under its Code of Conduct in 
relation to executive remuneration in the UK. The Committee is satisfied that the appointment of Deloitte LLP is in accordance with the 
Company’s policy on the provision of non-audit services to the Group and that the external advice received is objective and 
independent.

Statement of voting at the Annual General Meeting
The following table sets out actual voting in respect of the resolutions to approve the Remuneration Policy and Annual Report on 
Remuneration at the Company’s AGM.

Votes in favour

Votes against

No.

%

No.

%

Total votes cast

Votes withheld

2018 AGM: Approval of the  

Annual Report on Remuneration

2016 AGM: Approval of the  

Directors’ Remuneration Policy 

28,474,455

81.04%

6,660,072

18.96% 35,134,527

2,824,392

32,203,333

79.80%

8,152,122

20.20% 40,355,455

5,625

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69

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities  
in respect of the Financial Statements 

Independent auditors’ Report 
to the members of mJ gleeson plc 

Consolidated Income Statement 

Statement of Financial position 

Statement of Changes in equity 

Statement of Cash Flows 

Notes to the Financial Statements 

72

73

78

79

80

82

83

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Woodhorn Park, Ashington, Northumberland

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STaTemeNT OF DIReCTORS’ ReSpONSIBIlITIeS  
IN ReSpeCT OF The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report  
and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and regulation.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial 
statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors 
have prepared the Group financial statements in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRSs") as adopted  
by the European Union and Company financial statements in 
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards 
(“IFRSs") as adopted by the European Union. Under company law 
the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless 
they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of 
affairs of the Group and Company and of the profit or loss of the 
Group and Company for that period. In preparing the financial 
statements, the Directors are required to:
•  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 

consistently;

•  state whether applicable IFRSs as adopted by the European 

Union have been followed for the Group financial statements 
and IFRSs as adopted by the European Union have been 
followed for the Company financial statements, subject to  
any material departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements;

•  make judgements and accounting estimates that are 

reasonable and prudent; and

•  prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis 
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group and 
Company will continue in business.

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

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group and 
Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at 
any time the financial position of the Group and Company and 
enable them to ensure that the financial statements and the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report comply with the Companies Act 
2006 and, as regards the Group financial statements, Article 4 of 
the IAS Regulation.

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

Directors’ confirmations
The Directors consider that the Annual Report and financial 
statements, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and 
understandable and provides the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Group and Company’s position and 
performance, business model and strategy.

Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed in 
Board of Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:
•  the Company financial statements, which have been prepared 
in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, 
give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial 
position and profit of the Company;

•  the Group financial statements, which have been prepared in 

accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, give 
a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position 
and profit of the Group; and

•  the Strategic Report includes a fair review of the development 
and performance of the business and the position of the Group 
and Company, together with a description of the principal risks 
and uncertainties that it faces. 

In the case of each Director in office at the date the Directors’ 
Report is approved:
•  so far as the Director is aware, there is no relevant audit 

information of which the Group and Company’s auditors are 
unaware; and

•  they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as  
a Director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant 
audit information and to establish that the Group and 
Company’s auditors are aware of that information. 

By order of the Board

James Thomson 
Director 

Stefan Allanson
Director

13 September 2019

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INDepeNDeNT aUDITORS’ RepORT TO The memBeRS OF  
mJ gleeSON plC

Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion, MJ Gleeson plc’s Group financial statements and 
Company financial statements (the “financial statements”):
•  give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the 
Company’s affairs as at 30 June 2019 and of the Group’s profit 
and the Group’s and the Company’s cash flows for the year 
then ended;

•  have been properly prepared in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRSs") as adopted by the 
European Union and, as regards the Company’s financial 
statements, as applied in accordance with the provisions of the 
Companies Act 2006; and

•  have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the 

Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the Group financial 
statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

We have audited the financial statements, included within the 
Annual Report and Accounts (“the Annual Report”), which 
comprise: the Group and Company statement of financial position 
as at 30 June 2019; the Group consolidated income statement and 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the Group and 
Company statement of cash flows, and the Group and Company 
statement of changes in equity for the year then ended; and the 
notes to the financial statements, which include a description of 
the significant accounting policies.

Our opinion is consistent with our reporting to the Audit 
Committee.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International 
Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law.  
Our responsibilities under ISAs (UK) are further described in the 
Auditors’ 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 remained independent of the Group in accordance with the 
ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial 
statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, 
as applicable to listed public interest entities, and we have 
fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these 
requirements.

To the best of our knowledge and belief, we declare that non-audit 
services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were not 
provided to the Group or the Company.

We have provided no non-audit services to the Group or the 
Company in the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

Our audit approach
Overview

•  Overall Group materiality: 

£2,060,000 (2018: £1,850,900), 
based on 5% of profit before tax.

Materiality

•  Overall Company materiality: 

£1,264,000 (2018: £1,503,000), 
based on 1% of total assets.

Audit scope

Key audit 
matters

•  The reporting units where we 

performed audit work accounted 
for 100% of the Group’s profit 
before tax and 100% of the Group’s 
total assets.

•  Carrying value of land and work in 

progress.

The scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and 
assessed the risks of material misstatement in the financial 
statements. 

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities, including 
fraud
Based on our understanding of the Group and industry, we 
identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and 
regulations related to breaches of health and safety and breaches 
of the relevant tax legislation, and we considered the extent to 
which non-compliance might have a material effect on the 
financial statements. We also considered those laws and 
regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the 
financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006. We 
evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for 
fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including  
the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal 
risks were related to the posting of inappropriate journal entries 
to improve the Group’s result for the period, and management 
bias in key accounting estimates. The group engagement team 
shared this risk assessment with the component auditors so that 
they could include appropriate audit procedures in response to 
such risks in their work. Audit procedures performed by the group 
engagement team and/or component auditors included:
•  discussions with management, including consideration of 

known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws 
and regulation and fraud;

•  challenging assumptions and judgements made by 

• 

management in their significant accounting estimates, in 
particular in relation to forecast selling prices and forecast 
costs to complete on individual sites in the Gleeson Homes 
segment, and in relation to the valuation of work in progress in 
the Gleeson Strategic Land segment (see related key audit 
matters below); and
identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any journal 
entries posted with unusual account combinations. 
Specifically we tested journal entries which inflated the Group 
result for the period with unusual offset entries, and we tested 
journal entries impacting cash with unusual offset entries to 
detect any potentially fraudulent cash extraction from the 
business.

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There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and 
regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it.  
Also, 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.

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the 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) 
identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the 
audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters, and any comments we make on the results of our procedures 
thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we 
do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit. 

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Carrying value of land and work in 
progress
We focused upon this area because 
the value of the Group’s land and work 
in progress represents a significant 
proportion of assets in the Group 
statement of financial position.

Further, determining the carrying 
value of land and work in progress 
requires a high degree of judgement.

For work in progress in Gleeson 
Homes, the key judgements include 
forecasting future costs to complete 
and selling prices which can be 
affected by market conditions and 
unexpected events.

In Gleeson Strategic Land, the 
valuation of work in progress requires 
judgement regarding the future 
viability of each project. Based upon 
this assessment, it may be necessary 
to record provisions to determine the 
final carrying value of work in 
progress for each site.

For land and work in progress in Gleeson Homes, we:
•  Assessed the adequacy of controls over the authorisation and recording of costs, including 

testing of controls over the allocation of costs to the correct sites.

•  Visited a sample of sites to confirm the existence and condition of the work in progress,  

and also to evaluate the reasonableness of the assessment of stage of completion.

•  Sample tested and agreed a sample of land and work in progress costs incurred during the 

year, including land additions and build costs, to supporting evidence as well as reviewing the 
proportion of that expenditure recognised as a cost of sale in the year in respect of units sold.
•  Tested the percentage completion of units across a sample of sites and checked that forecasts 
have been appropriately updated for expected costs and selling prices to completion. We also 
assessed the level of gross margins achieved against those recorded previously and future 
forecasts.

•  Assessed the historical accuracy of management’s forecasting.
•  Tested forecast costs to complete, including forecast preliminary costs, to supporting 

documentation for a sample of sites.

•  Performed an independent assessment of cost accruals and build contingency via enquiry and 

corroboration to supporting evidence.

For work in progress in Gleeson Strategic Land, we:
•  Tested a sample of costs incurred during the year.
•  Tested the transfer from work in progress to cost of sales for those sites sold during the year.
•  Discussed and challenged the status of a sample of projects with management and 

corroborated explanations received.

•  Recalculated the provision made by management against year-end work in progress by 

applying the Group’s provisioning methodology.

Based on the procedures performed we did not identify any material adjustments to the carrying 
value of the Group’s land and work in progress at year end.

We determined that there were no key audit matters applicable to the Company to communicate in our report.

How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial statements as 
a whole, taking into account the structure of the Group and the Company, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in 
which they operate.

The Group is organised into two main operating divisions, being Gleeson Homes and Gleeson Strategic Land, and each operating 
division represents a single reporting unit.

The Group financial statements are a consolidation of these two reporting units, the Group’s discontinued operations, and the Group’s 
central entities which include a further two reporting units.

Of the Group’s five reporting units, we identified four which, in our view, required an audit of their complete financial information, either 
due to their size or their risk characteristics.

This, together with additional procedures performed on the Group’s remaining centralised functions, gave us the evidence we needed 
for our opinion on the Group financial statements as a whole.

All work was performed by the Group audit team.  

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Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality. These, 
together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of our audit 
procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect of misstatements, both 
individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole. 

Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:

Group financial statements

Company financial statements

Overall materiality

£2,060,000 (2018: £1,850,900).

£1,264,000 (2018: £1,503,000).

How we determined it

5% of profit before tax.

1% of total assets.

Rationale for benchmark  
applied

Based on the benchmarks used in the Annual 
Report, profit before tax is the primary measure 
used by the shareholders in assessing the 
performance of the Group, and is a generally 
accepted auditing benchmark.

We believe total assets is the primary measure used 
by shareholders in assessing the performance of the 
entity.

For each component in the scope of our Group audit, we allocated a materiality that is less than our overall Group materiality. The range 
of materiality allocated across components was between £60,900 and £1,957,000. Certain components were audited to a local statutory 
audit materiality that was also less than our overall Group materiality.

We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £103,000 (Group 
audit) (2018: £92,545) and £63,200 (Company audit) (2018: £75,150) as well as misstatements below those amounts that, in our view, 
warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.

Going concern
In accordance with ISAs (UK) we report as follows:

Reporting obligation

Outcome

We are required to report if we have anything material to add or 
draw attention to in respect of the Directors’ statement in the 
financial statements about whether the Directors considered it 
appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in 
preparing the financial statements and the Directors’ 
identification of any material uncertainties to the Group’s and 
the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern over a 
period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the 
financial statements.

We are required to report if the Directors’ statement relating to 
Going Concern in accordance with Listing Rule 9.8.6R(3) is 
materially inconsistent with our knowledge obtained in the 
audit.

We have nothing material to add or to draw attention to.

However, because not all future events or conditions can be 
predicted, this statement is not a guarantee as to the Group’s 
and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. For 
example, the terms on which the United Kingdom may withdraw 
from the European Union are not clear, and it is difficult to 
evaluate all of the potential implications on the Group’s trade, 
customers, suppliers and the wider economy. 

We have nothing to report.

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Reporting on other information 
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’ report 
thereon. The Directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other 
information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this report,  
any form of assurance thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider 
whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or 
otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, we are 
required to perform procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial statements or a material 
misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement  
of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report based on these responsibilities.

With respect to the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK Companies 
Act 2006 have been included. 

Based on the responsibilities described above and our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 (CA06), ISAs 
(UK) and the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) require us also to report certain opinions and matters as described 
below (required by ISAs (UK) unless otherwise stated).

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and Directors’ 
Report for the year ended 30 June 2019 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance with applicable 
legal requirements. (Ca06)

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and Company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit,  
we did not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report. (Ca06)

The Directors’ assessment of the prospects of the Group and of the principal risks that would threaten the solvency or liquidity of the 
Group
We have nothing material to add or draw attention to regarding:
•  The Directors’ confirmation on page 41 of the Annual Report that they have carried out a robust assessment of the principal risks 

facing the group, including those that would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity.
•  The disclosures in the Annual Report that describe those risks and explain how they are being managed or mitigated.
•  The Directors’ explanation on page 43 of the Annual Report as to how they have assessed the prospects of the Group, over what 
period they have done so and why they consider that period to be appropriate, and their statement as to whether they have a 
reasonable expectation that the Group will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of 
their assessment, including any related disclosures drawing attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions.

We have nothing to report having performed a review of the Directors’ statement that they have carried out a robust assessment of the 
principal risks facing the Group and statement in relation to the longer-term viability of the Group. Our review was substantially less in 
scope than an audit and only consisted of making inquiries and considering the Directors’ process supporting their statements; 
checking that the statements are in alignment with the relevant provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code ("the Code”); and 
considering whether the statements are consistent with the knowledge and understanding of the Group and Company and their 
environment obtained in the course of the audit. (listing Rules)

Other Code provisions
We have nothing to report in respect of our responsibility to report when: 
•  The statement given by the Directors, on page 72, that they consider the Annual Report taken as a whole to be fair, balanced and 
understandable, and provides the information necessary for the members to assess the Group’s and Company’s position and 
performance, business model and strategy is materially inconsistent with our knowledge of the Group and Company obtained in the 
course of performing our audit.

•  The section of the Annual Report on pages 48 to 52 describing the work of the Audit Committee does not appropriately address 

matters communicated by us to the Audit Committee.

•  The Directors’ statement relating to the Company’s compliance with the Code does not properly disclose a departure from a relevant 

provision of the Code specified, under the Listing Rules, for review by the auditors.

Directors’ remuneration
In our opinion, the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the 
Companies Act 2006. (Ca06)

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Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of the Director’s responsibilities in respect of the financial statements set out on page 72,  
the Directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being 
satisfied that they give a true and fair view. The Directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to 
enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s and the 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 Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors’ 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 auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is  
a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material 
misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, 
they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/
auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.

Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 
of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for 
any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by 
our prior consent in writing.

Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
•  we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
•  adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from 

branches not visited by us; or

•  certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
•  the Company financial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not in agreement with the 

accounting records and returns. 

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility. 

Appointment
Following the recommendation of the Audit Committee, we were appointed by the Directors on 14 November 2016 to audit the financial 
statements for the year ended 30 June 2017 and subsequent financial periods. The period of total uninterrupted engagement is three 
years, covering the years ended 30 June 2017 to 30 June 2019.

Ian Marsden (Senior Statutory Auditor) 
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered accountants and Statutory auditors
Leeds
13 September 2019

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

77

CONSOlIDaTeD INCOme STaTemeNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

Continuing operations
Revenue
Cost of sales

Gross profit
Administrative expenses
Other operating income

Operating profit
Finance income
Finance expenses

Profit before tax
Tax

Profit for the year from continuing operations

Discontinued operations
Loss for the year from discontinued operations (net of tax)

Profit for the year attributable to the equity holders of the parent

Earnings per share from continuing and discontinued operations

Basic
Diluted

Earnings per share from continuing operations

Basic
Diluted

CONSOlIDaTeD STaTemeNT OF COmpReheNSIve INCOme
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income/(expense)
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss
Change in value of shared equity receivables at fair value through OCI
Movement in deferred tax on share-based payments taken directly to equity

Other comprehensive income/(expense) for the year, net of tax

Total comprehensive income for the year

The notes on pages 83 to 101 form part of these financial statements.

78

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

Note

2019
£000

2018
£000

2

5

7
7

8

3

10
10

10
10

16
20

249,899
(174,936)

74,963
(34,256)
292

40,999
906
(693)

41,212
(7,648)

33,564

196,741
(131,474)

65,267
(28,670)
257 

36,854
418
(253)

37,019
(6,526)

30,493

(297)

(257)

33,267

30,236

60.97 p
59.84 p

55.55 p
54.69 p

61.51 p
60.37 p

56.02 p
55.15 p

2019
£000

2018
£000

33,267

30,236

131
240

371

31
(237)

(206)

33,638

30,030

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

STaTemeNT OF FINaNCIal pOSITION
AT 30 JUNE 2019

Non-current assets
Plant and equipment
Investment properties
Investments in subsidiaries
Trade and other receivables
Deferred tax assets

Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
UK corporation tax

Total assets

Non-current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
UK corporation tax

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity
Share capital
Retained earnings*

Total equity

Note

11
12
13
15
20

14
15
22

17
18

17
18

Group

2019
£000

2,343
257
–
16,759
2,659

22,018

183,121
45,795
30,306
–

259,222

281,240

2018
£000

1,737
258
–
24,626
3,731

30,352

160,517
10,602
41,314
–

212,433

242,785

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

1
–
100,800
–
239

–
–
100,800
–
127

101,040

100,927

–
21,666
1,058
3,027

25,751

–
38,291
8,474
2,625

49,390

126,791

150,317

(8,774)
(130)

(8,904)

(9,176)
(110)

(9,286)

–
–

–

–
–

–

(65,068)
–
(3,372)

(42,441)
(49)
(2,910)

(63,358)
–
–

(66,707)
–
–

(68,440)

(45,400)

(63,358)

(66,707)

(77,344)

(54,686)

(63,358)

(66,707)

203,896

188,099

63,433

83,610

24
28

1,092
202,804

1,092
187,007

203,896

188,099

1,092
62,341

63,433

1,092
82,518

83,610

*  Retained earnings have been restated for 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018 as a result of changes in accounting standards. See note 28 for further information.

Retained earnings of the Company
The loss of the Company in the financial year amounted to £2,319,000 (2018: £2,090,000).

The financial statements on pages 78 to 101 were approved by the Board of Directors on 13 September 2019 and signed on its behalf by:

James Thomson 
Director   

Stefan Allanson
Director

Registration number: 9268016

The notes on pages 83 to 101 form part of these financial statements.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

79

 
 
 
 
STaTemeNT OF ChaNgeS IN eQUITY
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

Group

At 1 July 2017
Total comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year
Other comprehensive expense

Total comprehensive income for the year

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Contributions and distributions to owners
Share issue
Sale of own shares
Share-based payments
Dividends

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity

At 30 June 2018

Total comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income for the year

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Contributions and distributions to owners
Sale of own shares
Share-based payments
Dividends

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity

Note

24

25
9

25
9

Share 
capital
£000

Retained
earnings*
£000

Total
equity
£000

1,082

170,289

171,371

–
–

–

10
–
–
–

10

30,236
(206)

30,030

30,236
(206)

30,030

–
95
1,026
(14,433)

10
95
1,026
(14,433)

(13,312)

(13,302)

1,092

187,007

188,099

–
–

–

–
–
–

–

33,267
371

33,638

33,267
371

33,638

32
960
(18,833)

32
960
(18,833)

(17,841)

(17,841)

At 30 June 2019

1,092

202,804

203,896

*  Retained earnings have been restated for 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018 as a result of changes in accounting standards. See note 28 for further information.

80

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

STaTemeNT OF ChaNgeS IN eQUITY CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

Company

At 1 July 2017
Total comprehensive expense for the year
Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive expense for the year

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Contributions and distributions to owners
Share issue
Purchase of own shares
Share-based payments
Dividends

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity

At 30 June 2018

Total comprehensive expense for the year
Loss for the year
Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive expense for the year

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity
Contributions and distributions to owners
Purchase of own shares
Share-based payments
Dividends

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity

At 30 June 2019

Note

24

25
9

25
9

Share 
capital
£000

Retained
earnings
£000

Total
equity
£000

1,082

98,035

99,117

–
–

–

10
–
–
–

10

(2,090)
3

(2,087)

(2,090)
3

(2,087)

–
(23)
1,026
(14,433)

10
(23)
1,026
(14,433)

(13,430)

(13,420)

1,092

82,518

83,610

–
–

–

–
–
–

–

(2,319)
57

(2,262)

(2,319)
57

(2,262)

(42)
960
(18,833)

(42)
960
(18,833)

(17,915)

(17,915)

1,092

62,341

63,433

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

81

STaTemeNT OF CaSh FlOWS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

Note

3

11
25
16
11
7
7

Operating activities
Profit/(loss) before tax from continuing operations
Loss before tax from discontinued operations

Depreciation of plant and equipment
Share-based payments
Profit on redemption of shared equity receivables
Loss on disposal of plant and equipment
Finance income
Finance expenses

Operating cash flows before movements in working capital
Increase in inventories
(Increase)/decrease in receivables
Increase/(decrease) in payables
Decrease in amounts due from subsidiary undertakings
Increase in amounts due to subsidiary undertakings

Cash generated in operating activities
Tax received
Tax paid
Interest paid

Investing activities
Proceeds from disposal of shared equity receivables
Proceeds from disposal of investment properties
Interest received
Purchase of plant and equipment

Net cash flow (deficit)/surplus from investing activities

Financing activities
Proceeds from issue of shares
Sale/(purchase) of own shares
Dividends paid

Net cash flow deficit from financing activities

11

9

Group

2019
£000

2018
£000

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

41,212
(264)

40,948
1,108
960
(226)
152
(906)
693

42,729
(22,604)
(27,133)
21,820
–
–

14,812
37
(5,944)
(314)

37,019
(217)

36,802
971
1,026
(167)
152
(418)
253

38,619
(17,967)
(3,247)
9,855
–
–

27,260
–
(5,156)
(172)

(2,373)
–

(2,373)
–
960
–
–
(37)
328

(1,122)
–
(37)
(143)
16,663
2,315

17,676
37
(5,944)
(344)

995
1
72
(1,866)

(798)

960
45
29
(1,376)

(342)

–
–
35
(1)

34

(2,012)
–

(2,012)
1
1,026
–
–
(97)
165

(917)
–
140
(65)
7,722
3,920

10,800
–
(5,156)
(165)

5,479

–
–
194
–

194

–
32
(18,833)

10
95
(14,433)

–
(42)
(18,833)

10
(23)
(14,433)

(18,801)

(14,328)

(18,875)

(14,446)

Net cash flow surplus from operating activities

8,591

21,932

11,425

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents

(11,008)

7,262

(7,416)

(8,773)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

41,314

34,052

8,474

17,247

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

22

30,306

41,314

1,058

8,474

82

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

1 Accounting policies 
MJ Gleeson plc (“the Company”) is a public limited company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is incorporated and 
domiciled in the United Kingdom. The address of the registered office is 6 Europa Court, Sheffield Business Park, Sheffield, S9 1XE. 

Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements of the Company and the Group have been prepared in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (“IFRS") and IFRS Interpretations Committee (“IFRS IC") interpretations as adopted by the European Union and the 
Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. 

The principal accounting policies set out below have been applied consistently to all periods presented in these financial statements 
with the exception of policies for Revenue and Financial Instruments. These policies have been updated following the implementation of 
IFRS 15 “Revenue from contracts with customers” and IFRS 9 “Financial instruments”. Further details can be found in note 28. Assets 
and liabilities in the financial statements have been valued at historic cost except where otherwise indicated in these accounting 
policies. 

The Company has taken advantage of section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and consequently a statement of comprehensive income 
of the Company is not presented as part of these financial statements. 

Basis of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the Company and all of its subsidiary undertakings 
(together referred to as “the Group”). 

Going concern 
The Directors have, at the time of approving the financial statements, a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have 
adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least 12 months from the date of the financial statements. Thus they 
continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. 

Subsidiaries 
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. Control exists when the Group has the power, directly or indirectly, to govern the 
financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities. In assessing control, potential voting rights that 
are currently exercisable or convertible are taken into account. The financial statements of subsidiaries are included in the consolidated 
financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that control ceases. 

Revenue recognition 
Revenue represents the fair value of the consideration received or receivable in respect of the sale of homes and land net of VAT and 
discounts. Revenue is recognised when control transfers to a customer as follows: 
•  Revenue from homes sales is recognised when control is transferred to the customer, which is deemed to be on legal completion 

when title of the property passes to the customer. 

•  Revenue from land sales is recognised at the earlier of when contracts to sell are completed and title has passed or when 

unconditional contracts to sell are exchanged and control has passed to the customer. Variable consideration such as overages are 
not recognised until the point at which it is considered highly probable that there will not be a significant future reversal, which 
typically occurs when the amount is agreed by both parties. 

Segment reporting
An operating segment is a component of the Group that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenue and incur 
expenses, including revenue and expenses that relate to transactions with any of the Group’s other components, and for which discrete 
financial information is available. All operating segments’ operating results are reviewed regularly by the Executive Directors to make 
decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and to assess its performance. Segment results, assets and liabilities include 
items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis. Segment capital expenditure is the 
total cost incurred during the period to acquire plant and equipment.

Discontinued operations
A discontinued operation is a component of the Group’s business that represents a separate major line of business that has been 
disposed of or has been abandoned.

Discontinued operations are presented in the consolidated income statement (including the comparative period) as a single line entry 
recording the gain or loss of the discontinued operation.

Finance income and expenses
Finance income comprises interest income on bank deposits and the unwinding of discounts on deferred receipts. Interest income is 
recognised as it accrues, using the effective interest method.

Finance expenses comprise interest and fees on bank facilities, and the unwinding of discounts on deferred payments. Interest expense 
is recognised in the consolidated income statement using the effective interest method.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

83

NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

1 Accounting policies continued
Leasing
Leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified as operating leases. 
Payments made under operating leases (net of any incentives received from the lessor) are charged to the consolidated income 
statement on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.

Plant and equipment
Plant and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any recognised impairment loss. Depreciation is charged so as 
to write off the cost of assets over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method, on the following basis:

Plant and equipment: between 3 and 6 years

Depreciation of these assets is charged to the consolidated income statement.

Investments
Investments are stated at cost less impairment.

Investment properties
Investment properties, which are ground rent properties held to earn rentals and/or for capital appreciation, are stated at fair value. 
Gains or losses arising from changes in the fair values of investment properties are included in the consolidated income statement in the 
period in which they arise.

Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value and are subject to regular impairment reviews. Inventories comprise 
all direct costs incurred in bringing the individual inventories to their present state at the reporting date, including direct materials, 
direct labour costs and related overheads, less the value of any impairment losses.

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business less the estimated costs of completion and the 
estimated costs necessary to make the sale. Deferred land purchases are included in inventories at their net present value.

Shared equity receivables
Shared equity receivables are recorded at fair value through other comprehensive income (“OCI"), representing the amount receivable 
by the Group discounted to present day values. The difference between the nominal value and the initial fair value is credited over the 
deferred term to finance income, with the financial asset increasing to its full cash settlement value on the anticipated receipt date. The 
Group holds a second charge over property sold under shared equity schemes. Changes in the fair value of shared equity receivables are 
recognised in other comprehensive income. Interest calculated using the effective interest method, dividends, and impairment losses 
on shared equity receivables are recognised in the consolidated income statement.

Trade receivables
Trade receivables are initially measured at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, 
less provision for impairment.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand, demand deposits and cash held in solicitors’ client accounts on the Group’s behalf 
and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.

Impairment: financial assets
The Group assesses the expected credit losses associated with its financial assets carried at amortised cost on a forward-looking basis. 
For trade receivables, the Group applies the simplified approach as permitted by IFRS 9, which requires expected lifetime losses to be 
recognised from initial recognition of the receivables.

Impairment: non-financial assets
The carrying amounts of the Group’s non-financial assets are reviewed at each reporting date to determine whether there is any 
indication of impairment. If any such indication exists, then the asset’s recoverable amount is estimated.

The recoverable amount of an asset is the greater of its value in use and its fair value less costs to sell. In assessing value in use, the 
estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments 
of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset.

An impairment loss is recognised if the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated recoverable amount. Impairment losses are 
recognised in the consolidated income statement.

Impairment losses recognised in prior periods are assessed at each reporting date for any indications that the loss has decreased or no 
longer exists. An impairment loss is reversed if there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount. An 
impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have 
been determined if no impairment loss had been recognised.

84

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

1. Accounting policies continued
Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are initially measured at fair value and are subsequently measured at amortised cost, using the effective 
interest rate method.

Tax
Tax on the profit or loss for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the consolidated income statement except 
to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity, in which case it is recognised in equity.

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 adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous years.

Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying values of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes 
and the values used for taxation purposes. The amount of deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or 
settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities, using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.  
A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the 
asset can be utilised.

Employee benefits
Defined contribution pension plans
Obligations for contributions to defined contribution pension schemes are charged to the consolidated income statement in the period 
to which the contributions relate.

Share options
Share option schemes allow employees to acquire shares in the ultimate Parent Company. The fair value of options granted is recognised 
as an employee expense, with a corresponding increase in equity. The fair value is measured at grant date and spread over the period 
during which the employees become entitled to the options. The fair value of the options granted is measured using generally accepted 
option pricing models, taking into account the terms and conditions upon which the options were granted. The amount recognised as  
an expense is adjusted to reflect the actual number of share options that vest, except where forfeiture is due only to performance 
conditions not being met. These awards are granted by the ultimate Parent Company and the cost of the share-based award relating to 
each subsidiary is calculated, based on an appropriate apportionment, at the date of grant and recharged through intercompany.

Own shares held by Employee Benefit Trusts
The Group has elected to treat the Employee Benefit Trusts (“EBT"), which hold shares for the purpose of the employee share purchase 
plans, as separate legal entities and as subsidiaries of the Company. Any loan made to the EBT is accounted for as an intercompany loan 
with the Company. These shares are not treasury shares as defined by the London Stock Exchange.

Dividends
Dividends are recorded in the financial statements when paid. Final dividends are recorded in the financial statements in the period in 
which they receive shareholder approval.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions 
that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The estimates and associated 
assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the 
results of which form the basis of making the judgements about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from 
other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing 
basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that 
period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key sources of estimation uncertainty at the balance sheet date are:

Inventories (land and work in progress)
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. The assessment of net realisable value is performed on a site-by-site 
basis taking into account an estimation of costs to complete and remaining revenue. These are carried out at regular intervals 
throughout the year, during which site development costs are allocated between units built in the current year and those to be built in 
future years. These assessments include a degree of inherent uncertainty when estimating the profitability of a site and in assessing 
any impairment provisions which may be required.

Shared equity receivables
The valuation of shared equity receivables is made in the light of current market conditions, expected house price inflation, cost of 
money and the expected time to realisation of the assets and is therefore subject to a degree of inherent estimation uncertainty.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

85

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

1. Accounting policies continued
Adoption of new and revised standards
For the year ended 30 June 2019, the Group has applied the following new and revised standards that were mandatorily effective for an 
accounting period beginning on or after 1 January 2018.

Standard

Annual improvements
IFRS 2 (Amended)
IFRS 9
IFRS 15
IFRS 15 (Amended)

Issued 2014 – 2016
“Share-based payments” (issued June 2016)
“Financial instruments” (issued July 2014)
“Revenue from contracts with customers” (issued May 2014)
“Revenue from contracts with customers” (issued April 2016)

Note 28 sets out the impact of IFRS 9 “Financial instruments” and IFRS 15 “Revenue from contracts with customers”. The adoption of the 
remaining standards and amendments has not had any material impact on the disclosures or the amounts reported in these 
financial statements.

Standards not yet applied
There are a number of standards and interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board that are effective for 
financial statements after this reporting period. The following have not been adopted by the Company in preparing the financial 
statements for the year ended 30 June 2019:

Standard

IFRS 16
IFRS 9 (Amended)
Annual improvements

“Leases” (issued January 2016)
“Financial instruments” (issued October 2017)
Issued 2015 – 2017 (issued December 2017)

Effective for periods 
beginning on or after

1 January 2019
1 January 2019
1 January 2019

IFRS 16 will introduce a “right-of-use asset” and a lease liability representing future lease payments to the statement of financial 
position in respect of leases to which the Company and the Group is a party. This will not have a material net impact on the reported 
equity of the Company and the Group. If the new Standard was to be applied at the balance sheet date, the total assets of the Group 
would increase by £2,633,000 and total liabilities would increase by £2,770,000. Consequently, the net impact would be a decrease in 
net assets of £137,000. There would be £nil impact on the Company’s statement of financial position. There will be no impact on cash 
flows of the Group and the Company as a result of the new standard.

Enhanced disclosures will be required for IFRS 16 and these will be included in the financial statements for the year to 30 June 2020.

The application of the remaining standards and interpretations not yet applied is not expected to have a material impact on the Group 
and Company’s financial performance or position, or give rise to additional disclosures in the financial statements.

86

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

2 Segmental analysis 
The Group is organised into the following two operating divisions under the control of the Executive Board, which is identified as the 
Chief Operating Decision Maker as defined under IFRS 8 “Operating segments”: 
•  Gleeson Homes 
•  Gleeson Strategic Land 

All of the Group’s operations are carried out entirely within the United Kingdom. Segment information about the Group’s operations is 
presented below:

Revenue
Continuing activities:
Gleeson Homes
Gleeson Strategic Land

Total revenue

Profit on activities
Gleeson Homes
Gleeson Strategic Land

Administrative expenses
Finance income
Finance expenses

Profit before tax
Tax

Profit for the year from continuing operations

Loss for the year from discontinued operations (net of tax)

Profit for the year

Note

2019
£000

2018
£000

197,034
52,865

249,899

153,397
43,344

196,741

30,068
13,013

43,081
(2,082)
906
(693)

41,212
(7,648)

33,564

26,165
12,633

38,798
(1,944)
418
(253)

37,019
(6,526)

30,493

3

(297)

(257)

33,267

30,236

The revenue in the Gleeson Homes segment relates to the sale of residential properties. All revenue for the Gleeson Strategic Land 
segment is in relation to the sale of land interests.

Revenue of £26,521,000 was derived from a single external customer, which makes up more than 10% of total Group revenue. This 
revenue was attributable to the Gleeson Strategic Land segment.

Balance sheet analysis of business segments:

Gleeson Homes
Gleeson Strategic Land
Group activities/discontinued operations
Net cash

Assets
£000

171,608
78,861
465
30,306

2019

Liabilities
£000

(41,755)
(33,520)
(2,069)
–

Net assets
£000

129,853
45,341
(1,604)
30,306

Assets
£000

147,634
53,391
446
41,314

2018

Liabilities
£000

(33,895)
(18,412)
(2,379)
–

Net assets
£000

113,739
34,979
(1,933)
41,314

281,240

(77,344)

203,896

242,785

(54,686)

188,099

Other information:

Continuing operations:
Gleeson Homes
Gleeson Strategic Land
Group activities

2019

Capital
additions
£000

1,838
27
1

1,866

Depreciation
£000

1,096
11
1

1,108

2018

Capital
additions 
£000

Depreciation
£000

1,367
9
–

1,376

965
5
1

971

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

87

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

3 Discontinued operations 
The activity of Gleeson Construction Services Limited now only relates to remedial works and historic employment liability claims and 
the division is classified as discontinued. 

Revenue
Cost of sales

Gross loss
Administrative expenses

Operating loss

Loss before tax
Tax

Loss for the year from discontinued operations

The cash flow statement includes the following relating to the operating loss on discontinued operations:

2019
£000

–
–

–
(264)

(264)

(264)
(33)

(297)

2019
£000

(361)

2018
£000

–
–

–
(217)

(217)

(217)
(40)

(257)

2018
£000

(321)

2019
£000

29,922
1,108
152
745

2018
£000

26,182
971
152
543

Note

6
11
11
21

Note

16

81
19

2019
£000

226
66

292

69
14

2018
£000

167
90

257

2018
£000

1,102
165
230
62

1,559

Group

Company

Note

25

19

2019
£000

24,840
960
3,113
1,009

29,922

2018
£000

21,255
1,026
3,160
741

26,182

2019
£000

866
230
214
66

1,376

Operating activities

4 Expenses and auditors’ remuneration
Profit for the year is stated after charging:

Staff costs
Depreciation of plant and equipment
Loss on disposal of plant and equipment
Operating lease expenses
Auditors’ remuneration:
  Audit of these financial statements
  Audit of financial statements of subsidiaries pursuant to legislation

5 Other operating income

Profit on redemption of shared equity receivables
Other operating income

6 Staff costs

Wages and salaries
Share-based payments
Social security costs
Pension costs

88

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

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6 Staff costs continued
The monthly average number of employees during the year was:

Gleeson Homes
Gleeson Strategic Land
Group activities

Group

2019
No.

535
13
2

550

2018
No.

463
11
6

480

The monthly average number of Company employees and Non-Executive Directors during the year was 6 (2018: 6).

Directors’ remuneration
Full details of the Directors’ remuneration is provided in the audited part of the Remuneration Report on pages 64 to 66.

7 Finance income and expenses

Finance income
Interest on bank deposits
Unwinding of discount on long-term receivables
Other interest

Finance expenses
Interest on bank overdrafts and loans
Bank charges
Unwinding of discount on long-term payables
Other external interest

Net finance income

8 Tax

Current tax
Current year expense
Adjustment in respect of prior years

Current tax expense for the year

Deferred tax
Current year expense
Adjustment in respect of prior years
Impact of rate change

Deferred tax expense for the year

Total tax charge

2019
£000

36
843
27

906

(53)
(275)
(351)
(14)

(693)

213

Continuing operations

Discontinued operations

Note

2019
£000

2018
£000

2019
£000

2018
£000

Total

2019
£000

Group

6,397
(28)

6,369

1,350
(118)
47

1,279

7,648

5,569
(36)

5,533

1,003
(33)
23

993

6,526

20
20
20

–
–

–

37
–
(4)

33

33

–
–

–

45
–
(5)

40

40

6,397
(28)

6,369

1,387
(118)
43

1,312

7,681

2018
£000

18
396
4

418

–
(165)
(83)
(5)

(253)

165

2018
£000

5,569
(36)

5,533

1,048
(33)
18

1,033

6,566

Corporation tax has been calculated at 18.8% of assessable profit for the year (2018: 17.8%). The applicable UK corporation tax rate is 
19%, effective from 1 April 2017.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

89

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

8 Tax continued
The charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit before tax per the consolidated income statement as follows:

Profit before tax from continuing operations
Loss before tax from discontinued operations

Profit before tax

Profit before tax multiplied by the standard rate of UK corporation 

tax 19% (2018: 19%)

Tax effect of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
Relief for share-based payments
Impact of rate differences
Adjustments in respect of prior years – current tax
Adjustments in respect of prior years – deferred tax

Total tax charge and effective tax rate for the year

9 Dividends

Note

£000

%

£000

%

2019

2018

3

41,212
(264)

40,948

37,019
(217)

36,802

7,780

19.0

6,992

4
–
43
(28)
(118)

–
–
0.1
–
(0.3)

10
(385)
18
(36)
(33)

7,681

18.8

6,566

19.0

0.0
(1.0)
0.0
(0.1)
(0.1)

17.8

20

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Interim dividend for the year ended 30 June 2019 of 11.5p (2018: 9.0p) per share
Final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2018 of 23.0p (2017: 17.5p) per share

2019
£000

2018
£000

6,278
12,555

18,833

4,902
9,531

14,433

The proposed final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2019 of 23.0p per share (2018: 23.0p) brings the total dividend for the year to 
34.5p (2018: 32.0p).

The proposed final dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the AGM and has not been included as a liability in these financial 
statements. The total estimated final dividend to be paid is £12,694,000.

10 Earnings per share
The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:

Earnings

Profit from continuing operations
Loss from discontinued operations

Profit for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings per share

Number of shares

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares:
– Share-based payments

Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted earnings per share

Continuing operations

Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share

Discontinued operations

Basic loss per share
Diluted loss per share

90

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

2019
£000

33,564
(297)

33,267

2018
£000

30,493
(257)

30,236

2019
No. 000

2018
No. 000

54,566

54,428

1,027

55,593

2019
p

61.51
60.37

2019
p

(0.54)
(0.53)

862

55,290

2018
p

56.02
55.15

2018
p

(0.47)
(0.46)

STRaTegIC RepORT

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OTheR INFORmaTION

10 Earnings per share continued

Continuing and discontinued operations

Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share

11 Plant and equipment

Cost or valuation
At 1 July 2017
Additions
Disposals

At 30 June 2018
Additions
Disposals

At 30 June 2019

Accumulated depreciation
At 1 July 2017
Charge for the year
Disposals

At 30 June 2018
Charge for the year
Disposals

At 30 June 2019

Net book value
At 30 June 2017

At 30 June 2018

At 30 June 2019

2019
p

60.97
59.84

2018
p

55.55
54.69

Group
Plant and
equipment
£000

Company
Plant and
equipment
£000

4,954
1,376
(938)

5,392
1,866
(625)

6,633

3,470
971
(786)

3,655
1,108
(473)

4,290

1,484

1,737

2,343

14
–
–

14
1
(14)

1

13
1
–

14
–
(14)

–

1

–

1

The Group has recorded a depreciation charge of £1,108,000 (2018: £971,000), of which £292,000 (2018: £231,000) has been charged in 
cost of sales and £816,000 (2018: £740,000) in administrative expenses.

The Company has recorded a depreciation charge of £nil (2018: £1,000).

12 Investment properties

At 1 July 2017
Disposals

At 30 June 2018
Disposals

At 30 June 2019

Investment properties, which comprise a legacy portfolio of ground rent properties, are stated at fair value based on valuation by 
the Directors.

Group
£000

303
(45)

258
(1)

257

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

91

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

13 Investments in subsidiaries

Cost
At 1 July 2017, 30 June 2018, and 30 June 2019

Company
£000

100,800

Principal subsidiary undertakings
The following are the principal subsidiary undertakings of MJ Gleeson plc. MJ Gleeson plc owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of the 
subsidiaries, all of which are incorporated in England and Wales and operate in the United Kingdom. The registered address for all 
subsidiary undertakings of MJ Gleeson plc is 6 Europa Court, Sheffield Business Park, Sheffield, S9 1XE.

Principal activity

House building
House building
House building
Strategic land trading
Strategic land trading

Principal activity

Intermediate holding company
In run off – Construction services
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant
Dormant

Company name

Gleeson Developments Limited
Gleeson Regeneration Limited
Gleeson Developments (North East) Limited
Gleeson Strategic Land Limited
Gleeson Strategic Land (Fleet) Limited1

1   Shares held by Gleeson Strategic Land Limited.

The following are the other subsidiary companies of MJ Gleeson plc:

Company name

MJ Gleeson Group Limited
Gleeson Construction Services Limited2
Colroy Limited3
Haredon Developments Limited3
Gleeson Capital Solutions Limited
Gleeson Classic Homes Limited1
Gleeson Homes (Southern) Limited1
Gleeson Housing Developments Limited1
Gleeson PFI Investments Limited
Gleeson Properties Limited
Gleeson Properties (Kingley) Limited3
Gleeson Properties (Petersfield) Limited3
Gleeson Services Limited
KW Cannock Properties Limited
MJ Gleeson (International) Limited
MJG (Management) Limited
Oakmill Properties Limited3
Sindale Properties Limited1

1  Shares held by Gleeson Developments Limited.
2  Shares held by MJ Gleeson Group Limited. 
3  Shares held by Gleeson Properties Limited. 

14 Inventories

Land held for development
Work in progress

Net realisable value provisions held against inventories at 30 June 2019 were £2,224,000 (2018: £2,325,000). 

The cost of inventories recognised as an expense in cost of sales was £175,798,000 (2018: £132,278,000).

92

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

2019
£000

70,923
112,198

183,121

2018
£000

72,329
88,188

160,517

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OTheR INFORmaTION

15 Trade and other receivables

Trade receivables
VAT recoverable
Prepayments and accrued income
Shared equity receivables
Amount due from subsidiary undertakings

Non-current
Current

Group

Company

2019
£000

55,204
2,162
752
4,436
–

62,554

16,759
45,795

62,554

2018
£000

29,631
–
600
4,997
–

35,228

24,626
10,602

35,228

2019
£000

6
36
19
–
21,605

21,666

–
21,666

21,666

2018
£000

4
15
5
–
38,267

38,291

–
38,291

38,291

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value and includes an allowance 
for impairment of trade receivables. 

See note 16 for reference to credit risk associated with trade receivables and further disclosures in respect of shared equity receivables.

Amounts due from subsidiary undertakings are unsecured, repayable on demand, and interest free. Expected credit losses are based on 
the assumption that repayment of the loan is demanded at the reporting date. No allowance for expected credit losses is deemed 
necessary in respect of amounts owed by Group undertakings.

16 Financial instruments 
Risk exposure 
The Company operates a central treasury function providing services to the Group. The treasury function arranges loans and funding, 
invests any surplus liquidity and manages financial risk. The treasury function is not a profit centre and no speculative trades are 
permitted or executed. It operates within specific policies, agreed by the Board, to control and monitor financial risk within the Group. 
Prudent and controlled use of financial instruments is permitted where appropriate. 

Cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents comprises cash, demand deposits and cash held in solicitors’ client accounts on the Group’s behalf. The 
carrying amount of these assets equals their fair value. 

Credit risk 
The Group’s principal financial assets are trade and other receivables and investments. 

The Group’s and Company’s credit risk is primarily attributable to its trade and other receivables. The Group applies a simplified 
approach in calculating expected credit losses. The Group does not track changes in credit risk, but instead recognises a loss allowance 
based on lifetime expected credit losses at each reporting date. The Directors consider that the carrying value of trade receivables 
approximates to their fair value. 

The credit risk on cash and cash equivalents is limited because the counterparties are banks with high credit ratings assigned by 
international credit rating agencies. 

At 30 June 2019, the Group’s most significant credit risk was with a listed housebuilder and amounted to £29,991,000 (2018: 
£23,471,000) of the trade and other receivables carrying amount, with the deferred receivables secured by way of first legal charge over 
the land. The Group’s remaining credit risk is spread over a large number of counterparties and customers.

Trade receivables ageing
The ageing of gross trade receivables at the reporting date was:

Not past due
Past due 0–30 days
Past due 31–120 days
Past due 121–365 days
Past due more than one year

Group

2019
£000

51,662
1,138
4
78
2,806

55,688

2018
£000

25,732
1,060
–
2,784
123

29,699

Company

2019
£000

2018
£000

6
–
–
–
–

6

4
–
–
–
–

4

93

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

16 Financial instruments continued
All trade receivables are from UK customers.

Trade receivables past due more than one year are largely retentions within the Gleeson Homes division. The amounts due are included 
at expected realisable value.

Included in trade receivables not past due are £12,323,000 (2018: £19,629,000) receivables due in more than one year.

In addition to the above, the Company has intercompany receivables which are repayable on demand.

The movement in the allowance for impairment of trade receivables during the year was as follows:

Balance at 1 July
Impairment loss recognised

Balance at 30 June

Market risk
The Group has no significant exposure to currency risk or equity risk.

Group

Company

2019
£000

68
416

484

2018
£000

68
–

68

2019
£000

–
–

–

2018
£000

–
–

–

Interest rate risk
The Group closely monitors its exposure to variations in interest rates but has limited exposure. At the year end, the Group had no debt 
or other material interest-bearing financial liabilities.

A 1% increase in interest rates would improve the annual income of the Group by £303,000 (2018: £413,000) based on the cash balance 
at the year end. A 1% decrease would cause income to fall by the same amount.

Liquidity risk
During the year, the Group exercised the accordion option on its £20,000,000 credit facility with Lloyds Bank plc to increase the facility 
to £40,000,000 and extended the maturity date to 31 August 2021. As at 30 June 2019 the Group was not drawn on the facility.

In respect of interest-earning financial assets and interest-bearing financial liabilities, the following table indicates their effective 
interest rates at the balance sheet date:

Bank balances

2019

2018

Effective
interest
rate
%

0.50

Due within
one year
£000

30,306

Effective
interest
rate
%

0.25

Due within
one year
£000

41,314

The following are the contractual maturities of financial liabilities, including estimated interest payments and excluding the impact of 
netting agreements:

Non-derivative financial liabilities

Group

As at 30 June 2019
Trade and other payables

As at 30 June 2018
Trade and other payables

Carrying
amount
£000

Contractual
cash flows
£000

6 months or
less
£000

6–12 months
£000

1–2 years
£000

2–5 years
£000

(73,842)

(74,330)

(58,542)

(73,842)

(74,330)

(58,542)

(5,073)

(5,073)

(8,802)

(8,802)

(1,913)

(1,913)

Carrying
amount
£000

Contractual
cash flows
£000

6 months or
less
£000

6–12 months
£000

1–2 years
£000

2–5 years
£000

More than 5
years
£000

–

–

More than 5
years
£000

(51,617)

(52,260)

(36,332)

(51,617)

(52,260)

(36,332)

(6,108)

(6,108)

(4,560)

(4,560)

(5,260)

(5,260)

–

–

94

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

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OTheR INFORmaTION

16. Financial instruments continued
Company
The non-derivative financial liabilities of the Company in the current and prior year are predominantly intercompany balances which are 
payable on demand. The external balances are payable within six months.

Exposure to currency risk
The Group has no direct exposure to foreign currency risk.

Fair values
The fair values of the Group’s financial assets and liabilities are not materially different from the carrying values. The following 
summarises the major methods and assumptions used in estimating the fair values of financial instruments. Following the 
implementation of IFRS 9 “Financial instruments” shared equity receivables are measured at fair value through other comprehensive 
income (FVOCI) as set out in note 28.

Shared equity receivables measured at FVOCI

Balance at 1 July
Redemptions
Unwind of discount (finance income)
Fair value movement recognised in other comprehensive income

Balance at 30 June

Group

2019
£000

4,997
(679)
77
41

4,436

2018
£000

5,669
(703)
90
(59)

4,997

Shared equity receivables represent shared equity loans advanced to customers and secured by way of a second charge on the property 
sold. They are carried at fair value which is determined by discounting forecast cash flows for the residual period of the contract. The 
difference between the nominal value and the initial fair value is credited over the deferred term to finance income, with the financial 
asset increasing to its full cash settlement value on the anticipated receipt date.

Redemptions in the year of shared equity loans carried at fair value of £679,000 (2018: £703,000) generated a profit on redemption of 
£226,000 (2018: £167,000) which has been recognised in other operating income in the consolidated income statement.

In addition, a net change in the value of shared equity receivables of £131,000 (2018: £31,000) has been recognised in other 
comprehensive income. This is made up as follows:

Fair value movement recognised in other comprehensive income
Fair value recycled through profit and loss

Total movement recognised in other comprehensive income

Group

2019
£000

41
90

131

2018
£000

(59)
90

31

Forecast cash flows are determined using inputs based on current market conditions and the Group’s historic experience of actual cash 
flows resulting from such arrangements. These inputs are by nature estimates and as such the fair value has been classified as Level 3 
under the fair value hierarchy laid out in IFRS 13 “Fair value measurement”. There have been no transfers between fair value levels in the 
financial year.

Significant unobservable inputs into the fair value measurement calculation include regional house price movements based on the 
Group’s actual experience of regional house pricing and management forecasts of future movements, the anticipated period to 
redemption of loans which remain outstanding and a discount rate based on current observed market interest rates offered to private 
individuals on secured second loans.

The key assumptions applied in calculating fair value as at the balance sheet date were:
•  Forecast regional house price inflation: 2.0% 
•  Average period to redemption: 5 years 
•  Discount rate: 8% 

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

95

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

16 Financial instruments continued 
The sensitivity analysis of changes to each of the key assumptions applied in calculating fair value, whilst holding all other assumptions 
constant, is as follows:

Change in assumption

Forecast regional house price inflation – increase by 1%
Average period to redemption – increase by 1 year
Discount rate – decrease by 1%

Increase/
(decrease) in fair
value (£000)

218
(246)
208

Capital risk management
In line with the disclosure requirements of IAS 1 “Presentation of financial statements” the Group regards its capital as being the equity 
as shown in the statement of changes in equity.

Note 24 to the financial statements provides details regarding the Company’s share capital movements in the year.

The primary objective of the Group’s capital management is to ensure that it maintains investor, creditor and market confidence and to 
support its 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 and issue or return capital to shareholders.

Neither the Company nor any of the subsidiaries are subject to externally imposed capital requirements.

17 Trade and other payables

Trade payables
Other taxation and social security
VAT payable
Accruals and deferred income
Amount due to subsidiary undertakings

Non-current
Current

Group

Company

2019
£000

49,319
1,438
–
23,085
–

73,842

8,774
65,068

73,842

2018
£000

33,142
1,149
1,927
15,399
–

51,617

9,176
42,441

51,617

2019
£000

117
52
–
632
62,557

63,358

–
63,358

63,358

2018
£000

126
90
–
698
65,793

66,707

–
66,707

66,707

Group
Dilapidations
£000

211
(52)

159
20
(49)

130

2018
£000

110
49

159

Amounts due to subsidiary undertakings are unsecured, repayable on demand, and interest free.

18 Provisions

At 1 July 2017
Provisions released during the year

At 30 June 2018
Provisions made during the year
Provisions released during the year

At 30 June 2019

Non-current
Current

96

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

2019
£000

130
–

130

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OTheR INFORmaTION

18 Provisions continued
Dilapidations
The dilapidations provision covers the Group’s leased property estate. The expected provision needed at the end of each lease is 
recognised straight-line over the term of the lease.

Company
At 30 June 2019, the Company did not have any provisions (2018: £nil).

19 Employee benefits 
Defined contribution pension plan 
The Group operates a defined contribution pension plan. The assets of the pension plan are held separately from those of the Group in 
funds under the control of the trustees. 

Group 
The total pension cost charged to the consolidated income statement of £1,009,000 (2018: £741,000) represents contributions payable 
to the defined contribution pension plan by the Group at rates specified in the plan rules. At 30 June 2019, contributions of £132,000 
(2018: £90,000) due in respect of the current reporting period had not been paid over to the pension plan. Since the year end, this 
amount has been paid. 

Company 
The total pension cost charged to the income statement of £66,000 (2018: £62,000) represents contributions payable to the defined 
contribution pension plan by the Company at rates specified in the plan rules. 

20 Deferred tax assets 
Group 
The deferred tax assets recognised by the Group and movements thereon during the current and prior year are as follows:

At 1 July 2017
Adjustment in respect of prior year
(Charge)/credit to income
Charge to equity
Impact of rate change

At 30 June 2018
Adjustment in respect of prior year
(Charge)/credit to income
Credit to equity
Impact of rate change

At 30 June 2019

Plant and
equipment
£000

395
4
43
–
(2)

440
(23)
(89)
–
4

332

Short-term
timing
differences
£000

Share-based
payments
£000

214
(1)
(61)
–
6

158
102
233
–
(25)

468

1,010
(30)
66
(237)
(7)

802
(106)
173
240
(12)

1,097

Losses
£000

3,382
60
(1,096)
–
(15)

2,331
145
(1,704)
–
(10)

762

Total
£000

5,001
33
(1,048)
(237)
(18)

3,731
118
(1,387)
240
(43)

2,659

A reduction in the UK corporation tax rate from 19% to 17% with effect from 1 April 2020 was substantively enacted into law before the 
balance sheet date. In the opinion of the Directors, some timing differences are expected to reverse prior to 1 April 2020, and some  
after 1 April 2020. Therefore deferred tax has been provided at a mixed rate between 19% and 17% for relevant timing differences on a 
company by company basis to arrive at the consolidated position. If all of the deferred tax balances were restated at a rate of 17% rather 
than 19%, the total deferred tax asset would reduce by £120,000 to £2,539,000.

At the balance sheet date, the Group has gross tax losses of £13,015,000 (2018: £21,215,000) of which £4,149,000 (2018: £12,349,000) 
have been recognised as a deferred tax asset. The Group has unrecognised tax losses of £8,866,000 (2018: £8,866,000) available for 
offset against future profits. Losses may be carried forward indefinitely against future taxable trading profits.

Of the total deferred tax asset, £1,615,000 (2018: £2,287,000) is expected to be recovered within 12 months of the balance sheet date.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

97

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

20 Deferred tax assets continued
Company
The deferred tax assets recognised by the Company and movements thereon during the current and prior year are as follows:

Plant and
equipment
£000

Short-term
timing
differences
£000

Share-based
payments
£000

At 1 July 2017
Adjustment in respect of prior year
Credit to income
Credit to equity
Impact of rate change

At 30 June 2018
Adjustment in respect of prior year
Credit to income
Credit to equity
Impact of rate change

At 30 June 2019

21 Operating leases
Operating leases – lessee

2
–
–
–
–

2
–
–
–
–

2

115
(114)
–
–
–

1
15
19
–
(2)

33

Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases recognised as an expense for the year

85
3
37
3
(4)

124
(18)
44
57
(3)

204

Group

2019
£000

745

745

Total
£000

202
(111)
37
3
(4)

127
(3)
63
57
(5)

239

2018
£000

543

543

At the balance sheet date, the Group has outstanding commitments for minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating 
leases, which fall due as follows:

Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years

Land and building lease terms vary between one to ten years.

The Company had no minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases.

22 Cash and cash equivalents

At 1 July 2017
Cash flow

At 30 June 2018
Cash flow

At 30 June 2019

Group

2019
£000

858
2,227
1,176

4,261

2018
£000

577
1,499
960

3,036

Group
£000

34,052
7,262

41,314
(11,008)

30,306

Company
£000

17,247
(8,773)

8,474
(7,416)

1,058

98

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

23 Bonds and securities 
Group and Company 
At 30 June 2019, the Group had bonds and securities of £39,055,000 (2018: £22,537,000) provided by financial institutions in support of 
ongoing contracts. 

The Directors have determined that the Group and Company require no specific provision for bonds, securities or guarantees for 
subsidiary companies. 

Bank guarantees 
The Company, together with certain other companies in the Group, has given cross guarantees in respect of the bank facilities available to 
Group undertakings in the normal course of business. At 30 June 2019, borrowings covered by these guarantees amount to £nil (2018: £nil). 

24 Share capital
Group and Company

Issued and fully paid ordinary shares:
At 1 July
Shares issued during year

At 30 June

2019

Number
 000

54,588
–

54,588

£000

1,092
–

1,092

2018

Number 
000

54,120
467

54,588

£000

1,082
10

1,092

Ordinary shares
The Company has one class of ordinary share which carries no rights to fixed income. All issued shares are fully paid.

The number of ordinary shares of 2p in issue at 30 June 2019 was 54,587,753 (2018: 54,587,753).

At 30 June 2019, the Employee Benefit Trusts (“EBT") held 15,000 shares (2018: 28,000) at a cost of £113,000 (2018: £219,000) which 
have not yet vested unconditionally. The shares are held in the EBT for the purpose of satisfying matched share awards that have been 
granted under the employee share ownership plans.

25 Share-based payments 
The Group operates a number of share option schemes, a summary of which is shown below. Additional information regarding the 
share-based payment arrangements for Executive Directors is set out in the Remuneration Report on pages 54 to 69. All schemes are 
equity-settled. 

Date of grant

Outstanding at 1 July 2017
Granted in the year
Forfeited
Exercised

Outstanding at 30 June 2018
Granted in the year
Forfeited
Exercised

Share purchase plans

MJ Gleeson
Group plan
No. of shares

38,926
–
(4)
(11,707)

27,215
–
(14)
(4,976)

MJ Gleeson
Group 2014
plan
No. of shares

14,800
5,701
(26)
(743)

19,732
6,349
(101)
(5,067)

279,158
–
–
–

279,158
–
–
–

Outstanding at 30 June 2019

22,225

20,913

279,158

Remaining contractual life
Weighted average exercise price
Weighted average share price at date of 

exercise – current year

Weighted average share price at date of 

exercise – prior year

Rolling 
scheme
–

Rolling 
scheme
–

£7.78

£7.37

£7.21

£6.37

nil
–

n/a

n/a

Fair value is used to measure the value of the outstanding options.

PSP
30/09/15
No. of shares

PSP
04/10/16
No. of shares

LTIP
12/12/16
No. of shares

LTIP
26/09/17
No. of shares

LTIP
09/10/18
No. of shares

14,000
–
–
–

14,000
–
–
–

14,000

276,315
–
–
–

276,315
–
–
–

–
409,793
–
–

409,793
–
(19,731)
–

276,315

390,062

–
–
–
–

–
67,500
–
–

67,500

3 months
–

nil
–

12 months
–

24 months
–

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

99

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019NOTeS TO The FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS CONTINUED
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019

25 Share-based payments continued
Share purchase plan
The fair value of each share granted in the share purchase plan is equal to the share price at the date of the grant. Shares are granted on 
a monthly basis.

Performance share plans/long term incentive plan
The fair value per option has been calculated using a modified Monte Carlo model. The inputs into the model at each grant date and the 
estimated fair value were as follows:

Date of grant

The model inputs were:
  Share price at grant date
  Total shareholder return target
  Exercise price
  Expected volatility1
  Expected dividends
  Expected life
  Risk-free interest rate
  Fair value of one option

PSP
30/09/15

PSP
04/10/16

LTIP
12/12/16

LTIP
26/09/17

LTIP
09/10/18

£4.82
£6.15
£0.00
32%
2.00%
3 years
0.76%
£2.37

£5.95
£6.50
£0.00
30%
3.20%
3 years
0.30%
£3.15

£5.70
£6.50
£0.00
30%
n/a2
31 months
0.60%
£2.95

£6.50
£8.00
£0.00
36%
n/a2
33 months
0.50%
£3.40

£7.04
£10.00
£0.00
35%
n/a2
33 months
0.98%
£3.41

Expected volatility was determined by calculating the historical volatility of the Company’s share price; volatility was measured over the previous 3 years. 

1 
2  Awards made under the LTIP allows, on vesting, for an additional award of shares to be made to the option holder equivalent to the dividends paid over the vesting period 

on the underlying shares. 

The total share-based payment cost charged to the consolidated income statement was £960,000 (2018: £1,026,000).

26 Capital commitments 
At 30 June 2019, the Group had capital commitments of £nil (2018: £nil). The Company had no capital commitments (2018: £nil). 

27 Related party transactions 
Identity of related parties
The Group has a related party relationship with its joint ventures and key management personnel. 

Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been eliminated on consolidation.

Transactions with key management personnel
The Group’s key management personnel are the Executive and Non-Executive Directors, as identified on pages 36 and 37, and certain 
other senior managers.

During the year, the Group entered into a conditional agreement to purchase an area of land from Hampton Investment Properties Ltd 
(“HIPL”) for £1,200,000. HIPL is a company in which North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc (“NASCIT”), which is a 
substantial shareholder in the Company, holds a majority interest. In addition, Christopher Mills, a Non-Executive Director of the 
Company, is considered a related party by virtue of his interest in and directorship of NASCIT and his position as a Director of HIPL.  
The land, if purchased, will form part of a new Gleeson Homes site being developed in the ordinary course of business. The purchase  
will only proceed with the approval of a majority vote of shareholders; approval is likely to be sought at the next AGM.

During the year the Group purchased an area of land from Jolyon Harrison, who was CEO of the Group at the time of the transaction, for 
£98,750. The land forms part of a new Gleeson Homes site being developed in the ordinary course of business. The price paid by the 
Group was supported by an independent valuation and approved by the Board.

In the prior year, the Group purchased cladding materials from a company, JDP Contracting Services Limited, in which Jolyon Harrison 
(CEO of the Group at the time of the transaction) is a Director. During the current year the Group purchased £nil (2018: £38,000) goods 
from the company. The terms were at normal market rates and payment terms and there were no guarantees provided. The amount owed 
to JDP Contracting Services Limited at 30 June 2019 was £1,000 (2018: £3,000).

Other than disclosed above, there were no other transactions with key management personnel in either the current or prior year.

100

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

27 Related party transactions continued
Identity of related parties with which the Company has transacted
The Company receives charges from various suppliers in respect of services for the whole Group. The Company allocates and 
consequently invoices these charges to subsidiaries.

Subsidiaries

Administrative expenses 

Receivables outstanding

Payables outstanding

2019
£000

1,771

1,771

2018
£000

727

727

2019
£000

21,605

21,605

2018
£000

38,267

38,267

2019
£000

62,557

62,557

2018
£000

65,793

65,793

28 Adoption of new accounting standards
IFRS 9 “Financial instruments”
IFRS 9 “Financial instruments” applied to the Group from 1 July 2018, replacing IAS 39 “Financial instruments: recognition and 
measurement”. The new standard requires that financial assets that are within the scope of IFRS 9 are measured at amortised cost,  
fair value through profit and loss (“FVTPL”) or fair value through other comprehensive income (“FVOCI”). The Group has adopted the 
modified retrospective transition approach, including adopting the practical expedient.

The majority of the Group’s financial assets and liabilities continue to be accounted for on the same basis under IFRS 9 as they were 
under IAS 39. The exception to this is the Group’s shared equity portfolio. These were previously held under IAS 39 as Available for Sale 
Financial Assets. This classification is not available under IFRS 9 and the assets have been reclassified as FVOCI. The available for  
sale reserve that was previously classified separately in equity has been reclassified as part of retained earnings. 

Changes in fair value are recognised initially in other comprehensive income (“OCI”). When the asset is derecognised or reclassified, 
changes in fair value previously recognised in OCI and accumulated in equity are reclassified to profit and loss on a basis that always 
results in an asset measured at FVOCI having the same effect on profit and loss as if it were measured at amortised cost.

Impairment of financial assets
IFRS 9 also requires that an expected credit loss model, rather than an incurred credit loss model, is applied. This requires the 
assessment of the expected credit loss on each class of financial asset at each reporting date. 

The main class of financial asset held by the Group is trade and other receivables, principally receivables for land sold on deferred 
terms. As the period for deferment is short and security is held, the risk of loss to the Group is considered to be sufficiently mitigated 
and credit risk is considered low. The Group also has financial assets in the form of shared equity receivables as set out in note 16. 
These are measured at fair value through OCI and the assessment of fair value includes consideration of credit risk across the portfolio. 
Other receivables include completion monies for house sales which exist only for short periods of time and mainly relate to the Help to 
Buy scheme, exposing the Group to limited credit risk. Hence, the application of the expected credit risk model has had no material 
impact on the financial statements.

The effect of implementing IFRS 9 is as follows:

Retained earnings (pre-IFRS 9)
Available for sale reserve now classified as part of retained earnings

Retained earnings (post-IFRS 9)

There is no impact to the Company from the implementation of IFRS 9.

30 June 2019
£000

30 June 2018
£000

1 July 2017
£000

203,330
(526)

187,664
(657)

170,977
(688)

202,804

187,007

170,289

IFRS 15 “Revenue from contracts with customers”
IFRS 15 “Revenue from contracts with customers” applied to the Group from 1 July 2018, replacing IAS 18 “Revenue and related 
interpretations”. The standard has been adopted using the modified retrospective approach. There is no impact on retained earnings in 
prior years nor on the profit in the current period, as the timing of revenue recognition has not changed under IFRS 15. 

• 

• 

In respect of house sales, the performance obligation is satisfied on the transfer of control of the home to the customer. This occurs 
on legal completion.
In respect of land sales, the performance obligation is satisfied on the transfer of control of the land to the buyer. The relevant facts 
and circumstances are considered to determine when control has transferred, which is either when contracts to sell are completed 
and title has passed or when unconditional contracts to sell are exchanged.

Elements of variable consideration, such as overages, are recognised where these are highly probable. This has had no impact on the 
financial statements.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

101

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUEDFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2019OTHER INFORMATION

Five Year Review 

Further Information 

Corporate Directory 

Shareholder Information 

Financial Calendar 

Our Website 

103

104

104

104

104

104

St. Aidan’s View, Chilton, County Durham

102

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

STRaTegIC RepORT

gOveRNaNCe

FINaNCIal STaTemeNTS

OTheR INFORmaTION

FIve YeaR RevIeW

Revenue

2019 
£000

2018 
£000

2017 
£000

2016 
£000

2015 
£000

249,899

196,741

160,384

142,065

117,588

Exceptional restructuring costs

–

–

–

–

(1,236)

Operating profit
Provision for diminution in value of investments
Net finance income

Profit before tax

Tax (charge)/credit

Profit after tax

Discontinued operations

Profit for the year

Total assets
Total liabilities

Net assets

Total dividend per share for the year
Earnings per share from continuing operations
Earnings per share – normalised*
Net assets per share

40,999
–
213

41,212

(7,648)

33,564

36,854
–
165

37,019

32,963
–
49

33,012

28,166
–
72

28,238

22,046
(4,896)
113

17,263

(6,526)

(6,488)

(4,934)

(4,848)

30,493

26,524

23,304

12,415

(297)

(257)

(310)

(345)

(207)

33,267

30,236

26,214

22,959

12,208

281,240
(77,344)

242,785
(54,686)

215,742
(44,371)

180,640
(27,735)

168,592
(32,063)

203,896

188,099

171,371

152,905

136,529

pence

34.5
61.5
61.0
374

pence

32.0
56.0
55.6
345

pence

24.0
49.1
48.5
317

pence

14.5
43.2
42.6
283

pence

10.0
23.2
34.2
254

*  Normalised earnings per share include discontinued operations and exclude the impact of exceptional costs.

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

103

FURTheR INFORmaTION

CORPORATE DIRECTORY

OUR WEBSITE

For more information on our homes, investor relations and 
career opportunities please visit www.mjgleesonplc.com.

Registered office
MJ Gleeson plc
6 Europa Court
Sheffield Business Park
Sheffield S9 1XE

Registered number
9268016
Incorporated in  
England and Wales

Company secretary
Stefan Allanson

Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds LS1 4DL

Bankers
Lloyds Bank plc
10 Gresham Street  
London EC2V 7AE

Solicitors
Simmons & Simmons 
City Point
One Ropemaker Street 
London EC2Y 9SS

Stockbrokers
N+1 Singer
One Bartholemew Lane
London EC2N 2AX

Liberum Capital Limited
Ropemaker Place, Level 12
25 Ropemaker Street 
London EC2Y 9LY

Registrars and 
transfer office
Link Asset Services
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham 
Kent BR3 4TU

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

ABOUT THIS REPORT

The paper in this report is a Forest Stewardship Council 
(“FSC®”) certified product, produced with a FSC® mixed 
sources pulp which is fully recyclable, biodegradable and 
chlorine free. It is manufactured within a mill which complies 
with the international environmental ISO 14001 standard.

The report has been printed using environmentally friendly 
vegetable-based inks. Formulated on the basis of renewable 
raw materials, vegetable oils are non-hazardous and from 
renewable sources. Over 90% of solvents and developers 
used are recycled for further use and recycling initiatives are 
in place for all other waste associated with this production.

The print house chosen for production of this report is FSC® 
and ISO 14001 certified with strict procedures in place to 
safeguard the environment through all processes, including 
ongoing initiatives to reduce carbon footprint.

Shareholder enquiries
Any shareholder with enquiries should, in the first instance, 
contact our registrars using the address provided in the Corporate 
Directory.

Share price information
London Stock Exchange
Symbol: GLE

Investor relations
MJ Gleeson plc
6 Europa Court,  
Sheffield Business Park 
Sheffield S9 1XE
Email: enquiries@mjgleeson.com
Tel: 0114 261 2900

FINaNCIal CaleNDaR

Financial year end

30 June 2019

Full year results announced

16 September 2019

Ex-dividend date for final dividend

14 November 2019

Record date for final dividend

15 November 2019

Annual General Meeting

Final dividend payment

5 December 2019

13 December 2019

104

MJ GLEESON PLC ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2019

THANK YOU!

We would like to thank our employees 
who are essential to our success.

Their skill and dedication has been 
invaluable in making Gleeson what  
it is today.

Carlisle Park, Swinton, South Yorkshire

M

J

G

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E

E

S

O

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P

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N

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A

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E

P

O

R

T

A

N

D

A

C

C

O

U

N

T

S

2

0

1

9

gleeson 

MJ Gleeson plc
6 Europa Court
Sheffield Business Park
Sheffield S9 1XE

Email: enquiries@mjgleeson.com
Tel: 0114 261 2900
www.mjgleesonplc.com