Quarterlytics / Consumer Cyclical / Auto - Parts / Standard Motor Products, Inc. / FY2017 Annual Report

Standard Motor Products, Inc.
Annual Report 2017

SMP · NYSE Consumer Cyclical
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Ticker SMP
Exchange NYSE
Sector Consumer Cyclical
Industry Auto - Parts
Employees 5600
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FY2017 Annual Report · Standard Motor Products, Inc.
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ANNUAL  
REPORT AND  
FINANCIAL 
STATEMENTS  
2017

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT 

What we do
Group at a glance
Chairman’s statement
Chief Executive’s review

1 
2 
7 
8 
12  Our markets
14  Our business model
16  Our resources and relationships
22  Our strategy and key performance indicators
29 
38  Operating and portfolio review
46 
50 
56 

Financial review
Risk management
Principal risks and uncertainties

Strategy in action

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

Chairman’s introduction to governance

The Board

63 
64  An overview of our governance
66 
68  Governance
Audit Committee report
75 
83  Nomination Committee report
86  Directors’ remuneration report
110  Directors’ report
115 

Independent auditor’s report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

122  Group income statement
122  Group statement of comprehensive income
123  Group balance sheet
124  Group statement of changes in equity
125  Group cash flow statement
126  Group accounting policies
133  Notes to the Group financial statements
168  Company balance sheet
169  Company statement of changes in equity
170  Company accounting policies
171  Notes to the Company financial statements
177  Five year record

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

178  Glossary of terms
180  Notice of annual general meeting
Information for shareholders
186 

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CHANGING 
PLACES/ 
CREATING  
BETTER  
FUTURES

“OUR CORE PURPOSE AND VALUES 
WILL HELP US BUILD AND SUSTAIN 
A BUSINESS, BRAND AND REPUTATION 
THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.”
 MARK ALLAN 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

1

 
 
 
 
CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT 

What we do
Group at a glance
Chairman’s statement
Chief Executive’s review

1 
2 
7 
8 
12  Our markets
14  Our business model
16  Our resources and relationships
22  Our strategy and key performance indicators
29 
38  Operating and portfolio review
46 
50 
56 

Financial review
Risk management
Principal risks and uncertainties

Strategy in action

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

Chairman’s introduction to governance

The Board

63 
64  An overview of our governance
66 
68  Governance
Audit Committee report
75 
83  Nomination Committee report
86  Directors’ remuneration report
110  Directors’ report
115 

Independent auditor’s report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

CREATING
VALUE/ 
CONTRIBUTING 
MORE

122  Group income statement
122  Group statement of comprehensive income
123  Group balance sheet
124  Group statement of changes in equity
125  Group cash flow statement
126  Group accounting policies
133  Notes to the Group financial statements
168  Company balance sheet
169  Company statement of changes in equity
170  Company accounting policies
171  Notes to the Company financial statements
177  Five year record

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

178  Glossary of terms
180  Notice of annual general meeting
Information for shareholders
186 

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St. Modwen has an extraordinary 
history, with a reputation for 
looking at things differently and 
creating opportunities where 
none existed. We take on 
challenges that others cannot.

We have a strong track record 
of creating value and have 
successfully grown our profits 
and grown our business. We are 
proud of what we have achieved. 

But we need to contribute 
something more. We should 
make money and grow our 
business, but in the right way, 
which will underpin the long- 
term success of our business.

We feel it is important that all our 
shareholders, people, partners, 
customers and communities 
understand and value what 
we stand for and what we are 
seeking to accomplish.

Through our regeneration and 
development projects, we are 
changing the norm, by looking 
for better and lasting results 
for all concerned.

We are leading the way 
in delivering quality places 
to live and work that enhance 
communities and create 
opportunities for growth 
and shared returns.

We transform, optimise and 
improve and our purpose is 
to give new meaning to those 
communities we live in and 
serve and to the environments 
we develop.

Changing places. Creating 
better futures. This is our core 
purpose and the reason we 
exist as a business.

“OUR CORE PURPOSE AND VALUES 
WILL HELP US BUILD AND SUSTAIN 
A BUSINESS, BRAND AND REPUTATION 
THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.”
 MARK ALLAN 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

1

 
 
 
 
CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT 

What we do
Group at a glance
Chairman’s statement
Chief Executive’s review

1 
2 
7 
8 
12  Our markets
14  Our business model
16  Our resources and relationships
22  Our strategy and key performance indicators
29 
38  Operating and portfolio review
46 
50 
56 

Financial review
Risk management
Principal risks and uncertainties

Strategy in action

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

The Board

Independent auditor’s report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

Chairman’s introduction to governance

63 
64  An overview of our governance
66 
68  Governance
Audit Committee report
75 
83  Nomination Committee report
86  Directors’ remuneration report
110  Directors’ report
115 

CREATING 
OPPORTUNITIES/ 
PROVIDING 
LASTING 
BENEFITS

122  Group income statement
122  Group statement of comprehensive income
123  Group balance sheet
124  Group statement of changes in equity
125  Group cash flow statement
126  Group accounting policies
133  Notes to the Group financial statements
168  Company balance sheet
169  Company statement of changes in equity
170  Company accounting policies
171  Notes to the Company financial statements
177  Five year record

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

178  Glossary of terms
180  Notice of annual general meeting
Information for shareholders
186 

We have taken thousands of 
acres of contaminated brownfield 
land and cleaned it to create 
areas that provide homes 
and thriving communities for 
thousands of people.

We have created new business 
parks, manufacturing facilities, 
warehousing and retail parks, 
supporting thousands of jobs 
across the country.

We transformed a derelict historic 
estate and gardens into a top five 
garden attraction and spectacular 
tourist destination that draws 
over three million visitors a year.

We breathe life into places 
to create new and better 
opportunities.

Every day, from our business 
strategy through our individual 
efforts, we strive to live our 
purpose. We turn new ideas 
and possibilities into plans that 
come to life.

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“OUR CORE PURPOSE AND VALUES 
WILL HELP US BUILD AND SUSTAIN 
A BUSINESS, BRAND AND REPUTATION 
THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.”
 MARK ALLAN 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

1

 
 
 
 
CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT 

What we do
Group at a glance
Chairman’s statement
Chief Executive’s review

1 
2 
7 
8 
12  Our markets
14  Our business model
16  Our resources and relationships
22  Our strategy and key performance indicators
29 
38  Operating and portfolio review
46 
50 
56 

Financial review
Risk management
Principal risks and uncertainties

Strategy in action

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

Chairman’s introduction to governance

The Board

63 
64  An overview of our governance
66 
68  Governance
Audit Committee report
75 
83  Nomination Committee report
86  Directors’ remuneration report
110  Directors’ report
115 

Independent auditor’s report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

SKILLED 
PEOPLE/ 
WORKING
TOGETHER

122  Group income statement
122  Group statement of comprehensive income
123  Group balance sheet
124  Group statement of changes in equity
125  Group cash flow statement
126  Group accounting policies
133  Notes to the Group financial statements
168  Company balance sheet
169  Company statement of changes in equity
170  Company accounting policies
171  Notes to the Company financial statements
177  Five year record

178  Glossary of terms
180  Notice of annual general meeting
Information for shareholders
186 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Our people are skilled, responsive 
and passionate.

We do this because we believe 
there is a better way. 

And because we can.

They are experts who take great 
pride in what they do and care 
about doing the right thing.

Working together with partners, 
we seek to create places and 
experiences that deliver shared 
value, build a lasting legacy 
and contribute to better futures 
for all.

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“OUR CORE PURPOSE AND VALUES 
WILL HELP US BUILD AND SUSTAIN 
A BUSINESS, BRAND AND REPUTATION 
THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.”
 MARK ALLAN 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

1

 
 
 
 
CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT 

What we do
Group at a glance
Chairman’s statement
Chief Executive’s review

1 
2 
7 
8 
12  Our markets
14  Our business model
16  Our resources and relationships
22  Our strategy and key performance indicators
29 
38  Operating and portfolio review
46 
50 
56 

Financial review
Risk management
Principal risks and uncertainties

Strategy in action

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

The Board

Independent auditor’s report

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

Chairman’s introduction to governance

63 
64  An overview of our governance
66 
68  Governance
Audit Committee report
75 
83  Nomination Committee report
86  Directors’ remuneration report
110  Directors’ report
115 

NEW 
POSSIBILITIES/ 
PLANS  
THAT COME  
TO LIFE

122  Group income statement
122  Group statement of comprehensive income
123  Group balance sheet
124  Group statement of changes in equity
125  Group cash flow statement
126  Group accounting policies
133  Notes to the Group financial statements
168  Company balance sheet
169  Company statement of changes in equity
170  Company accounting policies
171  Notes to the Company financial statements
177  Five year record

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

178  Glossary of terms
180  Notice of annual general meeting
Information for shareholders
186 

“OUR CORE PURPOSE AND VALUES 
WILL HELP US BUILD AND SUSTAIN 
A BUSINESS, BRAND AND REPUTATION 
THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF.”
 MARK ALLAN 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

1

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationST. MODWEN AT A GLANCE

BEFORE THE 
DETAIL/
AN OVERVIEW 
OF THE  
BUSINESS 

WHO WE ARE 

St. Modwen has a history of looking at things differently, 
challenging norms and creating opportunities where none 
existed before. Operating across the full spectrum of the 
property industry, St. Modwen is committed to creating 
places which offer employment, quality homes for families, 
and leisure, retail and open spaces that make life better.

With an outstanding track record of over 30 years, 
St. Modwen adds value by managing schemes through the 
planning process, remediating brownfield land and active 
asset management and development. We tackle challenging 
sites that have the clear potential to benefit from our specialist 
skills, and turn them into inspirational and thriving new 
residential and business communities.

2

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 20172017 RESULT

EPRA NAV per share(1) 

NAV per share

471.2 pence +2.3%

450.9 pence +4.6%

Total accounting return(1)(2)

6.0% +0.4ppt 

Trading profit(1) 

£64.6m +15.2%

Adjusted EPRA EPS(1)(3)

13.3 pence +37.1% 

See-through loan-to-value(1)

24.2% -6.3ppt 

Total dividend per share 

6.28 pence +4.7%

Profit before tax

£70.3m +5.1% 

Earnings per share

26.9 pence +11.6% 

Group net borrowings

£433.8m -7.7%

KEY FACTS

Track record
30+ years

UK-wide portfolio
£1.7bn

Residential portfolio 
£561m

Residential plots with 
planning recognition
22,000+

Income generating portfolio
£844m

Committed 
development pipeline 
1.6m sq ft

Long-term 
commercial pipeline
17m+ sq ft

(1) These measures are non-statutory, reconciliations between all the statutory 

and non-statutory measures and the explanations as to why the non-statutory 
measures give valuable further insight into the Group’s performance are given 
in Note 2 to the Group financial statements.

(2) Our definition of total accounting return was revised in the year so that it now 

represents dividends paid in the year plus the movement in NAV per share in the 
year, rather than the movement in EPRA NAV per share. This change reflects that 
our strategy includes the repositioning and recycling of our portfolio towards 
sectors with strong structural growth, whereas the EPRA model assumes that 
properties are retained. An analysis of the effect of this change on the measures 
is included in note 2 to the Group financial statements.

(3) Our key performance metrics include a new measure of Adjusted EPRA Earnings 
and an associated Adjusted EPRA EPS calculation. This is a measure of profits 
which excludes non-cash valuation movements and will be used as a reference 
for dividend payments in the future. A detailed analysis of how this measure is 
calculated and reconciled to our statutory figures is included in Note 3 to the 
Group financial statements.

REASONS TO INVEST

Strategic insight
We have a clear and confident vision and strategy, with four 
objectives which drive the business and enable us to continue 
to achieve significant value creation.

We have the strategic insight and expert research capability to 
exploit market demands and pursue those opportunities that 
generate the greatest value at any one time.

Strong track record
We have a rich, 30-year heritage and a strong track record of 
delivery. We have unparalleled skills in the whole environment 
development lifecycle – planning, infrastructure, asset 
management, development and delivery.

Focused on secular growth areas of the market
We have a leading position in our chosen markets and our strong 
pipeline of activities is focused on two of the most attractive 
sectors in the UK property market – industrial and logistics 
development and housebuilding. We are securing the maximum 
value from our land bank of 6,000 developable acres with a 
fast-track programme for development.

Solid financial platform
Strong cash flow and rigorous portfolio and capital discipline, 
together with a flexible debt structure and low gearing, provide 
us with a robust financial platform for business growth.

Highly experienced people
We are experts in the regeneration and renewal of spaces. Our 
experience and expertise give us an unmatched ability to bring 
complex, strategic sites forward to create value.

3

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationST. MODWEN AT A GLANCE 
CONTINUED

WHAT WE DO

Our business focus is centred on four main strategic objectives, 
which are built around our clearly defined core purpose: 
Changing places. Creating better futures. 

ACCELERATING OUR COMMERCIAL 
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY

GROWING OUR RESIDENTIAL 
AND HOUSEBUILDING BUSINESS

Potential >7.5m sq ft to build out in medium term

Industrial/logistics focus

Potential >7,500 units for St. Modwen Homes to build out in the 
medium term

Potential >9,000 units third party land sales in medium term

Find out more through our case studies on Gateway 12 
and Celtic Business Park 
See pages 30 to 31

Find out more through our case study on Trentham Manor 
See page 33

4

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017CEMENTING OUR REGENERATION 
REPUTATION

FOCUSING ON OUR PORTFOLIO 
AND CAPITAL DISCIPLINE

Deliver brilliantly on our existing major regeneration projects

Reduce borrowings further

•  Longbridge, Birmingham
•  Bay Campus, Swansea University
•  New Covent Garden Market, Nine Elms 
•  Unlock the next generation of regeneration

Focus on fewer, larger projects

Focus on sectors with the best structural growth prospects

Growing exposure to income producing assets to be carefully 
balanced vs market conditions 

Find out more, see our case studies on New Covent Garden 
Market and Longbridge 
See pages 34 to 35

Find out more, see our case study on Barton Business Park
See page 37

OUR VALUES

WE UNLOCK 
POTENTIAL

WE BUILD 
QUALITY 
OUTCOMES

WE DO THE 
RIGHT THING

WE’RE  
JOINED UP

WE DO WHAT 
WE SAY

5

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationBill Shannon
Chairman

6

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

OUR NEW, MORE FOCUSED 
STRATEGY LEAVES US WELL PLACED 
AND MEANS WE APPROACH THE 
FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE

2017 was a productive year for St. Modwen. With a new Chief 
Executive in post we undertook a full review of our business and 
portfolio and launched a new, more focused, strategy in the 
summer. This strategy is intended to improve returns on capital and 
enhance our operational flexibility and we believe that it will leave 
us well placed in what is an uncertain external environment that we 
expect to present both risks and opportunities.

Alongside the strategy review, the business continued to perform 
well. We delivered 4.6% growth in NAV per share for the year to 
450.9 pence which, together with dividends, resulted in a total 
accounting return of 6.0% (2016: 5.6%), and profit before all tax 
increased 10.2% to £67.0m. We also achieved some significant 
milestones on our major projects, most notably the sale of the 
Nine Elms Square development site at New Covent Garden 
Market in August, which released capital for reinvestment back 
into the business and enabled us to keep borrowing levels firmly 
under control.

Our strategy is built around a clearly defined core purpose: 
Changing places. Creating better futures. This captures the 
regeneration heritage of the business and acts as an important 
reference point for our future activities, ensuring that our strategic 
objectives are not simply financially defined but reflect the value 
we seek to unlock more broadly. This is, of course, only possible as 
a result of the expertise and efforts of our people and I would like 
to recognise and congratulate them on another year of positive 
performance.

Dividend
Following the launch of our new strategy we have reviewed our 
dividend policy and are now making some changes to ensure that 
it is more closely linked to cash-backed profits. To facilitate this we 
are introducing a new profit measure, adjusted EPRA earnings per 
share, which is closely aligned to cash-backed profits. From the 
2017/18 financial year we intend to distribute approximately 50% 
of this measure each year by way of dividend with the aim of 
providing a sustainable, progressive dividend for our shareholders.

For the year ended 30 November 2017, we intend to pay a total 
dividend per share of 6.28 pence, which marks an increase of 4.7% 
compared to the 6.00 pence for 2016. Taking account of the interim 
dividend paid of 2.02 pence, we are therefore proposing a final 
dividend of 4.26 pence per share to be paid on 4 April 2018 to 
shareholders on the register as at 9 March 2018.

Board changes
We were shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Steve 
Burke, our Group Construction Director, in March 2017. Steve had 
been with St. Modwen for over 20 years and was a valued friend 
and colleague to many. He is sorely missed and our thoughts 
remain with his family and friends.

We have also recently announced some other changes to our Board 
which will become effective over the next couple of months. Jamie 
Hopkins, Chief Executive of Workspace plc, will join the Board as a 
non-executive director on 1 March 2018 while Kay Chaldecott and 
Richard Mully will step down from their non-executive positions at 
the next AGM, having served nearly six and five years respectively. 
Ian Bull will be assuming Richard’s responsibilities as Senior 
Independent Director.

Jenefer Greenwood, who joined the Board in June 2017, will assume 
the position of Chair of the Remuneration Committee at the next 
AGM taking over from Lesley James who will be retiring from the 
Board later in 2018 having served nine years.

I would like to thank Kay, Richard and Lesley for their significant 
contributions to the Board, and wish Jamie, Jenefer and Ian well 
in their new roles.

Finally, I have informed the Board of my intention to step down 
as Chairman at the AGM in March 2019, at which point I will have 
been in post for eight years. Having recently overseen the 
appointment of a new Chief Executive and the launch of a new, 
more focused strategy, it is now appropriate that the Board 
considers my succession in an orderly and timely manner. I remain 
enthusiastic about the business and its prospects and will continue 
to support the Board and management team in delivering our 
strategy in the year ahead.

Prospects
As we enter 2018, St. Modwen is well placed. Our deep pipeline 
of projects underpins meaningful growth targets for both 
residential and commercial development, our planned portfolio 
rotation towards sectors with good structural growth prospects 
is underway and we are in a strong position financially. Although 
the external environment remains unsettled and is likely to remain 
so for some time, the combination of our focused strategy and 
unrivalled track record and expertise mean that we approach the 
future with confidence.

Bill Shannon
Chairman

5 February 2018

Total dividend per share 

6.28 pence +4.7%

Earnings per share

26.9 pence +11.6%

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St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationCHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW

 MY JOB/ 
CREATING OUR 
STRATEGY...

Overview
2017 has been an important year for St. Modwen. Following a 
full review of our business, our portfolio and our pipeline, we are 
pursuing a more focused strategy, better suited to the external 
environment we operate in, and have begun to build momentum 
in executing this strategy. We can deliver this strategy over the next 
few years through a targeted approach to our existing portfolio of 
projects rather than needing to acquire more, an important source 
of advantage in investment markets which remain very competitive.

Our strategy is intended to improve returns on capital by 
concentrating our activities on sectors that have long-term 
structural growth characteristics while also enhancing our flexibility 
through tightly controlling leverage and reducing the proportion 
of our portfolio invested in land. This is captured through our four 
strategic objectives: portfolio focus and capital discipline; accelerate 
our commercial development activity; grow our residential and 
housebuilding business; and cement and grow our regeneration 
reputation.

Our results for the year were solid. We delivered 4.6% growth in 
NAV per share to 450.9 pence (2016: 431.0 pence) which, together 
with dividends paid during the year, resulted in a total accounting 
return of 6.0% (2016: 5.6%). Our EPRA NAV per share rose 10.7 pence 
over the year to 471.2 pence (2016: 460.5 pence) and profit before 
all tax increased to £67.0m (2016: £60.8m) with EPS of 26.9 pence 
(2016: 24.1 pence). 

Key financial performance metrics

NAV per share (pence)

EPRA NAV per share (pence)

Dividend per share (pence)

Total accounting return (%)

Trading profit (£m)

Adjusted EPRA earnings (£m)

Profit before all tax (£m)

Profit before tax (£m)

Earnings per share (pence)

Adjusted EPRA earnings 
per share (pence)

See-through net borrowings (£m)

See-through loan-to-value(1) (%)

See-through loan-to-value  
(excluding residential)(1) (%)

2017

450.9

471.2

6.28

6.0

64.6

29.4

67.0

70.3

26.9

13.3

388.2

24.2

2016

Change

431.0

460.5

6.00

5.6

56.1

21.5

60.8

66.9

24.1

9.7

517.0

30.5

+4.6%

+2.3%

+4.7%

+0.4ppt

+15.2%

+36.7%

+10.2%

+5.1%

+11.6%

+37.1%

-24.9%

-6.3ppt

37.2

54.3

-17.1ppt

(1) Including the Group’s share of net borrowings and property held in joint ventures 

and associates.

We achieved strong progress against all key performance indicators 
for the year. Looking forward, we will continue to focus on total return, 
earnings and net borrowings as our key performance measures.

Our key performance metrics include a new measure of adjusted 
EPRA earnings and an associated adjusted EPRA EPS calculation. 
This is a measure of profits which excludes non-cash valuation 
movements and will be used as a reference for dividend payments 
in the future. With effect from the 2017/18 financial year we intend 
to pay a dividend equivalent to approximately 50% of adjusted 
EPRA EPS, with the aim to provide a sustainable, progressive 
dividend for our shareholders. We will cease to use profit before 
all tax as a key performance measure with effect from the 2017/18 
financial year.

8

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Mark Allan
Chief Executive

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St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationCHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW 
CONTINUED

Enhancing our organisation’s design and culture
Successful execution of our strategy relies on having an organisation 
that is closely aligned to our strategic objectives and where individuals 
and teams understand the role they play in helping deliver the 
strategy. With this in mind, during the second half of the year we 
restructured the business from seven to three regions, each focused 
on accelerating commercial development activity and bringing 
forward residential land for development; a new central asset 
management function responsible for shaping and managing our 
income producing portfolio; and St. Modwen Homes as a standalone 
housebuilder within the Group. These discrete business units are 
supported by central functions such as HR and finance. As part of 
this restructuring, and with our growth objectives in mind, we have 
identified a total of 10 new senior roles into which we are recruiting 
during 2018.

We are also focusing on creating a culture of empowerment, 
accountability and support in order to deliver the strategy. This 
started in 2017 with the organisational design work described 
above to create clear, consistent structures, roles and responsibilities 
across the Group and will continue in 2018 with the launch of 
tailored management and leadership development programmes. 
Recognising the need for our culture and organisation to be 
appropriate for the future, we have also taken the opportunity to 
refresh our branding and visual identity, which will be rolled out 
during 2018.

Our teams have performed extremely well throughout the year 
and remain the bedrock of the business, possessing considerable 
skills and experience that can help us continue to create significant 
value for all our stakeholders. Our focus on creating the right 
organisational design and culture will help them flourish in the 
years ahead.

Portfolio focus and capital discipline: reshaping our portfolio
Reflecting our new, focused strategy the shape of our portfolio 
began to shift over the course of 2017 and this process will continue 
into 2018 and beyond. The successful disposal of the Nine Elms 
Square development site at New Covent Garden Market in August 
for a gross consideration of £470m (net St. Modwen share £190m) 
released significant capital into the business and contributed 
towards the overall reduction in value of our land assets, meaning 
that income producing assets now make up 51% of our portfolio, 
up from 45% a year ago. We intend to increase this level further. 
The capital released from the sale allowed us to reduce leverage 
and also begin to invest in our other strategic priorities.

During 2018 we expect to be active in the disposal of many of our 
smaller assets and also in reducing our exposure to retail assets. We 
are targeting asset sales of this type of between £100m and £150m 
in total across the course of the year and have already made 
progress with terms agreed on the disposal of approximately £40m 
of such assets. The proceeds from our disposal programme will be 
recycled into retaining the majority of assets from our industrial 
and logistics development programme.

In terms of capital discipline, see-through net borrowings at 
30 November 2017 stood at £388m, down from £517m a year 
earlier and our see-through LTV reduced to 24.2% (2016: 30.5%). 
Excluding residential, which is our preferred measure, see-through 
LTV fell from 54.3% to 37.2% at the year end.

Since the year end we have also refinanced the majority of our debt 
facilities such that we are now financed on a fully unsecured basis, 
providing a cost effective, greater level of flexibility as we execute 
our strategy.

10

Accelerating our commercial development activity: 
committed pipeline up 38%
Across the course of 2017 we increased commercial development 
activity, completing 1.4m sq ft of new space with a completed value 
of £216m. Of this total, £102m was pre-sold or has since been sold 
and £41m is held pending sale. The £73m we retained principally 
comprises developments completed towards the end of 2017 
where occupancy currently stands at 54% by rental value, with a 
further 11% under offer and full occupancy targeted during 2018.

Entering the 2017/18 financial year our committed development 
pipeline stands at 1.6m sq ft with an expected value on completion 
of £326m, up 38% compared to the £237m of completed value at 
the beginning of 2017. We expect the pipeline to grow throughout 
2018 as planning consent is granted to future schemes, subject to 
market demand. Around 90% of our committed pipeline is focused 
on sectors with good structural growth characteristics, such as 
industrial and logistics, PRS or student accommodation, and this 
will remain a feature of our development activity going forward. 
Approximately 40% of our industrial and logistics pipeline is pre-let 
or pre-sold, compared to 21% a year earlier.

Approximately £700m of our medium-term pipeline relates to 
industrial and logistics projects with an estimated rental value of 
£45m. As part of our strategy to focus on sectors with growth 
characteristics underpinned by long term structural trends, we 
intend to retain the majority of this pipeline for the longer term.

Growing our residential and housebuilding business: 
Homes targeting c. 25% growth 
Our residential activities performed well throughout 2017. In 
addition to the sale of Nine Elms Square, over 2,200 units of 
‘oven-ready’ land were either transferred to St. Modwen Homes or 
sold in the open market, with a total value of £137m. Proceeds from 
third party sales totalled £56m (2016: £48m), with sales at or above 
book value. The market remains robust with a healthy outlook for 
2018, for which we expect to secure at least a similar level of 
residential land sales.

At St. Modwen Homes we continued to grow sales volumes 
materially while maintaining a focus on quality and on-site safety. 
In total we sold 694 new homes, up from 485 in 2016 and achieved 
5-star status from the HBF and a Gold safety accreditation from 
RoSPA. Margins improved to 13.9% (2016: 13.4%), resulting in an 
operating profit of £23.3m, and the growth in profits from St. Modwen 
Homes more than offset the reduction in profits associated with the 
wind-down of our Persimmon Joint Venture (£8.1m of operating 
profit compared to £11.8m in 2016). Average private sales prices 
increased 19% to £259,000 for the year. Like-for-like sales prices 
were up 6%, with the balance reflecting an increase in average 
unit size and greater levels of activity at Uxbridge, Greater London.

Looking forward, we expect sales volumes for St. Modwen Homes 
to grow by up to 25% in 2018 and, with a robust outlook for 
regional house prices as well as a range of internal initiatives being 
pursued, we expect margins to improve by a similar level again 
across the course of the year. We will continue to prioritise quality 
and safety and, as these features become more firmly embedded, 
we are confident they will form a foundation from which financial 
performance can be improved further.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Cementing and growing our regeneration reputation: 
good progress across the board
We made important progress at each of our major regeneration 
projects during the year and were also successful in securing new 
opportunities focused on large scale residential development.

Looking forward
2018 promises to be a year of growth, focus and portfolio transition 
for St. Modwen. Having established our new strategy in 2017 and 
put in place the appropriate organisation to deliver it, we are now 
focused firmly on execution.

At Bay Campus, Swansea we successfully completed the most 
recent phase of student accommodation and commenced work 
on the next phase of academic facilities and accommodation. 
Significant development opportunities remain and we continue to 
work in close partnership with Swansea University to unlock them. 
Since the year end we have sold the completed first 2,005 beds of 
student accommodation to UPP for a net cash consideration of 
£87m, introducing an experienced operator onto the campus and 
releasing capital to invest in the next phases of development. 

At Longbridge, 2017 saw the successful completion of 180 
beds of medical accommodation pre-sold to the MoD’s DIO, a 
260-apartment Extracare retirement village and further phases of 
new homes. Longbridge is now approximately 50% developed and 
significant further opportunities remain, which we will be focused 
on during 2018.

At New Covent Garden Market, held in our VSM joint venture with 
VINCI, we successfully sold the first 10 acres of surplus land at Nine 
Elms Square. We also progressed the redevelopment of the market 
facilities with completion of both the interim flower market and 
the interim delivery unit, all of which unlocks the next phases of 
redevelopment. At this important juncture of the project we have 
undertaken a detailed review of our future obligations, resulting 
in an increase of our share of the cost provisions on the project by 
£24.6m. This reflects our experience of the project to date and, 
in particular, the constraints imposed by operating in a live 
environment. This was partly offset by a £14.5m increase in the 
value of the land.

Outside of our three major projects we were also successful in 
securing two new large scale residential development opportunities 
that provide an opportunity to showcase our infrastructure and 
planning capabilities. We have been appointed as master developer 
at both Wantage, South Oxfordshire for the construction of 1,500 
new homes with associated infrastructure and Buckover, South 
Gloucestershire for the construction of a new 3,000 home garden 
village with associated infrastructure. Both of these opportunities 
have been secured on a ‘capital light’ basis whereby land is drawn 
down from the land owner on a phased basis linked to the pace of 
development and our return is linked to a share of planning gains 
and a margin on infrastructure works. 

From a development perspective, we are confident that our 
activities are focused in areas that benefit from positive growth 
fundamentals, particularly in industrial/logistics and regional 
housebuilding, and we are seeking to accelerate activity in both of 
these areas during 2018. Importantly, this acceleration is based on 
increasing the rate at which we progress our existing pipeline of 
projects from our existing capital base; we have no need to acquire 
assets in what is a very competitive market and we have no need 
to attract additional funding given the opportunities for recyling 
capital out of our existing portfolio. As a result, we anticipate a 
meaningful improvement in both earnings and return on capital 
in the medium term.

Our commercial investment portfolio is beginning a period of 
transition as we seek to shift our focus towards industrial and 
logistics through retaining a greater proportion of our development 
pipeline and reducing our exposure to both retail and smaller, less 
efficient assets. This planned portfolio rotation is likely to result in 
some short-term volatility to our rental income profile, and 
therefore earnings, but will ultimately leave us with a higher quality 
earnings stream and more focused portfolio. Longer term, this 
should also provide the foundations for a meaningful increase in 
the income component of our returns.

The external environment is uncertain and is likely to remain so for 
some time, but we believe that our more focused strategy is well 
suited to such an environment. Our business is focused primarily 
in the regions, where there are less pronounced Brexit-related 
headwinds for property markets than in Central London, and on 
sectors that benefit from good structural growth prospects and, in 
the case of regional housebuilding, supportive Government policy. 

The combination of our focused strategy, deep pipeline of projects, 
financial strength and unrivalled track record and expertise leaves 
us well placed for the future.

Mark Allan
Chief Executive

5 February 2018

 …TO UNLOCK 
VALUE

11

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR MARKETS

WE USE OUR INSIGHT TO IDENTIFY 
MARKET TRENDS AND ENSURE WE 
DELIVER GREAT OUTCOMES FOR 
OUR STAKEHOLDERS.

THIS IN TURN INFORMS OUR 
BUSINESS MODEL AND THE 
RESOURCES AND RELATIONSHIPS 
WE HAVE WITH THE WIDER WORLD.

Remco Simon
Director of Strategy and Research
Remco joined the business in September 2017 to strengthen our 
strategic and capital markets capability and insight, to identify and 
exploit trends and opportunities.

UK economy
The relative strength in the UK economy moderated in 2017, 
as GDP growth slowed slightly compared to 2016 in the wake of 
continued political uncertainty. This uncertainty is likely to persist 
in 2018 pending further clarity about our future trading relationship 
with the rest of the world. Businesses and consumers continue to 
invest, but the latest Deloitte survey of UK CFOs showed corporate 
risk appetite remains low and consumer confidence drifted lower 
in the second half of 2017. As such, the outlook remains mixed and 
GDP growth is generally expected to remain below its long-term 
historical trend for the near term. On the flipside, unemployment 
is at a four-decade low and the effects on CPI inflation of higher 
import prices due to the fall in sterling following the EU referendum 
should subside in 2018, relieving part of the pressure on real wages. 
Moreover, interest rates are likely to remain low by any historic 
standard despite the first increase in base rates in a decade in 2017 
and the expectation of further increases in 2018, whilst real interest 
rates remain firmly negative.

12

Commercial property market
Despite the uncertain macro backdrop, UK commercial property 
continued to benefit from strong investor interest, driven partly by 
the relatively high income yield it offers compared to other asset 
classes and the favourable exchange rate for overseas investors. 
According to Savills, the total investment volume in UK commercial 
property in 2017 was £61bn, marking an increase of 19% on the 
previous year. As a result, commercial property values remained 
more resilient than expected at the start of the year and increased 
on average 5.4% compared to the end of 2016 according to 
data from IPD. 

Diverging growth prospects continue to drive marked differences 
in sector performance. Continued growth in e-commerce and 
growth in manufacturing meant logistics and industrial take-up 
was just above the long-term average at 24.5m sq ft in 2017, albeit 
down from the record year in 2016 which was boosted by a surge 
in design and build activity. As speculative supply remains modest, 
healthy occupier demand continues to drive growth in rents. 
Physical retail remains more challenging however, as occupiers 
continue to deal with changes in consumer behaviour and 
spending, with most of the growth in retail sales going online. 
This divergence is being reflected in investor interest, with retail 
yields showing some signs of softening during 2017, but industrial 
yields firming. 

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Our substantial commercial development pipeline is focused 
primarily on industrial/logistics space, leaving us well-placed to 
capitalise on occupier demand for good quality space, whilst our 
plan to retain the majority of this allows us to benefit from further 
medium-term growth. Retail values are likely to see some further 
pressure in 2018 as upside in rents is limited, but relative to the 
overall market our convenience-oriented, local retail assets provide 
a relatively high, stable income return.

Residential property market
The UK housing market remained resilient during 2017, in particular 
in the regions. Prime Central London house prices and transaction 
volumes remain under pressure, as affordability is stretched and 
increases in stamp duty and uncertainty around the impact of 
Brexit have a much bigger impact than in regional markets. 
Although UK house price inflation is expected to moderate slightly 
in 2018, it is expected to remain positive in the regions, where 
customer demand for new-built housing remains robust. Support 
to grow housebuilding is now well-established across the political 
spectrum, with the Government recently announcing a target to 
grow the number of new houses being built from 217,000 last year 
to 300,000 per year by the mid 2020s. At the same time, changes 
in consumer demand and demographic developments continue 
to drive growth in alternative tenures. 

We have little exposure to prime Central London left following the 
sale of 10 acres at Nine Elms Square, as our residential pipeline is 
predominantly focused on the regions. Our ambition to grow 
volumes at St. Modwen Homes by up to 25% per year over the 
next few years and accelerate the pace of selling land to third party 
housebuilders means we are well placed to help address the 
ongoing shortage of relatively affordable housing in the UK across 
different tenures.

13

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR BUSINESS MODEL

St. Modwen has a rich, 30-year heritage and a strong track record 
of creating and capturing value by managing schemes through the 
planning process, remediation, infrastructure and active asset 
management and development.

We seek to build success for our key stakeholders; our own people, 
our land and assets, shareholders, our partners, our customers and 
our communities.

Our core business purpose is:
Changing places. Creating better futures.

We lead the way in delivering quality places to live and work that 
enhance communities and create opportunities for growth and 
shared returns. Working together with our partners, we deliver 
shared value, aim to build a lasting legacy and contribute to better 
futures for all.

WHAT WE NEED TO  
CREATE VALUE

WHAT WE DO TO  
CREATE VALUE

People
We have unparalleled skills in planning, infrastructure, asset 
management, development and delivery. Our experience and 
expertise give us an unmatched ability to bring complex, 
strategic sites forward to create value.

Strategic insight
We have the strategic insight and local market knowledge to 
exploit market demands and pursue those opportunities that 
generate the greatest value at any one time.

Financial strength
Strong cash flow and rigorous portfolio and capital discipline, 
together with a flexible debt structure, provide us with a robust 
financial platform for business growth.

Land
We are accelerating activity on the 6,000 developable acres we 
own to secure maximum value, with opportunity split broadly 
50/50 between commercial and residential.

Assets
Our income producing portfolio currently has a value of 
£844m, representing £60m of annualised gross rental income 
from over 3,800 tenants. We intend to focus on the high 
quality industrial and logistics sector where we see long-term 
structural growth.

Partners
We develop strong, sustained relationships with our business 
partners and work collaboratively to deliver lasting, successful 
outcomes and a positive legacy.

Communities
We invest – and are invested – in the communities we help 
to build and consider carefully the economic, social and 
environmental impact of our work to ensure that we are 
locally appropriate.

Inputs

14

Invest in new assets and 
opportunities that 
complement our 
strategic objectives and 
where our specialist skills 
can unlock potential

Apply our considerable 
development and asset 
management expertise 
to generate 
opportunities for growth, 
investment and 
momentum, creating 
inspirational and thriving 
new residential spaces 
and businesses.

Retain identified 
industrial/logistics assets 
and sell those assets 
where there is little 
future growth. Reinvest 
the proceeds from these 
sales to accelerate our 
commercial development 
activity or bring forward 
residential land for 
development.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017WHAT WE DO TO  

CREATE VALUE

We aim to improve returns on capital by 
concentrating our activities on sectors that 
have long-term sustainable growth 
characteristics while also enhancing our 
flexibility through tightly controlling 
leverage and reducing the proportion of 
our portfolio invested in land.

Our pipeline of activities is focused on two 
of the most attractive sectors in the UK 
property market – industrial and logistics 
development and housebuilding. 

Celtic Business Park, South Wales
The 48,255 sq ft speculatively built unit let to 
Amazon was sold to Tilstone Industrial Warehouse Ltd 
in early 2017.

Locking Parklands, Weston-super-Mare
St. Modwen Homes has thus far delivered 330 new 
homes at the award-winning development.

CREATING SUSTAINABLE VALUE 
FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

We create vibrant new places where people can live, work and 
thrive. In doing so, we are helping to satisfy housing demand, 
create new jobs, improve the environment and provide a boost 
to the immediate regional and national economy.

Shareholders
Consistent delivery against our strategy has generated 
attractive financial returns for investors. The compound Annual 
Growth Rate of our total accounting return (NAV growth plus 
dividends) was 14% over the past five years and we are 
actively reducing borrowings.

Communities
We are committed to the care and stewardship of the 
communities and environments we regenerate and build. Our 
strong regional teams are embedded in their local areas and 
we work hard to build and maintain positive relationships with 
our partners, customers and local authorities. We deliver new 
employment and training opportunities, working with local 
experts and suppliers. We provide the catalyst for further 
economic growth and inward investment.

People
Our people are skilled, responsive and passionate, and they 
take great pride in what they do. Our teams across the 
company collaborate, share expertise and ideas to ensure that 
we’re delivering the best possible outcomes, for the benefit of 
all our stakeholders.

We are committed to the continuous professional 
development of our people and have comprehensive training 
and apprenticeship programmes to equip them with the right 
skills and expertise.

We are making significant investment in growing our talent 
for the future as well as in our workplace systems and 
environments.

Outputs

15

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR RESOURCES AND 
RELATIONSHIPS

COMMUNITY  
ENGAGEMENT/ 
 AND BEING  
 RESPONSIBLE

16

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017OUR CONNECTIONS 

Partners
A key strength of our business is acting in partnership with public 
and private sector companies. Over time, we have formed strong 
relationships with many organisations, with whom we work 
closely to unlock the development potential from strategic sites. 
We nurture these partnerships to get to know and understand our 
partners, enabling us to create and maintain strong bonds. We take 
ownership and responsibility for projects, providing leadership and 
developing strong lines of communication.

We are able to offer the full suite of property services required 
for our partners to meet objectives and maximise value; from 
planning promotion and master planning, delivery of infrastructure, 
development of both residential and commercial through to 
long-term asset and estate management.

Communities
An integral part of the development process is not only building 
positive relationships with our partners but also other key 
stakeholders and, most importantly, the local communities we 
serve. By focusing on long-term success rather than short-term 
gain we ensure quality and excellence in our projects and create 
a lasting legacy of which we can be proud. 

St. Modwen involves the local community through the lifecycle 
of every project to provide solutions that the community can 
embrace over the long term. Improving the quality of an environment 
means creating and maintaining strong, vibrant communities and 
involving stakeholders in decision-making that affects them. This 
approach is based on developing our understanding of all sectors 
of the community via consultation and communication. Our 
developments touch the lives of many and we recognise how 
proactive engagement with every community helps shape each 
new project for the better. 

Supply chain
To help our understanding of and engagement with the local 
communities in which we work, we encourage the use of local 
sub-contractors, apprentices, resources, and materials through 
our supply chain. As an extension of the St. Modwen team, we 
encourage our supply chain partners to share our approach to 
community engagement, health and safety and quality 
management. A number of our contractors have worked with 
us across multiple schemes and this enhances our working 
relationship and mutual trust.

It is also important for our contractors to adhere to site specific 
as well as Group recycling and reclamation targets which reduce 
both cost and the impact on the environment.

St. Andrew’s Park, Uxbridge
Top: We continue to work with schools 
adjacent to our development portfolio 
to give lessons in health and safety and 
to educate students on careers in the 
property sector.

Longbridge, Birmingham
Above: We have over 3,800 tenants 
across our diverse portfolio and we 
strive to foster excellent relationships 
with them. 

17

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR RESOURCES AND 
RELATIONSHIPS CONTINUED

Assets
When managing our retained assets as well as designing new 
buildings, and indeed when master planning, we are guided by 
our values to deliver sustainable, aesthetically pleasing and 
successful developments. A high quality building, designed to 
reduce energy and water can deliver benefits to both our tenants 
and the environment; in turn creating high quality, sustainable 
and safer communities.

Our retained income portfolio currently has a value of £844m, with 
an annualised gross rental income of £60m from over 3,800 tenants.

In our development projects, we look to recycle as much material 
as we can through demolition. We also build to a sustainable 
specification, which benefits the environment and our tenants.

We are rebalancing our portfolio through our focus on high quality 
industrial/logistics assets and by reducing our exposure to both 
retail and smaller, less efficient assets. The capital generated from 
these sales will be reinvested to help deliver our commercial 
development pipeline to build our industrial and logistics platform. 

Land
Our large, geographically diverse land bank of 6,000 developable 
acres comprises an assortment of sites at varying stages in the 
development cycle, giving us the flexibility to move with market 
trends. We are accelerating activity on the land we own to secure 
maximum value, with opportunity split broadly 50/50 between 
commercial development and residential.

We will continue to pursue acquisitions that complement our skills 
in delivering infrastructure and new communities. We have the 
financial ability to acquire new schemes at the appropriate time 
and are adaptable to change.

Be it greenfield or brownfield, we recognise that land is a finite 
resource; it needs to be treated with care and used wisely. We 
utilise land as prudently as we can by protecting the environment 
and contributing to the social and economic needs of communities. 

Finance
We are enhancing returns through asset recycling and land bank 
utilisation and see strong cash generation from the sale of 
residential land.

We aim to improve returns on capital by concentrating our 
activities on sectors that have long-term structural growth 
characteristics while also enhancing our flexibility through tightly 
controlling leverage and reducing the proportion of our portfolio 
invested in land.

The revenue raised through our value creating activities diversifies 
our cash flow and is then reinvested into new property and 
generates returns for our shareholders.

18

Great Homer Street, Liverpool
Top: As part of our commitment to the 
local communities in which we work, 
we have encouraged the use of local 
sub-contractors, apprentices and locally 
sourced materials.

Bay Campus, Swansea University
Above: The development of the new 
campus at Swansea University has 
seen over 11,000 people employed 
on site since 2013, including 176 
trainees, apprentices and work 
experience students. 

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR PEOPLE 

The expertise, commitment and teamwork of all our people are 
critical to the continued success and growth of the business. On 
1 March 2017, Jane Saint joined the business as Group HR Director to 
further strengthen our approach to people and support our vision 
and strategy.

During the 2016/17 financial year, our aim has been to ensure 
St. Modwen is seen as an inspiring place to work, built around our 
shared purpose and guiding values. Over the next five years we 
will be creating modern working practices and office environments 
and ensuring our systems and the technology is in place to give 
our people the right tools to do their jobs as effectively and safely 
as possible.

Our aim is also to ensure that St. Modwen is a place for 
advancement where it is possible for everyone to develop their 
skills and realise their full potential. We are committed to the 
training and continued professional development of all our 
employees. During the year, we supported employees from all 
areas of the business on a total of 529 training days as well as 
supporting directly (or on site via our contractors) 76 graduates, 
trainees and apprentices across the business.

We also aim to be a place of recognition where we value the 
contribution of each and every employee. During the year we 
launched St. Modwen’s first internal awards named ‘The Mods’. The 
Mods gave people from across the Company an opportunity to 
celebrate the best of the business, to recognise our achievements 
and to thank the person, team or collective group of colleagues 
who embody the best of St. Modwen.

During 2017, we focused on ensuring we have the right 
organisational structure and resources in place, aligned to our 
strategic objectives. Led by Jane and two other Senior Leadership 
Executive colleagues, a team of senior managers from across the 
business was engaged in the organisational design work to 
restructure the business and ensure individuals and teams 
understand the role they play in helping to deliver the strategy.

We are also focusing on creating a culture of empowerment, 
accountability and collaboration. The organisation design work will 
create clear, consistent structures, roles and responsibilities across 
the Group and, in the first quarter of 2018, we will be launching 
tailored management and leadership development programmes.

Our recruitment activities have thus been focused on strengthening 
existing teams to deliver our strategy for growth and providing 
individual development and succession planning. We ended the 
year with 481 employees (2016: 393), a testament to our ability to 
continue to attract, develop and retain individuals who uphold our 
values and strive for excellence.

Employee diversity
Building a diverse and inclusive workforce which reflects the 
communities we work with and where everyone feels valued 
and respected is of paramount importance to us.

In 2018, we will be setting up a working group to help shape our 
new Diversity and Inclusion strategy. In addition, the Company 
adheres to a clear equality policy which sets out individuals’ rights 
and obligations as defined by the Equality Act 2010. 

The accompanying charts set out the number of men and women 
employed (full- and part-time) as at 30 November 2017, across 
our business and split between the Board, our Senior Executive 
Leadership team and our employees.

“Our people are skilled, 
responsive and passionate, 
proud about what they do 
and care about doing the 
right thing. We are putting 
in place the right structures, 
resources and people 
practices we need to achieve 
our aim of becoming 
an Employer of Choice.”

Jane Saint
Group HR Director

The Board

Male (67%)
Female (33%)

Employees

Male (59%)
Female (41%)

3

188

SLE

Male (87%)
Female (13%)

1

6

7

Total

Male (60%)
Female (40%)

192

276

289

For the purposes of the charts above Mark Allan and Rob Hudson are only included 
in the Board figures.

Andrew Eames is excluded from all charts by virtue of his status as an interim employee.

19

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR RESOURCES AND 
RELATIONSHIPS CONTINUED

CORPORATE SOCIAL 
RESPONSIBILITY

We are committed to improving the built environment through 
our projects, transforming areas in need of redevelopment into 
inspirational and thriving communities. 

We understand that regeneration goes beyond bricks and 
mortar; it is about making positive and genuine changes to 
communities, the environment and the economy. We see 
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the process of assessing 
our impact on society, evaluating our responsibilities and taking 
positive actions to improve how we operate and engage with 
people and our environment.

We have a dedicated CSR Steering Committee which meets every 
six weeks, chaired by Rupert Wood, Property Director – Asset 
Management; it includes representatives from each of the 
St. Modwen business disciplines. The Committee sets our strategy 
and helps to ensure we identify and actively pursue CSR initiatives 
across the Company. It reviews progress against our CSR objectives, 
ensures we maintain a best practice approach, and that we 
continue to evolve as the business grows.

Successful CSR initiatives take organisations beyond compliance 
with legislation and corporate governance requirements, and 
lead companies to honour ethical values and respect people, 
communities and the natural environment. A successful CSR 
programme can lead to enhanced financial performance and 
provides a means of improving the attractiveness of a company 
for its people (retention and recruitment), business partnerships 
and communities. 

The CSR Steering Committee will continue to develop and inform 
our CSR strategy. In 2017/18, we will be reviewing our approach to 
CSR, to align, promote and endorse our purpose and values and to 
deliver and promote CSR internally and externally. It will develop 
a framework which identifies opportunities for all our people to 
actively participate in CSR activities and community engagement.

Our 10 CSR objectives
For the 2016/17 financial year, we have continued to use the 10 
CSR objectives which focus our CSR capabilities and lead to further 
positive work being carried out across our business. 

In addition, we are proud to have supported a number of individual 
project-led CSR initiatives this year. Please see our CSR booklet 
which can be found on our website (www.stmodwen-csr.co.uk) for 
more information and to read some of the highlights from the year.

Our progress on our objectives
Support to local schools
Objective for 2016/17: Visit a total of 25 schools adjacent to all our 
large construction sites at least once a year, to provide presentations 
on relevant aspects of education and training. 

Progress: Exceeded (by eight). We have continued to nurture good 
relationships with schools near our development sites. We regularly 
carry out health and safety visits with primary school children and 
have engaged with 33 schools this financial year. The sessions 
provide a good opportunity to inspire pupils about the wide range 
of job opportunities in the construction industry.

20

Renewable energy
Objective for 2016/17: Continue to install solar panels on all 
marketing suites, as new St. Modwen homes sites are completed.

Progress: Achieved. We have successfully installed solar panels on 
all sales centres and over 10% of St. Modwen Homes built, generating 
63,000 kWh energy for the year. 

Rainwater harvesting
Objective for 2016/17: Recycle and re-use rainwater on 35% (by floor 
area) of our speculative(1), new build, industrial unit developments 

Progress: Exceeded (by over 34ppts). We have successfully installed 
rainwater harvesting systems at over 69% of our speculative 
developments.

Re-use and reclamation
Objective for 2016/17: Recycle and re-use over 140,000 tonnes of 
material, in accordance with the Specification for Highway Works, 
to avoid the use of natural quarried materials. 

Progress: Exceeded (by over 208,000 tonnes). We have successfully 
recycled and re-used 348,760 tonnes of material across our sites 
in the year.

Health and safety
Objective for 2016/17: Remain below the industry standard 
Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) (0.4) across our portfolio.

Progress: Achieved. We have successfully achieved an average 
score of 0.22 across the Group, with our asset management 
team scoring 0.21. St. Modwen Homes has scored 0.09; and the 
construction team scored 0.26. 

Objective for 2016/17: Encourage and create opportunities for all 
staff to participate in a variety of Health and Safety training 
activities throughout the year, to embed further our value to put 
safety before anything else. 

Progress: Achieved. We have provided 346 days of health and safety 
training for a wide range of employees throughout the year. 

Smart meters
Objective for 2016/17: Install smart meters in all of our income-
producing properties by 2020.

Progress: On target. We continue to make good progress with this 
target, with 74 installed in the period. We are still working towards 
achieving this objective by 2020.

Public green space
Objective for 2016/17: Create public green spaces, including parks 
and wildlife areas, across a minimum of 100 acres. 

Progress: Exceeded (by over 46 acres). We have successfully created 
over 146 acres of new public open space.

Waste recycling
Objective for 2016/17: Continue to recycle waste to energy 
operators for waste disposal across our shopping centres.

Progress: Achieved. We have successfully increased both recycling 
rates and the volume of waste to energy throughout the period. 
Highlights included: 

•  At Lee Green, London, 100% of waste is now converted to energy

•  The Meads in Farnborough, Hampshire, is recycling or converting 

to energy 99% of waste

•  At Trentham Gardens, 75% of waste is recycled and the remaining 

is recovered for energy

(1)  For the purpose of this objective, our speculative programme is defined as the 

point when construction commences on a building with no designated occupier. 

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Apprenticeships
Objective for 2016/17: Create opportunities for a minimum of 
30 full-time equivalent trainees/graduates or apprentices across 
the Group. 

Progress: Exceeded (by 46). In the year we have employed 76 
trainees, apprentices and graduates across our regional, construction, 
head office and St. Modwen Homes teams.

Considerate Constructors
Objective for 2016/17: Extend the Considerate Constructors Scheme 
across additional regeneration projects.

Progress: Achieved. We have successfully registered 17 Group and 
19 St. Modwen Homes development sites onto the Considerate 
Constructors Scheme. 

Objective for 2016/17: Continue to achieve a minimum 
Considerate Constructors score of at least 36.75/50 on all 
St. Modwen Home schemes.

Progress: Not achieved. This year our St. Modwen Homes schemes 
achieved an average Considerate Constructors score of 36.58, with 
five scores achieving over 40. In future, we will be implementing a 
standard approach for the layout and management of our sites, 
to ensure there is consistency throughout.

Electric car charging points:
Objective for 2016/17: Install electric car charging points in the 
garages or car ports of 10% of the homes at the following three 
St. Modwen Homes sites: Weogoran Park; Longbridge; and 
St. Andrew’s Park.

Progress: Achieved(1). We have successfully installed car charging 
points at three of our 20 live St. Modwen Homes sites.

•  Longbridge has a total of 113 car charging points which equates 

to 50% of the homes

•  St. Andrew’s Park, Uxbridge phase three has 27 car charging 

points installed, or 30% of homes

•  St. Andrew’s Park, Uxbridge phase six has 26 car charging points 

installed, or 40% of homes

Objective for 2016/17: Install electric car charging points at all of our 
commercial speculative schemes across the UK and continue to 
investigate further opportunities.

Progress: Work in progress. Of our four commercial speculative 
schemes developed during the year, we have successfully installed 
car charging points at two of the sites and we continue to 
investigate opportunities for further car charging points to be 
installed at other schemes.

Working with charities
We continue to work with a variety of charities from across the UK 
which have a synergy with our developments. These charities are 
either located within the vicinity of our sites or have similar objectives 
to us around ensuring a sustainable business; creating better 
environments; or supporting the communities which we serve.

(1) We have not included Weogoran Park within these three sites, and instead have 
included two separate phases of construction at St. Andrew’s Park in Uxbridge.

21

Branston Leas, Burton
Top: We have found ways to engage local 
community groups in environment-led 
initiatives. This benefits the local 
ecology and encourages buy-in from 
nearby residents into the larger 
development scheme. 

Kirkby town centre, Merseyside
Above: We carry out a number of 
community engagement activities 
across our portfolio. For instance, we 
host free events throughout the year to 
encourage people to come together. 

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR STRATEGY AND KEY 
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

DRIVING 
RETURNS/  
ENHANCING  
OPERATIONAL  
FLEXIBILITY 

22

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017MEASURING OUR SUCCESS

CHANGING 
PLACES/ 
CREATING  
BETTER  
FUTURES

Our strategy is intended to improve our returns on capital and 
enhance our operational flexibility through tightly controlling 
leverage and reducing the proportion of our portfolio invested in 
land. We believe that successful execution of our strategy will not 
only improve returns, it will also leave us well positioned in an 
uncertain external environment that we expect to present both 
risks and opportunities. 

Our people are central to the delivery of our strategy and we must 
maintain a highly skilled and committed workforce to maximise 
our chance of success.

Objectives

Next steps

•  Improve our financial returns

•  Employ highly skilled 

and motivated people to 
deliver our strategy and 
future growth

•  Have a positive impact 

on communities in which 
we operate

Progress

•  We ended the year with 481 

employees (2016: 393)
testament to our ability to 
attract, develop and retain 
talented individuals

•  Alongside the strategy 
review, the business 
continued to perform well 
delivering trading profit of 
£64.6m and adjusted EPRA 
earnings of £29.4m

•  Profit before all tax 

increased 10.2% to £67.0m 
(2016: £60.8m)

•  We delivered 4.6% growth in 
NAV per share to 450.9 pence 
and 2.3% growth in EPRA 
NAV per share to 471.2 pence

•  Continue to develop and 
execute on our strategy 
and associated business 
plans to improve financial 
returns over time and deliver 
more operational flexibility. 

Principal risks

•  Downturn in external market 
and economic conditions

•  Absence of high quality 
contractors, consultants 
and third parties

•  Unforeseen exposures and 
rising costs and liabilities 
on projects 

•  Reduced availability of 

funding and unforeseen 
changes to cash flow 
requirements

•  Inability to recruit and 

retain staff with the right 
skills and expertise 

Principal risks and 
uncertainties 
See pages 53 to 58

Key performance  
indicators

Trading profit
£m

Adjusted EPRA earnings(1)
£m

See-through LTV 
%

Trading profit, see-through LTV 
and total accounting return are 
used to set targets by which 
financial performance is 
assessed for the purposes of 
calculating executive directors’ 
annual bonuses and (in the 
case of the latter) awards under 
performance share plans. 

Directors’ remuneration 
report
See pages 86 to 109

People engagement
Committed and loyal people 
willing to go the extra mile

73%

(1) Adjusted EPRA earnings is a measure 
of profits which excludes non-cash 
valuation movements and will be 
used as a reference for dividend 
payments in the future. See note 3 
to the Group financial statements.

(2) Our definition of total accounting 
return was revised in the year. See 
note 2 to the Group financial 
statements.

(3) 2015 benefited from a £127.4m 

valuation on our land held at Nine 
Elms Square.

63.3

64.6

56.1

45.7

33.3

29.4

32.7

30.6

29.9

30.5

21.5

24.2

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2016

2017

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

NAV per share
pence

EPRA NAV per share
pence

Total accounting return(2)
%

413.5

431.0

450.9

460.5

471.2

446.4

28.7

325.1

278.8

342.3

297.7

18.1

12.7

5.6

6.0

2013

2014    2015(3) 2016

2017

2013

2014    2015(3) 2016

2017

2013

2014    2015(3)

2016

2017

23

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR STRATEGY AND KEY 
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 
CONTINUED

OUR STRATEGY IS UNDERPINNED BY 
FOUR KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

1

2

3

4

Accelerate commercial 
development activity

Grow our residential and 
housebuilding business

Cement and grow our 
regeneration reputation

Portfolio focus and capital 
discipline

We have a significant pipeline 
of commercial development 
opportunities across our 
extensive land bank. We 
have identified 7.5m sq ft 
of commercial development 
opportunities that are 
deliverable in the medium 
term in high quality and 
desirable locations.

Within our land bank we have 
also identified more than 7,500 
residential units that can be 
developed in the medium term 
by our St. Modwen Homes 
business. In addition, we have 
identified more than 9,000 
units that can be sold to third 
parties by way of residential 
land sales. 

We are committed to 
delivering on our existing 
major regeneration projects 
at Longbridge, Swansea 
University, New Covent Garden 
Market and town centres. 
Regeneration remains a 
significant part of what we 
do at St. Modwen and we 
are focused on unlocking 
the next generation of 
regeneration projects.

We believe we can deliver 
greater returns in the future 
by focusing on fewer projects 
in the sectors with the best 
structural growth prospects. 
We need to balance our plans 
for increasing commercial 
and residential development 
activity against possible 
fluctuations in macroeconomic 
and market conditions. 
Therefore, to further manage 
our potential exposure to 
changes in the external market 
we plan to reduce our levels 
of borrowing.

24

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Objectives

Next steps: 

•  We will prioritise investment 
and focus our commercial 
development activity on 
those sites with the greatest 
potential, in terms of 
expected demand and 
deliverability.

•  Subject to demand and 

market conditions, we will 
target growth of up to 25% 
per annum.

Progress:

•  Across the course of 2017 
we completed 1.4m sq ft 
of new commercial 
development through a 
combination of both ‘Design 
& Build’ and speculative 
development

•  From the 7.5m sq ft medium 

term A1 industrial and 
logistics pipeline we have 
established a number of 
development opportunities 
for 2018 and beyond, with 
our current committed 
pipeline standing at 1.6m sq ft 
at the end of November 2017

•  Subject to market demand, 

we will continue to accelerate 
our commercial development 
activity through delivery of 
the committed pipeline in 
2018 and through progressing 
planning on the 7.5m sq ft 
pipeline of potential future 
developments in 
key locations

•  Enhance our relationship 

with key occupiers across the 
UK by hiring a National Head 
of Leasing

Principal risks:

•  Downturn in external market 
and economic conditions

•  Absence of high quality 
contractors, consultants 
and third parties

•  Unforeseen exposures and 
rising costs and liabilities 
on projects 

•  Reduced availability of 

funding and unforeseen 
changes to cash flow 
requirements

Principal risks and 
uncertainties 
See pages 53 to 58

ACCELERATE OUR COMMERCIAL 
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY

1Having identified 7.5m sq ft of potential development in the 

medium term, we have developed plans to accelerate our 
commercial development activities, subject to risk and prevailing 
market conditions.

Key performance  
indicator

Commercial delivery
sq ft (1,000)

1,422

716

771

623

2014

2015

2016

2017

25

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationOUR STRATEGY AND KEY 
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 
CONTINUED

GROW OUR RESIDENTIAL AND 
HOUSEBUILDING ACTIVITY

2Having identified 16,900 plots for potential development or sale 

in the medium term, we plan to accelerate our residential and 
housebuilding business while maintaining a focus on quality 
and onsite safety.

Key performance  
indicators

St. Modwen Homes
units per annum

Objectives:

Next steps:

•  Subject to continued positive 
market conditions, we plan to 
grow our St. Modwen Homes 
sales volumes by up to 25% 
per annum and maintain our 
current rate of third party 
land disposals. 

Progress:

•  We have grown our 

St. Modwen Homes sales 
volumes materially in 2017, 
selling 694 new homes, up 
from 485 in 2016. 

•  Margins from St. Modwen 
Homes improved to 13.9% 
from 13.4% in 2016, resulting 
in an operating profit of 
£23.3m in the year.

•  In addition to the £190m of 
our share of proceeds from 
the sale of 10 acres of land at 
Nine Elms Square, proceeds 
from other third party sales 
totalled £56m versus £48m 
in 2016.

•  We will continue to grow our 
residential and housebuilding 
business in 2018 and beyond 
through the sale or 
development of the 16,900 
plots identified within our 
land bank. We will continue 
to focus on quality and 
safety to develop a 
foundation upon which 
financial performance can 
be improved even further. 

Principal risks:

•  Downturn in external market 
and economic conditions

•  Absence of high quality 
contractors, consultants 
and third parties

•  Unforeseen exposures 

and rising costs and liabilities 
on projects 

•  Reduced availability of 

funding and unforeseen 
changes to cash flow 
requirements

Principal risks and 
uncertainties 
See pages 53 to 58

694

485

304

257

126

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Residential land sales
£m

66

58

56

48

2014

2015

2016

2017

26

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Objectives:

Next steps:

•  We will continue to deliver 

on our existing regeneration 
projects at Longbridge, 
Swansea, New Covent Garden 
Market and other locations. 

•  We will leverage the 

expertise within our business 
to unlock the next 
generation of regeneration.

Progress:

•  At Bay Campus, Swansea 
we completed the most 
recent phase of student 
accommodation and started 
work on the next phase of 
both academic facilities 
and accommodation.

•  At Longbridge, we delivered 

180 beds of medical 
accommodation for the 
MoD’s DIO, a 260 bed 
retirement village and 38 
new homes.

•  At New Covent Garden 

Market we successfully sold 
the first 10 acres of surplus 
land at the Northern Site and 
continued to make progress 
on the delivery of the new 
market facilities. 

•  Recruit a Head of Major 
Projects to support the 
continued delivery of our 
existing projects as well as 
to identify and secure the 
next generation of 
regeneration projects.

Principal risks:

•  Failure to effectively manage 

our major projects

•  Downturn in external market 
and economic conditions

•  Absence of high quality 
contractors, consultants 
and third parties

•  Unforeseen exposures and 
rising costs and liabilities 
on projects 

•  Reduced availability of 

funding and unforeseen 
changes to cash flow 
requirements

Principal risks and 
uncertainties 
See pages 53 to 58

CEMENT AND GROW OUR 
REGENERATION REPUTATION

3Large scale regeneration projects have demonstrated the impact 

we can have in supporting and regenerating communities over 
the long term. We made noteworthy progress against each of our 
major regeneration projects during 2017 and we were successful 
in securing new opportunities focused on large scale residential 
development.

Key performance  
indicator

Prepared for development 
acres

340

321

329

240

210

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

27

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationObjectives:

Next steps:

•  We will reposition our 

•  During 2018 we plan to 

continue disposing of many 
of our smaller assets and 
reducing our exposure to the 
retail sector. The proceeds 
generated from these 
activities will be reinvested 
into retaining a greater 
proportion of assets from 
our industrial and logistics 
development programme. 

Principal risks:

•  Reduced availability of 

funding and unforeseen 
changes to cash flow 
requirements

Principal risks and 
uncertainties 
See pages 53 to 58

portfolio by reinvesting 
proceeds from our planned 
recycling activities into 
retaining a greater 
proportion of assets from 
our industrial and logistics 
development pipeline.

•  We have clear plans to bring 
LTV (excluding residential) 
under 40% over the medium 
term through retained 
proceeds from our major 
asset sales and a profitable 
cash generative business

Progress:

•  We have made progress on 

the planned disposal of retail 
and smaller assets with terms 
agreed on the disposal of 
approximately £40m

•  See-through net borrowings 
have reduced to £388m, 
down from £517m in 2016 
and our corresponding 
see-through LTV reduced to 
24.2% in 2017 from 30.5% 
in 2016.

•  See-through LTV excluding 

residential, which is 
our preferred measure, fell 
to 37.2% at the end of 2017 
from 54.3% at the end 
of 2016.

OUR STRATEGY AND KEY 
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 
CONTINUED

PORTFOLIO FOCUS AND  
CAPITAL DISCIPLINE

4We are going to focus on fewer, larger projects on sectors with 

the best structural growth prospects – this means that we will 
reposition our income producing portfolio towards the higher 
growth industrial and logistics market and reduce our exposure 
to other sectors, including retail and smaller assets, over time. 

In conjunction with executing on our strategy, we intend to 
bring LTV excluding residential under 40% over the medium term 
to give ourselves greater flexibility and control in an uncertain 
macroeconomic environment.

See-through net borrowings
£m

517.0

489.3

373.7

380.2

388.2

Key performance  
indicators

See-through LTV is used to 
set targets by which financial 
performance is assessed for 
the purposes of calculating 
executive directors’ annual 
bonuses

Directors’ remuneration 
report
See pages 86 to 109

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

See-through LTV 
%

32.7

30.6

29.9

30.5

See-through LTV 
(excluding residential)
%

56.6

55.3

55.6

54.3

24.2

37.2

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

28

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017STRATEGIC 
DELIVERY/  
BUILDING 
LASTING  
LEGACIES

29

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationSTRATEGY IN ACTION

ACCELERATE OUR COMMERCIAL 
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY

We see long-term structural growth in the industrial and 
logistics sector, which will significantly improve the returns we 
generate for the business, and we are well positioned to meet 
the needs of occupiers. We have continued with our speculative 
unit build programme, in response to market demand for good 
quality commercial space in the South West. There is particular 
demand from online retailers for regional fulfilment centres and 
last mile units, which we anticipate will grow. We offer a range 
of size and specification of units to reflect this.

Gateway 12, Gloucestershire
At our 16 acre Gateway 12 development, we completed build 
on two speculative units of 39,000 and 41,000 sq ft respectively 
in October and discussions are progressing with a number of 
interested parties.

We are also underway with the build of a further two speculative 
units of 24,000 and 34,000 sq ft which will be completed for 
occupation in 2018 with interest already being shown. Following 
planning permission in December, we have started on site with 
a final speculative 66,000 sq ft unit which will extend our offering. 
The completion of this final phase in September 2018 will mark 
the conclusion of the £22m Gateway 12 development.

This activity follows the sale of the site’s first two 40,000 sq ft 
speculative buildings in 2016.

Rupert Joseland
Property Director – West and Wales
“Proximity to junction 12 of the M5 makes Gateway 12 a clear 
choice for businesses looking for prime quality industrial and 
warehousing space and our speculative building on site seeks to 
meet this demand. Being close to a number of major residential 
areas, Gateway 12 is also an ideal place for last mile units. Our 
momentum continues in the region with the start of our 
programme of commercial development activity at our site in 
Quedgeley East, just over one mile from Gateway 12.”

We have continued to focus on securing design and build 
solutions for occupiers for sale or rent; our expertise in nurturing 
existing and cultivating new relationships with potential occupiers 
positions us well for growth. The proportion of our committed 
industrial and logistics pipeline being developed pre-let or 
pre-sold has grown to 41% (May 2017: 27%). A key deal secured 
and started on site this financial year has been the new 
manufacturing facility for Spanish Company Construcciones y 
Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) at Celtic Business Park in Newport, 
South Wales.

30

Speculative commercial build in 2017 

800,000 sq ft

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Celtic Business Park, Newport, South Wales 
Following the lease to Amazon and the subsequent sale to 
Tilstone Industrial Warehouse Ltd of the speculatively built 48,255 
sq ft warehouse in early 2017 at Celtic Business Park, construction 
started on the new 165,000 sq ft train assembly facility for CAF in 
August 2017. 

Due for completion in July 2018, this bespoke facility will be used 
to produce a wide range of rail transport vehicles, including trams 
and high speed trains. 

Richard Powell
Construction Director
“This is one of a number of exciting and unique projects for 
St. Modwen. We have worked closely with CAF to create an 
intelligent and simple design whilst dealing with complex 
sub-structure solutions housing an intricate production facility. 
We are connecting into an existing rail line on the adjacent site 
so are working closely with our neighbours, Tata Steel. In addition, 
we are installing substantial cranes with the capacity to lift 25 
tonnes into the infrastructure of CAF’s building and tracks to 
ensure their new facility is fit for purpose. Ultimately we are 
delivering a product which offers longevity and is of the 
highest possible standard whilst working to the client’s tight 
production schedule.”

Jointly funded by the Welsh Government, CAF expects the plant 
to employ around 200 staff when it opens in 2018, rising to 300 
by 2019, as well as running training and apprenticeship schemes.

Committed development pipeline of industrial/logistics space 

Over 1m sq ft

31

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationSTRATEGY IN ACTION  
CONTINUED

GROW OUR RESIDENTIAL AND 
HOUSEBUILDING BUSINESS

This financial year St. Modwen Homes has experienced 
continued demand for new homes with sales volumes for the 
year growing by 43% to 694 homes. The business continues its 
unique offering of delivering high quality homes which stand 
out from the competition. Our architects ensure the layout of 
each development is sensitive to its surroundings and each 
home is designed with large windows and higher than average 
ceilings to allow light to flood through.

In its sixth year of trading, St. Modwen Homes is now selling 
homes on 16 sites and building on 20 across the UK. On the 
back of this continued success, the recent identification of 7,500 
plots from our existing land bank for St. Modwen Homes to 
draw down and utilise means that our residential business has 
a significant and strong foundation for further growth.

32

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Trentham Manor, Stoke-on-Trent 
At Trentham Manor we have accelerated sales with 95 homes 
completed and six exchanged for the first phase of 132 units. To 
encourage a sense of community, St. Modwen Homes has built 
a new children’s play area at the development and also provides 
free membership to all home owners for access to our 725 acre 
leisure scheme, Trentham Estate and Gardens, just a short distance 
from Trentham Manor. We have been successful in attracting local 
buyers to the development, with a recent homebuyer survey 
showing 95% of buyers at Trentham Manor previously lived in 
Stoke-on-Trent, with the remaining 5% coming from the wider 
Staffordshire region. 

St. Modwen Homes will soon be launching its new development 
of an additional 130 homes in Stoke-on-Trent at Victoria Park, the 
former Victoria Ground football stadium site. 

Dave Smith
Managing Director, St. Modwen Homes
“Trentham Manor won the top accolade at this year’s 
Housebuilder Awards which looks to celebrate the best residential 
developments in the country. St. Modwen Homes was celebrated 
for its commitment to the local community, its house designs and 
quality of build, all of which have helped transform the former site 
of Hem Heath Colliery into a desirable place to live. This is the 
second year in a row that St. Modwen Homes has won the Best 
Regeneration Initiative category, having taken home the top 
award for Branston Leas in Burton-upon-Trent in 2016. We are now 
looking forward to continuing this success in the region with the 
launch of Victoria Park later in 2018.”

St. Modwen Homes are currently rated 5-star by the Home 
Builders Federation 

5-star rating – HBF

33

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationSTRATEGY IN ACTION  
CONTINUED

CEMENTING AND GROWING OUR 
REGENERATION REPUTATION

We have been successful with a number of large-scale acquisition 
opportunities. These projects reflect the Government’s agenda 
for developing more housing and employment spaces which 
complement our skills in delivering complex, mixed-use 
communities and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, we aim to deliver brilliantly our existing portfolio of 
large-scale regeneration projects. These projects exemplify our 
commitment to fulfil our core business purpose. We are building 
new communities and creating lasting legacies of which we can 
be proud.

Longbridge, South Birmingham 
At Longbridge, we are paving the way for the delivery of more 
new family homes with the recent land sale to housebuilder 
Taylor Wimpey. The seven acre site already has detailed planning 
consent for 95 homes and work began in November. This follows 
the launch of St. Modwen Homes’ second phase of its new 
residential development at Longbridge, named Crofton Grange 
where the Company is building 226 homes, of which 38 are 
already completed with a further 10 reserved.

Guy Gusterson
Property Director – Midlands and North
“Longbridge is changing day by day and is increasingly becoming 
a destination for people to live, work and enjoy their leisure time. 
We have continued to foster a strong local community across the 
existing Town Centre and have hosted 14 community led events 
in this financial year alone. In addition, this financial year saw us 
hand over a six storey, purpose built, 180 bed building for the 
Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, delivered on behalf of the 
Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The recent activity on site 
is further confirmation of the fundamental transformation that 
is taking place to create an innovative community space and 
breathe new life into a former industrial site.”

Our large-scale regeneration projects also include Bay Campus 
at Swansea University and New Covent Garden Market. These, 
too, demonstrate the positive difference we can make socially, 
environmentally and economically. All three projects have 
contributed significantly to their local environments, not just by 
protecting jobs, but also by increasing employment opportunities 
and providing much needed housing and education facilities. 
Each showcases the depth and range of our skills across our 
portfolio. Most significantly they also create opportunities for 
growth, encouraging investment and promoting business which 
helps to drive the wider economy with clear benefits for everyone 
invested in the scheme.

34

Community events hosted at Longbridge this year 

14

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017New Covent Garden Market, Nine Elms, London 
At New Covent Garden Market, we have this year completed and 
opened the new 89,000 sq ft interim flower market for the Covent 
Garden Market Authority which supplies 75% of London’s florists. 
This complements the completed work on site, including the 
refurbishment of the existing multi-storey car park, the provision 
of a new recycling and waste facility (featuring rooftop 5-a-side 
football pitches for use by the local resident population), a welfare 
block and a new vehicular entrance plaza. The completion of the 
Food Exchange, around 50,000 sq ft, is the next step in the 
exciting evolution of the market.

Following the vacation of the former Flower Market at Nine Elms 
Square, in August 2017, we successfully completed on the sale 
of this 10-acre parcel of land for £470m. This was held in joint 
venture with VINCI plc and St. Modwen’s share of the proceeds 
was £190m.

Tim Seddon
Property Director – South East
“At New Covent Garden Market, we have continued momentum 
to deliver modern new space for the flower market so that it can 
continue its long and proud wholesale tradition within London. 
The sale of Nine Elms Square has released capital for further 
development across the remaining 47 acres at New Covent 
Garden Market, including the development over the next seven 
years of over 500,000 sq ft of wholesale market facilities and 
residential, commercial and community amenities at Nine Elms 
Gardens and Nine Elms Grove. In line with our strategy, the 
proceeds from the transaction have also been used to reduce 
Group borrowings.”

London florists using interim flower market 

75%

35

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationSTRATEGY IN ACTION  
CONTINUED

PORTFOLIO FOCUS AND 
CAPITAL DISCIPLINE 

Following the Group’s strategic review, it was decided to centralise 
our Asset Management function to drive performance and the 
operational efficiency through the retained income portfolio.

Whilst we have continued to pro-actively manage our assets 
to drive rental and capital growth we have, over the last year, 
begun to recycle assets out of the retained income portfolio as 
planned, allowing us to start to rebalance our portfolio towards 
the industrial and logistic sector where we see greater long-term 
structural growth. This will be delivered through our commercial 
development activity. 

The Asset Management team is working closely with the 
Commercial Development teams to identify the industrial and 
logistics developments that we should retain for the retained 
income portfolio. An example of this is the retention of BG87 
at our Burton Gateway development.

36

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Burton Gateway, Burton-on-Trent 
In August 2017, at Burton Gateway we successfully let the 
speculatively built 87,000 sq ft unit to global logistics experts 
Hellman Worldwide Logistics on a 10-year lease, which we have 
subsequently kept as part of our retained income portfolio. 
Burton Gateway has outline consent for 1m sq ft of industrial 
space and we have recently received planning consent for the 
next phase of development of more than 100,000 sq ft of 
speculative industrial space over three units.

This demonstrates our focus in delivering our key objective of 
retaining new industrial and logistics developments that will allow 
us to reshape our retained income portfolio as we recycle out of 
some of our existing assets.

Rupert Wood
Property Director – Asset Management
“The retention of developments such as Burton Gateway allows 
us to drive forward with our asset recycling strategy and build 
a quality industrial and logistics portfolio.”

Planned industrial development space to be retained for 
income in 2018 

Over 700,000 sq ft

37

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationPORTFOLIO AND 
OPERATIONAL REVIEW

PERFORMING 
WELL/ 
OPERATING 
EFFICIENTLY 

38

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Portfolio value 

£1.7bn

Industrial/logistics pipeline

c. £700m

Portfolio focus and capital discipline
Valuation performance
Our portfolio was valued at £1.7bn at the end of November 2017. 
Adjusted for investments and disposals, our portfolio value 
increased by 2.6% during the year. This valuation uplift was largely 
driven by development gains and an increase in the value of our 
industrial portfolio, partly offset by a modest weakening in retail 
values and the New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) cost provision.

The value of our income producing portfolio, which makes up 51% 
of our total portfolio (2016: 45%), increased by 1.5%. Industrial/
logistics values increased 6.2%, reflecting a combination of yield 
compression and rental value growth. Retail values were down 2.1% 
as valuation yields softened and other assets (mostly PRS/student 
housing) were up 0.8%. Overall, our income producing portfolio 
was valued at an equivalent yield of 7.5% at the end of November, 
which was down 20bps for the year on a like-for-like basis. 

The remainder of our portfolio consists of a combination of current 
developments (19%) and land earmarked for future development 
(30%). Commercial land values were up 3.5% during the year, whilst 
commercial developments were up 15.9%. Residential land values 
were up 1.1%, as increases in value of land at NCGM and other sites 
including South Ockenden were partly offset by the increased cost 
provision for NCGM.

Looking forward to 2018, we expect retail values will continue to 
see some further softening, but good investment and occupational 
demand continues to underpin industrial/logistics values. We 
expect upside in land values to be largely reliant on potential 
further planning gains.

Industrial/logistics

Retail

Other

Income producing portfolio

Of which high yield

Of which investment

Residential developments(2)

Commercial developments

Total developments(3)

Residential land

Commercial land

Total land

Total portfolio

Value
£m

306

343

195

844

332

512

203

120

323

358

139

497

1,664

(1) Portfolio valuation movements exclude current residential developments.

(2) Includes land held by St. Modwen Homes for future development.

(3) Excludes inventories of £39m included within the income producing portfolio.

Valuation 
movement(1)
%

Net initial 
yield
%

Equivalent 
yield
%

LFL equivalent 
yield shift
bps

LFL ERV 
growth
%

6.7

6.4

5.6

6.3

6.7

6.1

8.2

7.7

6.0

7.5

8.6

6.7

(30)

10

–

(20)

(40)

–

3.9

(0.1)

1.7

1.7

1.9

1.5

6.2

(2.1)

0.8

1.5

3.7

–

N/A

15.9

15.9

1.1

3.5

1.7

2.6

39

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationPORTFOLIO AND OPERATIONAL 
REVIEW CONTINUED

Operational performance 
Our £844m income producing portfolio currently generates £60m 
in annualised passing rent. Like-for-like rent increased 3.3% during 
2017, with 6.7% growth in industrial ahead of 1.2% growth in retail. 
Overall vacancy increased from 10.7% in November 2016 to 11.7% 
in November 2017, partly due to a number of larger lease expiries 
in assets which have been taken offline for planned refurbishment. 
Part of our vacancy is deliberately held back for future 
redevelopments.

Excluding developments, we signed almost two million sq ft of new 
leases and lease renewals during the year generating £11.6m of 
annualised rental income, on average 15% above previous passing 
rent and 1% above November 2016 ERVs. The overall ERV of our 
income portfolio currently stands at £74.8m. Our average remaining 
lease term to first break increased slightly to 5.3 years (2016: 5.2 years).

value), two industrial assets where we believe further upside was 
limited for £19m (18% above book value) and four non-industrial 
developments for £27m. We also stepped up the disposal of 
residential land and sold 54 acres of oven-ready land for the 
construction of 1,188 new homes for £56m (2016: £48m), capitalising 
on the continued good levels of demand from housebuilders.

Since the end of November 2017, we have completed the disposal 
of the existing 2,005-bed student accommodation at Bay Campus, 
Swansea University in a deal which releases £87m of capital, with 
gross proceeds of £139m partially offset by the transfer of the 
corresponding finance lease creditor. We have also disposed of an 
industrial asset in Eastleigh (£10m our share) and the last phase of 
residential land at Mill Hill, North London (£16m our share). On 
average, these deals were in line with the latest book value.

Amount(1) 

Initial yield(2) 

Passing 
rent(1)
£m

Vacancy
%

LFL rent 
growth
%

Acquisitions during 2017

Industrial/logistics

Retail

Other

ERV
£m

27.2

31.2

16.4

21.7

23.5

15.0

Total income 
producing portfolio

74.8

60.2

13.1

13.8

6.5

11.7

6.7

1.2

0.9

3.3

(1) Excluding £2.7m (ERV £3.6m) of passing rent on land and £0.8m of turnover rent 

at Trentham Gardens.

During the year we created a centralised asset management 
function as part of our new organisational design. Historically our 
income producing portfolio was largely held to cover the running 
cost of the business through its relatively high rental yield and to 
act as a source of future redevelopment potential, but over the next 
few years income producing assets will start to make up a much 
larger part of our portfolio and should become a performance 
driver in their own right. The planned sale of our c. 100 smallest 
assets of on average £1m each, retention of the majority of our 
industrial/logistics developments, disposal of more of our retail 
assets and focused asset management approach is expected to 
lead to opportunities to improve operational efficiency over the 
next few years. The effects of this will mostly become visible in 
2019 and 2020 rather than 2018, as there is a time-lag before our 
current initiatives translate into actual results.

Investments and disposals
2017 has been an active year, marking the start of a significant shift 
in the shape of our portfolio. Excluding our housebuilding activities, 
we have invested £213m in developments and acquisitions, which 
was more than offset by £324m in disposals during the period and 
a further £165m since the year end.

As we have substantial potential to invest in our own pipeline at 
much higher returns than those available in the current investment 
market, we have been very selective in acquisitions. We acquired 
£68m of assets, of which £49m comprised land drawdowns under 
existing development agreements for near-term development 
starts, principally at Uxbridge and Wantage. We also acquired a £7m 
industrial asset in Speke (Merseyside) where we see potential to 
redevelop and significantly increase the current 368,000 sq ft space.

We have been very active on the disposal side, having sold £324m 
of assets during the year. The largest deal was the disposal of Nine 
Elms Square, New Covent Garden Market for a total consideration of 
£470m. This was in line with the May 2017 valuation and released 
£190m net proceeds for our share of the site. In addition, we have 
sold 25 small assets for a total amount of £27m (15% above book 

40

Residential land 

Commercial land

Industrial

Total 
Disposals during 2017(3)

Nine Elms Square, NCGM

Residential land

Commercial land

Industrial

Retail/PRS/other

Small assets 

Total 
Disposals post-year end(3)

Swansea University

Industrial

Residential land

Total

£m

47

14

7

68

190

56

5

19

27

27

324

139

10

16

165

%

N/A

N/A

9.7

9.7

N/A

N/A

N/A

6.8

N/A

6.1

6.4

5.7

8.1

N/A

5.9

(1) Based on the Group’s net share of amounts relating to joint ventures.

(2) Income producing assets excluding land.

(3) Excluding land transfers to St. Modwen Homes and completed home sales.

In 2018 we will continue to rebalance our portfolio to those sectors 
which offer the best return prospects. We expect to sell more of our 
remaining small asset portfolio, now comprising 80 assets valued at 
c. £80m, and more of our retail assets as we target a total disposal 
volume for these types of assets of around £100-150m. We plan to 
recycle this capital into retaining more of our industrial/logistics 
developments. We will also look to accelerate the release of capital 
from our land bank and plan to pursue new projects mostly on a 
‘capital light’ development agreement basis where our initial capital 
outlay is limited. We have already increased our exposure to income 
producing assets to 51% (2016: 45%) and intend to grow this further 
over the next few years, recognising the significant cost of holding 
non-income producing land over time. We will remain very 
selective in terms of acquisitions, as we generally see better returns 
from investing our capital in our own developments than 
competing for existing assets.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017St. Andrew’s Park, Uxbridge
This 110 acre site boasts a new primary school and will provide 
over 1,300 new family homes. St. Andrew’s Park has a rich 
history and as the former RAF Uxbridge played a pivotal role in 
the Battle of Britain. The development is home to the Battle of 
Britain Bunker museum and operations room as well as the 
Grade II listed Hillingdon House, which sits at the heart of the 
park and is set to become home to a new restaurant.

What we did
The vision for St. Andrew’s Park is to create a thriving, 
sustainable community in the heart of Uxbridge, comprising 
a comprehensive range of imaginative new homes, in a highly 
accessible, well connected location. New homes are being 
developed in several phases including 85 St. Modwen Homes, 
currently under construction.

How the community gained
The new John Locke Academy school has already welcomed its 
first students. A new 40 acre park will provide a green heart and 
a focus for recreation.

41

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationPORTFOLIO AND OPERATIONAL 
REVIEW CONTINUED

Longbridge, South Birmingham
Longbridge is a 468 acre regeneration site which sits south 
of Birmingham city centre and is being transformed into a 
mixed-use, high quality urban environment. It has a worldwide 
reputation as the historical home to the Austin Mini and has 
latterly retained a 60 acre research and production facility for 
MG Motors.

What we did
St. Modwen has worked on significantly regenerating Longbridge 
and has successfully reinvigorated employment in the area 
through the completion of Longbridge Innovation Centre, Devon 
Way and the Cofton Centre. St. Modwen has also successfully 
completed the first two phases of the town centre, including a 
new £66m purpose built college and over 350 new homes.

How the community gained
The regeneration of Longbridge is expected to create up to 
10,000 new jobs through a diverse range of employment 
opportunities. The town centre now attracts over 64,000 
shoppers each week and in 2017 alone we hosted 14 free public 
events in the town centre. The ripple effect of the regeneration 
of Longbridge is evident and looks on course to become the 
driving force for prosperity and social wellbeing in the area.

42

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Commercial development
In 2017 we invested £145m in commercial development, delivering 
£30.6m in profits (2016: £30.4m). Including 0.9m sq ft industrial/
logistics space, we completed 1.4m sq ft of commercial projects, 
with a total GDV of £216m. We will retain £73m of this and have 
already secured 54% of the associated c. £6m ERV with a further 
11% under offer. Around 60% of this was still held as development 
assets at 30 November 2017, whilst the rest has already been 
transferred to the income producing portfolio. Key completions 
included the latest 543-bed phase of student housing at Swansea, 
which we sold to UPP following the year end as part of a larger 
transaction, a 180-bed Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at 
Longbridge which we pre-sold to the MoD’s DIO, 78,000 sq ft 
industrial space at Parkside which we let to Bosch and DB Schenker, 
and 153,000 sq ft logistics space at Tamworth which is currently being 
marketed and where we are seeing good levels of tenant interest. 

Our current committed pipeline of 1.6m sq ft has a total GDV of 
£326m, development cost of £272m (2016: £198m) and a further 
£178m cost to complete. The majority of this 1.6m sq ft is focused 
on industrial and logistics, which we anticipate to deliver a yield 
on cost of c. 8% and a profit on cost of c. 20%, with an expected 
overall GDV of £126m, of which we expect to retain the majority. 
Around 90% of our committed pipeline is in sectors where the 
structural outlook is positive, including the next phase of 
development at Swansea Bay and PRS at Uxbridge. Reflecting the 
healthy occupational demand for our assets, our industrial and 
logistics committed pipeline is currently 40% pre-let/sold (2016: 21%), 
with key lettings of 164,900 sq ft to Spanish train manufacturer 
CAF at Celtic Business Park and 113,000 sq ft to global automotive 
manufacturing firm Grupo Antolin at Barton Business Park.

No. of 
projects

Area 
msq ft

Total 
cost(1)
£m

Cost to 
complete 
£m

Pre-let/
sold 
%

ERV 
£m

Industrial/
logistics 
– retained

Industrial/
logistics – other

Industrial/
logistics – total

Retail

Other

Total

(1) Including land.

5.1

8

4

12

2

7

21

0.7

0.3

1.0

0.1

0.5

1.6

61

40

101

28

143

272

46

23

69

23

86

178

19

76

40

49

41

41

As part of our strategic review during the year, we identified our 
existing commercial land bank had the potential to deliver 17.3m sq 
ft of industrial/logistics space in the long term. Of this, we identified 
7.5m sq ft which could be delivered in the next five years based on 
planning and strength of location, most of which is located in the 
Midlands and South West. We plan to accelerate the delivery of this 
7.5m sq ft over the next few years, but the short lead-time of these 
schemes means we retain flexibility should demand for space 
unexpectedly deteriorate. Including land preparation costs, the 
expected future capex on these projects is c. £490m, on top of a 
current land value of c. £90m. With an expected ERV of c. £45m these 
projects should deliver a yield on cost of c. 8% and profit on cost of 
c. 20%, with a yield on incremental capex investments of over 9%.

In 2018 we plan to grow the amount of industrial/logistics space 
we deliver by up to 25% subject to market demand and we will 
work on preparing our pipeline for 2019 and 2020 such that we 
maintain the potential to deliver a similar growth rate. Given the 
high quality of industrial and logistics assets we build and positive 
medium-term outlook for these locations, we intend to retain the 
majority of these developments. A large part of our development 
profits will therefore become non-cash revaluation gains, although 
this change has no impact on our overall profitability. We will also 
continue to progress our pipeline of PRS and student accommodation 
opportunities, but managing these assets efficiently in the long 
run requires a platform and scale we do not envisage building up 
ourselves. In addition, we intend to sharpen the focus of our 
commercial land holdings to those locations where we see most 
near-term development upside. 

Residential development – housebuilding
The UK housebuilding market remains resilient, especially in the 
regions, which is where the bulk of our activities are focused. As 
such, we have continued to see good demand for new homes built 
by our housebuilding subsidiary St. Modwen Homes, which sold 
694 units during the year. This marked a 43% increase for the year 
(2016: 485), whilst the average private sales price increased 19% to 
£259,000 (2016: £217,000). Like-for-like private sales prices increased 
6%, reflecting the good demand for our high-quality houses, with 
the balance due to an increase in average unit size and the mix of 
sites, including Uxbridge. 

St. Modwen Homes retained its 5-star customer service and quality 
status from the HBF and gained RoSPA Gold safety accreditation, 
demonstrating that growth does not have to come at the expense 
of quality or safety. This will remain a key focus going forward. Net 
operating margins increased to 13.9% (2016: 13.4%), but as we 
transfer land to St. Modwen Homes at market value instead of at 
historic cost and do so on a ‘just in time’ basis for development, we 
estimate this continues to artificially reduce margins by c. 3ppt.

St. Modwen Homes: key operating metrics

Private units sold 

Affordable units sold

Total units sold

Private sales rate (units/week)

Average sales-active sites

Average private selling price (£k)

Average affordable selling price (£k)

Operating margin (%)

2017

619

75

694

0.8

15

259

97

13.9

2016

438

47

485

0.8

11

217

90

13.4

Change

41.3%

59.6%

43.1%

–

36.4%

19.4%

7.8%

0.5ppt

Overall, housebuilding activities contributed £31.4m operating 
profit for the year (2016: £27.1m). Reflecting its strong growth, 
St. Modwen Homes delivered a 52% increase in operating profit 
to £23.3m (2016: £15.3m). This more than offsets the reduction in 
operating profit from our Persimmon JV to £8.1m (2016: £11.8m) as 
this continues to scale down its activities as planned, having sold 
227 units during the year (2016: 402). 

43

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationPORTFOLIO AND OPERATIONAL 
REVIEW CONTINUED

For 2018, we expect sales volumes for St. Modwen Homes to grow 
by up to 25%, but despite this strong growth our focus remains first 
and foremost on retaining our high quality and safety standards. 
St. Modwen Homes was actively selling on an average of 15 sites 
during 2017 (2016: 11), which we expect to increase to 20 in 2018. 
We expect volumes in the Persimmon JV to reduce by around half 
as it continues to wind down its activities over the next two years, 
but we expect the reduction in profits from this to be more than 
offset by growth in St. Modwen Homes’ profits. We expect 
St. Modwen Homes’ operating margins to improve by a similar 
level as in 2017 and still see room to improve margins by 2-3ppt 
over the medium term.

Residential development – residential land
During 2017 we secured planning consent for more than 2,000 new 
homes (2016: 1,670), including 370 at Longbridge and 200 at Victoria 
Ground, Stoke-on-Trent. At the end of 2017 our residential land 
bank comprised approximately 22,000 plots (2016: 25,000), mostly 
in the Midlands and South West, plus an additional 2,400 plots 
where development is subject to third party consent.

As part of our strategic review this year, we indicated that we 
intend to grow sales volumes in St. Modwen Homes by up to 25% 
per year over the next couple of years, but even at this pace it 
would take us well over 15 years to work through our current land 
bank. We therefore earmarked 7,700 plots for St. Modwen Homes 
and plan to sell most of the remaining plots to other housebuilders 
over the next few years to realise the value we have created. We 
already sold 1,188 plots during the year and we continue to see 
good demand from housebuilders. Notable deals included sales at 
Mill Hill (609 units) and Ellesmere Port (327 units). Combined with 
the sale of Nine Elms Square, the sale of the final phase of Mill Hill 
following the year end reduced the London exposure of our 
residential land bank from approximately 46% to 11%.

Major regeneration projects
In 2017 we have continued to make good progress at our three 
major regeneration projects, Longbridge, New Covent Garden 
Market and Swansea, whilst we agreed two new major residential-
led projects in Wantage and Buckover which will deliver a total 
of 4,500 homes.

At Bay Campus, Swansea we successfully completed the latest 
543-bed phase of student accommodation ahead of the 2017/18 
academic year, taking the total number of students living on 
campus to approximately 2,000. Since the year end we have sold 
the existing student accommodation to UPP for gross proceeds of 
£139m, with net proceeds of £87m reflecting the transfer of the 
associated finance lease creditor. This transaction introduces an 
experienced operator on campus whilst releasing funds for us to 
invest in the next phases of development. We have started the 
development of the next phase of academic facilities and the next 
400 of the remaining 2,000 beds of student accommodation, which 
will complete in summer 2018 and early 2019 and have a GDV of 
over £50m, and we continue to work closely with Swansea 
University to progress the remaining substantial future 
development opportunities. 

Longbridge saw the completion of the development of 180 beds 
of key worker accommodation for the MoD’s DIO, a 260-apartment 
Extracare retirement village and further new homes by St. Modwen 
Homes and other housebuilders. With the overall project c. 50% 
developed, we will continue to progress further development.

At New Covent Garden Market, via our JV with VINCI, we sold 
10 acres of land at Nine Elms Square for £470m, crystallising a 
substantial profit and releasing net proceeds of £190m for our 50% 
share. The JV continues to work on the relocation of the existing 
market facilities, which will be ongoing for a number of years. 
Following the disposal of Nine Elms Square we have undertaken 
a full review of the remaining works. The complicated nature of 
working on a site with a live market and an anticipated extended 
duration of the project have resulted in an increase in expected 
construction costs, with our share of this increase being £24.6m. 
This was partly offset by a £14.5m increase in the value of our land 
holdings. Our share of the remaining 10 acres of land, which will be 
released upon completion of the market relocation, is now valued 
at c. £6m per acre.

During the year we secured two new large residential-led 
developments. At Kingsgrove, Wantage we signed a development 
agreement to deliver a mixed-use community of 1,500 homes over 
the next 10-15 years across a 227-acre site and St. Modwen Homes 
commenced works in late 2017. We also signed a development 
agreement to deliver Buckover Garden Village, a new community 
of up to 3,000 homes in Gloucestershire over the next 25 years, 
together with our development partner, the Tortworth Estate. We 
anticipate submitting a planning application for the 536-acre site 
during the second half of 2018. 

Looking forward, we will continue to pursue new regeneration 
opportunities on a ‘capital light’ basis, but as these new projects 
are opportunistic by nature, it is difficult to make specific forecasts 
for this.

44

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Parkside Business Park, Doncaster
A 27 acre strategic development site, situated close to Doncaster 
Town Centre and within easy reach of the M18 and A1, Parkside 
is one of the largest managed business parks in Doncaster.

What we did
Outline consent for 250,000 sq ft of business units on the 
development plot was granted in December 2015, including 
detailed planning consent for two high-specification units of 
36,846 and 41,095 sq ft. St. Modwen remediated the land for 
these first two units which included the recycling of more 
than 13,000 tonnes of concrete.

How the community gained
These units have recently been let to Bosch for an Automotive 
Training Centre and to Schenker for a servicing facility for the 
East Coast Main line. In summer 2018, St. Modwen will complete 
the speculative development of two more versatile units which 
will further satisfy the shortage of mid-size industrial units in the 
South Yorkshire market.

45

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationFINANCIAL REVIEW

DURING THE YEAR, WE HAVE 
DELIVERED A SOLID PERFORMANCE 
IN SPITE OF CONTINUED 
UNCERTAINTY, AND HAVE MADE 
GOOD PROGRESS IN REDUCING 
OUR LEVERAGE. 

Rob Hudson
Chief Financial Officer

Overview
During the year, we have delivered a solid performance in spite 
of the continuing uncertain market environment and have made 
strong progress in delivering upon the portfolio focus and capital 
discipline element of our strategy. NAV per share increased 4.6% to 
450.9 pence (2016: 431.0 pence) and EPRA NAV per share increased 
2.3% to 471.2 pence (2016: 460.5 pence) in spite of an 8.3 pence or 
1.8% reduction as a result of deferred tax crystallising on the sale of 
land at Nine Elms Square. The underlying business performed well, 
as evidenced by trading profits of £64.6m (2016: £56.1m), and total 
valuation gains increased considerably to £34.6m (2016: £4.1m). As 
previously noted, the review of NCGM resulted in an increase in our 
share of the forecast market cost estimate of £24.6m. However, the 
£34.6m valuation gains above include our share of an uplift in the 
value of the land at Nine Elms Square of £14.5m, which together 
with the market cost increase results in a combined charge to the 
income statement of £10.1m.

Shortly after the year end, we refinanced £488m of bilateral 
secured debt facilities with a £475m unsecured revolving credit 
facility with an initial maturity of five years which can be extended 
to a maximum of seven years, subject to lender consent. In line 
with our strategic plans, the refinancing provides a reduced cost 
of debt and improved operational flexibility. The transition to 
unsecured debt financing provides us with the option to extend 
further our debt maturity profile and diversify our sources of 
unsecured finance ahead of the maturity of our £100m convertible 
bond and £80m retail bond in 2019.

Presentation of financial information 
Due to the number of significant joint venture arrangements, the 
statutory financial statement disclosures do not always provide a 
straightforward way of understanding our business. Reconciliations 
between all the statutory and non-statutory measures and the 
explanations as to why the non-statutory measures give valuable 

46

further insight into the Group’s performance are given in note 2 
to the Group financial statements. In particular, profit before all 
tax is used because it reflects the way the Group is run on a 
proportionally consolidated basis, and because it also removes the 
taxation effects on equity accounted entities from the statutory 
profit before tax figure. The Group has four material joint ventures, 
three of which are in partnership with VINCI and one in partnership 
with Salhia. The VINCI joint ventures comprise the NCGM operation 
and joint ventures at Uxbridge and Mill Hill (the latter through The 
Inglis Consortium), both of which are engaged in the remediation 
and subsequent sale of land. The Salhia joint venture, Key Property 
Investments (KPI), owns a portfolio of principally income producing 
industrial assets acquired between 1998 and 2002.

Our key performance metrics include a new measure of adjusted 
EPRA earnings and an adjusted EPRA EPS calculation, which exclude 
non-cash valuation gains and losses. As our residential developments 
are built to sell, residential profits are cash-based and therefore 
included in this metric, but as our commercial developments will 
now be predominantly built to hold, commercial development 
profits will be largely non-cash in the future. As such, these are 
excluded from adjusted EPRA earnings, other than development 
fee income. This change has no impact on our overall profitability.

Our current dividend policy is linked to NAV growth, but this 
includes non-cash items which cannot directly fund dividends. 
In order to align our dividend policy to cash profitability we 
therefore intend to pay a dividend equivalent to approximately 
50% of adjusted EPRA EPS from the year ending 30 November 
2018, with the aim of providing a sustainable, progressive dividend 
for our shareholders.

Our total dividend payable for 2017 is 6.28 pence (2016: 6.00 pence), 
an increase of 4.7% in line with NAV growth.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Gross rental and other income

Property outgoings

Other net income

Net rental and other income

Commercial property profits

Residential property profits

Administrative expenses

Net cash finance costs 

Trading profit

Investment property revaluation gains

Change in cost to establish a market in Nine Elms

Net non-cash finance costs

Profit before all tax

Taxation

Profit for the year

Less non-controlling interests

Profit attributable to owners of the Company

Earnings per share (pence) 

2017

Adjusted 
EPRA earnings
£m

69.6

(13.8)

2.0

55.8

3.8

31.4

(29.0)

(24.2)

37.8

–

–

0.1

37.9

(8.4)

29.5

(0.1)

29.4

13.3

Total(1)
£m

67.6

(13.8)

2.0

55.8

30.6

31.4

(29.0)

(24.2)

64.6

34.6

(24.6)

(7.6)

67.0

(6.9)

60.1

(0.5)

59.6

26.9

Other
£m

–

–

–

26.8

–

–

–

26.8

34.6

(24.6)

(7.7)

29.1

1.5

30.6

(0.4)

30.2

2016

Adjusted 
EPRA earnings
£m

60.8

(14.9)

4.2

50.1

2.1

27.1

(29.3)

(22.2)

27.8

–

–

0.1

27.9

(6.3)

21.6

(0.1)

21.5

9.7

Total(1)
£m

60.8

(14.9)

4.2

50.1

30.4

27.1

(29.3)

(22.2)

56.1

4.1

–

0.6

60.8

(7.2)

53.6

–

53.6

24.1

Other
£m

–

–

–

28.3

–

–

–

28.3

4.1

–

0.5

32.9

(0.9)

32.0

0.1

32.1

(1) This table is presented on a proportionally consolidated basis, including the Group’s share of profits and losses of joint ventures and associates in the income statement 

categories to which they relate, rather than on a statutory basis as one line representing the share of net losses of those joint ventures and associates.

Net rental and other income
The Group’s share of net rental and other income has increased 
in the year to £55.8m (2016: £50.1m). The disposal of our student 
accommodation at Swansea completed after the year end and will 
result in a reduction of c. £5.8m net rental income in 2018, offset by 
a reduction of £2.1m in finance lease interest due to the sale. Our 
target to dispose of £100m to £150m of retail and small assets this 
year will likely result in a further temporary reduction in net rental 
and other income, given the time lag in recycling these proceeds 
into our industrial/logistics developments.

Overheads
Administrative expenses for the year were £29.0m (2016: £29.3m) 
reflecting a £1.5m one-off credit relating to the closure of our 
insurance captive. With planned investment in our organisational 
capabilities to deliver our planned growth, we expect costs in 2018 
to increase from the underlying level by c. 5% next year.

Cash finance costs and income 
Finance costs have increased during the year in line with increases 
in the average levels of see-through net debt prior to the sale of the 
land at Nine Elms. See-through net cash finance costs increased to 
£24.2m (2016: £22.2m). For the coming year, we expect finance 
costs to reduce as a result of lower net debt, a lower cost of debt 
due to the recent refinancing and the reduction in finance lease 
interest from the Swansea sale.

Non-cash finance costs and income
Net non-cash finance costs were £7.6m (2016: £0.6m income). 
The elements of these non-cash costs which recur at reasonably 
constant levels are a £5.2m (2016: £5.6m) charge for discount 
unwinds, principally on our share of the long-term liability to deliver 
the NCGM project, and a £2.2m (2016: £1.5m) charge for the 
amortisation of arrangement fees in relation to our loan facilities.

The other material components of these non-cash costs are 
inherently less predictable, as they are dependent on market 
movements. These relate to the valuation of our convertible bond, 
where we would expect a charge if the likelihood of conversion 
increases (i.e. if the share price increases), and the valuation of the 
derivatives we use to hedge our interest rate risk, where we would 
expect a charge if swap rates are lower than the prevailing rates at 
the time we entered into the derivatives. For the year just ended, 
the net effect of these two items was minimal, whereas in the prior 
year, a large favourable movement in the convertible bond more 
than offset the charge for discount unwinds and amortisation of 
arrangement fees.

47

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationFINANCIAL REVIEW  
CONTINUED

Property valuation
All of our investment properties are independently valued every 
six months by our external valuers Cushman & Wakefield and Jones 
Lang LaSalle (the latter for NCGM only). Our valuers base their 
valuations upon an open market transaction between a willing 
buyer and a willing seller at the balance sheet date. Therefore, no 
value is taken for any future expected increases but discounts are 
applied to reflect any future uncertainties.

In accordance with accounting standards, valuation movements 
are reflected as gains or losses in the income statement. We will 
also independently assess our work in progress for any impairment 
issues. Valuations in all our asset classes have been validated 
wherever possible by open market transactions during the course 
of the year. The total valuation gain in the year was £34.6m, 
compared to £4.1m in 2016, for the reasons previously outlined.

Profit before all tax
Profit before all tax for the year was £67.0m (2016: £60.8m), and is 
stated before tax on joint venture income. 

Taxation and profit after tax
Our total tax charge (including joint venture tax) for the year was 
£6.9m (2016: £7.2m) resulting in profit after tax on a proportionally 
consolidated basis of £60.1m (2016: £53.6m).

As a property group, tax and its treatment is often an integral part 
of transactions. The outcome of tax treatments, including tax 
planning, is recognised by the Group to the extent that the 
outcome is reasonably certain. Overall, the see-through effective 
rate of tax for the year was below the prior year at 10.3% (2016: 
11.8%), resulting from a blend of a lower Group tax charge of 12.9% 
(2016: 14.0%) due to the reduction in the deferred tax rate, and a 
higher JV tax credit in the period. Following the freezing of 
indexation allowance from 31 December 2017 announced in the 
November budget, and as signalled in previous reporting updates, 
the effective tax rate is expected to move towards, but remain 
slightly below the standard rate of tax of 19%.

See-through loan-to-value 

24.2%

NAV per share

450.9 pence

48

Balance sheet
At the year end the shareholders’ equity value of net assets 
was £1,000.3m (2016: £955.2m) or 450.9 pence per share which 
represents a 4.6% increase over the year (2016: 431.0 pence per 
share). This growth is after the increased dividend payments (2017 
interim and 2016 final) of £13.5m or 6.08 pence per share (2016: 
£12.8m or 5.79 pence per share). Our EPRA net asset value rose 
2.3% to 471.2 pence per share from 460.5 pence per share in spite 
of an 8.3 pence or 1.8% reduction as a result of deferred tax 
crystallising on the sale of land at Nine Elms Square.

2017

Group
£m

JVs
£m

Total(1)
£m

Property portfolio

1,516.0

148.0

1,664.0

Other assets

Gross assets

Net borrowings

Finance leases

Other liabilities

85.5

82.0

167.5

1,601.5

230.0

1,831.5

(433.8)

45.6

(388.2)

(57.0)

(0.9)

(57.9)

(224.3)

(155.1)

(379.4)

Gross liabilities

(715.1)

(110.4)

(825.5)

886.4

119.6

1,006.0

2016

Total(1)
£m

1,752.3

170.6

1,922.9

(517.0)

(57.7)

(386.1)

(960.8)

962.1

Net assets

Non-controlling 
interests

Equity attributable 
to owners of the 
Company

NAV per share (pence)

EPRA NAV per share 
(pence)

See-through LTV (%)

See-through LTV 
(excluding residential) 
(%)

Total accounting 
return(2) (%)

(5.7)

–

(5.7)

(6.9)

880.7

119.6

1,000.3

450.9

471.2

24.2

37.2

6.0

955.2

431.0

460.5

30.5

54.3

5.6

(1) This table is presented on a proportionally consolidated basis, including the 

Group’s share of assets and liabilities of joint ventures and associates in the balance 
sheet categories to which they relate, rather than on a statutory basis as one line 
representing the share of net assets of those joint ventures and associates. 

(2) Our definition of total accounting return was revised in the year so that it now 

represents dividends paid in the year plus the movement in NAV per share in the 
year, rather than the movement in EPRA NAV per share. This change reflects that 
our strategy includes the repositioning and recycling of our portfolio towards 
sectors with strong structural growth, whereas the EPRA model assumes that 
properties are retained. Using the revised definition results in a total accounting 
return of 6.0% (2016: 5.6%) as noted above. Under the previous definition, total 
accounting return would have been 3.6% (2016: 4.5%). Further information is 
included in note 2 to the Group financial statements.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Financing 
During 2017 we achieved a significant reduction in our year end 
see-through net borrowing position, mostly through the Nine Elms 
Square sale. The year end figure also benefited from a £49.0m share 
of the cash held in a Development Account for delivery of the 
NCGM project.

Cash generated (before new investment, tax and dividends) was 
£542.7m (2016: £306.4m) and new investment was managed tightly 
such that net borrowings, including our share of JVs, decreased to 
£388.2m (2016: £517.0m). Whilst inventories increased by £125.8m 
to £361.9m (2016: £236.1m) around half of this increase results from 
accelerated activity and land transfers for St. Modwen Homes with 
the remainder reflecting increased commercial development in line 
with our strategy. See-through loan-to-value of 24.2% (2016: 30.5%) 
improved markedly upon the prior year. Excluding residential, the 
Group’s see-through loan-to-value ratio fell to 37.2% (2016: 54.3%) 
and, whilst the Company’s capital structure remains strong, we are 
aiming to continue to reduce this over time.

Refinancing
As noted above, shortly after the year end, we achieved a 
transformational refinancing, moving from bilateral secured 
facilities to an unsecured club structure. In doing so, we paid off 
the balance sheet liability for out of the money interest rate swaps 
for a cash outlay of £5.1m and entered into an interest rate cap. 
This hedging activity will result in initial annual savings of c. £2.5m. 
A non-cash expense of £3.4m will be recognised in the first half 
of the Group’s 2018 financial year in respect of capitalised 
arrangement fees relating to the previous facilities. These actions 
increased our weighted average facility life to 4.1 years from 2.7 
years at the year end (or to 5.5 years if the two one-year extensions 
are applied). With £690m of see-through committed facilities 
against see-through net borrowings of £388.2m, we have ample 
headroom to transact.

2017 pro 
forma for 
refinancing

2017

2016

See-through borrowings

See-through net borrowings

See-through loan-to-value(1) (%) 

See-through loan-to-value (excluding 
residential)(1) (%)

2017

463.3

388.2

24.2

37.2

2016

524.9

517.0

30.5

54.3

Average duration of facilities 
(years)

Weighted average interest rate(1) 
(%)

Percentage of net borrowings 
fixed or hedged (%) 

4.1

3.7

2.7

4.4

3.7

3.8

88.5

82.8

50.0

(1) The weighted average interest rate is calculated using current interest rates 

and hedging profile applied to the Group net borrowings at 30 November 2017, 
thereby assuming constant net borrowing levels for 2018.

(1) See-through loan-to-values are reconciled in note 2i to the Group financial 

statements. 

Hedging and cost of debt
We aim to have predictable costs attached to our borrowing and 
therefore hedge a significant portion of our interest rate risk. At the 
year end, 82.8% (2016: 50.0%) of our borrowings were fixed or 
hedged. Our ongoing interest rate risk will be managed via a 
combination of caps and hedges to maintain compliance with 
this policy.

Our spot year-end weighted average cost of borrowing increased 
to 4.4% (2016: 3.8%) as a result of lower borrowings at the lower 
marginal rates on our banking facilities. The refinancing actions 
above shortly after the year end reduce this to 3.7%, despite the 
lower borrowings.

Corporate funding covenants
Covenant compliance continues at all levels and across all metrics 
and we continue to operate with considerable headroom against 
all measures, our portfolio could withstand a 40% fall in values 
before our covenants would be breached.

Mark Allan 
Chief Executive 

5 February 2018

Rob Hudson
Chief Financial Officer

49

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional information 
 
RISK MANAGEMENT

IDENTIFYING/
MANAGING 
RISK

50

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Risk management and internal control

As the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, exposure to risk is 
inherent in the delivery of St. Modwen’s strategy. The Board 
continues to recognise that effective risk management and robust 
internal control is critical in managing risk effectively and enabling 
the business to mitigate the potential downside whilst leveraging 
the potential opportunities that may arise in a considered and 
informed way. The Board is ultimately responsible for maintaining 
a sound system of risk management and internal control and for 
determining the nature and extent of risks it is willing to take to 
achieve its strategic objectives.

During 2017 the Board assessed the adequacy and effectiveness 
of the Group’s overarching risk management framework and 
processes. This included the consideration of the Group’s principal 
risks and uncertainties to ensure they remain aligned with the 
refreshed strategic objectives which are to deliver excellent 
returns through:

•  Accelerating commercial development activity;

•  Growing our residential and housebuilding business;

•  Cementing and growing our regeneration reputation; and

•  Portfolio focus and capital discipline.

Further detail with respect to the Group’s strategy is detailed on 
pages 22 to 28.

Additionally, the Board, through the Audit Committee, has carried 
out a robust assessment of the principal risks facing St. Modwen, 
including those that would threaten its business model, future 
performance, solvency or liquidity. Its evaluation of these solvency 
risks is described further in the Going Concern and Viability 
statements on pages 113 and 61 respectively. 

St Modwen’s Risk Management Framework

Group objectives, values and culture

  Owned and set by the PLC 
Board with input from the 
Senior Leadership Executive

  Responsibility of the Senior 
Leadership Executive

  Sources of independent 
assurance

  Reviewed by the PLC Board 
and Senior Leadership 
Executive

Establishing the  
risk management 
framework

•  Risk culture

•  Risk appetite

•  Key risk indicators

•  Risk strategy and  
policy framework

Risk monitoring  
and reporting

•  Principal risks  

and uncertainties  
(Annual Report)

•  Group (Strategic)  

risk register

•  Key risk indicator 
performance

•  Operational risk registers

Risk management  
and mitigation

•  Strategic

•  Financial

•  Operational

•  Technological

•  Project (including joint 

ventures)

Independent 
assurance

•  Internal audit

•  External audit

•  SHE audits

•  Environmental audits

51

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationKey features of St. Modwen’s risk management and internal 
controls framework

•  Clear organisational structure with delegations of authority and 
responsibilities for the management of risk across the Group

•  Robust system of monthly reporting including financial 

budgeting, reporting and re-forecasting, and the monitoring 
of performance against financial and operational KPIs

•  Monthly operational reviews between executive management, 

Property Directors and functional heads

•  Board and Audit Committee monitoring and review of business 

performance, risk and internal control

•  Periodic assessment, reporting and monitoring of risk at a Group, 

regional and departmental level

•  Risk profiles and risk registers maintained and regularly reviewed 

for major projects and joint ventures

•  Group-wide policy framework in place which includes key policies 

in areas such as anti-bribery, whistleblowing and IT security

•  Independent reports from internal audit on the effective design 

and operation of controls within selected areas of risk

•  Annual environmental audits undertaken at St. Modwen sites 

with actions monitored through to completion

•  Proactive management of health and safety across all sites 

supported by independent audits and regular management 
reporting

RISK MANAGEMENT  
CONTINUED

The identification, evaluation and management of risk incorporates 
both a top-down and bottom-up approach, to ensure there is a 
consistent understanding of those risks that the Group is exposed 
to and their potential impact on the achievement of the strategic 
objectives.

Top-down risk management process
A top-down process driven by the Board, who have 
responsibility for establishing and maintaining robust systems 
of risk management and internal control. 

The Board regularly considers and challenges the organisation’s 
risk profile and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies in 
order to ensure the risk exposure remains within the Board’s 
risk appetite. 

The Board formally reviews the Group’s strategic risks twice 
yearly and will consider the movements and trends of the 
existing risks, as well as the addition of new or emerging risks. 
In evaluating the risk exposure, the Board considers the 
interdependency between risks across all financial and non-
financial categories. The Board’s consideration of risk is further 
supported by the Audit Committee who also assess and 
challenge the robustness of the Group’s risk management 
process twice per year.

The Senior Leadership Executive maintains day to day 
responsibility for the management and monitoring of strategic 
risks in line with the delivery of the Group’s strategy. 

Bottom-up risk management process
Risks are identified and escalated via the bottom-up process by 
individual regions, divisions and functional departments who 
maintain their own operational risk registers. 

The respective Property Director or Head of Department is 
responsible for ensuring their risks are subject to regular review, 
mitigating controls remain effective and additional actions are 
completed within the agreed timescales. 

The Risk Management function meets with the owners of the 
respective risk registers twice per year to facilitate the discussion 
of risk and to provide challenge to the status of risk. 

A revised summary of the consolidated operational risk profile 
is presented to the Senior Leadership Executive twice per year. 
Where the risk exposure of one or a number of operational risks 
may have a potentially significant impact on the Group, the 
Senior Leadership Executive will consider these for inclusion 
within the Group risk register.

Risk profiles exist at a project level for those ‘major projects’ and/
or schemes with joint venture partners. These risks are managed 
and monitored by the respective project teams. The risks 
associated with these projects and schemes are also subject to 
regular review by the Senior Leadership Executive.

52

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Risk appetite 

The UK Corporate Governance Code requires companies to 
determine their risk appetite in terms of the level of risk that they 
are willing to take in achieving their strategic objectives. 

As the UK’s leading regeneration specialist there is an understanding 
that risk is inherent within St. Modwen’s development and asset 
management activities. The acceptance of this risk, however, is 
taken on an informed and considered basis, with significant focus 
on those activities required to manage and mitigate risk to an 
acceptable level. The tolerances applied vary depending on the 
associated risk and the level of related controls in place. 

To support the Group’s overarching risk appetite statement, 
a suite of risk appetite statements has been established for each 
of St. Modwen’s key risk categories; economic environment and 
market, construction, development and asset management, 
regulatory and compliance, financial and organisational.

These risk appetite statements are supported by a suite of key risk 
indicators (KRIs) aligned to the Group’s principal risks. These KRIs 
enable the Board and Senior Leadership Executive to measure and 
monitor the extent to which the Group is operating within its stated 
risk appetite.

During 2017 the risk appetite statements and key risk indicators 
were reviewed by the Board to ensure that they remained 
appropriate and reflected changes in the Board’s appetite for risk 
as a result of the revised strategic objectives and broader operating 
environment. Examples of the key risk indicators that will be 
monitored in the future are detailed for each principal risk.

Principal risks and uncertainties
Our business model exposes us a variety of external and internal 
risks. At a macro level, there is continued uncertainty due to 
political and economic factors outside of our control which could 
have a significant impact, both positively and negatively, on our 
business. These include Government policy at both a national and 
local level, monetary policy, investor confidence and the availability 
and affordability of mortgages. We believe that this macro level 
uncertainty will continue in the medium term, particularly as the 
implications from the UK withdrawing from the EU are still to be 
fully understood. Whilst our ability to influence external factors 
remains limited, we continue to remain vigilant by proactively 
monitoring the wider business environment, operating an agile 
delivery model allowing us to respond quickly to changes in our 
risk profile and maintaining a strong financial position. 

Following the Board’s consideration of the Group’s principal risks 
against the revised strategic objectives, the financial collapse or 
dispute with a key joint venture partner, included as a principal 
risk within the 2016 Annual Report, is no longer considered to be 
a principal risk within the 2017 Annual Report. This reflects the 
reduced risk as a consequence of the scaling down of the joint 
venture with Persimmon Homes and the sale of 10 acres at Nine 
Elms Square. The risk exposure relating to the construction of the 
New Covent Garden Market, which is being delivered in partnership 
with VINCI, is reflected within the risk of us failing to manage 
major projects.

An additional risk has also been included within the 2017 principal 
risks and uncertainties, with respect to significant disruption to our 
assets and business operations. This reflects the increased threat 
from terrorism, social disturbances and severe weather conditions 
as well as external cyber threats.

A summary of the principal risks which could prevent the 
achievement of our strategic objectives and may have a material 
impact on our business are set out on the following pages.

53

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationConstruction, develop

m

e

nt a

n

d a

s

s

e

t 

2

5

6

m

a

n

a

g

e

m

e

n

t

cial
n
a
Fin

RISK MANAGEMENT  
CONTINUED

Principal risks heat map*

Risk level 

L   Low

M   Medium

H   High

  Severe

*  Representing residual 
risk after mitigation

k e t

r

d   m a

n

n t  a

e

m

Econo mic en viro n

O

r

g

a

n

i

s

a

t

i

o

n

a

l

4

1

3

9

10

8

7

Regulatory and com p l

i a n c e

54

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Ref

A

B

C

D

Strategic objective

Accelerate our commercial development

Grow our residential housebuilding business

Cement and grow our regeneration reputation

Portfolio focus and capital discipline

Risk  
description

Risk  
level

Trend

Risk  
category

Economic environment 
and market

Construction, development 
and asset management

Financial

Regulatory and  
compliance

Organisational

Ref

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Strategic  
objective

A,B,C

A,B,C

Downturn in market and economic conditions

Changes to the planning framework at a national and 
regional level

A,B,C,D

Failure to effectively manage major projects

A,B,C

A,B,C

A,B,C,D

A,B,C

A,B,C

A,B,C,D

Unforeseen exposures, costs and liabilities on projects

Absence of high quality contractors, consultants and 
third parties

Reduced availability of funding and unforeseen changes 
to cash flow requirements

A major health and safety incident occurs or non-
compliance with SHE legislation

Failure to manage long-term environmental issues 
relating to brownfield and contaminated sites

Inability to recruit and retain staff with the right skills 
and expertise

10

A,B,C

Significant disruption to our assets or business operations

H

L

H

H

M

M

M

L

M

M

55

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationPRINCIPAL RISKS AND 
UNCERTAINTIES

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT  
AND MARKET

CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT AND 
ASSET MANAGEMENT

1
Downturn in market and economic conditions

2
Changes to the planning framework at a national and 
regional level

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

Impact
•  Devaluation of assets

•  Reduction in investor appetite

•  Reduced occupier demand

H

Risk assessment 

A,B,C

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

L

A,B,C

Impact
•  Failure to obtain planning permissions

•  Failure to maximise returns from developments

•  Loss of competitive advantage

Example risk indicators
•  Weighted development pipeline

•  Residential reservation rate

•  Void rate

Commentary
During 2017 there has been continued uncertainty in the UK 
property market and broader UK economy. 

The refreshed strategic plan ensures that we continue to focus 
on asset classes where there is continued, sustainable appetite 
and demand and in a variety of geographical regions. This 
diversification ensures that we are not exposed to any one 
sector or region. This is complemented by a considered 
medium-term disposal programme of drier assets which will 
see proceeds realised in tranches and reinvested in targeted 
asset classes.

We are in continuous communication with occupiers of our 
commercial assets to minimise the risk of rent default and void 
periods and invest in our residential sales team and customer 
services process to maximise upsell opportunities.

Example risk indicators
•  Weighted development pipeline

•  Proportion of land bank with outline planning permission

Commentary
Recent policy announcements by the current UK Government 
have indicated a willingness to re-evaluate the planning 
framework to support the continued demand for brownfield 
development activity, particularly with respect to residential 
development, creating potential opportunities.

There is a continued focus on bringing forward land for 
redevelopment and our strategic plan and portfolio will enable 
us to take advantage of this demand. 

Mitigation
•  Strategic focus on asset classes where there is the greatest 

Mitigation
•  Regular dialogue with central and local government

demand and appetite

•  Regional spread reduces risk exposure to any one area 

or location

•  Active portfolio management of assets minimises revenue 
loss and achieves better than market utilisation of assets

•  Extensive land bank with a continuing stream of planning 

applications

•  Regular monitoring of macro level indicators

•  Active involvement in public consultations

•  Use of high-quality professional advisors

•  Constant monitoring of the planning framework by 

in-house experts 

56

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

3
Failure to effectively manage major projects

4
Unforeseen exposures or rising costs and liabilities on 
projects

H

Risk assessment 

A,B,C,D

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

H

A,B,C

Impact
•  Inability to deliver development scheme

•  Financial loss on major projects

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

Impact
•  Significant financial loss

•  Negative reputational impact

Example risk indicators
•  Speculative WIP exposure

•  Commercial WIP exposure

Commentary
We use our extensive knowledge and experience in remediation, 
asset development and construction to manage our major 
projects. A number of our major projects are joint ventures 
which therefore shares the risk exposure whilst benefiting from 
the considerable expertise of both parties.

Major projects are subject to regular review by the Chief 
Executive, Senior Leadership Executive and the Board to ensure 
that we continue to manage these risks effectively.

Example risk indicators
•  Speculative WIP exposure

•  Future development profits secured

•  Client claims

Commentary
All developments are subject to financial appraisal and are 
approved in accordance with defined authority limits. Our 
contractor selection and management processes are rigorous 
and we continue to favour financially stable and robust 
contractors. Subcontractor packages and direct material 
purchases are subject to our robust procurement processes 
and are competitively tendered to secure the best value.

All developments and cost forecasts are subject to regular 
review and challenge at a regional level and by the Senior 
Leadership Executive. Well-established processes also exist 
acting as early warning indicators for any potential claims or 
material increases in cost forecasts.

To date, labour and material costs have remained in line with 
expectations. It is, however, acknowledged that fluctuations in 
the value of sterling and inflationary pressures may lead to an 
increase in the cost of both labour and materials in the medium 
term. We continue to monitor this closely, with focus on the 
budgeting and forecasting process and continuing close 
working relationships with subcontractors. 

Mitigation
•  Joint ventures on a number of major projects reduce the 

overall risk exposure

Mitigation
•  Use and close supervision of a preferred supply chain of 

high-quality trusted suppliers and professionals

•  Significant in-house development skills and expertise 

•  Robust procurement and purchasing processes in place

•  Sites are often prime locations allowing flexibility over their 

use and increasing development options.

•  Detailed budgets are established for each project which are 
regularly monitored with significant variances investigated

•  Regular performance review by Senior Leadership Executive 

•  Application of ‘development’ skills and expertise

and the Board 

•  Projects, acquisitions and disposals are reviewed and financially 

appraised in detail, with clearly defined authority limits

•  Contractual liability clearly defined

•  Standard build specification continually reviewed

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

57

Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional information 
PRINCIPAL RISKS AND 
UNCERTAINTIES CONTINUED

CONSTRUCTION, DEVELOPMENT AND 
ASSET MANAGEMENT CONTINUED

FINANCIAL

5
Absence of high-quality contractors, consultants and 
third parties 

6
Reduced availability of funding and unforeseen changes 
to cash flow requirements

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

Impact
•  Adverse impact on the quality of work

M

A,B,C

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

Impact
•  Lack of liquidity 

M

A,B,C,D

•  Reduced customer satisfaction impacting on St. Modwen’s 

•  Adverse impact on the saleability of assets

reputation

•  Limits the ability of the business to meet its ongoing 

•  Inability to meet demand and support the growth of the 

commitments 

business

•  Financial impact on the returns achieved on individual 

•  Restricts the ability of the business to grow

developments

Example risk indicators
•  Quality satisfaction scores

•  Considerate contractor scores

Example risk indicators
•  Minimum headroom

•  Future facilities 

Commentary
The expansion of the business and increased volume of work, 
particularly in residential housing, has resulted in the need for 
additional contractors and consultants to meet this demand. 
Additionally, in the long term, any restriction on the movement 
of labour, as a result of negotiations with the EU, may result in 
the reduced availability of skills and expertise.

We continue to use trusted contractors and consultants working 
in a partnership approach. We also seek to continually develop 
our pool of third party expertise and ensure value for money 
at both a national and regional level through regular market 
testing. This ensures we do not become overly reliant on a 
single supplier.

Commentary
Our prudent approach to forward commitments, speculative 
development and asset disposals has enabled us to optimise 
operational cash flows and offset the impact of fluctuating 
market conditions.

Our banking relationships are strong, which enabled us, shortly 
after the year-end, to achieve one of our long-term goals of 
transitioning our banking facilities to unsecured from secured. 
This extended the maturities of these facilities as well as 
providing us with greater operational flexibility and access to 
more diverse sources of funding in the future.

The sale of land at Nine Elms Square, in addition to the sale of 
our residential assets at Swansea University subsequent to the 
year-end, considerably reduced our LTV whilst providing funds 
for additional development activity and over 80% of our 
borrowings were fixed or hedged at 30 November 2017.

At a regional level, we continue to focus on maximising income 
through rent reviews and lease renewals, and driving down 
operational cost.

Mitigation
•  Regular tendering is undertaken for new consultants and 

Mitigation
•  Recurring income from rent broadly covers the overhead 

contractors

and interest cost base

•  Reliance on a single consultant/contractor minimised through 

•  Financial headroom is maintained to provide flexibility

the use of pools of specialists

•  Regular and detailed cash flow forecasts enable monitoring 

•  Close monitoring of contractor/consultant performance and 

of performance and management of future cash flows

financial viability

•  Strong relationships with key banks; all corporate debt 

refinanced until at least 2019

58

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

REGULATORY AND COMPLIANCE

7
A major health and safety incident occurs or non-
compliance with SHE legislation

8
Failure to manage long-term environmental issues relating 
to brownfield and contaminated sites

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

M

A,B,C

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

Impact
•  Serious injury or death to an employee, client, contractor 

Impact
•  Major environmental issue

L

A,B,C

or member of the public

•  Financial penalties

•  Reputational damage

Example risk indicators
•  Accident frequency rate

Commentary
The nature of our operations means that ensuring effective 
health and safety arrangements remains a priority as the Group 
has no appetite for health and safety risk exposure. Health and 
safety is discussed at each meeting of the Senior Leadership 
Executive and the Board.

The SHE Committee has continued to meet during 2017 and 
is chaired by a member of the Senior Leadership Executive 
supported by a dedicated Health and Safety team who support 
in the development of policies and procedures, undertake health 
and safety audits and monitor health and safety incidents.

Furthermore, during the year a revised health and safety training 
programme was rolled out to all relevant staff.

•  Financial and reputational damage

Example risk indicators
•  Proportion of the land bank rated high for environmental 

risk factors

•  Controllable reportable environmental incidents

Commentary
In line with our risk appetite, we are willing to accept a degree of 
environmental risk where opportunities for higher returns exist. 
The inherent risks are minimised or passed on wherever possible 
and the residual risk remains acceptably low.

We continue to undertake annual environmental audits of our 
portfolio to ensure we have visibility of, and can manage, 
environmental issues effectively. Actions arising from these 
audits are monitored through to implementation.

Mitigation
•  SHE Committee chaired by the St. Modwen Homes Managing 

Mitigation
•  Use of high-quality external advisors

Director

•  Regular reporting of performance against indicators to the 

Senior Leadership Executive and the Board.

•  Dedicated in-house health and safety resource

•  Annual cycle of SHE audits

•  Defined business processes in place to proactively manage 

issues arising

•  Risk assessments conducted as part of due diligence process

•  Contamination remediated immediately following acquisition 

•  Cost plans allow for unforeseen remediation costs

•  Annual independent audit of environment risk

•  Full warranties for professional consultants and remediation 

contractors

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

59

Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationPRINCIPAL RISKS AND 
UNCERTAINTIES CONTINUED

ORGANISATIONAL

9
Inability to recruit and retain staff with the necessary skills 
and expertise

10
Significant disruption to our assets or business operations

Risk assessment 

Strategic objectives 

Trend 

Impact
•  Significant disruption to the business

•  Loss of intellectual property

M

Risk assessment 

A,B,C,D

Strategic objectives 

M

A,B,C

Trend 

Impact
•  Loss or corruption of data

•  Inability to access St. Modwen assets

•  Adversely affects the ability to grow the business

•  Unavailability of IT systems

•  Loss of revenue and potential financial penalties

Example risk indicators
•  Voluntary employee turnover

•  Employee satisfaction

Example risk indicators
•  IT System availability

•  Internal or external reportable data breaches

Commentary
An HR Director was appointed in March 2017 to support in 
the delivery of the strategic plan through the ‘organisational 
structure and its people’ work stream. This has included the 
development of a detailed people plan which has been 
presented to the Board.

During 2017 there have been changes in the Senior Leadership 
Executive, supported by senior and experienced staff within 
each region. This has further strengthened the resilience of 
the business. 

Commentary
Risk assessments are performed for those assets considered 
to be exposed to a higher risk of a significant event, such as 
terrorism, flood or fire occurring. Specific terrorism insurance 
is also in place across our asset portfolio. 

Our IT resilience has been further strengthened during the year 
through incident penetration and information systems 
assessments. A GDPR Steering Group has been established with 
executive sponsorship supported by dedicated project resource 
to support the business in meeting the requirements of GDPR 
by May 2018.

Mitigation
•  Succession planning monitored at Board level and below

•  Leadership and management development plans in place

•  Regular review and benchmarking of remuneration packages

•  Targeted recruitment with competitive, performance-driven 

remuneration packages to secure highly-skilled and 
motivated employees

•  Key information is documented to safeguard knowledge

Mitigation
•  Asset risk assessments performed covering security, 

environmental and health and safety

•  Specific terrorism insurance in place over Group portfolio

•  Dedicated IT team to monitor IT security and performance 

of information systems

•  Penetration and information systems reviews performed by 

independent third party

•  Dedicated resource and project plan in place with defined 
activities for completion ahead of GDPR introduction in 
May 2018

60

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

VIABILITY STATEMENT

In accordance with provision C.2.2 of the UK Corporate Governance Code, and taking into account the Group’s current position and its 
principal risks for a period longer than the 12 months required by the going concern statement, a business plan and downside case was 
prepared which was reviewed and considered by the Audit Committee and the Board. 

In doing so, we reviewed the length of the viability in the context of the Group’s principal income streams, which are: 

•  rental income from income-producing properties, which have an average lease length (excluding Swansea) of 5.3 years; 

•  residential development, for which we have plans reaching out to 2020; and 

•  commercial development, where we have plans reaching out to 2020. 

We therefore used a three-year period for our business planning exercise, which reflects the length of the development cycle and that 
our development income streams are more forecastable and certain over the shorter term. This period allows for relative certainty in the 
modelling of future capital expenditure, asset recycling and development programmes planned during the timeframe and also reflects 
cash flows generated by the projects currently under development. The reduction in this period to three years from four years in 
comparison to the previous financial year reflects our new strategy and our development income streams’ increased importance to 
that strategy. 

Reporting on the Company’s viability requires the directors to consider those principal risks that could impair the solvency and liquidity 
of the Company. In order to determine those risks, the directors robustly assessed the Group-wide principal risks. Through this 
assessment, the directors identified low probability, high loss scenarios with the potential magnitude to severely impact the Group’s 
solvency and/or liquidity.

For the purpose of assessing the Group’s viability, we identified that of the principal risks detailed on pages 56-60, the following are the 
most important to the Group’s viability assessment and therefore performed scenario analysis on these as follows:

Risk 

Scenario 

Cash mitigation/further analysis

Downturn in market 
and economic 
conditions

A fall in occupancy across our income-producing 
portfolio, combined with increased operating costs 
and an assumption that leases of prospective 
developments fall

As the construction lead-time for our industrial/logistics pipeline is only 9-10 months, 
we can reduce our capital commitments quickly if we see occupier demand slow.

If we slow down our pipeline, our low LTV means we have enough financial flexibility to 
retain additional income by delaying the disposal of retail assets.

A fall in homes sales volumes and prices in 2020 in 
comparison to our forecasts

Given the relatively short construction time of less than 26 weeks, the impact on debt 
levels would be relatively modest, as we would reduce new construction commitments 
and reduce WIP by selling down existing stock.

• An adverse yield shift in expected rental values

• A fall in commercial expected rental values

• A fall in the valuation of our land bank

•  A lag in the sale of planned retail and smaller asset 
disposals

Further increases in the base rate and an increased 
funding requirement in the event of an economic 
downturn

This is a non-cash impact in the short-term, the most significant impact being on our 
bank covenants. However, our property portfolio could withstand a 40% fall in 
portfolio value before any of our covenants would be breached. 

In the event of our failure to sell properties in line with our strategy, we have identified 
contingency plans to overcome the reduced cash inflows, such as alternative asset 
disposals and capital expenditure controls in order to maintain adequate headroom. 

With c. £200m of headroom we have enough financial flexibility to absorb an 
economic shock at a magnitude similar to that experienced in the global financial crisis 
of 2008-9. With 82% of our debt fixed or hedged at the year-end, we are well 
protected from interest rate rises.

Reduced availability 
of funding and 
unforeseen changes 
to cash flow 
requirements

The scenarios used are hypothetical and extremely severe for the purpose of creating outcomes that have the ability to threaten the 
viability of the Group, however, multiple control measures are in place to prevent or mitigate any such occurrences from taking place. 
Based on the results from this analysis, and having considered the established controls for the risks and the available mitigating actions, 
the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due 
over the three-year period of their detailed assessment. Our recent refinancing activity extends our banking facilities out to 2022, which 
provides further support to our viability assessment. This longer-term assessment process supports the directors’ statements on both 
viability, as set out above, and going concern, set out on page 113.

Approval of Strategic report
The Strategic report for the year ended 30 November 2017 has been approved by the Board and was signed on its behalf by:

Mark Allan
Chief Executive

5 February 2018

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Annual report and financial statements 2017

61

Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationCORPORATE GOVERNANCE

ENSURING GOOD 
GOVERNANCE/ 
COMPLIANCE 

62

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION 
TO GOVERNANCE

OUR GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK 
IS KEPT UNDER REGULAR AND 
CLOSE REVIEW AS OUR STRATEGY 
PROGRESSES. 

Bill Shannon 
Non-executive Chairman

The Board remains committed to:
•  Driving the Group’s long-term objectives.

•  Overseeing the Group’s operations to ensure competent and 

prudent management.

•  Sound planning and internal control.

•  Continuous leadership development and succession planning.

•  Maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders and 

effective communication of the business strategy.

Areas of focus for 2017/18:
•  Continue progress with the business strategy following its 

successful communication in the year.

•  Continue to ensure the business is managed in a prudent 
and agile manner against ongoing political uncertainty.

•  Monitor future developments in the UK Corporate Governance 

Code and work towards continued good compliance.

As a Board, we are responsible for the stewardship of the business 
and are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate 
governance across the Group. This is enabling us to work to achieve 
our core purpose ‘Changing Places. Creating better futures’ and 
further establishing our reputation within the marketplace.

Our approach to governance is outlined in the following report, 
which describes how we integrate into our business the main 
principles of the 2016 UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code). 

The Code’s principles on remuneration are addressed in the 
Directors’ remuneration report which is set out on pages 86 to 109.

We were pleased to receive over 96% of votes in favour of our 
Remuneration Policy following our consultations with major 
shareholders and over 94% of votes in favour of our Remuneration 
report at our AGM in March and I thank our shareholders for their 
engagement and support. 

St. Modwen’s risk management and internal control framework 
together with details of the principal risks and uncertainties that 
the Group faces are described on pages 56 to 60. In line with the 
development of our business, our governance framework is kept 
under close review in order to ensure that shareholders’ interests 
are safeguarded and to sustain the success of the Company over 
the longer term. As our strategy progresses in the forthcoming 
year we will continue to further assess our governance framework 
to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and effectively supports 
the business. 

There has been a full Board agenda this year, a calendar detailing 
the areas of focus at our Board meetings is set out on page 71 
which has included, health and safety, people, purpose and values 
and a new organisational design aligned to enhance our strategy. 

In March we were saddened by the sudden passing of Steve Burke, 
our Group Construction Director. Steve was with the business for 
over 20 years, serving on the Board since 2006, and he was 
instrumental in delivering many of the large-scale projects that 
form the basis of our success. Instead, following a review of the 
responsibilities of the members of our senior management team, 
a number of individuals in the business have taken on additional 
responsibilities. The number of executive director roles on the 
Board has therefore reduced from three to two.

Following his appointment in 2016, Mark Allan has completed his 
first anniversary as Chief Executive. There is clear evidence of 
enhanced focus and momentum in our business and the operational 
governance will be reviewed to ensure that we remain fit for purpose. 

I hope that you find the corporate governance section of this report 
informative and I look forward to seeing you at our AGM in March.

The notice of meeting, which includes the special business to be 
transacted and an explanation of all the resolutions to be considered 
at the AGM, is set out on pages 180 to 185.

Bill Shannon
Chairman

5 February 2018

63

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationAN OVERVIEW OF OUR 
GOVERNANCE

LEADERSHIP

The role of the Board
•  An annual programme 

of Board and Committee 
meetings

•  A schedule of matters 

reserved for the Board is 
in place

•  A D&O policy and third-party 

indemnities are in place

ACCOUNTABILITY

Financial and business reporting
•  The Board is responsible for the 
Annual Report which is fair, 
balanced and understandable 

•  The Annual Report includes a 

description of the business model 
and strategy – see pages 14 and 15

•  For the going concern statement 

–see page 113

REMUNERATION

The level and components 
of remuneration

Directors’ remuneration report 
– see pages 86 to 109

64

Procedure
•  The Committee at 30 

November 2017 comprised 
five independent non-
executive directors and the 
Chairman

•  The Remuneration Policy was 
approved at the 2017 AGM

The Chairman
•  An independent  

Chairman is appointed  
who leads the Board

Division of responsibilities
•  Roles of the Chairman and 
Chief Executive are separate

•  An established division of 

responsibilities 

Board roles – see page 69

Non-executive directors
•  A Senior Independent 
Director is appointed

•  Non-executive directors 

meet separately 
throughout the year 

UK CORPORATE  
GOVERNANCE CODE

See page 71 
for Compliance 
Statement

Risk management and 
internal control
•  Work on risk management 
undertaken across the 
business – see pages 50 to 55

•  For the viability statement –

see page 61

•  Audit Committee review of 
effectiveness – see page 81

Audit Committee and Auditors
•  At 30 November 2017 the Audit 
Committee comprised three 
independent non-executive directors

•  The Audit Committee as a whole has 

relevant sector experience

•  The Audit Committee’s Terms of 
Reference are available on the 
Company website 

•  KPMG and PwC respectively were 
appointed as external and internal 
auditor following robust 
tender processes in 2016

Audit Committee report –  
see pages 75 to 82

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017EFFECTIVENESS

The composition of the Board
•  A complementary balance of 

skills and experience 
– see pages 66 to 67

•  The Board at 30 November 

2017 comprised five 
independent non-executive 
directors (excluding the 
Chairman) out of a total 
of nine directors

Appointments to the Board
•  The Nomination Committee 

leads the process of appointment 
to the Board 

•  The Nomination Committee’s 

Terms of Reference are available 
on the Company website 

Nomination Committee report 
– see pages 83 to 85

Commitment
•  Directors’ time 

commitment is considered 
on appointment 
and annually thereafter 

Development
•  Directors are given 
an induction on 
joining the Board and 
ongoing training

Evaluation
•  An internal Board evaluation 
undertaken – see page 73

•  Next external Board 

evaluation to be in 2018/19

Information and support
•  All directors have access 

to the Company Secretary 
and independent 
professional advice

•  Directors access information 
securely via an online portal

Re-election
•  All directors stand for 

re-election at the AGM  
– see pages 180 to 185

RELATIONS WITH SHAREHOLDERS

Dialogue with shareholders
•  For communications with 
shareholders and investors 
– see page 74

Constructive use  
of General Meetings
•  Each resolution is set out 

in the AGM notice 
– see pages 180 to 185

•  Chairman is available to 

answer questions at the AGM 
and together with directors 
meets shareholders

•  Notice of meeting sent at least 
21 clear days before the AGM

65

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationTHE BOARD

Bill Shannon
Non-executive Chairman

Mark Allan
Chief Executive

Rob Hudson
Chief Financial Officer

Appointed: November 2010 as non-executive 
director and Chairman Designate, March 2011 as 
non-executive Chairman.

Key strengths: significant management and board 
experience across retail, leisure, financial services 
and property sectors.

Experience: a 30-year career at Whitbread plc which 
culminated in his appointment as a main board director 
for 10 years until his retirement in 2004. Former 
Chairman of AEGON UK plc, Gaucho Grill Holdings Ltd 
and Pizza Hut (UK) Ltd, and former non-executive 
director of The Rank Group plc, Barratt Developments 
plc and Matalan plc. A qualified Chartered 
Accountant (Scotland).

External appointments: Deputy Chairman and Senior 
Independent Director of LSL Property Services plc, 
non-executive director of Johnson Service Group plc 
and Council Member of the University of Southampton.

N   R

Appointed: 1 November 2016 as Chief Executive 
Designate, 1 December 2016 as Chief Executive.

Key strengths: extensive knowledge and experience 
of the property sector combined with strong 
operational leadership and financial and strategic 
management skills.

Experience: joined St. Modwen from The Unite Group 
plc where he had been Chief Executive since 2006. 
He moved to Unite in 1999 from KPMG and held a 
number of financial and commercial roles in the 
business, including Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 
2006. A qualified Chartered Accountant and a member 
of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 

External appointments: Trustee director on the 
non-executive board of Anchor Trust.

Appointed: September 2015 as Group Finance Director.

Key strengths: strong financial management, 
commercial and operational experience in financial 
services, information services and commercial 
property sectors.

Experience: over 20 years’ experience in finance, most 
recently as Group Financial Controller at British Land plc 
from 2011. Joined PricewaterhouseCoopers on graduating 
then moved to Experian plc in 2000 where he held 
a number of senior financial roles, including Global 
Finance Director of its Decision Analytics business and 
UK Finance Director. A qualified Chartered Accountant.

External appointments: none.

Richard Mully
Senior Independent Director 

Ian Bull
Independent non-executive director 

Kay Chaldecott
Independent non-executive director 

Appointed: September 2014.

Appointed: October 2012.

Key strengths: strong financial management and 
operational experience in major commercial businesses 
across a range of sectors.

Experience: Chief Financial Officer of Parkdean Resorts 
Group since March 2016. Previously Chief Financial 
Officer and main board director at Ladbrokes plc (2011 
to 2016) and Group Finance Director of Greene King plc 
(2006 to 2011). Over 20 years’ financial experience 
with companies such as Whitbread plc, Buena Vista 
Home Entertainment (Walt Disney Company) and BT 
Group. Former non-executive director of Paypoint Ltd. 
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management 
Accountants.

External appointments: none

A   N   R

Key strengths: significant knowledge of the retail 
property sector, including the retail development 
process, retail mix and leasing and shopping centre 
operations.

Experience: joined Capital Shopping Centres Group plc 
(now Intu Properties plc) on graduating and held a 
number of senior management positions, including 
Managing Director, during a career spanning 27 years. 
Also served as a main board director from 2005 until 
leaving the group in 2011. A member of the Royal 
Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

External appointments: non-executive director 
of NewRiver REIT plc and Lichfields and Advisory Board 
member of Next Leadership.

N   R

Appointed: September 2013 as non-executive director, 
December 2013 as Senior Independent Director.

Key strengths: extensive experience in investment 
banking, fund management, capital markets and 
real estate private equity investing with considerable 
board experience.

Experience: Partner and Managing Director at Bankers 
Trust Company from 1992 to 1998 and Managing 
Director and Head of European Merchant Banking from 
1998 to 2000. Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 
Soros Real Estate Partners LLC and its successor firm, 
Grove International Partners LLP, a major real estate 
private equity firm from 2000 to 2011. Former Senior 
Independent Director of Hansteen Holdings plc and 
ISG plc.

External appointments: non-executive director 
of Standard Life Aberdeen plc, Aberdeen Asset 
Management plc and Great Portland Estates plc. 
Vice Chairman of Alstria Office REIT-AG. Senior Advisor 
of TPG Real Estate.

A   N   R

66

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Simon Clarke, DL
Non-executive director

Appointed: October 2004.

Key strengths: strong commercial and management 
experience in both farming and property and extensive 
knowledge of the Company’s history.

Experience: the son of Sir Stanley Clarke, the founder 
and former Chairman of St. Modwen, he represents 
the interests of the Clarke family, one of the Company’s 
largest shareholders, on the Board. Former Deputy 
Chairman of Northern Racing plc and director and 
Vice-Chairman of The Racecourse Association Ltd. 
An Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University.

External appointments: Chairman of Dunstall 
Holdings Ltd. Trustee of Racing Welfare and Chairman 
of Racing Homes. Chairman of Staffordshire University’s 
Development Board. Deputy Lieutenant for Staffordshire.

Lesley James, CBE
Independent non-executive director 

Appointed: October 2009.

Key strengths: extensive executive remuneration and 
human resources experience and considerable board 
experience across public, private, voluntary and 
education sectors.

Experience: HR Director for Tesco plc from 1985 
to 1999 and a main board director from 1994. Former 
non-executive director for various companies 
including Alpha Airports Group plc, Anchor Trust, Care 
UK plc, Inspicio plc, Liberty International plc and the 
West Bromwich Building Society. Former trustee of 
the charity I CAN. Awarded a CBE in 2003 for services 
to the DTI Partnership at Work Assessment Panel. 
A Companion of the Chartered Institute of Personnel 
and Development.

External appointments: none.

R   N

Board diversity
Male (67%)
Female (33%)

3

Length of directors’ tenures 

< 3 yrs (33%)
3-6 yrs (33%)
7-9 yrs (23%)
> 9 yrs (11%)

1

2

3

Directors’ core area of expertise
Property and operations (56%)
Finance (33%)
HR (11%)

1

6

3

3

5

Jenefer Greenwood, OBE
Independent non-executive director

Appointed: 1 June 2017.

Key strengths: extensive knowledge of the retail 
and regeneration sectors of the real estate industry 
combined with significant board-level experience.

Experience: over 30 years’ experience in the real estate 
sector with companies such as Hillier Parker (now CBRE) 
and Grosvenor Ltd, where she was Director of Sales and 
Lettings, Great Britain and Ireland before retiring in 
2012. Currently serves the board of Assura plc and 
Devon & Cornwall Housing. Formerly served on the 
board of The Crown Estate and has chaired the National 
Skills Academy for Retail. Awarded an OBE in 2014 for 
services to the UK Real Estate Industry and for 
voluntary services to young people. A Fellow of the 
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

External appointments: Non-executive director 
for both Assura plc and DCH Group, member of the 
supervisory board of INTERNOS Global Investors Ltd 
and trustee of the Ernest Cook Trust.

A   N   R

Andrew Eames
General Counsel & Company Secretary 
(Interim)

Appointed: November 2017.

Key strengths: a lawyer with over 15 years of legal, 
commercial and governance experience across 
a number of different sectors. 

Experience: Joined St. Modwen from Mothercare Plc 
where he was Group General Counsel and Company 
Secretary (Interim), having previously held various 
positions at Nomura International Plc including 
Co-Head of Corporate Legal and Company Secretary.

Key responsibilities: leads the legal, company 
secretarial, compliance, risk and insurance functions 
and is responsible for legal, compliance and governance 
activity across the Group. Provides advice and support 
to the Board and its Committees and oversees the 
Group’s relationship with its external law firms.

Changes to the Board
•  Steve Burke, Group Construction Director, sadly 

passed away on 13 March 2017.

• 

Jenefer Greenwood joined the Board as 
independent non-executive director on 1 June 2017.

•  Tanya Stote stepped down as Company Secretary 
on 1 November 2017. Rob Hudson was appointed as 
Company Secretary (Interim) until 9 November 2017 
when Andrew Eames joined the Company as 
General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim).

A   Member of the Audit Committee
N   Member of the Nomination Committee
R   Member of the Remuneration Committee

  Denotes Committee Chairman

67

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGOVERNANCE

LEADERSHIP

The Role of the Board
The Board provides leadership of the Company and oversees the 
management of the Group’s activities and is collectively responsible 
and accountable to shareholders for St. Modwen’s long-term 
success. It sets the strategy, oversees implementation and reviews 
performance, ensuring that only acceptable risks are taken, and the 
appropriate people and resources are in place to deliver long-term 
value to shareholders and benefits to the wider community. 

Matters reserved to the Board 
To help retain control of key decisions, the Board has a formal 
schedule of reserved matters that require its approval. Matters 
reserved include strategy, new business or geographical areas, 
transactions in the ordinary course of business where the value 
is £25m or greater and those which are otherwise significant, 
risk management and internal control, Board and Committee 
composition and dividend policy. 

Board Committees
In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Board 
delegates certain responsibilities to its three principal Committees. 
The Committees assist the Board in carrying out its functions 
and ensure closer oversight on matters such as remuneration, 
internal control and the Company’s risk management framework. 
Membership of these Committees comprises primarily the 
independent non-executive directors and, in some cases, the 
Chairman. The Chairs of each Board Committee report to the 
Board on matters discussed at Committee meetings. All Committees 
operate within defined terms of reference which are updated as 
appropriate and can be viewed on the Company website 
www.stmodwen.co.uk.

Executive Directors 
The Board has delegated the delivery of strategy and day-to-day 
management of operations to the Chief Executive. 

Attendance at Board meetings

Director

Mark Allan

Ian Bull(1)

Steve Burke(2)

Kay Chaldecott(3)

Simon Clarke(4)

Jenefer Greenwood(5)

Rob Hudson

Lesley James(6)

Richard Mully

Bill Shannon

Role

Chief Executive

Non-executive director

Group Construction Director

Non-executive director

Non-executive director

Non-executive director

Chief Financial Officer

Non-executive director

Senior Independent Director

Chairman

How the Board operates 
Board meeting agendas are prepared collaboratively with input 
from the Chairman, Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer, 
members of the Senior Leadership Executive and the Company 
Secretary. Each agenda is carefully planned to ensure sufficient 
time is given to regular operational and financial reports as well 
as topical items and matters of interest or concern.

Meetings
The Board discharges its responsibilities through an annual 
programme of Board and Committee meetings which are 
supplemented by visits to sites within the Company’s property 
portfolio. In the year ended 30 November 2017 the Board met 
formally on 11 occasions, which included a strategy day in March 
and a visit to Firepool in Taunton and Locking Parklands in Weston-
super-Mare in July. Individual director attendance is set out in the 
table below. The Chairman also met the non-executive directors 
periodically without the executive directors present and maintained 
regular contact with the Chief Executive.

For directors unable to attend the meeting their views are made 
known to the Chairman ahead of each meeting. Members of the 
SLE and certain advisors are invited to attend meetings in relation 
to specific agenda items. Meetings are typically set well ahead of 
time to minimise any clashes with non-executive directors other 
commitments as far as possible. 

Information and support
All directors have access to the advice and services of the Company 
Secretary. Board papers and meeting minutes are sent to directors 
in a timely manner to enable sufficient time to consider and review 
ahead of meetings and are circulated via a secure online portal. 

Director since

Meetings attended in year 
out of maximum possible

% attended in year

Nov 2016

Sep 2014

Nov 2006

Oct 2012

Oct 2004

June 2017

Sep 2015

Oct 2009

Sep 2013

Nov 2010

11/11

10/11

2/2

8/11

10/11

5/5

11/11

10/11

11/11

11/11

100%

90.1%

100%

72.73%

90.1%

100%

100%

90.1%

100%

100%

(1) Unable to attend the Board Meeting in February 2017 due to a prior commitment.

(2) Steve Burke sadly passed away in March 2017. 

(3) Unable to attend Board Meetings in January, May and September due to prior commitments.

(4) Unable to attend the Board meeting in January 2017 due to a prior commitment.

(5) Appointed to the Board as a non-executive director in June 2017.

(6) Unable to attend Board Meeting in July 2017 due to a prior commitment.

68

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017The Board
Develops strategy and effectively monitors its execution

Audit Committee
Oversees financial and narrative 
reporting, property portfolio 
valuations, internal control, risk 
management systems, and internal 
and external audit processes

Nomination Committee
Oversees Board and senior 
management succession, leads the 
process for Board appointments and 
monitors membership of Board 
Committees. Assists the Chairman 
with the Board evaluation process

Remuneration Committee
Develops the remuneration policy 
and determines the remuneration 
arrangements for the executive 
directors, the Chairman and the 
Company Secretary

Audit Committee report 
See pages 75 to 82

Nomination Committee report 
See pages 83 to 85

Directors’ remuneration report 
See pages 86 to 109

Supported by

Investment Committee
Responsible for considering 
and approving investment 
transactions and recommends 
higher value transactions to 
the SLE and Board for approval

Performance and 
Pipeline Review
Reviews and oversees 
portfolio management and 
asset performance as part 
of the operational strategy

Senior Leadership 
Executive(1)
Reviews performance 
and considers Group-
wide operational issues 
and initiatives

Safety, Health & 
Environment Steering 
Committee
Oversees Group strategy, 
procedure and performance 
in relation to safety, health 
and environmental matters

Corporate Social 
Responsibility Steering 
Committee
Co-ordinates the Group’s 
approach to, and enhances 
the reporting of, its corporate 
social responsibility activities 
and initiatives

Division of role and responsibilities 
The Board comprises the Chairman, two executive directors and six non-executive directors of which five are independent. 
Their biographical details can be found on pages 66 and 67. There is a clear division of responsibility between the Chairman, who is 
accountable for the leadership of the Board, and the Chief Executive, who manages and leads the business.

Chairman

Bill Shannon leads the Board and ensures that it is effectively operated. He is responsible for setting appropriate 
agendas for Board meetings and ensuring that all matters are given due consideration. Maintains a culture of 
openness, debate and constructive challenge between the non-executive directors and the Senior Leadership 
Executive. Monitors the performance of the Chief Executive and ensures effective dialogue takes place between 
St. Modwen and its shareholders.

Senior Independent 
Director

Richard Mully acts as a sounding board for the Chairman and serves as a trusted intermediary for the other 
directors when necessary, whilst also providing an additional channel of communication for shareholders. He leads 
the other independent non-executive directors in the performance evaluation of the Chairman.

Non-executive 
directors

Chief Executive

The non-executive directors work with and challenge the executive directors in the development of St. Modwen’s 
strategy. They offer an independent, external perspective on the business and bring wide and varied commercial 
experience to both the Board and its Committees. With the exception of Simon Clarke, all non-executive directors 
are considered to be independent.

Mark Allan is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of the business and managing it within the 
authorities delegated by the Board. He is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business, 
recommending proposals for St. Modwen’s strategic development and implementing the strategy. He leads the 
senior management through the SLE.

Chief Financial 
Officer

Rob Hudson is responsible for devising and implementing the Group’s financial strategy and policies, as well as 
financial reporting and internal controls. He also oversees investor relations, internal audit and IT.

Company Secretary 
(Interim)

Andrew Eames(2) supports the Chairman and Chief Executive in fulfilling their duties and is available to all directors for 
advice, support and assistance. He is responsible for keeping the Board regularly updated on governance matters. 
He attends and maintains a record of the matters discussed and approved at Board and Committee meetings and 
facilitates effective information flows between the Board, its Committees and the SLE and non-executive directors. 

(1) Senior Leadership Executive (SLE) – The members of the Senior Leadership Executive are: Guy Gusterson (Property Director – Midlands and North), Rupert Joseland 

(Property Director – West and Wales), Richard Powell (Construction Director), Jane Saint (Group HR Director), Tim Seddon (Property Director – South East), Remco Simon 
(Director of Strategy and Research), Dave Smith (Managing Director of St. Modwen Homes), Rupert Wood (Property Director – Asset Management). Mark Allan, Rob Hudson 
and Andrew Eames are also members of the Senior Leadership Executive. 

(2) Tanya Stote resigned as Company Secretary on 1 November 2017 and Andrew Eames was appointed as General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim) on 9 November 2017.

69

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGOVERNANCE CONTINUED

What the Board did this year
During 2017, the Board concluded a strategy review and 
identified four clear strategic objectives against which future 
performance and direction will be reported against. The 
business purpose together with the five values that were 
developed through the year will guide our behaviour and 
enable us to live our purpose and deliver our strategy. 

See Strategic review – pages 22 to 28

The key Board activity table opposite sets out the regular 
matters that were considered at meetings and highlights the 
key focus areas in relation to the strategy review and strategy 
development activities undertaken in 2017. 

The regular matters considered at each meeting are formed 
of strategy and property, operational, financial performance 
and governance. 

70

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Key Board activity in 2017

Timeline Strategy and property

•  Strategic matters

•  Acquisition and 
development 
opportunities 

Operational
•  Operational updates

•  CEO report 

•  Health, Safety & 
Environment

•  Construction report

Financial performance
•  Trading results 
and forecasts

•  Market update

•  Management 

accounts and KPIs

Governance 
Legal, company 
secretarial and 
regulatory matters 

•  Board Committee 

activities

•  Investor relations

Key Board focus for 
2017: Organisational 
design and purpose, 
values, culture and 
brand

Jan

Feb

Apr

May

June

July

Sep

Oct

•  Considered proposed 
approach to strategy 
review and Board 
engagement

•  Received updates on 
sales bids for Nine 
Elms Square site and 
Swansea University

•  Received 2017 
budget update

•  Approved the 2016 
Annual Report and 
financial statements 
and final dividend 
recommendation

•  Considered and 
approved 2017 
Notice of AGM

•  Reviewed residential 
and commercial 
opportunities

•  Considered the 
Group’s capital 
structure and 
resourcing

•  Considered AGM 
preparation and 
related matters

•  Concluded residential 

and commercial 
development 
activities

•  Considered the 

•  Approved 

updated financial 
model, scenario 
analysis and risk 
appetite

appointment of 
Jenefer Greenwood 
to the Board

Mar

•  Held a strategy day 

and a separate Board 
meeting 

•  Agreed the four 

strategic objectives

•  Approved the revised 
Senior Leadership 
Executive structure

•  Approved the final 
Capital Markets day 
presentation

•  Approved the sale of 
Nine Elms Square site

•  Approved the 2017 

half year results and 
interim dividend

•  Analysed feedback 
from the Capital 
Markets day

Visited Firepool in Taunton and Locking Parklands in Weston-super-Mare

•  Reviewed the 

St. Modwen homes 
3-5 year plan

•  Discussed the 
Commercial 
development 
business plan

•  Approved a 
significant 
commercial bid

•  Reviewed and 

approved the 2018 
budget

•  Considered the 
Group financing 
strategy and move to 
an unsecured facility

Nov

•  Considered the 

•  Approved Group 

asset management 
business plan

•  Reviewed Group 

business plan and 
scenario analysis

delegated authorities 
and reviewed 
dividend policy 

•  Considered and 

approved trading 
statement

•  Held annual meeting 
with the Company’s 
brokers

Considered the proposals 
to develop our purpose, 
values, culture and brand

Launched employee 
engagement survey and 
external stakeholder 
perception audit, an 
anonymised and 
independent review 
undertaken with 25 
stakeholders

Discussed the outcome 
of the employment 
engagement survey 
and external stakeholder 
perception audit 

Approved the 
communications plan in 
relation to the Group’s 
strategic objectives and 
its purpose statement

A Capital Markets day was 
held on 7 June 2017

Considered the proposed 
five values and people plan

Reviewed the next phase 
of the organisational 
design and considered 
the new brand/
visual identity proposals

71

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationThe explanatory notes set out in the notice of meeting state the 
reasons why the Board believes that the directors proposed for 
re-election at the AGM should be re-appointed. It has concluded 
that the performance of each director continues to be effective, 
that they continue to demonstrate commitment to their respective 
roles, and that their respective skills complement one another to 
enhance the overall operation of the Board.

Notice of AGM 
Pages 180 to 185

External appointments
On appointment directors are advised of, and requested to make, 
the necessary time commitment required to discharge their 
responsibilities effectively. This time commitment is also outlined 
in the letters of appointment issued to non-executive directors.

The Chairman reviews annually the time each director has 
dedicated to St. Modwen as part of their individual performance 
evaluations and is satisfied that their other duties and time 
commitments do not conflict with those as directors of the 
Company. Similarly, the Board is content that the Chairman’s 
external appointments do not impact on his ability to allocate 
sufficient time to discharge his responsibilities to St. Modwen.

Conflicts of interest
The Board operates a policy to identify and where appropriate, 
manage any conflicts of interest affecting directors. This enables 
the Board to consider and if thought appropriate, to authorise 
a director’s actual or potential conflict of interest, taking into 
consideration what is in the best interests of the Company and 
whether the director’s ability to act in accordance with his or her 
wider duties is affected. 

GOVERNANCE CONTINUED

EFFECTIVENESS

Induction of a new director
The Chairman, assisted by the Company Secretary, is responsible 
for the induction of all new directors.

On joining the Board, a director receives a comprehensive induction 
pack which includes background information on the Company, 
material on matters relating to the activities of the Board and its 
Committees and governance-related information (including the 
duties and responsibilities of directors).

Meetings are arranged with the executive directors for briefings on 
strategy and performance, as well as with the external auditor and 
valuers. Visits to key sites within the Group’s property portfolio are 
scheduled and external training, particularly on matters relating to 
membership of Board Committees, is arranged as appropriate. 
Major shareholders are also offered the opportunity to meet newly 
appointed directors should they express a desire to do so.

Director development
The Company is committed to the continuing development of 
directors in order that they may build on their expertise and 
develop an ever more detailed understanding of the business 
and the markets in which St. Modwen operates.

Training and development needs are discussed with each director 
by the Chairman as part of the annual individual performance 
evaluation process and kept under review. Development activities 
include visits to sites within the Group’s property portfolio, both as 
a Board and individually and regular presentations to the Board by 
members of the SLE and senior management on key issues and 
major projects. Board members can also meet with the external 
valuers to review their property valuation reports and develop 
further understanding of the markets within which we operate. An 
overview of this year’s key Board activities, is set out on page 71.

The attendance by members of Board Committees on courses 
relevant to aspects of their respective Committee specialisms is 
also encouraged.

Director independence and re-election to the Board
The Board considers Bill Shannon to have been independent on 
his appointment as Chairman in 2011 and that he remains so.

Simon Clarke, a non-executive director, represents the interests 
of the Clarke family and has held the position for over nine years. 
Consequently, the Board has determined that Simon Clarke is not 
independent for the purposes of the Code.

The Board considers that all other non-executive directors are 
independent and is not aware of any relationship or circumstance 
likely to affect the judgement of any director. 

At the 2018 AGM, and in accordance with the Company’s Articles 
of Association, Jenefer Greenwood and Jamie Hopkins (joining the 
Board with effect from 1 March 2018) will retire and offer 
themselves for election.  As announced Kay Chaldecott and Richard 
Mully will be not be standing for re-election. All other directors will 
retire and offer themselves for re-election in accordance with the 
provisions of the Code.

72

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

To ensure its continued effectiveness, the Board undertakes 
performance evaluations. 

The Board evaluation will usually comprise a questionnaire that is 
circulated to all Board members based on a scoring system which 
measures the extent to which directors agree with a series of 
statements on a number of key themes. There is also an 
opportunity to provide additional commentary if desired.

One-to-one discussions with the Chairman follow to enhance the 
feedback received and results and conclusions are considered by 
the Board. A programme of actions and recommendations is then 
implemented.

The Board was content to conduct an internal review in late 2017, 
having undertaken an external review in late 2015, and in light of 
the appointment of Mark Allan on 1 November 2016 (appointed 
Chief Executive 1 December 2016).

Key themes in the 2017 evaluation questionnaire
1) Corporate culture and governance leadership: statements 
included whether ‘the Board has clear agreement on its role in 
shaping, embedding and overseeing the Group’s corporate 
culture’, and ‘has visibility over KPI’s measuring corporate value’.

2) Behaviours: a statement included whether ‘the Board members 
support and debate the Company’s strategy, enabling them to set 
the strategy from the top’. As detailed in the various sections of 
this annual report, strategy will continue to feature regularly on 
the Board’s agenda as it further progresses into 2018.

3) Processes: statements included whether ‘Board members 
receive proper induction on appointment’ and ‘Board packs are 
circulated in a timely manner and contain the appropriate level 
of information and detail’. The Company Secretary will in 2018 
undertake to review and refresh the director induction process. 
In addition, he will review timings of distribution of Board packs 
and proposes to include a useful overview of each Board paper.

Good progress has been made against actions and 
recommendations arising from previous Board performance 
evaluations, including the following:
•  Formal non-executive director appraisals are undertaken 

annually with the Chairman to shape the contribution of the 
Board and align views over time. Discussions also help inform 
and guide the Board’s refreshment and succession planning.

•  A cycle of longer Board meetings has been implemented. 
Committee meetings are held prior to Board meetings to 
facilitate reporting of Committees into the Board.

•  There is continued development (with the assistance of the 
Nomination Committee) of a skills matrix and succession 
planning to ensure alignment of the Board’s composition with 
strategy.

•  A review of the risk appetite framework has been completed 
with the assistance of the Audit Committee alongside key risk 
indicators and has been incorporated in the year. 

•  To increase the visibility and input of HR, the HR director attends 

Remuneration Committee meetings.

73

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGOVERNANCE CONTINUED

RELATIONS WITH SHAREHOLDERS

COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

This corporate governance report, together with the Audit 
Committee report, the Nomination Committee report, the Directors’ 
remuneration report and the sections of this annual report entitled 
‘Risk management’ and ‘Principal risks and uncertainties’, provide 
a description of how the main principles of the Code have been 
applied by St. Modwen in 2016/17. The Code is published by the 
Financial Reporting Council and is available on its website at 
www.frc.org.uk.

It is the Board’s view that, throughout the financial year ended 
30 November 2017, the Company complied with the relevant 
provisions set out in the Code. 

With the exception of disclosures required by Rule 7.2.6 which are 
set out in the Directors’ report, this Corporate governance report 
contains the information required by Rule 7.2 of the Disclosure and 
Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

The directors are responsible for preparing this Annual Report. The 
statement of directors’ responsibilities on page 114 is made at the 
conclusion of a robust and effective process undertaken by the 
Company for the preparation and review of the Annual Report. The 
directors believe that these well-established arrangements, details 
of which are set out on page 80, enable them to ensure that the 
information presented in this annual report is fair, balanced and 
understandable and provides the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Company’s position and performance, 
business model and strategy.

Dialogue with investors
The Board has a comprehensive investor relations programme 
which aims to provide existing and potential investors with a means 
of developing their understanding of St. Modwen. The programme 
is split between institutional shareholders (who, in aggregate, hold 
over 80% of the issued share capital in the Company), private 
shareholders and debt investors. Feedback from the programme 
of events is provided to the Board to ensure that directors develop 
an understanding of the views of the Company’s major investors.

As part of the programme, presentations on the half year and 
annual results are given by the Chief Executive and Chief Financial 
Officer in face to face meetings and on conference calls with 
institutional investors, analysts and the media. Copies of these 
presentations, together with trading updates, are published on 
the Company’s website. Meetings with principal shareholders were 
also held and the Company had regular dialogue with its key 
relationship banks throughout the year. The Chairman is available 
to meet with institutional shareholders and investor representatives 
to discuss matters relating to strategy and governance. Private 
shareholders are encouraged to give feedback and communicate 
with the Board through the Company Secretary.

A capital markets day was held for investors and analysts on 
7 June 2017. The event was initiated by Mark Allan and arranged 
immediately following the completion of the six-month strategic 
and portfolio review. A copy of the presentation can be found at 
www.stmodwen.co.uk/uploads/documents/capital-markets-day-
presentation.pdf

Three key objectives were identified for the capital markets day:

1.  to provide greater visibility of the value creation potential 

primarily through the commercial and residential pipelines;

2.  to demonstrate the skills and abilities of the senior management 

team in driving forward the strategy; and 

3.  to detail the modelling of the Group in relation to the key areas 

of development and the associated financing.

Presenters included Mark Allan, Rob Hudson and other members 
of the SLE and covered the Group’s strategy, highlighting the 
opportunities identified across the Group’s assets in the context 
of the launch of the four strategic objectives (see pages 22 to 28).

Feedback from the analysts and institutional investors that 
attended was collated and reviewed by the Board at its June 
meeting, with the key messaging well received. 

Annual General Meeting
The AGM provides an opportunity for all shareholders to vote on 
the resolutions proposed and to question the Board and the Chairs 
of the Board Committees on matters put to the meeting. 

Resolutions for consideration at the 2018 AGM will be voted on by 
way of a poll rather than by a show of hands as the Board believes 
that this is a more transparent method of voting as it allows the 
votes of all shareholders to be counted, including those cast by 
proxy. The results of the poll vote will be published on the 
Company’s website after the meeting.

Notice of AGM 
Pages 180 to 185

74

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

THE COMMITTEE’S ACTIVITIES 
CONTINUE TO ENHANCE HOW 
WE UNDERSTAND AND MONITOR 
THE BUSINESS.

Ian Bull
Chairman of the Audit Committee

Principal role
To monitor the integrity of the Group’s financial reporting 
process, review the effectiveness and oversee the development 
of the internal controls and risk management systems and the 
results of internal audit reviews.

To monitor the statutory audit and review and monitor the 
independence of the external auditor, their objectivity and 
effectiveness and is responsible for the recommendation of 
the selection of the external auditor to the Board.

Key activities in 2016/17
Reviewed all risk management activities, including assessment 
of risk appetite and the Group’s key risk indicators.

Reviewed and changed internal audit (outsourced to PwC in 
2016) as part of an integrated approach to management of risk 
and controls.

Reviewed a number of key business functions: Finance, IT 
and systems support including resourcing to support the 
Group’s strategy.

Reviewed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) plans 
for the Group and supported the handover of external audit 
services from Deloitte to KPMG.

Areas of focus for 2017/18
•  Continuing to improve and assess risk management and 

internal controls.

•  Continuing to enhance the Group’s risk assurance framework 

and procedures including GDPR and cyber security.

•  Continuing risk management in the context of the Group’s 

new strategy.

Terms of reference
www.stmodwen.co.uk/about-us/corporate-governance

AT A GLANCE

Committee member

Member since

Ian Bull
Fellow of the Chartered Institute 
of Management Accountants

Kay Chaldecott(1)
Member of the Royal Institution 
of Chartered Surveyors

Jenefer Greenwood(2)
Fellow of the Royal Institution 
of Chartered Surveyors

Lesley James(3)
Companion of the Chartered 
Institute of the Personnel and 
Development

Sep 2014

Dec 2012

June 2017

Oct 2009

Meetings 
attended in 
year out of 
maximum 
possible

5/5

3/4

2/2

2/2

% attended 
in year

100%

75%

100%

100%

Richard Mully

Sep 2013

5/5

100%

(1) Unable to attend the meeting in January 2017 due to a prior business commitment.

  Resigned from the Committee with effect from 28 June 2017.

(2) Joined the Committee with effect from 1 June 2017.

(3) Resigned from the Committee with effect from 30 January 2017.

Committee meeting attendees (by invitation)
Chairman
Bill Shannon

Chief Financial Officer
Rob Hudson

Non-executive director
Simon Clarke

Group Financial Controller and Treasurer
Simon Redfern 

Company Secretary and Secretary to the Committee
Tanya Stote(1)

Andrew Eames(2)

Head of Internal Audit
Representatives from PwC 

External auditor
Representatives from Deloitte and KPMG(3)

External valuers
Representatives from Cushman & Wakefield and Jones Lang LaSalle

External advisors
Representatives from RSM (risk management)

(1) Resigned as Company Secretary on 1 November 2017.

(2) Appointed as General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim) on 9 November 

2017 (Rob Hudson, Chief Financial Officer was appointed as Company Secretary 
in the interim).

(3) Following the appointment of KPMG as the Company’s auditor for the year ended 
30 November 2017, Deloitte were invited to attend to complete the audit for the 
year ended 30 November 2016, whilst KPMG commenced as external auditor for 
the year ended 30 November 2017.

75

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationWe will report on the non-audit services undertaken in line with 
these arrangements in future reports. We also reviewed the Group’s 
policy on the employment of former employees of the auditor to 
ensure that the policy takes into account relevant legal 
requirements and professional standards.

The Committee also continues to focus on those matters it 
considers to be important by virtue of their size, complexity, level 
of judgement required or impact on the financial statements; these 
included the accounting treatment of the sale of our interest in the 
10-acre Nine Elms Square site. 

I would like to thank my fellow Committee members for their 
continued support and commitment to ensuring effective 
governance through the Committee’s activities and also to the 
executive team for their continued positive engagement on matters 
within the Committee’s remit.

Finally, there were a number of changes to the Committee’s 
composition in the year, after just over seven years’ service Lesley 
James stepped down as a member of the Committee and Kay 
Chaldecott also resigned from the Committee, in part to focus on 
assisting the SLE with the portfolio reviews as part of the strategy 
development process. I thank Kay and Lesley for their contributions. 
We were however pleased to welcome Jenefer Greenwood to the 
Committee following her appointment to the Board in June 2017 
and look forward to welcoming Jamie Hopkins in the coming year 
as part of planned succession. We have also announced that 
Richard Mully will be stepping down from the Board after nearly 
five years following the 2018 AGM, and I would also like to thank 
him for his contribution. 

I hope that the following report provides a useful guide to the 
activities of the Committee during the year.

Ian Bull
Chairman of the Audit Committee

5 February 2018

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT 
CONTINUED

As Chairman of the Audit Committee I am pleased to present the 
Committee’s report for the financial year ended 30 November 2017. 
The report is intended to provide meaningful insight into the 
Committee’s activities in the year and sets out how we have 
performed our responsibilities in relation to those areas within the 
Committee’s terms of reference, including financial reporting, 
internal control, risk management and in transition to KPMG’s first 
year as external auditor.

Good progress was made in the year across a number of areas 
including the approval of the Group’s tax strategy for publication as 
required and the accounting policies and judgements undertaken 
in relation to asset disposals in the year, including the 10-acre Nine 
Elms Square site and the review of the forecast liability to establish 
the market on behalf of the Covent Garden Market Authority 
(CGMA). The Committee continues to obtain greater insight into the 
business, from which we are able to effectively monitor, review and 
challenge as required. The work undertaken to assess and refresh 
the risk management process as a continuation of a Group-wide 
initiative in 2016 has progressed and has been assessed and tested 
to ensure that it remains effective in supporting the identification 
and management of the uncertainties faced by St. Modwen.

At the end of their first year as internal auditor (appointed 
1 December 2016), PwC has made a smooth transition, undertaken 
several key reviews and provided assurance on a number of internal 
processes such as the Group’s procurement process, identifying a 
number of operating inefficiencies of which improvements have 
been implemented, and an assessment of our cash handling 
procedures at a number of our sites where additional controls and 
management oversight has been introduced. Our approach to risk 
management is beginning to drive the audit requirements in the 
next few years. A full schedule of activities is planned for the 
coming year which will include a governance review as the Group’s 
strategy progresses.

As advised in last year’s report, the Committee determined that 
in 2016 the external audit would be put out to competitive tender 
with a recommendation by the Committee to the Board to appoint 
KPMG as the Company’s external auditor for the 2016/17 financial 
year. I am pleased to report the transition to KPMG from Deloitte 
went well and they have gained a good understanding of 
the business over the year. We thank Deloitte for their services 
and supporting the smooth transition.

The Committee also reaffirmed the arrangements it has developed 
to define and manage the use of the external auditor for non-audit 
services. In order to safeguard the objectivity, independence and 
effectiveness of its external auditor, St. Modwen continues to adopt 
a policy on the provision of non-audit services by its external 
auditor (or any member of the external auditor’s network) to the 
Group and having reviewed the policy in the year, non-audit 
services will fall into one of three categories:

1. where the involvement of the external auditor is prohibited;

2.  where the external auditor can be engaged, subject to the 

approval of the Chief Financial Officer; and

3.  where the external auditor can be engaged, subject to Audit 

Committee approval.

In categories 2 and 3, the skills and experience of the external 
auditor to perform the required services, the effect of the non-audit 
services on the audited financial statements, the potential impact 
of each project on the external auditor’s independence and 
objectivity, and the resulting ratio of non-audit to audit fees will 
be taken into consideration.

76

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017The Committee has direct access to the Head of Internal Audit, 
the external audit engagement partner and the external valuers 
outside formal Committee meetings. Whilst permitted to do so, 
no member of the Committee, nor the Committee collectively, 
sought outside professional advice beyond that which was 
provided directly to the Committee during the financial year. 

The performance of the Committee was evaluated by way of 
a questionnaire which was completed by all members of the 
Committee as well as those who attended Committee meetings. 
Feedback received was supportive of the manner in which the 
Committee operated, particularly in relation to the agenda items 
covered at Committee meetings and there was full consensus that 
the Chairman facilitated constructive debate in order to reach 
agreement and bring discussion to conclusion. Further feedback 
included the requirement to ensure future appointments will 
reinforce the Committee with further skills, expertise and 
experience in financial reporting. This is being addressed as part 
of the skills matrix assessments and succession planning activities 
of the Nomination Committee (see Nomination Committee report 
on pages 83 to 85. As identified in the 2015/16 Committee 
questionnaire and mentioned in last year’s Audit Committee report, 
the Committee has sought to strengthen the Internal Audit function 
with the appointment of PwC as Internal Auditors, see Internal Audit 
pages 81 and 82.

Activities of the Committee during the year
Reporting
The Committee undertook its primary responsibility in relation to 
the Group’s financial reporting, to review with both management 
and the external auditor the integrity of the half year and annual 
financial statements with particular focus on:

•  the consistency of, and any changes to, accounting policies 

and practices;

•  material areas in which significant judgements have been applied 
or where significant financial issues have been discussed with the 
external auditor;

•  the clarity of the disclosures and compliance with financial 
reporting standards and relevant financial and governance 
reporting requirements, such as statements on viability and 
going concern; and

•  whether the annual report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced 

and understandable and provides the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Company’s position and performance, 
business model and strategy.

Committee membership
All members of the Committee are independent Non-Executive 
Directors, collectively bringing broad financial and commercial 
experience at senior levels across a range of industries, particularly 
within the property industry. Ian Bull was appointed Committee 
Chairman in March 2015. He was Chief Financial Officer of Ladbrokes 
plc until February 2016 and is currently Chief Financial Officer of 
Parkdean Resorts UK Ltd. The Board considers him to have 
significant, recent and relevant financial experience as required 
by the Code. The Committee’s composition is kept under review 
by the Nomination Committee, which is responsible for making 
recommendations to the Board as to its membership, and the 
Board is of the view that the Committee as a whole has 
competence relevant to the sector in which the Company operates. 

All members of the Committee receive an appropriate induction 
to ensure that they have an understanding of the principles of, 
and recent developments in, financial reporting, key aspects of the 
Company’s accounting policies and judgements, and internal 
control and risk management arrangements, as well as the role of 
the internal and external auditors. Ongoing training is undertaken 
as required and there is opportunity for Committee members to 
speak with various employees within the Group as they present 
to the Committee on matters such as cyber security and the 
forthcoming data protection regulation, GDPR.

How the Committee operates
The Committee met five times during the year; the schedule 
included a stand-alone meeting with the external valuers to review 
and discuss their valuation reports. Meetings of the Committee 
generally take place just prior to a Board meeting to maximise 
the efficiency of interaction with the Board and the Committee 
Chairman reports to the Board, as a separate agenda item, on the 
activity of the Committee and matters of relevance to the Board 
in the conduct of its work.

Representatives from the external auditor are invited to each 
meeting together with other Board members, the Group Financial 
Controller, the Head of Internal Audit and the Company Secretary. 
Representatives from both Cushman & Wakefield and Jones Lang 
LaSalle (JLL), the external valuers, are invited to attend meetings 
at which the half year and annual valuations of the Group’s 
investment properties are considered by the Committee. 
Representatives from the Group’s external advisors such as RSM 
who advise on risk management, as well as other St. Modwen 
employees, are invited to attend meetings as appropriate. 

At least once a year, usually preceding a Committee meeting, the 
Committee meets separately with the external audit engagement 
partner and with the Head of Internal Audit to give them the 
opportunity to discuss matters without executive management 
being present. The Committee Chairman also holds separate one- 
to-one meetings with the Chief Financial Officer, the Head of 
Internal Audit and with KPMG, typically ahead of Committee 
meetings, to better understand the issues and areas of concern 
and to make sure adequate time is devoted to these matters at 
the subsequent meeting. 

77

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationAUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT 
CONTINUED

Accounting policies and practices
The Committee received reports from management in relation to the continuing appropriateness of accounting policies applied by the 
Group and any changes required as a consequence of the implementation of new accounting standards.

During the year we have begun our analysis of the implications of adopting three new significant accounting standards and their effects.

Standard

Expected impact

Future actions

IFRS 9 Financial Instruments

IFRS 15 Revenue from contracts with customers

IFRS 16 Leases

Likely limited to the calculation of bad debt 
provision to focus on expected losses rather 
than incurred losses.

Review of bad debt processes and 
designing new policy during the 
forthcoming year. 

Likely to result in different revenue 
recognition profiles, particularly on certain 
construction contracts and non-standard 
elements of housebuilding.

Recognition of ‘right of use assets’ and 
associated liabilities for operating leases, 
limited to certain premises, motor vehicles 
and office equipment.

Detailed review of existing contracts to 
commence during the forthcoming year.

Review of leases to take place during the 
forthcoming year to model the impact of 
the new accounting standard.

Following consideration and discussions with KPMG, the Committee was satisfied that the accounting policies and related disclosure in this 
annual report were appropriate.

Accounting policies 
See pages 126 to 132

Significant judgements and financial issues
The Committee pays particular attention to matters it considers to be important by virtue of their impact on the Group’s results, or the 
level of complexity, judgement or estimation involved in their application to the Group financial statements. The significant financial issues 
considered by the Committee in relation to the 2017 financial statements, and how these were addressed, are outlined below. The 
Committee discussed these with the external auditor and, where appropriate, how these were addressed by KPMG’s audit scope.

Independent Auditor’s report 
See pages 115 to 120

Significant issues

Work undertaken by and conclusion of the Committee

Valuation of investment properties  
(see note 9 to the Group financial statements)
The valuation of St. Modwen’s investment properties 
is a key determinant of the Group’s balance sheet and 
performance as well as indirectly impacting executive 
variable remuneration.

Although the portfolio valuation is conducted 
externally by independent valuers, the nature of 
valuation estimates is inherently subjective and 
requires significant judgements and assumptions 
to be made by the valuers. These include market 
comparable yields, estimates in relation to future 
rental income, void periods, purchaser costs, together 
with remediation and other costs to complete, some 
of which require management input. These judgements 
and assumptions are subject to market forces and will 
change accordingly.

The Committee adopts a formal approach by which the valuation process, 
methodology, assumptions and outcomes are reviewed and robustly 
challenged. This includes separate review and scrutiny by both management 
and the Committee, with members of the Committee discussing the 
valuations both prior to and at Committee meetings in January and June. 
It also includes the external auditor which is assisted by its own specialist team 
of chartered surveyors who are familiar with the valuation approach and UK 
property market. 

The external auditor has direct access to the Group’s valuers and their remit 
extends to investigating and confirming that no undue influence has been 
exerted by management in relation to the valuations. The external auditor 
reviewed the valuations and process and reported its findings to the Committee.

Both Cushman & Wakefield and JLL submit their valuation reports to the 
Committee as part of the half year and full year results process. Both valuers 
were asked to present their valuation reports at Committee meetings and 
highlight any significant judgements made or disagreements between 
themselves and management; there were none.

Against the backdrop of the continued uncertainty created by the UK’s vote 
to leave the EU, the Committee also considered the extent to which this could 
impact the property investment and lettings market in terms of both activity 
and liquidity.

Based on the degree of oversight and challenge applied to the valuation 
process, the Committee concluded that the valuation as a whole had each 
been conducted appropriately, independently and in accordance with the 
valuers’ professional standards.

78

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Significant issues

Work undertaken by and conclusion of the Committee

Net realisable value of inventories  
(see note 13 to the Group financial statements)
The Group’s inventories, comprising property held 
for sale, property under development commenced 
with a view to sale and land under option, is of 
significant value.

All inventory is carried at the lower of cost and net 
realisable value and appropriate allowances are made 
for remediation and other costs to complete. For the 
majority of inventories held, management rely on 
their own internal procedures for assessing the 
carrying value of inventory. These require a number 
of judgements to be made, such as forecast revenue 
and costs, that derive a profit margin over the 
development and provide an indication of the 
recoverability of the inventory.

Accrual for costs in relation to the NCGM site 
(see note 11 to the Group financial statements)
The project to procure a market at the Nine Elms site 
for CGMA is a significant project which is forecast to 
continue for multiple years. 

Our share of the total costs of the market construction 
are forecast (pre-discounting) to be c.£145m but this 
assessment is an area of significant accounting 
judgement for the Group. 

The Group engages with external experts to form 
a reliable estimate of the costs associated with 
the project.

The Committee reviewed management’s assessment as to whether any 
provision was required against the carrying value of inventory, either at Group 
level or within any joint venture arrangements. The assessment process 
undertaken to determine net realisable value was considered by the 
Committee, which included ongoing monitoring by management as well as 
detailed reviews at both the half and full year. Cushman & Wakefield also 
provided valuations for certain sites, typically new build units not yet sold.

The Committee concluded that the judgements and estimates made by 
management were in line with Group policy, reasonable and appropriate and 
were supported by KPMG.

During 2017, the Committee has:

•  reviewed a report from the external expert to form a view on the 
appropriateness of the liability included for the NCGM project; 

•  assessed and discussed the sensitivities, risks and opportunities inherent 

in the project highlighted in this report; and

•  assessed the range of outcomes discussed in this report to satisfy itself that 
the accrual has been made at a level which fairly represents the likelihood 
of the sensitivities, risks and opportunities materialising.

The Committee concluded that the liability recognised in respect of this 
project was appropriate.

Other issues

Work undertaken by and conclusion of the Committee

Tax provisions 
(see note 6 to the Group financial statements)
As a property group, tax and its treatment is often 
an integral part of transactions undertaken by 
St. Modwen. The outcomes of tax treatments are 
recognised by the Group to the extent the outcome 
is reasonably certain.

Where tax treatments have been challenged by 
HMRC, or management believe that there is a risk of 
such challenge, or new tax regulation is introduced, 
provision is made for the best estimate of potential 
exposure based on the information available at the 
reporting date.

Disposal of 10-acre site at Nine Elms Square 
(see note 11 to the Group financial statements)
Certain property transactions entered into by the 
Group are more significant to the results of the Group 
and/or involve an element of complexity and the 
need to exercise judgement to determine the most 
appropriate accounting treatment. This includes the 
disposal of the 10-acre site at Nine Elms Square in 
August 2017 by a joint venture of the Group for £470m.

Due to the significant size of the transaction, and 
because the sale represented only a proportion of the 
land on this site, there were a number of complexities 
inherent in its disposal.

As with the rest of the portfolio, significant 
judgements and assumptions are made by JLL, our 
independent valuers of this asset, in arriving at the 
valuation, some of which required management input.

Based on reports from management and PwC (the Group’s tax compliance 
advisor), the Committee has continued to assess the risk of challenge and 
individual judgements made by management in respect of tax provisions and 
was satisfied that the mitigating actions and resultant level of tax provisioning 
at both the full year and half year remained appropriate.

Further disclosure on taxation is set out in note 6 to the Group financial 
statements and the accounting policies note on page 131. 

Following the initial recognition in 2015, the Committee has continued 
to assess the appropriateness of the accounting treatment adopted and 
associated disclosure, particularly given the scale and complexity of the 
proposed development.

In addition, in relation to the disposal the Committee reviewed; 

•  the elements of the asset included in the disposal and their valuation;

•  the liabilities retained under the terms of the disposal for completeness; 

•  the calculation of the overage liability to the CGMA in respect of the 

disposal; and 

•  the calculation of profit on disposal and the associated tax provision.

The Committee concluded that the accounting treatment adopted and 
valuation assumptions made were appropriate.

79

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationExternal auditor
KPMG, as the external auditor, is engaged to express an opinion on 
the Company’s and the Group’s financial statements. Their audit 
includes a review and test of the systems of internal control and 
data contained in the financial statements to the extent necessary 
to express an audit opinion on them. Having undertaken a 
competitive external auditor tender process in respect of the 
2016/17 year and appointing KPMG to the office of auditor, with 
Bill Holland of KPMG as the Senior Audit Partner, the Company has 
complied with the Statutory Services for Large Companies Market 
Investigation (Mandatory use of Competitive Tender Processes and 
Audit Responsibilities) order 2014. Under the current regulations, 
the Company will be required to retender the audit by no later than 
2026/27 and the Committee will keep the external auditor tender 
under review and act in accordance with any changes in regulations 
and best practice relating to the tenure of the external auditor.

Audit plan
In respect of the audit for the financial year ended 30 November 
2017, KPMG presented their audit plan to the Committee (prepared 
in consultation with management). The audit plan took into account 
key changes in the business and the impact of these on materiality, 
scope and risk assessment. The audit fee, which was approved by 
the Committee, was felt to be appropriate given the scope of work 
whilst not adversely affecting KPMG’s independence or objectivity.

Independence
The Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the 
objectivity and independence of the external auditor. In KPMG’s 
first year as external auditor, the Committee has reviewed:

•  the confirmation from KPMG that they maintain appropriate 

internal safeguards in line with applicable professional standards; 
and

•  the mitigating actions taken by the Committee in seeking to 

safeguard KPMG’s independent status, including the operation 
of policies designed to regulate the appointment of former 
employees of the external audit firm and the extent of non-audit 
services provided by the external auditor.

Taking the above review into account, the Committee concluded 
that KPMG was objective and independent in their role as 
external auditor.

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT 
CONTINUED

Viability and going concern
The Committee provides advice to the Board on the form and basis 
underlying both the going concern statement and the longer-term 
viability statement. 

As both statements rely on forecasts, the Committee considered 
the assumptions and judgements applied by management in 
relation to the timing of receipt and payment cash flows, the 
ongoing availability of funding and covenant compliance. The 
Committee also reviewed the sensitivity analysis prepared by 
management, including the assumptions made.

The Committee concluded that it remains appropriate for the 
financial statements to be prepared on a going concern basis 
and recommended the viability statement to the Board.

Going concern statement 
See page 113

Viability statement 
See page 61

Fair, balanced and understandable
When reporting to shareholders the Board aims to present a fair, 
balanced and understandable assessment of the Company’s 
position and performance and is assisted in this by the Committee. 
This responsibility covers the annual and half year reports and 
financial statements, as well as trading updates and other 
financial reporting.

The Committee is satisfied and has confirmed to the Board that 
the 2017 annual report and financial statements are fair, balanced 
and understandable and provide the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Group’s position and performance, 
business model and strategy.

In reaching this view the Committee considered the robust and 
well-established processes in place to prepare the annual report 
and financial statements which include:

•  clear guidance and instruction is given to all contributors;

•  revisions to regulatory requirements and governance principles, 

including the Code, are continually monitored;

•  meetings are held with the auditors in advance of the year end 

reporting process;

•  input is provided by senior management to identify relevant 
and material information and ensure accurate, consistent and 
balanced reporting;

•  detailed debates and discussions regarding principal risks 

and uncertainties;

•  focused review and approval of specific sections by the relevant 
Board Committees, supported by regular reporting by Board 
Committees to the Board on their activities;

•  a review by the Committee of reports prepared by management 
on accounting estimates and judgements, auditor reports on 
internal controls, accounting and reporting matters and a 
management representation letter concerning accounting and 
reporting matters;

•  consideration of the draft annual report and financial statements 

by the Committee in advance of final sign-off; and

•  review and approval by the external auditor.

The Board takes into account the view of the Committee when 
undertaking its own review of the document prior to giving 
final approval.

80

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Non-audit fees
To help safeguard KPMG’s objectivity, independence and 
effectiveness, the Committee has refreshed a non-audit services 
policy which sets out the circumstances and financial limits 
within which the external auditor may be permitted to provide 
certain non-audit services (such as tax and other services).

This policy sets a presumption that KPMG should only be 
engaged for non-audit services where there is an obvious and 
compelling reason to do so (for example their skills and 
experience or ability to provide the services) and provided such 
work does not impair their independence or objectivity and has 
no impact on the audited financial statements. It prohibits KPMG 
from providing certain services including legal, valuation, 
actuarial and internal audit. Where KPMG can be engaged and 
their fees are anticipated to exceed £25,000, advance approval 
of the Audit Committee on the recommendation of the Chief 
Financial Officer is required; no such approvals were required 
in the year. 

The Committee is advised of all non-audit services provided, 
irrespective of value, and reviews all expenditure annually. Save 
for any fees payable for non-audit work required to be carried 
out by the external auditor by law or regulation, the policy limits 
the total fees payable to the external auditor for non-audit 
services to no more than 70% of the average of the audit fees 
paid in the last three consecutive financial years for the audit of 
the Company and the Group.

Non-audit fees paid to KPMG (2016: Deloitte) in the year totalled 
£nil (2016: £22,000), representing 0% (2016: 5%) of the fees paid 
for audit and audit-related assurance services.

Further information on the remuneration of the external auditor 
can be found in Note 4b to the Group financial statements.

Effectiveness
The Committee resolved not to undertake an assessment of 
Deloitte’s performance as outgoing external auditor. As the financial 
year ended 30 November 2017 is KPMG’s first year as external 
auditor, an assessment on external audit effectiveness will be 
completed later in 2018 when sufficient time has passed with KPMG 
in post which will comprise an extensive questionnaire on external 
audit effectiveness to be completed by management and the Board 
which will be assessed by the Committee. The Committee will also 
consider KPMG’s experience and expertise, the extent to which the 
audit plan had been met, its robustness and perceptiveness with 
regard to key accounting and audit judgements and the content 
of its audit reports. As part of its considerations, the Committee 
reviews a report on the audit firm’s own internal quality control 
procedures together with the policies and processes for 
maintaining independence and monitoring compliance with 
relevant requirements. 

Internal audit
A competitive tender process was undertaken in 2016 and the 
Committee approved the appointment of PwC to provide internal 
audit services with effect from 1 December 2016. As the complexity 
and reach of the business continues to grow, the Committee 
recognises the benefits that a fully outsourced internal audit 
function offers. The internal auditor’s key objectives are to provide 
independent and objective assurance that each business area 
implements and maintains appropriate and effective controls. An 
Internal Audit Charter, which is reviewed annually, governs its remit 
and sets out the standards against which activities are undertaken.

Internal audit is a standing agenda item at each Committee 
meeting. Reports from the Head of Internal Audit usually include 
updates on audit activities and assurance, progress of the Group 
audit plan, the results of internal audits and monitoring the status 
of implementation of recommendations to address any 
unsatisfactory areas. During the year, internal audits were carried 
out across a number of areas, as intended, extending the scope of 
internal audit within the business including key controls reviews, 
to build on the Group internal controls checklist to identify control 
gaps and mitigating controls and aspects of Safety, Health & 
Environment (SHE), focusing largely on the sufficiency of 
management oversight controls and associated reporting.

The Committee reviews and approves annually the audit plan for 
a rolling three-year period which is closely aligned to the key risks 
the business faces. It also has input into ensuring that adequate 
resources are made available and that the necessary support is 
provided by the business to accomplish the agreed work 
programme. The Committee Chairman meets with the Head of 
Internal Audit regularly to discuss activities and the nature of any 
significant issues which may have arisen.

As PwC is already engaged by the Group to provide tax compliance 
advice, extensive enquiries were made prior to their appointment 
as internal auditor to ensure that their existing role did not 
compromise their independence. As intended no new areas of tax 
work have been allocated to PwC and safeguards continue to be 
in place, with Committee approval as necessary, should a conflict 
arise. There were none reported in the year.

81

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationAUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT 
CONTINUED

The effectiveness of the internal audit function is reviewed annually 
by the Committee, primarily by assessing performance against the 
Internal Audit Charter. The Committee remained satisfied that the 
function continued to operate effectively throughout the year. It 
was the Committee’s intention to seek an independent external 
review of the function in 2016, however, in light of the decision to 
outsource, this was postponed until after PwC’s first year in the role. 
During the year ending 30 November 2018 the Committee will 
review PwC’s activities and performance to ensure that the internal 
audit services meet the scope and quality required.

The Committee has carried out a robust assessment of the principal 
risks facing the Company, including those that would threaten its 
business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity. The 
Group’s risk management framework incorporates both a top-
down and bottom-up approach to the evaluation of risk, to ensure 
there is a common understanding of those risks to which the Group 
is exposed and their potential impact on the performance of the 
business and achievement of strategy. Its evaluation of these 
solvency risks in the context of the new strategy is described 
further in the going concern and viability statements.

Risk management and internal control
During the year, the Committee monitored and reviewed the 
effectiveness of the Group’s internal control systems, accounting 
policies and practices, standards of risk management and risk 
management procedures and compliance controls, as well as the 
Company’s statements on internal controls, before they were 
agreed by the Board for this Annual Report.

In doing so the Committee considered:

•  the Group’s risk register, including significant and emerging risks, 
mitigating controls in place and how exposures have changed 
over the reporting period;

•  an updated risk appetite framework, with key risk indicators 

reviewed and refreshed and associated tolerances defined and 
aligned to the business’s wider performance reporting following 
the development of the strategy;

•  internal audit reports on key audit areas and any significant 

deficiencies in the control environment;

•  management reports on the systems of internal controls and 

risk management, including tax compliance;

•  external audit reports from KPMG which included details of their 

risk assessment process for the purposes of audit;

•  actual and potential legal claims and litigation involving the 

Group;

•  internal audit reports on potential fraudulent activities 

perpetrated against the Group;

•  the effectiveness of the internal audit function; and

•  the Group’s approach to IT, information security and Data 

Protection regulations.

A significant project to review the Group’s risk appetite, risk 
register and the monitoring and mitigation of risks had taken place 
during 2016 in consultation with RSM. The risk appetite framework 
to ensure that St. Modwen continues to operate within a level of 
risk exposure acceptable to the Board has been reviewed and 
reassessed in the year. As further progress a suite of key risk 
indicators has been established and integrated into the overall 
framework for risk monitoring, see pages 50 to 61. This review has 
also included a detailed review of the Group risk register, the risk 
appetite framework and risk management strategy.

Following a review in 2016 by BDO a number of enhancements 
have been made to strengthen the control environment, meaning 
that all actions are either completed or well-progressed. For 2017, 
PwC have built upon this review, both tracking progress on the 
actions identified by BDO and by suggesting areas for 
improvement in the internal control environment, particularly key 
financial controls but also other controls, which are in the process 
of being addressed.

The Board is ultimately responsible for maintaining a sound system 
of risk management and internal control and for determining the 
nature and extent of risks it is willing to take to achieve its strategic 
objectives. 

Risk management 
See pages 50 to 55

Whistleblowing and fraud
The Group’s whistleblowing policy encourages employees to 
report, in confidence and anonymously if preferred, concerns 
about suspected impropriety or wrongdoing in any matters 
affecting the business. An independent hotline exists to facilitate 
this process. Any matters reported are thoroughly investigated 
and escalated to the Committee. During the year there was one 
whistleblowing incident reported to the Committee and, 
following review, it was satisfied that matters had been dealt 
with appropriately.

The Group’s fraud prevention policy requires employees to 
be alert to the possibility of the threat of fraud and to report 
immediately any concerns they have. The Company remains 
vigilant against such risk, including fraudulent payment 
requests, and continues to monitor the adequacy of controls 
and procedures to prevent such fraud. The Committee is made 
aware of all potential fraudulent activity. During the year the 
Committee reviewed the instances of cash across the Group and 
the controls over them, and commissioned internal audit reviews 
to gain assurance over this area.

82

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017NOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT

THE COMMITTEE WILL 
CONTINUE TO REVIEW 
SUCCESSION PLANS IN THE 
CONTEXT OF THE GROUP’S 
STRATEGY.

Bill Shannon
Chairman of the Nomination Committee

Principal role
To review the succession planning and leadership needs of the 
Group and lead the process for Board appointments, ensuring 
that directors have an appropriate range of skills, diversity and 
experience to deliver St. Modwen’s strategy.

Key activities in 2016/17
•  Selected and recommended the appointment of 
Jenefer Greenwood as non-executive director.

•  Reviewed and recommended the re-appointment of 

Simon Clarke, Lesley James, and Bill Shannon. 

•  Reviewed and then utilised the skills matrix developed in 2016 

as part of succession planning activity.

Areas of focus for 2017/18
•  Continue to monitor and develop Board and senior 

management succession in the context of the Company’s 
medium and longer-term strategy.

•  Continue to support management and the Board 

in promoting diversity across the workforce.

Terms of reference
www.stmodwen.co.uk/about-us/corporate-governance

AT A GLANCE

Committee member

Member since

Ian Bull

Kay Chaldecott(1)

Jenefer Greenwood(2)

Lesley James

Richard Mully

Bill Shannon

Sep 2014

Mar 2013

Jun 2017

Oct 2009

Sep 2013

Nov 2010

Meetings 
attended in 
year out of 
maximum 
possible

% attended in 
year

3/3

2/3

3/3

3/3

3/3

3/3

100%

66.6%

100%

100%

100%

100%

(1) Unable to attend the meeting in September 2017 due to a prior 

business commitment.

(2) Joined the Committee with effect from 1 June 2017.

Committee meeting attendees (by invitation)
Chief Executive
Mark Allan 

Non-executive director
Simon Clarke

Company Secretary and secretary to the Committee
Tanya Stote(1)

Andrew Eames(2)

(1) Resigned as Company Secretary on 1 November 2017.

(2) Appointed as General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim) on 9 November 

2017 (Rob Hudson, Chief Financial Officer was appointed as Company Secretary 
in the interim).

The Committee plays a vital role in ensuring that St. Modwen 
is headed by a Board which is collectively responsible for the 
long-term success of the Company and is best placed to operate 
effectively in the context of our strategic objectives.

This year again was an important one for the Committee. Having 
appointed Mark Allan as Chief Executive in 2016, the primary focus 
returned to wider succession planning in the context of the Group’s 
strategy as outlined in this Annual Report. The Committee has 
undertaken to ensure that arrangements are in place for the orderly 
and progressive refreshing of the Board as we look ahead and 
consider the extent to which the collective skills, experience and 
capabilities of the directors support the Group’s strategic direction. 

Having further enhanced and utilised a skills matrix developed to 
support its assessment of the requirements of the Board, we were 
pleased to appoint Jenefer Greenwood as an independent non-
executive director in June. Jenefer’s considerable experience 
working with both investors and developers in the property and 
regeneration sectors and expertise in leasing and sales strategy 
was identified by the Board in the context of the skills assessment. 
Jenefer has joined the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration 
Committees and in line with succession planning arrangements, 
Jenefer will succeed Lesley James as Chair of the Remuneration 
Committee during 2018, a role she is experienced in.

The Committee also considered the appointment of the new 
Company Secretary, following the resignation of Tanya Stote after 
five years’ service. We were pleased in November to appoint 
Andrew Eames as General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim).

83

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT 
CONTINUED

The Committee also considers the skills matrix, together with 
matters such as independence and individual performance, when 
making its recommendations to the Board on the re-appointment 
of non-executive directors. In the year, Simon Clarke, Lesley James 
and I were re-appointed to the Board.

Looking forward to 2018, the Committee will continue to review 
succession plans in the context of the Group’s strategy to ensure 
that arrangements are in place for the orderly and progressive 
refreshing of the Board and to identify key talent within the 
business with potential for appointment to senior management 
and Board positions.

Recognising the benefits that diversity can bring, and noting 
publications such as Sir John Parker’s report on ethnic diversity 
and the Hampton-Alexander Review of gender diversity in FTSE 
companies, the Committee will also continue to support 
management and the Board in promoting parity of representation 
across the workforce.

Meaningful reporting on the activities of the Committee is 
challenging due to the sensitive nature of the matters which fall 
within its remit. However, the remainder of this report attempts to 
provide insight into the way in which the Committee operates and 
its activities during the year; I hope you find it informative.

Bill Shannon
Chairman of the Nomination Committee

5 February 2018

Committee membership
All members of the Committee are independent non-executive 
directors, with each bringing broad financial and commercial 
experience at senior levels across a range of industries. The 
Committee is responsible for keeping its composition under 
review and for making recommendations to the Board as to its 
membership. Its assessment using the skills matrix includes specific 
desired attributes such as regeneration expertise, planning and 
portfolio management, financial acumen and audit and 
remuneration experience.

The Chairman of the Board chairs all meetings of the Committee 
unless they relate to the appointment of his successor; for these 
meetings, the Senior Independent Director (SID) is invited to take 
the Chair unless the SID is in contention for the role.

How the Committee operates
The Committee met formally on three occasions, primarily to 
progress succession planning as the Company’s strategy developed 
and usually immediately prior to or following a Board meeting, but 
also meets on other occasions on an ad hoc basis as may be 
needed. A number of informal meetings, conference calls and 
discussions also took place between Committee members, search 
consultants and potential candidates throughout the year. The 
Committee Chairman reports to the Board, as a separate agenda 
item, on the activity of the Committee and matters of particular 
relevance to the Board in the conduct of its work.

Only members of the Committee have the right to attend 
meetings. However, an invitation to attend meetings is extended 
to Simon Clarke, a non-executive director, and the Chief Executive 
attends for all or part of meetings by invitation in order that the 
Committee can understand his views, particularly on key talent 
within the business.

84

The performance of the Committee was evaluated during the year 
by way of a questionnaire which was completed by all members 
of the Committee as well as those who attended Committee 
meetings. Feedback received was supportive of the manner in 
which the Committee operated, but highlighted that there was 
scope to improve and evolve in relation to developing talent within 
the business and to closely monitor the environment for 
prospective candidates. Details of the steps taken to address 
succession planning can be found below in the section headed 
‘Succession planning’ overleaf.

Activities of the Committee during the year
Appointment and re-appointment of directors
The Committee leads the process for appointments to the Board 
and makes recommendations to the Board when suitable 
candidates have been identified in line with Board-approved 
procedures. When a vacancy arises, the Committee evaluates the 
balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge on the 
Board before preparing a description of the role and capabilities 
required for that appointment. Where appropriate external 
recruitment consultants are engaged to assist with the search 
process. Appointments are made based on merit whilst having 
regard to the need to maintain Board diversity in all its forms.

Appointment of non-executive director
During the year The Committee engaged the Zygos Partnership, 
a leading executive search firm, that had been used previously in 
the appointment of Mark Allan as Chief Executive to assist with the 
search to identify a new non-executive director who would also 
succeed Lesley James as Chair of the Remuneration Committee 
during 2018. Whilst Zygos has been engaged by the Company in 
a search consultancy capacity previously, it does not provide any 
other services to the Company.

In accordance with the Committee’s appointment procedures, 
Zygos prepared a detailed role specification which included the 
expected time commitment and duties to be performed both as 
a non-executive director and as Chairman, in the future, of the 
Remuneration Committee. Candidates from a range of backgrounds 
were considered, including both male and female candidates, and 
comprehensive profiles were prepared by Zygos for consideration 
by the Committee. Detailed references were sought in respect of 
the shortlisted candidates. Following a thorough process, the 
Nomination Committee recommended that Jenefer Greenwood be 
appointed to the role having the desired skillset and remuneration 
experience. The Board accepted the recommendation and Jenefer 
was duly appointed as a non-executive director on 1 June 2017. 
Since her appointment Jenefer has been gaining significant 
knowledge of the Company and the role of the Chair of the 
Remuneration Committee alongside Lesley James.

Re-appointment of non-executive directors
Independent non-executive directors, including the Chairman, are 
appointed by the Board for an initial three-year term and typically 
serve a second three-year term. Beyond this a third term of up to 
three years may be served subject to a particularly rigorous review 
and taking into account the need for progressive refreshment of the 
Board. Appointments are subject to satisfactory performance 
reviews, re-election by shareholders and statutory provisions 
relating to the removal of directors.

The terms of service of the Chairman and the other non-executive 
directors are contained in letters of appointment. These set out the 
time commitment expected from each non-executive director to 
ensure they perform their duties satisfactorily. Each non-executive 
director confirms that they are able to allocate the time 
commitment required at the time of their appointment and 
thereafter as part of their individual annual effectiveness review 
undertaken by the Chairman (or the SID in the case of the 
Chairman’s review).

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017During the year, the Committee considered the re-appointment of 
Simon Clarke (non-executive director), Lesley James (Remuneration 
Committee Chairman), and Bill Shannon (Chairman). In making its 
recommendations, which were approved by the Board and are set 
out below, the Committee considered the relevant director’s skills, 
experience, independence and performance, succession planning 
in the context of the Company’s strategy and the extent to which it 
was satisfied that the director would be able to continue to dedicate 
sufficient time to fulfil their role on the Board.

•  Simon Clarke: completed 13 years’ service and re-appointed for 

a further one-year term. Whilst not considered to be independent 
for the purposes of the UK Corporate Governance Code, as the 
longest serving director on the Board, Simon brings continuity 
and extensive knowledge of the business to the Board as well 
as strong commercial and management experience.

•  Lesley James: completed eight years’ service. Appointment 

renewed for a further one-year term.

•  Bill Shannon: completed seven years’ service. Appointment 

renewed for a further one-year term.

Independence and re-election to the Board
Following her appointment in June 2017, Jenefer Greenwood will 
retire and offer herself for re-election. Jamie Hopkins, appointed in 
the year 2017/18 (joining the Board with effect from 1 March 2018) 
will also retire for re-election. As announced Kay Chaldecott and 
Richard Mully will not be standing for re-election at the 2018 AGM. 
In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code all other 
directors will retire and offer themselves for re-election to the Board.

Those directors who have been in post throughout the year 
have been subject to a formal performance evaluation process and 
both the Committee and the Board are satisfied that all directors 
continue to be effective in, and demonstrate commitment to, their 
respective roles on the Board and that each makes a valuable 
contribution to the leadership of the Company. The Board therefore 
recommends that shareholders approve the resolutions to be 
proposed at the 2018 AGM relating to the election and re-election 
of the directors. Further supporting information in respect of the 
non-executive directors can be found on pages 66 and 67.

With the exception of Simon Clarke, who is not deemed to be 
independent by virtue of his representation of the interests of the 
Clarke family and his length of tenure, the Committee has also 
reviewed and confirmed the independence of each non-executive 
director seeking re-election at the 2018 AGM.

Succession planning
Effective succession planning is critical to the long-term success 
of the Company. To support its activities in respect of succession 
planning at Board level, the Committee completed a skills matrix 
assessment to identify any competencies or skills that will be 
required or should be strengthened to support the delivery of the 
strategy in the longer term and help guide recruitment needs over 
the medium term.

The Committee intends to continue to undertake a skills matrix 
assessment annually to ensure that succession planning remains 
closely aligned to the strategic direction of the Group and delivers 
the correct balance of knowledge, skills and attributes to enable 
the Board and its Committees to operate effectively.

The Board also recognises the importance of developing employees 
of St. Modwen, particularly in relation to succession planning for 
senior positions within the Company. People development is reviewed 
by both the Nomination Committee and the Board to ensure that 
plans are in place to recognise and grow internal talent. As part of 
the Board’s agenda in the year a new organisational design 
framework was presented, aligning the SLE to the new strategy 
and detailing a clear career development pipeline and key 
employees were identified in respect of new roles within St. Modwen.

Board diversity 
All aspects of diversity, including but not limited to gender, are 
considered during the recruitment process at every level within 
the business, including appointments to the Board. The Board 
acknowledges the importance of diversity in all forms and 
recognises the benefits that it can bring, both to the boardroom 
and across the business by drawing on a range of thought, 
experience and expertise. Differences in skills, industry experience, 
background, ethnicity, gender and other qualities can combine to 
provide different perspectives and impact positively on the Group’s 
performance and wider organisational effectiveness.

Both the Committee and the Board have a fundamental obligation 
to ensure that the best candidates, selected on merit against 
objective criteria, are appointed. Subject to this, the availability of 
suitable candidates and compliance with the requirements of the 
Equality Act, the Board is committed to strengthening female 
representation at Board and senior management level and gender 
will continue to be an active consideration. It has not however set 
prescriptive targets as it does not believe these are in the best 
interests of either the Company or its shareholders.

The Board currently comprises three female non-executive 
directors, Lesley James, Jenefer Greenwood and Kay Chaldecott, 
who together represent 33% female Board membership. Gender 
diversity below Board level is set out on page 19.

In support of its diversity policy, the Committee will only engage 
executive search firms who have signed up to the Enhanced 
Voluntary Code of Conduct which supports more female 
appointments to FTSE 350 boards and that, as far as possible, 
search agencies would be encouraged to provide a diverse range 
of candidates for vacancies. The policy would be kept under review 
as market practice in this area continued to evolve. 

Composition of the Board

Independent directors (56%)
Non-independent directors (33%)
Non-exec. Chairman (independent) 
(11%)

Length of directors’ tenures 

< 3 yrs (33%)
3-6 yrs (33%)

7-9 yrs (23%)
> 9 yrs (11%)

1

1

2

3

3

3

5

Directors’ core area of expertise
Property and operations (56%)
Finance (33%)
HR (11%)

1

3

5

85

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT

VARIABLE REMUNERATION FOR THE 
YEAR REFLECTS THE FINANCIAL 
PERFORMANCE OF THE GROUP.

Lesley James, CBE
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

Principal role
Determines the policy for the remuneration of the executive 
directors, which is designed to promote the long-term success 
of the Company, be compatible with risk policies and controls 
and be aligned to the Company’s long-term strategic goals, 
culture and values.

Key activities in 2016/17
•  Finalised remuneration policy for three years from 2017 AGM 
and determined how the policy would be applied for 2016/17.

•  Reviewed the remuneration and incentive arrangements of 

our senior executive team alongside the Board’s review of the 
role and responsibilities of the members of that team.

•  Ensured the performance metrics and targets selected for 
incentive plans were closely aligned with our long-term 
strategic goals.

•  Continued to monitor market trends in remuneration 

arrangements and developments in corporate governance.

•  Undertook our triennial review of the Committee’s external 
advisors and, following a tender process, Korn Ferry Hay 
Group were appointed with effect from December 2017.

Areas of focus for 2017/18
•  Continue to monitor market trends and governance 

developments – in particular legislative and regulatory 
changes resulting from the proposed reforms to pay 
governance, including the broader role and remit of 
the Committee.

•  Review the implementation of the remuneration policy to 

ensure it remains appropriate in light of our evolving business 
strategy, culture and values while also taking due account of 
wider company pay structures.

Terms of reference
www.stmodwen.co.uk/about-us/corporate-governance

86

AT A GLANCE

Committee member

Member since

Ian Bull(1)

Kay Chaldecott

Sep 2014

Dec 2012

Jenefer Greenwood, OBE(2)

Jun 2017

Lesley James, CBE

Richard Mully

Bill Shannon

Oct 2009

Sep 2013

Nov 2010

Meetings 
attended in 
year out of 
maximum 
possible

% attended in 
year

3/4

4/4

3/3

4/4

4/4

4/4

75%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

(1) Unable to attend the meeting in February 2017 due to a prior business commitment.

(2) Joined the Committee with effect from 1 June 2017.

Committee meeting 
attendees (by invitation)
Chief Executive
Mark Allan

Non-executive director
Simon Clarke

Group HR Director 
Jane Saint

Company Secretary and 
Secretary to the Committee
Tanya Stote(1)

Andrew Eames(2)

Committee advisor
Representatives from New 
Bridge Street (Committee 
advisors to 1 December 2017).

(1) Resigned as Company Secretary 

on 1 November 2017 and 

(2) Appointed as Company Secretary 
& General Counsel (Interim) on 
9 November 2017 (Rob Hudson, Chief 
Financial Officer was appointed as 
Company Secretary in the interim)

ANNUAL STATEMENT 

On behalf of the Board I am pleased to present the report 
on directors’ remuneration for the financial year ended 
30 November 2017.

This report includes an annual report on remuneration (pages 86 
to 109) which describes how the shareholder approved directors’ 
remuneration policy was implemented for the year ended 
30 November 2017 and how we intend to apply the policy for the 
year ending 30 November 2018. This report, together with my 
annual statement, will be put to an advisory shareholder vote at 
the 2018 AGM.

Our approach to remuneration is governed by our directors’ 
remuneration policy, which received shareholder approval at the 
2017 AGM and came into formal effect from that date. 96% of votes 
were cast in favour and we thank shareholders for their continued 
support. We consulted extensively and constructively with our 
largest shareholders in advance of seeking approval for the policy. 
Shareholders were generally supportive of our proposals and we 
received some helpful feedback which resulted in the Committee 
building in some further improvements. The key changes to our 
policy included: 

•  the introduction of a requirement to hold vested LTIP shares for 

a further two years after vesting;

•  more rounded and balanced performance metrics across the 

bonus and LTIP;

•  a commitment to greater transparency and clarity in our 

disclosure to evidence our approach to setting stretching targets;

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017•  an increase in the proportion of bonus compulsorily invested 

and retained in shares; and 

•  a reduction in both the proportion of bonus payable at target 

and LTIP payable at threshold. 

These changes ensure that the policy continues to support 
the Company’s key strategic goals as they evolve, incentivises 
management to deliver strong returns for our shareholders and 
promotes the long-term success of the Company. 

Having reviewed the policy and its operation in the first year, 
we are proposing no further policy changes at the 2018 AGM. To 
enable you to cross reference our remuneration practice against 
our policy, we have republished the key parts of our Directors’ 
remuneration policy which can be found on pages 88 to 92.

Remuneration outcomes in 2016/17
In the year to November 2017, the Company delivered a good 
performance against the backdrop of an uncertain market 
environment. The business continues to demonstrate its resilience, 
with all parts of the Group contributing positively in 2017. Our 
recently concluded strategy and portfolio review, confirmed the 
significant potential in our business and pipeline, and we are now 
focused on realising these opportunities.

Reflecting both the financial results for the year and individual 
performance, Mark Allan and Rob Hudson were awarded bonuses 
equivalent to 121% and 122.9% of their base salaries (80.7% and 
81.9% of the maximum) for the year ended 30 November 2017. 
Full details of the Committee’s assessment of performance against 
bonus objectives for the year can be found on pages 97 to 98.

The Performance Share Plan (PSP) awards granted in 2015 were 
subject to performance conditions measured over the three 
financial years to 30 November 2017. Vesting of half of this award 
was subject to Total Shareholder Return (TSR) performance relative 
to the FTSE All-Share Real Estate Investment & Services Index, with 
the remaining 50% subject to an absolute TSR condition. Neither 
element met the threshold level of performance required for 
vesting set by the Committee, so this PSP cycle has delivered a 
zero payment. Actual performance is detailed on page 98 to 100.

Changes to the Board
We announced in March 2017 the sad news of the passing of 
our Group Construction Director, Steve Burke. The Committee 
determined that a pro rata bonus should be payable for the 
proportion of the financial year Steve worked and that outstanding 
PSP awards should be capable of vesting on their normal vesting 
dates based on performance and scaled back pro rata for the 
shorter period of service.

We have taken the decision not to replace Steve on the Board. 
Following a review of the responsibilities of the members of our 
senior management team, a number of individuals in the business 
have taken on additional responsibilities instead. Therefore the 
number of executive director roles on the Board has reduced from 
three to two. Following this change, the responsibilities attached 
to Rob Hudson’s role have increased materially outside of his core 
finance remit. In particular Rob has taken ongoing responsibility 
for Group-wide business planning and operational oversight, areas 
that would previously have fallen to Steve. These will be ongoing 
responsibilities for Rob. As a consequence of this expanded role 
the Committee determined that the base salary for Rob Hudson 
should as a one-off and in accordance with the remuneration 
policy, be increased by 12.8% which, on top of the 2.5% awarded 
to the executive team, took his salary to £325,000. We consulted 
with major shareholders who were, again, generally supportive 
of this proposal.

How we will apply our remuneration policy in 2017/18
The structure of remuneration arrangements for 2017/18 will remain 
largely unchanged from that applied in 2016/17. Executive directors 
will continue to have the opportunity to earn a bonus of up to 
150% of salary and will be granted long-term incentive awards to 
the same value, both subject to stretching and rigorously applied 
performance conditions aligned to our business KPIs.

The salaries of the executive directors have been increased by 2.5%, 
effective 1 December 2017 (with Rob Hudson’s salary subject to a 
further increase as explained above). This is in line with the average 
cost of living increase that will be awarded to the Company’s 
employees and is considered appropriate in light of the executive 
directors’ continued strong performance. 

Change to Committee Chair
Following over eight years as Chair of the Remuneration Committee 
I will be stepping down following the 2018 AGM, and will be retiring 
from the Board later this year. In line with our succession planning, 
my Board colleague Jenefer Greenwood will assume the role of 
Chair. Jenefer has been a director and member of the Remuneration 
Committee since 1 June 2017 and is experienced in chairing 
remuneration committees, currently as Chair at Assura plc and DCH 
Group, so is well qualified to assume this role. I would personally 
like to thank my colleagues on the Board and our shareholders for 
the support shown over my tenure on remuneration matters.

Conclusion
I hope that you find the report clear and informative and I look 
forward to receiving your support for the resolution approving this 
report at the 2018 AGM. 

Lesley James
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

5 February 2018

This report complies with the requirements of the Large and Medium-Sized 
Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 as amended in 
2013 (the Regulations), the principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code and 
the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
POLICY

The key parts of the Directors’ remuneration policy that was 
approved by shareholders at the 2017 AGM are set out overleaf to 
enable the reported remuneration to be assessed in the context of 
the relevant aspects of the policy. The current intention is that this 
policy will operate until the 2020 AGM. The original policy approved 
at the 2017 AGM is published in its entirety in the Company’s 
Annual Report for the year ended 30 November 2016, which is 
available to view at www.stmodwen.co.uk.

How the Committee sets the remuneration policy
The primary objective of the Company’s remuneration policy is 
to promote the long-term success of the Company through the 
operation of competitive pay arrangements, which are structured 
so as to be in the best interests of shareholders. The executive 
directors’ remuneration includes a significant proportion of 
performance-related elements with demanding targets to align 
their interests with shareholders and to reward success. The policy 
is structured so as to be aligned with key strategic priorities, reflect 
the Company’s culture and values and to be consistent with a 
Board-approved level of business risk. The Committee also 
considers developments in institutional investors’ best practice 
expectations and the views expressed by shareholders.

87

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT CONTINUED

In setting and operating the remuneration policy for the executive 
directors, the Committee takes into consideration the remuneration 
practices found in other UK companies of comparable size and 
scope and has regard to the remuneration arrangements for the 
Company’s employees generally. Greater emphasis is placed on 
variable pay for executive directors and senior employees, albeit 
with lower maximum incentive opportunities at levels below the 
Board. Similarly, long-term incentives are offered only to those 
expected to have the greatest impact on Company performance. 

The Committee is aware of the support expressed by some 
shareholders for the downward harmonisation of executive pension 
allowances to bring them into line with percentages for the wider 
workforce. Current allowances for the Company’s executive 
directors are 15% of base salary, which reflects mid-market practice 
and previous commitments made on appointment. However, the 
Committee is closely monitoring how market practice and investor 
views about this topic develop.

The Committee does not consult directly with employees regarding 
the remuneration policy for executive directors. However, when 
considering the level and structure of remuneration to apply to 
executive directors, the Committee takes into account the overall 
approach to reward for employees across the business and is kept 
updated of any changes. The Committee continues to monitor 

Summary of directors’ remuneration policy

proposed changes to the Corporate Governance Code as they 
relate to (amongst other matters) stakeholder engagement and 
will take appropriate action as and when these changes come into 
effect. Salary increases are normally (in percentage of salary terms) 
no higher than those awarded to the wider workforce and all 
qualifying employees are eligible to participate in the Group’s 
Saving Related Share Option Scheme (SAYE).

How the Committee takes account of the views of shareholders
The Committee is committed to an ongoing dialogue with 
shareholders and seeks the views of its major investors when 
considering significant changes to remuneration arrangements. The 
Committee also considers shareholder feedback received in relation 
to the Directors’ Remuneration Report each year following the AGM. 
This, plus any additional feedback received from time to time, is 
then considered as part of the Committee’s annual review of 
remuneration policy and its implementation. During the year the 
Committee consulted in relation to the proposal to increase the 
base salary level for the Chief Financial Officer and was pleased 
with the levels of shareholder support received.

Base salary

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

Performance measures

88

•  To attract, retain and motivate individuals of the necessary calibre to 

execute the Company’s strategy.

•  To provide competitive base remuneration relative to the external market.

•  To recognise and reward performance, skills and experience.

Normally reviewed annually with changes typically effective from 
1 December. Review reflects:

•  individual and corporate performance;

•  the individual’s level of skill and experience;

•  increases throughout the Company (including ‘cost of living’ awards); 

•  internal relativities; and

•  prevailing market conditions through periodic benchmarking for 

comparable roles in companies of a similar size and scope. The Committee 
is mindful of institutional investors’ concerns on the upward ratchet of base 
salaries and does not consider benchmark data in isolation.

Salaries may be adjusted and salary increases will normally be (in percentage 
of salary terms) no higher than those awarded to the wider workforce. Larger 
increases may be awarded at the Committee’s discretion to take account of 
exceptional circumstances such as:

•  changes in scope and responsibility of a role; and

•  where a new director is appointed at a salary which is at a lower level to 
reflect their experience at that point, the Committee may award a series 
of increases over time to achieve the desired salary position subject to 
satisfactory performance and market conditions.

Actual salary levels are disclosed in the annual report on remuneration for 
the relevant financial year (see page 105 for those effective 1 December 2017).

None, although overall performance of the individual is considered by the 
Committee as part of the annual review.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Benefits

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

•  To provide a competitive and cost-effective benefits package.

•  To assist with recruitment and retention.

The Company provides a range of non-pensionable benefits to executive 
directors which may, for example, include a combination of a company car 
or car allowance, private fuel, driver, private medical insurance, permanent 
health insurance, life assurance, holiday and sick pay, and professional 
advice in connection with their directorship. Other benefits such as relocation 
allowances may be offered if considered appropriate and reasonable by 
the Committee. 

Executive directors will be eligible for any other benefits which are introduced 
for the wider workforce on broadly similar terms.

Any reasonable business-related expenses can be reimbursed, including the 
tax thereon if determined to be a taxable benefit.

Executive directors are also eligible to participate in any all-employee share 
plans operated by the Company, in line with HMRC guidelines currently 
prevailing (where relevant), on the same basis as for other eligible employees.

There is no maximum limit set. Benefits are set at a level which the Committee 
considers to be appropriately positioned against comparable roles in 
companies of a similar size and scope and provides a sufficient level of benefit 
based on the role and individual circumstances. 

Performance measures

None.

Pension

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

Performance measures

•  To provide competitive post-retirement benefits in a cost-effective manner.

•  To assist with recruitment and retention.

The Company offers an allowance (expressed as a percentage of base salary) 
which can be taken as:

•  an employer contribution to the defined contribution section of the 

Company’s pension scheme;

•  a cash allowance (which is not counted as salary for bonus purposes); or

•  a blend of the two.

As a result of historic contractual commitments, retirement benefits for 
Steve Burke were also delivered by membership of the defined benefit section 
of the Company’s pension scheme which is closed to future accrual.

The Committee may amend the form of any executive director’s pension 
arrangements in response to changes in pensions legislation or similar 
developments, so long as any amendment does not increase the cost to the 
Company of a director’s pension provision.

Up to 15% of base salary for all executive directors.

None.

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Annual bonus

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

•  To incentivise and reward the delivery of stretching, near-term strategic, 
financial and operational measures at company and personal levels.

•  Corporate measures selected are consistent with and complement the 

budget and strategic plan.

•  An element of compulsory investment in shares to align to shareholders’ 

interests in the creation of sustainable, long-term value.

All measures, weightings and targets are reviewed and set annually by the 
Committee at the beginning of the financial year and specific performance 
criteria will be aligned to the Company’s strategic objectives at that time. 
Levels of award determined by the Committee after the year end will be 
based on performance against the targets set.

The Committee retains an overriding discretion to ensure that overall bonus 
payments reflect its view of corporate performance during the year.

Bonuses are paid in cash and are non-pensionable. Directors are required to 
invest an amount equal to 40% of the net bonus received in the Company’s 
shares and to retain these shares for a minimum period of three years.

Withholding (malus) and recovery (clawback) provisions apply to all bonuses 
paid such that, in exceptional circumstances such as misstatement of 
performance or misconduct, the Committee has discretion to reduce some 
or all of the value of an award within a period of four years following the end 
of the relevant bonus year.

Maximum bonus potential of up to 150% of salary for all executive directors. 
On-target performance would result in a bonus payment of half of the 
maximum potential.

Performance measures

Performance is assessed using the following metrics:

•  a majority of the award will be based on corporate measures; and

•  a minority (no more than 25% of the overall bonus opportunity) will be 

based on personal measures(1). There is also a cap on the amount of bonus 
awarded for performance in respect of personal measures, set at one-third 
of the total actual bonus awarded.

The specific measures that will apply for the year ending 30 November 2018 
are described in the annual report on remuneration on pages 105 to 106. 
Measures for subsequent years will be summarised in the annual report on 
remuneration for the relevant year.

(1) The annual bonus metrics are designed to ensure that annual performance is focused on key corporate measures which support the Company’s strategic targets. These are 
supported by individual performance measures to ensure that executive directors are incentivised to deliver across a range of objectives. Targets are set in line with the 
Company’s budget and strategic plan for the year with a stretch element to reward substantial outperformance.

90

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Long-term incentives

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

•  To incentivise and reward the delivery of strong returns to shareholders 

and sustained, long-term performance.

•  Aligns the long-term interests of directors and shareholders.

•  Promotes retention.

Awards are normally made under the Performance Share Plan (PSP) annually 
with vesting dependent on the achievement of stretching performance 
conditions set by the Committee.

A holding period will apply to awards granted in the financial year ending 
30 November 2017 and beyond. The holding period will require executive 
directors to retain at least the after-tax value of shares acquired for a minimum 
period of 24 months from the vesting date and will remain in place if the 
executive leaves employment during the two-year holding period.

A dividend equivalent provision exists which allows the Committee to pay 
an amount (in cash or shares) equivalent to the dividends paid or payable on 
vested shares between the date of grant and the vesting of an award (or, if 
later, and only whilst an option remains unexercised in respect of vested 
shares, the expiry of the holding period). An amount payable may assume 
the reinvestment of dividends.

Withholding (malus) and recovery (clawback) provisions apply to all awards 
granted such that, in exceptional circumstances such as misstatement of 
performance or misconduct, the Committee has discretion to reduce some 
or all of the value of an award within a period of four years following the end 
of the relevant performance period.

The maximum annual grant level is 150% of salary (or 200% in exceptional 
circumstances, such as recruitment). The normal annual award limit is 150% 
of salary for all executive directors.

Awards vest on the following basis:

•  threshold performance delivers 20% of the shares awarded; and

•  maximum performance delivers 100% of the shares awarded,

with straight-line vesting between.

Performance measures

Performance is normally measured over three years.

Awards to vest based on performance against stretching financial targets 
and relative TSR performance are set and assessed by the Committee at its 
discretion(1). Within these parameters, the Committee may introduce or 
reweight specific performance measures so that they are directly aligned 
with the Company’s strategic objectives for each performance period.

The Committee has discretion to decide whether and to what extent 
performance conditions have been achieved and must also be satisfied that 
certain underpinning conditions are met before permitting awards to vest 
(for example, that the extent of vesting under the performance conditions is 
appropriate given the general financial performance of the Company over 
the performance period). The underpinning conditions will be set so that 
they are directly aligned with the Company’s strategic objectives for each 
performance period.

The specific measures that will apply for awards made in the year ending 
30 November 2018 are described in the annual report on remuneration on 
page 106. Measures for subsequent years will be summarised in the annual 
report on remuneration for the relevant year.

(1) The Committee believes that a combination of relative TSR and key financial measures provides strong alignment with the interests of shareholders and complements the 
focus on operational performance measures in the annual bonus arrangements. Targets are set to ensure that only modest awards are available for delivering on-target 
performance with maximum rewards requiring substantial outperformance of the Company’s budget and strategic plans.

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Shareholding requirement

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

To ensure alignment of interests of executive directors and shareholders.

The Company operates a shareholding requirement which is subject to 
periodic review.

Executive directors are required to build up and maintain a shareholding 
worth at least 200% of base salary, which is normally expected to be reached 
within five years of appointment.

Executive directors are required to retain all of the post-tax shares acquired 
as a result of the compulsory investment of bonus into shares and half of the 
post-tax shares vesting under the PSP until the shareholding requirement 
is met.

Performance measures

None.

Fees payable to the Chairman and non-executive directors

To attract and retain the calibre of Chairman and non-executive directors 
necessary to promote the long-term success of the Company by offering 
market competitive fee levels.

Normally reviewed annually with changes effective typically from 
1 December. 

Any increase will be guided by changes in market rates, time commitment 
and responsibility levels, as well as by increases made throughout the 
Company.

Fees are structured as follows:

•  the Chairman is paid an all-inclusive fee for all Board responsibilities. This fee 
is determined by the Board on the recommendation of the Committee; and

•  non-executive directors are paid a basic fee, plus additional fees for chairing 
Board Committees or for undertaking the Senior Independent Director role, 
which are determined by the Board on the recommendation of the 
executive directors.

Fees are normally paid in cash.

Neither the Chairman nor the other non-executive directors participate in the 
annual bonus or long-term incentive arrangements or in the pension scheme, 
nor do they receive benefits in kind.

Any reasonable business-related expenses can be reimbursed, including the 
tax thereon if determined to be a taxable benefit.

Fees are set at a level which reflects the commitment and contribution that 
is expected and are appropriately positioned against comparable roles in 
companies of a similar size and scope.

Overall fees paid to directors will remain within the limit set out in the 
Company’s articles of association.

Actual fee levels are disclosed in the annual report on remuneration for the 
relevant financial year (see page 106 for those effective 1 December 2017).

None, although overall performance of the individual is considered as part 
of the annual review.

Purpose

Operation

Opportunity

Performance measures

92

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Discretion to withhold payment or amend arrangements
The Committee retains discretion to make any payments, 
notwithstanding that they are not in line with the policy set out 
above, where the terms of the payment were agreed (i) before the 
policy came into effect, or (ii) at a time when the relevant individual 
was not a director of the Company and, in the opinion of the 
Committee, the payment was not in consideration of the individual 
becoming a director of the Company. For these purposes ‘payments’ 
includes the Committee satisfying awards of variable remuneration 
and, in relation to an award over shares, the terms of the payment 
are determined at the time the award is granted. Details of any such 
payments will be disclosed in the annual report on remuneration 
for the relevant year.

The Committee will operate the annual bonus and long-term 
incentive arrangements according to their respective rules and in 
accordance with the Listing Rules where relevant. Consistent with 
market practice the Committee retains certain discretions in respect 
of the operation and administration of these arrangements which 
include, but are not limited to, the following:

•  the participants;

•  the timing of the grant of an award or payment;

•  the size of an award;

•  the determination of the extent to which performance measures 
have been met and the corresponding vesting or payment levels;

•  discretion required when dealing with a change of control or 

restructuring of the Group;

•  determination of the treatment of leavers based on the rules 
of the respective arrangement and the appropriate treatment 
chosen, including the pro rating of awards;

•  adjustments required in certain circumstances (e.g. rights issues, 

corporate restructuring events and special dividends);

Illustration of remuneration policy
The following charts illustrate the remuneration opportunity 
provided to each executive director at different levels of 
performance for the 2017/18 financial year.

Three scenarios have been illustrated for each executive director:

1. 

2. 

3. 

 Minimum performance: comprising the minimum 
remuneration receivable (i.e. fixed pay only, being base salary 
effective 1 December 2017, pension allowances for the 2017/18 
financial year and benefits calculated using the 2016/17 figure.

 On-target performance: comprising fixed pay, an annual 
bonus payment of 50% of the maximum opportunity 
(75% of salary) and long-term incentive awards vesting at 
20% of the maximum opportunity (30% of salary).

 Maximum performance: comprising fixed pay, 100% of annual 
bonus (150% of salary) and 100% vesting of long-term incentive 
awards (150% of salary).

The illustrations do not take into account share price appreciation 
or dividends, and exclude the value of any all-employee share 
plan awards.

Mark Allan, Chief Executive
£’000

Minimum

Target

Maximum

100%

54%

28%

33% 13%

£709

£1,317

36%

36%

£2,446

Rob Hudson, Chief Financial Officer
£’000

•  the annual review of performance measures, weighting and 

Minimum

100%

targets from year to year; and

•  the manner in which share awards can be satisfied (i.e. through 
the use of new issue, market purchased or treasury shares or by 
way of a cash payment).

In addition, the Committee retains the ability to adjust the targets 
and/or set different measures if events occur (e.g. a material 
acquisition and/or divestment of a Group business) which cause it 
to determine that the conditions are no longer appropriate and the 
amendment is required so that the conditions achieve their original 
purpose and are not materially less difficult to satisfy.

Any use of the above discretions would be explained in the 
annual report on remuneration for the relevant year and may, as 
appropriate, be the subject of consultation with the Company’s 
major shareholders.

Target

54%

33% 13%

Maximum

28%

36%

36%

Fixed pay
Annual bonus
Long-term incentives

£392

£734

£1,367

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Recruitment arrangements 
The remuneration package for a new executive director will 
be set in accordance with the terms of the prevailing approved 
remuneration policy at the time of the appointment and take into 
account the skills and experience of the individual, the market rate 
for a candidate of that level of experience and the importance of 
securing the relevant individual.

External appointments
The Board recognises the benefit which the Company can obtain 
if executive directors serve as non-executive directors of other 
companies. Subject to review in each case, the Board’s general 
policy is that an executive director can accept one non-executive 
directorship of another company (but not the chairmanship) and 
can retain the fees in respect of such appointment. 

Base salary levels for new recruits will be set in accordance with 
the policy, taking into account the experience and calibre of the 
individual recruited. Where it is appropriate to offer a lower salary 
initially to reflect the individual’s experience at that point, the 
Committee may award a series of increases over time to achieve 
the desired salary position subject to performance and market 
conditions. Pension arrangements will be in line with the policy.

The maximum level of variable pay which may be awarded to 
new executive directors, excluding the value of any buyout 
arrangements, will be in line with the policy. In addition, the 
Committee may offer additional cash and/or share-based elements 
to replace deferred or incentive pay, or benefit arrangements, 
forfeited by an executive leaving a previous employer. In doing so 
the Committee will take account of relevant factors including the 
form (e.g. cash or shares), timing and expected value (i.e. likelihood 
of meeting any existing performance criteria) of the remuneration 
being forfeited. The Committee will generally seek to structure 
buyout awards on a comparable basis to awards forfeited. 
Replacement share awards, if used, will, to the extent possible, be 
granted using the Company’s existing share schemes, although 
awards may also be granted outside of these schemes if necessary 
and as permitted under the Listing Rules.

The Committee may also apply different performance measures, 
performance periods and/or vesting periods for initial awards made 
following appointment under the annual bonus and/or long-term 
incentive arrangements, subject to the rules of the scheme, if it 
determines that the circumstances of the recruitment merit such 
alteration. A long-term incentive award can be made shortly 
following an appointment provided the Company is not in a 
close period.

Where a position is filled internally, the Committee may honour any 
pre-existing remuneration obligations or outstanding variable pay 
arrangements in relation to the individual’s previous role such that 
these shall be allowed to continue according to the original terms 
(adjusted as relevant to take account of the Board appointment).

For internal and external appointments, the Committee may agree 
that the Company will meet certain relocation and/or incidental 
expenses as appropriate.

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. 

Executive director service agreements and payments for loss 
of office
The Company’s policy is for executive directors to have service 
agreements which may be terminated by the Company for breach 
by the executive or with no more than 12 months’ notice from 
the Company to the executive and six months’ notice from the 
executive to the Company.

If notice is served by either party, the executive director can 
continue to receive base salary, benefits and pension for the 
duration of their notice period during which time the Company 
may require the individual to continue to fulfil their current duties 
or may assign a period of garden leave. The Company may elect to 
make a payment in lieu of notice equivalent in value to a maximum 
of 12 months’ base salary and benefits including pension contribution 
but excluding bonus, payable in monthly instalments, which would 
be subject to mitigation if alternative employment is taken up during 
this time. Alternatively, the Committee retains discretion to provide 
this payment as a lump sum. In the event of termination for cause 
(e.g. gross misconduct) neither notice nor payment in lieu of notice 
will be given and the executive director will cease to perform their 
services immediately. 

In redundancy situations the Committee will comply with prevailing 
relevant legislation. In addition, and consistent with market practice, 
the Company may pay a contribution towards the executive 
director’s legal fees for entering into a statutory agreement, may 
pay a contribution towards fees for outplacement services as part 
of a negotiated settlement, or may make a payment to compromise 
claims the executive director may have. There is no provision for 
additional compensation on termination following a change of 
control. Payment may also be made in respect of accrued benefits, 
including untaken holiday entitlement.

The principles set out in the table overleaf will apply to annual 
bonus and long-term incentive arrangements in the event of loss 
of office.

In respect of all-employee share schemes and the Company’s 
Employee Share Option Schemes, the same leaver conditions 
will be applied to executive directors as those applied to 
other employees.

94

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Remuneration element

‘Good’ leavers 

Annual bonus

Long-term incentive awards
(As apply to the Company’s current Performance 
Share Plan approved at the 2017 AGM)

An executive director will be treated as a good leaver 
in certain circumstances, for example if he or she 
dies or ceases employment due to injury, disability, 
retirement with the Company’s agreement, or sale of 
the business in which he or she is employed, or for 
any other reason at the discretion of the Committee.

In these circumstances, the executive director remains 
eligible to be paid a bonus, subject to the applicable 
performance measures. Any payment awarded may 
be pro rated to reflect the period of time served 
from the start of the financial year to the date of 
termination, but not for any period in lieu of notice.

An executive director will be treated as a good leaver 
in certain circumstances, for example death, injury, 
disability or for any other reason at the discretion of 
the Committee. 

Awards will normally vest at the normal vesting date, 
subject to the satisfaction of the relevant performance 
conditions at that time and reduced pro rata to reflect 
the proportion of the vesting period actually served. 
However, under the plan rules, the Committee has 
discretion to determine that awards vest at cessation 
of employment and/or to disapply the time pro rating 
if it considers it appropriate to do so. 

A good leaver may exercise their vested awards for 
a period of 12 months following the individual’s 
cessation of employment and unvested awards may 
be exercised for a period of 12 months from vesting.

Other leavers

Unless the Committee 
exercises its discretion to 
treat the executive director 
as a good leaver, no bonus 
will be payable.

All awards will lapse in full 
where termination is by 
reason of summary dismissal.

In other circumstances, 
unvested awards will lapse 
in full unless the Committee 
applies discretion to treat 
the executive director as 
a good leaver.

Non-executive director terms of appointment
The terms of service of the Chairman and the other non-executive directors are contained in letters of appointment. Appointments are for a 
fixed term of three years, during which period the appointment may be terminated by three months’ notice by either party. Non-executive 
directors are typically expected to serve two three-year terms subject to mutual agreement and satisfactory performance reviews. There 
are no provisions for payment in the event of termination, early or otherwise.

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St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
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ANNUAL REPORT ON REMUNERATION

This part of the report has been prepared in accordance with Part 3, Schedule 8 to The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups 
(Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 as amended in 2013 and with the requirements of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Listing Rules. 

Remuneration payable (audited information) 

Base salary/fees 
£000

Benefits(1) 
£000

Annual bonus(2) 
£000

Share plans 
vesting 
£000

Pension 
contribution/
allowance(4) 
£000

Other items 
£000

Total 
£000

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017(3)

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

2017

2016

Executive directors

Mark Allan 

Steve Burke(6)

Rob Hudson

Non-executive 
directors

Bill Shannon

Ian Bull

Kay Chaldecott

Simon Clarke

Lesley James

Jenefer Greenwood(10)

Richard Mully

565

95

282

163

54 

45

45

54

22

54

47

329

275

159

53

44

44

53

–

53

23

6

19

2

16

40

684

117

346

–

182

146

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

1,379 1,057

48

58

1,147

328

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

85

14

42

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

7

49

41

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

1,235(5)

–

 2,592

1(7) 

15(8)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

415(9)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

56

591

917

233

689

163

159

54

45

45

54

22

54

53

44

44

53

–

53

141

97

1,236

430

3,951

1,970

(1)  All benefits for the executive directors (comprising mainly the provision of company car/car allowance, private fuel and medical insurance), and in the case of Rob Hudson, 
a final amount of £4,937 in respect of his relocation to the Midlands (which is within the 25% of salary allowance agreed on recruitment), arise from employment with the 
Company and do not form part of final pensionable pay. 

(2)  Bonus payable in respect of the relevant financial year. Further information as to how the level of bonus awarded in 2017 was determined is provided on pages 97 and 98. 

40% of the after tax amount of any bonus earned is required to be invested in shares and held for three years.

(3)  The performance period for the 2015 PSP awards ended on 30 November 2017. The performance conditions to which these awards were subject were not achieved, hence 
the awards will lapse in full on 9 April 2018 and 2 October 2018 (relating to Rob Hudson’s award). Further information on awards and performance conditions to which they 
were subject can be found on pages 98 to 100

(4)  Further details regarding pension entitlements can be found on page 101.

(5)  The vesting of Mark Allan’s share plan award relates to tranches 1 and 2 of a share award granted in connection with his recruitment, as detailed in last year’s Directors’ 

remuneration report on page 90. Tranche 1 relating to 138,511 shares (following a downward adjustment described on page 100 was not subject to additional performance 
conditions and vested in full on 10 April 2017. Tranche 2 relating to 211,353 shares was subject to performance conditions relating to Mark Allan’s original employer Unite plc 
which were met in full, thereby resulting in full vesting of this award on 10 April 2017. The share award includes an entitlement to a cash payment following a tranch’s 
vesting date in respect of the dividend equivalent that would have accrued under the forfeited awards to the extent they had vested. The dividend equivalent following 
the exercise of tranches 1 and 2 was £61,680, paid to Mark Allan in April 2017. The share price on the date of vesting used to value the award was 335.3 pence.

(6)  Passed away on 13 March 2017. Details of the remuneration treatment for Steve Burke are disclosed throughout this report.

(7)  Reflects the exercise pro rata on 20 November 2017 by Steve Burke’s estate of a SAYE option granted on 15 August 2016. The value is based on the market value on the 

date of exercise (394.6 pence), less the option price (246.0 pence), multiplied by the number of options exercised). Further details can be found on page 102.

(8) Reflects (a) the grant of a SAYE option on 15 August 2016 (the value is based on the market value on the date of grant (274.5 pence), less the option price (246.0 pence), 
multiplied by the number of options granted); and (b) the exercise of a SAYE option on 3 October 2016 (the value is based on the market value on the date of exercise 
(298.4 pence), less the option price (156.0 pence), multiplied by the number of options exercised). Further details can be found on page 88 of last year’s Directors’ 
remuneration report. 

(9)  As set out in the 2015 Remuneration Report, the Committee agreed to compensate Rob Hudson for certain long-term incentives from his previous employer that he was 
required to forfeit on him leaving to join St. Modwen in September 2015. This included a one-off cash payment of £414,000 (subject to the deduction of tax and national 
insurance contributions) in recognition of an outstanding long-term incentive award which had reached the end of the performance measurement period in March 2015 
(such that the full value could be determined) but which was not due to vest until December 2015. As the vesting date fell soon after his appointment, a cash payment 
(rather than an award of shares) was considered fair and reasonable. The amount shown in the table above also reflects the grant of a SAYE option on 15 August 2016, with 
the value based on the market value on the date of grant (274.5 pence), less the option price (246.0 pence), multiplied by the number of options granted. Further details 
can be found in last year’s Directors’ remuneration report on page 88.

 (10) Appointed to the Board on 1 June 2017.

96

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Annual bonus outturn (audited information) 
In the financial year ended 30 November 2017 all executive directors had the opportunity to be awarded an annual bonus of up to 
150% of base salary as at 1 December 2016. Of this, 112.5% of base salary (75% of the overall opportunity) was dependent on achieving 
corporate measures and 37.5% of base salary (25% of the overall opportunity) was dependent on meeting personal objectives.

Performance against targets and resulting bonus awards are set out in the tables below.

Measure

Link to strategy

Weighting 
as % 
of award

Threshold 
performance 
(25% of 
maximum)

On-target 
performance 
(50% of 
maximum)

Stretch 
performance 
(75% of 
maximum)

Super stretch
(100% of 
maximum)

Actual 
performance 
achieved(1)

Payout 
(% of 
maximum)

25%

£51.7m
(-10%)

£57.4m

£63.1m
(+10%)

£68.9m 
(+20%)

£64.6m

81.3%

25%

25%

20.1 pence 
per share
(-15%)

23.7 pence 
per share

27.2 pence 
per share
(+10%)

30.8 pence 
per share 
(+20%)

26.0 pence 
per share

66.4%

30.3%
(+5%)

28.9%

27.4%
(+10%)

26.0% 
(+20%)

24.2%

100%

25%

Substantially 
met

Met

Exceeded

Significantly 
exceeded

Mark Allan: 
Stretch

Mark Allan: 
74.9%

Corporate:

Trading profit

Total accounting 
return

See-through 
loan-to-value

Personal:

Individual targets 
for executive 
directors

Reflects cash 
profitability of the 
business after 
interest and 
operating costs

Recognises the 
delivery of 
significant added 
value

Ensures continued 
balance sheet 
strength

Ensures that each 
director focuses on 
their individual 
contribution in the 
broadest sense 
through business 
performance, 
leadership, people 
and team, and 
personal 
development 
objectives

Award (% of salary)

37.5%

75.0%

112.5%

150.0%

Rob Hudson: 
Stretch

Rob Hudson: 
80.0%

Steve Burke: 
Stretch

Steve Burke: 
80.0%

Mark Allan: 
80.7%

Rob Hudson: 
81.9%

Steve Burke: 
81.9%

(1) Details of performance versus personal objectives for each of the three executive directors is further explained in the supplementary table below.

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Key personal objectives

Assessment of achievement of objectives

Mark Allan

To lead a review of strategy culminating in a 
comprehensive Group strategic plan for Board approval. 

Lead the design and implementation of an appropriate 
leadership team and organisational structure to deliver 
the strategic plan.

Put in place the foundations of an effective approach 
to people development.

Put in place a clear objective setting and bonus plan 
for the Group’s senior team.

Rob Hudson

Continued development of the Group’s finance team, 
which included a renewed team structure with the 
appropriate profile and skillsets.

Leading and driving the strategic plan through the 
year alongside the Chief Executive.

As part of the strategic plan identifying opportunities 
regarding St. Modwen’s funding structure.

Successful delivery of a Group strategy review leading to 
a full strategic plan delivered, signed off by the Board and 
its successful communication as shown throughout this 
Annual Report.

Delivered an organisational structure aligned to the 
revised strategy with no negative impact on current 
year objectives.

Successful development and first stage implementation 
of the Group’s people plan and wider succession planning.

Delivered a more focused approach to objective setting 
and bonus alignment for the senior leadership team, with 
further alignment to the overall performance of the Group.

Strong finance team developed with improvements 
delivered on transactional finance and increasing the 
contribution of Financial Planning & Analysis to the 
business.

A broader role beyond that of finance with regard to 
operational coordination and in particular a focus on IT 
to ensure the function effectively supports the Group’s 
development.

Development of refinancing plan and successful 
progress in the year to deliver an unsecured £475m 
bank club facility by the end of 2017.

In light of both corporate and individual performance, the Committee determined that the following bonus awards be made:

Executive director

Mark Allan

Steve Burke(1)

Rob Hudson

Award – Corporate 
(as a % of salary)

Award – Personal 
(as a % of salary)

Total award 
(as a % of salary)

Salary on which bonus 
award is calculated

Total bonus award

92.9%

92.9%

92.9%

28.1%

30.0%

30.0%

121.0%

122.9%

122.9%

£565,000

£95,442

£281,875

£683,650

£117,298

£346,424

(1) Salary paid to Steve Burke to the date he passed away.

Bonus payments to Mark Allan and Rob Hudson were conditional upon them undertaking to invest at least 40% of the bonus received, after 
payment of income tax and national insurance, in the Company’s shares and to retain those shares for a minimum period of three years.

The bonus payment to Steve Burke’s estate was scaled back pro rata to the proportion of the financial year worked. When determining 
performance against Steve Burke’s bonus objectives, the Committee took due account of the fact that a number of them were not capable 
of achievement at the time of his passing.

Long-term incentives (audited information)
2015 PSP
The three-year performance period for the 2015 PSP awards ended on 30 November 2017. The performance conditions which applied to 
the awards together with actual performance are summarised in the table below.

Performance measure

Absolute TSR growth

TSR relative to FTSE All-Share 
Real Estate Investment 
& Services Index

Total

Weighting

50% of award

50% of award

Threshold 
performance

Vesting of award 
at threshold 
performance

Maximum 
performance

Vesting of award 
at maximum 
performance

Actual 
performance

Proportion of 
award to vest

20%

Equal 
to Index

12.5%

12.5%

50%

120% 
of Index

50%

50%

8.92%

return of 
11.44%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

The Committee therefore determined that the 2015 PSP awards will lapse in full. 

98

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 20172017 PSP
On 7 July 2017, the following PSP awards were granted to executive directors as nil cost options: 

Executive director

Mark Allan

Rob Hudson

Basis of award

180% of salary(1)

150% of salary

Face value of award
£000(2)

Number of shares

% of award that would vest 
for threshold performance 

£1,017

£423

278,500

115,785

20%

20%

(1) As reported last year, Mark Allan received a recruitment-related PSP award over shares worth 180% of salary (i.e. higher than the 150% policy level).

(2) Calculated using the average share price of 365.17 pence which was, in accordance with the rules of the PSP, used to determine the number of shares to be awarded (being 

the average over the three dealing days immediately preceding the date of grant).

The performance conditions which apply to these PSP awards are summarised below. The performance period started on 1 December 2016 
and will end on 30 November 2019.

Performance measure

Link to strategy

Relative TSR performance(1)

•  Rewards outperformance of the returns 

(50% of award)

generated by a comparator group 
comprising listed company peers

•  Directly correlates reward with the return 
delivered to shareholders through share 
price growth and dividend payments

•  Provides an objective measure of the 

Company’s long-term success

Total accounting return

•  Rewards delivery of significant continued 

(50% of award)

long-term added value

•  Key internal measure of the Company’s 

long-term performance

•  Reflects value added by the Company’s 

asset management activities 

Threshold 
performance

Company’s 
TSR is ranked 
at median 
of the 
comparator 
group’s TSR

Vesting of award 
at threshold 
performance(2)

Maximum 
performance

Vesting of award 
at maximum 
performance(2)

100%

20%

Company’s 
TSR is ranked 
at or above 
the upper 
quartile of the 
comparator 
group’s TSR

5% average 
per annum

20%

11% average 
per annum

100%

(1) The constituents of the TSR peer group for the 2017 awards are:

A&J Mucklow Group
British Land Company
Capital & Counties Properties
Capital & Regional
Derwent London

Grainger
Great Portland Estates
Hammerson
Hansteen Holdings
Helical Land Securities Group

LondonMetric Property
Picton Property Income
Regional REIT
SEGRO
Shaftesbury

St. Modwen Properties
Town Centre Securities
U and I Group
Workspace Group

(2) Vesting of awards between threshold and maximum performance will be on a straight-line basis. Performance below threshold will result in nil vesting for that measure.

The 2017 awards will be subject to an additional performance condition whereby the Committee must be satisfied that the extent of 
vesting under the performance conditions is appropriate given the general financial performance of the Company over the three-year 
performance period. 

The 2017 awards will also be subject to a compulsory two-year post-vesting holding period, which will require executive directors to hold 
any shares vesting (after tax) for a period of two years, meaning there can be no disposal of shares for a period of at least five years from 
grant. The holding period will remain in place if the executive leaves employment during the two-year holding period.

99

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT CONTINUED

All PSP awards held by the executive directors who served during the year, together with any movements, are shown below.

Executive director

Date of grant

Awards held on 
1 December 2016

Awards made 
during year

Awards vested 
during year 

Steve Burke(2)

05/03/14(3)

99,066

09/04/15

86,107

22/02/16

125,400

Rob Hudson

02/10/15

310,573

119,018

22/02/16

104,664

–

–

–

–

–

 –

07/07/17

–

115,785(4)

Mark Allan

02/11/16(5)

223,682

138,539

211,353

105,708

159,134

79,591

115,785

–

–

–

–

–

07/07/17

–

278,500(4)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Awards lapsed/
forfeited during 
year

Awards held on 
30 November 
2017(1)

End of 
performance 
period 

(99,066)

–

30/11/16

(30,798)

55,309

30/11/17

(81,350)

44,050

30/11/18

(211,214)

–

–

–

(138,511)(6)

(28)(6)

(211,353)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

99,359

119,018

30/11/17

104,664

30/11/18

115,785

30/11/19

339,467

–

–

–

31/12/16

105,708

31/12/16

159,134

31/12/17

79,591

31/12/17

278,500

30/11/19

Exercise period

05/03/17 to 
04/03/24

09/04/18 to 
08/04/25

22/02/19 to 
21/02/26

02/10/18 to 
01/10/25

22/02/19 to 
21/02/26

07/07/20 to 
06/07/27

10/04/17 to 
10/10/17

10/04/17 to 
10/10/17

10/04/18 to 
10/10/18

02/04/18 to 
02/10/18

02/04/19 to 
02/10/19

07/07/20 to 
06/07/27

694,325

278,500

(349,864)

(28)

622,933

(1) The performance conditions for the 2015 and 2016 awards are based 50% on relative TSR compared to a peer group and 50% based on a range of absolute TSR targets, as 

described on page 99.

In addition, all awards are subject to two underpinning conditions, namely that (a) the extent of vesting under the performance conditions is appropriate given the general 
financial performance of the Company over the performance period; and (b) if no dividend has been paid on the last normal dividend date prior to the vesting date or if the 
Committee believes that no dividend will be paid in respect of the year in which the award vests, the award will not vest at that time and vesting will be delayed (subject to 
continued employment) until dividend payments are resumed.

(2) Passed away on 13 March 2017. PSP awards granted in 2015 and 2016 have been pro rated for the time employed during the performance period with the extent of vesting 

determined on the third anniversary of grant (i.e. in 2018 and 2019 respectively). As noted above the 2015 award lapsed in full due to the performance conditions not 
being met.

(3) Awards lapsed in full on 5 March 2017. Further details can be found in last year’s Directors’ remuneration report on page 87.

(4) The share price used to calculate the number of shares awarded, under the rules of the PSP, was 365.17 pence, the three-day average share price before the date of the award.

(5) The Company agreed to compensate Mark Allan for unvested share-based incentives awarded to him by his previous employer and forfeited as a consequence of him 

leaving to join St. Modwen on 1 November 2016. The compensation comprised the grant, on 2 November 2016, of an award over 694,325 shares in the Company. Vesting of 
the first two tranches of the award occurred on 10 April 2017 and Mark Allan exercised the awards on 6 July 2017. Further details of the recruitment arrangements for Mark 
Allan can be found on page 90 of last year’s Directors’ remuneration report.

(6) Award exercised reduced from 138,539 to 138,511 due to an alternative method of calculation adopted by Unite plc (Mark Allan’s previous employer) for the remaining 

balance of the award.

100

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017 
Saving Related Share Option Scheme (SAYE)
SAYE awards held by the executive directors who served during the year, together with any movements, are shown below.

Executive director

Date of grant

Steve Burke(1)

15/08/16

Rob Hudson

15/08/16

Options held on 
1 December 2016

Options granted 
during year

Options exercised 
during year

Options lapsed 
during year

Options held on 
30 November 
2017

3,658

3,658

–

–

(508)

(3,150)

–

–

–

3,658

Exercise price

Exercise period

246p

246p

01/10/19 to 
31/03/20

01/10/19 to 
31/03/20

(1) Passed away on 13 March 2017. SAYE options held were exercised pro rata by Steve Burke’s estate.

The closing mid-market share price on 30 November 2017 was 390.8 pence and the price range during the year was 278.4 pence to 399.8 pence.

Pension entitlements (audited information) 
All executive directors receive a pension contribution of 15% of base salary which is paid either into the defined contribution section 
of the Company’s pension scheme or as a cash allowance in lieu of pension contribution (or a combination of both). No compensation 
is offered for any additional tax suffered by an executive director in the event that the value of their pension exceeds the statutory 
Lifetime Allowance.

Executive director

Mark Allan

Steve Burke

Rob Hudson

Pension contribution
£

Cash allowance in lieu of 
pension contribution
£

2017

–

–

–

–

2016

–

23,331

–

23,331

2017

84,750

14,316

42,281

141,347

2016

7,063

26,090

41,250

74,403

Total
£

2017

84,750

14,316 

42,281

141,347

2016

7,063

49,421

41,250

97,734

Steve Burke was also a deferred member of the defined benefit section of the Company’s pension scheme, which was closed to new 
members in 1999 and to future accrual in 2009. Benefits are based on years of credited service and final pensionable pay; the maximum 
benefit generally payable under the scheme is two-thirds of final pensionable pay.

Information required by the pension regulations in respect of defined benefit pension arrangements for the part year in which Steve was an 
executive director is set out below.

Executive director

Steve Burke

Age at 30 November 
2017

Accrued pension at 
30 November 2016(1)
£pa

Accrued pension at 
13 March 2017(1)
£pa

Increase in accrued 
pension during the 
year
£pa

Increase in accrued 
pension during the 
year (excluding 
inflation)
£pa

58

28,342(2)

28,342(2)

–

–

(1) The accrued annual pension includes entitlements earned as an employee prior to becoming an executive director as well as for qualifying services after becoming 

an executive director. 

(2) These figures have been calculated by applying deferred revaluation to Steve Burke’s deferred pension as at 1 September 2009, being the date that accrual ceased 

under the defined benefits section of the scheme.

(3) The following is additional information relating to the defined benefit pension arrangements applicable to Steve Burke:

• 

 Normal retirement age is 65 years. Retirement may take place at any age after age 55 subject to Company consent. Pensions may be reduced to allow for their 
earlier payment.

•  No death in service benefit was paid and no additional benefits were due on early retirement.

•  Deferred pensions are assumed to increase in line with CPI capped at 5% per annum in the period before retirement.

Further information on the Company’s pension scheme is shown in note 19 to the Group financial statements.

101

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional information 
 
 
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT CONTINUED

Payments to past directors and for loss of office (audited information)
Steve Burke
Details of Steve Burke’s remuneration from 1 December 2016 to 13 March 2017 can be found in the table on page 96. His estate was eligible 
to receive any bonus payment owed to Steve, subject to the achievement of performance measures and scaled back pro rata for the period 
from 1 December 2016 to 13 March 2017; further details can be found on pages 97 and 98.

Unvested PSP awards will continue, subject to the performance conditions. Awards have been scaled back pro rata to reflect the time 
elapsed from the date of grant to 13 March 2017; details can be found on page 100. Satisfaction of the performance conditions will be 
assessed at the end of the relevant performance periods in line with the PSP rules.

Steve’s SAYE awards were exercisable to the extent of accumulated savings in the six months following cessation of employment in 
accordance with the rules of the scheme, and were exercised by his estate.

Bill Oliver
Further to the disclosure in last year’s Directors’ remuneration report, Bill Oliver retired from the Board as Chief Executive and an executive 
director on 30 November 2016. His employment with the Company also ended on this date. The Committee exercised discretion under the 
rules of the PSP to allow unvested awards to continue subject to time pro-rating and performance assessment. The 2014, 2015 and 2016 PSP 
Awards were pro rated to reflect the time elapsed from the date of grant to 30 November 2016; details can be found on page 88 of last 
year’s Remuneration Report. 

The PSP award granted to Bill in 2014 lapsed in full on 5 March 2017, as the performance conditions were not met. In addition, as noted on 
page 98, neither absolute nor relative TSR measures achieved the threshold level of performance required for vesting of the 2015 PSP Award 
set by the Committee, such that the award (over 71,561 shares) will also lapse in full.

Bill remained eligible to be awarded a bonus, subject to the achievement of performance measures, in respect of the financial year ended 
30 November 2016; details can be found on pages 85 and 86 of last year’s Remuneration Report. In accordance with last year’s annual 
bonus outturn a payment of £265,904 was paid to Bill in February 2017.

Statement of directors’ shareholding and share interests (audited information) 
The interests of the directors and their connected persons in the issued ordinary share capital of the Company are shown in the table below.

Executive directors

Mark Allan

Steve Burke(1)

Rob Hudson

Non-executive directors

Bill Shannon

Ian Bull

Kay Chaldecott

Simon Clarke

Jenefer Greenwood, OBE(2)

Lesley James, CBE

Richard Mully

As at 30 November 2017 or on date of leaving the Board if earlier

Ordinary shares

Long-term incentive 
awards vested 
but unexercised

Long-term incentive 
awards not yet vested

185,427

526,615

27,525

95,000

25,000

21,025

2,704,157

–

30,000

70,000

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

622,933

99,359

339,467

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

SAYE awards

–

–

3,658

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(1) As at 13 March 2017, the date of Steve Burke’s death.

(2) Appointed to the Board on 1 June 2017.

There have been no changes in these shareholdings or interests between 30 November 2017 and the date of this report.

102

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Required shareholding
In order to reinforce the alignment of their interests with those of shareholders, executive directors are required to build up a holding of 
ordinary shares in the Company worth at least 200% of their base salary. Until this has been achieved, an executive director is required to 
retain all the shares acquired through the bonus investment process as well as 50% of any exercised long-term incentive award.

Executive director

Mark Allan 

Rob Hudson

Ordinary shares held 
as at 30 November 2017

Shareholding requirement 
as % of base salary

185,427

27,525

200%

200%

Value of shareholding 
at 30 November 2017 
as % of base salary(1)

128.26%

38.16%

(1) Based on the closing mid-market share price on 30 November 2017 of 390.8p and salary as at 30 November 2017.

External appointments (unaudited information)
Mark Allan is a trustee director on the non-executive board of Anchor Trust. For the period from 1 December 2016 to 30 November 2017 
he received and retained fees from Anchor Trust of £25,000.

Historic Company performance and Chief Executive remuneration (unaudited information)
The following information allows comparison of the Company’s TSR (based on share price growth and dividends reinvested) with the 
remuneration of the Chief Executive, over the last nine financial years.

Total Shareholder Return
£

600

500

400

300

200

100

30 Nov
2008

30 Nov
2009

30 Nov
2010

30 Nov
2011

30 Nov
2012

30 Nov
2013

30 Nov
2014

30 Nov
2015

30 Nov
2016

30 Nov
2017

St. Modwen
FTSE 250
FTSE All-Share Real Estate Investment & Services

The chart is prepared in accordance with the required regulations. It shows the Company’s TSR and that of the FTSE 250 and the FTSE All-Share Real Estate Investment & 
Services Indices based on an initial investment of £100 on 30 November 2008 and values at intervening financial year ends over a nine-year period to 30 November 2017. Since 
the Company was a constituent of both the FTSE 250 and the FTSE All-Share Real Estate Investment & Services Indices during the majority of the period, these are considered 
to be appropriate benchmarks for the graph.

Chief Executive remuneration for the 
year ended 30 November

Total remuneration (£000)(1)

Annual bonus awarded 
(as a % of maximum opportunity)

PSP vesting 
(as a % of maximum opportunity)

Share Award (Mark Allan)

2009

876

2010

902

2011

1,049

2012

1,672

2013

2,419

2014

3,083

2015

1,931

2016

867

2017

2,592 

50.00(2)

80.00

95.00

90.00

95.00

100.00

100.00

53.25

80.7%

0.00

N/A

0.00

N/A

0.00

N/A

45.77(3)

100.00

100.00

100.00

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

0.00

N/A

0.00

100%(4)

(1) Total remuneration includes those elements shown in the remuneration payable table on page 96. 

(2) In addition to the annual bonus, the Chief Executive was also awarded a one-off, exceptional payment of £100,000 in relation to the successful equity raising and financial 

restructuring undertaken in the year.

(3) Comprises 45.64% of the 2009 PSP awards and 45.89% of the 2010 PSP awards.

(4) This relates to the value, on vesting, of tranches 1 and 2 of Mark Allan’s recruitment award (i.e. not awards granted under the PSP). See page 100 for further details.

103

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT CONTINUED

Change in remuneration of Chief Executive compared to employees (unaudited information)
The table below shows the percentage change in salary, benefits and annual bonus between the years ended 30 November 2016 and 
30 November 2017 for the Chief Executive, and for all permanent employees of the Group.

Chief Executive(1)

All permanent employees

Change in base salary
%

Change in benefits
%

Change in annual bonus
%

13.2

2.5(2)

(20.7)(2)

0.0(3)

157

28(4)

(1) Note that this table compares the salary, benefits and bonus of Bill Oliver in the year ended 30 November 2016 to Mark Allan in the year ended 30 November 2017. 

(2) General cost of living increase for permanent employees. Including adjustments for promotions and recognition of exceptional performance, the weighted average increase 

in salary was 7.0%.

(3) There was no change to the overall structure of benefits available to permanent employees.

(4) Weighted average increase.

Relative spend on pay (unaudited information)
The table below shows the total expenditure on remuneration for all employees of the Group (including pension, variable pay and social 
security costs) compared to other key financial indicators as reported in the audited Group financial statements for the last two financial 
years. Information in respect of profit and net asset value performance has been provided for context.

Measure

Total spend on pay

Profit before all tax

Dividends paid

Equity attributable to owners of the Company

Relevant note to the Group 
financial statements

Year ended 
30 November 2016

Year ended 
30 November 2017

4c

2a

8

2c

£23.7m

£60.8m

£12.8m

£955.2m

£33.5m

£67.0m

£13.5m

£1,000.3m

% Increase

41.4%

10.2%

5.5%

4.7%

Whilst total spend on pay in the above table increased by 41.4% in the year, as disclosed in note 4c of the Group financial statements, this 
is principally because average employee numbers increased by 25.2% in the year.

104

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017How we will apply our remuneration policy for 2017/18 
Base salary
In line with the general cost of living salary increase awarded to the Company’s permanent employees and reflecting their continued 
strong performance, Mark Allan and Rob Hudson received an annual salary increase of 2.5% with effect from 1 December 2017. In addition 
for the reasons described in the Chairman’s Statement the Committee determined that the base salary for Rob Hudson should be increased 
by an additional 12.8%. 

Executive director

Mark Allan 

Rob Hudson

Base salary as at 
30 November 2017

Base salary with effect 
from 1 December 2017

£565,000

£281,875

£579,125

£325,000

% Increase

2.5%

15.3%

Benefits and pension arrangements
Benefits will be consistent with the policy detailed on page 89. Mark Allan and Rob Hudson will receive cash allowances in lieu of pension 
contributions of 15% of base salary. 

Annual bonus
Executive directors will have the opportunity to be awarded a bonus of up to 150% of base salary.

Bonus awards will be based on achievement of the following measures:

Measure

Corporate:

Trading profit

Total accounting return

See-through loan-to-value

Personal:

Individual targets for 
executive directors

Link to strategy

Weighting as % of 
award

Threshold 
performance

On-target 
performance

Stretch 
performance

Super-stretch 
performance

25%

25%

25%

Budget
-10%

Budget
-15%

Budget
-5%

Budget

Budget

Budget

Budget 
+10%

Budget
+15%

Budget 
+5%

Budget 
+20%

Budget
+30%

Budget
+10%

25% Substantially 
met

Met

Exceeded

Significantly 
exceeded

Reflects cash profitability of 
the business after interest and 
operating costs

Recognises the delivery of 
significant added value

Ensures continued balance 
sheet strength

Ensures that each director 
focuses on their individual 
contribution in the broadest 
sense through business 
performance, leadership, 
people and team, and 
personal development 
objectives

The Committee has set specific targets for all corporate measures, which reflect the Committee’s judgement of the ability of management 
to influence performance within the year. Threshold performance will deliver 25% of the maximum opportunity, on-target performance 
50% of the maximum, stretch 75% of the maximum and super stretch 100% of the maximum. Stretch targets are demanding and will 
require a very substantial outperformance of budget to achieve payout.

The threshold, target, stretch and super stretch performance requirements for financial objectives, together with outcomes, will be disclosed 
in the Remuneration report for the year ending 30 November 2018. This report will also include detailed commentary on the key deliverables, 
and assessment of outcomes, for personal objectives. Reflecting the new policy introduced last year, the proportion of the overall bonus 
that is awarded for personal performance will be capped at one-third of the total actual bonus awarded. Any bonus awarded will be subject 
to the requirement to invest 40% of the net amount received in purchasing shares in the Company and to retain these shares for at least 
three years, irrespective of whether the executive director has met the shareholding requirement.

105

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT CONTINUED

Long-term incentives
PSP awards will be granted to executive directors over shares worth 150% of base salary and will be consistent with the long-term 
incentives policy detailed on page 89.

The performance measures and targets associated with the PSP awards are summarised in the table below. The Committee is satisfied that 
the targets are suitably stretching. Performance against each target will be measured independently over the three financial years ending 
on 30 November 2020. 

Performance measure

Link to strategy

Relative TSR performance 
versus a bespoke group of 
real estate companies

•  Rewards outperformance of the returns 

generated by a comparator group 
comprising listed company peers

(50% of award)

•  Directly correlates reward with the return 
delivered to shareholders through share 
price growth and dividend payments

•  Provides an objective measure of the 

Company’s long-term success

Total accounting return

•  Rewards delivery of continued long-term 

(50% of award)

significant added value

•  Key internal measure of the Company’s 

long-term performance

•  Reflects value added by the Company’s 

asset management activities 

Threshold 
performance

Company’s 
TSR is ranked 
at median 
of the 
comparator 
group’s TSR

Vesting of award 
at threshold 
performance

Maximum 
performance

Vesting of award 
at maximum 
performance

100%

20%

Company’s 
TSR is ranked 
at or above 
the upper 
quartile of the 
comparator 
group’s TSR

5% average 
per annum

20%

11% average 
per annum

100%

Vesting of awards between threshold and maximum performance will be on a straight-line basis. Performance below threshold will result 
in nil vesting for that measure.

In calculating TSR, a three-month average is used at both the start and the end of the performance period to ensure that the calculation 
is not impacted by potential volatility arising from day-to-day share price fluctuations. The comparator group comprises the companies 
listed on page 99. The 2017/18 awards will be subject to an underpinning condition which the Committee must be satisfied has been met 
before permitting awards to vest, namely that the extent of vesting under the performance conditions is appropriate given the general 
financial performance of the Company over the three-year performance period. 

The awards will also be subject to a compulsory two-year post-vesting holding period, which will require executive directors to hold any 
shares vesting (after tax) for a period of two years, meaning there can be no disposal of shares for a period of at least five years from grant. 
The holding period will remain in place if the executive leaves employment during the two-year holding period.

Chairman and non-executive director fees
Following a review by the Board, the annual base fees payable to the Chairman and non-executive directors have been increased in line 
with the cost of living salary increase awarded to the Company’s employees with effect from 1 December 2017.

Base fee

Chairman

Non-executive directors

Additional fees

Senior Independent Director

Audit Committee Chairman

Remuneration Committee Chairman

Fee as at 
30 November 2017

Fee with effect from 
1 December 2017

% Increase

£163,113

£44,801

£9,000

£9,000

£9,000

£167,190

£45,921

£9,000

£9,000

£9,000

2.5%

2.5%

–

–

–

106

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Dates of appointment of directors

Director

Executive directors
Mark Allan(1)

Steve Burke

Rob Hudson

Non-executive directors
Bill Shannon(2)

Ian Bull 

Kay Chaldecott

Simon Clarke

Jenefer Greenwood, OBE

Lesley James, CBE

Richard Mully

Date of appointment

Date of contract/original 
letter of appointment

Expiry of current term

1 November 2016

6 April 2016

30 November 2006

18 January 2016

28 September 2015

20 April 2015

N/A

N/A

N/A

1 November 2010

18 October 2010

31 October 2018

1 September 2014

21 August 2014

31 August 2020

22 October 2012

22 October 2012

21 October 2018

11 October 2004

4 October 2004

10 October 2018

1 June 2017

1 June 2017

31 May 2020

19 October 2009

19 October 2009

18 October 2018

1 September 2013

16 July 2013

31 August 2019

(1) Appointed to the Board on 1 November 2016 and appointed Chief Executive on 1 December 2016.

(2) Appointed Chairman on 22 March 2011.

107

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION 
REPORT CONTINUED

Committee membership
The Committee’s composition is kept under review by the Nomination Committee, which is responsible for making recommendations to 
the Board as to its membership.

All members of the Committee receive an appropriate induction to ensure that they have a sound and objective understanding of the 
principles of, and recent developments in, executive remuneration matters. Ongoing training is undertaken as required.

Remuneration Committee members

Lesley James, CBE

Ian Bull(2)

Kay Chaldecott

Jenefer Greenwood, OBE(3)

Richard Mully

Bill Shannon

Chairman

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

(1) Actual attendance/maximum number of meetings a director could attend.

(2) Unable to attend the meeting in February 2017 due to a prior business commitment.

(3) Appointed to the Committee on 1 June 2017.

Remuneration Committee attendees (by invitation)

Committee meetings and attendance during 
the year ended 30 November 2017(1)

4/4

3/4

4/4

3/3

4/4

4/4

Mark Allan

Simon Clarke

Jane Saint

Andrew Eames

Representatives from Remuneration 
Committee adviser

Chief Executive

Non-executive director

Group HR Director

General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim) and secretary to the Committee 
(appointed 9 November 2017)

Korn Ferry Hay Group appointed 1 December 2017, replacing New Bridge Street

Advice provided to the Committee
Korn Ferry Hay Group was appointed by the Committee with effect from 1 December 2017 following a tender process to provide 
independent advice on remuneration matters. Representatives from Korn Ferry Hay Group attend Committee meetings and provide advice 
to the Committee Chairman outside of meetings as necessary. 

Fees are charged on a cost incurred basis and the fees charged by the previous adviser New Bridge Street in the year ended 30 November 
2017 totalled £118,783. 

Korn Ferry Hay Group is a founder member of the Remuneration Consultants Group and operates voluntarily under the Group’s code which 
sets out the scope and conduct of the role of executive remuneration consultants when advising UK listed companies. Korn Ferry Hay 
Group has no other connection with the Company, and the Committee is satisfied that the advice provided is objective and independent.

The Committee also receives input from the Chief Executive and the Group HR Director on the remuneration arrangements of the other 
executive directors and of the Company Secretary, and advice from the Company Secretary on governance matters. Neither the Chief 
Executive nor the Company Secretary were present when their own remuneration was discussed.

108

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Activities of the Committee
The Committee met on four occasions in the financial year ended 30 November 2017 to consider the following matters:

•  to consider investor feedback on the Company’s remuneration policy and last year’s Directors’ remuneration report;

•  to review market trends and the governance environment in respect of remuneration arrangements;

•  to review the ongoing operation of the directors’ remuneration policy;

•  to determine the pay arrangements for Steve Burke following his passing;

•  to review the executive directors’ base salaries and the fee payable to the Chairman;

•  to set corporate and personal objectives for the 2016/17 annual bonus arrangements for executive directors and undertake an 

assessment of performance against targets for 2015/16;

•  to assess and approve the outturn of PSP awards granted in 2014 and the recruitment-related awards made to Mark Allan;

•  to approve share awards granted in 2017 together with associated performance criteria; and

•  to prepare this report on directors’ remuneration.

Statement of shareholder voting at the AGM 
The table below details the results of the shareholder vote to approve last year’s Directors’ remuneration report and the Company’s 
remuneration policy at the 2017 AGM. 

Resolution

Approval of Directors’ 
Remuneration Report

Approval of remuneration policy

AGM

Votes for

% of vote for

Votes against % of vote against

Total votes cast

Votes withheld(1) 

2017

2017

135,483,900

165,005,074

94.84%

96.25%

7,377,481

6,435,537

5.16% 142,861,381

33,143,122

3.75% 171,440,611

4,563,893

(1) A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes cast for or against a resolution.

Dilution limits
In line with the rules of the PSP and Employee Share Option Plan, and the current SAYE Plan, the Company observes the recommendation 
of the Investment Association that the number of new shares that may be issued to satisfy awards is restricted to 10% (5% for discretionary 
schemes) of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company in any rolling 10-year period.

The total number of shares which could be allotted under the Company’s share schemes compared to the dilution limits as at 30 November 
2017 was as follows:

Type of scheme

All schemes

Executive schemes only

Limit

10%

5%

Actual

3.95%

3.84%

As at 30 November 2017, the Company’s Employee Share Trust (the Trust) held 519,906 shares (2016: 269,334 shares) in the Company to 
enable it to satisfy the vesting and exercise of awards. In accordance with the Trust deed, the Trust has waived the right to receive dividends 
paid on these shares with the exception of a hundredth of a penny per share.

This report on remuneration has been approved by the Board and signed on its behalf by

Lesley James
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

5 February 2018

109

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REPORT

The directors present their report for the year ended 
30 November 2017.

As permitted by legislation, some of the matters historically 
included in this report have instead been included in the Strategic 
report on pages 1 to 61 as the Board considers them to be of 
strategic importance. Specifically these relate to the Company’s 
business model and strategy, future business developments and 
risk management. The corporate governance statement as required 
by the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct 
Authority (FCA) is set out on pages 68 to 82 and is incorporated 
into this report by reference.

Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held on Wednesday, 28 March 2018 in the 
Evolution Suite, Innovation Centre, 1 Devon Way, Longbridge 
Technology Park, Birmingham B31 2TS, commencing at 12.00 noon. 
The notice of meeting, which includes the special business to be 
transacted and an explanation of all the resolutions to be considered 
at the meeting, is set out on pages 180 to 185.

Dividend
An interim dividend of 2.02 pence per ordinary share (2017: 1.94 
pence) was paid on 5 September 2017.

The directors recommend a final dividend of 4.26 pence per 
ordinary share in respect of the year ended 30 November 2017 
(2016: 4.06 pence), making a total dividend for the year of 6.28 
pence per share (2016: 6.00 pence), payable on 4 April 2018 to 
shareholders on the register on 9 March 2018.

Other than as referred to under the heading ‘Share capital’ 
below, during the year there were no arrangements under which 
a shareholder had waived or agreed to waive any dividends nor 
any agreement by a shareholder to waive future dividends.

Share capital
Capital structure
The Company has a single class of share capital which is divided 
into ordinary shares of 10p each, all ranking pari passu. Each share 
carries the right to one vote at general meetings of the Company.

At 30 November 2017, there were 222,376,988 ordinary shares 
in issue and fully paid. Further details relating to share capital, 
including movements during the year, are set out in note 18 to 
the Group financial statements.

Share allotments
During the year, and in accordance with the authority granted 
by shareholders at the 2017 AGM, 500,000 ordinary shares were 
allotted at par value to the Company’s Employee Share Trust to 
enable it to satisfy the vesting and exercise of awards of ordinary 
shares made under the Company’s share-based incentive 
arrangements.

Purchase by the Company of its own shares
At the 2017 AGM, shareholders renewed the Company’s authority 
to make market purchases of up to 22,187,698 ordinary shares, 
representing 10% of the issued share capital at that time. No shares 
were repurchased during the year and the Company does not hold 
any shares in treasury. This standard authority will expire at the 
2018 AGM and a resolution to renew it will be proposed.

Employee Share Trust (Trust)
As at 30 November 2017, the Trust held 519,906 shares (2016: 
269,334 shares), representing 0.23% (2016: 0.12%) of the Company’s 
issued share capital. The Trust deed contains a dividend waiver 
provision in respect of shares held by the Trust, such that dividends 
are waived with the exception of a hundredth of a penny per share. 

110

Any voting or other similar decisions relating to shares held by the 
Trust would be taken by the Trustee, who may take account of any 
recommendations of the Company. There were no purchases of 
shares by the Trust during the financial year.

Further details regarding the Trust and of shares issued pursuant to 
the Company’s share-based incentive arrangements are set out in 
note 18 to the Group financial statements.

Rights and obligations attaching to shares
The holders of ordinary shares in the Company are entitled to 
receive dividends when declared, to receive the Company’s annual 
report, to attend and speak at general meetings of the Company, 
to appoint proxies and to exercise voting rights. Full details of the 
deadlines for exercising voting rights in respect of the resolutions to 
be considered at the 2018 AGM are set out in the notice of meeting 
on pages 180 to 185.

Restrictions on the transfer of shares
As at 30 November 2017 and the date of this report, except as 
referred to below:

•  there were no restrictions on the transfer of ordinary shares 

in the Company;

•  there were no limitations on the holding of ordinary shares;

•  there were no requirements to obtain the approval of the 

Company, or of other holders of ordinary shares in the Company, 
for a transfer of shares; and

•  no person held shares in the Company carrying any special 

rights with regard to control of the Company.

The directors may refuse to register the transfer of a share in 
certificated form which is not fully paid or on which the Company 
has a lien, where the instrument of transfer does not comply with 
the requirements of the Company’s Articles of Association (Articles), 
or if the transfer is in respect of more than one class of share or is 
in favour of more than four joint holders. The directors may also 
refuse to register a transfer of a certificated share, which represents 
an interest of at least 0.25% in a class of shares, following the failure 
by the member or any other person appearing to be interested in 
the shares to provide the Company with information requested 
under section 793 of the Companies Act 2006 (Act).

Transfers of uncertificated shares must be carried out using CREST 
and the directors can refuse to register the transfer of an 
uncertificated share in accordance with the regulations governing 
the operation of CREST.

The Company is not aware of any agreements between 
shareholders that may result in restrictions on the transfer of shares 
or on voting rights.

Interests in voting rights
Information provided to the Company pursuant to the FCA’s 
Disclosure and Transparency Rules (DTR 5) is published on a 
Regulatory Information Service and on the Company’s website. As 
at 30 November 2017, the information overleaf had been received 
in accordance with DTR 5 from holders of notifiable interests in the 
Company’s issued share capital.

The information provided was correct at the date of notification; 
however, the date the notification received may not have been 
within the current financial year. It should be noted that these 
holdings are likely to have changed since the Company was 
notified. Notification of any change is not required until a notifiable 
threshold is crossed.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Shareholder

Date of notification

Nature of holding

Total voting rights

% of total voting rights

Simon Clarke and connected parties

28 September 2017

J.D. Leavesley and connected parties(1)

10 August 2017

Aviva plc

29 September 2017

Direct interest

Direct interest

Direct interest

Indirect interest

Aviva total

Royal London Asset Management Ltd

21 November 2017

Direct interest

TR Property Investment Trust plc

12 July 2012

Direct interest 

15,175,196

13,317,130

14,024,013

2,210,461

16,234,474

15,579,630

6,802,638

6.82%

5.99%

6.31%

0.99%

7.30%

7.01%

3.40%

(1) Further to the announcement on 22 December 2017 and with effect from that date, the Company no longer intends to present the shareholdings of J.D. Leavesley 

and connected parties in aggregate. The Shareholdings of each member of the Leavesley family will be treated and presented individually.

  There were no changes to the interests in the voting rights notified to the Company in accordance with DTR 5 between 30 November 2017 and 5 February 2018.

Directors
The Board
The following served as directors during the year ended 
30 November 2017:

•  Mark Allan 

•  Ian Bull

•  Steve Burke (passed away on 13 March 2017)

•  Kay Chaldecott

•  Simon Clarke

•  Jenefer Greenwood (appointed on 1 June 2017)

•  Rob Hudson

•  Lesley James

•  Richard Mully

•  Bill Shannon

Appointment and replacement of directors
The appointment and replacement of directors is governed by 
the Articles, the UK Corporate Governance Code (Code), the Act 
and related legislation. Under the Articles:

•  the number of directors is not subject to any maximum but 
must not be less than three, unless otherwise determined by 
the Company in general meeting;

•  directors may be appointed by an ordinary resolution of the 

Company or by resolution of the directors, either to fill a casual 
vacancy or as an additional director; and

•  all directors must retire at each AGM and shall, subject to his or 
her terms of appointment, be eligible for election or re-election.

At the 2018 AGM Jenefer Greenwood, who was appointed by the 
directors in June 2017, and Jamie Hopkins who as announced, will 
join the Board on 1 March 2018, will retire and offer themselves for 
election; Richard Mully and Kay Chaldecott will not be standing for 
re-election; all other directors will offer themselves for re-election.

The biographical details of all the directors serving at 30 November 
2017, including details of their relevant experience and other 
significant commitments, are shown on pages 66 and 67.

A director may be removed by a special resolution of the Company. 
In addition, a director must automatically cease to be a director if 
he or she:

The Directors’ remuneration report, which includes details of 
directors’ service agreements and their interests and their 
connected persons interests in the Company’s shares, is set out on 
pages 86 to 109. Copies of the service agreements of the executive 
directors and the letters of appointment for the non-executive 
directors are available for inspection at the Company’s registered 
office during normal business hours and will be available for 
inspection at the Company’s AGM.

•  resigns from his or her office by notice in writing to the Company 

or, in the case of an executive director, the appointment is 
terminated or expires and the directors resolve that his or her 
office be vacated;

•  becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition 

with his or her creditors generally;

•  a registered medical practitioner who is treating the director 
gives a written opinion to the Company stating that he or 
she has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as 
a director and may remain so for more than three months;

•  is absent from meetings of the directors for more than six 

consecutive months without permission of the directors and 
the directors resolve that his or her office be vacated; or

•  becomes prohibited by law from acting as a director.

111

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationDIRECTORS’ REPORT CONTINUED

Powers of the directors
The Board may exercise all the powers of the Company, subject 
to the Articles, UK legislation including the Act and any directions 
given by the Company in general meeting.

Financial instruments
The Group’s exposure to and management of capital risk, market 
risk, credit risk and liquidity risk is set out in note 17 to the Group 
financial statements.

Employee involvement
St. Modwen is committed to regular communication and 
consultation with its employees and encourages employee 
understanding of and involvement in its performance. News 
concerning St. Modwen, its activities and performance is published 
on the Company’s intranet. Regular management meetings are 
held to inform senior staff about matters affecting them as 
employees, at which their feedback is sought on decisions likely 
to affect their interest, and where a common awareness of the 
financial and economic factors affecting the Company’s 
performance is developed; this information is then cascaded to 
all employees. A performance-related annual bonus scheme and 
share option arrangements are designed to encourage and 
support employee share ownership.

See Our commitment to our people – page 19.

Employment of disabled persons
It is the policy of the Company to give full and fair consideration 
to applications for employment received from disabled persons, 
having regard to their aptitudes and abilities. The policy includes, 
where practicable, the continued employment of those who may 
become disabled during their employment with the Company and 
the provision of appropriate training. St. Modwen provides the same 
opportunities for training, career development and promotion for 
disabled as for other employees.

Greenhouse gas emissions
The disclosures required by law relating to the Group’s greenhouse 
gas emissions (GHG) are set out in the table overleaf. GHG from 
those sources for which the Company is deemed to be directly 
responsible are monitored for reporting purposes, namely gas and 
electricity purchased for consumption at properties under the 
Company’s operational control (such as Head Office, certain 
regional offices, St. Modwen Homes’ sales offices and vacant space), 
and petrol and diesel used in Company cars. 

For information on our energy initiatives, please see our CSR report 
and www.stmodwen.co.uk/corporate-social-responsibility.

The directors have been authorised by the Articles to allot ordinary 
shares and to make market purchases of the Company’s own 
shares. These powers are referred to shareholders for renewal at 
each AGM. Further information is set out under the heading ‘Share 
capital’ on page 110.

Conflicts of interest
With the exception of service agreements no director had a material 
interest in any significant contract with the Company or any of its 
operating companies at any time during the year.

Under the Act, directors have a statutory duty to avoid conflicts 
of interest with the Company. As permitted by the Act, the Articles 
enable non-conflicted directors to authorise actual or potential 
conflicts of interest, either with or without limits or conditions. 
Formal procedures for the notification and authorisation of such 
conflicts are in place. Any potential conflicts of interest in relation 
to newly appointed directors are considered by the Board prior to 
appointment. All directors have a continuing duty to update any 
changes to conflicts.

Indemnities and insurance
The Company has granted indemnities to each of its directors and 
the Company Secretary to the extent permitted by law in respect 
of costs of defending claims against them and third-party liabilities. 
These provisions, deemed to be qualifying third-party indemnity 
provisions pursuant to section 234 of the Act, were in force during 
the year ended 30 November 2017 and remain in force as at the 
date of this report.

A copy of the indemnity is available for inspection at the Company’s 
registered office during normal business hours and will be available 
for inspection at the Company’s AGM.

The Company also maintains directors’ and officers’ liability 
insurance which gives appropriate cover for any legal action taken 
against its directors.

Articles of Association
The Articles can only be amended, or new Articles adopted, by 
a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the Company. 
The Company’s current Articles are available on its website 
www.stmodwen.co.uk.

Change of control
There are a number of agreements that take effect, alter or 
terminate upon a change of control of the Company following a 
takeover bid. These include committed bank facilities, which would 
be terminable at the bank’s discretion, and the Company’s retail 
and convertible bonds, holders of which would have an option to 
require the Company to redeem the bonds.

The Company’s share-based incentive arrangements contain 
provisions that take effect in the event of a change of control but 
do not entitle participants to a greater interest in the shares of the 
Company than created by the initial grant or award under the 
relevant plan.

There are no agreements between the Company and its directors 
or employees providing for compensation for loss of office or 
employment that occurs specifically as a result of a takeover bid.

112

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017GHG

Scope 1:

Total purchased gas

Petrol and diesel

Total Scope 1

Scope 2:

Total purchased electricity

Total Scope 2

Total Scope 1 & 2

2017 intensity ratio

2016 intensity ratio

CO2 emissions 
(tonnes)

tCO2 emissions/ 
full-time 
employees(1)

tCO2 emissions/ 
£m property 
portfolio(2)

CO2 emissions 
(tonnes)

tCO2 emissions/ 
full-time 
employees(1)

tCO2 emissions/ 
£m property 
portfolio(2)

107

781

888

658

658

1,546

2.1

0.5

1.5

3.6

0.4

0.9

129

955

1,084

788

788

1,872

3.1

2.3

5.4

0.5

0.4

0.9

(1) Equivalent CO2 emissions per full-time employee.

(2) Equivalent CO2 per £m of property portfolio held by the Company.

Methodology
Emissions from gas and electricity consumption have been calculated using the main requirements of the GHG Protocol Standard (revised edition) and emission factors 
from UK Government’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting 2014. The measurement of emissions from Company cars is based on the ‘Environmental 
Reporting Guidelines: Including mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting guidance’ (June 2013) issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
(Defra). Defra’s 2013 conversion factors have also been used within the reporting methodology.

Organisation boundary and responsibility
The Company does not have responsibility for GHG that are beyond the boundary of the Company’s operational control. As such, gas and electricity purchased and 
consumed by tenants is not included within the Scope 1 and 2 data above. Data also excludes the purchase for and consumption by those sites which fall within the 
Persimmon joint venture as Persimmon controls the procurement of utilities to these sites. GHG for all other joint ventures has been included as the Company is deemed 
to be wholly responsible for such GHG. 

Political donations
In accordance with the Company’s policy, no political donations were 
made and no political expenditure was incurred during the year.

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. The directors have considered these 
factors and reviewed the financial position of the Group, including 
its joint ventures and associates. The review included an assessment 
of future funding requirements based on cash flow forecasts 
extending for 18 months from the balance sheet date, valuation 
projections and the ability of the Group to meet covenants on 
existing borrowing facilities. The directors are satisfied that the 
forecasts and projections are based on realistic assumptions 
and that the sensitivities applied in reviewing downside scenarios 
are appropriate.

As described in the financial review on pages 46 to 49, having 
recently refinanced all of our bank debt facilities, the only medium-
term refinancing actions relating to our Group facilities are to 
replace some, but not all, of the liquidity provided by our Bonds 
ahead of their 2019 maturities. As a result, the directors are satisfied 
that the Group will have sufficient ongoing facilities available to 
meet its financing requirements. Based on their assessment, the 
directors are of the opinion that the Group has adequate available 
resources to fund its operations for the foreseeable future and so 
determine that it remains appropriate for the financial statements 
to be prepared on a going concern basis.

Disclosure required by Listing Rule 9.8.4R
The information required to be disclosed by LR 9.8.4R of the 
FCA’s Listing Rules can be found on the following pages of this 
Annual Report:

Section

Topic

Page reference

(1)

(2)

(4)

(5) & (6)

(7) & (8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

Interest capitalised

Publication of unaudited 
information

Details of long-term incentive 
plans established specifically to 
recruit or retain a director

Waiver of emoluments by 
a director

N/A

N/A

100

N/A

Non-pre-emptive issues of equity 
for cash

161

Parent company participation 
in placing by a listed subsidiary

Contracts of significance

Provision of services by a 
controlling shareholder

(12) & (13) Shareholder waiver of dividends

(14)

Agreements with controlling 
shareholders

N/A

N/A

N/A

110

N/A

113

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationThe directors are responsible for preparing a strategic report, 
corporate governance statement, directors’ remuneration report 
and directors’ report that complies with applicable law and 
regulations.

The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of 
the corporate and financial information included on the Company’s 
website www.stmodwen.co.uk. Legislation in the United Kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial 
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Each of the directors in office as at the date of this report confirm 
that to the best of their knowledge:

•  the financial statements, prepared in accordance with the 

applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair view 
of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the 
Company and the undertakings included in the consolidation 
taken as a whole; and

•  the strategic report includes a fair review of the development and 
performance of the business and the position of the Company 
and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a 
whole, together with a description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties that they face.

Each of the directors in office as at the date of this report 
considers 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 Company’s 
position and performance, business model and strategy.

Each of the directors in office as at the date of this report also 
confirms that:

•  so far as the director is aware, there is no relevant audit 

information of which the Company’s auditor is unaware; and 

•  the director has taken all the steps that he/she ought to have 

taken as a director in order to make himself/herself aware of any 
relevant audit information and to establish that the Company’s 
auditor is aware of that information.

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance 
with the provisions of section 418 of the Act.

The directors’ report, prepared in accordance with the requirements 
of the Act and the FCA’s Listing and Disclosure and Transparency 
Rules and comprising pages 110 to 114, was approved by the Board 
and signed on its behalf by

Andrew Eames
General Counsel & Company Secretary (Interim)

5 February 2018

St. Modwen Properties PLC

Company No: 00349201

DIRECTORS’ REPORT CONTINUED

Important events since 30 November 2017
Important events affecting the Group are set out in note 23 to the 
Group financial statements. There were no other particulars of any 
other important events affecting the company as required by 
Schedule 7 7 (1)(a) of the Large and Medium-sized Companies and 
Group’s (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008.

Auditor
Resolutions to re-appoint KPMG LLP as auditor of the Company and 
to authorise the Audit Committee to determine their remuneration 
will be proposed at the 2018 AGM.

Management report
The strategic report and the directors’ report together comprise the 
‘management report’ for the purposes of the FCA’s Disclosure and 
Transparency Rules (DTR 4.1.8R).

Statement of directors’ responsibilities
The directors are responsible for preparing the annual report 
and financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and regulations. 

Company law requires the directors to prepare Group and 
Company financial statements for each financial year. Under the 
law the directors are required to prepare the Group financial 
statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRSs), as adopted by the European Union and Article 4 
of the IAS Regulation and have elected to prepare the Company 
financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally 
Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom accounting 
standards and applicable law), including FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure 
Framework. 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 of the 
Company and of their profit or loss for that period.

In preparing each of the Group and Company financial statements, 
the directors are required to:

•  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 

consistently;

•  make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable, 

relevant, reliable and prudent;

•  for the Group financial statements state whether they have been 

prepared in accordance with IFRSs, as adopted by the EU; 

•  for the Company financial statements, state whether applicable 
UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any 
material departures disclosed and explained in the Company 
financial statements;

•  assess the Group and Company’s ability to continue as a going 
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters relating to going 
concern; and 

•  use the going concern basis of accounting unless they either 
intend to liquidate the Group or the Company or to cease 
operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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

114

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
to the members of St. Modwen Properties PLC

1. Our opinion is unmodified
We have audited the financial statements of St. Modwen Properties 
PLC (the Company) for the year ended 30 November 2017 which 
comprise the Group income statement, Group statement of 
comprehensive income, Group balance sheet, Group statement of 
changes in equity, Group cash flow statement, Company balance 
sheet, Company statement of changes in equity, and the related 
notes, including the Group accounting policies on pages 126 to 132 
and the Company accounting policies on page 170.

In our opinion:
•  the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of 

the Group’s and of the Parent Company’s affairs as at 30 November 
2017 and of the Group’s profit for the year then ended;

Overview

Materiality
Group financial statements 
as a whole

Coverage

Risks of material misstatement:

Group recurring risks

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

Parent Company key 
audit matter

£18.0m

1.0% of total assets

99% of Group total assets

Valuation of investment 
properties

Valuation of inventories

New Covent Garden Market 
liability

Recoverability of Parent 
Company investments in 
subsidiaries and joint ventures

•  the Parent Company financial statements have been properly 

prepared in accordance with UK accounting standards, including 
FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework; and

•  the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 
the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the 
Group financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards 
on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities 
are described below. We believe that the audit evidence we have 
obtained is a sufficient and appropriate basis for our opinion. Our 
audit opinion is consistent with our report to the Audit Committee.

We were appointed as auditor by the directors on 23 February 2017 
therefore the year ended 30 November 2017 is our first year acting 
as auditors. We have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities under, and 
we remain independent of the Group in accordance with, UK ethical 
requirements including the FRC Ethical Standard as applied to listed 
public interest entities. No non-audit services prohibited by that 
standard were provided.

2.  Key audit matters: our assessment of risks of material 

misstatement

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional 
judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the financial 
statements and include the most significant assessed risks of 
material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) identified by 
us, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall 
audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing 
the efforts of the engagement team. We summarise below the key 
audit matters, in decreasing order of audit significance, in arriving at 
our audit opinion above, together with our key audit procedures to 
address those matters and, as required for public interest entities, 
our results from those procedures. These matters were addressed, 
and our results are based on procedures undertaken, in the context 
of, and solely for the purpose of, our audit of the financial 
statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and 
consequently are incidental to that opinion, and we do not provide 
a separate opinion on these matters.

115

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 
CONTINUED

2.  Key audit matters: our assessment of risks of material misstatement continued

The risk

Our response

Valuation of investment 
properties
(£1,168.5m)

Refer to page 78 (Audit 
Committee report), page 127 
(accounting policy) and pages 
148 to 149 (financial 
disclosures).

Subjective valuation
Valuation of investment 
properties held at fair value is 
a key area of judgement in 
the financial statements. It is 
considered a risk due to its 
magnitude and the subjective 
nature of the valuations, 
particularly the estimates 
made in relation to market 
comparable yield rates and 
estimated rental value (ERV).

Our procedures, assisted by our own property valuation specialist 
(for procedures 1, 2, 3 and 4), included:

1. 

 Understanding of valuation approach: Meeting with the 
Group’s external valuers to understand the assumptions and 
methodologies used in valuing the investment properties and 
the market evidence used by the external valuers to support 
their assumptions. We also obtained an understanding of 
directors’ involvement in the valuation process to assess 
whether appropriate oversight has occurred.

2.   Assessing valuers’ credentials: Critically assessed the 

independence, professional qualifications, competence and 
experience of the external valuers used by the Group.

3.   Methodology choice: Critically assessed the methodology 
used by the valuers by considering whether their valuations 
were in accordance with the RICS Valuation Professional 
Standards ‘the Red Book’ and relevant accounting standards.

4.   Benchmarking assumptions: Challenged the key 

assumptions upon which the valuations were based for a 
sample of properties, including those relating to ERV and yield 
rates by making a comparison to our own assumption ranges 
derived from market data.

5.   Input assessment: Agreed observable inputs used in the 
valuations, such as rental income, occupancy rates, lease 
incentives, break clauses and lease lengths back to lease 
agreements for a sample of properties.

6.   Disclosure assessment: Critically assessed the adequacy of 

the Group’s disclosures in relation to the judgement in relation 
to valuing properties.

Our results
We found the valuation of investment properties to be 
acceptable.

116

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Valuation of inventories
(£352.7m)

Refer to page 79 (Audit 
Committee report), page 127 
(accounting policy) and page 
154 (financial disclosures).

The risk

Subjective valuation
Inventories comprise properties 
which have been previously 
developed and are ready for 
sale, properties which are under 
construction with a view to 
sell and land which has been 
acquired for future development 
with a view to subsequent sale.

In order to assess the net 
realisable value of inventory, 
appraisals are prepared for each 
site, which includes forecast 
revenue and costs and provides 
an indication of the recoverability 
of inventory. The risk within 
valuation of inventory is that 
site appraisals include a number 
of judgements that could be 
subject to error resulting in the 
net realisable value not being 
accurately measured.

New Covent Garden 
Market liability
(£78.9m, representing the 
Group’s share of the liability, 
included within the Group’s 
investment in VSM (NCGM) 
Limited of £14.0m and the 
Group’s share of VSM (NCGM) 
Limited’s result for the year 
of £(13.8)m).

Refer to page 79 (Audit 
Committee report), pages 130 
to 131 (accounting policy) and 
page 153 (financial disclosures).

Forecast-based valuation
There is a risk arising from the 
accounting estimate in relation 
to the total costs expected to 
be incurred in the delivery of 
the replacement New Covent 
Garden Market due to the 
judgements involved in 
assessing the appropriateness 
of the measurement of the 
obligation, including the 
assumptions on quantum and 
timing of costs made by the 
external expert and the 
discount rate used by 
management to come to the 
liability to be recorded in the 
financial statements.

Our response

Our procedures:

1. 

 Control design: Evaluated the design of the entity level 
controls around Board review of the development appraisals.

2.   Our sector expertise: Discussed a sample of development 
sites with management to obtain an understanding of the 
status of the site focusing on matters relevant to the site 
valuation, being the status of the development and whether 
the appraisal reflects any additional unexpected costs. We 
selected a risk-based sample using criteria including quantum 
of work in progress, low profit margin and length of 
development project.

3.   Test of details: For each sample development site we 

challenged whether expected revenues in site appraisals 
reflect the revenue seen on similar assets in the inventory 
portfolio and tested the key cost assumptions within the 
appraisal to supporting evidence.

4.   Historical comparisons: Where a site has been appraised 

over a period of time, we sought to understand the changes 
to assumptions over time for the sample of sites and 
considered whether those changes were consistent with 
our market expectations.

5.   Test of detail: We compared the value carried in the balance 
sheet with the sales price achieved for a selection of property 
sales after the balance sheet date and for sales throughout 
the year as a review of the past accuracy of the Group’s 
estimates.

6.   Assessing transparency: Critically assessed the adequacy 
of the Group’s disclosures in relation to judgement and 
estimation in relation to inventory.

Our results
We found the valuation of inventories to be acceptable.

Our procedures included:

1. 

 Understanding of valuation approach: We undertook a call 
with the external quantity surveyor expert, Prosurv Consult, 
to understand and assess the reasonableness of the 
assumptions, such as cost inflation and cash flow timings, and 
the methodologies used by the expert in coming to the gross 
construction cost liability. We also assessed the 
reasonableness of the discount rate applied to the expert’s 
gross cost cash flows.

2.   Assessing expert’s credentials: Critically assessed the 

independence, professional qualifications, competence and 
experience of the external expert used by the Group.

3.   Sensitivity analysis: Assessed the sensitivity of the 

calculation of the liability to the discount rate by performing 
sensitivity analysis on the rate applied to the expert’s gross 
cost cash flows. We re-performed the discounting calculation 
to confirm it had been calculated correctly.

4.   Disclosure assessment: Critically assessed the adequacy of 
the Group’s disclosures in relation to New Covent Garden 
Market liability.

Our results
We found the liability recognised in respect of the New Covent 
Garden Market development to be acceptable.

117

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 
CONTINUED

2.  Key audit matters: our assessment of risks of material misstatement continued

The risk

Our response

Recoverability of 
Parent Company 
investments in subsidiaries 
and joint ventures
(£773.5m)

Refer to page 170 (accounting 
policy) and page 172 (financial 
disclosures).

Low risk/high value (Parent 
Company key audit matter)
Investments in subsidiaries and 
joint ventures represents 43% 
of the Company’s total assets. 
Their recoverability is not at 
a high risk of significant 
misstatement or subject to 
significant judgement.

However, due to their 
materiality in the context of 
the Parent Company financial 
statements, this is considered 
to be the area that had the 
greatest effect on our overall 
Parent Company audit.

Our procedures included:

Tests of detail: We re-performed the equity method calculations 
used to determine the carrying value of the investments in 
subsidiary and joint ventures and assessed the recoverable 
amount of investments.

Assessing subsidiary audits: Assessing the work performed on 
the subsidiary audits for a sample of subsidiaries and considering 
the results of that work, on those subsidiaries’ profits and net assets.

Our results
We found the resulting estimate of the recoverable amount of 
investment in subsidiaries to be acceptable.

Total assets of the Group £1,721.6m

Group materiality £18.0m

Group total assets  
Group materiality

£18.0m
Whole financial 
statements materiality

£13.5m
Range of materiality 
at 80 components 
(£1,000 to £13.5m)

£0.5m
Misstatements reported 
to the Audit Committee

3.  Our application of materiality and an overview of the scope 

of our audit

Materiality for the Group financial statements as a whole was set at 
£18.0m, determined with reference to a benchmark of Group total 
assets of £1,721.6m of which it represents 1.0%.

We applied a lower materiality, set at £3.0m, to the specific Group 
income statement items which may be of specific interest to users 
regarding the Group income statement and that could reasonably 
be expected to influence the Company’s members’ assessment of 
the financial performance of the Group. Materiality for these items 
are determined with reference to trading profit (as defined by the 
Group in note 2a), which comprises net rental and other income, 
development profits, gains on disposal of investment properties, 
administrative expenses and net finance costs before amortisation 
and valuation movements.

Materiality for the Parent Company financial statements as a whole 
was set at £13.5m, determined with reference to a benchmark of 
Company total assets of which it represents 0.8%.

We agreed to report to the Audit Committee any corrected or 
uncorrected identified misstatements exceeding £0.5m in addition 
to other identified misstatements that warranted reporting on 
qualitative grounds.

Of the Group’s 155 reporting components, we subjected 78 to full 
scope audits for Group purposes, including 65 full scope audits for 
statutory purposes. The components within the scope of our work 
accounted for the percentages illustrated opposite. The Group audit 
team performed the work on all components.

The remaining 1% of Group revenue, 3% of Group profit before 
tax and 1% of Group total assets is represented by 77 reporting 
components, none of which individually represented more than 
1% of any of Group revenue, Group profit before tax or Group 
total assets.

118

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Group total assets

Group profit before tax

Full scope for Group audit purposes 
Out of audit scope

Full scope for Group audit purposes 
Out of audit scope

3

1

99

Group revenue

Full scope for Group audit purposes 
Out of audit scope

1

99

4. We have nothing to report on going concern
We are required to report to you if:

•  we have anything material to add or draw attention to in relation 
to the directors’ statement in the Group accounting policies on 
the use of the going concern basis of accounting with no material 
uncertainties that may cast significant doubt over the Group and 
Company’s use of that basis for a period of at least 12 months 
from the date of approval of the financial statements; or

•  the related statement under the Listing Rules set out on page 113 

is materially inconsistent with our audit knowledge.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

97

Annual Report

5.  We have nothing to report on the other information in the 

The directors are responsible for the other information presented 
in the annual report together with the financial statements. Our 
opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other 
information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion 
or, except as explicitly stated below, any form of assurance 
conclusion thereon.

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

Strategic report and directors’ report
Based solely on our work on the other information:

•  we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic 

report and the directors’ report;

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

•  in our opinion those reports have been prepared in accordance 

with the Companies Act 2006.

Directors’ remuneration report
In our opinion the part of the directors’ remuneration report 
to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with 
the Companies Act 2006.

Disclosures of principal risks and longer-term viability
Based on the knowledge we acquired during our financial 
statements audit, we have nothing material to add or draw 
attention to in relation to:

•  the directors’ confirmation within the viability statement 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 and liquidity;

•  the principal risks disclosures describing these risks and 

explaining how they are being managed and mitigated; and

•  the directors’ explanation in the viability statement of how they 

have assessed the prospects of the Group, over what period they 
have done so and why they considered 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.

Under the Listing Rules we are required to review the viability 
statement. We have nothing to report in this respect.

119

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT 
CONTINUED

5.  We have nothing to report on the other information in the 

Annual Report continued

Corporate governance disclosures
We are required to report to you if:

•  we have identified material inconsistencies between the 

knowledge we acquired during our financial statements audit 
and the directors’ statement that they 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’s position and performance, 
business model and strategy; or

•  the section of the annual report describing the work of the 
Audit Committee does not appropriately address matters 
communicated by us to the Audit Committee.

We are required to report to you if the corporate governance 
statement does not properly disclose a departure from the 11 
provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code specified by 
the Listing Rules for our review.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

6.  We have nothing to report on the other matters on which 

we are required to report by exception

Under the Companies Act 2006, we are required to report to you if, 
in our opinion:

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

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

Irregularities – ability to detect
Our audit aimed to detect non-compliance with relevant laws and 
regulations (irregularities) that could have a material effect on the 
financial statements. In planning and performing our audit, we 
considered the impact of laws and regulations in the specific areas 
of anti-bribery and corruption. We identified these areas through 
discussion with the directors and other management (as required 
by auditing standards), from our sector experience, and from 
inspection of the Group’s regulatory, licensing and legal 
correspondence. In addition we had regard to laws and regulations 
in other areas including financial reporting, and company and 
taxation legislation.

We considered the extent of compliance with those laws and 
regulations that directly affect the financial statements, being 
anti-bribery and corruption, as part of our procedures on the 
related financial statement items. For the remaining laws and 
regulations, we made enquiries of directors and other management 
(as required by auditing standards).

We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our 
team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance 
throughout the audit.

As with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection 
of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional 
omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls.

8.  The purpose of our audit work and to whom we owe our 

•  the Parent Company financial statements and the part of the 

responsibilities

directors’ remuneration report to be audited are not in 
agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

•  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law 

are not made; or

•  we have not received all the information and explanations we 

require for our audit.

We have nothing to report in these respects.

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

Bill Holland (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of KPMG LLP, Statutory Auditor 
Chartered Accountants  
15 Canada Square  
Canary Wharf 
London E14 5GL

5 February 2018

7. Respective responsibilities
Directors’ responsibilities
As explained more fully in their statement set out on page 114, 
the directors are responsible for: the preparation of the financial 
statements including being satisfied that they give a true and fair 
view; such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable 
the preparation of financial statements that are free from material 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; assessing the Group 
and Parent Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, 
disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern; and 
using the going concern basis of accounting unless they either 
intend to liquidate the Group or the Parent Company or to cease 
operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

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

120

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FINANCIAL 
DISCIPLINE/ 
SAFEGUARDING 
OUR 
FUTURE

121

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGROUP INCOME STATEMENT
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Revenue

Net rental income

Development profits

Gains on disposals of investments/investment properties

Investment property revaluation gains

Other net income

Losses of joint ventures and associates (post-tax)

Administrative expenses

Profit before interest and tax

Finance costs

Finance income

Profit before tax

Taxation

Profit for the year

Attributable to:

Owners of the Company

Non-controlling interests

Profit for the year

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

GROUP STATEMENT OF 
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Profit for the year

Items that will not be reclassified to profit and loss:

Pension fund actuarial losses

Total comprehensive income for the year

Attributable to:

Owners of the Company

Non-controlling interests

Total comprehensive income for the year

122

Notes

1

1

1

1

9

1

11

4

5

5

6

Notes

7

7

Notes

19

2017
£m

 318.6 

 48.8 

 58.9 

 6.7 

 16.2 

 2.0 

 (8.5)

 (35.9)

 88.2 

 (30.0)

 12.1 

 70.3 

 (10.2)

 60.1 

 59.6 

 0.5 

 60.1 

2017 
Pence

 26.9 

 26.7 

2017
£m

 60.1 

(0.1) 

 60.0 

 59.5 

 0.5 

 60.0 

2016
£m

 287.7 

 40.5 

 51.7 

 9.5 

 30.3 

 4.2 

 (28.2)

 (33.0)

 75.0 

 (23.0)

 14.9 

 66.9 

 (13.3)

 53.6 

 53.4 

 0.2 

 53.6

2016 
Pence

 24.1 

 19.8

2016
£m

 53.6 

(0.1) 

 53.5 

 53.3 

 0.2 

 53.5

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017GROUP BALANCE SHEET
as at 30 November 2017

Non-current assets

Investment properties

Operating property, plant and equipment

Investments in joint ventures and associates

Trade and other receivables

Current assets

Inventories

Trade and other receivables

Derivative financial instruments

Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Derivative financial instruments

Borrowings and finance lease obligations

Current tax liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Borrowings and finance lease obligations

Deferred tax

Net assets

Capital and reserves

Share capital

Share premium account

Retained earnings

Share incentive reserve

Own shares

Other reserves

Equity attributable to owners of the Company

Non-controlling interest

Total equity

These financial statements were approved by the Board and authorised for issue on 5 February 2018.

Mark Allan 
Chief Executive

Rob Hudson 
Chief Financial Officer

Company Number: 00349201

Notes

2017 
£m

2016 (restated) 
£m

9

10

11

12

13

12

17

14

17

15

6

14

15

6

18

 1,168.5 

 5.1 

 119.6 

 2.3 

 1,295.5 

 352.7 

 72.1 

 0.8 

 0.5 

 426.1 

 (176.0)

 (4.8)

 (0.6)

 (6.2)

 (187.6)

 (20.1)

 (491.3)

 (16.6)

 (528.0)

 1,006.0 

 22.2 

 102.8 

 825.7 

 5.1 

 (1.7)

 46.2 

 1,000.3 

 5.7 

 1,006.0 

 1,144.7 

 4.2 

 184.8 

 8.2 

 1,341.9 

 229.7 

 104.1 

 1.6 

 4.2 

 339.6 

 (150.5)

 (8.8)

 (0.4)

 (7.1)

 (166.8)

 (3.6)

 (527.0)

 (22.0)

 (552.6)

 962.1 

 22.2 

 102.8 

 779.7 

 4.9 

 (0.6)

 46.2 

 955.2 

 6.9 

 962.1 

123

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGROUP STATEMENT OF CHANGES 
IN EQUITY
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Share 
capital
£m

Share 
premium 
account
£m

Retained 
earnings
£m

Share 
incentive 
reserve
£m

Own 
shares
£m

Other 
reserves
£m

Equity 
attributable 
to owners 
of the 
Company
£m

Non-
controlling 
interests
£m

Equity at 30 November 2015

 22.2 

 102.8 

 739.3 

 5.2 

 (1.0)

 46.2 

 914.7 

Profit for the year attributable to shareholders

Pension fund actuarial losses (note 19)

Total comprehensive income for the year

Share-based payments

Deferred tax on share-based payments

Settlement of share-based payments

Dividends paid (note 8)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 53.4 

 (0.1)

 53.3 

 – 

 – 

 (0.1)

 (12.8)

Equity at 30 November 2016

 22.2 

 102.8 

 779.7 

Profit for the year attributable to 
shareholders

Pension fund actuarial losses (note 19)

Total comprehensive income for the year

Share-based payments

Deferred tax on share-based payments

Settlement of share-based payments

Dividends paid (note 8)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 59.6 

 (0.1)

 59.5 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (13.5)

Equity at 30 November 2017

 22.2 

 102.8 

 825.7 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 1.6 

 (0.8)

 (1.1)

 – 

 4.9 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 1.8 

 0.3 

 (1.9)

 – 

 5.1 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.4 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 53.4 

 (0.1)

 53.3 

 1.6 

 (0.8)

 (0.8)

 (12.8)

 (0.6)

 46.2 

 955.2 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (1.1)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 59.6 

 (0.1)

 59.5 

 1.8 

 0.3 

 (3.0)

 (13.5)

Total 
equity
£m

 921.5 

 53.6 

 (0.1)

 53.5 

 1.6 

 (0.8)

 (0.8)

 (12.9)

 962.1 

 60.1 

 (0.1)

 6.8 

 0.2 

 – 

 0.2 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (0.1)

 6.9 

 0.5 

 – 

 0.5 

 60.0 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 1.8 

 0.3 

 (3.0)

 (1.7)

 (15.2)

 (1.7)

 46.2 

 1,000.3 

 5.7 

 1,006.0

Own shares represent the cost of 519,906 (2016: 269,334) shares held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust. The open 
market value of the shares held at 30 November 2017 was £2,031,793 (2016: £754,135).

The other reserves comprise a capital redemption reserve of £0.3m (2016: £0.3m) and the balance of net proceeds in excess of the nominal 
value of shares arising from an equity placing in 2013 of £45.9m (2016: £45.9m).

124

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Operating activities

Profit before interest and tax

Gains on disposal of investments/investment properties

Share of losses of joint ventures and associates (post-tax)

Investment property revaluation gains

Depreciation

Impairment losses on inventories

Increase in inventories

Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables

Increase in trade and other payables

Share options and share awards

Tax paid

Net cash inflow from operating activities

Investing activities

Proceeds from investment property disposals

Investment property additions

Interest received

Capital injection into joint ventures and associates

Property, plant and equipment additions

Dividends received from joint ventures and associates

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities

Financing activities

Dividends paid

Dividends paid to non-controlling interests

Interest paid

(Repayments of obligations)/amounts advanced under finance lease arrangements

Net borrowings drawn

Repayment of borrowings

Net cash outflow from financing activities

Decrease in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at start of year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

Notes

11

9

10

13

6

10

11

8

2017 
£m

 88.2 

 (6.7)

 8.5 

 (16.2)

 1.1 

 2.0 

 (97.7)

 36.1 

 17.4 

 (1.2)

 (16.2)

 15.3 

 60.1 

 (61.6)

 12.3 

 (1.4)

 (2.0)

 58.1 

 65.5 

 (13.5)

 (1.7)

 (26.1)

 (3.3)

 209.2 

 (249.1)

 (84.5)

 (3.7)

 4.2 

 0.5 

2016 
£m

 75.0 

 (9.5)

 28.2 

 (30.3)

 0.7 

 0.3 

 (31.2)

 (14.3)

 4.3 

 – 

 (10.7)

 12.5 

 64.3 

 (90.0)

 5.4 

 – 

 (0.6)

 14.3 

 (6.6)

 (12.8)

 (0.1)

 (20.7)

 0.6 

 160.5 

 (134.0)

 (6.5)

 (0.6)

 4.8 

 4.2

125

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Basis of preparation
The Group’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as issued by 
the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and as adopted by the EU (EU IFRSs) as they apply to the Group for the year ended 
30 November 2017, applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except for the revaluation of certain properties, derivative financial 
instruments, the convertible bond and the defined benefit section of the Group’s pension scheme.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. This is discussed in the strategic report and as confirmed in the 
directors’ report it is considered appropriate to prepare the financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2017 on a going concern 
basis. Further detail is contained in the viability statement included in the strategic report on page 61.

In the current year the Group has adopted:

•  Amendments to IFRS 10 and IAS 28 Sale or Contribution of Assets between an Investor and its Associate or Joint Venture

•  Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 12 and IAS 28 Investment Entities: Applying the Consolidation Exception

•  Amendments to IFRS 11 Accounting for Acquisitions of Interests in Joint Operations

•  Amendments to IAS 1 Disclosure Initiative

•  Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 38 Clarification of Acceptable Methods of Depreciation and Amortisation

•  Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 41 Agriculture: Bearer Plants

•  Amendments to IFRSs Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2012 – 2014 Cycle

The adoption of the above amendments has had no material impact to the Group’s financial statements.

The Company’s functional currency (together with that of all of its subsidiaries) and the presentation currency for the Group is pounds 
sterling and its principal EU IFRS accounting policies are set out below.

Basis of consolidation
The Group’s financial statements consolidate the financial statements of St. Modwen Properties PLC and the entities it controls. Control 
comprises exposure, or rights, to variable returns, the power to direct the relevant activities of the investee and the investor’s ability to use 
its power over the investee to affect the returns. This is achieved through direct or indirect ownership of voting rights or by contractual 
agreement. A list of the entities controlled is given in note D to the Company financial statements.

All entities are consolidated from the date on which the Group obtains control, and continue to be consolidated until the date that such 
control ceases. All intra-Group transactions, balances, income and expense are eliminated on consolidation.

Non-controlling interests represent the portion of profit or loss and net assets that are not held by the Group and are presented separately 
within equity in the Group balance sheet.

Interests in joint arrangements
Arrangements under which the Group has contractually agreed to share control with another party or parties are assessed to determine 
whether they represent joint ventures or joint operations. Joint arrangements are classified as joint ventures where the parties have rights 
to the net assets of the arrangement. Should the parties have rights to assets and obligations for liabilities relating to the arrangement they 
would instead be classified as joint operations. Currently, all arrangements where the Group has contractually agreed to share control have 
been determined to be joint ventures.

The Group recognises its interests in joint ventures using the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method, the interest in the 
joint venture is carried in the Group balance sheet at cost plus post-acquisition changes in the Group’s share of its net assets, less 
distributions received and less any impairment in the value of individual investments. The Group income statement reflects the Group’s 
share of the joint venture’s results after interest and tax.

Financial statements of joint ventures are prepared for the same reporting period as the Group. Where necessary, adjustments are made 
to bring the accounting policies used into line with those of the Group.

The Group statement of comprehensive income reflects the Group’s share of any income and expense recognised by the joint venture 
entities outside the Group income statement.

Interests in associates
The Group’s interests in its associates, being those entities over which it has significant influence and which are neither subsidiaries nor joint 
arrangements, are accounted for using the equity method of accounting, as described above.

Business combinations
The acquisition method of accounting is used to account for business combinations. The consideration transferred for the acquisition of a 
subsidiary comprises the fair values of the assets transferred, the liabilities incurred to the former owners and the equity interests issued by 
the Group. The consideration transferred also includes the fair value of any contingent consideration arrangement and is adjusted to reflect 
the fair value of any pre-existing equity interest in the subsidiary.

126

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business 
combination are, with limited exceptions, measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date.

On an acquisition-by-acquisition basis, the Group recognises any non-controlling interest in the acquiree either at fair value or at the 
non-controlling interest’s proportionate share of the acquiree’s net identifiable assets.

The excess of the consideration transferred (adjusted to reflect the fair value of any pre-existing equity interest in the subsidiary) and 
the amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree over the fair value of the Group’s share of the net identifiable assets acquired 
is recorded as goodwill. If those amounts are less than the fair value of the net identifiable assets of the acquired subsidiary and the 
measurement of all amounts has been reviewed, the difference is recognised directly in the Group income statement as a bargain purchase.

Where settlement of any part of cash consideration is deferred, the amounts payable in the future are discounted to their present value as 
at the date of exchange. The discount rate used is the entity’s incremental borrowing rate, which is the rate that a similar borrowing could 
be obtained from an independent financier under comparable terms and conditions.

Contingent consideration is classified either as equity or a financial liability. Amounts classified as a financial liability are subsequently 
remeasured to fair value with changes in fair value recognised in the income statement.

Properties
Investment properties
Investment properties, being freehold and leasehold properties held to earn rental income, for capital appreciation and/or for undetermined 
future use, together with land options where the land is for an undetermined future use, are carried at fair value following initial recognition 
at the present value of the consideration payable. To establish fair value, investment properties are independently valued on the basis of 
market value. Any surplus or deficit arising is recognised in the Group income statement for the year.

Once classified as an investment property, a property remains in this category until development with a view to sale commences, at which 
point the asset is transferred to inventories at current valuation.

Where an investment property is being redeveloped for continued use as an investment property, the property remains within investment 
property and any movement in valuation is recognised in the Group income statement.

Investment property disposals are recognised on completion. Profits and losses arising are recognised through the Group income statement 
and the profit or loss on disposal is determined as the difference between the sales proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset.

Investment properties are not depreciated.

Inventories
Inventories principally comprise properties previously developed and held for sale, properties under construction with a view to sale and 
land under option with a view to future sale. All inventories are carried at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Cost comprises land, direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs that have been incurred in bringing the inventories to their 
present location and condition. When inventory includes a transfer from investment properties, cost is recorded as the book value at the 
date of transfer. Net realisable value represents the estimated selling price less any further costs expected to be incurred to completion and 
disposal. Inventory is transferred to investment properties only when the asset meets the definition of an investment property and there 
has been a change in use evidenced by commencement of an operating lease.

Due to the scale of the Group’s developments, the Group has to allocate site-wide development costs between properties on the site. 
Such site-wide costs are allocated to properties based on the forecast value of each individual unit as a proportion of the aggregate forecast 
value of the individual units on the site. In making these assessments, there is a degree of inherent uncertainty.

The Group has developed internal controls to assess and review carrying values and the appropriateness of estimates made.

Operating property, plant and equipment
Operating property, plant and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Such cost 
includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.

Depreciation is provided on all operating property, plant and equipment at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual 
value of each asset evenly over its expected useful life as follows:

•  leasehold operating properties – over the shorter of the lease term and 25 years; and

•  plant, machinery and equipment – over two to five years.

Leases
The Group as lessee
Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the 
lessee. All other leases are classified as operating leases.

Non-property assets held under finance leases are capitalised at the inception of the lease with a corresponding liability being recognised 
for the fair value of the leased asset or, if lower, the present value of the minimum lease payments. Lease payments are apportioned 
between the reduction of the lease liability and finance charges in the Group income statement so as to achieve a constant rate of interest 
on the remaining balance of the liability. Non-property assets held under finance leases are depreciated over the shorter of the estimated 
useful life of the asset and the lease term.

127

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES
for the year ended 30 November 2017 
continued

Interests in leasehold investment properties are accounted for as finance leases with the value of guaranteed minimum rents inherent 
within the carrying value of the property and the liability reflected within long-term liabilities. On payment of a guaranteed rent, initially 
the majority of such costs is charged to the income statement as interest payable, with the balance reducing the liability.

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged in the Group income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Group as lessor
Rental income from operating leases, adjusted for the impact of any cash incentives given to the lessee and to reflect any rent-free 
incentive periods, is recognised in the Group income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Income taxes
Current tax assets and liabilities are measured at the amount expected to be recovered from, or paid to, the taxation authorities, based 
on tax rates and laws that are enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.

The tax currently payable is based on the taxable result for the year. The taxable result differs from the result as reported in the Group 
income statement because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes 
items that will not be taxable or deductible.

Deferred income tax is recognised on all temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
amounts in the financial statements on an undiscounted basis, using the rates of tax expected to apply based on legislation enacted or 
substantively enacted at the balance sheet date, with the following exceptions:

•  in respect of taxable temporary differences associated with investments in subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, where the timing 
of the reversal of the temporary differences can be controlled and it is probable that the temporary differences will not reverse in the 
foreseeable future; and

•  deferred income tax assets are recognised only to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which the 

deductible temporary differences, carried forward tax credits or tax losses can be utilised.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax liabilities 
and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same authority and the Group intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on 
a net basis.

Income tax is charged or credited directly to equity or other comprehensive income if it relates to items that are credited or charged to 
equity or other comprehensive income. Otherwise, income tax is recognised in the Group income statement.

As a property group, tax and its treatment is often an integral part of transactions. The outcome of tax treatments, including tax planning, 
are recognised by the Group to the extent that the outcome is reasonably certain. Where tax treatments have been challenged by HMRC, 
or management believe that there is a risk of such challenge, provision is made for the best estimate of potential exposure based on the 
information available at the balance sheet date where such exposure is considered more likely than not to occur.

Pensions
The Group operates a pension scheme with both defined benefit and defined contribution sections. The defined benefit section is closed 
to new members and, from 1 September 2009, to future accrual.

The cost of providing benefits under the defined benefit section is determined using the projected unit credit method, which attributes 
entitlement to benefits to the current period (to determine current service cost) and to the current and prior periods (to determine the 
present value of defined benefit obligation) and is based on actuarial advice. Past service costs are recognised in the Group income 
statement on the earlier of:

•  the date on which the plan amendment or curtailment occurs; or

•  when the Company recognises related restructuring costs or termination benefits.

Net interest is calculated by applying a discount rate to the net defined benefit liability or asset and is recognised in the Group income 
statement as finance cost.

Actuarial gains and losses, the effect of the asset ceiling (if applicable) and the return on scheme assets (excluding interest) are recognised 
in full in the Group statement of comprehensive income in the year in which they occur. The defined benefit pension asset or liability in 
the Group balance sheet comprises the present value of the defined benefit obligation, less the fair value of plan assets out of which the 
obligations are to be settled directly.

When a pension asset (net surplus) arises from the above calculation, it is limited to the present value of any economic benefits that will 
be available to the Company in accordance with the requirements of IFRIC 14 IAS 19—The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding 
Requirements and their Interaction.

Contributions to defined contribution schemes are recognised in the Group income statement in the year in which they become payable.

Own shares
Shares in St. Modwen Properties PLC held by the Group are classified as a deduction from equity attributable to owners of the Company 
and are recognised at cost.

128

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Dividends
Dividends are recognised when declared and approved and dividends declared and approved after the balance sheet date are not 
recognised as liabilities at the balance sheet date.

Revenue recognition
Revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable that economic benefits will flow to the Group and the revenue can be reliably 
measured. Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received (including the fair value of any residential properties received 
in part-exchange), excluding discounts, rebates, VAT and other sales taxes or duty. Where required, revenue is allocated between components 
in a multi-element transaction (e.g. where there is simultaneously a sale of land and a construction contract with the purchaser of the land) 
based on their respective fair values of the components.

The following criteria must also be met before revenue is recognised:

Sale of property
Revenue arising from the sale of property is recognised on legal completion of the sale.

Construction contracts
Revenue arising from construction contracts is recognised in accordance with the Group’s accounting policy on construction contracts 
(see below). An appropriate proportion of revenue from construction contracts is recognised by reference to the stage of completion of 
contract activity.

Rental income
Rental income arising from investment properties is accounted for on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Management and performance fees
Where the Group is solely providing development management services (without being responsible for the performance of the underlying 
construction), management fees receivable are recognised over time as the service is performed in the period to which they relate. 
Performance fees are recognised when the Group has substantially fulfilled its obligations in respect of the transaction and hence the 
amount of revenue can be measured reliably and it is probable that economic benefits will flow to the Group.

Interest income
Interest income is accrued on a time basis, by reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective interest rate applicable, which is the 
rate that exactly discounts estimated future cash receipts over the expected life of the financial asset to that asset’s net carrying amount.

Dividend income
Dividend income from joint ventures is recognised when the shareholders’ rights to receive payment have been established.

Construction contracts
Where the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably, revenue and costs are recognised by reference to the stage of 
completion of the contract activity at the balance sheet date. The extent to which the contract is complete is determined by the total costs 
incurred to date as a percentage of the total anticipated costs of the entire contract. Variations in contract work, claims and incentive 
payments are included to the extent that it is probable that they will result in revenue.

Where the outcome of a construction contract cannot be estimated reliably, contract revenue is recognised only to the extent of contract 
costs incurred where it is probable they will be recoverable. Contract costs are recognised as expenses in the period in which they are incurred.

When it is probable that total contract costs will exceed total contract revenue, the expected loss is recognised as an expense immediately.

Government grants
Government grants relating to property are treated as deferred income and released to profit or loss over the expected useful life of the 
assets concerned.

Share-based payments
Share-based payments to employees are equity-settled and are measured at the fair value of the equity instruments at the grant date, 
using an appropriate option pricing model. The fair value determined at the grant date is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting 
period, based on the Group’s estimate of equity instruments that will eventually vest.

Fair value hierarchy
Assets and liabilities that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair value, are required to be grouped into Levels 1 to 3 based 
on the degree to which the fair value is observable.

•  Level 1 fair value measurements are those derived from quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets.

•  Level 2 fair value measurements are those derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable 

for the asset, either directly (i.e. as prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices); and

•  Level 3 fair value measurements are those derived from valuation techniques that include inputs for the asset that are not based on 

observable market data (unobservable inputs).

129

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES
for the year ended 30 November 2017 
continued

Financial instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised on the Group’s balance sheet when the Group becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument. The Group derecognises a financial asset only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset 
expire, or when it transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset to another entity. If the 
Group neither transfers nor retains substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership and continues to control the transferred asset, the 
Group recognises its retained interest in the asset and an associated liability for any amounts it may have to pay. If the Group retains 
substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of a transferred financial asset, the Group continues to recognise the financial asset 
and also recognises a collateralised borrowing for the proceeds received. The Group derecognises financial liabilities when, and only when, 
the Group’s obligations are discharged, cancelled, or expire.

Trade and other receivables
Trade receivables are recognised and carried at the lower of their original invoiced value or recoverable amount. Provision is made when 
there is evidence that the Group will not be able to recover balances in full. Balances are written off when the probability of recovery is 
assessed as being remote.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprises cash balances and short-term deposits with banks with initial maturity less than three months.

Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are recorded at amortised cost. Where payment is on deferred terms the liability is initially recorded by 
discounting the nominal amount payable to net present value. The discount to nominal value is amortised over the period of the deferred 
arrangement and charged to finance costs.

Interest bearing loans and borrowings
All loans and borrowings are initially recognised at fair value less directly attributable transaction costs. After initial recognition, loans and 
borrowings are measured at amortised cost.

Gains and losses arising on the repurchase, settlement or otherwise cancellation of liabilities are recognised in finance income or finance 
expense, as appropriate.

The effective interest rate method is used to charge interest to the Group income statement.

Derivative financial instruments and hedging
The Group uses derivative financial instruments such as interest rate swaps to hedge its risks associated with interest rate fluctuations. 
Such instruments are initially recognised at fair value on the date on which a contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at 
fair value. The Group has determined that the derivative financial instruments in use do not qualify for hedge accounting and, consequently, 
any gains or losses arising from changes in the fair value of derivatives are taken to the Group income statement.

Equity instruments
An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the Group after deducting all its liabilities. Equity 
instruments issued by the Group are recorded at the proceeds received less direct issue costs.

Convertible bonds
Convertible bonds are assessed on issue as to whether they should be classified as a financial liability, as equity or as a compound 
financial instrument with both debt and equity components. This assessment is based on the terms of the bond and in accordance with 
IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation. The Group’s convertible bonds have been designated as at fair value through profit and loss.

Critical judgements in applying the Group’s accounting policies
In the application of the Group’s accounting policies outlined above, the directors are required to make judgements relating to the carrying 
amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The following are the critical judgements, apart from 
those involving estimations (which are dealt with separately below), that the directors have made in the process of applying the Group’s 
accounting policies and that have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.

Valuation of investment properties
The Group adopts the valuation performed by its independent valuers as the fair value of its investment properties, following review by 
management. The valuation is performed according to RICS rules, using appropriate levels of professional judgement for the prevailing 
market conditions. Professional judgement is applied in determining such things as an appropriate yield for a given property and estimated 
rental values and the appropriateness of remediation expenditure and costs to complete.

Complex transactions
Certain property transactions entered into by the Group involve an element of complexity and the need to exercise judgement to 
determine the most appropriate accounting policy. Such transactions include the accounting for the right to secure the interest in the 
surplus land at New Covent Garden Market together with the associated obligation to procure the new market for the Covent Garden 
Market Authority (further details of which are set out below).

New Covent Garden Market accounting treatment
The contractual arrangement between VSM (NCGM) Limited (the Group’s 50:50 joint venture with Vinci in respect of New Covent Garden 
Market) and the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) involves VSM (NCGM) Limited committing to procure a new market for the CGMA 
and in return receiving an option to acquire the surplus land on the site. In substance the arrangement represents a barter of development 
and construction services for the interest in the land.

130

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017In determining the most appropriate accounting policy for the arrangement, consideration was given as to whether to account for the 
transaction as the acquisition of an interest in the surplus land for non-cash consideration or to account for the development as a 
construction contract under IAS 11 Construction Contracts, with the consideration taking the form of the non-cash interest in the surplus 
land. It was concluded that the former more faithfully and fairly represented the substance of the arrangement, reflecting that the key 
strategic rationale for entering into the transaction was to secure the interest in the surplus land and then to unlock its significant value, 
rather than to secure construction activity in building a new market. 

Judgement was also applied in determining the appropriate classification for the interest in the surplus land, which legally takes the form 
of an option. Given the intention to take physical delivery of the land and that, at the point of initial recognition, it had not been determined 
whether to hold the surplus land for capital appreciation or to sell it on to a third party, the surplus land interest was judged to meet the 
definition of an investment property under IAS 40 Investment Properties, and hence has been accounted for in this way (rather than as 
a financial asset or as inventory).

Subsequent to initial recognition of the interest in the land as investment property and the recognition of the liability to procure the new 
market facilities, judgement was also applied in determining whether there should be any ongoing interaction between the two balances 
– for example, whether any subsequent adjustment to the estimate of the liability should be accounted for as an adjustment to the original 
investment property purchase price (which ultimately would give rise to an investment property revaluation gain or loss) or as a separate 
provision remeasurement gain or loss in the income statement. As, going forward, the two balances operate entirely independently of each 
other, it was determined that they should also be accounted for separately in accordance with the requirements of their respective 
applicable accounting standards. 

Consequently, remeasurements of both the investment property valuation and provision liability are recognised, separately, in VSM (NCGM) 
Limited’s income statement in accordance with the requirements of IAS 40 Investment Property and IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities 
and Contingent Assets respectively. Remeasurements of both the investment property valuation and provision liability are reflected together 
as component parts of the ‘profits/losses of joint ventures and associates (post-tax)’ line within the Group income statement.

Key sources of estimation uncertainty
In the application of the Group’s accounting policies outlined above, the directors are required to make estimates and assumptions about 
the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions 
are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant and so actual results may differ from these 
estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and 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 assumptions concerning the future, and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting period that may have a significant 
risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year, are discussed below.

Cost to establish a market in Nine Elms
The Group engages an external expert to estimate the costs to complete the market in Nine Elms, based on experience of construction 
to date, recent tendering activity and wider trends in relevant build costs, including inflation. In determining the appropriate liability to 
recognise, the reasonably possible range of outcomes estimated by the external expert is reviewed, together with an assessment of the 
likelihood of sensitivities, risks and opportunities inherent in this complex, long-term project materialising.

Net realisable value of inventories
The Group has ongoing procedures for assessing the carrying value of inventories and identifying where this is in excess of net realisable 
value. The estimates and judgements for both revenue and costs were based on information available at, and pertaining to, the balance 
sheet date, with reference to recent experience on similar properties and site-specific knowledge. Any subsequent adverse changes in 
market conditions may result in additional provisions being required, although it would require a fall in average house prices in excess 
of 10% before any additional net realisable value provisions would be required on residential development land.

Taxation
As a property group, tax and its treatment is often an integral part of transactions. The outcome of tax treatments are recognised by the 
Group to the extent the outcome is reasonably certain. Where tax treatments have been challenged by HMRC, or management believe 
that there is a risk of such challenge, provision is made for the best estimate of potential exposure based on the information available at the 
balance sheet date. Management’s assessment of the level of provision required is, where applicable, supported by the Group’s tax advisors. 
If HMRC were to be successful in challenging tax treatments to a greater extent than has been provided at the balance sheet date then 
additional provisions may be required.

The tax currently payable is based on the taxable result for the year. The taxable result differs from the result as reported in the Group 
income statement because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes 
items that will not be taxable or deductible. In particular, as a property group, the effective tax rate for the year reflects the benefit of 
certain investment gains not being taxable because of indexation, capital allowances, land remediation and other reliefs on certain property 
expenditure, the utilisation of capital tax losses brought forward and the property ownership structure of the Group. The effect of these 
adjustments have to be estimated at the balance sheet date, based on historical corporation tax computations and the expected outcome 
from the preparation of the tax computations for the current year, in consultation with the Group’s tax advisors.

Following the sale of the student accommodation at Swansea University Bay Campus post-year end as disclosed in note 23 and excluding 
certain companies in the process of being liquidated, all of the Group’s subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates are subject to full UK 
corporation tax.

131

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGROUP ACCOUNTING POLICIES
for the year ended 30 November 2017 
continued

Standards and interpretations not yet effective
At the date of approval of these financial statements, the following standards, amendments and interpretations which have not been 
adopted in these financial statements were in issue but not yet effective (and in some cases had not yet been adopted by the EU):

•  IFRS 9 Financial Instruments

•  IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

•  IFRS 16 Leases

•  IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts

•  IFRIC 22 Foreign Currency Transactions and Advance Consideration

•  IFRIC 23 Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments

•  Amendments to IFRS 2 Classification and Measurement of Share-based Payment Transactions

•  Amendments to IFRS 4 Applying IFRS 9 Financial Instruments with IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts

•  Amendments to IFRS 9 Prepayment Features with Negative Compensation

•  Amendments to IAS 7 Disclosure Initiative

•  Amendments to IAS 12 Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealised Losses

•  Amendments to IAS 28 Long-term Interests in Associates and Joint Ventures

•  Amendments to IAS 40 Transfers of Investment Property

•  Amendments to IFRSs Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2014 – 2016 Cycle

•  Amendments to IFRSs Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2015 – 2017 Cycle

•  Clarifications to IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

The directors are still assessing the impact that the adoption of these standards, amendments and interpretations will have on the financial 
statements of the Group in future periods. Adoption of the majority of these standards, amendments and interpretations are expected to 
have little or no impact on the reported results of the Group, although amended disclosures may be required.

IFRS 9 will impact both the measurement and disclosures of financial instruments and is effective for the Group’s year ending 30 November 
2019. The Group has commenced, but not yet completed its evaluation of the effect of the adoption and it is currently believed that the 
main impact of this will be on the Group’s bad debt provision, which may increase as a result of recognising impairments on an expected 
loss basis. Any such increase is not expected to be material to the Group.

IFRS 15 specifies how and when the Group will recognise revenue as well as requiring the Group to provide users of financial statements 
with more informative, relevant disclosures in respect of revenue. The standard provides a single, principles-based five-step model to be 
applied to all contracts with customers. The Group has commenced, but not yet completed, its evaluation of the effect of the adoption of 
implementing IFRS 15, which will be effective for the Group’s year ending 30 November 2019. The main impact is expected to be on certain 
contracts for the construction of assets, currently recognised under IAS 11 Construction Contracts, but this impact is not yet quantifiable. 
There is also expected to be an impact on an element of revenue recognition within the housebuilding business, but this is not expected 
to be material.

IFRS 16 provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognise assets and liabilities for all leases unless the lease term 
is for 12 months or fewer or the underlying asset has a low value. Lessors continue to classify leases as operating or finance, with IFRS 16’s 
approach to lessor accounting substantially unchanged from its predecessor, IAS 17 Leases. This standard is not effective until the Group’s 
year ending 30 November 2020 and as a result, the Group has not yet completed its evaluation of the effect of the adoption. However, the 
Group’s leases currently classified as operating leases are not material.

Prior year restatement
During the year ended 30 November 2017, the presentation of lease incentive assets arising from rent-free periods, stepped rent agreements 
and cash tenant incentives has been reviewed and compared with industry peers. These assets were previously reported as a separate 
receivable on the balance sheet and deducted from the external property valuation in arriving at the reported investment properties 
balance. In order to better reflect the property portfolio balance reported in note 2 and to align the presentation with that adopted by 
many industry peers, these assets of £13.5m have been reclassified from trade and other receivables to investment properties in the year 
ended 30 November 2017.

As a result of this change in accounting policy, the Group balance sheet as at 30 November 2016 has been retrospectively restated in these 
financial statements by reclassifying £11.7m from trade and other receivables to investment properties. This restatement has had no impact 
on the income statement, total assets, net assets or any of the numbers or metrics disclosed in note 2.

132

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017NOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017

1. Segmental information
a. Reportable segments
IFRS 8 Operating Segments requires the identification of the Group’s operating segments, defined as being discrete components of the 
Group’s operations whose results are regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker (being the Chief Executive) to allocate 
resources to those segments and to assess their performance. The Group divides its business into the following segments:

•  housebuilding activity through St. Modwen Homes and the Persimmon joint venture; and 

•  the balance of the Group’s portfolio of properties which the Group manages internally, and reports, as a single business segment.

The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group’s accounting policies.

b. Segment revenues and results

Rental income

Development

Other income

Revenue

2017

Portfolio
£m

Housebuilding
£m

 61.0 

 57.8 

 4.5 

 123.3 

 – 

 195.3 

 – 

 195.3 

Total
£m

 61.0 

 253.1 

 4.5 

 318.6 

2016

Portfolio
£m

Housebuilding
£m

 53.1 

 77.8 

 6.8 

 137.7 

 – 

 150.0 

 – 

 150.0 

Total
£m

 53.1 

 227.8 

 6.8 

 287.7 

All revenues in the table above are derived from continuing operations exclusively in the UK. 

In addition to the revenue stated above, the Group recognised service charge income of £10.7m (2016: £9.4m), for which there was an 
equivalent expense and interest income of £8.1m (2016: £5.4m).

Net rental income

Development profits

Gains on disposal of investments/investment 
properties

Investment property revaluation gains

Other net income

Losses of joint ventures and associates(2)

Administrative expenses

Allocation of administrative expenses

Cash finance costs(3)

Cash finance income(4)

Attributable profit

Other losses of joint ventures 
and associates(2)

Non-cash finance costs(3)

Non-cash finance income(4)

Profit before tax

2017

Portfolio
£m

Housebuilding(1)
£m

 48.8 

 20.3 

 6.7 

 16.2 

 2.0 

 (7.4)

 (28.7)

 3.9 

 (22.9)

 8.1 

 47.0 

 – 

 38.6 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (7.2)

 (3.9)

 – 

 – 

 27.5 

Total
£m

 48.8 

 58.9 

 6.7 

 16.2 

 2.0 

 (7.4)

 (35.9)

 – 

 (22.9)

 8.1 

 74.5 

 (1.1) 

 (7.1)

 4.0 

 70.3 

2016

Portfolio
£m

Housebuilding(1)
£m

 40.5 

 20.1 

 9.5 

 30.3 

 4.2 

 (18.4)

 (28.5)

 5.2 

 (19.2)

 5.4 

 49.1 

 – 

 31.6 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (4.5)

 (5.2)

 – 

 – 

 21.9 

Total
£m

 40.5 

 51.7 

 9.5 

 30.3 

 4.2 

 (18.4)

 (33.0)

 – 

 (19.2)

 5.4 

 71.0 

 (9.8)

 (3.8)

 9.5 

 66.9 

(1) In the strategic report, operating profit from the housebuilding segment of £31.4m (2016: £27.1m) is stated before the allocation of administrative expenses of £3.9m 

(2016: £5.2m). This comprises £23.3m (2016: £15.3m) from St. Modwen Homes and £8.1m (2016: £11.8m) from the Persimmon joint venture.

(2) Stated before non-cash finance costs and income (being amortisation and movements in the fair value of derivative financial instruments) and tax of £1.1m (2016: £9.8m). 

These amounts are reclassified to other losses of joint ventures and associates.

(3) Cash finance costs represent interest payable on borrowings and finance lease obligations. Non-cash finance costs represent non-cash items, being amortisation, 

movements in the fair value of financial instruments and interest on pension scheme liabilities, as set out in note 5.

(4) Cash finance income represents interest receivable. Non-cash finance income represents non-cash items, being movements in the fair value of financial instruments 

and interest on pension scheme assets, as set out in note 5.

Other net income of £2.0m (2016: £4.2m) comprises revenue of £4.5m (2016: £6.8m) less associated costs of £2.5m (2016: £2.6m).

Cost of sales in respect of rental income comprise direct operating expenses (including repairs and maintenance) related to the investment 
property portfolio and total £12.2m (2016: £12.6m), of which £0.7m (2016: £0.3m) is in respect of properties that did not generate any 
rental income.

133

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

1. Segmental information continued
During the year the following amounts were recognised (as part of development revenue and cost of sales) in respect of construction contracts:

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

2017
£m

 28.0 

 (23.4)

 4.6 

2016
£m

 27.5 

 (21.5)

 6.0 

Amounts recoverable on contracts as disclosed in note 12 comprise £1.0m (2016: £12.1m) of contract revenue recognised and £8.8m 
(2016: £3.2m) of retentions.

Contracts in progress at 30 November 2017 include the aggregate amount of costs incurred of £1.7m (2016: £17.2m), recognised profits less 
recognised losses to date of £1.0m (2016: £8.6m) and advances received of £3.4m (2016: £25.6m).

c. Segment assets and liabilities

2017

2016

Portfolio
£m

Housebuilding
£m

Total
£m

Portfolio
£m

Housebuilding
£m

Investment property

Inventories

Investments in joint ventures and associates

 1,168.5 

 161.1 

 119.6 

 – 

 1,168.5 

 191.6 

 – 

 352.7 

 119.6 

Attributable assets

 1,449.2 

 191.6 

 1,640.8 

 1,144.7 

 103.5 

 184.8 

 1,433.0 

 – 

 126.2 

 – 

 126.2 

Operating property, plant and equipment

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other payables

Derivative financial instruments

Borrowings and finance lease obligations

Tax payable

Deferred tax

Net assets

 5.1 

 74.4 

 0.5 

 (196.1)

 (4.0)

 (491.9)

 (6.2)

 (16.6)

 1,006.0 

Total
£m

 1,144.7 

 229.7 

 184.8 

 1,559.2 

 4.2 

 112.3 

 4.2 

 (154.1)

 (7.2)

 (527.4)

 (7.1)

 (22.0)

 962.1 

Investment and commercial property assets as defined in our banking facility agreement at 30 November 2017 were £958.2m (2016: £873.1m).

2. Non-statutory information
The purpose of this note is to explain, analyse and reconcile a number of non-statutory financial performance and financial position 
metrics, which are used extensively by the Group to monitor its performance. These metrics reflect the way in which the Group is run, that 
the Group is in the real estate sector, and in particular that the Group reviews and reports performance of its joint ventures and associates in 
the same way as it would if they were subsidiaries. This means that proportionally consolidated measures (often referred to as see-through 
in the strategic report) are particularly relevant whilst also having the benefit of removing the taxation effects on equity accounted entities 
from the statutory profit before tax figure. A number of these measures are explained below:

Profit before all tax (see note 2a): This proportionally consolidated measure adjusts profit before tax to remove taxation on joint venture 
and associate profits from the profit before tax figure and as such, Group profit before tax of £70.3m (2016: £66.9m) can be reconciled to 
profit before all tax of £67.0m (2016: £60.8m) by adjusting profit before tax for the tax credit relating to joint ventures and associates of 
£3.3m (2016: £6.1m).

Trading profit (see note 2a): Trading profit is derived similarly to profit before all tax, but is stated before the principal non-cash income 
statement items included in this measure, being revaluation gains and losses, changes in the estimate of the obligation to establish the new 
Covent Garden flower market and non-cash financing charges. For a property group with a low depreciation charge and no intangible 
amortisation charge, this therefore represents a more useful measure than the EBITDA alternative performance measure used by many 
other companies. A trading cash flow measure is also discussed in note 2f, which represents cash flows before the non-trading items of 
finance leases, net borrowings and dividends.

134

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Property profits (see note 2a): This measure represents proportionally consolidated development profits plus proportionally consolidated 
gains on disposals of investment properties and therefore, like profit before all tax, ostensibly represents the proportionally consolidated 
amounts in respect of these two income statement lines, after an adjustment for net realisable value provisions.

Total accounting return (see note 2e): The Group’s shareholders measure their returns in terms of both the Group’s growth and the 
dividend return and total accounting return combines these two items. Whilst this is often measured by Total Shareholder Return which 
combines share price growth and dividend return, in the real estate sector, it is also insightful to consider net asset growth, which therefore 
directly reflects the most recent valuation of assets.

The Group’s definition of total accounting return was revised in the year so that it now represents the movement in net asset value per 
share for the year plus dividends paid per share during the year, expressed as a percentage of net asset value per share at the start of the 
year. Previously, this measure was defined using EPRA net asset value rather than net asset value. This change reflects that the Group’s 
strategy includes the repositioning and recycling of the Group’s portfolio towards sectors with strong structural growth, whereas the EPRA 
model assumes that properties are retained.

In particular, the disposal of a property for its carrying value in the financial statements and the resulting payment of its recognised 
deferred tax liability does not result in a change in net assets, but does result in a decrease in EPRA net assets because the deferred tax 
that crystallises on disposal is no longer adjusted for in arriving at EPRA net assets. Note 2e sets out a total accounting return of 6.0% 
(2016: 5.6%) using the revised definition. Under the previous definition, total accounting return would have been 3.6% (2016: 4.5%).

a. Trading profit and profit before all tax
The non-statutory measures of trading profit and profit before all tax, which include the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, 
have been calculated as set out below:

Gross rental income

Property outgoings

Net rental income
Development profits(1)(2)

Gains on disposal of investments/investment 
properties

Other net income

Administrative expenses(2)

Cash finance costs(3)

Cash finance income(4)

Trading profit/(loss)

Investment property revaluation 
gains/(losses)(1)

Change in estimated cost to establish 
a market in Nine Elms

Non-cash finance costs(3)

Non-cash finance income(4)

Profit/(loss) before all tax

Taxation

Profit/(loss) for the year

Effective tax rate

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

 6.6 

 (1.6)

 5.0 

 0.9 

 0.7 

 – 

 (0.3)

 (9.7)

 0.3 

 (3.1)

Group
£m

 61.0 

 (12.2)

 48.8 

 53.7 

 6.7 

 2.0 

 (28.7)

 (22.9)

 8.1 

 67.7 

Total
£m

 67.6 

 (13.8)

 53.8 

 54.6 

 7.4 

 2.0 

 (29.0)

 (32.6)

 8.4 

 64.6 

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 7.7 

 (2.3)

 5.4 

 – 

 0.5 

 – 

 (0.8)

 (9.2)

 0.8 

 (3.3)

Group
£m

 53.1 

 (12.6)

 40.5 

 47.5 

 9.5 

 4.2 

 (28.5)

 (19.2)

 5.4 

 59.4 

 14.2 

 20.4 

 34.6 

 30.0 

 (25.9)

 – 

 (7.1)

 4.0 

 78.8 

 (10.2)

 68.6 

12.9%

 (24.6)

 (5.3)

 0.8 

 (11.8)

 3.3 

 (8.5)

 (24.6)

 (12.4)

 4.8 

 67.0 

 (6.9)

 60.1 

 – 

 (3.8)

 9.5 

 95.1 

 (13.3)

 81.8 

28.0%

10.3%

14.0%

 – 

 (5.8)

 0.7 

 (34.3)

 6.1 

 (28.2)

17.8%

Total
£m

 60.8 

 (14.9)

 45.9 

 47.5 

 10.0 

 4.2 

 (29.3)

 (28.4)

 6.2 

 56.1 

 4.1 

 – 

 (9.6)

 10.2 

 60.8 

 (7.2)

 53.6 

11.8%

(1) Stated before the deduction of net realisable valuation provisions within the Group of £2.0m (2016: £0.3m). These are reclassified to investment property revaluation gains.

(2) Stated after the deduction of overheads directly attributable to the housebuilding business within the Group of £7.2m (2016: £4.5m). These are reclassified from 

administrative expenses. Of the £53.7m (2016: £47.5m) of development profits within the Group, £31.4m (2016: £27.1m) is attributable to the housebuilding segment, as set 
out in note 1.

(3) Cash finance costs represent interest payable on borrowings and finance lease obligations. Non-cash finance costs represent non-cash items, being amortisation, 

movements in the fair value of financial instruments and interest on pension scheme liabilities, as set out in note 5.

(4) Cash finance income represents interest receivable. Non-cash finance income represents non-cash items, being movements in the fair value of financial instruments and 

interest on pension scheme assets, as set out in note 5.

135

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

2. Non-statutory information continued
b. Property valuations
Property valuations, including, the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, have been calculated as set out below:

Property revaluation gains/(losses)

Net realisable value provisions

Property valuation gains/(losses)

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

 20.4 

 – 

 20.4 

Group
£m

 16.2 

 (2.0)

 14.2 

Total
£m

 36.6 

 (2.0)

 34.6 

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 (25.9)

 – 

 (25.9)

Group
£m

 30.3 

 (0.3)

 30.0 

Total
£m

 4.4 

 (0.3)

 4.1 

c. Balance sheet
The balance sheet, including the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, is derived from the Group balance sheet as detailed below: 

Property portfolio

Other assets

Gross assets

Net borrowings

Finance leases

Other liabilities

Gross liabilities

Net assets

Non-controlling interests

Equity attributable to owners 
of the Company

2017

Joint ventures 
and associate
£m 

 148.0 

 82.0 

 230.0 

 45.6 

 (0.9)

 (155.1)

 (110.4)

 119.6 

– 

Group
£m

 1,516.0 

 85.5 

 1,601.5 

 (433.8)

 (57.0)

 (224.3)

 (715.1)

 886.4 

 (5.7)

Total
£m

 1,664.0 

 167.5 

 1,831.5 

 (388.2)

 (57.9)

 (379.4)

 (825.5)

 1,006.0 

 (5.7)

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 381.8 

 40.5 

 422.3 

 (47.0)

 (0.9)

 (189.6)

 (237.5)

 184.8 

 – 

Group
£m

 1,370.5 

 122.0 

 1,492.5 

 (470.0)

 (56.8)

 (188.4)

 (715.2)

 777.3 

 (6.9)

Total
£m

 1,752.3 

 162.5 

 1,914.8 

 (517.0)

 (57.7)

 (378.0)

 (952.7)

 962.1 

 (6.9)

 880.7 

 119.6 

 1,000.3 

 770.4 

 184.8 

 955.2 

136

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017d. Property portfolio
The property portfolio, including the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, is derived from the Group balance sheet as detailed below:

2017

Group
£m

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

Total
£m

2016 (restated)

Group
£m

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

Total
£m

Investment properties

 1,168.5 

 139.7 

 1,308.2 

 1,144.7 

 376.3 

 1,521.0 

Less assets held under finance leases 
not subject to revaluation

Inventories

Property portfolio

 (5.2)

 352.7 

 (0.9)

 9.2 

 (6.1)

 361.9 

 1,516.0 

 148.0 

 1,664.0 

 (3.9)

 229.7 

 1,370.5 

 (0.9)

 6.4 

 (4.8)

 236.1 

 381.8 

 1,752.3 

As at 30 November 2017 the Group had assets of £354.8m (2016: £328.3m) included within the Group property portfolio (excluding joint 
ventures and associates) which were wholly owned, unencumbered and able to be pledged as security for the Group’s debt facilities.

The property portfolio, including the Group’s share of joint ventures and associates, can be split by category as detailed below:

Industrial and logistics

Retail

Residential and other

Income producing property

Residential assets

Commercial assets

Property portfolio

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

 61.6 

 14.1 

 7.0 

 82.7 

 57.1 

 8.2 

Group
£m

 244.2 

 328.7 

 187.9 

 760.8 

 504.1 

 251.1 

Total
£m

 305.8 

 342.8 

 194.9 

 843.5 

 561.2 

 259.3 

Group
£m

 224.3 

 327.9 

 151.6 

 703.8 

 460.2 

 206.5 

 1,516.0 

 148.0 

 1,664.0 

 1,370.5 

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 59.2 

 14.3 

 9.4 

 82.9 

 281.8 

 17.1 

 381.8 

Total
£m

 283.5 

 342.2 

 161.0 

 786.7 

 742.0 

 223.6 

 1,752.3 

e. Total accounting return
Total accounting return is calculated as set out below:

Net asset value per share at end of year (note 3)

Less net asset value per share at start of year (note 3)

Increase in net asset value per share

Dividend paid per share (note 8)

Total accounting return per share

Total accounting return

2017 
Pence per share

2016 
Pence per share

 450.9 

 (431.0)

 19.9 

 6.1 

 26.0 

6.0%

 431.0 

 (413.5)

 17.5 

 5.8 

 23.3 

5.6%

137

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

2. Non-statutory information continued
f. Trading cash flow
Trading cash flows are derived from the Group cash flow statement as set out below:

Net rent and other income

Property disposals

Property acquisitions

Property expenditure

Working capital and other movements

Overheads and interest

Taxation

Trading cash flow

Finance leases

Net borrowings

Net dividends

Operating 
activities
£m

 50.8 

 260.8 

 (50.8)

 (246.8)

 53.5 

 (36.0)

 (16.2)

 15.3 

 – 

 – 

 – 

Movement in cash and cash equivalents

 15.3 

Net rent and other income

Property disposals

Property acquisitions

Property expenditure

Working capital and other movements

Overheads and interest

Taxation

Trading cash flow

Finance leases

Net borrowings

Net dividends

Movement in cash and cash equivalents

Operating 
activities
£m

 44.7 

 244.9 

 – 

 (208.8)

 (25.3)

 (32.3)

 (10.7)

 12.5 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 12.5 

2017

Investing 
activities
£m

Financing 
activities
£m

Total
£m

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 – 

 60.1 

 (17.5)

 (44.1)

 (3.4)

 12.3 

 – 

 7.4 

 – 

 – 

 58.1 

 65.5 

Investing 
activities
£m

 – 

 64.3 

 (38.5)

 (52.1)

 – 

 5.4 

 – 

 (20.9)

 – 

 – 

 14.3 

 (6.6)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (26.1)

 – 

 (26.1)

 (3.3)

 (39.9)

 (15.2)

 (84.5)

2016

Financing 
activities
£m

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (20.7)

 – 

 (20.7)

 0.6 

 26.5 

 (12.9)

 (6.5)

 50.8 

 320.9 

 (68.3)

 (290.9)

 50.1 

 (49.8)

 (16.2)

 (3.4)

 (3.3)

 (39.9)

 42.9 

 (3.7)

Total
£m

 44.7 

 309.2 

 (38.5)

 (260.9)

 (25.3)

 (47.6)

 (10.7)

 (29.1)

 0.6 

 26.5 

 1.4 

 (0.6)

 5.0 

 258.8 

 – 

 (15.5)

 (80.1)

 (9.7)

 (7.8)

 150.7 

 – 

 (21.7)

 (58.1)

 70.9 

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 5.4 

 25.1 

 – 

 (10.1)

 3.8 

 (9.2)

 (1.0)

 14.0 

 (0.3)

 (2.8)

 (14.3)

 (3.4)

Total
£m

 55.8 

 579.7 

 (68.3)

 (306.4)

 (30.0)

 (59.5)

 (24.0)

 147.3 

 (3.3)

 (61.6)

 (15.2)

 67.2 

Total
£m

 50.1 

 334.3 

 (38.5)

 (271.0)

 (21.5)

 (56.8)

 (11.7)

 (15.1)

 0.3 

 23.7 

 (12.9)

 (4.0)

Cash generated (before new investment, tax and dividends) of £542.7m (2016: £306.4m) is derived from the tables above by adjusting 
trading cash flow to exclude property acquisitions, property expenditure and taxation and to include finance leases.

138

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017g. Movement in net debt
The movement in net debt is set out below:

Movement in cash and cash equivalents

Borrowings drawn

Repayment of borrowings

Decrease/(increase) in net borrowings

Fair value movement on convertible bond

Finance leases 

Decrease/(increase) in net debt

2017
£m

 (3.7)

 (209.2)

 249.1 

 36.2 

 (4.2)

 (0.2)

 31.8 

h. Net borrowing and net debt
Net borrowing and net debt are calculated as set out below:

Cash and cash equivalents

Bank overdraft

Group
£m

 0.5 

 – 

Borrowings due after more than one year

 (434.9)

Adjustment to restate convertible bond 
at book value

Net borrowings

Reversal of adjustment to restate convertible 
bond at book value

Finance lease liabilities due within one year

Finance lease liabilities due after more 
than one year

Net debt

 0.6 

 (433.8)

 (0.6)

 (0.6)

 (56.4)

 (491.4)

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

 74.6 

 (4.5)

 (24.5)

 – 

 45.6 

 – 

 – 

 (0.9)

 44.7 

Total
£m

 75.1 

 (4.5)

Group
£m

 4.2 

 – 

 (459.4)

 (470.6)

 0.6 

 (388.2)

 (0.6)

 (0.6)

 (57.3)

 (446.7)

 (3.6)

 (470.0)

 3.6 

 (0.4)

 (56.4)

 (523.2)

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 3.7 

 (1.6)

 (49.1)

 – 

 (47.0)

 – 

 – 

 (0.9)

 (47.9)

2016
£m

 (0.6)

 (160.5)

 134.0 

 (27.1)

 7.7 

 (1.7)

 (21.1)

Total
£m

 7.9 

 (1.6)

 (519.7)

 (3.6)

 (517.0)

 3.6 

 (0.4)

 (57.3)

 (571.1)

139

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

2. Non-statutory information continued
i. Gearing and loan-to-value
The Group’s capacity to borrow is primarily linked to the value of the property portfolio excluding assets held under finance leases. 
Accordingly both adjusted gearing and see-through loan-to-value are calculated using the comparable measure of net borrowings and 
see-through net borrowings respectively. Reflecting that residential assets are less attractive for security purposes, we also disclose 
see-through loan-to-value (excluding residential) using the comparable measure of see-through net borrowings. These terms are defined 
as follows:

Net borrowings: total borrowings (at amortised cost and excluding finance leases and fair value movements on the Group’s convertible 
bond) less cash and cash equivalents.

See-through net borrowings: total borrowings (at amortised cost excluding finance leases and fair value movements on the Group’s 
convertible bond) less cash and cash equivalents (including the Group’s share of its joint ventures and associates). This includes the 
development account beneficially owned by one of our joint ventures VSM (NGCM) Limited, held for the purpose of funding the 
establishment of a market at Nine Elms, which would otherwise need to be funded by injecting cash into the joint venture in the future.

Adjusted gearing: the ratio of net borrowings to total equity.

See-through loan-to-value: see-through net borrowings expressed as a percentage of the Group’s property portfolio excluding valued assets 
held under finance leases, calculated on a proportionally consolidated basis (including the Group’s share of its joint ventures and associates).

See-through loan-to-value (excluding residential): see-through net borrowings expressed as a percentage of the Group’s property 
portfolio excluding valued assets held under finance leases and residential land and developments, calculated on a proportionally 
consolidated basis (including the Group’s share of its joint ventures and associates).

Property portfolio (note 2d)

Less valued assets held under finance leases

Net property portfolio

Less residential assets (note 2d)

Net property portfolio 
(excluding residential)

Total equity

Net debt (note 2h)

Net borrowings (note 2h)

Gearing 

Adjusted gearing

Loan-to-value

Loan-to-value (excluding residential)

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

Total
£m

 148.0 

 1,664.0 

 – 

 148.0 

 (57.1)

 90.9 

N/A

 (44.7)

 (45.6)

 (59.0)

 1,605.0 

 (561.2)

 1,043.8 

 1,006.0 

 446.7 

 388.2 

44.4%

38.6%

24.2%

37.2%

Group
£m

 1,516.0 

 (59.0)

 1,457.0 

 (504.1)

 952.9 

 1,006.0 

 491.4 

 433.8 

48.8%

43.1%

29.8%

N/A

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 381.8 

 – 

 381.8 

 (281.8)

 100.0 

N/A

 47.9 

 47.0 

Group
£m

 1,370.5 

 (57.8)

 1,312.7 

 (460.2)

 852.5 

 962.1 

 523.2 

 470.0 

54.4%

48.9%

35.8%

N/A

Total
£m

 1,752.3 

 (57.8)

 1,694.5 

 (742.0)

 952.5 

 962.1 

 571.1 

 517.0 

59.4%

53.7%

30.5%

54.3%

140

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 20173. EPRA performance measures
This note sets out two performance measures of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA), calculated in accordance with their 
Best Practices Recommendations (BPR). These measures are intended to provide comparability and are explained in detail below:

EPRA earnings (see note 3a): For investors of real estate companies, a key measure of ongoing operational performance and the extent 
to which dividend payments are underpinned by earnings is the level of income arising from operational activities. EPRA earnings exclude 
unrealised valuation movements and profits on disposal to provide an indicator of the leasing and property management performance of 
a business.

Adjusted EPRA earnings (see note 3a): Whilst EPRA earnings provides a comparable measure for investors, it is not a relevant measure for 
housebuilders as it excludes all profits from such activity. On the basis that these profits are realised in cash and represent a core ongoing 
activity for the Group, a company specific adjustment is made to EPRA earnings in respect of this profit. Furthermore, the amortisation of 
loan arrangement fees represents a non-cash interest charge on an ongoing basis and therefore a further company specific adjustment is 
made for this. After adjusting these two items for tax, EPRA earnings can be reconciled to adjusted EPRA earnings, which provides a relevant 
cash-based profit measure that underpins the dividend policy of the Group.

EPRA net asset value (see note 3b): The objective of EPRA net asset value is to highlight the fair value of net assets on an ongoing, 
long-term basis. Assets and liabilities that are not expected to crystallise in normal circumstances such as the fair value of derivative 
financial instruments and deferred taxes on property valuation surpluses are therefore excluded, which facilitates a more objective 
comparison with peer companies.

a. Adjusted EPRA earnings
Adjusted EPRA earnings is calculated as set out below:

Profit for the year

Less non-controlling interests

Profit for the year

Investment property revaluation 
(gains)/losses

Gains on disposal of investments/investment 
properties

Change in estimated cost to establish 
a market in Nine Elms(1)

Development profits(2)

Fee income(3)

Amortisation of discount on deferred 
payment arrangements(4)

Taxation in respect of profits or losses 
on disposal

Movement in fair value of financial 
instruments

Deferred tax in respect of EPRA adjustments

Non-controlling interests in respect 
of the above

EPRA earnings

Residential development profits

Amortisation of loan arrangement fees

Taxation in respect of company specific 
adjustments

Adjusted EPRA earnings

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

 (8.5)

– 

(8.5)

Group
£m

 68.6 

 (0.5)

68.1

Total
£m

 60.1 

 (0.5)

59.6

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 (28.2)

– 

(28.2)

Group
£m

 81.8 

 (0.2)

81.6

 (16.2)

 (20.4)

 (36.6)

 (30.3)

 25.9 

Total
£m

 53.6 

 (0.2)

53.4

 (4.4)

 (6.7)

 (0.7)

 (7.4)

 (9.5)

 (0.5)

 (10.0)

– 

 (51.7)

 3.8 

 24.6 

 (0.9)

– 

 24.6 

 (52.6)

 3.8 

 0.3 

 4.9 

 5.2 

 13.7 

 14.2 

 27.9 

 1.1 

 (5.0)

 0.4 

7.8

 31.4 

 1.8 

 (6.3)

 34.7 

 (0.8)

 (18.0)

– 

(5.6)

– 

 0.4 

 (0.1)

 (5.3)

 0.3 

 (23.0)

 0.4 

2.2

 31.4 

 2.2 

 (6.4)

 29.4 

– 

 (47.2)

 2.1 

 0.4 

 9.0 

 (7.2)

 3.6 

 0.1 

2.6

 27.1 

 1.2 

 (5.6)

 25.3 

– 

– 

– 

 5.2 

– 

 (0.4)

 (6.0)

– 

(4.0)

– 

 0.3 

 (0.1)

 (3.8)

(1) The change in estimated cost to establish a market in Nine Elms represents a loss on property development and therefore forms part of the profits or losses on sale 

of trading properties that should be adjusted in arriving at EPRA earnings.

(2) Development profits exclude overheads directly attributable to the residential housebuilding business as these form part of the profits or losses on sale of trading 

properties that should be adjusted in arriving at EPRA earnings. 

(3) Fee income is included within development profits, but does not meet the definition of profits or losses on sale of trading properties and is therefore not adjusted 

in arriving at EPRA earnings.

(4) The unwinding of discounts on deferred payment arrangements are linked to the disposal of either investment properties or inventory and are therefore adjusted 

in arriving at EPRA earnings.

– 

 (47.2)

 2.1 

 5.6 

 9.0 

 (7.6)

 (2.4)

 0.1 

(1.4)

 27.1 

 1.5 

 (5.7)

 21.5 

141

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional information 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

3. EPRA performance measures continued
Whilst the BPR defines EPRA earnings with reference to adjustments to the reported profit for the year, it can also be presented in the form 
of an income statement, comprising those items in the income statement not adjusted for in the reconciliation above:

Net rental income

Fee income

Other net income

Administrative expenses

Finance costs(1)

Finance income(2)

Taxation in respect of EPRA earnings 
measures

Non-controlling interests in respect
of the above

EPRA earnings

Housebuilding development profit

Amortisation of loan arrangement fees

Taxation in respect of company specific 
adjustments

Adjusted EPRA earnings

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

 5.0 

– 

– 

 (0.3)

 (10.1)

 0.3 

 (0.5)

– 

(5.6)

– 

 0.4 

 (0.1)

 (5.3)

Group
£m

 48.8 

 3.8 

 2.0 

 (28.7)

 (25.5)

 9.0 

 (1.5)

 (0.1)

7.8

 31.4 

 1.8 

 (6.3)

 34.7 

Total
£m

 53.8 

 3.8 

 2.0 

 (29.0)

 (35.6)

 9.3 

 (2.0)

 (0.1)

2.2

 31.4 

 2.2 

 (6.4)

 29.4 

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 5.4 

– 

– 

 (0.8)

 (9.8)

 1.1 

 0.1 

– 

(4.0)

– 

 0.3 

 (0.1)

 (3.8)

Group
£m

 40.5 

 2.1 

 4.2 

 (28.5)

 (21.3)

 6.4 

 (0.7)

 (0.1)

2.6

 27.1 

 1.2 

 (5.6)

 25.3 

Total
£m

 45.9 

 2.1 

 4.2 

 (29.3)

 (31.1)

 7.5 

 (0.6)

 (0.1)

(1.4)

 27.1 

 1.5 

 (5.7)

 21.5 

(1) Finance costs for the purposes of EPRA earnings exclude movements in the fair value of financial instruments and amortisation of discount on deferred payment 

arrangements, as set out in note 5.

(2) Finance income for the purposes of EPRA earnings excludes movements in the fair value of financial instruments, as set out in note 5.

Earnings

EPRA earnings

Adjusted EPRA earnings

2017

Pence per 
share(1)

Percentage 
movement

 26.9 

 1.0 

 13.3 

11.6%

(266.7)%

37.1%

£m

 59.6 

 2.2 

 29.4 

2016

Pence per 
share(1)

Percentage 
movement

 24.1 

 (0.6)

 9.7 

N/A

N/A

N/A

£m

 53.4 

 (1.4)

 21.5 

(1) The number of shares in issue used to calculate the earnings per share is 221,697,244 (2016: 221,368,096), as disclosed in note 7, excluding those shares held by 

The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust.

b. EPRA net asset value
EPRA net asset value is calculated as set out below:

2017

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m 

Total
£m

 119.6 

 1,006.0 

– 

 119.6 

 0.2 

 119.8 

 (5.7)

 1,000.3 

 16.4 

 1,016.7 

Group
£m

 886.4 

 (5.7)

 880.7 

 16.2 

 896.9 

2016

Joint ventures 
and associates
£m

 184.8 

 – 

 184.8 

 – 

 184.8 

Group
£m

 777.3 

 (6.9)

 770.4 

 13.6 

 784.0 

Total
£m

 962.1 

 (6.9)

 955.2 

 13.6 

 968.8 

 18.8 

 4.2 

 23.0 

 24.5 

 23.4 

 47.9 

 5.0 

 920.7 

 0.7 

 124.7 

 5.7 

 1,045.4 

 2.4 

 810.9 

 1.4 

 209.6 

 3.8 

 1,020.5 

Total equity

Less non-controlling interests

Net asset value

Adjustments of inventories to fair value

EPRA triple net asset value

Deferred tax on capital allowances and 
revaluations

Mark-to-market of derivative financial 
instruments

EPRA net asset value

142

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Net asset value

EPRA triple net asset value

EPRA net asset value

2017

Pence per 
share(1)

Percentage 
movement

 450.9 

 458.3 

 471.2 

4.6%

4.8%

2.3%

£m

 1,000.3 

 1,016.7 

 1,045.4 

2016

Pence per 
share(1)

Percentage 
movement

 431.0 

 437.2 

 460.5 

4.2%

4.4%

3.2%

£m

 955.2 

 968.8 

 1,020.5 

(1) The number of shares in issue used to calculate the net asset values per share is 221,857,082 (2016: 221,607,654), as disclosed in note 18, excluding those shares held by 

The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust.

4. Other income statement disclosures
a. Administrative expenses
Administrative expenses have been arrived at after charging:

Depreciation

Operating lease costs

2017
£m

 1.1 

1.3

b. Auditor’s remuneration
The table below sets out the fees payable to the Company’s auditor and their associates for the following services:

The audit of the Company’s annual report 
and financial statements

The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries 
and joint ventures

Total audit fees

Audit-related assurance services

Other assurance services

Property consulting

Other

Total non-audit fees

Total fees

2017

Audit and 
audit-related 
services
£’000

Other services
£’000

 125 

 175 

 300 

 50 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 50 

 350 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

2016

Audit and 
audit-related 
services
£’000

Other services
£’000

 130 

 250 

 380 

 67 

 25 

 – 

 – 

 92 

 472 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 20 

 2 

 22 

 22 

Total
£’000

 125 

 175 

 300 

 50 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 50 

 350 

2016
£m

 0.7 

 1.5 

Total
£’000

 130 

 250 

 380 

 67 

 25 

 20 

 2 

 114 

 494 

The Group continues to monitor the provision of audit and other services by the auditor. Fees charged for other services in 2017 were 0% 
(2016: 5%) of audit and audit-related fees. The Group’s policy permits the auditor to provide non-audit services where alternative providers 
do not exist or where it is cost effective or in the Group’s interest for the external auditor to provide such services, as long as such services 
are permissible under the Audit Regulations.

Fees in 2017 are payable to KPMG LLP and fees in 2016 were payable to Deloitte LLP.

Further information is included in the Audit Committee report.

c. Employees
The monthly average number of full-time employees (including executive directors) employed by the Group during the year was as follows:

Property and administration

Leisure and other activities

Total employees

2017
Number

379

53

 432 

2016
Number

 301 

 44 

 345 

143

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

4. Other income statement disclosures continued
The total payroll costs of these employees were:

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Pension costs

Total payroll costs

2017
£m

 29.1 

 3.5 

 0.9 

 33.5 

2016
£m

 20.1 

 2.8 

 0.8 

 23.7 

d. Share-based payments
The Group has a Save As You Earn share option scheme open to all employees. Employees must ordinarily remain in service for a period 
of three or five years from the date of grant before exercising their options. The option period ends six months following the end of the 
vesting period. 

The Group also operates a discretionary Executive Share Option Scheme (ESOS). Options are granted at a fixed price equal to the market 
price at the date of grant. Employees must ordinarily remain in service for a period of three years from the date of grant before exercising 
their ESOS awards. The option ends on the 10th anniversary of the date of grant.

Details of the Group’s Performance Share Plan (PSP) are given in the directors’ remuneration report.

The following table illustrates the movements in share options during the year. As the PSP includes the grant of options at £nil exercise 
price, the weighted average prices below are calculated including and excluding the options under this plan. 

Outstanding at start of year

Granted

Forfeited

Exercised

Outstanding at end of year

Exercisable at year end

2017

2016

Weighted average price

Weighted average price

Number of 
options

All options 
£

Excluding PSP 
£

Number of 
options

All options 
£

Excluding PSP 
£

 7,686,602 

 1,870,261 

 (687,501)

 (1,702,149)

 7,167,213 

 2,051,181 

 2.27 

 2.78 

 1.43 

 1.68 

 2.63 

 2.73 

 2.83 

 3.52 

 3.25 

 2.11 

 3.15 

 2.73 

 6,090,088 

 3,045,446 

 (637,445)

 (811,487)

 7,686,602 

 2,537,505 

 2.33 

 1.70 

 2.42 

 0.67 

 2.27 

 2.18 

 2.89 

 2.68 

 3.64 

 1.68 

 2.83 

 2.18 

Share options are priced using a Black-Scholes valuation model. The aggregate of the fair values calculated and the assumptions used for 
share options granted during the year are as follows:

30 November 2017

30 November 2016

(1) Based on the closing share price on the date of grant. 

Aggregate of 
fair values
£m

Risk-free 
interest rate
%

 1.9 

 3.2 

0.3-0.5

0.1-0.3

Expected 
volatility
%

28.6-33.1

22.3-32.9

Dividend yield
%

 1.1 

 1.1 

Share price(1)
£

3.37-3.57

2.69-3.23

The charge to the Group income statement during the year in respect of share-based payments was £1.8m (2016: £1.6m).

The fair value of the share incentive reserve in respect of share options outstanding at the year end was £5.1m (2016: £4.9m) and included 
£1.9m (2016: £2.2m) in respect of options that had vested at the year end.

In arriving at fair value it has been assumed that, when vested, shares options are exercised in accordance with historical trends. Expected 
volatility was determined by reference to the historical volatility of the Group’s share price over a period consistent with the expected life 
of the options.

The weighted average share price at the date of exercise was £3.69 (2016: £2.76). The share options outstanding under the ESOS at the year 
end had a range of exercise prices between £1.56 and £4.74 (2016: £1.78 and £4.75) with all PSP options exercisable at £nil (2016: £nil). 
Outstanding options had a weighted average maximum remaining contractual life of 6.1 years (2016: 5.8 years).

144

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 20175. Finance costs and finance income

Interest payable on borrowings

Interest payable on finance lease obligations

Amortisation of loan arrangement fees

Amortisation of discount on deferred payment arrangements

Movement in fair value of convertible bond

Movement in fair value of derivative financial instruments

Interest on pension scheme liabilities

Total finance costs

Interest receivable 

Movement in fair value of convertible bond

Movement in fair value of derivative financial instruments

Interest income on pension scheme assets

Total finance income

6. Taxation
a. Tax on profit on ordinary activities
The tax charge in the Group income statement is as follows:

Current tax

Current year tax

Adjustments in respect of previous years

Total current tax

Deferred tax

Impact of current year revaluations and indexation

Net use of tax losses

Other temporary differences

Change in rate for provision of deferred tax

Adjustments in respect of previous years

Total deferred tax

Total tax charge in the Group income statement

2017
£m

 20.8 

 2.1 

 1.8 

 0.3 

 4.2 

 – 

 0.8 

 30.0 

2017
£m

 8.1 

 – 

 3.1 

 0.9 

 12.1 

2017
£m

 12.7 

 2.6 

 15.3 

 (2.6)

 – 

 1.2 

 (2.4)

 (1.3)

 (5.1)

 10.2 

2016
£m

 18.1 

 1.1 

 1.2 

 0.4 

 – 

 1.3 

 0.9 

 23.0 

2016
£m

 5.4 

 7.7 

 0.8 

 1.0 

 14.9

2016
£m

 11.9 

 (5.2)

 6.7 

 2.9 

 0.5 

 1.1 

 – 

 2.1 

 6.6 

 13.3 

Following the sale of the student accommodation at Swansea University Bay Campus post-year end as disclosed in note 23 and excluding 
certain companies in the process of being liquidated, all of the Group’s subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates are subject to full UK 
corporation tax.

145

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

6. Taxation continued
b. Reconciliation of effective tax rate

Profit before tax

Less losses of joint ventures and associates (post-tax)

Pre-tax profit attributable to the Group

Corporation tax at 19.33% (2016: 20.00%)

Effect of non-deductible expenses and non-chargeable income

Impact of indexation on investment property

Change in rate used for provision of deferred tax

Current year charge

Adjustments in respect of previous years

Tax charge for the year

Effective rate of tax

2017
£m

 70.3 

8.5 

 78.8 

 15.2 

 0.1

 (4.0)

(2.4) 

 8.9 

 1.3 

 10.2 

12.9%

2016
£m

 66.9 

 28.2 

 95.1 

 19.0 

 0.5 

 (3.1)

 – 

 16.4 

 (3.1)

 13.3 

14.0%

The post-tax results of joint ventures and associates are stated after a tax credit of £3.3m (2016: a credit of £6.1m). The effective tax rate for 
the Group including joint ventures and associates is a charge of 10.3% (2016: 11.8%).

Legislation substantively enacted at 30 November 2017 included provisions which reduced the main rate of corporation tax from 20% to 19% 
from 1 April 2017 and 17% from 1 April 2020. Current tax has therefore been provided 19.33% and deferred tax at rates from 17% to 19%. The 
£2.4m credit due to the change in rate used for the provision of deferred tax is predominantly due to reflecting the deferred tax arising on 
the majority of the investment property portfolio at the long-term rate of 17% rather than the previously used rate of 19%.

c. Balance sheet

2017

Current tax
£m

Deferred tax
£m

2016

Current tax
£m

Deferred tax
£m

Balance at start of the year

Charged to the Group income statement

Recognised within the Group statement 
of changes in equity

Net payment

Balance at end of the year

 7.1 

 15.3 

 – 

 (16.2)

 6.2 

An analysis of the deferred tax provided by the Group is given below:

Property revaluations

Capital allowances

Appropriations to trading stock

Other temporary differences

Total deferred tax

2017

Asset
£m

Liability
£m

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (2.5)

 (2.5)

 13.8 

 5.0 

 0.3 

 – 

 19.1 

 22.0 

 (5.1)

 (0.3)

 – 

 16.6 

Net
£m

 13.8 

 5.0 

 0.3 

 (2.5)

 16.6 

 11.1 

 6.7 

 – 

 (10.7)

 7.1 

Asset
£m

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (2.8)

 (2.8)

2016

Liability
£m

 19.4 

 5.1 

 0.3 

 – 

 24.8 

 15.4 

 6.6 

 – 

 – 

 22.0 

Net
£m

 19.4 

 5.1 

 0.3 

 (2.8)

 22.0 

At the balance sheet date, the Group has unused tax losses in relation to 2017 and prior years of £0.5m (2016: £0.8m), of which £nil (2016: 
£nil) has been recognised as a deferred tax asset. A deferred tax asset of £0.5m (2016: £0.8m) has not been recognised in respect of current 
and prior year tax losses as it is not considered sufficiently certain that there will be taxable profits available in the short term against which 
these can be offset. These unrecognised losses arise predominantly from pre-acquisition activity or within connected parties, for which 
group relief is not available.

146

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 20177. Earnings per share

Weighted number of shares in issue

Weighted number of diluted shares relating to the convertible bond

Weighted number of diluted shares relating to share options

Weighted number of shares for the purposes of diluted earnings per share

2017 
Number of shares

 221,697,244 

 – 

 1,832,311 

 223,529,555 

2016 
Number of shares

 221,368,096 

 18,888,595 

 1,923,809 

 242,180,500 

Earnings for the purposes of basic earnings per share, being profit for the year 
attributable to owners of the Company

Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares:

Interest on convertible bond (net of tax)

Movement in fair value of the convertible bond

Earnings for the purposes of diluted earnings per share

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

2017
£m

 59.6 

 – 

 – 

 59.6

2017
Pence

 26.9 

 26.7 

2016
£m

 53.4 

 2.3 

 (7.7)

 48.0 

2016
Pence

 24.1 

 19.8 

Shares held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust are excluded from the above calculation.

Note 3 sets out details of EPRA and adjusted EPRA earnings per share.

8. Dividends
Dividends paid during the year were in respect of the final dividend for 2016 and interim dividend for 2017. The proposed final dividend of 
4.26 pence per share is subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting and has not been included as a liability in these financial statements.

Paid

Final dividend in respect of previous year

Interim dividend in respect of current year

Total paid

Proposed

Current year final dividend

2017

2016

Pence per share

£m

Pence per share

 4.06 

 2.02 

 6.08 

 4.26 

 9.0 

 4.5 

 13.5 

 9.5 

 3.85 

 1.94 

 5.79 

 4.06 

The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust waives its entitlement to dividends with the exception of 0.01 pence per share.

£m

 8.5 

 4.3 

 12.8 

 9.0 

147

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

9. Investment property
a. Fair value reconciliation

At 30 November 2015 (restated)

Property acquisitions

Additions

Net transfers to inventories (note 13) 

Disposals 

Movement in lease incentives

Gain on revaluation 

At 30 November 2016 (restated)

Property acquisitions

Additions

Net transfers to inventories (note 13) 

Disposals 

Movement in lease incentives

Gain on revaluation 

At 30 November 2017

Freehold investment 
properties
£m

Leasehold investment 
properties
£m

 971.7 

 38.5 

 50.7 

 (13.3)

 (51.3)

 0.3 

 24.0 

 1,020.6 

 24.8 

 42.7 

 (3.0)

 (58.1)

 1.5

 16.2 

 1,044.7 

 121.2 

 – 

 0.8 

 – 

 (3.7)

 (0.5)

 6.3 

 124.1 

 – 

 2.8 

 – 

 (2.8)

 (0.3)

–

 123.8 

Total
£m

 1,092.9 

 38.5 

 51.5 

 (13.3)

 (55.0)

 (0.2)

 30.3 

 1,144.7 

 24.8 

 45.5 

 (3.0)

 (60.9)

 1.2 

 16.2 

 1,168.5 

Investment properties were valued at 30 November 2017 and 30 November 2016 by Cushman & Wakefield, Chartered Surveyors, in 
accordance with the Appraisal and Valuation Manual of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, on the basis of market value. Cushman 
& Wakefield are professionally qualified independent external valuers and had appropriate recent experience in the relevant location and 
category of the properties being valued.

The historical cost of investment properties at 30 November 2017 was £927.8m (2016 (restated): £891.3m).

As at 30 November 2017, £790.2m (2016: £800.5m) of investment property was pledged as security for the Group’s loan facilities. This 
security has subsequently been released as part of the Group’s refinancing to move to unsecured facilities in December 2017, as disclosed 
in note 23.

Included within investment properties are £64.2m (2016: £61.7m) of assets held under finance leases.

b. Fair value measurement disclosures
IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement disclosures in respect of investment property are detailed below.

The following table provides an analysis of the categorisation of the Group’s investment properties measured subsequent to initial 
recognition at fair value: 

Income producing properties

Residential assets

Commercial assets

Assets held under finance leases(1)

Investment property

Level 3

Level 3

Level 3

N/A

2017
£m

 722.5 

 301.5 

 139.3 

 5.2 

 1,168.5 

2016 (restated)
£m

 701.4 

 319.1 

 120.3 

 3.9 

 1,144.7 

(1) £5.2m (2016: £3.9m) of the Group’s assets held under finance leases are not subject to valuation. These assets represent head leases on certain investment property and are 
carried at the value recognised at inception less repayments of principal. This does not include lease arrangements at Swansea University, which are subject to revaluation.

Income producing properties
Income producing properties have been valued using the investment method which involves applying a yield to rental income streams. 
Inputs include equivalent yields, current rent and estimated rental value (ERV). The resulting valuations are cross checked against the 
resulting initial yields and, for certain assets, the land value underpin if the assets were to be redeveloped. 

Equivalent yields and ERV are considered to be unobservable inputs and details of the aggregate ERV and weighted average equivalent 
yields used for each category of income producing properties is provided in the following table:

148

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Aggregate ERV

Weighted average equivalent yield

Fair value at 
30 November 2017
£m

High yielding 
properties
£m

Investment
 portfolio
£m

High yielding 
properties
%

Investment portfolio
%

Industrial and logistics

Retail

Residential and other

Total income producing properties

 243.5 

 326.0 

 153.0 

 722.5 

 14.8 

 9.8 

 0.2 

 5.9 

 16.7 

 8.2 

 8.5 

 9.6 

 7.5 

 6.9 

 6.8 

 5.1 

Aggregate ERV

Weighted average equivalent yield

Fair value at 
30 November 2016
£m

High yielding 
properties
£m

Investment 
portfolio
£m

High yielding 
properties
%

Investment 
portfolio
%

Industrial and logistics

Retail

Residential and other

Total income producing properties

 223.7 

 327.9 

 149.8 

 701.4 

 18.6 

 9.6 

 0.8 

 6.0 

 17.0 

 8.8 

 8.7 

 9.0 

 9.8 

 6.9 

 6.6 

 5.4 

As the Group holds property both directly and through joint ventures and associates the strategic report discusses yields applied to 
investment property on a weighted average see-through basis. This provides a composite position with respect to the Group’s exposure to 
asset types by sector. The aggregate ERVs and weighted average equivalent yields provided above are disclosed for those assets held by 
the Group excluding its joint ventures and associates. 

The Group’s portfolio has a wide spread of yields as it includes assets that are at various stages of the property lifecycle. Income producing 
assets are generally acquired at high yields where the Group has the opportunity to add significant value. As assets are enhanced and 
development activity is undertaken, improved and new assets are created and valued at lower yields.

All other factors being equal, a higher equivalent yield would lead to a decrease in the valuation of an asset and an increase in the current 
or estimated future rental stream would have the effect of increasing the capital value, and vice versa. However, there are inter-relationships 
between the unobservable inputs which are partially determined by market conditions, which would impact on these changes.

Residential assets
Residential assets are valued using the residual development method. To derive the value of land the valuers will estimate the gross 
development value of completed residential units on a site from which deductions will be made for build costs (including costs to 
remediate and service land), finance costs and an appropriate profit margin.

Sales prices, build costs and profit margins are considered to be unobservable inputs and details of the ranges used are provided in the 
following table:

At 30 November 2017

At 30 November 2016

Fair value
£m

 301.5 

 319.1 

Sales price 
per sq ft
£

148-345

144-310

Build costs 
per sq ft
£

85-120

83-110

Profit margin
%

 20.0 

 20.0 

All other factors being equal, a higher sales price would lead to an increase in the valuation of an asset, a higher profit margin would lead 
to a decrease in the valuation of an asset, and a decrease in the build costs would have the effect of increasing the capital value, and vice 
versa. However, there are inter-relationships between the unobservable inputs which are partially determined by market conditions, which 
would impact on these changes.

Commercial assets
Commercial assets are valued on a land value per acre basis less costs to remediate and service the land. Land value per acre is considered 
to be an unobservable input and details of the ranges used are detailed in the following table:

At 30 November 2017

At 30 November 2016

Fair value
£m

Land value per acre
£’000

 139.3 

 120.3 

75-600

75-500

All other things being equal, a higher value per acre would lead to an increase in the valuation of an asset and vice versa.

149

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

10. Operating property, plant and equipment

Cost

At 30 November 2015

Additions

Disposals

At 30 November 2016

Additions

Disposals

At 30 November 2017

Depreciation

At 30 November 2015

Charge for the year

Disposals

At 30 November 2016

Charge for the year

Disposals

At 30 November 2017

Net book value

At 30 November 2015

At 30 November 2016

At 30 November 2017

All operating properties are freehold operating properties.

Operating 
properties
£m

Operating plant 
and equipment
£m

 4.5 

 – 

 – 

 4.5 

 0.3 

 – 

 4.8 

 1.1 

 – 

 – 

 1.1 

 0.4 

 – 

 1.5 

 3.4 

 3.4 

 3.3 

 6.0 

 0.6 

 (0.1)

 6.5 

 1.7 

 (0.1)

 8.1 

 5.2 

 0.7 

 (0.2)

 5.7 

 0.7 

 (0.1)

 6.3 

 0.8 

 0.8 

 1.8 

Total
£m

 10.5 

 0.6 

 (0.1)

 11.0 

 2.0 

 (0.1)

 12.9 

 6.3 

 0.7 

 (0.2)

 6.8 

 1.1 

 (0.1)

 7.8 

 4.2 

 4.2 

 5.1 

150

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 201711. Joint ventures and associates
The Group has the following four material joint venture companies, for which information is provided separately in this note:

Name

Status

Interest

Activity

Key Property Investments Limited

VSM Estates Uxbridge (Group) Limited

VSM Estates (Holdings) Limited

VSM (NCGM) Limited

Joint venture

Joint venture

Joint venture

Joint venture

50%

50%

50%

50%

Property investment and development

Property investment

Property investment

Property investment and development

The remainder of the Group’s joint ventures and associates are listed in note D to the Company financial statements and included in 
aggregate below.

The Group’s share of the results for the year of its joint ventures and associates is:

Net rental income

Development profits

Gains/(losses) on disposal of 
investments/investment properties

Investment property revaluation 
gains/(losses)

Change in estimated cost to establish 
a market in Nine Elms

Administrative expenses 

Profit/(loss) before interest and tax

Finance cost

Finance income

Profit/(loss) before tax

Taxation

Profit/(loss) for the year

Key Property 
Investments 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
Uxbridge (Group) 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
(Holdings) 
Limited
£m

VSM
 (NCGM) 
Limited
£m

Other joint 
ventures and 
associates
£m

2017

 4.9 

 0.9 

 0.1 

 9.5 

 – 

 (0.1)

 15.3 

 (2.0)

 0.8 

 14.1 

 (0.9)

 13.2 

 (0.1)

 – 

 – 

 (2.3)

 – 

 – 

 (2.4)

 (2.2)

 0.1 

 (4.5)

 0.5 

 (4.0)

 – 

 – 

 0.8 

 14.5 

 (24.6)

 (0.1)

 (9.4)

 (8.8)

 0.2 

 (18.0)

 4.2 

 (13.8)

 – 

 – 

 (0.2)

 (1.5)

 – 

 (0.1)

 (1.8)

 (1.9)

 – 

 (3.7)

 (0.5)

 (4.2)

2016

 0.2 

 – 

 – 

 0.2 

 – 

 – 

 0.4 

 (0.1)

 – 

 0.3 

 – 

 0.3 

Net rental income

Development profits

Gains/(losses) on disposal of 
investments/investment properties

Investment property revaluation gains/(losses)

Administrative expenses 

Profit/(loss) before interest and tax

Finance cost

Finance income

Profit/(loss) before tax

Taxation

Profit/(loss) for the year

Key Property 
Investments 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
Uxbridge (Group) 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
(Holdings) 
Limited
£m

VSM
 (NCGM) 
Limited
£m

Other joint 
ventures and 
associates
£m

 5.5 

 – 

 0.8 

 1.2 

 (0.3)

 7.2 

 (2.2)

 0.4 

 5.4 

 (0.6)

 4.8 

 (0.1)

 – 

 – 

 (1.8)

 – 

 (1.9)

 (3.4)

 0.4 

 (4.9)

 0.9 

 (4.0)

 – 

 – 

 (0.2)

 (1.1)

 (0.1)

 (1.4)

 (1.9)

 0.7 

 (2.6)

 (0.5)

 (3.1)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (24.3)

 (0.1)

 (24.4)

 (7.3)

 – 

 (31.7)

 6.3 

 (25.4)

 – 

 – 

 (0.1)

 0.1 

 (0.3)

 (0.3)

 (0.2)

 – 

 (0.5)

 – 

 (0.5)

Included in other joint ventures and associates above are results from associated companies of £0.1m (2016: £0.1m).

Total
£m

 5.0 

 0.9 

 0.7 

 20.4 

 (24.6)

 (0.3)

 2.1 

 (15.0)

 1.1 

 (11.8)

 3.3 

 (8.5)

Total
£m

 5.4 

 – 

 0.5 

 (25.9)

 (0.8)

 (20.8)

 (15.0)

 1.5 

 (34.3)

 6.1 

 (28.2)

151

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

11. Joint ventures and associates continued
The Group’s share of the balance sheet of its joint ventures and associates is:

Property portfolio

Other assets

Gross assets

Net borrowings

Finance leases

Other liabilities

Gross liabilities

Net assets

Equity at 30 November 2016

Profit/(loss) for the year

Injection of capital

Dividends paid

Equity at 30 November 2017

Property portfolio

Other assets

Gross assets

Net borrowings

Finance leases

Other liabilities

Gross liabilities

Net assets

Equity at 30 November 2015

Profit/(loss) for the year

Dividends paid

Equity at 30 November 2016

Key Property 
Investments 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
Uxbridge 
(Group) Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
(Holdings) 
Limited
£m

VSM
 (NCGM) 
Limited
£m

Other joint 
ventures and 
associates
£m

2017

 90.1 

 5.7 

 95.8 

 (26.5)

 (0.9)

 (8.9)

 (36.3)

 59.5 

 56.3 

 13.2 

 – 

 (10.0)

 59.5 

 29.8 

 – 

 29.8 

 3.1 

 – 

 (25.5)

 (22.4)

 7.4 

 11.4 

 (4.0)

 – 

 – 

 7.4 

 9.8 

 34.8 

 44.6 

 9.1 

 – 

 (23.1)

 (14.0)

 30.6 

 34.8 

 (4.2)

 – 

 – 

 30.6 

2016

Key Property 
Investments 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
Uxbridge (Group) 
Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
(Holdings)
 Limited
£m

 99.8 

 3.4 

 103.2 

 (37.3)

 (0.9)

 (8.7)

 (46.9)

 56.3 

 65.8 

 4.8 

 (14.3)

 56.3 

 47.6 

 4.5 

 52.1 

 (12.6)

 – 

 (28.1)

 (40.7)

 11.4 

 15.4 

 (4.0)

 – 

 11.4 

 29.6 

 28.3 

 57.9 

 1.1 

 – 

 (24.2)

 (23.1)

 34.8 

 37.9 

 (3.1)

 – 

 34.8 

 8.5 

 36.7 

 45.2 

 58.4 

 – 

 (89.6)

 (31.2)

 14.0 

 75.3 

 (13.8)

 – 

 (47.5)

 14.0 

VSM
 (NCGM) 
Limited
£m

 197.5 

 0.5 

 198.0 

 0.6 

 – 

 (123.3)

 (122.7)

 75.3 

 100.7 

 (25.4)

 – 

 75.3 

 9.8 

 4.8 

 14.6 

 1.5 

 – 

 (8.0)

 (6.5)

 8.1 

 7.0 

 0.3 

 1.4 

 (0.6)

 8.1 

Other joint 
ventures and 
associates
£m

 7.3 

 3.8 

 11.1 

 1.2 

– 

 (5.3)

 (4.1)

 7.0 

 7.5 

 (0.5)

 – 

 7.0 

Total
£m

 148.0 

 82.0 

 230.0 

 45.6 

 (0.9)

 (155.1)

 (110.4)

 119.6 

 184.8 

 (8.5)

 1.4 

 (58.1)

 119.6 

Total
£m

 381.8 

 40.5 

 422.3 

 (47.0)

 (0.9)

 (189.6)

 (237.5)

 184.8 

 227.3 

 (28.2)

 (14.3)

 184.8 

Included in other joint ventures and associates above are net assets in relation to associated companies of £3.4m (2016: £3.3m). These net 
assets comprise total assets of £4.0m (2016: £3.9m) and total liabilities of £0.6m (2016: £0.6m).

152

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017The following disclosures are required by IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities in respect of the gross financial information for the 
Group’s material joint ventures:

Revenue

Profit/(loss) for the year and total 
comprehensive income/(expense)

Non-current assets

Current assets

Current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Net assets

Revenue

Profit/(loss) for the year and total 
comprehensive income/(expense)

Non-current assets

Current assets

Current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Net assets

Key Property 
Investments Limited
£m

VSM Estates Uxbridge 
(Group) Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
(Holdings) Limited
£m

VSM (NCGM) Limited
£m

2017

 18.1 

 26.7 

 176.9 

 18.9 

 (26.0)

 (50.8)

 119.0 

 – 

 (7.9)

 59.6 

 6.3 

 (48.0)

 (3.0)

 14.9 

2016

 – 

 (5.6)

 13.1 

 58.5 

 (29.7)

 (1.1)

 40.8 

 – 

 (27.5)

 17.0 

 190.2 

 (11.9)

 (167.4)

 27.9 

Key Property 
Investments Limited
£m

VSM Estates Uxbridge 
(Group) Limited
£m

VSM Estates 
(Holdings) Limited
£m

VSM (NCGM) Limited
£m

 14.9 

 8.8 

 194.0 

 13.6 

 (24.6)

 (71.5)

 111.5 

 – 

 (7.2)

 95.3 

 10.1 

 (60.4)

 (22.5)

 22.5 

 – 

 (4.2)

 101.6 

 2.2 

 (57.5)

 – 

 46.3 

 – 

 (50.9)

 395.0 

 2.1 

 (246.7)

 – 

 150.4 

In the strategic report a series of commercial contracts with Persimmon is referred to as the ‘Persimmon joint venture’. This is not a statutory 
entity and the results from these commercial contracts are not included in the figures disclosed in this note. Revenue and profit from the 
Persimmon joint venture are recognised in Group development profit on legal completion of housing unit sales to third-party customers. 

Many of the shareholder agreements for joint ventures and associates contain change of control provisions, as is common for such 
arrangements.

New Covent Garden Market
The first parcel of land at Nine Elms, London, was released to VSM (NCGM) Limited during the year ended 30 November 2017 and was 
subsequently sold. The remaining liability to establish New Covent Garden Market continues to have a significant impact on the results and 
net assets of the Group’s joint ventures.

Following the disposal during the year of the first parcel of land, the Group has undertaken a full review of the remaining works required 
to establish the market. The complicated nature of working on a site with a live market and an anticipated extended duration of the project 
have resulted in an increase in expected construction costs. Accordingly, VSM (NCGM) Limited increased its liability for the estimate of this 
forecast cost, with the Group’s share of this increase being £24.6m.

Investment property within VSM (NCGM) Limited was valued at 30 November 2017 and 30 November 2016 by Jones Lang LaSalle LLP, 
Chartered Surveyors, in accordance with the Appraisal and Valuation Manual of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, on the basis of 
market value. Jones Lang LaSalle LLP are professionally qualified independent external valuers and had appropriate recent experience in the 
relevant location and category of the property being valued.

The liability of VSM (NCGM) Limited to establish a new market facility for CGMA has been calculated by:

•  the Board of VSM (NCGM) Limited, including representatives of VINCI and St. Modwen, assessing the costs of procuring the market facility 

at current rates;

•  applying a current estimate of inflation for the period of the build of 2.5%; and

•  discounting the forecast cash flows to today’s value using a discount rate of 5%, considered by the Board of VSM (NCGM) Limited to 

appropriately reflect the risks and rewards of the procurement.

153

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

12. Trade and other receivables

Non-current

Amounts due from joint ventures and associates

Other receivables

Non-current receivables

Current

Trade receivables

Prepayments and accrued income

Amounts due from joint ventures and associates

Amounts recoverable on contracts

Other receivables

Current receivables

13. Inventories

Income producing property

Residential assets

Commercial assets

Inventories

The movement in inventories during the two years ended 30 November 2017 is as follows:

At 30 November 2015

Acquisitions and additions

Net transfers from investment property (note 9)

Disposals (transferred to development cost of sales)

At 30 November 2016

Acquisitions

Additions

Net transfers from investment property (note 9)

Disposals (transferred to development cost of sales)

At 30 November 2017

2017
£m

 – 

 2.3 

 2.3 

 8.5 

 6.6 

 26.5 

 9.8 

 20.7 

 72.1 

2017
£m

38.3

202.6

111.8

 352.7 

2016 (restated)
£m

 6.0 

 2.2 

 8.2 

 8.2 

 8.1 

 62.2 

 15.3 

 10.3 

 104.1

2016
£m

 2.4 

 141.1 

 86.2 

 229.7 

£m

 183.7 

 208.8 

 13.3 

 (176.1)

 229.7 

 67.4 

246.8

 3.0 

 (194.2)

 352.7 

The directors consider all inventories to be current in nature. The operational cycle is such that a proportion of inventories will not be 
realised within 12 months. It is not possible to determine with accuracy when specific inventory will be realised as this will be subject to 
a number of issues including the strength of the property market.

Included within disposals of inventories are net realisable value provisions made during the year of £2.0m (2016: £0.3m).

As at 30 November 2017, £14.2m (2016: £19.7m) of inventory was pledged as security for the Group’s loan facilities. This security has 
subsequently been released as part of the Group’s refinancing to move to unsecured facilities in December 2017, as disclosed in note 23.

154

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 201714. Trade and other payables

Current

Trade payables

Amounts due to joint ventures and associates

Other payables and accrued expenses

Other payables on deferred terms

Current payables

Non-current

Amounts due to joint ventures and associates

Other payables on deferred terms

Non-current payables

2017
£m

 44.2 

 31.9 

 79.5 

 20.4 

 176.0 

 8.5 

 11.6 

 20.1 

2016
£m

 41.1 

 17.8 

 82.9 

 8.7 

 150.5 

 – 

 3.6 

 3.6 

The payment terms of the other payables on deferred terms are subject to contractual commitments. In the normal course of events the 
payments will be made in line with either the disposal of investment properties held on the Group balance sheet, or the commencement 
of development. Net cash outflows on the settlement of the deferred consideration will therefore be limited.

15. Borrowings and finance lease obligations

Current

Finance lease liabilities due in less than one year

Current borrowings and finance lease obligations

Non-current

Amounts repayable between one and two years

Amounts repayable between two and five years

Non-current borrowings

Finance leases liabilities due after more than one year

Non-current borrowings and finance lease obligations

2017
£m

 0.6 

 0.6 

 194.4 

 240.5 

 434.9 

 56.4 

 491.3 

2016
£m

 0.4 

 0.4 

 – 

 470.6 

 470.6 

 56.4 

 527.0 

Where borrowings are secured, the individual bank facility has a fixed charge over a discrete portfolio of certain of the Group’s property assets.

Note 23 gives details of the Group’s refinancing exercise, completed and announced post-year end in December 2017.

155

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

15. Borrowings and finance lease obligations continued
a. Borrowings
Maturity profile of committed borrowing facilities
The Group’s debt is provided by floating rate bilateral revolving credit facilities of £488.0m (providing the flexibility to draw and repay loans 
as required) together with an £80.0m retail bond and a £100.0m convertible bond. The maturity profile of the Group’s committed borrowing 
facilities is set out below:

2017

2016

Drawn(1)
£m

Undrawn
£m

Total
£m

Drawn(1)
£m

Undrawn
£m

Total
£m

Secured floating rate borrowings:

One to two years

Two to three years

Three to four years

Four to five years

 13.8 

 – 

 240.5 

 – 

 111.2 

 – 

 122.5 

 – 

 125.0 

 – 

 363.0 

 – 

Total secured floating rate borrowings

 254.3 

 233.7 

 488.0 

Unsecured fixed rate borrowings:

One to two years

Two to three years

 180.6 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 180.6 

 – 

Total committed borrowing facilities

 434.9 

 233.7 

 668.6 

 – 

 23.2 

 – 

 271.0 

 294.2 

 – 

 176.4 

 470.6 

 – 

 101.8 

 – 

92.0

 193.8 

 – 

 – 

 193.8

 – 

 125.0 

 – 

363.0

 488.0 

 – 

 176.4 

 664.4 

(1) In addition to the principal amounts included above, £1.6m (2016: £1.6m) of interest payable was committed at the year end. These amounts all fall due within three months 

of the year end.

Interest rate profile
The interest rate profile of the Group’s borrowings after taking into account the effects of hedging is:

Floating rate bank debt 

Fixed rate bank debt

2017

2016

£m Applicable interest rate

£m Applicable interest rate

 75.3  Margin + 3-month LIBOR

 139.2  Margin + 3-month LIBOR

 179.0  Margin + 2.22% weighted 
average swap rate

 155.0  Margin + 2.10% weighted 
average swap rate

Retail bond (matures in 2019)

 80.0  6.25% fixed rate

 80.0  6.25% fixed rate

Convertible bond (matures in 2019)

 100.6  2.875% fixed rate

 96.4  2.875% fixed rate – swapped 

to 1.43% + 6-month LIBOR 
until 6 March 2017.

Total borrowings

 434.9 

 470.6 

Convertible bond
On 6 March 2014 St. Modwen Properties Securities (Jersey) Limited (the ‘Issuer’) issued £100.0m 2.875% Guaranteed Convertible Bonds 
due 2019 at par. The Company has unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed the due and punctual performance by the issuer of all its 
obligations (including payments) in respect of the convertible bonds and the obligations of the Company, as Guarantor, constitute direct, 
unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the Company.

Subject to certain conditions, the convertible bond is convertible into preference shares of the Issuer which are automatically transferred to 
the Company in exchange for ordinary shares in the Company or (at the Company’s election) any combination of ordinary shares and cash. 
The convertible bond can be converted at any time from 16 April 2014 up to the seventh dealing day before the maturity date. 

The initial exchange price was £5.29 per ordinary share, a conversion rate of approximately 18,889 ordinary shares for every £100,000 
nominal of the convertible bond. Under the terms of the convertible bond, the exchange price is adjusted on the occurrence of certain 
events including the payment of dividends by the Company in excess of a yield of 1.00% of the average share price in the 90 days preceding 
the dividend ex date. The exchange price has been modified during the year ended 30 November 2017 due to the payment of dividends 
and now stands at £5.21 per ordinary share, a conversion rate of approximately 19,177 ordinary shares for every £100,000 nominal.

The convertible bond may be redeemed at par at the Company’s option subject to the Company’s ordinary share price having traded at 
30% above the conversion price for a specified period, or at any time once 85% of the convertible bond has been traded or cancelled. If not 
previously converted, redeemed or purchased and cancelled, the convertible bond will be redeemed at par on 6 March 2019.

156

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017A total of £100.0m nominal value of the convertible bond was issued and remains outstanding at 30 November 2017. The convertible bond 
is designated as at fair value through profit and loss and so is presented on the balance sheet at fair value with all gains and losses taken to 
the Group income statement. At 30 November 2017 the fair value of the convertible bond was £100.6m (2016: £96.4m) with the change in 
fair value charged to the Group income statement. The convertible bond is listed on the Official List of the Channel Islands Security Exchange. 

b. Financial instruments classified at fair value through profit or loss
The Group’s derivative financial instruments, which are classified as fair value through profit or loss, consist of sterling denominated interest 
swaps. The change in fair value of all derivative financial instruments charged or credited to the Group income statement is disclosed in 
note 4. Further detail of the instruments held by the Group are detailed below:

Sterling denominated interest swaps from fixed rate to floating rate
Following the issue of the convertible bond disclosed above, the Group was in an over-hedged position with an excess of debt at fixed rate. 
In order to reduce the level of fixed rate borrowings an interest rate derivative was entered into to swap the interest rate in the convertible 
bond from a fixed rate of 2.875% to a floating rate of 6-month LIBOR plus 1.43% through to its third anniversary in March 2017. This swap 
has now terminated and no fixed to floating rate swaps are held at 30 November 2017.

Sterling denominated interest swaps from floating rate to fixed rate
These swaps hedge the Group’s floating rate bank debt as at 30 November 2017. The fixed rates for these swaps range from 0.49% to 5.16% 
(2016: 0.49% to 5.16%) and details of their maturity profile are given below. Certain of the interest rate swaps are extendable at the bank’s 
option; the tables below therefore show the dates of normal termination and extended termination. The weighted average maturity of the 
interest rate swaps below to the earliest termination date is 2.4 years (2016: 3.6 years).

Less than one year

One to two years

Two to three years

Three to four years

Four to five years

Earliest 
termination
£m

 10.0 

 75.0 

 10.0 

 84.0 

 – 

2017

Latest 
termination
£m

%(1)

 5.16 

 2.98 

 1.60 

 1.26 

 – 

 10.0 

 75.0 

 10.0 

 84.0 

 – 

Earliest 
termination
£m

 11.0 

 – 

 50.0 

 10.0 

 84.0 

%(1)

 5.16 

 2.98 

 1.60 

 1.26 

 – 

Total floating rate to fixed rate swaps

 179.0 

 2.22 

 179.0 

 2.22 

 155.0 

2016

Latest 
termination
£m

%(1)

 4.87 

 – 

 3.00 

 1.60 

 1.26 

 2.10 

 1.0 

 10.0 

 50.0 

 10.0 

 84.0 

 155.0 

%(1)

 2.01 

 5.16 

 3.00 

 1.60 

 1.26 

 2.10 

(1) Weighted average interest rate.

Forward starting sterling denominated interest swaps from floating rate to fixed rate 
The Group does not have any forward starting swaps as at 30 November 2017, but has previously held such swaps to provide continuity 
of hedging beyond the term of the interest rate swaps and to increase interest rate certainty through to bank facility renewal dates. At 
30 November 2016, the Group had £25.0m of swaps commencing in less than one year and terminating in two to three years. The fixed 
rates for these swaps ranged from 2.90% to 2.97%, with a weighted average interest rate of 2.96%.

c. Obligations under finance leases
Finance lease liabilities payable in respect of certain leasehold investment properties are as follows:

2017

2016

Minimum lease 
payments
£m

Interest
£m

Principal
£m

Minimum lease 
payments
£m

Less than one year

Between one and five years

More than five years

Total obligations under finance leases

 2.9 

 11.6 

 113.2 

 127.7 

 2.3 

 9.1 

 59.3 

 70.7 

 0.6 

 2.5 

 53.9 

 57.0 

 2.7 

 13.6 

 163.7 

 180.0 

Interest
£m

 2.3 

 11.2 

 109.7 

 123.2 

Principal
£m

 0.4 

 2.4 

 54.0 

 56.8 

Finance leases are for periods of up to 999 years from inception and a discount rate of 6.0% (2016: 6.0%) has been used to derive the fair 
value of the principal amount outstanding. All lease obligations are denominated in sterling.

157

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

16. Operating leases
Operating lease commitments where the Group is the lessee
The Group leases certain of its premises, motor vehicles and office equipment under operating leases. Future aggregate minimum lease 
rentals payable under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

In one year or less

Between one and five years

In five years or more

Total minimum lease rentals payable

2017
£m

 1.1 

 1.9 

 – 

 3.0 

2016
£m

 1.5 

 2.1 

 0.1 

 3.7 

Operating leases where the Group is the lessor
The Group leases its investment properties to tenants under operating leases. The future aggregate minimum rentals receivable under 
non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

In one year or less

Between one and five years

In five years or more

Total minimum lease rentals receivable

2017
£m

 48.6 

 144.1 

 736.6 

 929.3 

2016
£m

 43.6 

 126.4 

 743.4 

 913.4 

Contingent rents, calculated as a percentage of turnover for a limited number of tenants, of £0.8m (2016: £0.7m) were recognised during the year.

17. Financial instruments
a. Categories and classes of financial assets and liabilities

2017
£m

 0.5 

 55.3 

 0.8 

 56.6 

2017
£m

 254.3 

 80.0 

 107.6 

 32.0 

 57.0 

 100.6 

 4.8 

 636.3 

2016
£m

 4.2 

 86.7 

 1.6 

 92.5 

2016
£m

 294.2 

 80.0 

 96.0 

 12.3 

 56.8 

 96.4 

 8.8 

 644.5 

Loans and receivables:(1)

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Fair value through profit and loss:(2)

Derivative financial instruments

Total financial assets

Amortised cost:(1)

Bank loans and overdrafts

Retail bond

Trade and other payables

Other payables on deferred terms

Finance lease liabilities (head rents)

Fair value through profit and loss:(2)

Convertible bond

Derivative financial instruments

Total financial liabilities

(1) The directors consider that the carrying amounts recorded in the financial statements approximate their fair value.

(2) Fair values are calculated using quoted market prices relevant for the term and instrument. 

158

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Trade and other receivables above comprise other debtors, trade receivables and amounts due from joint ventures as disclosed in note 12, 
for current and non-current amounts, after deduction of £2.7m (2016 (restated): £2.2m) of non-financial assets.

Trade and other payables above comprise trade payables, amounts due from joint ventures and other payables and accrued expenses as 
disclosed in note 14, for current and non-current amounts, after deduction of £48.0m (2016: £45.8m) of non-financial liabilities.

Derivative financial instruments and the convertible bond are externally valued based on the present value of future cash flows estimated 
and discounted based on the applicable yield curves derived from market expectations for future interest rates at the balance sheet date. 
Where applicable, the value of early termination or conversion options in favour of the issuing party are included in the external valuations. 
The following table sets out the net assets and liabilities in respect of financial instruments held at fair value through profit and loss:

Derivative financial instrument assets

Derivative financial instrument liabilities

Convertible bond liability

Net financial liability held at fair value through profit and loss

Level 2

Level 2

Level 2

2017
£m

 0.8 

 (4.8)

 (100.6)

 (104.6)

2016
£m

 1.6 

 (8.8)

 (96.4)

 (103.6)

b. Risk management objectives
Capital risk
The Group manages its capital to ensure that the entities in the Group will be able to continue as a going concern while maximising the 
return to shareholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance. The capital structure of the Company consists of debt 
(as disclosed in note 15), cash and cash equivalents and equity, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed 
in the Group statement of changes in equity.

Market risk
Market risk is the potential adverse change in the Group’s income or the Group’s net worth arising from movements in interest rates or other 
market prices. Interest rate risk is the Group’s principal market risk and the Group is exposed to interest rate risk as some of its borrowings 
are at variable interest rates. The Group uses a combination of variable rate borrowings and interest rate swaps to manage the risk.

The following table details the Group’s sensitivity, after tax, to a reasonably possible 1% change in interest rates based on year end levels of debt:

Interest on borrowings

Effect of interest rate swaps

Net impact on profit of a 1% increase in interest rates

Interest on borrowings

Effect of interest rate swaps

Net impact on profit of a 1% decrease in interest rates

2017 
£m

 (2.1)

 1.4 

 (0.7)

2017 
£m

 2.1 

 (1.4)

 0.7 

2016 
£m

 (2.3)

 0.4 

 (1.9)

2016 
£m

 2.3 

 (0.4)

 1.9 

159

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

17. Financial instruments continued
Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk of financial loss where counterparties are not able to meet their obligations as they fall due.

The credit risk on the Group’s liquid funds and derivative financial instruments is limited because the counterparties are banks with strong 
(generally A and above) credit ratings. Bank deposits are only placed with banks in accordance with Group policy that specifies minimum 
credit rating and maximum exposure. Credit risk on derivatives is closely monitored. 

Trade and other receivables consist of amounts due from a large number of parties spread across geographical areas. The Group does not 
have any significant concentrations of credit risk as the tenant base is large and diverse with the largest individual tenant accounting for 
£8.1m (2016: £7.2m) of gross rental income.

The carrying amount of financial assets, as detailed above, represents the Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date.

Included within trade and other receivables is £0.8m (2016: £0.6m) which is provided against as it represents estimated irrecoverable 
amounts. This allowance has been determined by a review of all significant balances that are past due considering the reason for non-
payment and the creditworthiness of the counterparty. A reconciliation of the changes in this account during the year is provided below:

At start of year

Impairment losses recognised

Amounts written off as uncollectable

Impairment losses reversed

At end of year

2017 
£m

 0.6 

 0.5 

 (0.2)

 (0.1)

 0.8 

2016 
£m

 0.4 

 0.4 

 (0.1)

 (0.1)

 0.6 

Trade and other receivables include £2.3m (2016: £1.5m) which are past due as at 30 November 2017 for which no provision has been made 
because the amounts are considered recoverable. The following table provides an ageing analysis of these balances:

1-30 days

31-60 days

60 days +

Total trade and other receivables past due but not impaired

2017 
£m

 0.6 

 0.6 

 1.1 

 2.3 

2016 
£m

 0.5 

 0.2 

 0.8 

 1.5 

160

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group does not have sufficient financial resources available to meet its obligations as they fall due. The Group 
manages liquidity risk by continuously monitoring forecast and actual cash flows, matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities 
and through the use of fixed rate bilateral facilities, overdrafts and cash with a range of maturity dates to ensure continuity of funding. 

The maturity profile for the cash flows of the Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities, on an undiscounted basis is as follows:

Less than 
one month
£m

One to three 
months
£m

Three months 
to one year
£m

2017

Bank loans and overdrafts and bonds

Trade and other payables

Finance leases – minimum lease payments 
(note 15)

Other payables on deferred terms

Total cash flows

 0.1 

 62.9 

 0.7 

 – 

 63.7 

 4.0 

 1.0 

 – 

 – 

 5.0 

 12.1 

 55.6 

 2.2 

 20.4 

 90.3 

2016

Bank loans and overdrafts and bonds

Trade and other payables

Finance leases – minimum lease payments 
(note 15)

Other payables on deferred terms

Total cash flows

Less than 
one month
£m

One to three 
months
£m

Three months 
to one year
£m

 0.6 

 60.3 

 0.7 

 – 

 61.6 

 3.5 

 3.6 

 – 

 – 

 7.1 

 12.0 

 32.1 

 2.0 

 8.7 

 54.8 

One to 
five years
£m

 471.7 

 20.1 

 11.6 

 11.6 

 515.0 

One to 
five years
£m

 533.3 

 – 

 13.6 

 3.6 

 550.5 

More than 
five years
£m

 – 

 – 

 113.2 

 – 

 113.2 

More than 
five years
£m

 – 

 – 

 163.7 

 – 

 163.7 

Total
£m

 487.9 

 139.6 

 127.7 

 32.0 

 787.2 

Total
£m

 549.4 

 96.0 

 180.0 

 12.3 

 837.7 

The Group’s approach to cash flow, financing and bank covenants is discussed further in the financial review section of the strategic report.

18. Share capital

At start of year

Issue of shares

At end of year

2017

2016

Ordinary 10p shares
Number

Equity share capital
£m

Ordinary 10p shares
Number

Equity share capital
£m

 221,876,988 

 500,000 

 222,376,988 

 22.2 

 – 

 22.2 

 221,876,988 

 – 

 221,876,988 

 22.2 

 – 

 22.2 

The Company has a single class of share capital which is divided into ordinary shares of 10 pence each, all ranking pari passu. Each share carries 
the right to one vote at general meetings of the Company. The holders of ordinary shares are entitled to receive dividends when declared.

During the year ended 30 November 2017, the Group issued 500,000 Ordinary shares of 10p each at par. The shares were allotted and 
issued to The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust to satisfy the exercise of awards made under the Company’s share-based 
incentive arrangements. No shares were issued during the year ended 30 November 2016. See note 4d for details of outstanding options 
to acquire ordinary shares.

Excluding 519,906 (2016: 269,334) of own shares held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust, shares in issue at 
30 November 2017 are 221,857,082 (2016: 221,607,654).

161

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

19. Pensions
The Group operates a UK-based pension scheme, the St. Modwen Pension Scheme, with both defined benefit and defined contribution 
sections. The defined benefit section is closed to new members and, from 1 September 2009, future accrual. The Group income statement 
includes the following charges:

Defined benefit section

Defined contribution section

2017
£m

 0.2 

 0.9 

2016
£m

 0.3 

 0.8 

The St. Modwen Pension Scheme is governed by the trustee company, St. Modwen Pensions Limited. It is regulated by the UK regulatory 
regime, overseen by the Pensions Regulator.

The last formal actuarial valuation of the scheme was at 5 April 2014, when the market value of the net assets of the scheme was £38m and 
the funding level was 97% based on the Trustees’ proposed assumptions for technical provisions. The main actuarial assumptions were:

Investment rate of return (pre-retirement): 

Investment rate of return (post-retirement): 

Increase in pensions 

% per annum

 5.6 

 3.8 

 2.7 

The formal actuarial valuation of the scheme as of 5 April 2017 has not been completed at the date of signing these financial statements.

Funding policy
As the scheme is almost fully funded, the current schedule of contributions requires the Group to fund the Scheme to such an extent as 
to cover administrative expenses only. The contribution for the year ended 30 November 2018 is expected to be £nil, consistent with the 
current year contributions of £nil. From 1 January 2015 the administrative expenses have been met by St. Modwen Properties PLC.

The actuarial valuation of the defined benefit section, a final salary scheme, was updated to 30 November 2017 on an IAS basis by a 
qualified independent actuary. The valuation was performed using the Projected Unit Credit Method under IAS 19. The major assumptions 
used by the actuary were:

Rate of increase in deferred pensions 

Rate of increase in pensions in payment (pre 6 April 1997 benefits)

Rate of increase in pensions in payment (post 5 April 1997 benefits)

Discount rate 

Inflation assumption 

2017
%

 2.30 

 2.55 

 3.20 

 2.60 

 2.30 

2016
%

 2.40 

 2.55 

 3.30 

 2.80 

 2.40 

Following the closure of the defined benefit section to future accrual, the assumption regarding the rate of increase in salaries is no longer 
applicable as retirement benefits will be based on salaries at 31 August 2009. Benefits earned up to the point of the scheme closure will be 
protected and will be increased in line with inflation, subject to a maximum of 5% per annum. From 2010 the basis of the inflation assumption 
has been amended, in line with market practice, from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index. 

The mortality rates adopted are from 85% of the S2PxA tables with CMI 2016 core model (previously the VITA Tables with CMI_2013 ‘core’ 
projections) and a long-term improvement of 1.25% per annum (previously 1% per annum with peaked short-term improvements and 
improvements remaining level at the oldest ages). The resultant assumptions are, for example:

•  Average future life expectancy (in years) for a pensioner aged 65 at 30 November 2017: 23.4 (male) and 25.2 (female).

•  Average future life expectancy (in years) at age 65 for a non-pensioner aged 40 at 30 November 2017: 25.2 (male) and 27.1 (female).

162

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Analysis of the fair value of assets

Equities:

UK equity

Overseas equity

Debt securities:

UK corporate bonds

Overseas corporate bonds

UK Government bonds

UK index-linked gilts

Derivatives

Investment fund

Property 

Infrastructure

Cash

Fair value of assets

Actuarial value of liabilities

Unrecognised surplus

Recognised surplus in the scheme 

Related deferred tax liability

Fair value of pension asset net of deferred tax

2017
£m

 – 

 5.6 

 1.0 

5.6

–

 9.0 

0.1

5.3

 4.8 

 – 

 0.6 

 32.0 

 (28.8)

 (3.2)

 – 

 – 

 – 

The cumulative amount of actuarial gains and losses (before the unrecognised surplus of £3.2m) recorded in the Group statement of 
comprehensive income is a loss of £4.4m (2016: £3.4m).

Analysis of the amounts recognised in the Group income statement

Recognised within administrative expenses

Current service cost and total operating charge

Recognised within finance costs and finance income

Interest income on scheme assets

Interest on pension scheme liabilities

Total net interest

Total recognised in the Group income statement

The actual return on pension scheme assets was a gain of £2.5m (2016: £3.5m).

Analysis of the amount recognised in the Group statement of comprehensive income

The returns on scheme assets (excluding amounts included in net interest)

Experience gains and losses arising on fair value of scheme liabilities 

Actuarial gains and losses arising from changes in demographic assumptions

Actuarial gains and losses arising from changes in financial assumptions

Change in unrecognised surplus

Remeasurement of the net defined benefit asset

2017
£m

 (0.3)

 0.9 

 (0.8)

 0.1 

 (0.2)

2017
£m

 1.6 

 0.5 

 (0.5)

 (0.5)

 (1.2)

 (0.1)

2016
£m

 3.5 

 2.5 

 6.9 

 1.9 

 0.3 

 10.0 

–

–

 4.7 

 0.3 

 1.3 

 31.4 

 (29.4)

 (2.0)

 – 

 – 

 – 

2016
£m

 (0.4)

 1.0 

 (0.9)

 0.1 

 (0.3)

2016
£m

 2.5 

 0.4 

 – 

 (3.3)

 0.3 

 (0.1)

163

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

19. Pensions continued
Analysis of the movement in the present value of the scheme liabilities

At start of year

Interest cost

Experience gains and losses arising on fair value of scheme liabilities 

Actuarial gains and losses arising from changes in demographic assumptions

Actuarial gains and losses arising from changes in financial assumptions

Benefits paid

At end of year

Analysis of the movement in the fair value of the scheme assets

At start of year

Interest income

Return on assets excluding amounts included in net interest

Benefits paid

At end of year

Information about the defined benefit obligation

2017
£m

 29.4 

 0.8 

 (0.5)

 0.5 

 0.5 

 (1.9)

 28.8 

2017
£m

 31.4 

 0.9 

 1.6 

 (1.9)

 32.0 

Active members

Deferred members

Pensioners

Total

2017

Liability split
%

 – 

27

73

 100 

Duration
years

 – 

19

12

 14 

2016

Liability split
%

 – 

 36 

 64 

 100 

2016
£m

 27.5 

 0.9 

 (0.4)

 – 

 3.3 

 (1.9)

 29.4 

2016
£m

 29.8 

 1.0 

 2.5 

 (1.9)

 31.4 

Duration
years

 – 

 19 

 11 

 14 

Risk factors
The Group is exposed to a number of risks related to its defined benefit scheme, the most significant of which are detailed below:

Asset volatility
Pension scheme liabilities are calculated using discount rates set with reference to bond yields. If the assets within the scheme deliver 
a return which is lower than the discount rate this will create or increase a deficit within the scheme. This risk is reduced by holding 
a significant proportion of the scheme assets in matching assets (bonds or similar). As the scheme matures, it is anticipated that this 
proportion will increase to better match the assets and liabilities of the scheme.

Changes in bond yields
A decrease in bond yields will typically increase liabilities, although this will be partially offset by an appreciation in the value of scheme 
assets held in bonds.

Inflation risk
As the pension obligations are linked to inflation, higher inflation expectations will lead to higher liabilities. The asset portfolio includes 
a significant proportion of inflation linked bonds to reduce this risk.

Member longevity
The pension obligations provide benefits for the life of the members, therefore increases in life expectancy will result in an increase 
in liabilities (and vice-versa).

Sensitivity analysis
Change in assumptions compared with 30 November 2017 actuarial assumptions:

•  A 0.5% decrease in the discount rate would increase the actuarial value of liabilities by £2.1m to £30.9m.

•  A one-year increase in life expectancy would increase the actuarial value of liabilities by £1.4m to £30.2m.

•  A 0.5% increase in the inflation rate would increase the actuarial value of liabilities by £1.4m to £30.2m.

•  A 0.5% increase in the rate of increase in deferred pensions would increase the actuarial value of liabilities by £0.2m to £29.0m.

•  A 0.5% increase in the rate of increase in pensions in payments would increase the actuarial value of liabilities by £1.2m to £30.0m.

164

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 201720. Capital commitments
At 30 November 2017 the Group had contracted capital expenditure of £38.8m (2016: £21.6m). In addition the Group’s share of the 
contracted capital expenditure of its joint venture undertakings was £9.0m (2016: £8.9m). All capital commitments relate to investment 
properties.

21. Contingent liabilities
The Group has a joint and several unlimited liability with VINCI PLC and the Ministry of Defence under guarantees in respect of the financial 
performance of VSM Estates (Holdings) Limited. This is a guarantee in the ordinary course of business and would require the guarantors to 
step into VSM’s place in the event of a default on Project MoDEL. Completion of the project is not considered onerous as the forecast 
revenues exceed the anticipated costs and it is not expected that there would be any net outflow in this regard.

The Group, together with VINCI PLC, has provided a joint and several guarantee in respect of the obligations of VSM (NCGM) Limited relating 
to the redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market, London. This is a guarantee in the ordinary course of business and would require the 
guarantors to comply with the terms of the development agreement and to indemnify Covent Garden Market Authority against any breach 
of those terms.

The Group, together with Salhia Real Estate K.S.C., has provided a parent company guarantee in respect of the £70.0m bank facility provided 
to Key Property Investments Limited. The guarantee provided by the Group is capped at 50% of the total commitment under the agreement 
from time to time, limiting the Group guarantee to £35.0m as at 30 November 2017.

St. Modwen Properties PLC has guaranteed the liabilities of the following subsidiaries in order that they qualify for the exemption from audit 
under Section 479A of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of the year ended 30 November 2017:

Name of subsidiary

Blackpole Trading Estate (1978) Limited

Broomford Vange Limited

Coed Darcy Estates Management Limited

Festival Waters Limited

Glan Llyn Management Limited

Holaw (462) Limited

Shaw Park Developments Limited

St. Modwen (SAC1) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Connah’s Quay) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Eccles) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Hillington) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Holderness) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Hull) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Kirkby 2) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Longbridge) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Weston) Limited

St. Modwen Hungerford Limited

St. Modwen Securities Limited

Company registration number

00581658

05697168

07848407

04354481

07848409

03666441

04625000

08296927

05726352

05867740

04150262

05726995

05593517

09746395

02885028

05411348

06160323

00460301

165

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE GROUP 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

22. Related party transactions
All related party transactions involving directors, and those involving a change in the level of the Group’s interest in non-wholly owned 
subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates are specifically reviewed and approved by the Board. Monitoring and management of 
transactions between the Group and its non-wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates is delegated to the executive 
directors. All related party transactions are clearly justified and beneficial to the Group, are undertaken on an arm’s-length basis on fully 
commercial terms and in the normal course of business. Related party transactions are detailed as follows:

Joint ventures and associates
The following table sets out the income and expenditure with joint ventures and associates during the year, together with the balances 
outstanding at the year end: 

Barton Business Park Limited

Baglan Bay Company Limited

Coed Darcy Limited

Key Property Investments Limited

Meaford Energy Limited

Meaford Land Limited

Skypark Development Partnership LLP(1)

VSM (NCGM) Limited

VSM Estates (Ashchurch) Limited

VSM Estates (Holdings) Limited

VSM Estates Uxbridge (Group) Limited(2)

Wrexham Land Limited

Wrexham Power Limited

Total

2017

2016

Management 
fee income/ 
(expense)
£m

Interest 
income/ 
(expense)
£m

Funding 
repaid/ 
(provided)
£m

Balance 
receivable/ 
(payable)
£m

Management 
fee income/ 
(expense)
£m

Interest 
income/ 
(expense)
£m

Funding 
repaid/ 
(provided)
£m

Balance 
receivable/ 
(payable)
£m

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.3 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.3 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.6 

 3.8 

 – 

 1.8 

 1.7 

 – 

 – 

 7.9 

 (0.1)

 (0.1)

 0.2 

 (0.8)

 – 

 – 

 (2.7)

 49.3 

 0.2 

 11.4 

 15.3 

 – 

 (0.2)

 72.5 

 (3.7)

 0.1 

 (0.2)

 2.1 

 0.5 

 0.1 

 4.8 

 (21.1)

 – 

 (9.6)

 11.3 

 0.1 

 1.7 

 (13.9)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.7 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.7 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.1 

 2.2 

 – 

 0.4 

 2.5 

 – 

 – 

 5.2 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 1.0 

 (0.2)

 (0.1)

 0.5 

 (17.6)

 – 

 – 

 (0.2)

 – 

 (0.3)

 (16.9)

 (3.8)

 – 

 – 

 1.0 

 0.5 

 0.1 

 1.5 

 24.4 

 0.2 

 – 

 24.9 

 0.1 

 1.5 

 50.4 

(1) Included within the balance due to the Group at the year end was £1.5m (2016: £1.5m) of loan notes.

(2) Included within the balance due to the Group at the year end was £nil (2016: £6.0m) of loan notes.

Pension
The Group occupies offices owned by the St. Modwen Pension Scheme with an annual rental payable of £0.1m (2016: £0.1m). The balance 
due to the Group at year end was £0.1m (2016: £0.1m).

Non-wholly owned subsidiaries
The Company provides administrative and management services and provides a central purchase ledger system to subsidiary companies. 
In addition, the Company also operates a central treasury function which lends to and borrows from subsidiary undertakings as 
appropriate. The following table sets out the income and expenditure during the year, together with the balances outstanding at the year 
end, with subsidiaries in which the Company has a less than 90% interest:

2017

2016

Interest income/ 
(expense)
£m

Balance receivable/ 
(payable)
£m

Interest income/ 
(expense)
£m

Balance receivable/ 
(payable)
£m

Norton & Proffitt Developments Limited

Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration (Investments) Limited

Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration Limited

Uttoxter Estates Limited

Widnes Regeneration Limited

Total

 0.2 

 – 

 (0.2)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 11.8 

 (0.6)

 (9.1)

 (0.4) 

 (1.5)

 0.2 

 – 

 – 

 0.4 

 – 

 – 

 0.4 

 5.7 

 (0.6)

 (21.0)

 1.9 

 (1.5)

 (15.5)

All amounts due to the Group are unsecured, will be settled in cash and are stated before provisions for doubtful debts of £nil (2016: £nil). 
No guarantees have been given or received from related parties.

Key management personnel
The directors are considered to be the Group’s key management personnel and their remuneration is disclosed in the directors’ 
remuneration report.

166

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 201723. Subsequent events
Completion of refinancing
The Group completed its refinancing in December 2017, replacing £488.0m of bilateral secured debt facilities with a £475.0m unsecured 
revolving credit facility with an initial maturity of five years which can be extended to a maximum of seven years, subject to lender consent. 
In line with our strategic plans, the refinancing provides a reduced cost of debt and improved operational flexibility.

The transition to unsecured debt financing provides the Group with the option to extend further its debt maturity profile and diversify its 
sources of unsecured finance ahead of the maturity of the Group’s £100.0m convertible bond and £80.0m retail bond in 2019. In doing so, 
the Group settled its balance sheet liability for out of the money interest rate swaps for a cash outlay of £5.1m and entered into an interest 
rate cap. This hedging activity will result in initial annual savings of c. £2.5m. A non-cash expense of an £3.4m will be recognised in the first 
half of the Group’s 2018 financial year in respect of capitalised arrangement fees relating to the previous facilities. These actions increased the 
Group’s weighted average facility life 2.7 years at 30 November 2017 to 4.1 years (or to 5.5 years if the two one-year extensions are applied).

Sale of Swansea student accommodation
In February 2018, the Group completed the sale of its 45-year leasehold interest in its purpose-built student accommodation at Swansea 
University Bay Campus for a total cash consideration of £87.3m to UPP Group Limited, a specialist provider of on-campus student 
accommodation infrastructure and support services. The assets that have been sold comprise the Group’s interests in the completed 
student accommodation buildings, including ancillary commercial leases. The sale is by way of a disposal of the entire issued share capital 
of St. Modwen Properties VIII S.à.r.l. and St. Modwen (SAC 2) Limited and certain freehold interests.

The planned disposal follows a competitive sales process and was broadly in line with book value. The gross consideration for the 45-year 
leasehold asset is £139.3m, representing a yield of 5.7%, with a cash consideration of £87.3m reflecting the transfer of the associated finance 
lease liability. The disposal will result in the reduction of c. £5.8m of net rental income compared to 2017, offset by the reduction of £2.1m 
of interest payable on finance lease obligations.

167

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationCOMPANY BALANCE SHEET
as at 30 November 2017

Non-current assets

Investment properties

Operating plant and equipment

Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures

Trade and other receivables

Deferred tax

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Derivative financial instruments

Tax receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Derivative financial instruments

Non-current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Borrowings

Net assets

Capital and reserves

Called up share capital

Share premium account

Retained earnings

Fair value reserve

Share incentive reserve

Own shares

Other reserves

Total equity

Notes

B

C

D

E

F

E

G

G

H

2017 
£m

 – 

 1.5 

 773.5 

 475.0 

 2.7 

 1,252.7 

 530.4 

 0.8 

 13.7 

 0.3 

 545.2 

 (411.0)

 (5.8)

 (416.8)

 (107.5)

 (273.3)

 (380.8)

 1,000.3 

 22.2 

 102.8 

 336.1 

 489.6 

 5.1 

 (1.7)

 46.2 

 1,000.3 

2016 
£m

 0.3 

 0.5 

 735.7 

 6.0 

 2.8 

 745.3 

 967.2 

 0.8 

 4.5 

 4.0 

 976.5 

 (350.0)

 (8.8)

 (358.8)

 (94.4)

 (313.4)

 (407.8)

 955.2 

 22.2 

 102.8 

 350.1 

 429.6 

 4.9 

 (0.6)

 46.2 

 955.2 

These financial statements were approved by the Board and authorised for issue on 5 February 2018.

Mark Allan 
Chief Executive

Rob Hudson 
Chief Financial Officer

Company Number: 00349201

168

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017COMPANY STATEMENT OF CHANGES 
IN EQUITY
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Equity at 30 November 2015

Profit for the year

Pension fund actuarial losses (note 19)

Total comprehensive income for the year

Share-based payments

Deferred tax on share-based payments

Settlement of share-based payments

Transfer of unrealised losses to fair 
value reserve

Dividends paid (note 8)

Share 
capital
£m

 22.2 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

Share 
premium 
account
£m

Retained 
earnings
£m

Fair value 
reserve
£m

Share 
incentive 
reserve
£m

Own shares
£m

Other 
reserves
£m

Total equity
£m

 102.8 

 24.9 

 767.3 

 5.2 

 (1.0)

 46.2 

 967.6 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.5 

 (0.1)

 0.4 

 – 

 – 

 (0.1)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 337.7 

 (12.8)

 (337.7)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 1.6 

 (0.8)

 (1.1)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.4 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 0.5 

 (0.1)

 0.4 

 1.6 

 (0.8)

 (0.8)

 – 

 (12.8)

Equity at 30 November 2016

 22.2 

 102.8 

 350.1 

 429.6 

 4.9 

 (0.6)

 46.2 

 955.2 

Profit for the year

Pension fund actuarial losses (note 19)

Total comprehensive income for the year

Share-based payments

Deferred tax on share-based payments

Settlement of share-based payments

Transfer of unrealised gains to fair 
value reserve

Dividends paid (note 8)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 59.6 

 (0.1)

 59.5 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (60.0)

 (13.5)

 60.0 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 1.8 

 0.3 

 (1.9)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 (1.1)

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 59.6 

 (0.1)

 59.5 

 1.8 

 0.3 

 (3.0)

 – 

 (13.5)

Equity at 30 November 2017

 22.2 

 102.8 

 336.1 

 489.6 

 5.1 

 (1.7)

 46.2 

 1,000.3 

Own shares represent the cost of 519,906 (2016: 269,334) shares held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust. The open 
market value of the shares held at 30 November 2017 was £2,031,793 (2016: £754,135). In addition the Trust has £0.1m (2016: £0.1m) of cash 
and an intercompany receivable of £17.4m (2016: £14.9m), that can only be used for the benefit of employees.

The other reserves comprise a capital redemption reserve of £0.3m (2016: £0.3m) and the balance of net proceeds in excess of the nominal 
value of shares arising from an equity placing in 2013 of £45.9m (2016: £45.9m).

Unrealised gains and losses arising from the revaluations of investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures and investment properties are 
recognised with profit for the year and subsequently transferred to the fair value reserve.

169

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationCOMPANY ACCOUNTING POLICIES
for the year ended 30 November 2017

Basis of preparation
The Company meets the definition of a qualifying entity under FRS 100 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements. Accordingly, the 
Company’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework as issued by the Financial 
Reporting Council, applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except for the revaluation of certain properties, derivative financial 
instruments and the defined benefit section of the Company’s pension scheme.

The Company has taken advantage of the disclosure exemptions included within paragraph 8 of FRS 101. The main impact of these 
disclosure exemptions is that these separate financial statements do not include a cash flow statement, financial instruments and related 
party disclosures and comparative information for plant and equipment and investment properties.

Certain disclosures required for the Company are included within the Group financial statements and are therefore not repeated within 
these separate financial statements. Specifically, the following information relevant to the Company is found in the respective notes to the 
Group financial statements:

•  Share-based payments (note 4d)

•  Dividends (note 8)

•  Share capital (note 18)

•  Pensions (note 19)

•  Contingent liabilities (note 21)

•  Related party transactions (note 22)

The Company’s functional and presentational currency is pounds sterling and its principal accounting policies are as set out for the Group 
on pages 126 to 132, except for the additional policy below:

Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures
The Company recognises its investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures using the equity method of accounting. Under the equity 
method, the interest in the subsidiary or joint venture is carried in the Company balance sheet at cost plus post-acquisition changes in the 
Company’s share of its net assets, less distributions received and less any impairment in value of individual investments. The income 
statement reflects the Company’s share of the subsidiary’s or joint venture’s results after interest and tax.

170

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017NOTES TO THE COMPANY 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017

A. Income statement disclosures
a. Result for the financial year
The Company has taken advantage of Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not included its own income statement or 
statement of comprehensive income in these financial statements. The Company’s profit for the year ended 30 November 2017 was £59.6m 
(2016: £0.5m).

b. Auditor’s remuneration
The table below sets out the fees payable to the Company’s auditor and their associates for the following services:

The audit of the Company’s annual report 
and financial statements

Total audit fees

Audit-related assurance services

Other assurance services

Other

Total non-audit fees

Total fees

2017

Audit and 
audit-related 
services
£’000

Other services
£’000

 125 

 125 

 50 

 – 

 – 

 50 

 175 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

2016

Audit and 
audit-related 
services
£’000

Other services
£’000

 130 

 130 

 50 

 25 

 – 

 75 

 205 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 – 

 2 

 2 

 2 

Total
£’000

 125 

 125 

 50 

 – 

 – 

 50 

 175 

Total
£’000

 130 

 130 

 50 

 25 

 2 

 77 

 207

Fees in 2017 are payable to KPMG LLP and fees in 2016 were payable to Deloitte LLP.

B. Investment property
The fair value of long leasehold investment property at 30 November 2017 was £nil (2016: £0.3m) as the Company disposed of its property 
during the year.

Investment properties were valued at 30 November 2016 by Cushman & Wakefield, Chartered Surveyors, in accordance with the Appraisal 
and Valuation Manual of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, on the basis of market value. Cushman & Wakefield are professionally 
qualified independent external valuers and had appropriate recent experience in the relevant location and category of the properties 
being valued.

The historical cost of investment properties at 30 November 2017 was £nil (2016: £0.7m).

C. Operating plant and equipment

Cost

At 30 November 2016

Additions

Disposals

At 30 November 2017

Depreciation

At 30 November 2016

Charge for the year

Disposals

At 30 November 2017

Net book value

At 30 November 2016

At 30 November 2017

£m

 4.2 

 1.7 

 (0.1)

 5.8 

 3.7 

 0.6 

 – 

 4.3 

 0.5 

 1.5

171

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE COMPANY 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

D. Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures

At 30 November 2016

Changes to cost

Revaluation of investments

At 30 November 2017

Cost of investment

Investment valuation

Subsidiaries
£m

Joint ventures
£m

 315.8 

 (20.9)

 – 

 294.9 

 25.3 

 (1.3)

 – 

 24.0 

Total
£m

 341.1 

 (22.2)

 – 

 318.9 

Subsidiaries
£m

Joint ventures
£m

 550.9 

 (20.9)

 132.0 

 662.0 

 184.8 

 (1.3)

 (72.0)

 111.5 

Total
£m

 735.7 

 (22.2)

 60.0 

 773.5 

The following is a list of all subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures and associates owned by the Company or Group at 30 November 2017. 
Unless otherwise stated, all are incorporated in England and Wales with registered office at Park Point, 17 High Street, Longbridge, 
Birmingham, B31 2UQ. The share capital of each of the companies, where applicable, comprises of ordinary shares.

Company 
registration 
number

Proportion of 
entity owned 
directly by the 
Company

Proportion of 
entity owned by 
a subsidiary of 
the Company

Ultimate 
percentage 
holding

Activity

Name

Wholly owned subsidiaries

Blackpole Trading Estate (1978) Limited

Boltro Properties Limited

Boughton Enterprises Limited

Boughton Holdings

Branston Properties Limited

Broomford Vange Limited

Chaucer Estates Limited

Chertsey Road Property Limited

Coed Darcy Estates Management Limited

Festival Waters Limited

Glan Llyn Management Limited

Great Yarmouth Regeneration Limited

Heenan Group Pensions Limited

Holaw (462) Limited

Killingholme Energy Limited

Killingholme Land Limited

Lawnmark Limited

Leisure Living Limited

Newcastle Regeneration Partnership Limited

Petre Court Management (Number 1) Limited

Redman Heenan Properties Limited

Sandpiper Quay (Management Company No.2) Limited

02485456

Shaw Park Developments Limited

Sowcrest Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Meon Vale) Limited

St. Modwen Securities Limited

St. Modwen (SAC1) Limited

St. Modwen (SAC2) Limited

St. Modwen (Shelf 1) Limited

St. Modwen Corporate Services Limited

04625000

02948648

05294589

00460301

08296927

08296934

02741186

06163437

172

00581658

02616865

05068420

04112012

02893827

05697168

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

00456386

100.0%

06899060

07848407

04354481

07848409

05594264

00548316

03666441

08320277

08320297

04089229

02106984

02741086

06160268

00073265

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Property investment

Ceased trading

Dormant

Dormant

Property investment

Ceased trading

100.0% Property investment/
development

100.0%

Dormant

100.0% Property management

100.0%

Property investment

100.0% Property management

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Dormant

Dormant

Ceased trading

100.0% Property development

100.0% Property development

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Dormant

Ceased trading

Dormant

Dormant

100.0% Property investment/
development

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Dormant

Ceased trading

Property investment

Dormant

Property investment

100.0% Property development

100.0% Property management

100.0%

100.0%

Dormant

0.0%

100.0% Property management

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Proportion of 
entity owned 
directly by the 
Company

Proportion of 
entity owned by 
a subsidiary of 
the Company

Ultimate 
percentage 
holding

Name

St. Modwen Development (Coed Darcy) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Bedford) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Belle Vale) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Blackburn) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Bognor Regis) Limited

Company 
registration 
number

06163563

05411282

04145782

05732825

06160250

St. Modwen Developments (Brighton West Pier) Limited

04069008

St. Modwen Developments (Chorley) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Clay Cross) Limited(1)

St. Modwen Developments (Colne) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Connah’s Quay) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Cranfield) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Daresbury) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Eccles) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Edmonton) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Facility Services) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Hatfield) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Hillington) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Holderness) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Hull) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Kirkby 2) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Llanwern) Limited(1)

St. Modwen Developments (Longbridge) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Longbridge East Works) 
Limited(1)

05727011

123891

05726325

05726352

06163509

06163550

05867740

02405853

08996358

04354480

04150262

05726995

05593517

09746395

123892

02885028

123893

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

St. Modwen Developments (Queens Market) Limited

05289380

100.0%

St. Modwen Developments (Quinton) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Silverstone) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Skelmersdale) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (St Helens) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Telford) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Weston) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Wythenshawe 2) Limited

St. Modwen Developments (Wythenshawe) Limited

St. Modwen Developments Limited

St. Modwen Holdings Limited

St. Modwen Homes Limited

St. Modwen Hungerford Limited

St. Modwen Investments Limited

St. Modwen Neath Canal Limited

St. Modwen Pensions Limited

St. Modwen Properties IV S.à.r.l.(2)

St. Modwen Properties IX S.à.r.l.(2)

01479159

05594232

06163591

05726666

05411357

05411348

05851760

05594279

00892832

01991339

09095920

06160323

00528657

06160309

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

00878604

100.0%

B154061

B154099

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Activity

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Property investment

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Property investment

Dormant

Ceased trading

Dormant

Dormant

Property investment

Property investment

Dormant

Ceased trading

Ceased trading

100.0% Property development

100.0% Property development

100.0% Property investment/
development

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Property investment

Property investment

Property investment

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Property investment

Dormant

Dormant

100.0% Property investment/
development

100.0%

Dormant

100.0% Property development

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Ceased trading

Ceased trading

Dormant

Dormant

Ceased trading

Ceased trading

173

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE COMPANY 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

D. Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures continued

Name

St. Modwen Properties S.à.r.l.(2)

St. Modwen Properties Securities (Jersey) Limited(1)

St. Modwen Properties VI S.à.r.l.(2)

St. Modwen Properties VII S.à.r.l.(2)

St. Modwen Properties VIII S.à.r.l.(2)

St. Modwen Properties X S.à.r.l.(2)

St. Modwen Residential Living Limited

St. Modwen Services Limited

St. Modwen Ventures Limited

Statedale Limited

Trentham Gardens Limited

Trentham Leisure Limited

Tukdev 11 Limited

Walton Securities Limited

Woking Developments Limited

Woodingdean Estate Management Company Limited

B153339

114977

B154133

B154093

B154097

B154153

09266033

02885024

01486151

03656832

00533242

03246990

02885000

02314059

05411325

09293061

Non-wholly owned subsidiaries, with non-controlling interest

Castle Hill Dudley Limited

Stoke on Trent Regeneration (Investments) Limited

Stoke-on-Trent Regeneration Limited

Uttoxeter Estates Limited

Widnes Regeneration Limited

Norton & Proffitt Developments Limited

The Company of Proprietors of the Neath 
Canal Navigation

05411315

04289476

02265579

02725709

03643210

03717397

ZC000173

Company 
registration 
number

Proportion of 
entity owned 
directly by the 
Company

Proportion of 
entity owned by 
a subsidiary of 
the Company

Ultimate 
percentage 
holding

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

81.0%

0.0%

81.0%

81.0%

81.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

100.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

75.0%

64.4%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Activity

Holding company

Financing company

Ceased trading

Ceased trading

Property investment

Ceased trading

Property investment

Dormant

Property investment

Dormant

Dormant

100.0% Property investment/
operation

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

Dormant

81.0% Property development

81.0%

Property investment

81.0% Property investment/
development

81.0%

81.0%

75.0%

64.4%

Property investment

Property investment

Property investment

Property operation

Littlecombe Community Interest Company

05896419

0.0%

51.0%

51.0% Property management

Joint ventures

Barton Business Park Limited

Bay Campus Developments LLP(3)

Key Property Investments Limited

Meaford Energy Limited

Meaford Land Limited

Skypark Development Partnership LLP

Spray Street Quarter LLP(4)

VSM (NCGM) Limited

VSM Estates (Ashchurch) Limited

VSM Estates (Holdings) Limited

VSM Estates Uxbridge (Group) Limited

Wrexham Land Limited

Wrexham Power Limited

174

03807742

OC389022

03372175

08575649

08575760

OC343583

OC404205

08333203

09494284

05867718

08083799

06748467

06762265

0.0%

0.0%

50.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

0.0%

0.0%

50.0%

50.0%

0.0%

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

50.0%

50.0%

50.0%

Property investment

50.0% Property development

50.0% Property investment/
development

50.0% Property development

50.0% Property development

50.0% Property development

50.0% Property development

50.0% Property investment/
development

50.0% Property development

50.0%

50.0%

Property investment

Property investment

50.0% Property development

50.0% Property development

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Name

Associates
Coed Darcy Limited(5)

Saxon Business Centre (Management) Limited

Snipe Centre (Management) Limited

Baglan Bay Company Limited(5)

Swan Business Park (Management) Limited

Company 
registration 
number

Proportion of 
entity owned 
directly by the 
Company

Proportion of 
entity owned by 
a subsidiary of 
the Company

Ultimate 
percentage 
holding

Activity

00577934

02470756

02485535

06383208

02424524

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

25.0%

49.0%

40.0%

33.3%

25.0%

0.0%

49.0%

40.0%

33.3%

Property investment

Dormant

Dormant

25.0% Property development

25.0%

Dormant

(1) The registered office of this company is 47 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 0BD, United Kingdom.

(2) The registered office of these companies is 121, avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511. Luxembourg.

(3) The registered office of this company is Finance Department, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.

(4) The registered office of this limited liability partnership is Bruce Kenrick House, 2 Killick Street, London, England, N1 9FL, United Kingdom.

(5) The registered office of these companies is Dumfries House, Dumfries Place, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, CF10 3ZF, United Kingdom.

Following the sale of the student accommodation at Swansea University Bay Campus post-year end as disclosed in note 23 to the Group 
financial statements and excluding certain companies in the process of being liquidated, all of the Group’s subsidiaries, joint ventures and 
associates are subject to full UK corporation tax.

Many of the shareholder agreements for joint ventures and associates contain change of control provisions, as is common for such 
arrangements.

E. Trade and other receivables

Non-current

Amounts due from subsidiaries

Amounts due from joint ventures

Non-current receivables

Current

Trade receivables

Prepayments and accrued income

Amounts due from subsidiaries

Amounts due from joint ventures

Other receivables

Current receivables

F. Deferred taxation

Balance at start of the year

(Credited)/charged to the Company income statement

Recognised within the Company statement of changes in equity

Balance at end of the year

An analysis of the deferred tax provided by the Company is given below:

2017
£m

 475.0 

 – 

 475.0 

 0.1 

 4.2 

 505.6 

 20.4 

 0.1 

 530.4 

2017
£m

 2.8 

(0.4)

 0.3

 2.7 

Other temporary differences

Total deferred tax

Asset
£m

 (2.7)

 (2.7)

2017

Liability
£m

 – 

 – 

Net
£m

 (2.7)

 (2.7)

Asset
£m

 (2.8)

 (2.8)

2016

Liability
£m

 – 

 – 

2016
£m

 – 

 6.0 

 6.0 

 0.6 

 5.6 

 900.8 

 59.8 

 0.4 

 967.2

2016
£m

 2.7 

0.1

 – 

 2.8 

Net
£m

 (2.8)

 (2.8)

175

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTES TO THE COMPANY 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 30 November 2017
continued

G. Trade and other payables

Current

Trade payables

Amounts due to subsidiaries

Amounts due to joint ventures

Other payables and accrued expenses

Current payables

Non-current

Amounts due to subsidiaries

Amounts due to joint ventures

Other payables and accrued expenses

Non-current payables

H. Borrowings

Non-current

Amounts repayable between one and two years

Amounts repayable between two and five years

Non-current borrowings

2017
£m

 (2.6)

 374.3 

 31.7 

 7.6 

 411.0 

 97.0 

8.5

 2.0 

 107.5 

2017
£m

115.8

 157.5 

 273.3 

2016
£m

 1.4 

 320.3 

 17.7 

 10.6 

 350.0 

 94.4 

–

 – 

 94.4

2016
£m

–

 313.4 

 313.4 

Where borrowings are secured, the individual bank facility has a fixed charge over a discrete portfolio of certain of the Company’s 
subsidiaries’ property assets. All borrowings are secured, other than the retail bond as disclosed in note 15.

I. Operating leases
Operating lease commitments where the Company is the lessee
The Company leases certain of its premises, motor vehicles and office equipment under operating leases. Future aggregate minimum lease 
rentals payable under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

In one year or less

Between one and five years

In five years or more

Total minimum lease rentals payable

2017
£m

 1.1 

 1.9 

 – 

 3.0 

2016
£m

 1.5 

 2.1 

 0.1 

 3.7

176

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017FIVE YEAR RECORD

Rental income(1)

Property profits(1)(2)

Revaluation surplus(1)(3)

Profit before all tax(4)

Earnings per share (pence)

Dividends paid per share (pence)

Dividend cover (times)

Shareholders’ equity net assets per share (pence) 

Increase on prior year

Net assets employed

Investment properties

Investments

Inventories

Other net liabilities

Net debt

Non-controlling interests

Net assets attributable to owners of the Company

Financed by

Share capital

Reserves

Own shares

Equity attributable to owners of the Company

(1) Including share of joint ventures and associates.

(2) Stated before net realisable value provisions.

2013
£m

 36.3 

 37.7 

 39.1 

 77.2 

 30.9 

 3.75 

 8.2 

 278.8 

11.2%

 750.2 

 120.1 

 199.7 

 (118.5)

 (334.9)

 (4.5)

 612.1 

 22.0 

 590.4 

 (0.3)

 612.1 

2014
£m

 37.1 

 51.3 

 93.5 

 135.4 

 53.8 

 4.13 

 13.0 

 325.1 

16.6%

 862.3 

 127.2 

 201.0 

 (106.5)

 (360.0)

 (5.9)

 718.1 

 22.1 

 697.8 

 (1.8)

 718.1 

2015
£m

 38.7 

 67.4 

 201.7 

 258.4 

 97.9 

 5.04 

 19.4 

 413.5 

27.2%

2016
£m

 45.9 

 62.0 

 4.1 

 60.8 

 24.1 

 5.79 

 4.2 

 431.0 

4.2%

2017
£m

 53.8 

 62.0 

 34.6 

 67.0 

 26.9 

 6.08 

 4.4 

 450.9 

4.6%

 1,092.9 

 1,144.7 

 1,168.5 

 227.3 

 183.7 

 (80.3)

 (502.1)

 (6.8)

 914.7 

 22.2 

 893.5 

 (1.0)

 914.7 

 184.8 

 229.7 

 (73.9)

 (523.2)

 (6.9)

 955.2 

 22.2 

 933.6 

 (0.6)

 955.2 

 119.6 

 352.7 

 (143.4)

 (491.4)

 (5.7)

 1,000.3 

 22.2 

 979.8 

 (1.7)

 1,000.3 

(3) Including net realisable value provisions and, where applicable, fair value adjustments to property assets arising from a bargain purchase.

(4) Stated before taxation of joint ventures and associates.

The figures above are all presented under EU IFRSs as restated, where applicable.

177

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationGLOSSARY OF TERMS

Adjusted EPRA earnings – EPRA earnings adjusted to include development profits from the housebuilding operating segment, the 
amortisation of loan arrangement fees (including the Group’s share of its joint ventures and associates) and tax associated with both of 
these company specific adjustments.

Adjusted EPRA earnings per share – Adjusted EPRA earnings divided by the weighted number of shares in issue during the period 
(excluding shares held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust).

Adjusted gearing – the level of the Group’s net borrowings (at amortised cost and excluding finance leases) expressed as a percentage 
of net assets.

Average lease length – the weighted average lease term to the first tenant break.

EPRA – the European Public Real Estate Association, a body that has put forward recommendations for best practice in financial reporting 
by real estate companies.

EPRA earnings – the Group profit for the year, excluding investment property revaluation gains/losses, gains/losses on disposal of 
investment properties and inventories and associated items, and movements in the fair value of financial instruments. Each of these 
adjustments is made for both the Group and the Group’s share of its joint ventures and associates and is net of current and deferred tax 
charges/credits.

EPRA net asset value (EPRA NAV) – net asset value, adjusted to include the fair value of inventories and exclude deferred tax on capital 
allowances and revaluations, and the mark-to-market of derivative financial instruments.

EPRA net asset value per share – EPRA net asset value divided by the number of ordinary shares in issue at the period end (excluding 
shares held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust).

EPRA triple net asset value (EPRA NNNAV) – the Group balance sheet net assets, adjusted to include the fair value of inventories.

Equivalent yield – the weighted average income return (after adding notional purchaser’s costs) a property will produce based upon the 
timing of the income received. In accordance with usual practice, the equivalent yields (as determined by the external valuers) assume rent 
is received annually in arrears.

Equivalent yield shift – the movement in the equivalent yield of a property asset during the period.

Estimated rental value (ERV) – the Group’s external valuers’ opinion as to the open market rent which, on the date of valuation, could 
reasonably be expected to be obtained on a new letting or rent review of the property.

EU IFRSs – International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union.

Gearing – the level of the Group’s net debt expressed as a percentage of net assets.

Gross development value (GDV) – the sale value of property after construction. 

High yielding portfolio – income generating assets with high yields that provide the Group with opportunity for further development 
and value creation in the longer term.

IFRSs – International Financial Reporting Standards.

Interest – net finance costs (excluding the mark-to-market of derivative financial instruments, amortisation of loan arrangement fees and 
other non-cash items) for the Group (including its share of joint ventures and associates).

Investment portfolio – income generating assets held for further optimisation through active asset management.

Land bank – 100% of the land and property owned and controlled by the Group together with joint ventures and associates (including 
land under option and development agreements).

Like-for-like – adjusts a reported measure to exclude the impact of property acquisitions and disposals.

Loan-to-value (LTV) – the level of the Group’s net borrowings expressed as a percentage of the Group’s property portfolio excluding 
valued assets held under finance leases (representing amounts that could be used as security of that debt).

Market value – an opinion of the best price at which the sale of an interest in the property would complete unconditionally for cash 
consideration on the date of valuation, as determined by the Group’s external valuers. In accordance with usual practice, the Group’s 
external valuers report valuations net, after the deduction of the prospective purchaser’s costs, including stamp duty, agent and legal fees.

Net asset value (NAV) – equity attributable to owners of the Company.

Net asset value (NAV) per share – net asset value divided by the number of ordinary shares in issue at the period end (excluding shares 
held by The St. Modwen Properties PLC Employee Share Trust).

178

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Net borrowings – total borrowings (at amortised cost and excluding finance leases and fair value movements on the Group’s convertible 
bond) less cash and cash equivalents.

Net debt – total borrowings and finance leases including fair value movements in the Group’s convertible bond less cash and cash 
equivalents.

Net initial yield (NIY) – the yield that would be received by a purchaser, based on the current annualised rental income, net of non-
recoverable outgoings (as determined by the external valuers), expressed as a percentage of the acquisition cost, being the market value 
plus assumed actual purchasers’ costs at the reporting date. The calculation is in line with EPRA guidance.

Net rental income – the rental income receivable in the period less non-recoverable property costs for the Group (including its share 
of joint ventures and associates).

Operating costs – administrative expenses plus net finance costs (excluding the mark-to-market of derivative financial instruments, 
amortisation of loan arrangement fees and other non-cash items) for the Group (including its share of joint ventures and associates).

Other income – other rental type income generated from the operating assets of the Group (including its share of joint ventures and 
associates).

Passing rent – the annualised rental income of a property net of outstanding rent-free lease incentives.

Persimmon joint venture – a series of commercial contracts with Persimmon to develop residential units on agreed sites within 
St. Modwen’s land bank.

Profit before all tax – profit before tax stated before the deduction of tax payable by joint ventures and associates.

Project MoDEL – Project MoDEL originally saw six former London-based RAF sites freed up for disposal and development as the MoD 
relocated to an integrated site at RAF Northolt. VINCI St. Modwen (VSM) was appointed by the MoD in 2006 to secure planning consent 
to redevelop the six sites of which VSM disposed of four, retaining RAF Mill Hill and RAF Uxbridge. The latter was removed from the MoD 
arrangement and transferred to a separate joint venture with VINCI in 2012.

Property portfolio – investment properties and inventories of the Group (including its share of joint ventures and associates) comprising 
income producing properties together with residential and commercial assets, but excluding assets held under finance leases not subject 
to revaluation.

Property profits – development profit (before the deduction of net realisable value provisions made during the period) plus gains on 
disposals of investments/investment properties for the Group (including its share of joint ventures and associates).

RICS – Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

See-through – calculated on a proportionally consolidated basis (including the Group’s share of its joint ventures and associates).

See-through loan-to-value (excluding residential) – see-through net borrowings expressed as a percentage of the see-through property 
portfolio excluding assets held under finance leases and residential land and developments.

Total accounting return (TAR) – the increase in net asset value per share for the period, plus dividends paid per share during the period, 
expressed as a percentage of net asset value per share at the start of the period.

Total development costs – the expected development costs of a project, including the value of land at the start of the project and any 
associated land capital expenditure.

Total shareholder return (TSR) – the growth in value of a shareholding over a specified period, assuming that dividends are reinvested 
to purchase additional units of stock.

Trading profit – the total of net rental income, other net income and property profits for the Group (including its share of joint venture and 
associates) less operating costs.

Vacancy – the ERV attributable to vacant space expressed as a percentage of total ERV (including the Group’s share of joint ventures and 
associates).

Weighted average term of borrowings – each tranche of the Group’s borrowings is multiplied by the remaining period to its maturity 
and the result is divided by total Group borrowings at the period end.

Weighted average interest rate – the Group’s annualised loan interest and derivative financial instrument costs at the period end, divided 
by total Group borrowings at the period end.

Yield on cost – the expected headline ERV on completion of a property under development expressed as a percentage of the estimated 
total development cost.

179

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationNOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL 
MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the seventy seventh Annual General 
Meeting (AGM) of St. Modwen Properties PLC (the Company) will be 
held in the Evolution Suite, Innovation Centre, 1 Devon Way, 
Longbridge Technology Park, Birmingham B31 2TS on Wednesday, 
28 March 2018 at 12.00 noon to consider and, if thought fit, to pass 
the following resolutions. Resolutions 1 to 14 inclusive will be 
proposed as ordinary resolutions and resolutions 15 to 18 will be 
proposed as special resolutions.

Ordinary business
Annual Report and financial statements

1. 

 To receive the Company’s Annual Report and financial 
statements for the financial year ended 30 November 2017.

Directors’ remuneration report
2. 

 To approve the Directors’ remuneration report (excluding the 
part containing the directors’ remuneration policy) as set out 
on pages 86 to 109 of the Annual Report and financial 
statements for the financial year ended 30 November 2017.

Dividend
3. 

 To declare a final dividend for the financial year ended 
30 November 2017 of 4.26 pence per ordinary share, payable 
on 4 April 2018 to those shareholders on the register of 
members at the close of business on 9 March 2018.

Election and re-election of directors
4.  To elect Jenefer Greenwood as a director. 

5.  To elect Jamie Hopkins as a director.

6.  To re-elect Mark Allan as a director.

7.  To re-elect Ian Bull as a director.

8.  To re-elect Simon Clarke as a director.

9.  To re-elect Rob Hudson as a director.

10.  To re-elect Lesley James as a director.

11.  To re-elect Bill Shannon as a director.

Appointment and remuneration of auditor
12.   To re-appoint KPMG LLP as the Company’s auditor until the 
conclusion of the next general meeting of the Company at 
which accounts are laid.

13.   To authorise the Audit Committee to determine the 

remuneration of the Company’s auditor on behalf of the Board.

Special business
Authority to allot shares
14.   To generally and unconditionally authorise the directors in 
accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 
(the Act) to exercise all the powers of the Company to:

(a)   allot shares in the Company or grant rights to subscribe for 
or to convert any security into shares in the Company up 
to an aggregate nominal amount of £7,412,566; and

(b)   allot equity securities (within the meaning of section 560(1) 
of the Act) up to a further aggregate nominal amount of 
£7,412,566 in connection with an offer by way of a rights 
issue to:

(i) 

 ordinary shareholders in proportion (as nearly as may 
be practicable) to their existing holdings; and

(ii)   holders of other equity securities, as required by the 
rights of those securities or, subject to such rights, 
as the directors otherwise consider necessary,

180

 subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the 
directors consider necessary or appropriate to deal with 
treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, or 
legal, regulatory or practical problems in, or under the laws 
of, any country or territory or any other matter.

 Unless previously renewed, revoked or varied, the authorities 
conferred by this resolution 14 shall apply in substitution for 
all existing authorities under section 551 of the Act until the 
conclusion of the next AGM of the Company after the date on 
which this resolution is passed or, if earlier, 27 June 2019, but, in 
each case, so that the Company may make offers and enter into 
agreements before the authority expires which would or might 
require shares to be allotted or rights to be granted after the 
authority expires and the directors may allot shares or grant 
such rights under such an offer or agreement as if the authority 
had not expired.

Disapplication of pre-emption rights
Special resolution
15.   That, subject to the passing of resolution 14, the directors 
be generally empowered pursuant to section 570 of the 
Companies Act 2006 (the Act) to allot equity securities (within 
the meaning of section 560(1) of the Act) for cash pursuant to 
the authority conferred by resolution 14 and/or to sell ordinary 
shares held by the Company as treasury shares for cash as if 
section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such allotment or 
sale, provided that this power shall be limited to:

(a)   any such allotment and/or sale in connection with an offer 

or issue by way of rights or other pre-emptive offer or issue, 
open for acceptance for a period fixed by the directors, to:

(i) 

 ordinary shareholders in proportion (as nearly as may 
be practicable) to their existing holdings; and

(ii)   holders of other equity securities, as required by the 
rights of those securities or, subject to such rights, as 
the directors otherwise consider necessary,

 subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the 
directors consider necessary or appropriate to deal with 
treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, or 
legal, regulatory or practical problems in, or under the laws 
of, any country or territory or any other matter; and

(b)   any such allotment and/or sale, other than pursuant to 
paragraph (a) of this resolution 15, having, in the case of 
ordinary shares, an aggregate nominal amount or, in the 
case of other equity securities, giving the right to subscribe 
or convert into ordinary shares having an aggregate 
nominal amount, not exceeding £1,111,884.

Unless previously renewed, revoked or varied, the powers conferred 
by this resolution 15 shall apply in substitution for all existing 
powers under sections 570 and 573 of the Act until the conclusion 
of the next AGM of the Company after the date on which this 
resolution is passed or, if earlier, 27 June 2019, but, in each case, so 
that the Company may make offers and enter into agreements 
before the power expires which would or might require equity 
securities to be allotted or equity securities held as treasury shares 
to be sold for cash after the power expires and the directors may 
allot equity securities and/or sell equity securities held as treasury 
shares for cash under such an offer or agreement as if the power 
had not expired.

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Special resolution
16.   That, subject and in addition to the passing of resolution 15, the 
directors be generally empowered pursuant to section 570 of 
the Companies Act 2006 (the Act) to allot equity securities 
(within the meaning of section 560(1) of the Act) for cash 
pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 14 and/or 
to sell ordinary shares held by the Company as treasury shares 
for cash as if section 561 of the Act did not apply to any such 
allotment or sale, provided that this power shall be:

(a)   limited to any such allotment and/or sale of equity 
securities having, in the case of ordinary shares, an 
aggregate nominal amount or, in the case of other equity 
securities, giving the right to subscribe or convert into 
ordinary shares having an aggregate nominal amount, 
not exceeding £1,111,884; and

(b)   used only for the purposes of financing (or refinancing, 
if the authority is to be used within six months after the 
original transaction) a transaction which directors 
determine to be an acquisition or other capital investment 
of a kind contemplated by the Statement of Principles on 
Disapplying Pre-Emption Rights most recently published 
by the Pre-Emption Group prior to the date of this notice.

 Unless previously renewed, revoked or varied, the powers 
conferred by this resolution 16 shall apply in substitution for all 
existing powers under sections 570 and 573 of the Act until the 
conclusion of the next AGM of the Company after the date on 
which this resolution is passed or, if earlier, 27 June 2019, but, in 
each case, so that the Company may make offers and enter into 
agreements before the power expires which would or might 
require equity securities to be allotted or equity securities held 
as treasury shares to be sold for cash after the power expires 
and the directors may allot equity securities and/or sell equity 
securities held as treasury shares for cash under such an offer or 
agreement as if the power had not expired.

Purchase of own ordinary shares by the Company
Special resolution
17.   That the Company be generally and unconditionally authorised 
for the purposes of section 701 of the Companies Act 2006 (the 
Act) to make market purchases (as defined in section 693 of the 
Act) of ordinary shares of 10 pence each in its capital (Ordinary 
Shares) on such terms and in such manner as the directors may 
from time to time determine provided that:

(a)   the maximum aggregate number of Ordinary Shares 
hereby authorised to be purchased is 22,237,698;

(b)   the minimum price which may be paid for an Ordinary 

Share is 10 pence (exclusive of expenses);

(c)   the maximum price which may be paid for an Ordinary 

Share is the highest of (in each case exclusive of expenses):

(i) 

 an amount equal to 105% of the average market value 
of an Ordinary Share for the five business days 
immediately preceding the day on which the Ordinary 
Share is contracted to be purchased; and

(ii)   the higher of the price of the last independent trade and 
the highest current independent bid for any number of 
Ordinary Shares on the London Stock Exchange; and

(d)   this authority shall, unless previously renewed, expire at the 
conclusion of the next AGM of the Company after the date 
on which this resolution is passed or, if earlier, 27 June 2019, 
except in relation to the purchase of any Ordinary Shares 
the contract for which was concluded before the date of 
expiry of the authority and which would or might be 
completed wholly or partly after that date.

Notice of meetings other than AGMs
Special resolution
18.   To authorise the Company to call a general meeting other than 
an AGM on not less than 14 clear days’ notice, provided that this 
authority shall expire at the conclusion of the next AGM of the 
Company after the date on which this resolution is passed.

Recommendation
The Board confirms that, in its opinion, all of the resolutions are in 
the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. 
The directors unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in 
favour of each of the above resolutions, as they intend to do in 
respect of their own beneficial shareholdings.

By order of the Board

Andrew Eames
General Counsel and  
Company Secretary (Interim)

15 February 2018

St. Modwen Properties PLC 
Registered number: 349201 
Registered office: Park Point,  
17 High Street, Longbridge,  
Birmingham B31 2UQ

Explanatory notes to proposed resolutions
Ordinary resolutions
For a resolution proposed as an ordinary resolution to be passed, 
more than half of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution.

Resolution 1 – Annual Report and Financial Statements
Resolution 1 is an ordinary resolution to receive the Annual Report 
and Financial Statements for the financial year ended 30 November 
2017. Copies will be available at the AGM.

Resolutions 2 – Directors’ remuneration 
Resolution 2 is an ordinary resolution to approve the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report, other than the part containing the directors’ 
remuneration policy. In accordance with the Companies Act 2006 
this vote is advisory only and the directors’ entitlement to receive 
remuneration is not conditional on it. The resolution and vote 
provide a means for shareholders to give feedback to the Board 
on directors’ remuneration. A resolution to approve the directors’ 
remuneration policy (set out in full in the Annual Report and 
Financial Statements for the year ended 30 November 2016 
which is available at www.stmodwen.co.uk) was approved by 
shareholders at the 2017 AGM.

Resolution 3 – Declaration of final dividend
Resolution 3 is an ordinary resolution by which shareholders are 
asked to declare a final dividend. The directors recommend a final 
dividend for the financial year ended 30 November 2017 of 4.26 
pence per ordinary share. If approved, this will be paid on 4 April 
2018 to shareholders on the register of members at the close of 
business on 9 March 2018.

Resolutions 4 to 11 – Election and re-election of directors
Resolutions 4 to 11 are ordinary resolutions which deal with the 
election and re-election of the directors. In accordance with the 
Company’s articles of association and the UK Corporate Governance 
Code, all directors must retire at each AGM and shall, subject to his 
or her terms of appointment, be eligible for election or re-election.

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL 
MEETING CONTINUED

Following her appointment to the Board on 1 June 2017, Jenefer 
Greenwood will retire and offer herself for election.

On 29 January 2018, the Board approved the appointment of Jamie 
Hopkins as a non-executive director of the Company, effective from 
1 March 2018. Accordingly Mr. Hopkins will retire and offer himself 
for election.

As announced, both Richard Mully and Kay Chaldecott will not be 
standing for re-election at the AGM. All other directors will retire 
and offer themselves for re-election.

Biographical details of all directors are set out on pages 66 and 67. 
The performance of and contribution made by individual directors 
has been reviewed by the Chairman during the course of the year 
and the Chairman has confirmed that the performance of each 
director continues to be effective, that they continue to 
demonstrate commitment to their respective roles, and that their 
respective skills complement one another to enhance the overall 
operation of the Board. The Board therefore recommends the 
reappointment of all directors standing for re-election. Further 
supporting information regarding the non-executive directors can 
be found opposite.

Whilst not considered to be independent for the purposes of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code, as the longest serving director Simon 
brings continuity and extensive knowledge of the business to the 
Board as well as strong commercial and management experience.

Lesley James, CBE (resolution 10)
Lesley was appointed to the Board in October 2009 and is currently 
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee. She has considerable 
board experience across public, private, voluntary and education 
sectors and, as HR Director at Tesco plc for 14 years, has extensive 
knowledge of executive remuneration.

During the past year, Lesley led the Remuneration Committee’s 
discussions in respect of the implementation of the share-based 
incentive plans which were approved by shareholders at the 2017 
AGM and has engaged with the Group’s major investors in the year.

Bill Shannon (resolution 11)
Bill was appointed to the Board in November 2010 and became 
non-executive Chairman in March 2011. He chairs the Nomination 
Committee and is currently Deputy Chairman and Senior 
Independent Director of LSL Property Services plc and a non-
executive director of Johnson Service Group plc.

Jenefer Greenwood, OBE (resolution 4)
Jenefer was appointed to the Board in June 2017 and is a member of 
the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees. She has over 
30 years’ experience and knowledge of the real estate sector 
starting with Hillier Parker and subsequently working for Grosvenor 
Ltd until 2012 when she retired as director of sales and lettings. 

Bill has proven ability in leading large public and private 
companies as Chairman and has significant management and 
board level experience across retail, leisure, financial services and 
property sectors. He continues to oversee succession planning for 
Board appointments and supports the Remuneration Committee 
in its activities. 

Jenefer has strengthened further the existing expertise of the board 
in relation to real estate and will make a meaningful contribution 
with an extensive understanding of remuneration matters.

Jamie Hopkins (resolution 5)
Following a comprehensive search process for a new non-executive 
director, the Board was pleased to approve the appointment of 
Jamie Hopkins as a non-executive director with effect from 1 March 
2018 for an initial term of three years. Chief Executive of Workspace 
plc since 2012 and prior to that as a non-executive director, he is 
experienced in real estate, asset management services and 
acquisitions in both public and private companies, as well as having 
strong operational skills including in financing and reporting. Jamie 
will complement the Board’s skillsets and expertise and bring 
current commercial experience to the role.

Ian Bull (resolution 7)
Ian was appointed to the Board in September 2014 and is Chairman 
of the Audit Committee. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of 
Parkdean Resorts UK Ltd. His career in finance spans over 25 years, 
including board level finance roles at Ladbrokes plc and Greene 
King plc. Ian brings to the Board a wealth of corporate and financial 
knowledge, together with a sound understanding of accounting 
and regulatory matters.

During the past year, Ian has led the Audit Committee through its 
first year with PwC, the Company’s internal auditor and KPMG, the 
external auditor. As Committee Chair he also ensured that the Audit 
Committee considered a number of significant matters in relation 
to financial reporting, including the valuation of the Group’s 
property portfolio. 

Simon Clarke (resolution 8)
Simon was appointed to the Board in October 2004 following 
the death of his father, Sir Stanley Clarke, the founder and former 
Chairman of St. Modwen. He is currently Chairman of Dunstall 
Holdings Ltd, Trustee of Racing Welfare and Chairman of 
Racing Homes.

Resolutions 12 and 13 – Auditor appointment and remuneration
At last year’s AGM shareholders appointed KPMG as auditor of the 
Company to hold office until the conclusion of the 2018 AGM. KPMG 
has expressed a willingness to continue in office and the Audit 
Committee recommends their re-appointment. Therefore resolutions 
12 and 13 are ordinary resolutions to re-appoint KPMG LLP as 
auditor until the conclusion of the next general meeting at which 
accounts are laid before the Company and to authorise the Audit 
Committee to determine their remuneration on behalf of the Board.

Resolution 14 – Authority to allot shares
The authority conferred on the directors at last year’s AGM to allot 
shares in the Company expires at the conclusion of the 2018 AGM. 
Resolution 14 is an ordinary resolution to renew this authority.

The Investment Association (IA) guidelines on directors’ authority to 
allot shares state that IA members will permit, and treat as routine, 
resolutions seeking authority to allot new shares representing up to 
one-third of a company’s issued share capital. In addition, they will 
treat as routine a request for authority to allot shares representing 
an additional one-third of a company’s issued share capital 
provided that it is only used to allot shares pursuant to a fully 
pre-emptive rights issue.

Paragraph (a) of resolution 14 will, if resolution 14 is passed, 
authorise the directors to allot shares up to a maximum aggregate 
nominal amount of £7,412,566, which represents one-third of the 
Company’s issued ordinary share capital as at 8 February 2018 
(being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of the 
notice of AGM). Paragraph (b) of resolution 14 proposes that, in 
accordance with IA guidance, an additional authority be conferred 
on the directors to allot shares in connection with a rights issue up 
to a further maximum aggregate nominal amount of £7,412,566.

The authorities sought in paragraphs (a) and (b) of resolution 14 are 
in substitution for all existing authorities granted in the Company’s 
articles of association or otherwise, and are without prejudice to 
previous allotments or agreements or offers to allot made under 
such existing authorities. The authorities will each expire at the 
earlier of the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company or 27 
June 2019.

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St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017The directors have no present intention of exercising these 
authorities other than to fulfil the Company’s obligations under its 
share incentive plans approved previously by shareholders, but 
believe that it is in the best interests of the Company to have the 
authorities available to respond to market developments and to 
enable allotments to take place without the need for a general 
meeting should they determine that it is appropriate to do so.

Special resolutions
For a resolution proposed as a special resolution to be passed, at 
least three-quarters of the votes cast must be in favour of the 
resolution.

The directors have no present intention of exercising these 
authorities other than to fulfil the Company’s obligations under its 
share incentive plans approved by shareholders, but consider it 
prudent to obtain the flexibility that these authorities provide.

Resolution 17 – Authority to purchase shares
Resolution 17 is a special resolution to renew the authority granted 
to the directors at last year’s AGM to make purchases of its own 
ordinary shares through the market as permitted by the Companies 
Act 2006 and in line with institutional shareholder guidelines. No 
shares were purchased during the year and the Company does not 
hold any shares in treasury.

Resolutions 15 and 16 – Authority to disapply pre-emption rights
If the directors wish to allot new shares and other equity securities, 
company law requires that these shares are offered first to 
shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. At last year’s 
AGM a special resolution was passed, under section 570 of the 
Companies Act 2006, empowering the directors to allot equity 
securities for cash without first being required to offer such shares 
to existing shareholders. It is proposed that this authority be 
renewed in line with institutional shareholder guidelines.

If passed, the resolution gives authority for the Company to 
purchase up to 22,237,698 of its ordinary shares, which represents 
10% of the Company’s issued ordinary share capital as at 8 February 
2018 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of 
the notice of AGM). The resolution specifies the minimum and 
maximum prices which may be paid for any ordinary shares 
purchased under this authority. The authority will expire at the 
earlier of the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company and 
27 June 2019.

The directors have no present intention for the Company to 
exercise the authority granted by this resolution to purchase its 
own shares. They would do so only after taking account of the 
overall financial position of the Company and in circumstances 
where to do so would be regarded by the Board as being in the 
best interests of shareholders generally and result in an increase in 
earnings per ordinary share. The Company may either cancel any 
shares it purchases under this authority or transfer them into 
treasury (and subsequently sell or transfer them out of treasury or 
cancel them).

As at 8 February 2018 (being the latest practicable date prior to 
the publication of the notice of AGM), the Company had options 
outstanding over 7,127,233 ordinary shares, representing 3.21% 
of the issued share capital on that date. If the Company was to 
purchase the maximum number of shares permitted pursuant to 
this resolution, the options outstanding at 8 February 2018 would 
represent 4.01% of the issued share capital.

Resolution 18 – Notice period of general meetings
The Company must give at least 21 clear days’ notice of any general 
meeting, but is permitted to call meetings other than the AGM on 
at least 14 clear days’ notice if annual shareholder approval is 
obtained beforehand. The Company must also offer, for any 
meeting held on less than 21 clear days’ notice, a facility to vote by 
electronic means that is accessible to all shareholders.

Resolution 18 is a special resolution to renew the authority granted 
at last year’s AGM to allow the Company to hold general meetings 
(other than AGMs) on not less than 14 clear days’ notice. This 
authority will be effective until the Company’s next AGM.

The shorter notice period would not be used as a matter of routine 
for such meetings, but only where the flexibility is merited by the 
business of the meeting and is thought to be to the advantage of 
shareholders as a whole.

Under resolution 15, it is proposed that the directors be authorised 
to issue shares for cash and/or sell shares from treasury (if any are 
so held) without offering them first to existing shareholders in 
proportion to their current holdings:

(a)   in respect of a rights issue, open offer or other offer that 

generally provides existing shareholders with the opportunity 
to subscribe for new shares pro rata to their existing holdings. 
This part of the authority is designed to give the directors 
flexibility to exclude certain shareholders from such an offer 
where the directors consider it necessary or desirable to do so 
in order to avoid legal, regulatory or practical problems that 
would otherwise arise; or

(b)   up to an aggregate nominal amount of £1,111,884 (up to 

11,118,840 new ordinary shares of 10p each). This amount 
represents approximately 5% of the Company’s issued ordinary 
share capital as at 8 February 2018 (being the latest practicable 
date prior to the publication of the notice of AGM). This part of 
the authority is designed to provide the Board with flexibility to 
raise further equity funding and to pursue acquisition 
opportunities as and when they may arise.

The authority proposed under resolution 16 is in addition to the 
authority granted by resolution 15. Under resolution 16, it is 
proposed that the directors be authorised to disapply statutory 
pre-emption rights in respect of an additional 5% of the Company’s 
issued ordinary share capital as at 8 February 2018 (being the latest 
practicable date prior to the publication of the notice of AGM). This 
further authority may only be used in connection with an 
acquisition or specified capital investment which is announced 
contemporaneously with the issue, or that has taken place in the 
preceding six-month period and is disclosed in the announcement 
of the issue as contemplated by the Pre-Emption Group’s March 
2015 Statement of Principles.

Excluding any shares issued in connection with an acquisition or 
specified capital investment as described above, the directors do 
not intend to issue more than 7.5% of the Company’s issued 
ordinary share capital on a non-pre-emptive basis in any rolling 
three-year period without prior consultation with shareholders.

The authorities sought in resolutions 15 and 16 are in substitution 
for all existing authorities granted in the Company’s articles of 
association or otherwise, and are without prejudice to previous 
allotments or agreements or offers to allot made under such 
existing authorities. The authorities will each expire at the earlier 
of the conclusion of the next AGM of the Company or 27 June 2019.

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MEETING CONTINUED

Shareholder notes
1. Entitlement to attend and vote
To be entitled to attend and vote at the AGM (and for the purpose 
of determining the number of votes they may cast), shareholders 
must be entered on the Company’s register of members at 6.30pm 
on Monday, 26 March 2018 (or, in the event of any adjournment, at 
6.30pm on the date which is two days before the date of the 
adjourned meeting). Changes to the register of members after the 
relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the rights of 
any person to attend and vote at the meeting in respect of the 
number of shares registered in their name at that time. It is 
proposed that all votes on the resolutions at the AGM will be taken 
by way of a poll.

2. Appointment of proxies – general
A shareholder entitled to attend and vote at the meeting convened 
by the notice of AGM is entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or 
any of his or her rights to attend and to speak and vote on his or 
her behalf at the meeting. A shareholder may appoint more than 
one proxy in relation to the meeting provided that each proxy is 
appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or 
shares held by that shareholder. A proxy need not be a shareholder 
of the Company but must attend the meeting in person.

For the appointment to be effective, a proxy form (or electronic 
appointment of proxy, see note 4 below) must be received by the 
Company’s registrar not less than 48 hours before the time of the 
meeting, i.e. not later than 12.00 noon on Monday, 26 March 2018. 
The appointment of a proxy will not prevent a shareholder from 
subsequently attending the meeting and voting in person if he or 
she is entitled to do so and so wishes.

3. Appointment of proxies – proxy form
A form which may be used to appointment a proxy and give proxy 
instructions has been sent to shareholders. If you do not have a 
proxy form and believe that you should have one, or if you require 
additional forms to appoint more than one proxy, please contact 
the Company’s registrars, Equiniti, on 0371 384 2198 (overseas 
callers should dial +44 (0)121 415 7047). Lines are open from 8.30am 
to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in 
England and Wales. Alternatively, photocopy the proxy form which 
has been sent to you. All forms must be signed and should be 
returned together in the same envelope.

The notes to the proxy form explain how to direct your proxy to 
vote on each resolution or withhold their vote. Please note that the 
vote withheld option on the proxy form is provided to enable you 
to abstain on any particular resolution; it is not a vote in law and 
will not be counted in the calculation of votes for or against the 
resolution. If you sign the proxy form and return it without any 
specific directions your proxy will vote or abstain from voting at his 
or her discretion. If you wish to appoint a proxy other than the 
Chairman of the meeting, please insert the name of your chosen 
proxy holder in the space provided on the proxy form. If the proxy 
is being appointed in relation to less than your full voting 
entitlement, please enter in the box next to the proxy holder’s 
name the number of shares in relation to which they are authorised 
to act as your proxy. If left blank your proxy will be deemed to be 
authorised in respect of your full voting entitlement (or if the proxy 
form has been issued in respect of a designated account for a 
shareholder, the full voting entitlement for that designated account).

In the case of joint holders, the vote of the senior joint holder who 
tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, in respect of the 
holding will be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other 
joint holders. For this purpose seniority is determined by the order 
in which the names appear in the Company’s register of members 
in respect of the joint holding. In the case of a corporate 

shareholder, the proxy form must be executed under its common 
seal or signed on its behalf by a duly authorised officer or attorney. 
In the case of an individual, the proxy form must be signed by the 
appointing shareholder. Any alterations made to the proxy form 
should be initialled.

4. Appointment of proxies electronically
Shareholders who would prefer to register the appointment of their 
proxy electronically via the internet can do so through Equiniti’s 
website at www.sharevote.co.uk using their personal Voting ID, 
Task ID and Shareholder Reference Number (which are printed on 
the proxy form). Alternatively, shareholders who have already 
registered with Equiniti’s online portfolio service, Shareview, can 
appoint their proxy electronically by logging on to their portfolio 
at www.shareview.co.uk. Full details and instructions on these 
electronic proxy facilities are given on the respective websites. A 
proxy appointment made electronically will not be valid if sent to 
any address other than those provided or if received after 12.00 
noon on Monday, 26 March 2018.

5. Appointment of proxies through CREST
CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies for the 
AGM, and any adjournment(s) thereof, through the CREST electronic 
proxy appointment service may do so by using the procedures 
described in the CREST Manual. CREST Personal Members or other 
CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have 
appointed a voting service provider(s), should refer to their CREST 
sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the 
appropriate action on their behalf.

In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the 
CREST service to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a CREST 
Proxy Instruction) must be properly authenticated in accordance 
with Euroclear UK & Ireland Ltd’s (EUI) specifications and must 
contain the information required for such instructions, as described 
in the CREST Manual (available at www.euroclear.com). The 
message, regardless of whether it relates to the appointment of a 
proxy or an amendment to the instruction given to a previously 
appointed proxy must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to 
be received by Equiniti (ID RA19) by the latest time for receipt of 
proxy appointments specified above. For this purpose, the time of 
receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the time 
stamp applied to the message by the CREST Applications Host) 
from which Equiniti is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to 
CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time any 
change of instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should 
be communicated to the appointee through other means.

CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or 
voting service providers should note that EUI does not make 
available special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. 
Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in 
relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the 
responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the 
CREST member is a CREST Personal Member or sponsored member 
or has appointed a voting service provider(s), to procure that his 
CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as 
shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by 
means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this 
connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST 
sponsors or voting service providers are referred, in particular, to 
those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations 
of the CREST system and timings.

The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the 
circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated 
Securities Regulations 2001.

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St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 201711. Website publication of audit concerns
Shareholders satisfying the threshold requirements in section 527 
of the Companies Act 2006 can require the Company to publish a 
statement on its website setting out any matter that such 
shareholder proposes to raise at the meeting relating to (a) the 
audit of the Company’s accounts (including the auditor’s report and 
the conduct of the audit) that are to be laid before the AGM or (b) 
any circumstances connected with an auditor of the Company 
ceasing to hold office since the last AGM. The Company cannot 
require the shareholders requesting the publication to pay its 
expenses in complying with the request. Any statement placed on 
the website must also be sent to the Company’s auditor no later 
than the time the statement is made available on the website. The 
business which may be dealt with at the meeting includes any 
statement that the Company has been required to publish on its 
website under section 527 of the Companies Act 2006.

12. Total voting rights
As at 8 February 2018 (being the latest practicable date prior to 
the publication of the notice of AGM), the Company’s issued share 
capital consisted of 222,376,988 shares carrying one vote each. 
Therefore the total voting rights in the Company as at 8 February 
2018 was 222,376,988.

13. Documents available for inspection
The following documents are available for inspection at the 
registered office of the Company during normal business hours and 
will be at the place of the AGM for at least 15 minutes prior to and 
during the AGM:

(a)  copies of the directors’ service agreements with the Company;

(b)  copies of the non-executive directors’ letters of appointment;

(c)  a copy of the Company’s articles of association; and

(d)  a copy of the Company’s indemnity for directors;

14. Communication with the Company
You may not use any electronic address provided in this notice of 
AGM or any related documents (including the proxy form) to 
communicate with the Company for any purposes other than those 
expressly stated.

6. Changing and revoking proxy instructions
To change your proxy instruction simply submit a new proxy 
appointment using the methods set out above. Where two or more 
valid separate appointments of proxy are received in respect of the 
same share and for the same meeting, those received last by 
Equiniti will take precedence.

In order to revoke a proxy instruction, a shareholder will need to 
inform the Company by sending a signed hard copy notice clearly 
stating his/her intention to revoke a proxy appointment to Equiniti 
Ltd, Aspect House, Spencer Road, Lancing BN99 6DA. In the case of 
a corporate shareholder, the revocation notice must be executed 
under its common seal or signed on its behalf by a duly authorised 
officer or attorney. Any power of attorney or any other authority 
under which the revocation notice is signed (or a duly certified 
copy of such power of attorney) must be included with the 
revocation notice. Termination of proxy appointments made 
through CREST must be made in accordance with the procedures 
described in the CREST Manual.

7. Corporate representatives
A corporate shareholder can appoint one or more corporate 
representatives who may exercise on its behalf all of its powers as 
a shareholder provided that they do not do so in relation to the 
same shares. Representatives of shareholders that are corporations 
will have to produce evidence of their proper appointment when 
attending the AGM. Please contact Equiniti for further guidance.

8. Nominated persons
Any person to whom this notice is sent who is not a shareholder 
but is a person nominated by a shareholder under section 146 of 
the Companies Act 2006 to enjoy information rights (a Nominated 
Person) may, under an agreement with the shareholder who 
nominated him/her, have a right to be appointed, or have someone 
else appointed, as a proxy for the AGM. If a Nominated Person has 
no such right or does not wish to exercise it, he/she may, under any 
such agreement, have a right to give voting instructions to the 
shareholder.

The statement of the rights of shareholders in relation to the 
appointment of proxies set out in notes 2 to 7 above does not 
apply to Nominated Persons. The rights described in those notes 
can only be exercised by shareholders of the Company. If you are 
a Nominated Person it is important to remember that your main 
contact in terms of your investment remains the registered 
shareholder or the custodian or broker who administers the 
investment on your behalf.

9. Shareholder participation
Any shareholder attending the AGM has the right to ask questions 
relating to the business of the meeting and the Company has an 
obligation to answer such questions unless (i) to do so would 
interfere unduly with the preparation for the meeting or involve the 
disclosure of confidential information, (ii) the answer has already 
been given on a website in the form of an answer to a question, or 
(iii) it is undesirable in the interests of the Company or the good 
order of the meeting that the question be answered.

10. Availability of information on a website
A copy of this notice of AGM, and other information required by 
section 311A of the Companies Act 2006, can be found on the 
Company’s website at www.stmodwen.co.uk.

185

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationINFORMATION FOR SHAREHOLDERS

Shareholder analysis
Holdings of ordinary shares as at 30 November 2017:

By shareholder

Individuals

Directors and connected persons

Insurance companies, nominees and pension funds

Other limited companies and corporate bodies

By shareholding

Up to 500

501 to 1,000

1,001 to 5,000

5,001 to 10,000

10,001 to 50,000

50,001 to 100,000

100,001 to 500,000

500,001 to 1,000,000

1,000,001 and above

Shareholders

Shares

Number

%

Number

%

2,827

36

753

59

76.92

0.98

20.49

1.61

10,300,848

24,595,084

187,289,897

191,159

4.63

11.06

84.22

0.09

3,675

100.00

222,376,988

100.00

1,011

605

1,242

301

257

65

106

36

52

27.51

16.46

33.80

8.19

6.99

1.77

2.89

0.98

1.41

248,071

465,399

2,948,652

2,199,308

5,643,139

4,666,044

26,195,361

26,434,778

153,576,236

0.11

0.21

1.32

0.99

2.54

2.10

11.78

11.89

69.06

3,675

100.00

222,376,988

100.00

Shareholder percentage by shareholder 

Shareholders percentage by shareholding

Individuals
Directors and connected persons
Insurance Companies, Nominees 
and Pension Funds
Other Limited Companies 
and Corporate Bodies

Up to 500
501 to 1,000
1,001 to 5,000
5,001 to 10,000
10,001 to 50,000
50,001 to 100,000
100,001 to 500,000
500,001 to 1,000,000
1,000,001 and above

Financial calendar

Ordinary shares quoted ex-dividend

2016/17 final dividend record date

AGM

2016/17 final dividend payment date

Announcement of 2018 half year results

Announcement of 2018 final results

186

8 March 2018

9 March 2018

28 March 2018

4 April 2018

July 2018

February 2019

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Website
Information about St. Modwen, including this and prior years’ 
Annual Reports, results announcements and presentations, 
together with the latest share price information, is available 
on our website at www.stmodwen.co.uk/investor-relations.

Shareholding enquiries and information
All general enquiries concerning holdings of shares in 
St. Modwen should be addressed to our registrar:

Equiniti 
Aspect House 
Spencer Road 
Lancing 
West Sussex 
BN99 6DA

Shareholder security
Shareholders are advised to be very wary of unsolicited mail or 
telephone calls offering free investment advice, offers to buy shares 
at a discount or sell shares at a premium, or offers of free company 
reports. Such contact is typically from overseas based ‘brokers’ who 
target UK shareholders through operations commonly known as 
‘boiler rooms’. These ‘brokers’ can be very persistent and extremely 
persuasive and often have websites to support their activities.

To avoid share fraud:

•  Keep in mind that firms authorised by the Financial Conduct 

Authority (FCA) are unlikely to contact you unexpectedly with 
an offer to buy or sell shares.

•  Do not get into a conversation, note the name of the person and 

firm contacting you and then end the call.

Telephone: 0371 384 2198(1) (+44 (0)121 415 7047 if calling from 
outside the UK)

•  Check the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk to see 
if the person and firm contacting you is authorised by the FCA.

A range of shareholder information is available online at Equiniti’s 
website www.shareview.co.uk. Here you can also view information 
about your shareholding and obtain forms that you may need to 
manage your shareholding, such as a change of address form or 
a stock transfer form. 

Dividend mandate
If you are a shareholder who has a UK bank or building society 
account, you can arrange to have dividends paid direct via a bank 
or building society mandate. There is no fee for this service and 
notification confirming details of the dividend payment will be sent to 
your registered address. Please contact Equiniti on 0371 384 2198(1) 
or go to www.shareview.co.uk for further information.

Overseas dividend payment service
If you are resident outside the UK, Equiniti (by arrangement with 
Citibank Europe PLC) can provide dividend payments that are 
automatically converted into your local currency and paid direct to 
your bank account. For more information on this overseas payment 
service please contact Equiniti on +44 (0)121 415 7047 or download 
an application form at www.shareview.co.uk.

Share dealing service
If you are UK resident, you can buy and sell shares in St. Modwen 
through Shareview Dealing, a telephone and internet based service 
provided by Equiniti Financial Services Ltd. For further details please 
visit www.shareview.co.uk/dealing or call Equiniti on 03456 037037. 
Equiniti Financial Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the 
Financial Conduct Authority. Other brokers and banks or building 
societies also offer share dealing facilities.

Electronic communications
As an alternative to receiving documents in hard copy, shareholders 
can elect to be notified by email as soon as documents such as our 
Annual Report are published. This notification includes details of 
where you can view or download the documents on our website. 
Shareholders who wish to register for email notification can do so 
via Equiniti’s website at www.shareview.co.uk.

(1) Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday, excluding public 

holidays in England and Wales.

•  Beware of fraudsters claiming to be from an authorised firm, 

copying its website or giving you false contact details.

•  Use the firm’s contact details listed on the Register if you want 

to call it back.

•  Call the FCA on 0800 111 6768 if the firm does not have contact 

details on the Register or you are told they are out of date.

•  Search the list of unauthorised firms to avoid at  

www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams.

•  Consider that if you buy or sell shares from an unauthorised 
firm you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman 
Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

•  Think about getting independent financial and professional 

advice before you hand over any money.

•  Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

If you are approached by fraudsters please tell the FCA using 
the share fraud reporting form at www.fca.org.uk/consumers/
report-scam-unauthorised-firm, where you can find out more 
about investment scams. You can also call the FCA Consumer 
Helpline on 0800 111 6768.

If you have already paid money to share fraudsters you should 
contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held on Wednesday, 28 March 2018 in the 
Evolution Suite, Innovation Centre, 1 Devon Way, Longbridge 
Technology Park, Birmingham B31 2TS, commencing at 12.00 noon. 
The notice of meeting, together with an explanation of the resolutions 
to be considered at the meeting, is set out on pages 180 to 185.

187

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Strategic reportCorporate governanceFinancial statementsAdditional informationCONTACTS

St. Modwen Properties PLC
Company No. 349201

Head Office
Park Point 
17 High Street 
Longbridge 
Birmingham 
B31 2UQ 
0121 222 9400

South East
180 Great Portland Street 
London 
W1W 5QZ 
020 7788 3700

Midlands
Park Point 
17 High Street 
Longbridge 
Birmingham 
B31 2UQ 
0121 647 1000

North West
Chepstow House 
Trident Business Park 
Daten Avenue 
Risley 
Warrington 
WA3 6BX 
01925 825950

West and Wales
Green Court 
Kings Weston Lane 
Avonmouth 
Bristol 
BS11 8AZ 
0117 316 7780

St. Modwen Homes
Two Devon Way 
Longbridge 
Birmingham 
B31 2TS 
0121 647 1000

The Trentham Estate
Stone Road 
Trentham 
Stoke-on-Trent 
ST4 8JG 
01782 645222

Yorkshire and North East
2 Landmark Court 
Revie Road 
Leeds 
LS11 8JT 
0113 272 7070

188

St. Modwen Properties PLCAnnual report and financial statements 2017Disclaimer
This Annual Report and Financial Statements has been 
prepared for the members of St. Modwen Properties 
PLC and should not be relied upon by any other party 
or for any other purpose. The Company, its directors 
and employees, agents and advisors do not accept 
or assume responsibility to any other person to 
whom this document is shown or into whose hands 
it may come and any such responsibility or liability 
is expressly disclaimed.

The Annual Report and Financial Statements contains 
certain forward looking statements which, by their 
nature, involve risk and uncertainty because they 
relate to future events and circumstances. Actual 
outcomes and results may differ materially from any 
outcomes or results expressed or implied by such 
forward looking statements. Any forward looking 
statements made by or on behalf of the Company are 
made in good faith based on the information available 
at the time the statement is made; no representation 
or warranty is given in relation to them, including 
as to their completeness or accuracy or the basis on 
which they were prepared. The Company does not 
undertake to update forward looking statements 
to reflect any changes in its expectations with 
regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions 
or circumstances on which any such statement is 
based. Nothing in this Annual Report and Financial 
Statements should be construed as a profit forecast.

Designed by Gather  
+44 (0)20 7610 6140

www.gather.london

Imagery used throughout the report has been taken by: 
Commercial Property Photography, Mathew Nichol 
Photography, Metro Photographic, Page Seven 
Photography, Roger Smith Aerial Photography, 
Will Slater, James Bastable, George Brooks, Aeroviews 

The paper used in this report is elemental chlorine 
free and is FSC® accredited. It is printed to ISO 14001 
environmental procedures, using vegetable based inks.

The Forest Stewardship Council® 
(FSC®) is an international network 
which promotes responsible 
management of the world’s forests. 
Forest certification is combined 
with a system of product labelling 
that allows consumers to readily 
identify timber based products 
from certified sources.

www.stmodwen.co.uk

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