Watkin Jones
Annual Report 2024

Creating the 
future of living
Annual report and financial statements 2024

Who we are
Watkin Jones is the UK’s leading developer and manager of 
residential for rent, with a focus on the build to rent, student 
accommodation and single family homes housing sectors. 
We have strong relationships with the institutional investors 
who buy our schemes and a reputation for successful, 
on‑time delivery of high-quality developments.
Our vertically integrated business model is a key strength and 
allows us to offer our institutional clients an end-to-end service, 
from sourcing sites in attractive urban locations, developing 
and constructing the schemes, to managing the finished 
development, as well as refurbishing their existing assets.
We typically aim to forward sell our developments before we 
start construction, giving us a capital-light and cash-generative 
business. Our Accommodation Management division also 
generates invaluable insight from residents, helping us to 
evolve our designs to meet their changing expectations.
Our purpose
Our purpose is to create the future of living, regenerating urban 
areas by developing and building places that people will enjoy 
living in for years to come. We enhance residents’ lives through 
the quality of our homes and excellent customer service, and play 
a meaningful part in helping to solve the UK’s housing shortage.
Our approach to sustainability
Sustainability is inherent to our purpose, as we transform mainly 
urban brownfield sites into new homes and communities. 
Our sustainability strategy encompasses the people who work 
with us, the places we create and our impact on the planet.
Our future people
Our future planet
Our future places
Read more on pages 41 to 52
Metal Works, Bedminster, Bristol
Strategic report
1	
Our year in numbers
2	
Chair’s statement
4	
Business overview
5	
Our markets
8	
Our business model
10	
Chief Executive Officer’s review
12	
Case study
14	
Our strategy
16	
Key performance indicators
18	
Operational review
22	
Financial review
28	
Risk management  
and principal risks
41	
Sustainability
53	
Non-financial and sustainability 
information statement
62	
Our stakeholders
66	
Section 172 statement
Governance
69	
Chair’s introduction
70	
Board of Directors
71	
Corporate governance
75	
Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) 
Corporate Governance Code
76	
Audit Committee report
80	
Nomination Committee report
82	
Directors’ remuneration report
89	
Directors’ report
Company information
145	 Advisers
145	 Shareholder information
146	 Glossary
146	 Financial calendar
Financial statements
91	
Directors’ responsibilities
92	
Independent auditor’s report
99	
Consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income
100	 Consolidated statement of 
financial position
101	 Consolidated statement of 
changes in equity
102	 Consolidated statement  
of cash flows
103	 Notes to the consolidated 
financial statements
140	 Company statement of  
financial position
141	 Company statement of  
changes in equity
142	 Notes to the Company  
financial statements

Financial statements
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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
1
Revenue
£362.4 million
2023: £413.2m
Operating profit/(loss)
£3.6 million
2023: £(38.0)m
Adjusted profit/(loss) before tax1
£9.2 million
2023: £(2.9)m
Earnings/(loss) per share1
0.7 pence
2023: (12.7)p
Return on capital employed1
14.8%
2023: 0.2%
Gross profit 
£33.8 million
2023: £34.9m
Adjusted earnings/(loss) per share1
3.5 pence
2023: (0.6)p
Adjusted net cash1
£83.4 million
2023: £43.9m
Adjusted operating profit1
£10.6 million
2023: £0.2m
Dividend per share
Nil
2023: 1.4p
Our year in numbers
Resilient performance reflected in improved operating profitability and cash position
Net assets
£132.6 million
2023: £130.0m
1.	 Alternative performance measures (APMs) have been provided where 
appropriate to give a view of the Group’s underlying financial performance. 
An explanation of the APMs used and their calculation is provided on page 26.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Dear shareholder
In January 2024, Alex Pease, our Chief 
Executive Officer, set out an updated 
strategy for the Group, recognising the 
need to broaden the base of the Group’s 
earnings. Over the last 12 months we have 
made positive progress against each of the 
key strands of Alex’s strategy. In particular, 
I believe that our joint venture with Housing 
Growth Partnership for a major PBSA 
scheme in Stratford, East London, is a 
fantastic example of Watkin Jones being 
able to flex its business model to meet the 
requirements of our institutional investors.
Nevertheless, a number of the market 
challenges that the business has had 
to work with over the last 24 months 
remain. Interest rates remain well above 
the five-year average, and while we have 
seen some easing of input cost inflation, 
accessing certain labour skills remains 
challenging. The macroeconomic and 
geopolitical backdrop also continues to 
carry a high degree of uncertainty.
While the Group’s robust net cash 
position provides it with a strong financial 
underpin to meet its committed spending 
requirements, our capital-light business 
model is a potential limiting factor on the 
extent to which we can take advantage 
of market conditions as they improve and 
proactively commit early-stage capital into 
our pipeline. In light of this, management 
has been looking at how we might work 
with our institutional partners to provide 
additional funding flexibility.
Financial performance
Revenue for the year was £362.4 million 
(FY23: £413.2 million) and operating 
profit was £10.6 million (FY23: loss of 
£38.0 million). Year-end adjusted net 
cash was strong at £83.4 million (FY23: 
£43.9 million).
At an operational level we completed five 
PBSA and BTR developments during the 
year, and handed over the first phase of 
a sixth, with one more completing post 
September.
Building safety
Building safety remediation remains a 
key focus for the Board. Watkin Jones, 
like the rest of the property industry, has 
had to continually reassess the level of 
the Group’s exposure as our technical 
understanding and the detailed legislation 
has evolved. The Group has incurred 
£16.2 million in cash costs during the year, 
and recognised an additional £7.0 million 
liability for further works required, such 
that we have a net balance sheet provision 
of £48.0 million at 30 September 2024 
(£54.7 million at 30 September 2023). 
Further detail in respect of our approach 
to building safety remediation is set out 
on page 67.
People
The heart of Watkin Jones lies in the people 
it employs, many of whom have worked 
for the Group for a considerable length of 
time. Indeed, every time I go round one 
of our sites I am always impressed by the 
considerable loyalty and pride people feel 
towards the organisation. Against this 
backdrop, making sure we continue to 
listen to our employees’ views is absolutely 
paramount, and I have been impressed by 
how Alex Pease has championed a much 
more open style of communication across 
the organisation.
We ran our third all-employee engagement 
survey this year. While the engagement 
score was broadly in line with the prior year, 
it was pleasing to see that the participation 
levels increased.
As an organisation we also continue to 
focus on how we can improve diversity 
and training across the Group. During 
the year we have partnered with Purple 
Tuesday, an organisation promoting 
disability, to increase awareness and 
understanding. Through this we have 
adapted many elements of our recruitment 
and onboarding process, as well as 
workplace environments.
Chair’s statement
Alan Giddins
Chair

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
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Board
Sarah Sergeant stepped down as 
Chief Financial Officer in June 2024. 
The Nomination Committee ran an 
extensive process, involving a third-party 
search firm, to identify an appropriate 
candidate for the role. Simon Jones was 
the standout candidate, bringing with 
him extensive property and financing 
experience. Simon joined the business 
in May 2024, and in the short time he 
has been with the Group I have seen 
first‑hand the significant impact he has 
been able to have.
ESG
The health and safety of our employees 
and our subcontractors remains a key 
focus for the Board. It is reported on by 
the Chief Executive Officer at each Board 
meeting, in addition to which the Board 
receives regular updates from the Group 
Head of Health and Safety.
We launched our sustainability strategy, 
Future Foundations, in November 2021. 
This has now become embedded within 
our normal business practices and is 
an integral part of how we do business. 
We report against our targets in our 
sustainability report on pages 41 to 52.
Dividend
The Board, prioritising the maintenance 
of financial flexibility, did not propose an 
interim dividend. Recognising that there 
remains a level of uncertainty within our 
end markets, the Board has decided to 
continue with this approach and is not 
proposing that the Group should pay a 
final dividend.
Outlook
PBSA and BTR remain two of the most 
attractive asset classes within real estate. 
For our institutional investors, however, 
confidence in the downward trajectory of 
interest rates and stability of input costs 
remain critical to decision making.
While my working assumption is that we 
may see only marginal improvement in 
the first half of 2025, I am hopeful that we 
may start to see the market opening up in 
the second half of the year. In the interim, 
your Board will remain focused on our 
employees, maintaining a strong balance 
sheet and continuing to look at how we 
evolve our model and effectively access 
additional sources of funding.
Finally, I would like to thank my Board 
colleagues and all of my colleagues in 
Watkin Jones. Watkin Jones is an excellent 
business which has had to face into a very 
challenging market over the last two years. 
As the market does improve I believe the 
Group will benefit from the clear strategy 
management has put in place.
Alan Giddins
Chair
23 January 2025

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Our businesses are highly complementary, giving us a complete 
development, management and asset refresh solution for our 
institutional clients. Together, they position us to achieve our purpose 
of creating the future of living.
Business overview
We completed our first purpose-built 
BTR development in 2017, as we 
leveraged our student accommodation 
capabilities into this rapidly growing 
sector. Since then, we have completed 
more than 2,200 apartments across 12 
schemes.
 
Build To Rent  
(BTR)
Purpose  
Built Student 
Accommodation 
(PBSA)
Accommodation 
Management
Single Family  
Homes
Refresh
Read more on page 18
We are the UK’s leading PBSA 
developer. Over the last 25 years, we 
have delivered c.50,000 student beds 
across 147 schemes. Our reputation 
for high quality and on-time delivery 
is particularly important in this sector, 
where developments must be ready for 
the start of the academic year.
Fresh is a market-leading independent 
manager of residential for rent assets 
across the UK and Ireland. It creates 
communities for our residents, winning 
numerous awards for service quality and 
for supporting our residents’ wellbeing. 
Our affordable-led, single family homes 
create developments for purchase by 
institutions and housing associations, as 
well as other tenures such as homes for 
private sale.
Our Refresh business gives our clients’ 
existing assets a new lease of life, 
leveraging our construction skills to 
refurbish, redevelop and reposition them.
Read more on page 19
Read more on page 20
Read more on page 18
Read more on page 19

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BTR and PBSA are two of the most attractive asset classes within 
the real estate sector. In this section, we explain the trends that 
underpin our confidence in their long-term growth potential.
Our markets
  Build To Rent
The UK has growing unmet 
demand for housing
There is a long-standing imbalance of 
supply and demand for housing, with 
delivery of new homes consistently falling 
short of government goals. In 2022/23, for 
example, a net 234,4001 dwellings were 
added in England, more than 20% below 
the government’s 300,000 target. The 
new government is determined to address 
this, by delivering 370,000 new homes per 
year in England and 1.5 million in total by 
2029, supported by planning reforms, local 
housing targets and the creation of new 
towns.
The shortage of new housing means many 
people cannot afford to buy a home. 
The average house price in England 
was 8.3 times2 average earnings for a 
full-time employee in 2023, and recent 
research3 shows 40% of full-time workers 
are unable to buy an average priced two 
or three-bed home in Great Britain. This 
makes renting the default option for large 
numbers of people. 
In England, there are 4.6 million 
households, or 19% of the total4, living in 
the private rented sector. However, rental 
homes are also in short supply, with data 
from Zoopla showing the stock of homes 
available for rent in August 2024 was 24% 
lower than in the same period in 2019. 
In part this reflects increasing regulation 
and less-favourable tax treatment, which 
have led many buy-to-let landlords to 
sell up. A lack of PBSA in larger towns 
and cities also ties up housing that could 
otherwise be used by local people.
BTR provides better homes that 
suit modern lifestyles
Most private rented housing in England is 
ageing stock, with 32% having been built 
pre-1919 and 58% built pre-1965. Just 12% 
has been built since 20023. As a result, 
private renters are the most likely group to 
live in a home that does not meet Decent 
Home Standards (21%), has a category 1 
hazard (12%)5 or suffers from damp (10%). 
Modern BTR developments, in contrast, 
offer high-quality and energy-efficient 
homes, with excellent internet connectivity, 
amenities such as gyms, cinema rooms 
and workspaces, and a ready-made 
community. 
Many private sector tenants value the 
flexibility of renting. They are generally 
younger, with the head of the household 
having an average age of 41, compared 
with 57 for owner occupiers and 53 for 
social renters. Reflecting this, they are 
more likely to have children (30% versus 
23% for owner occupiers) and are much 
more likely to move home for a new job 
(22% versus 7% for owner occupiers)3. 
BTR therefore suits their lifestyles.
Impact of BTR market conditions 
and our response
The market conditions described above 
mean that:
•	 rents have risen rapidly in recent years, 
with annual growth to November 2024 of 
10.4% in London and 8.7% across the 
UK as a whole6; and
•	 occupancy of BTR schemes is high, 
at an average of 98%7 across the UK.
The BTR sector is still in its early stages 
and makes up just 2.1% of total private 
rented homes in the UK, rising to 3.2% 
including BTR homes currently under 
construction8. This gives the sector 
substantial room to grow. BTR schemes 
will also have an important role in meeting 
the government’s housing targets, by 
delivering new homes at scale. In total, 
Savills estimates more than 1 million new 
rental homes will be required by 20316.
These dynamics all make BTR an attractive 
asset class for institutional investors. 
However, limited completed stock makes 
it difficult for many to achieve sufficient 
exposure to the sector. Among the top 50 
investors in UK BTR assets, the average 
holding is around 1,700 units and only a 
handful own more than 5,000 units6.
We therefore continue to seek attractive 
locations for BTR developments, leveraging 
our development expertise and supply 
chain. To help address affordability, we 
bring forward schemes which include a 
substantial element of affordable housing. 
The proportion of renters with children also 
supports the development of single-family 
housing within our BTR offering.
1.	 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
2.	 Office for National Statistics.
3.	 Zoopla, October 2024.
4.	 English Housing Survey 2023.
5.	 A Housing Health and Safety Rating System category 1 hazard presents a serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety.
6.	 Savills.
7.	 Knight Frank/Experian.
8.	 Fresh.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Our markets continued
Demand for UK university places 
remains strong
The UK has one of the world’s leading 
higher education sectors, with 11 of the 
top 100 universities globally and 25 of the 
top 2001. 
There are 2.4 million2 full-time students 
in the UK and the number continues to 
grow. For the 2023 application cycle, UK 
universities received 752,000 applications 
for 554,000 places, showing demand well 
above supply3, and UCAS projects that 
applications could reach 1 million by 2030. 
This is supported by positive demographic 
trends, with the number of 18 year olds 
in the UK projected to increase by 25% 
between 2020 and 20302. Demand from 
overseas students also remains strong, 
with the latest UCAS figures for the 2024 
cycle (to June 2024) showing 135,000 
applications, little changed on the 138,000 
received at the same stage in 2023.
There is a chronic shortage of 
student accommodation
As with general housing, there is a 
long‑term demand-supply imbalance for 
PBSA. CBRE estimates there is unmet 
demand of around 600,000 beds across 
the UK, with the shortage particularly acute 
in the most popular cities4. London, for 
example, has around 400,000 students 
but only around 100,000 PBSA beds5. 
The 20 largest student cities in the UK 
have 1.3 million students but only 500,000 
operational PBSA beds6.
This imbalance is expected to grow, 
with the predicted annual increase in 
the number of students exceeding the 
supply of new beds. Planning and viability 
challenges have restricted new starts in 
recent years, with only 9,000 new beds 
delivered in 2023 and 14,000 expected in 
2024, against an historic average of 30,000 
per year5.
Much PBSA stock is outdated
Around one quarter of total PBSA is 
unrefurbished first-generation stock, which 
is less attractive to students. Newly built 
PBSA generally offers better amenities, 
resulting in higher rents and occupancy 
rates, while aligning with investor 
requirements for best-in-class products 
with strong ESG credentials, limited legacy 
issues, operational efficiencies and lower 
running costs. 
The refurbishment of existing, older 
assets also offers opportunities for us to 
reposition and modernise schemes for our 
investor clients.
  Purpose Built Student Accommodation
1.	 Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.
2.	 ONS.
3.	 UCAS.
4.	 CBRE.
5.	 Savills.
The Brook, Bath

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
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Impact of PBSA market conditions 
and our response
The market conditions described above 
mean that:
•	 lack of supply is driving strong rental 
growth, up 8.2% from academic year 
2023/24 to 2024/251; and
•	 most markets have been resilient, with 
overall occupancy for the 2024/25 
academic year at 90% and many 
schemes at least 65% booked by 
spring 20242. However, letting velocities 
and occupancy rates currently sit at 
a reduced rate compared to 2023/24, 
across the portfolio, due to a slight 
decrease in the number of international 
students in the UK and an increase in 
supply in several markets. This effect 
is driven by three specific markets: 
Nottingham, Coventry, and Swansea.
Selectivity therefore remains key, as we 
continue to see good prospects in the 
PBSA market. We look to build in towns 
and cities with high-performing universities 
that are most in‑demand with students, 
using student feedback via Fresh to 
keep our developments attractive to 
future occupants. We also see attractive 
opportunities to use our skills to refurbish 
existing assets (see page 19).
Market conditions in FY24
While the long-term market trends are 
favourable, the real estate sector remained 
challenging throughout FY24. Funding 
costs have stayed high and uncertainty 
over the pace of interest rate cuts has had 
a significant effect on investment market 
liquidity. Estimated total 2024 transaction 
volumes were £3.5 billion in BTR and 
£3 billion in PBSA, down 24% and 57% 
respectively on 20231. This continued 
to affect our ability to forward sell 
developments and we have responded by 
considering alternative financing structures, 
as shown by the transaction with Housing 
Growth Partnership we announced in 
July 2024 (see page 12). However, we are 
seeing new institutional entrants to the 
market from North America and Australia, 
reflecting the relatively good value of PBSA 
assets.
Planning remains a barrier to entry 
in residential to rent. Local planning 
authorities are under-resourced and 
the assessment process is increasingly 
complex, with an emphasis on design, 
quality, ESG and building safety. These 
factors are delaying decisions and reducing 
applications and consents, contributing to 
supply shortfalls. 
The funding and viability challenges for 
developers are having a knock-on effect 
on the land market. We continue to 
actively review opportunities to expand 
our longer‑term pipeline and while there 
is competition for good locations, we 
are seeing attractive opportunities to 
acquire sites both on and off-market, 
with expected margins building back to 
our long-run targets.
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
New PBSA beds added
Source: Cushman & Wakefield.
1.	 Savills.
2.	 Fresh.
Uni
Private

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Our business model provides our institutional clients 
with a full solution, which ranges from identifying sites to 
managing the finished buildings, to refreshing assets to 
bring them back to life.
Our business model
Know-how and insights
Our in-house knowledge of 
markets, planning and client 
demand is crucial to making the 
right investments. Our target 
locations are informed by data 
analysis and insights from our 
institutional partners and Fresh, 
which interacts with thousands of 
students and residents every day.
Regeneration and community
We generally target urban 
brownfield sites, close to transport 
and amenities, which we can bring 
back to life with energy efficient 
homes and vibrant communities.
Strong relationships and 
track record
Our extensive network of 
relationships enables us to 
source many sites off-market, at 
attractive prices. Our track record, 
strong reputation and financial 
standing then help us to close 
these transactions, since we can 
offer vendors greater certainty of 
completion.
Disciplined selection
We regularly review our target 
markets and product to ensure 
they are fit for purpose. We subject 
site acquisitions to our rigorous 
investment approval process before 
we proceed.
Risk mitigation
We typically reduce risk by making 
site purchases conditional on 
receiving satisfactory planning 
consent. Occasionally we buy sites 
unconditionally, where the potential 
margin outweighs the additional risk 
and we are confident of planning 
approval.
In-house expertise
Our specialist in-house planning 
team is a key advantage for us. 
The team’s extremely high success 
rate over more than a decade helps 
to minimise planning delays. 
Strict ESG criteria
Our planning proposals assess 
environmental and social impact 
and consider stakeholder views 
on matters such as amenity 
space, affordable housing and the 
environment. We target industry 
standards for environmental 
efficiency and residents’ wellbeing, 
which would benchmark our 
developments as best in class.
Capital-light model with 
excellent visibility
We generally aim to forward sell 
each scheme to an investor before 
we start construction, reducing 
our risk and working capital 
requirements. Forward sales give 
us excellent visibility of our earnings 
and cash flow, so we can plan our 
working capital requirements.
Innovative structures
To suit market conditions we may 
explore alternative investment 
structures to the traditional 
forward fund, such as joint venture 
arrangements. This broadens 
the range of institutions we can 
work with and, unlike the forward 
sale model, may provide fee 
opportunities as well as margin 
upside for us when the development 
is ultimately sold.
Strong partnerships
Selling our developments means we 
do not compete with our institutional 
clients and can forge stronger 
relationships with them. We partner 
with investors who share our vision 
of creating communities and 
constructing better, environmentally 
friendly homes that people are 
proud to live in.
Identify 
development 
sites
Site procurement 
and planning
Transaction 
and funding

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
9
Construction expertise
Unlike many developers, we 
self‑build most of our schemes. 
This gives us greater control, with 
our expert construction directors 
and project managers holding our 
supply chain to our very high quality 
and health and safety standards. 
We may use third-party contractors 
to give us additional capacity and 
flexibility.
Strong partnerships
We have long-term relationships 
with key suppliers, who understand 
our requirements and standards, 
and share our focus on health and 
safety, sustainability and doing 
business responsibly.
Continuous improvement
Initiatives such as design 
standardisation and increasing 
the use of modern methods of 
construction help us to improve 
efficiency, while maintaining quality 
and the highest standards of 
building safety.
Adding value for clients
Fresh is a key part of our offer 
for institutional clients, managing 
assets developed by us and 
third parties. We focus on repeat 
business, with a view to managing 
portfolios of assets for them. 
High barriers to entry
We have invested significantly in 
systems tailored to residential for 
rent. The required investment, 
plus the need to employ experts 
ranging from health and safety to 
customer experience, mean that 
accommodation managers need 
significant scale and barriers to 
entry are high.
Invaluable insights
Insight from residents enables 
us to drive product innovation 
in the right areas and inform our 
site identification and planning 
processes. We also use these 
insights to guide our asset 
refurbishment projects. 
Focus on wellbeing
Fresh has invested in a resident 
wellbeing programme, which has 
won industry awards.
Complete client solution
Our Refresh business gives us a 
complete solution for clients, by 
improving their existing assets. 
We can remediate issues with 
their buildings, refurbish the 
properties to increase rents and 
capital values, or strip the building 
back and completely reposition 
it. Our institutional relationships 
through our development and 
Fresh activities give us access to a 
pipeline of potential projects.
Leveraging our skills and 
supply chain
All the skills required for a Refresh 
project are already within our 
business. Our scale as a developer 
gives us substantial buying power 
and we can leverage relationships 
with many of our existing suppliers.
Supporting sustainability
Bringing buildings up to date 
helps to extend their useful life 
and can prevent assets becoming 
‘stranded’, when their failure to 
meet increasingly stringent ESG 
criteria significantly reduces their 
value. This in turn saves the carbon 
emissions associated with replacing 
the building.
Construction 
and delivery
Accommodation 
management
Asset refresh

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Alex Pease
Chief Executive Officer
The Group produced a resilient operational 
performance in FY24, in the context of a 
difficult investment market. The slow pace 
of interest rate cuts and the surprise timing 
of the general election meant that whilst 
investor sentiment remained positive, 
transactional activity on developments 
has not improved as quickly as expected, 
and we completed fewer forward sales 
as a result. We responded by focusing on 
the factors within our control: successfully 
delivering our in-build projects, carefully 
managing our costs and further increasing 
our resilience. In particular, we have 
broadened our revenue base, opened up 
new sources of income and worked hard to 
protect our cash position.
While the investment market has continued 
to be challenging, the sectors in which 
we operate remain attractive. PBSA is 
still undersupplied and BTR offers a key 
solution to the UK’s housing shortage, 
helping to accelerate the delivery of new 
homes and fostering communities. Rents 
in both sectors continue to grow. We are 
also encouraged that the new government 
is pro-housebuilding and wants to unblock 
the planning system to meet its ambitious 
housing targets. 
Performance 
During FY24 we completed five projects 
and handed over the first phase of a 
sixth. All finished on time and materially 
to budget, despite being procured and 
delivered in a very difficult construction 
environment, with high build cost inflation 
and supply chain disruption during 
FY22 and FY23. Our in-build sites are all 
progressing to plan. I am pleased that in 
the year we were able to close two forward 
sale transactions of our PBSA schemes at 
Stratford in East London and at Gas Lane 
in Bristol.
Group revenue was £362.4 million 
(FY23: £413.2 million), down 12.3%. 
In part this reflected the accounting 
treatment of the transaction of the 
Stratford development with Housing 
Growth Partnership (HGP), discussed 
later in this report. While it shares many 
of the characteristics of a forward sale, 
it was accounted for as the disposal of 
a subsidiary rather than a land sale. This 
excluded it from revenue, which would 
otherwise have been £24.8 million higher.
Gross profit reduced slightly to 
£33.8 million (FY23: £34.9 million) 
although operating profit before 
exceptional items was up materially at 
£10.6 million (FY23: £0.2 million). 
BTR was again the largest contributor to 
our revenue but the improved profitability 
of our PBSA developments was the main 
driver of our increased profits. We were 
also pleased by the initial results of our 
Refresh business (see below), which, 
from a standing start, doubled our budget 
targets with revenue of £10.9 million at a 
strong gross margin of 13.8%. 
At the year end, we achieved a better 
cash position than we forecast, with 
an adjusted net cash position of 
£83.4 million (30 September 2023: 
£43.9 million) and total cash and 
available facilities of £143.2 million 
(30 September 2023: £103.6 million), 
meaning our balance sheet remains strong.
Strategy 
We have continued to successfully 
implement our three-part strategy, which 
aims to diversify our sources of income 
in residential to rent, drive operational 
efficiency and ensure we are a responsible 
business. 
Diversify our sources of income 
Forward sales remain central to our model 
but with limited activity during the period, 
we have been proactive in leveraging 
our expertise in the residential for rent 
sector by developing new approaches, 
broadening our offering and diversifying 
our income streams. We are pursuing 
further ‘Development Partnerships’ with 
clients, looking to accelerate delivery and 
revenues by acquiring sites with planning 
consent or developing a consented site 
our partner already owns. Also, post 
FY24 close, we signed a development 
partnership with Torus to build 295 new 
affordable homes in Moss Nook, St Helens. 
This is another very positive example of us 
diversifying our sources of income.
The joint venture with HGP is an example 
of us exploring and executing alternative 
structures and in the case of that deal 
we have a significant opportunity to 
outperform our underwriting whilst 
managing risk.
We will continue to consider differing types 
of transaction which give us access to 
capital, and the potential to charge fees, 
whilst leveraging our leading development 
and construction expertise in the sector. 
Such flexibility should enable us to develop 
our pipeline and place the business in 
a strong position to capitalise on the 
opportunities that arise when the market 
recovers.
Chief Executive Officer’s review

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
11
We will continue to keep an open mind 
when exploring the funding options 
available to us, in order to provide a robust 
business in the long-term interests of our 
stakeholders.
Our new Refresh business stream, 
meanwhile, has turned a challenge into 
an opportunity, as clients saw the high 
standard of our building safety remediation 
work and asked us to apply that skill and 
experience to remediate their other assets. 
This service can be further expanded 
to include a fuller refurbishment and 
repositioning of an asset. We are leveraging 
our wide network of institutional contacts 
to grow the business and the volume 
of assets requiring remediation and the 
level of interest suggests we can achieve 
meaningful revenues and further diversify 
our income. To position ourselves to take 
advantage of this opportunity, we have 
created a dedicated team to provide this 
offering, which includes refurbishment and 
redevelopment. This team works closely 
with Fresh, who provide insight on resident 
needs, which can then be incorporated into 
our proposal.
Driving operational efficiency
Driving efficiencies was a key focus in 
FY24, as we began the second phase 
of our programme to deliver excellence 
through operational improvement. The 
aim is to further improve productivity 
and efficiency while reducing risk, 
ensuring our processes, governance and 
decision-making work well and set us up 
to outperform. As part of this, we have 
redesigned our Delivery function to ensure 
we have the right resources in the right 
place, and to give our people the capacity 
to lead. Richard Harris, Managing Director 
of Group Delivery, is retiring in January 
2025 and we have taken the opportunity 
to split his role. We have promoted and 
appointed to the executive team Gwyn 
Pritchard and Michael Bunyan to head 
up Construction and Project Services 
respectively. Richard has mentored them 
as part of our succession planning, to 
ensure a smooth transition. I want to thank 
Richard for his important contribution 
to the Group. We have also added to 
the executive team in the year with the 
appointment of Simon Jones as Chief 
Financial Officer and Adam McGhin as 
Chief Legal Officer & Company Secretary. 
Both Simon and Adam have substantial 
experience in the real estate sector and 
their leadership will prove key in driving 
forward the business to achieve our 
strategic goals.
Build cost inflation reduced during 
FY24 and we also benefited from our 
efforts to mitigate rising costs, including 
developing stronger relationships with our 
supply chain. We have created excellent 
partnerships with suppliers in FY24 to 
further improve our buying power and held 
our second supplier conference, with an 
enthusiastic reception as we launched 
Refresh to them.
The Fresh division continues to provide 
a reliable income stream to the business. 
Having a management arm is also hugely 
accretive to our understanding of the 
sector and what really matters to residents 
when living in PBSA and BTR buildings. 
We anticipate further opportunity to increase 
Fresh’s market share over the coming years 
as competitors exit the market.
Being a responsible business
This has been a tough period for our 
people but we have worked hard to keep 
them engaged and motivated, and I am 
pleased that we have retained our key 
personnel and skillsets. We have also 
maintained our exceptional health and 
safety record, substantially outperforming 
the peer group average.
Refresh captures everything good about 
sustainability. It gives people a better, safer 
place to live, helps improve the surrounding 
area and is good for the planet, as we can 
extend the building’s useful life and avoid 
the substantial carbon emissions from 
replacing it. We also continue to reduce our 
own environmental impact. For example, 
we have redesigned the standard student 
bedroom and reduced the associated 
Scope 3 emissions by 10%. We are also 
diverting 99.15% of waste from landfill. 
We made good progress with building 
safety remediation in the year, completing 
three projects at a cash cost in line with 
our expectations. The number of buildings 
in scope, the extent of the work required 
and discussions with building owners on 
reimbursement all continue to evolve, and 
the Board took the decision to recognise 
an additional £7.0 million liability during 
the year.
People
Our people are our greatest strength. The 
expertise and market-leading position of 
the business flows directly from the skills 
and quality of our people. When I carry 
out site visits throughout year, I am always 
struck and inspired by the knowledge and 
commitment of our staff. Their expertise 
is fundamental in continuing to deliver our 
strategy for the benefit of the residents and 
all of our stakeholders.
Please see pages 44 to 46 to learn more 
about our people strategy and how we are 
implementing it.
Outlook
We see good prospects for our capital‑light 
forward sale model. The attractions of 
our end markets mean there is significant 
capital wanting to allocate to the residential 
to rent sector but too few built assets to 
satisfy this demand. The major shortage 
of accommodation means new assets are 
urgently needed and the requirements of 
the Building Safety Act and focus on ESG 
performance also mean investors want 
new, best-in-class assets.
The low number of transactions in FY24 
will affect our FY25 results, by delaying 
revenue from building out schemes we 
had expected to forward sell. The Group’s 
performance will be significantly influenced 
by the evolution in forward fund liquidity 
over the coming months and, while it is 
possible to deliver year-on-year progress 
in FY25, this will require market conditions 
to improve at a faster pace as we enter the 
new financial year.
The business will continue to grow our 
diversification strategies in ‘Refresh’ and 
‘Development Partnerships’ across the 
UK living sectors to provide a resilient 
base for our traditional transactional and 
planning‑led development activities. 
We will also continue to assess innovative 
and alternative real estate funding 
opportunities if accretive to the scale and 
speed of growth in the business.
As a market-leading developer with a 
strong track record, Watkin Jones is an 
ideal conduit for institutional capital. 
Further interest rate cuts are forecast, 
which should improve forward fund 
liquidity. We are actively sourcing new 
land for development and are currently 
marketing a number of schemes, with 
encouraging investor interest. Looking to 
the medium term, we believe that there is 
an excellent opportunity in the sector and 
that we are well placed to take advantage 
of that.
Alex Pease
Chief Executive Officer
23 January 2025

12	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
In July 2024, we announced the sale of 
a major PBSA development in Stratford, 
East London. The 397-bed development 
is being funded by the Housing Growth 
Partnership (HGP), a social impact 
investor and part of Lloyds Banking 
Group. 
HGP takes a unique investment 
approach that shares risk and reward 
with its development partners. As a 
traditional forward sale would not meet 
its criteria, we created an innovative 
transaction structure that allowed it to 
participate. This structure retains many 
of the features of a forward sale but 
also gives us the chance to share in the 
upside if the project outperforms.
Our solution was to create a joint 
venture, owned 75% by HGP and 
25% by us. We will deliver the 
scheme to completion, at which point 
Fresh will take on its management. 
HGP is providing equity financing, 
supplemented by third-party debt.
We expect to generate revenues 
of around £96 million from the 
development, at margins in line with our 
targets. Once the scheme is completed 
and its operation has stabilised, we 
expect the JV to sell it. At this stage, 
we can receive a further cash payment 
if the sale generates returns above the 
hurdle rates we have agreed with HGP, 
with the size of the payment linked to 
the level of outperformance.
This is our first collaboration with HGP. 
The transaction demonstrates our 
entrepreneurial approach and our ability 
to offer attractive solutions to suit the 
needs of a broader range of institutional 
capital.
Creating innovative new ways to 
partner with institutional clients
Case study

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
13
The Oakgate, Leatherhead

14	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Our strategy aims to deliver sustainable growth from a 
broader range of income streams, while increasing our 
operational effectiveness and ensuring we are a responsible 
business.
Our strategy
1
Diversifying our 
sources of income
2
Driving 
operational 
excellence
Strategic focus
•	 Leveraging our market leadership in PBSA and building further 
momentum in BTR, by securing high-quality locations and using 
investor and resident insights to develop our products.
•	 Developing selected mixed-tenure schemes of affordable housing, 
including single-family housing.
•	 Growing our institutional-grade accommodation management 
services and establishing our Refresh offering.
•	 Continuing our diversification of income streams across the UK 
living sectors.
Strategic focus
•	 Optimising our business structure, to empower our teams and 
support cross‑functional working.
•	 Investing in our systems, processes and technology, to further 
increase productivity and reduce risk.
•	 Continuing to optimise cost and quality, for example by enhancing 
our supply chain management and introducing modern methods 
of construction (MMC).
Our progress in FY24
•	 Successful year of delivery, reaching practical completion on five 
schemes and completing phase one of a sixth. 
•	 Forward sold one development and established an innovative joint 
venture structure with Housing Growth Partnership, to deliver a 
PBSA scheme.
•	 Received planning on four sites, with the potential for 2,570 beds.
•	 Established Refresh to refurbish existing client properties, 
completing two projects and recruiting a Head of Building 
Improvements to lead this business.
•	 Added 2,392 units under management to the Fresh portfolio, 
partially offsetting the loss of 6,800 student beds taken in-house 
by clients from October 2023.
Our progress in FY24
•	 Began second phase of our Delivering Excellence through 
Continuous Improvement programme, including further process 
enhancements and designing a new structure for our Delivery 
function, to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
•	 Adapted approach to projects to reflect Building Safety Act 
requirements, including designing buildings earlier in the process.
•	 Improved management of build cost inflation, benefiting from 
strengthened supply chain relationships. 
•	 Improved cost forecasting and management of live projects, 
including recruiting a construction finance director, adding to the 
cost estimation team and improving processes, for example to 
highlight risks earlier.
•	 Increased the number of post-completion project reviews, to 
identify areas for further improvement.
•	 Trialled use of prefabricated kitchen pods, resulting in less waste 
and reduced snagging.
Priorities for FY25
•	 Complete further forward sales and continue to explore innovative 
transaction structures.
•	 Look to rebuild our BTR and PBSA pipelines, taking a highly 
disciplined approach to site acquisitions.
•	 Continue to explore development and land partnership models 
with existing and new capital partners.
•	 Win further projects for our Refresh offering.
•	 Reviewing alternative and accretive real estate funding options.
Priorities for FY25
•	 Introduce and embed the new structure for the Delivery function 
and ensure effective handover to new executive team members, 
on the retirement of our Managing Director of Group Delivery in 
January 2025.
•	 Continue phase 2 of Delivering Excellence through Continuous 
Improvement.
•	 Continue to focus on forecasting and effectively managing build 
cost inflation.
•	 Look for ways to innovate, for example through further increasing 
the use of MMC.
Link to risk
•	 Economic cycle
•	 Increased competition
•	 Land availability
•	 Liquidity
Link to risk
•	 Project delivery
•	 Build quality
•	 People

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
15
3
Ensuring we are 
a responsible 
business
Strategic focus
•	 Being a company that is great to work for, celebrates diversity and 
inclusion, and prioritises health and wellbeing.
•	 Enhancing resident and client satisfaction, by delivering the 
highest-quality buildings and services.
•	 Minimising our environmental footprint by reducing carbon 
emissions and waste.
Our progress in FY24
•	 Maintained our excellent health and safety record, with an incident 
rate at 13.4% of the industry average.
•	 Achieved employee engagement score of 72% (FY23: 73%).
•	 Further increased Fresh net promoter scores to +36 for residents 
(FY23: +35) and +62 for clients (FY23: +37).
•	 Diverted 99.15% of waste from landfill.
Priorities for FY25
•	 Continue to improve our health and safety performance.
•	 Maintain focus on employee engagement, communication, 
reward and recognition, learning and development, and diversity 
and inclusion.
•	 Continue to innovate to improve the environmental credentials 
of our developments.
•	 Reduce waste production and increase percentage diverted 
from landfill.
Link to risk
•	 Health and safety
•	 People
•	 Increased competition
The Waterways, Nottingham

16	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Financial KPIs:
Purpose
Measures our ability to maintain 
and improve the quality of our 
earnings over time, by selecting 
the right development projects and 
continually improving our operational 
effectiveness.
Definition
Gross profit as a percentage of 
revenue.
Performance
Gross margin improved during the 
period, with gross profit remaining 
broadly consistent despite reduced 
revenues, benefiting from the 
successful on-time completion of 
several schemes during the year and 
the commencement of our Bristol and 
Stratford PBSA schemes.
The prior year was impacted by 
supply chain pressures and build cost 
inflation, as well as acceleration costs 
required to achieve completion on 
certain of our schemes.
Purpose
Measures our ability to deliver 
profitable growth and underpins our 
progressive dividend policy.
Definition
Profit from continuing operations 
attributable to ordinary shareholders, 
excluding exceptional items, divided 
by the weighted average number of 
shares in issue in the year.
Performance
Adjusted basic earnings per share 
increased as a result of the improved 
trading performance and favourable 
effective tax rate primarily driven by 
the Stratford PBSA disposal. 
Purpose
Demonstrates how efficiently our 
working capital-light, forward sales 
model utilises the capital employed in 
the business, which in turn underpins 
our dividend policy and our strong 
financial position.
Definition
Operating profit before exceptional 
items, divided by average capital 
employed, being net assets excluding 
intangible assets, lease assets and 
liabilities, and net cash.
Performance
Our ROCE performance improved 
to 14.8%, reflecting the improved 
trading performance, the disposal 
of the Bristol and Stratford PBSA 
land assets, and the receipt of bullet 
payments for completed schemes.
Gross margin
(%)
Basic EPS (adjusted)
(pence)	
Return on capital employed
(ROCE) (%)
We have a range of key performance indicators to measure 
our progress towards achieving long-term, sustainable value 
growth for shareholders.
Key performance indicators
8.4%
(0.6)p
0.2%
FY23
FY23
FY23
FY24
FY24
FY24
9.3%
3.5p
14.8%

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
17
Non-financial KPIs:
Purpose
Shows our ability to build a strong 
pipeline for future development.
Definition
The total anticipated revenue to be 
delivered from development sites and 
Refresh contracts which are either 
secured or in legals.
Performance
The Group continued to identify 
opportunities to develop the secured 
BTR pipeline, with planning achieved 
for a further c.230 units. 
Our PBSA pipeline has also benefited 
from two new secured sites, and 
planning being achieved on three sites 
delivering c.2,300 beds. 
The impact of these additional units 
is offset in part by the successful 
project completions achieved in the 
current year.
Purpose
Shows our ability to expand our 
high‑margin Accommodation 
Management business, which 
provides an ongoing regular income 
and cash flow.
Definition
The number of student beds and build 
to rent units that Fresh is contracted to 
manage on behalf of our institutional 
clients.
Performance
Fresh continued to enhance its 
offering in a challenging market. 
Over last 12 months we have invested 
in our origination capabilities, adding 
c.2,400 new units under management. 
This was offset by 6,800 units where 
management was taken in-house by a 
major client from October 2023.
Total development pipeline
(£m)
Student beds and BTR units 
under management
23,064
18,656
FY23
FY23
FY24
FY24
1,843
1,955

BTR apartments by estimated year of practical completion
Total pipeline
FY25
FY26
FY27
FY28
Forward sold
2,382
956
1,110
316
—
Forward sales in the market
300
—
70
—
230
Sites secured subject to planning
795
—
—
—
795
Total secured pipeline
3,477
956
1,180
316
1,025
Build  
To Rent
Total revenues for the year were £211.3 
million (FY23: £207.7 million), up 1.7%. 
Revenues were generated by the build‑out 
of our forward sold developments and 
a development partnership scheme in 
Cardiff. During the year, we reached 
practical completion on our schemes at 
Hove and Lewisham, and handed over 
the first phase of the Sherlock Street 
development in Birmingham. 
In FY24, we submitted planning on a site in 
Leeds with the potential to deliver around 
230 units, which was approved just after 
year end. The current secured development 
pipeline for BTR is shown in the table 
above. The pipeline has an estimated 
future revenue value to us of £0.5 billion 
(FY23: £0.6 billion), of which £232 million is 
currently forward sold (FY23: £447 million). 
Gross profit for the year was £18.0 million 
(FY23: £19.8 million), down 9.1%, resulting 
in a gross margin of 8.5% (FY23: 9.5%). 
This reflected the lack of land sales in the 
period, with the build margins of certain 
in-year schemes being lower than typical 
land margins.
Award-winning delivery in BTR
We were delighted to win the BTR 
Specialist Award at the national EG 
Awards 2023. The judges commented:
“Watkin Jones has shown an incredible 
depth of activity over the period, and 
pushed the boundaries when it came 
to bringing capital to the BTR sector. 
The buildings Watkin Jones delivers are 
uncompromising in terms of design and 
approach to ESG standards and offer its 
residents a best-in-class service.”
The affordable-led single family homes 
business completed 20 sales in the year 
(FY23: 36 sales), generating revenue of 
£12.9 million (FY23: £19.6 million). 
The business has continued to make 
progress at its Crewe site but delays to 
house sales have increased holding and 
management costs, eroding the margin 
on completed transactions. Gross loss for 
the year was therefore £0.2 million (FY23: 
profit of £1.9 million) at a gross margin of 
-1.6% (FY23: +9.7%). We are looking at 
revising the planning at Crewe to reduce 
the number of four-bed units and provide 
more two and three-bed units, which 
will increase the potential for selling to 
single‑family housing funds. 
In December 2024, we signed a 
development partnership with Torus to 
construct 295 new affordable homes in 
St Helens.
Operational review
 Single Family Homes
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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
19
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
Having performed a soft launch of 
this business in the first half of the 
year, we successfully completed three 
refurbishment projects on PBSA assets 
for an existing institutional client. Total 
revenues in FY24 were £10.9 million, 
generating gross profit of £1.5 million at a 
margin of 13.8%. 
The completed projects renovated 800+ 
bedrooms and more than 660sqm of 
amenity space over an 11-week period. 
The room renovations started at the end 
of term and in just eight weeks returned all 
rooms fully renovated for the new intake in 
September. The amenity works transformed 
unused spaces into vibrant hubs. This 
successful partnership has led to further 
active discussions on future work.
With a dedicated team in place to deliver 
these projects and an active pipeline, we 
anticipate good growth in FY25. The PBSA 
sector currently has the greatest potential, 
given the large proportion of outdated 
stock (see page 6), but we also expect 
opportunities to improve older private 
rented sector accommodation.
Student  
Accommodation
During the year we delivered three 
developments as planned, completing 
Lower Parliament Street in Nottingham, 
Metalworks in Bedminster, Bristol, and 
the Lower Bristol Road scheme in Bath. 
We forward sold the 260-bed Gas Lane 
scheme in Bristol, which will transform 
a brownfield site into a new student 
community in one of the UK’s largest 
urban regeneration zones. This was our 
first transaction with a new client, Hines. 
We also sold the 397-bed development 
in Stratford, East London, to a new joint 
venture we created with the Housing 
Growth Partnership (HGP), a social impact 
investor and part of Lloyds Banking Group. 
The JV is owned 75% by HGP and 25% 
by us, with funding provided by HGP and 
third-party debt. 
We expect the JV will sell the completed 
scheme once it is stabilised and we have 
the opportunity to receive a further cash 
payment if the returns exceed agreed 
hurdle rates.
Revenues from PBSA were £117.6 million 
(FY23: £175.7 million), down 33.1%, 
in part because the HGP transaction 
was accounted for as the disposal of a 
subsidiary rather than a land sale. As a 
result it was not included within revenue, 
which would have been £24.8 million higher 
if the transaction had been a traditional 
forward sale. Despite reduced revenues, 
gross profit rose 19.3% to £13.6 million 
(FY23: £11.4 million), resulting in a 
much‑improved gross margin of 11.6% 
(FY23: 6.5%). This reflects a recovery 
towards the margins we have historically 
earned in this sector. 
The margin in FY23 was suppressed 
by additional build costs on a scheme 
in Exeter where the third-party main 
contractor went into liquidation, as well 
as acceleration costs required to achieve 
completion on some other developments.
In FY24, we secured sites subject to 
securing planning in Belfast (c.1,000 beds) 
and Bristol (358 beds). We also obtained 
planning on three sites, with the potential 
to deliver c.2,300 beds. The secured 
development pipeline for PBSA is shown 
in the table above. This pipeline has an 
estimated future revenue value to us of 
£0.8 billion (FY23: £0.9 billion), of which 
£60 million is currently forward sold (FY23: 
£60 million). 
Operational review
PBSA beds by estimated year of practical completion
Total pipeline
FY25
FY26
FY27
FY28 onwards
Forward sold
657
260
397
—
—
Forward sales in the market
2,605
—
—
330
2,275
Sites secured subject to planning
1,594
—
—
—
1,594
Total secured pipeline
4,856
260
397
330
3,869
 Refresh

20	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Revenues in Fresh fell 14.7% to £8.1 million 
(FY23: £9.5 million), reflecting the 6,800 
student beds that left Fresh in October 
2023 with the majority being managed by 
a new in-house client platform. This was 
partially offset by Fresh taking over the 
management of an existing 250-bed PBSA 
scheme and mobilising a 120-bed BTR 
(affordable) scheme, as well as contract 
wins to take on the management of 366 
student beds in FY25 and FY26. Fresh 
also mobilised 1,866 student beds ahead 
of the 2024/25 academic year, which will 
contribute to revenue in FY25.
At the end of FY24, Fresh had 18,656 units 
under management across 58 schemes 
(FY23: 23,064 units across 71 schemes). 
Lower revenue resulted in gross profit of 
£4.4 million (FY23: £6.0 million) at a margin 
of 54.3% (FY23: 64.8%).
We have a track record of excellent service 
and our student net promoter score in 
the Global Student Living Index (GSLI) 
increased for the fifth year in a row, to +36 
(FY23: +35), well above the benchmark 
of +14. We also retained our Platinum 
certification. More than 4,600 of our 
residents took part in the survey.  
In the year Fresh collected several awards: 
GSLI Best Learning Environment UK for 
Calico in Liverpool, Inspiring Women 
in Property Awards – Mental Health 
and Wellbeing Initiative of the Year and 
Property Week Heath and Wellbeing Award 
(2023). Our wellbeing programme has 
been an important contributor to student 
satisfaction and we reviewed it during 
FY24, giving us a five-year roadmap with 
targets, to allow us to monitor our impact 
and do more of what works.
To support our client service, we are 
investing in a client portal, which we hope 
to launch in 2025. This will enable clients 
to access data on their assets’ financial, 
operational and ESG performance in near 
real time, assisting their onward reporting. 
We also continue to invest in our Yardi 
property management platform and 
implementing the next upgrade. This brings 
many advantages, including the ability to 
incorporate AI to increase efficiency, for 
example managing initial interactions to 
secure progression through our funnel and 
into the CRM. 
Our market continues to evolve and 
consolidate, and we believe Fresh’s 
independence will be increasingly 
important to clients. To support our growth 
plans, we have recruited a new commercial 
director from a competitor. We are also 
seeing good interest in our white-label 
offering, which enables asset owners to 
have their own accommodation brand. 
We expect this to gain traction in FY25.
Operational review
Accommodation  
Management
Key statistics
Student beds and BTR apartments 
under management
Student net  
promoter score
18,656
FY24
23,064
FY23
+36
FY24
+35	
FY23	

The Gorge, Exeter
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21

22	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Financial review
Revenue
Group revenue for the year was £362.4 million (FY23: £413.2 million), down 12.3%. 
Revenue was primarily generated by our in-build developments, with the reduction in part 
reflecting the accounting treatment of the transaction of our Stratford development, which 
was executed as a disposal of subsidiary, rather than traditional land sale. Revenue also 
benefited from an initial contribution from our new Refresh offering.
On a segmental basis, revenue in the year was as follows:
Strong operational delivery, cost control 
and broadening our offering contributed 
to substantially improved operating profit 
performance in FY24.
Simon Jones
Chief Financial Officer
FY24
£m
FY23
£m
Change
%
Build To Rent
211.3
207.7
1.7
Student Accommodation
117.6
175.7
(33.1)
Affordable-led Homes
12.9
19.6
(34.2)
Accommodation Management
8.1
9.5
(14.7)
Refresh
10.9
—
Corporate
1.6
0.7
Group revenue
362.4
413.2
(12.3)
Adjusted results1
Statutory results
FY24
£m
FY23
£m
FY24
£m
FY23
£m
Revenue
362.4
413.2
362.4
413.2
Gross profit
33.8
34.9
33.8
34.9
Operating profit/(loss)
10.6
0.2
3.6
(38.1)
Profit/(loss) before tax
9.2
(2.9)
(0.3)
(42.5)
1.	 A reconciliation between adjusted and statutory results is shown on page 27.
FY24
£m
FY23
£m
Change
%
Build To Rent
18.0
19.8
(9.1)
Student Accommodation
13.6
11.4
19.3
Affordable-led Homes
(0.2)
1.9
(110.5)
Accommodation Management
4.4
6.0
(26.7)
Refresh
1.5
—
Corporate
(3.5)
(4.2)
Gross profit
33.8
34.9
(3.2)
Information on divisional revenue performance can be found in the operational review on 
pages 18 to 20.
Gross profit
Gross profit for the year was £33.8 million (FY23: £34.9 million), a decrease of 3.2%, with 
reduced revenue offset by improvements in gross margin. Student Accommodation was 
the primary contributor to this improved margin performance as a result of the strong 
operational delivery of our ongoing schemes. 
On a segmental basis, gross profit in the year was as follows:

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
23
Revenue by operating segment
Gross profit by operating segment
Student 
Accommodation
£211.3m
£117.6m
FY24
£12.9m
£8.1m
£10.9m
£207.7m
£175.7m
FY23
£19.6m
£9.5m
Build To Rent
Affordable-led 
Homes
Accommodation 
Management
Refresh
Student 
Accommodation
£18.0m
£13.6m
FY24
£4.4m
£1.5m
£19.8m
£11.4m
£1.9m
FY23
£6.0m
Build To Rent
Affordable-led 
Homes
Accommodation 
Management
Refresh
See the operational review on pages 18 
to 20 for more information on divisional 
gross profits. Corporate is primarily central 
costs such as plant, insurance and legal 
expenses that are not allocated to a 
business unit. 
Operating profit
Operating profit for the year was 
£3.6 million (FY23: £(38.0) million loss). 
After adding back the exceptional 
£7.0 million increase to the building safety 
provision, adjusted operating profit for the 
year was £10.6 million (FY23: £0.2 million), 
reflecting the £6.3 million profit on 
divestment of the Stratford PBSA scheme.
Operating loss in the prior year was after 
charging:
•	 a £4.6 million loss on disposal of PRS 
assets; and
•	 £38.1 million of exceptional administrative 
expenses, comprising £35.0 million 
provided for remedial costs associated 
with building safety and £3.1 million of 
one-off restructuring costs.
Our adjusted operating profit of 
£10.6 million in FY24 therefore represents 
a significantly improved underlying result.
Administration expenses, excluding the 
impact of exceptional items, reduced 
to £29.5 million (FY23: £30.1 million), 
demonstrating strong cost control in the 
face of continued inflation in services costs 
and wages.
Finance costs
Finance costs for the year were £4.9 million 
(FY23: £5.0 million). These costs included:
•	 the finance cost of capitalised leases 
under IFRS 16, which totalled £1.7 million 
(FY23: £1.8 million);
•	 an exceptional charge of £2.5 million 
(FY23: £1.5 million) for the unwind of the 
discount of the building safety provision 
(see below); and
•	 fees associated with the availability of 
our revolving credit facility (RCF).
Finance costs in FY23 also included 
interest on the loans previously held with 
Svenska Handelsbanken AB, which we 
repaid in that year.
Loss before tax
Loss before tax for the year was 
£0.3 million (FY23: loss before tax of 
£42.5 million). Adjusted profit before 
tax, which excludes the impact of the 
exceptional items, was £9.2 million (FY23: 
adjusted loss before tax of £2.9 million).
Taxation
The corporation tax credit was £2.2 million 
(FY23: credit of £9.9 million). The effective 
tax credit rate was less than the standard 
UK corporation tax rate of 25% for the year, 
primarily as a result of tax reliefs utilised 
on disposal of a subsidiary. Cash tax in 
respect of FY24 was minimal, as a result of 
utilising brought forward tax losses.
Information on our tax strategy can be 
found in the Investor section of our website, 
watkinjonesplc.com.
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share from continuing 
operations for the year was 0.7 pence 
(FY23: 12.7 pence loss per share). Adjusted 
basic earnings per share, which excludes 
the impact of exceptional items, was 3.5 
pence (FY23: 0.6 pence).
Dividends
The Board has continued to prioritise 
the Group’s financial flexibility during the 
current period of market disruption and 
has therefore not declared any dividends in 
respect of FY24. The Board will keep this 
under review. In FY23, we paid an interim 
dividend of 1.4 pence per share and no final 
dividend.
At 30 September 2024, the Company 
had distributable reserves of £41.6 million 
available to pay dividends.
EBITDA
EBITDA, which is calculated as set out 
on page 27, was £11.2 million (FY23: 
loss of £21.0 million). Adjusted EBITDA, 
which excludes exceptional items, was 
£18.2 million (FY23: £17.2 million), with an 
adjusted EBITDA margin of 5.0% (FY23: 
4.2%).

24	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Financial review continued
Return on capital employed
The return on capital employed (ROCE) for 
the year, calculated as set out on page 27, 
increased to 14.8% (FY23: 0.2%) as a result 
of our improved profitability.
Building safety
We continue to focus on delivering our 
building safety rectification obligations 
and completed works on three buildings 
in FY24, with a cash outflow of £16.2 million 
in line with our expectations. 
Following the conclusion of investigations 
undertaken, necessary remedial works 
were identified at further properties, 
and the scope of works at a number of 
properties already under remediation has 
been revised. An additional net provision 
of £7.0 million (30 September 2023: 
£35.0 million) has therefore been 
made during the year, for which further 
information is provided in note 4 to the 
financial statements.
As for many other participants in our 
industry, the properties in scope of the 
government’s guidance and legislation 
continue to evolve, as do the range and 
cost of works. We are monitoring this as 
building investigations and discussions 
with building owners continue. The 
provision recognised represents our 
best estimate of the amounts required 
to remediate those properties where we 
expect remediation works to be required. 
However, as disclosed in note 4 to the 
financial statements, there are a number 
of properties for which the Group’s 
liability remains uncertain and as such, 
we consider these to be contingent 
liabilities until such time as there is greater 
clarity on the Group’s obligations or the 
extent, if any, of remedial works required.
As shown in the table below, at the 
year end we had a net provision of 
£48.0 million, after offsetting a £7.6 million 
reimbursement asset representing 
contractually agreed customer 
contributions to the remediation works.
Our current expectation is for a cash 
outflow of approximately £10.6 million in 
FY25 with the balance between FY26 and 
FY30. Given these costs will be incurred in 
future years, the provision is discounted to 
its present value. As the discount unwinds 
over time, the change in the present value 
is recognised as an exceptional finance 
cost, as described above.
Statement of financial position
At 30 September 2024, non-current 
assets amounted to £69.0 million 
(FY23: £60.2 million), with the most 
significant item being the carrying value 
of the leased student accommodation 
investment properties amounting to 
£20.8 million (FY23: £24.2 million). 
The deferred tax asset, predominantly 
relating to carried forward losses from the 
year ended 30 September 2023, amounted 
to £15.1 million (FY23: £12.1 million) and is 
expected to be fully utilised in the short to 
medium term. 
Right‑of‑use assets relating to office and 
car leases amounted to £5.7 million (FY23: 
£5.3 million). Intangible assets relating to 
Fresh amounted to £11.0 million (FY23: 
£11.6 million) and were reduced by the 
amortisation charge of £0.6 million in 
the year. 
The movement in the building safety 
provision and associated reimbursement 
assets is described above.
Inventory and work in progress was 
£94.3 million (FY23: £123.5 million), with the 
decrease reflecting the forward sale during 
the period of our Stratford and Bristol 
PBSA sites.
Contract assets decreased significantly 
in the year to £36.5 million (FY23: 
£66.4 million) reflecting the final 
payment balances which are received 
on completion of developments during 
the year, particularly from a number of 
BTR developments which were close to 
completion at the prior year end, and two 
PBSA schemes which completed during 
September 2024. Contract liabilities 
increased by £1.8 million during the year 
to £3.3 million.
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings 
reduced to £13.6 million at 
30 September 2024 (FY23: £28.5 million) 
(see ‘Bank facilities’ on page 26).
Lease liabilities were reduced to 
£40.8 million (FY23: £45.2 million), reflecting 
capital repayments made in the year offset 
by indexed rent increases on our student 
leased investment properties. 
At the year end, we had a cash balance 
of £97.0 million and loans of £13.6 million, 
resulting in a net cash position of 
£83.4 million. At 30 September 2023, 
we had a cash balance of £72.4 million 
and loans of £28.5 million, resulting in a 
net cash position of £43.9 million.
Net cash balances are stated before 
deducting the lease liabilities of 
£40.8 million (30 September 2023: 
£45.2 million), arising as a result of 
applying IFRS 16. The lease liabilities 
relate primarily to several historic student 
accommodation sale and leaseback 
properties, for which the future lease rental 
liabilities are expected to be substantially 
covered by the future net student rental 
incomes to be received.
Building safety provision and reimbursement asset
Provision
£m
Asset
£m
Total
£m
At 1 October 2023
65.6
(10.9)
54.7
Arising during the year
8.1
(1.1)
7.0
Utilised in the year
(21.1)
4.9
(16.2)
Unwind of discount rate
3.0
(0.5)
2.5
At 30 September 2024
55.6
(7.6)
48.0

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
25
FY24 
£m
FY23
£m
Operating profit before exceptional items 
10.6
0.2 
Loss/(profit) on disposal of fixed assets
0.1
(0.3)
Depreciation and amortisation
6.9
11.5
Profit on disposal of subsidiary
(6.3)
—
Decrease/(increase) in working capital 
16.2
(28.6)
Finance costs paid 
(1.2)
(2.8)
Tax received/(paid) 
3.9
(11.5)
Net cash flow from operating activities 
30.2
(31.5)
(Purchase)/sale of fixed assets 
(0.1)
15.0
Cash flow from joint venture interests including Stratford disposal
16.9
—
Dividends paid 
—
(15.1)
Payment of lease liabilities 
(7.3)
(6.8)
Repayment of borrowings 
(15.1)
—
Increase/(decrease) in cash
24.6
(38.4)
Cash at beginning of year 
72.4
110.8
Cash at end of year 
97.0
72.4
Less: borrowings
(13.6)
(28.5)
Net cash before deducting lease liabilities 
83.4
43.9 
Less: lease liabilities 
(40.8)
(45.2) 
Net cash/(debt)
42.6
(1.3)
Total cash and available facilities
FY24 
£m
FY23
£m
Cash and cash equivalents
97.0
72.4
Revolving credit facility (RCF)
50.0
50.0
Drawn balance on RCF
(13.8)
(28.8)
Overdraft
10.0
10.0
Total cash and available facilities
143.2
103.6
Cash and net debt 
Cash flow
In a typical year, the Group’s cash 
balance peaks around the year end, as 
we receive the final payments on student 
accommodation developments completing 
ahead of the new academic year, as well 
as initial proceeds from the latest forward 
sales. 
The Group is then a net user of cash 
until the following year end, as a result 
of outflows such as tax and dividend 
payments (when paid), overhead costs 
and land purchases. 
However, as in the prior year, we expect 
our cash flow profile in FY25 will be 
more evenly spread than in previous 
years. This reflects the anticipated 
physical completions of some of our BTR 
developments in FY25, which will result in 
the Group receiving these final payments 
throughout the year.
The cash balance at the year end is still 
important for funding our day‑to‑day cash 
requirements and for putting the Group in a 
strong position when bidding for new sites.
The Group’s net cash inflow from operating 
activities for the year was £30.2 million 
(FY23: outflow of £31.5 million), primarily 
reflecting the collection of bullet payments 
on our schemes completed during the year.
Net finance costs paid totalled £1.2 million 
(FY23: £2.8 million), including the finance 
charges on the capitalised lease liabilities 
of £1.7 million (FY23: £1.8 million).
No dividends were paid in the year (FY23: 
£15.1 million). Dividends paid in FY23 
comprised the final dividend for FY22 
and the interim dividend for FY23.

26	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Bank facilities
At the year end, the Group had the 
following bank facilities with HSBC:
•	 an RCF of £50.0 million, which we 
can use to fund land acquisitions 
and development work. The RCF had 
£13.8 million drawn against it at the year 
end (30 September 2023: £28.8 million); 
and
•	 an undrawn overdraft facility of 
£10.0 million.
Total cash and available facilities at 
30 September 2024 therefore stood 
at £143.2 million (30 September 2023: 
£103.6 million).
Subsequent to the year end, the Group 
has agreed a two-year extension to 
these facilities, which will now run to 
30 November 2027. The overdraft has been 
replaced with an accordion facility within 
the RCF of an additional £10.0 million, to 
support future land acquisitions.  
Going concern
We have undertaken a thorough review 
of the Group’s ability to continue to trade 
as a going concern for the period to 
31 January 2026. The basis of the review 
and an analysis of the downside risks is set 
out in the section on ‘Risk management 
and principal risks’ on pages 28 and 40.
Alternative performance measures 
(APMs)
We use APMs as part of our financial 
reporting, alongside statutory reporting 
measures. These APMs are provided for 
the following reasons:
1.	to present users of the annual report with 
a clear view of what we consider to be 
the results of our underlying operations, 
enabling consistent comparisons over 
time and making it easier for users of the 
report to identify trends;
2.	to provide additional information to users 
of the annual report about our financial 
performance or position;
3.	to show the performance measures used 
by the Board in determining dividend 
payments; and
4.	to show the performance measures 
that are linked to remuneration for the 
Executive Directors.
Financial review continued

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
27
Reconciliation
Reason for use
 FY24 
 £’000 
 FY23 
 £’000 
Adjusted operating profit/(loss)
1
Operating profit/(loss)
3,566
(37,970) 
Add: exceptional items in 
administrative expenses
7,001
38,140
Adjusted operating profit
10,567
 170 
Adjusted profit/(loss) before tax
1,4
Loss before tax
(307)
(42,459)
Add: exceptional items
9,518
39,598
Adjusted profit/(loss) before tax
9,211
(2,861)
Adjusted basic earnings/(losses)  
per share
1,3,4
Profit/(loss) after tax
1,895
(32,547)
Add: exceptional items
9,518
39,598
Less: tax on exceptional items
(2,380)
(8,716)
Adjusted profit/(loss) after tax
9,033
(1,665)
Weighted average number of shares
256,564,829
256,434,903
Adjusted basic earnings/(losses) per share
3.52 pence
(0.65) pence
EBITDA
1
Operating profit/(loss)
3,566
(37,970)
Add: share of loss in joint ventures
(8)
(13)
Add: impairment of land assets
769
5,496
Add: loss on disposal of non-core assets
—
4,584
Add: depreciation
6,346
6,388
Add: amortisation
559
559
EBITDA
11,232
(20,956)
Adjusted EBITDA
1
EBITDA
11,232
(20,956)
Add: exceptional items in 
administrative expenses
7,001
38,140
Adjusted EBITDA
18,233
17,184
Adjusted net cash
2
Net cash/(debt)
42,602
(1,294)
Add: lease liabilities
40,769
45,195
Adjusted net cash
83,371
43,901
Return on capital employed
1,2
Adjusted operating profit
10,567
170
Net assets at 30 September
132,590
130,005
 
Less: adjusted net cash
(83,371)
(43,901)
Less: intangible assets
(11,047)
(11,606)
Less: investment property (leased)
(20,751)
(24,240)
Less: right-of-use assets
(5,747)
(5,276)
Add: lease liabilities
40,769
45,195
Adjusted net assets at 30 September
52,443
90,177
Adjusted net assets at 1 October
90,177
99,265
Average adjusted net assets
71,310
94,721
Return on capital employed
14.8%
0.2%
Simon Jones
Chief Financial Officer 
23 January 2025
The following APMs appear in this annual report

28	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management process
The Board has established a formal risk 
management process, under which it 
identifies, evaluates and monitors the 
principal risks facing the Group and 
the effectiveness of the controls and 
procedures in place to mitigate against 
them. This includes:
•	 the Board’s approval of a detailed 
corporate risk register, which identifies 
the principal risks and is prepared 
and kept under review by the Risk 
Committee, which meets regularly 
as a sub-committee of the Executive 
Committee;
•	 the review of assurance and information 
about the management of those risks, 
including specific reviews carried out by 
KPMG as our outsourced internal audit 
provider; and
•	 an assessment of the Group’s appetite 
for particular categories of risk, as a 
basis against which to assess whether 
the principal risks are being mitigated to 
an acceptable level.
The Audit Committee reviews the risk 
register annually. The review includes:
•	 any substantial changes to the principal 
risks, including new or emerging risks;
•	 material changes to the control 
framework;
•	 changes in risk scores;
•	 changes in risk appetite; and
•	 progress with any additional mitigating 
actions which have been agreed.
The Audit Committee also provides 
appropriate challenge to the effectiveness 
of mitigating controls, including KPMG’s 
review and testing of mitigating controls for 
selected risks as part of the annual internal 
audit plan.
In November 2024, the Board and Audit 
Committee reviewed the Group’s strategic 
risk register at a joint meeting. This meeting 
acknowledged the work done during 2024 
in progressing the Group’s corporate 
risk management, and approved the risk 
appetites and current assessments for 
each of the Group’s principal risks.
Principal risks
A principal risk is a risk that is considered 
material to the delivery of the Group’s 
strategy or its performance, position or 
future prospects. The Board, through 
the Audit Committee, has undertaken a 
robust review of the principal risks facing 
the Group. The principal risks which the 
Board considers are relevant to the Group 
are summarised by risk category and 
considered more fully on pages 30 to 39.
Risk categories and risk appetite
The Board allocates its principal risks to 
risk categories and considers the level of 
risk it is willing to accept for each category, 
to achieve the Group’s business objectives. 
We have no appetite for risk in relation to 
health and safety matters, financial crime 
and compliance with legislation, so these 
have been allocated our lowest level of risk 
appetite. 
While we also have minimal risk appetite 
in relation to liquidity, cyber security and 
build safety, the appetite for these risks 
is slightly higher in acknowledgement of 
the high levels of inherent risk in these 
areas. We have a cautious to moderate 
risk appetite in relation to our remaining 
principal risks.
The Group’s risk categories, risk appetites 
and principal risks are set out in this 
section, along with the Board’s assessment 
of the effectiveness of the controls and 
procedures in place to mitigate against 
them.
Heat map
The heat map summarises our exposure 
to our principal risks by considering the 
likelihood of a risk event occurring and 
its potential impact on the Group in the 
medium term. It shows the gross and net 
risk assessment, which are determined 
before and after mitigating factors and 
controls are taken into account. 
The heat map also show the Board’s risk 
appetite for each risk category, with the 
aim that after taking into account mitigating 
factors and controls, the net risk is reduced 
to a level that sits within or below the 
Board’s appetite for risk. 
The effective management of risk is essential to 
the successful delivery of our strategy.
Risk management and principal risks
Bow-tie model
Cause
Cause
Cause
Cause
Consequence
Consequence
Consequence
Consequence
Preventative controls
Responsive controls
Resistance
Redundancy
Reliability
Response/Recovery
Event

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
29
The principal risks and risk appetite have 
been assessed using the following scoring 
matrix. Using this matrix, the gross and net 
risk assessment score for a principal risk is 
the product of the assessed likelihood and 
impact scores.
Likelihood
Score
Impact
Score
Highly 
probable
5
Extreme
5
Probable
4
Major
4
Possible
3
Moderate
3
Unlikely
2
Minor
2
Remote
1
Insignificant
1
Changes in year
The Group actively monitors emerging 
risks and changes to the profile of existing 
principal risks. The risk assessment for 
the following principal risks has been 
reconsidered for such changes during 
the period:
Economic and political cycle
The Board has noted the macroeconomic 
and geopolitical conditions influencing 
the economic cycle which, despite 
encouraging signs of recovery in our 
markets, may impact the Group. These 
include persistent high interest rates, 
political uncertainty, the continued threat 
of conflict in Europe and the Middle East, 
and indicators of build cost inflation.
The Board increased the net risk score 
for this principal risk in the prior year, and 
considers that the Group’s mitigations, 
including the exploration of alternative 
deal structures to expand our addressable 
market and leveraging our centralised 
procurement function to minimise the 
impact of inflation, are sufficient to maintain 
that score. 
Land availability
The reduced number of suitable sites 
coming to market over the preceding two 
years, combined with planning delays and 
local authority under‑resourcing, continues 
to place pressure on land availability. 
Nevertheless, the Group remains well 
placed to mitigate these challenges with 
its in-house planning team and record of 
effectively navigating the planning process. 
Vendor expectations, which had been 
slow to align to changing macroeconomic 
conditions, have also begun to soften 
in recent months. As a result, we have 
maintained our rating for gross risk, but 
increased our net risk rating from the 
prior year.
Liquidity 
Despite recent reductions in interest rates 
and encouraging signs of recovery in the 
market, we have not yet seen a full return 
of customer appetite for forward sales 
for existing developments. We consider 
that our existing mitigations, including the 
Group’s cash reserves and revolving credit 
facility discussed in the going concern 
review on pages 39 and 40, are sufficiently 
robust to maintain the net risk at the prior 
year level.
Building safety and quality assurance
In response to the substantial regulatory 
changes affecting the Group, including the 
introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 
(BSA) and evolution of related secondary 
legislation in the previous financial year, 
the Group has introduced a number of key 
mitigating controls, including a proactive 
programme of fire safety remediation for 
historic projects, and the creation of a 
working group to co-ordinate the Group’s 
training, compliance and response to the 
BSA’s requirements. The Board notes the 
challenges that certain of the Group’s peers 
are reporting with delays to programmes as 
a result of the BSA Gateway process, and 
is closely monitoring the response of both 
the government and the wider industry to 
these challenges. The Board considers that 
the mitigations in place are sufficient to 
maintain the net risk at the level set in the 
previous year.

30	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management and principal risks 
continued
Averse
Moderate
Cautious
Cautious
Cautious
Cautious
Cautious
Cautious
Cautious
Cautious
Averse
Principal risk:
Risk appetite:
Health and safety:
Strategic:
Operational:
People and legal:
Financial:
Risk appetite:
Averse
Cautious
Moderate
High
Risk score:
4
5
6
8
9
10
12
15
16
20
25
Net risk score = N
Gross risk score = G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
N	
G
Legislation
People	
Health and safety
Economic and political cycle
Project delivery
Liquidity
Increased competition
Building safety and quality assurance
Cyber security/GDPR
Land availability
Widespread business interruption and continuity
Risk heat map
People
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Uncompetitive 
remuneration packages.
Salary benchmarking undertaken to 
ensure our remuneration packages are 
competitive.
Use of counter-offers or use 
of succession plans to cover 
responsibilities.
Loss of key personnel.
Failure to improve 
diversity and inclusion 
in under-represented 
groups.
Promotion of the ‘People’ pillar in the 
Group’s Future Foundations initiative; 
introduction of equity, diversity and 
inclusion charter.
Identify those at risk and put in 
place additional short-term and 
long-term incentive plans.
Increased strain on personnel.
Absence of succession 
and talent plans.
Formal executive succession plan and 
senior management talent plan reviewed 
annually.
Use of external contractors or 
consultants to cover prolonged 
periods of absence.
Inability to maintain key functions 
within the business.
A misaligned employee 
culture, including 
the impact of hybrid 
working.
Employee engagement is a core personal 
objective for all senior employees across 
the organisation. Feedback from exit 
interviews used to inform strategy.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Increasing awareness of 
employee wellbeing.
Promotion of mental health wellbeing 
through training programmes and internal 
communications.
Pressure on people from stress 
of achieving business objectives.
Access to internal or external 
support via our Employee 
Assistance Programme.
Risk that the Group finds it difficult to attract, recruit, motivate and retain employees, which could have an adverse impact 
on its ability to deliver its strategic objectives

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
31
Health and safety
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Major fire on site.
Quality assurance procedures and fire risk 
assessments.
Regular audits to identify 
improvements.
Loss of life or serious injury.
Crane collapse/failure 
of lifting equipment.
Robust procedures for erection, use and 
dismantling of major equipment with works 
undertaken by suitably qualified personnel.
Maintenance of appropriate 
levels of insurance cover.
Damage to property leading 
to financial loss.
Falls from height.
Work at height procedures and use of 
prefabrication off site to avoid work at 
height where possible.
Formal accident/incident 
reporting procedures.
Breach of legislation, including 
the BSA, leading to prosecution, 
financial penalties and 
reputational damage.
Lack of appropriate 
skills or experience.
Formal process in place to assess 
individuals on site for appropriate skills, 
which are logged on a central database 
for compliance monitoring. Detailed role 
profiles for staff include health and safety 
requirements.
Internal and external 
communication plans developed.
Reputational damage leading 
to financial loss.
Collapse of excavation 
or temporary work 
structure.
Risk assessments and evaluations of 
competence of contractors.
Post contract reviews completed 
to identify any lessons learned.
Repeated incidents could lead 
to reputational damage and 
financial loss.
Unauthorised access 
to site.
Security protocols set for different types of 
sites using hoardings, security staff, CCTV 
etc., based on the assessed risk.
Severe adverse weather 
conditions as climate 
changes.
Additional risk assessments in place for 
scaffolding, crane and plant use, and 
working at height procedures during 
high winds, heavy rain, ice or extreme 
temperatures. 
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Significant infection 
outbreak.
Risk assessments and inductions at each 
site, sanitisation facilities provided, social 
distancing introduced where necessary.
Unrealistic build programmes 
create pressures to cut corners.
Management’s tone from the top 
and influence over development 
programme.
Employee mental health 
concerns, including 
stress.
Trained mental health first-aiders available 
to provide assistance; wellbeing and 
Employee Assistance Programmes in place.
Rapid climate change leading to 
increased risk of severe adverse 
weather conditions.
ESG strategy in place to mitigate 
the Group’s contribution to 
climate change.
Risk that failure to follow established health and safety procedures could result in a serious incident or fatality
Key
  Identify potential 
developments
  Site procurement 
and planning
  Transaction 
and funding
  Construction 
and delivery
  Accommodation 
management
  Increase
  Decrease
  No change

32	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management and principal risks 
continued
Building safety and quality assurance
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
   
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Cladding safety, in 
particular fire safety.
Proactive programme of fire safety 
remediation for historic projects carried out 
by the Group. See note 4 to the financial 
statements. 
Group design standards requiring the 
selection of certified products, with the 
selection informed by input from specialist 
consultants, assessed in line with PAS 
9980.
Customer care team aims to 
address any defects promptly 
and ensure a good customer 
experience.
Damage to reputation.
Defects and safety 
issues identified on 
completed buildings.
Specialist in-house building safety team 
reviews historic portfolio of projects and 
takes a proactive approach to remediating 
any issues identified.
Quality assurance (QA) 
procedures in place, with 
progress captured on 
construction management 
software, including 
post‑completion reviews.
Significant defects leading to 
remedial costs and the risk of 
personal harm.
Selected subcontractors 
do not have the 
necessary expertise or 
capability.
Prequalification questionnaire process 
for the selection of subcontractors, with a 
focus on technical capabilities.
Budgetary pressures 
lead to selection of 
poor-quality materials or 
subcontractors. 
In-house construction expertise used to 
inform cost estimates when appraising 
new build opportunities or pricing Refresh 
contracts.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Failure to comply with 
statutory requirements, 
including the Building 
Safety Act 2022.
Regular reviews of legislation by in-house 
planning and technical teams and use of 
suitably qualified consultants. Introduction 
of BSA working group to ensure 
compliance.
Delays to programmes as a result 
of slower than expected BSA 
Gateway approval.
BSA working group established. 
Combined in-house planning and 
construction expertise to navigate 
Gateways.
Lack of clarity on 
government policy, 
or rapidly changing 
legislation.
Emerging policy and legislation is regularly 
reviewed by in-house and external legal 
advisers. 
Labour shortages in the 
construction industry, in 
particular fire safety engineers.
Long-term relationships with 
the Group’s nationwide supply 
chains.
Risk that poor build quality could result in financial and reputational loss

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
33
Economic and political cycle
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Major disruption to the 
forward funding market, 
or reduction in available 
capital.
Alternative funding and partnership 
structures explored with potential clients, 
including joint venture arrangements, to 
increase routes to market.
Control over land usually 
conditional and construction 
inputs typically procured in 
advance to fix prices.
Increased costs reduce profits or 
render developments unviable.
Input cost inflation.
In-house construction expertise and supply 
chain relationships, quarterly Inflation 
Committee reviews to mitigate impact, 
including employee cost inflation.
The Group’s strong liquidity 
position gives it the flexibility 
to look through short-term 
disruption.
Short-term economic turbulence 
leads to a closure of the forward 
funding market.
Short-term market 
turbulence including 
increased interest rates 
or reduction in available 
capital.
Forward funding sales model reduces 
impact of interest rate movements in the 
short to medium term. Hedging strategies 
considered for any borrowing undertaken 
to deliver projects.
Forward funding model insulates 
the Group from short-term yield 
movements. Consideration of 
other funding structures.
Increase in the yield expectations 
of institutional clients reduces the 
value of developments.
Increases in investment 
yields.
Forward funding sales model and use 
of sensitivity analysis when appraising 
developments.
Changes in employment, 
demographics or 
immigration controls.
Target cities selected on the basis of 
their strong economic and demographic 
characteristics to help insulate them from 
any nationwide downturn. 
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Political risks in occupier 
markets, including 
controls over rent setting 
or lease termination.
Diversification across different property 
classes and forward funding model means 
completed properties are not retained.
‘Black Swan’ event causing a 
sharp economic deterioration 
and sustained closure of forward 
funding market.
Stress testing in liquidity 
forecasts to help ensure adequate 
contingencies are maintained.
Risk that macroeconomic factors impact the Group’s ability to achieve the business plan through reduced margins or 
failure to fund developments through forward sales
Increased competition
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Competition in the 
land market from 
direct competitors or a 
competing use.
Rigorous site appraisal process 
underpinned by the Group’s integrated 
structure, which provides enhanced letting 
and construction information.
Capital structure provides the 
flexibility to progress selected 
developments on a turnkey basis 
to increase sales value.
Forecast margins are not achieved 
due to suppressed sales prices.
An increased number 
of planning applications 
in one area may lead to 
refusals regardless of 
their merits.
Planning due diligence measures prior 
to contracting to acquire sites and early 
interaction with local planning authorities 
(LPAs) during applications.
In-house construction capability 
provides an advantage compared 
to competitors reliant on 
third‑party main contractors.
Forecast margins are not 
achieved due to increased 
construction costs from supply 
chain shortages.
Increased competition 
leads to gazumping of 
land acquisitions.
The Group’s strong track record can 
demonstrate to vendors its ability to 
perform and transact.
Specialist in-house planning 
team and promotion of high-
quality design and sustainability 
standards.
Increase in the yield expectations 
of institutional clients reduces the 
value of developments.
Increased supply might 
increase the difficulty 
of forward funding 
developments.
Dedicated Divestment team in place with 
a network of agents to help promote 
disposals. Alternative funding structures 
considered, including joint ventures.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Increased competition 
in construction market.
Strong existing supply chain for in-house 
construction and expanding relationships 
with third-party main contractors.
Attractive market leads to 
significant new capital invested 
in new entrants.
Barriers to entry through client 
expectations for a strong track 
record.
Risk that increased competition could increase land prices or build costs, or reduce demand for the Group’s schemes
Key
  Identify potential 
developments
  Site procurement 
and planning
  Transaction 
and funding
  Construction 
and delivery
  Accommodation 
management
  Increase
  Decrease
  No change

34	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management and principal risks 
continued
Land availability
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Finite supply of land 
increases the risk of 
accepting sites with 
more development 
constraints.
Due diligence procedures in place for 
assessing the financial and technical 
viability of developments.
Established macro and 
microeconomic analysis 
used to identify target cities 
and locations, leveraging 
on‑the‑ground knowledge 
from Fresh.
Land acquired in secondary 
locations or with significant 
technical and environmental 
challenges.
Political factors or 
new legislation delay 
the planning process 
or result in planning 
refusals.
In-house planning expertise helps to 
identify locations with higher planning risk, 
with early interaction with LPAs during 
applications.
Robust investment appraisal 
methodology and governance 
structure.
Overpaying for land.
Alternative uses for land 
become more viable 
than the Group’s core 
markets.
Regular reviews of our core markets and 
the property market in general to identify 
emerging trends.
Vendor and agent relationships 
and credibility in the market.
The Group does not acquire 
enough land to meet its growth 
plan.
The land market closes in 
response to a significant 
economic event.
The Group has the experience to structure 
deals in different ways, to adapt to 
vendors’ expectations.
Reduction in land 
availability due to 
adverse climate impacts 
or environmental 
restrictions.
Group ESG strategy in place to achieve net 
zero ambitions by 2030.
Working closely with supply chain to 
monitor compliance with ISO 14001, with 
all suppliers to be accredited by FY25.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Increased competition 
reduces our success rate 
in bidding for land.
Credible market presence due to track 
record of bringing land through planning 
and competitive pricing due to in‑house 
construction capability. 
Significant unexpected change in 
planning policy.
Maintenance of a strong pipeline 
of developments provides visibility 
of earnings and the opportunity to 
absorb and adapt to changes.
Risk that an inadequate supply of available land or delays in the planning process inhibits the Group’s ability to deliver its 
growth strategy

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
35
Key
  Identify potential 
developments
  Site procurement 
and planning
  Transaction 
and funding
  Construction 
and delivery
  Accommodation 
management
  Increase
  Decrease
  No change
Liquidity
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Major disruption to, or 
sustained closure of, the 
forward funding market.
Alternative funding and partnership 
structures explored with potential clients, 
including joint venture arrangements, to 
increase routes to market.
Existing forward sold pipeline 
combined with debt facilities 
provides insulation from short‑term 
market disruption. 
Unable to sell developments on a 
forward funded basis.
Credit and 
counterparty risk.
Counterparty risk appraised before 
entering into sale agreements with clients, 
which are typically blue-chip institutions.
Maintenance of undrawn debt 
facilities for development and 
land acquisition purposes, 
including accordion facility of 
£10 million.
Inability to meet short-term 
commitments.
Over‑gearing leads to 
financial distress.
The Group’s capital-light forward sales 
model helps to significantly reduce the 
Group’s cash requirements, with financing 
provided by its clients rather than using its 
own balance sheet.
£50 million RCF, of which only 
£13.8 million was drawn at the 
reporting date, with funding 
options considered in each 
development appraisal.
Periodic review of non-core 
operational assets to determine 
whether divestment to release 
funds is appropriate.
The Group does not acquire 
enough land to meet its growth 
plan.
Failure to maintain 
adequate debt 
facilities and covenant 
compliance to support 
long-term growth plans.
The Group’s £50 million RCF has been 
extended to November 2027 and there is 
currently significant headroom against its 
covenants.
Continued high 
interest rates reduce 
available funding for 
developments.
Alternative funding and partnership 
structures explored with potential clients, 
including joint venture arrangements, to 
increase routes to market.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Short-term liquidity 
issues due to high 
value of the Group’s 
transactions. 
Cash flow forecasting with site 
acquisitions typically structured on a 
subject to planning basis, providing good 
visibility of future commitments. 
‘Black Swan’ event causing a 
sharp economic deterioration 
and sustained closure of forward 
funding market.
Stress testing in liquidity 
forecasts to help ensure adequate 
contingencies are maintained.
Risk that lack of liquidity could inhibit the Group’s growth strategy or in more extreme circumstances lead to severe 
financial distress and insolvency

36	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management and principal risks 
continued
Cyber security/GDPR
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Failure of critical 
business software.
The Group’s key software is hosted with 
robust third‑party providers who have 
multiple backup and failover arrangements 
in place. 
Separate hosting of critical systems 
to reduce the risk of a widespread 
loss of systems, with backup and 
disaster recovery arrangements.
Loss of access to critical 
business systems.
Failure of critical 
business hardware.
Firewalls are in place, backed up by flow 
control and port protection measures in 
the event of firewalls failing. Majority of 
systems and data now hosted in cloud.
Delegated limits and controls in 
place for payments.
Financial loss due to a phishing 
attack.
Phishing.
Email security filters are in place, 
supplemented by internal training and 
simulated attacks.
Breach prevention controls 
including network firewalls, 
malware protections and 
training alongside formal breach 
management procedures.
Major personal data breach 
leading to reputational damage 
and possible financial penalties.
Data breach and GDPR 
compliance.
Multi-factor authentication and 
geo‑fencing to prevent unauthorised 
access. Data protection policy and annual 
GDPR training in place, with external 
advice received on emerging threats. 
Bespoke policies in place for Fresh to 
address increased risk from holding 
resident data.
Detailed scenario plans in 
place for cyber attacks and 
data breaches, including rapid 
response frameworks, which 
have been tested during the 
period.
Delayed response leading to 
further financial loss or data 
breach.
Malware/ransomware.
Firewall and web filter measures 
alongside anti-virus software and external 
penetration testing. External security 
operations centre has been implemented 
to monitor threats on a real-time basis.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Insider threats.
Internal monitoring measures alongside 
limits to email sizes and restrictions 
to access.
Development of new malware 
which can evade existing 
security measures.
Monitoring of emerging threats.
Risk of loss of access to the Group’s systems through a cyber attack

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
37
Legislation
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Poor or absent tone 
from the top leads to 
compliance failures.
Compliance given a high priority, as 
evidenced by the matters considered by 
the Board and Executive Committee. 
Specific Group policies reinforced 
by annual training. 
Failure to comply with anti-bribery 
and corruption or anti-slavery 
legislation, leading to reputational 
damage or possible financial 
penalties.
Lack of or inadequate 
policies and procedures.
Comprehensive set of policies is well 
embedded in the business, including 
bespoke policies for Fresh, to help ensure 
compliance with relevant legislation.
Well-established Data Subject 
Access Request and Data 
Protection Impact Assessment 
processes, with input from 
retained specialist GDPR 
consultants.
Significant data breach of 
personal data leading to 
reputational damage or possible 
financial penalties.
Lack of awareness 
of regulations and 
expectations.
Initial compliance training for all new 
employees, which is reinforced by annual 
refresher modules. Procurement process 
enhanced to ensure subcontractors are 
aligned to the Group’s expectations for 
compliance.
Controls framework governing 
bank payments, including 
delegated limits and segregated 
access. 
The Group is a victim of financial 
crime.
Inadequate control 
environment.
Formal delegated authorities matrix in 
place, which is enforced by processes and 
controls.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Poor management 
practices which accept 
non-compliance.
Key individuals in the Finance and 
Commercial teams have relevant 
professional qualifications. A third‑party 
whistleblowing hotline is also in place.
Shortage of subcontractors 
increases pressure to appoint 
subcontractors with poor 
compliance controls in place.
Prequalification questionnaire 
implemented for appointments, 
assessed by dedicated 
procurement team.
Climate-related legislation 
implemented in response to rapid 
climate change.
ESG strategy in place to mitigate 
the Group’s contribution to 
climate change. Regular review 
of climate-related legislation that 
would be relevant to the Group.
Risk that failure to comply with legislation could lead to financial and/or reputational damage
Key
  Identify potential 
developments
  Site procurement 
and planning
  Transaction 
and funding
  Construction 
and delivery
  Accommodation 
management
  Increase
  Decrease
  No change

38	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management and principal risks 
continued
Project delivery
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Inaccurate build 
programmes and 
increasing build costs.
The Group’s business model means that 
it is involved in planning for most of its 
developments, giving it a greater ability to 
ensure a suitable programme. 
Monitoring of performance against 
programme in monthly senior 
management review meetings, to 
ensure early intervention.
Project is delivered late, leading 
to financial penalties and 
reputational damage.
Failure to obtain 
necessary statutory 
approvals.
Experienced in-house delivery 
teams use the Group construction 
management methodology, which seeks 
early engagement and discharge of 
statutory conditions. BSA working group 
established to ensure compliance with 
relevant Gateways under the Act.
QA data collated and monitored 
in monthly senior management 
review meetings. Post-contract 
review sessions held to identify 
lessons learnt and to drive 
continuous improvement.
Poor-quality workmanship.
Poor-quality 
workmanship.
Management processes on site for 
ensuring build quality, with QA procedures 
in place for monitoring and capturing 
QA data.
Monthly senior management 
review meetings monitor 
progress with discharging 
statutory requirements.
Completed properties do 
not comply with statutory 
requirements.
ESG strategy not 
implemented.
Engagement with supply chain to monitor 
compliance with ISO 14001, with all 
suppliers to be accredited by 2025.
Monitoring of progress against 
ESG targets, with regular 
reporting to the Board.
ESG commitments not met, 
leading to reputational damage.
Poorly drafted or 
unclear specification 
documents, or failure to 
build what is consented 
or contracted.
Construction management software 
utilised to ensure all parties are working to 
the latest drawings and documents.
Regular project management review of 
compliance with planning and contractual 
requirements.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Business failures or 
significant disruption in 
the supply chain.
Robust financial checks on subcontractors 
and monitoring of the workload, 
performance and capacity of key 
contractors. In the event of market delays 
in the sourcing of materials, liaising with 
subcontractors to order materials in 
advance of requirements.
Pressures to meet financial and 
delivery targets may lead to 
compromises on programme 
and quality.
Governance procedures require 
Executive Committee approval for 
all developments, with input from 
all key disciplines.
Delays to programmes as a result 
of slower than expected BSA 
Gateway approval.
BSA working group established. 
Combined in-house planning and 
construction expertise to navigate 
Gateways.
Risk that a scheme is delivered late or to a poor quality, which could result in significant financial costs, reputational 
damage and potential legacy issues

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
39
Widespread business interruption 
and business continuity
Change: 
   Link to business model: 
 
 
Threats
Consequences
Threats
Preventative barriers
Responsive controls
Consequences
Natural disaster, 
including as a result of 
climate change.
Geographically diverse locations for the 
Group’s revenue‑generating activities 
reduces concentration of risk, alongside 
due diligence when appraising sites to 
identify heightened risks for specific 
locations.
For support services, widespread 
homeworking can be deployed in 
the event of the loss of an office. 
Loss of access to physical 
support infrastructure such 
as offices. 
Man-made disaster.
Robust design and specification of 
materials, alongside well‑established 
HS&E management framework.
Formal business continuity plan 
to inform initial crisis response. 
Maintenance of a comprehensive 
suite of insurance policies.
Significant damage to 
construction sites.
Widespread employee 
absences due to illness, 
team defection or 
pandemic.
Agile working practices can reduce 
level of face-to-face interaction to stop 
spread of disease. Experienced and 
well‑embedded H&S practices to monitor 
latest government guidance.
Employee Assistance Programme 
and wellbeing support for 
staff, including remote GP 
appointments and mental health 
support, to assist return to work, 
with use of consultants to cover.
Absence or loss of key employees 
for prolonged periods.
Significant market 
volatility affects investor 
confidence.
Capital-light model, well-managed liquidity 
position and regular and open contact with 
stakeholders allows the Group to respond 
to short-term volatility. 
A broad range of internal experience and 
external advice sought to gain early sight of 
upcoming market challenges.
Widespread loss 
of access to IT 
infrastructure or key 
SaaS systems.
Core systems are cloud based, with 
backup and failover arrangements in 
place. The Group uses a range of IT 
security measures including firewalls, 
web filters and anti-virus software.
Escalation factors
Preventative barriers
Failure of a key supplier.
Tendering due diligence considers 
suppliers’ technical expertise and 
financial position.
Additional pressure placed on 
employees during recovery period 
from a significant adverse event.
Access to external and internal 
support services.
Risk that a major nationwide incident causes a significant reduction or cessation in the Group’s business activities
Key
  Identify potential 
developments
  Site procurement 
and planning
  Transaction 
and funding
  Construction 
and delivery
  Accommodation 
management
  Increase
  Decrease
  No change
Going concern
The Directors have undertaken a thorough 
review of the Group’s ability to continue 
to trade as a going concern for the period 
to 31 January 2026 (the ‘forecast period’). 
This review has been undertaken taking 
into consideration the following matters. 
Liquidity
At 30 September 2024, the Group had a 
robust liquidity position, with cash and 
available headroom in its banking facilities 
totalling £143.2 million, as set out below.
£m
Cash balances
97.0
RCF headroom
36.2
Overdraft facility
10.0
Total cash and available 
facilities 
143.2
Strong liquidity has been maintained 
through the first quarter of the year ending 
30 September 2025, providing the Group 
with a good level of cash and available 
banking facilities for the year ahead. 
The Group’s revolving credit facility (RCF) is 
committed and has recently been extended 
to November 2027, to give flexibility given 
the current market conditions. The RCF 
can be used for the acquisition of land 
and associated development works. 
All financial covenants under this facility 
were met at 30 September 2024 and are 
forecast to be met throughout the period 
to 31 January 2026.
Business model
Our business model is capital light. 
By forward selling or acting as development 
partners for the majority of our build to rent, 
purpose built student accommodation and 
Refresh developments, we receive payment 
before we incur any significant development 
cash outflows. 
In FY24 our business model evolved 
to include a joint venture structure at 
Stratford, which is not capital intensive but 
does allow us to benefit from future market 
improvement on disposal of the asset. 
By controlling our pipeline, we are able to 
ensure that we only commit expenditure 
to projects that are either development 
partnerships, are forward sold or on which 
we are undertaking a modest level of 
enabling works. 
In certain circumstances we may decide 
to continue construction activities beyond 
the initial enabling phase, without a forward 
sale agreement in place, but we take this 
decision based on our available liquidity 
and can suspend the works should it prove 
necessary. This greatly limits our exposure 
to development expenditure which is not 
covered by cash income. 

40	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Risk management and principal risks 
continued
Going concern continued  
Business model continued
Sites are normally secured on a subject to 
satisfactory planning basis, which gives us 
time to manage the cash requirements and 
to market them. 
We also take a cautious approach to 
managing our land acquisition programme, 
to ensure that we have sufficient liquidity 
available to complete the acquisition of the 
sites without any new forward sales being 
secured.
The Fresh business receives a regular 
contractual monthly fee income from 
its multiple clients and the short to 
medium‑term risk to its revenue stream 
is low.
Our Refresh business involves little initial 
investment or rolling working capital, with 
works completed typically certified and 
invoiced on a monthly basis.
For our Affordable-led Homes business, 
which is currently relatively small and only 
has a few sites in build, we manage our 
development expenditure so that, other 
than for infrastructure works, we only 
commit expenditure where it is supported 
by a forward sales position. In addition, a 
significant portion of our largest site has 
been forward sold such that we will receive 
payment for development works as they 
progress.
We also receive rental income from tenants 
in our leased PBSA assets. The PBSA 
assets are anticipated to be almost fully 
occupied for the 2024/25 academic year.
Our business model and approach to cash 
management therefore provide a high 
degree of resilience.
Counterparty risk
The Group’s clients are predominantly 
blue-chip institutional funds and the risk 
of default is low. The funds for a forward 
sold development are normally specifically 
allocated by the client or backed by 
committed debt funding.
For forward sold developments, our cash 
income remains ahead of our development 
expenditure through the life of the 
development, such that if we were exposed 
to a client payment default, we could 
suspend the works, thereby limiting any 
cash exposure.
Fresh has many clients and these are 
mostly institutional funds with low 
default risk.
Base case cash forecast
We have prepared a base case cash 
forecast for the forecast period, based 
on our current business plan and trading 
assumptions for the year. This is well 
supported by our forward sold pipeline 
of two PBSA developments and five BTR 
developments for delivery during the period 
FY25 to FY27, as well as the reserved/
exchanged and forward sales for our 
Affordable-led Homes business and the 
contracted income for Fresh and Refresh. 
Our currently secured cash flow, derived 
from our forward sold developments and 
other contracted income, net of overheads 
and tax, results in a modest cash utilisation 
over the forecast period, with the result that 
our liquidity position is maintained.
In addition to the secured cash flow, the 
base case forecast assumes a number of 
new forward sales and further house sales, 
which if achieved will result in a further 
strengthening of our liquidity position. 
This scenario includes allowances for 
remedial spend on building safety matters, 
including a contingency value. 
Risk analysis
In addition to the base case forecast, 
we have considered the possibility of 
continued disruption to the forward sale 
market, given the market turbulence seen 
in the UK over recent years. This is our 
most significant risk as it would greatly limit 
our ability to achieve any disposals.
We have run a reasonable downside model 
scenario, such that forward sales and new 
site acquisitions are delayed by up to six 
months, to assess the possible impact of 
the above risks. 
The cash forecast prepared under this 
scenario illustrates that adequate liquidity 
is maintained through the forecast period 
and the financial covenants under the RCF 
would still be met.
The minimum gross cash balance under 
this scenario was £82.2 million (excluding 
the £10.0 million accordion facility). We 
consider the likelihood of events occurring 
which would exhaust the total cash and 
available facilities balances remaining to 
be remote. However, should such events 
occur, management would be able to 
implement reductions in discretionary 
expenditure and consider the sale of 
the Group’s land sites to ensure that the 
Group’s liquidity was maintained.
Conclusion
Based on the thorough review and 
robust downside forecasting undertaken, 
and having not identified any material 
uncertainties that may cast any significant 
doubt, the Board is satisfied that the 
Group will be able to continue to trade for 
the period to 31 January 2026 and has 
therefore adopted the going concern basis 
in preparing the financial statements.
This strategic report, comprising pages 
1 to 67, has been approved by the Board 
and signed on its behalf:
Alex Pease
Chief Executive Officer
23 January 2025

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41
Sustainability
UN Sustainable Development Goals framework:
Potential for high  
positive impact
Potential for  
positive impact
Responsibility to mitigate 
potential negative impact
  
  
  
  
  
  
	
See Our Future People and  
Our Future Places
	
See Our Future People
	
See Our Future People, Our Future 	
	
	
Places and Our Future Planet
Our Future People
Develops initiatives to recruit and retain 
the best talent, create a great place to 
work and keep our employees safe.
Our Future Places
Develops the design of our buildings, to 
create great places to live that enhance 
the communities around them.
Our Future Planet
Considers the design and use of 
materials for our developments, 
including environmental and social 
considerations.
ESG Working Group
Cross-functional group including Health & Safety, Procurement and Sustainability
Meets monthly to develop the Group’s ESG approach, identify opportunities and ensure targets remain relevant and achievable. 
Recommends initiatives requiring investment to the ESG Steering Group.
Policies
Group policies can be found at watkinjonesplc.com/investors/policies-procedures
Our sustainability governance framework 
Our approach to sustainability is underpinned by a robust governance framework, which ensures effective oversight of our strategy 
and its implementation, supported by policies and procedures embedded throughout the Group.
Remuneration 
Committee
Considers and sets annual ESG 
objectives for the Executive Committee.
Audit Committee
Jointly with the Board, considers risks 
put forward by the Risk Committee at 
least annually.
Board of Directors
Endorses ESG strategy and receives 
updates from ESG Steering Group.
Has ultimate oversight of climate risks 
and opportunities through reports 
from the Risk Committee and ESG 
Steering Group.
Risk Committee
Comprises all members of the Executive Committee 
Meets regularly throughout the year to review any changes to 
the Company’s risk profile, including climate-related risk.
ESG Steering Group
Comprises all members of the Executive Committee 
Sets the ESG strategy and considers the associated costs, 
risks and opportunities. 
Meets quarterly to assess progress against ESG targets and 
climate-related opportunities, and directs the work of the ESG 
Working Group.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Sustainability continued
Commitment
Commitment
Commitment
Key activities
Key activities
Key activities
Our Future Places
Enhance customer experience and client satisfaction, by 
delivering buildings and services that meet their needs and are 
of the highest quality.
  
 
Our Future Planet
Minimise our environmental footprint and reduce carbon 
emissions by focusing on our supply chain, making our 
workplaces and developments more energy and water efficient, 
reducing waste and being innovative.
  
  
•	 Continue work on equity, diversity and inclusion
•	 Expand our wellbeing curriculum
•	 Increase investment in learning
•	 Increase representation of minority groups
•	 Focus on the use and layout of shared amenity space to enhance 
residents’ experience
•	 Reduce carbon emissions (see below)
•	 Maintain and improve strong net promoter scores
•	 Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by:
•	 Implementing company car policy
•	 Reviewing energy procurement
•	 Reduce Scope 3 emissions by:
•	 Installing solar panels where suitable
•	 Strengthening partnerships with key suppliers
•	 Running environmental campaigns to raise awareness among 
Fresh residents
•	 Updating our building specifications to reflect our 
commitment to sustainable materials
•	 Improve waste and water performance by:
•	 Increasing diversion of waste from landfill
•	 Reducing water consumption on sites
•	 Enhancing waste management plans and partnerships with 
key supply chain, to recycle specialist materials
Our Future People
Create a great place to work, which celebrates diversity and 
inclusion, prioritises everyone’s health and wellbeing and allows 
us to make a positive difference to the Group and society.
  
  
  
Our Future Foundations sustainability strategy 
We have clear and measurable sustainability objectives aligned to our core business strategy, recognising that our long-term business 
success and sustainability are interdependent. We track these goals with performance indicators and regularly assess our progress.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
43
FY24 performance and highlights
FY24 performance and highlights
FY24 performance and highlights
FY25 targets (unless specified)
FY25 targets (unless specified)
FY25 targets (unless specified)
•	 Employee engagement score: 72% (FY23: 73%)
•	 Voluntary employee turnover: 24% (FY23: 32%)
•	 Group investment in learning: 7.9 days per employee 
(FY23: 9.3 days)
•	 Gender diversity: 46% female 
•	 Achieved Disability Confident Employer status, recognising our 
ongoing commitment to being an inclusive employer 
•	 Health and safety incident rate at 13.4% of the national construction 
industry average at 321/100,000 employees (FY23: 131/100,000 
employees and 4.9% of the average)
•	 Fresh student net promoter score (NPS) of +36 (FY23: +35)
•	 Fresh client NPS of +62 (FY23: +37)
•	 100% of schemes submitted for planning were designed to 
BREEAM Excellent standard for PBSA or HQM 4* for BTR
•	 Average Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) score across all 
sites was 42 (Excellent)
•	 Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions down by 28%
•	 20% decrease in total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions on a market 
basis following the introduction of REGO backed electricity 
contracts across our construction sites and the Fresh estate, 
although a 9% increase on a location basis due to the completion 
or near completion of a number of large schemes
•	 Sustainable heating solutions incorporated into design briefs
•	 99.15% waste diverted from landfill (FY23: 98.8%), with improved 
waste management plans delivering a reduction in waste produced 
by our construction sites year on year from 0.05 to 0.03 tonnes/m²
•	 Water consumption reduced year on year from 0.094 l/m² to  
0.028 l/m²
•	 Car fleet is now fully electric or hybrid, ahead of 2026 target
•	 Group employee engagement score: 75%1
•	 Voluntary employee turnover: below 20%
•	 Group investment in learning: 4.5 days per employee
•	 Increase in under-represented groups: to better reflect 
national profile
•	 Inclusivity approach: supported by recognised accreditations
•	 Health and safety incident rate: less than 5% of the national 
construction industry average
•	 Fresh NPS (student): to maintain current high levels 
•	 Fresh NPS (client): to maintain current high levels
•	 Design quality of student developments (BREEAM rating): 100% 
Excellent
•	 Design quality of BTR developments (HQM): 4* by 2030
•	 Wired score: Silver 
•	 Considerate Constructors Scheme: Very Good for all sites
•	 Carbon reduction: net zero Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions 
by 2030
•	 Meaningful reduction of Scope 3 emissions by 2030
•	 ISO 14001 accreditation in supply chain: 100% of main suppliers 
and subcontractors1
•	 Car fleet: full electric vehicle fleet by 20261
•	 Sustainable heating systems: in all development designs by 20231
•	 Waste diversion from landfill (waste from construction sites diverted 
from landfill for reuse or recycling): over 97.5%1
1.	 Target updated during the year, to reflect early achievement of original target or where previous target no longer aligns to our approach.

Sustainability continued
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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Engaging with our people
Our employee engagement survey covers 
six areas: Health & Wellbeing, Irresistible 
Workplace, Leadership & Inspiration, 
Meaningful Work, Motivating Managers 
and Realising Potential. We have seen a 10 
percentage point increase in the response 
rate, up from 66% in 2023 to 76% in 2024, 
with an average score of 7.6 and a score 
above 7.0 being rated as positive. Our 
overall engagement score was 72%, an 
increase on 2023, and our employee net 
promoter score increased from +2 in 2023 
to +8 in 2024.
As in previous years, we held sessions 
for each division and team, to go through 
their results and their engagement 
drivers, as well as areas for improvement. 
Managers could also see the results for 
their area, to help them improve their own 
management practice. These actions 
supported local ownership of results and 
drove our improvement priorities. Health 
and wellbeing, reward and recognition all 
received additional focus in FY24 following 
feedback.
Health and safety
Health and safety is an absolute priority 
for us and our track record remains strong. 
We have a Group-wide health and safety 
policy, which provides a comprehensive 
description of responsibilities from Board 
level to the people working on sites. It also 
details the arrangements which form our 
robust health and safety management 
system.
Our annual incident rate was 321 per 
100,000 employees (FY23: 131). While this 
was higher than the prior year it was still 
a very good performance, at 13.4% of the 
industry average. We reduced our minor 
(non-reportable) accident rate by 4.5% on 
the prior year and our overall combined 
accident rate (minor (non-reportable) and 
reportable) by 2.4%.
In addition to our comprehensive 
business‑as-usual training, we introduced 
courses to cater for new standards 
and requirements on site. We look to 
continuously improve our performance 
and highlight monthly focus areas, where 
we have identified the need for people to 
remain diligent.
During the year, we had a number of 
continuing assessment audits for our ISO 
45001 certification carried out by British 
Standards Institution. We received very 
positive feedback from the auditors on our 
processes, procedures and controls during 
these audits.
For information on our approach to fire 
safety and the Building Safety Act, see 
page 49. 
2024 performance
7.9
learning days per 
employee achieved
Zero
non-compliance events
24%
voluntary employee turnover
31
promotions
46%
female employees
4.5%
reduction in minor 
H&S incidents
Our Future People
We continued to deliver against our priorities 
during the year, in order to enhance the way 
we manage and engage our people.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
45
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
2023/24
2019/20
2020/21
2022/23
321
 
Incident
rate
Reportable 
accidents 
rate
Incident rate: This is an HSE standard reporting metric, being the number of recorded incidents 
multiplied by 100,000 divided by the average number of full-time employees.
Reportable accidents rate: This is the absolute number of accidents reported by the Group to HSE 
in accordance with the RIDDOR regulations.
0
1
2
3
4
5
2021/22
Whilst we saw a rise in RIDDOR reportable accidents during this year (five this year compared to two last 
year), we have seen a 4.5% reduction in minor accident rates and a 2.4% reduction in all accident rates 
compared with last year.
131
128
102
175
Gender diversity
At the year end, our gender diversity was 
as shown in the table below:
2024
2023
Men Women
Men Women
Board
4
2
3
3
Senior 
management
38
7
48
9
Other 
employees
283
266
354
310
Total
325
275
405
322
Learning and development
During FY24, we continued to achieve 
above-target training days, with 7.9 days of 
training per employee delivered, compared 
to a target of 4.5 days by FY25.
This reflects our continuous efforts in 
promoting apprenticeship programmes. 
While these have traditionally been seen 
as learning paths for young people, we 
have also taken the opportunity to upskill 
current employees. In FY24, the subjects 
being studied ranged from construction 
site management to accounting. Our 
apprenticeships also include leadership 
and management, building on our people’s 
technical and professional skills by allowing 
them to learn about best practice and 
achieve a qualification.
Most of our vocational learners are 
engaged in construction-related 
qualifications but we have also enrolled 
colleagues in professional membership 
pathways, such as the Royal Institute of 
Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered 
Management Institute.
We continued to run a wide range of 
operational and specialist training across 
the Group. In FY24, we launched a Group 
Leadership & Management Diploma and 
training in business continuity planning, 
as well as new vocational learning 
programmes in Fresh. In relation to the 
Building Safety Act, we have introduced 
a new online learning tool to capture 
evidence of skills compliance.
Recruitment and retention
The market for talent remains competitive, 
reflecting continued skills shortages 
in construction and competition 
with hospitality businesses in Fresh. 
Nevertheless, we continue to attract the 
people we need and have used our in-house 
capabilities to further reduce our reliance on 
recruitment agencies in the last 12 months.
Voluntary turnover in the year was 
24%, with 30% in Fresh and 17% in our 
development business. This compares with 
our FY25 target of below 20%. Listening to 
what our colleagues want and making the 
Group an enjoyable and satisfying place to 
work are key to further reducing turnover. 
We also look to retain talented people 
by promoting from within and we were 
pleased to promote 31 colleagues in the 
financial year.
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace 
requires us to have accurate data on our 
workforce. We have therefore begun to 
collect EDI-related statistics. 
Improvements have been made in FY24 to 
our HR policies and recruitment processes 
as part of the second year of our diversity 
charter, with the aim for our workforce to 
become more representative of national 
demographics. Of the employees who 
have provided their data so far, just over 
10% identify as BAME (Black, Asian and 
Minority Ethnic) (FY23: 11%).
We continued to promote diversity in FY24, 
for example by celebrating International 
Women’s Day, Pride Month, World Mental 
Health Day and Dyslexia Awareness 
Week. Our education and support for 
understanding neurodiversity has been 
a particular success. We have partnered 
with Purple Tuesday, an organisation 
promoting disability awareness and 
understanding, which has enabled us to 
adapt many elements of our recruitment 
and onboarding processes, as well as our 
workplace environments. This access to 
information on neurodiversity has also 
helped many colleagues to support their 
family members.
The Group gender balance is 46% 
female and 54% male. The split reflects 
the number of women in Fresh, including 
in senior roles. We continue to work to 
improve the gender balance in Watkin 
Jones. At the year end, our gender 
diversity was as shown in the table above.
Reward and recognition
We have increased our focus on reward 
and recognition in FY24, following feedback 
in our engagement survey. From a pay 
perspective, we continue to benchmark 
our roles to ensure they remain competitive, 
and with the cost‑of‑living crisis still being 
felt by many, we have continued to give 
larger increases to those who are below 
the average for their pay band. 
In FY24 we also improved our discount 
and savings platform ‘Your Rewards’, 
which enables colleagues to access a 
range of discounts and savings. Alongside 
the Sharesave scheme, which is now in its 
second year, we have introduced pension 
salary sacrifice to encourage our people 
to increase their saving for retirement.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Sustainability continued
Reward and recognition continued
To improve recognition, we launched a 
new monthly and quarterly recognition 
scheme. In its first six months we received 
over 250 nominations and gave awards to 
a wide range of employees, which can be 
redeemed through our discount platform. 
In FY24 we also hosted our second annual 
Star Awards, which recognise individuals 
and teams across the Group who have 
gone the extra mile.
Wellbeing and mental health
We have continued to promote wellbeing 
and mental health. Initiatives during the 
year included a new Health and Wellbeing 
Hub focusing on four main areas:
•	 workplace wellness, engagement and 
connectedness; 
•	 physical wellbeing, and healthy bodies 
for a healthy business; 
•	 community and social wellbeing, 
including building a strong community; 
and
•	 emotional and mental wellbeing, 
promoting a positive and supportive 
environment. 
Each of these areas is supported by a busy 
calendar of events, covering topics such as 
physical, mental and financial health, and 
EDI. There were also many other informal 
events to help create a welcoming, friendly 
workplace, as well as ‘lunch and learn’ 
sessions, where our people could hear 
from external providers and experts on 
wellbeing and EDI subjects. We continued 
to offer on-site health checks, with ten site 
events taking place. Our provider has also 
introduced online health checks, to reach 
colleagues in regions where it has not been 
possible to arrange an on-site check.
All of these activities are building on the 
basic awareness and understanding of 
the importance of wellbeing we have 
established over recent years.
Our people policies
We have a wide range of people policies 
covering maternity, paternity and 
adoption leave, equality and diversity, 
employee privacy, dignity at work, equal 
opportunities, pensions and grievance 
procedures.
Our people can report policy compliance 
issues to their line manager or their HR 
business partner. If the issue remains 
unresolved, we have a formal grievance 
procedure and policy, as well as an external 
whistleblowing service, which allows our 
people to raise concerns anonymously and 
confidentially.
We did not identify any material 
non‑compliance with our people policies 
during the year.
Human rights
We have several policies covering human 
rights in our business and supply chain. 
These include our policies on dignity at 
work, preventing sexual harassment in the 
workplace, equal opportunities, equality 
and diversity, and anti-slavery and human 
trafficking. 
Our Compliance Officer has primary 
responsibility for overseeing the 
anti‑slavery and human trafficking policy, 
monitoring its use and effectiveness, 
dealing with any queries, and auditing 
internal control systems and procedures to 
ensure they are effective. We ensure all new 
and existing employees have training to 
understand their rights and responsibilities 
under our human rights related policies. 
Anyone with concerns about slavery or 
human trafficking must raise them through 
their line manager, our Compliance Officer 
or through our whistleblowing procedures. 
We are not aware of any material breaches 
of our human rights policies during 
the year.
Anti-bribery and corruption (ABC)
We have a detailed ABC policy, which 
is designed to give our people and third 
parties working for us sufficient knowledge 
to detect and prevent bribery and 
corruption, and guidance on where to seek 
advice. The policy is supported by practical 
examples of how to apply the rules.
Directors, managers and supervisors are 
personally responsible for monitoring 
compliance in respect of all business 
matters they manage or supervise and 
by everyone involved in those matters, 
including agents, joint ventures and 
contractors working for us.
Anyone with suspicions about an ABC 
policy violation must report it to their 
supervisor, manager or Director, the 
Compliance Officer or the whistleblowing 
hotline. The Audit Committee receives an 
update on all whistleblowing submissions. 
We are not aware of any breaches of the 
policy during the year.
Our Future People continued

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
47
The quality of our buildings and our 
customer service for residents are 
regularly recognised by industry awards. 
Achievements for Fresh during FY24 
included:
Global Student Living – rated Platinum as 
an Operator for the second year running, 
as well as:
•	 7 x Global Student Living Platinum 
Certified Properties;
•	 19 x Global Student Living Gold Certified 
Properties; and
•	 15 x Global Student Living Silver 
Certified Properties.
Global Student Living Awards – 
Shortlisted for Best Private Housing UK 
& Ireland, Best Individual Property UK & 
Ireland, for Highlight Thomas Street, Dublin 
and Best Learning Environment UK & 
Ireland, for Calico, Liverpool – Calico won 
its award.
Inspiring Women in Property Awards – 
Won the Mental Health and Wellbeing 
Initiative of the Year for Jane Crouch, COO, 
and our Be wellbeing programme. 
Love to Rent Awards – Shortlisted for the 
Best BTR Marketing Campaign for Verse 
Cardiff.
2024 performance
+36
resident net promoter score
+62
client net promoter score
Award wins
Health & Wellbeing Award at 
the Student Accommodation 
Awards 2023 and Best Private 
Student Housing Provider, 
Global Student Living Index, 
based on feedback from 
Fresh residents
Our Future Places
We aim to deliver and operate the highest-quality 
buildings, which meet residents’ and clients’ 
evolving needs while benefiting our communities.
Loft Lines, Titanic Quarter, Belfast

Sustainability continued
48	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Delivering a great resident 
experience
We look to deliver a consistently great 
experience for residents. For students, 
being away from home can be stressful, 
so supporting their mental health and 
wellbeing is a key focus. Our support 
includes our Be wellbeing and lifestyle 
programme, which helps residents to settle 
in, make new friends and enjoy their time 
with us. In Fresh’s BTR properties, the 
Belong programme provides clubs, socials 
and other events attuned to residents’ 
interests and lifestyles.
The success of these programmes has 
helped Fresh to achieve very high net 
promoter scores from residents and win 
further national awards for its service 
quality. 
Excellent connectivity is important for 
residents’ lifestyles, including working 
from home. We were pleased to achieve 
WiredScore Portfolio accreditation, which 
acknowledges our best-in-class delivery of 
digital infrastructure. Watkin Jones is one 
of only a few developers and landlords to 
receive this award.
Maintaining a strong reputation with 
our clients is vital. We therefore set high 
standards in our Facilities Management 
Agreement and engage with clients to 
tailor our service for their needs, including 
ways to make properties more efficient 
and environmentally friendly. In our client 
survey, we achieved an NPS of +62 
(FY23: +37).
Designing for sustainable 
performance
Our clients are increasingly focused on the 
sustainability of properties, so they remain 
fit for purpose for the long term.
The Building Research Establishment’s 
Environmental Assessment Method 
(BREEAM) and the Home Quality Mark 
(HQM) assess a building’s environmental 
performance and how it contributes 
to residents’ wellbeing. Our design 
improvements mean that all new 
developments will now achieve either 
BREEAM Excellent or HQM four-star 
ratings, which we had originally targeted for 
2025 and 2030 respectively.
During the year, we reviewed our 
architectural engineering practices to 
assist in understanding our sustainability 
priorities.
Innovation and continuous 
improvement
We embrace innovative approaches 
and technologies that can enhance our 
sustainability efforts. Some of our initiatives 
include:
•	 Increasing our manufacturer-led 
partnerships to enhance our control 
of the quality of the product within our 
specification. This means we can be 
sure of the origin of our products and 
work with our subcontractors to reduce 
overall waste. We are also encouraging 
our partners to produce environmental 
product declarations where possible.
•	 Continuing to adopt modern methods 
of construction (MMC), including 
prefabricating some elements of our 
buildings. 
	 We have conducted a full review of 
MMC within our specification and have 
a roadmap of product development 
that goes beyond the historic use of 
prefabricated bathroom pods. The 
development of these items is expected 
to drive further reduction in Scope 
3 emissions and reduce the volume 
of waste produced on our sites. In 
addition, this allows us to control the 
quality and origin of all products with our 
specification. This is quicker, safer and 
more efficient than traditional methods. 
We have used bathroom pods for several 
years and we are currently adapting 
them to enhance their sustainability. 
We also introduced and are actively 
trialling innovative MMC within our 
kitchens, utility areas and service areas.
•	 Trialling the use of hydrotreated 
vegetable oil (HVO) fuel on two of our 
sites with a view to using it more widely 
to replace diesel. HVO fuel is made 
from 100% renewable and traceable 
raw materials such as waste cooking 
oil, residues and oily wastewater. 
It can reduce carbon emissions by 
90% against traditional diesel.
•	 Reviewing the composition of the 
concrete we use. Concrete is our most 
carbon-intensive material; its main 
component, cement, is estimated to 
be responsible for at least 8% of the 
world’s CO2 emissions. We are exploring 
the use of a blended concrete using 
waste products, which offers a greener 
alternative. However, we are also 
conscious that these products need to 
be fully vetted to ensure they adhere to 
our safety standards.
Our Future Places continued
Kelaty, Wembley

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•	 Partnering with key window 
manufacturers to ensure our 
subcontractors use products that are 
extremely sustainable. For example, 
our aluminium windows use a minimum 
of 75% post-consumer scrap and we 
are currently trialling a product that 
goes well beyond that. This significantly 
reduces carbon emissions compared 
to traditional frames and feeds into the 
circular economy.
•	 Developing further our use of air 
source heat pumps and sustainable 
heating systems. When we devised 
our sustainability strategy, we targeted 
using air source heat pumps in all 
developments by FY24. The technology 
is moving quickly and we are adapting in 
response. For example, rather than using 
a central heat pump, we have adopted a 
decentralised approach which is quicker 
to install and more energy efficient. We 
may also use other forms of sustainable 
heating, such as a district heating 
system. As a result, we have amended 
our target to require sustainable heating 
in all developments. We have worked 
closely with our professional consultants 
to develop a tiered mechanical and 
electrical strategy, providing the most 
efficient solution that is tailored to our 
updated specification.
To ensure we continually improve and take 
advantage of opportunities and innovation, 
we have formed an ESG Working Group 
with representation from across the 
business. This group is reviewing all 
aspects of our products and services, as 
well as ensuring teams take a consistent 
approach and consider sustainability in 
everything we do. One current project 
involves improving the sustainability of the 
cabins we provide for our people on site, 
for example by adding photovoltaic panels, 
harvesting rainwater or providing electric 
vehicle charging.
More broadly, we are considering the 
principles of the circular economy, where 
materials are recovered, reused or recycled 
rather than being disposed of. This can 
take the form of reusing materials already 
present on our sites or assessing how the 
materials we purchase could be reused 
in future, so we can favour those with 
potential for circularity.
Benefiting our communities
We design our schemes to benefit the 
communities around our sites and minimise 
disruption. This includes ensuring that 
local products and labour are used where 
appropriate to provide economic and social 
benefit to the surrounding area. We work 
with local charities and educational 
institutions to create a tailored social 
value plan.
BTR developments provide high-quality 
new homes, which help to relieve pressure 
on local housing. PBSA developments 
are also a good way of making homes 
previously occupied by students available 
for families. In addition, when obtaining 
planning consent for our developments, 
we often undertake improvements in the 
local area. This can range from providing 
affordable homes to contributions towards 
new schools.
To minimise disruption, we register our 
sites with the Considerate Constructors 
Scheme, which rates sites on criteria such 
as respecting the community, protecting 
the environment and worker safety. Our 
sites averaged an Excellent rating in FY24, 
well ahead of our Very Good target.
In Fresh-managed properties, through 
our partnership with the British Heart 
Foundation, we donated 5,531 bags of 
furniture items worth in excess of £116,000 
to the charity.
Ensuring building safety
The safety of the buildings we develop is 
paramount. Our developments comply 
with building and fire regulations, and we 
have rigorous fire safety management and 
maintenance regimes. We use consultants 
to conduct fire safety assessments and 
employ accredited subcontractors to 
undertake independent surveys of the 
work. We also have significant quality 
assurance teams to create an additional 
level of scrutiny and ensure consistency in 
our builds.
As regulations and guidance evolve, we 
proactively address issues. In 2023, we 
signed up to the government’s Responsible 
Actors Scheme, which requires developers 
to address life-critical fire safety defects in 
these buildings. In 2024, we signed up to 
the Welsh Government’s Developers Pact, 
which has the same aims. 
The Learning & Development team has 
continued to work with our operational 
teams to ensure we are prepared for 
the Building Safety Act’s requirements 
relating to competency and training. 
This includes developing our capability 
in setting out, monitoring and assessing 
professional competence, and introducing 
an application which contains a full 
competence framework and a platform 
for recording working objectives, 
performance reviews and learning and 
development plans.
We have updated our internal policies and 
procedures in order to ensure compliance 
with the Building Safety Act and further 
harness our supplier partnerships at early 
design stages.
Managing our supply chain
Our supply chain is crucial to delivering 
our schemes. This enables us to engage 
more effectively and develop long‑term 
partnerships with subcontractors and 
manufacturers, allowing us to ensure 
quality of our product as well as 
sustainable procurement practices.
New contractors go through a rigorous 
prequalification process, including 
considering their quality, sustainability 
and financial performance. We then 
encourage continuous improvement by 
using a bespoke system to record and 
communicate defects directly to suppliers. 
This improves efficiency and ensures 
accountability.
We want our subcontractors and suppliers 
to join us on our sustainability journey. 
Our target is for our major supply chain 
partners to have ISO 14001 accredited 
environmental management systems 
by FY25. Where this is not feasible for 
smaller suppliers, we are signposting 
them to a consultancy so they can gain 
a better understanding of environmental 
management.
We are increasingly focused on 
transparency in our supply chain, to 
ensure that sustainable practices are 
upheld throughout. We regularly audit 
key suppliers and engage with them to 
understand where they are sourcing 
their products and review the supporting 
certifications. In addition, we have 
introduced a code of conduct for suppliers, 
to formalise the standards we expect 
from them.

Sustainability continued
50	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
2024 performance
20%
decrease in Scope 1, 2 and 3 
emissions on a market basis
99.15%
waste diverted from landfill
The environmental impacts of our 
corporate, development and management 
activities mainly occur through waste 
disposal, water and energy use, and 
carbon emissions. Our development 
activities can also impact local habitats.
Our institutional clients are increasingly 
focused on their environmental 
responsibilities and their assets’ 
operational running costs and want energy 
efficient buildings that will remain fit for 
purpose for the long term. Their growing 
focus on sustainability helps to underpin 
demand for our products, as they replace 
older and less sustainable buildings. 
We have leveraged our experience in 
building safety and design to offer a 
refurbishment solution for asset owners. 
Our Refresh initiative will create more 
energy efficient, better quality and safer 
buildings which meet residents’ needs. 
See page 19 for more information on 
Refresh.
Improving performance  
through design
Where possible, we use options such as 
combined heating and power supplies, 
solar photovoltaic cells, air source heat 
pumps and other sustainable heating 
solutions to keep energy use as low as 
possible. Our 2024 specification update 
has implemented key additional elements 
of MMC regarding our kitchens and 
utility rooms, driving down our Scope 3 
emissions and improving the efficiency of 
our build processes.
Waste
We monitor waste management on site 
and carry out checks on our own and 
our contractors’ waste carriers and 
environmental permits. We recycle timber 
on site and segregate and divert timber 
waste for recycling away from landfill sites. 
We only use sustainable sources for our 
timber. 
In addition, we focus on ways to reduce 
waste production in the first place. 
For example, increased use of off-site 
assembly and other MMC will help to 
reduce waste production on site.
Our target was to increase the amount 
of waste diverted from landfill to 95% by 
FY25. Having already exceeded this, we 
increased our FY25 target to 97.5%. In 
FY24, 99.15% of our waste was diverted 
from landfill – significantly ahead of target, 
with the waste produced by our sites in 
2024 reduced by 40% year on year from 
0.05 to 0.03 tonnes per m² of gross internal 
area. This has been driven by increased 
focus on waste management plans and 
agreements with key supply chain partners 
for specialist recycling of materials, 
including plasterboard.
Our Future Planet
Improving our environmental performance 
is important to our long-term success.
Ty Nant, Swansea

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51
86%
88%
90%
92%
94%
96%
98%
2019
2018
2017
93.00%
90.00%
90.00%
94.00%
93.00%
95.00%
97.00%
97.00%
98.80%
99.15%
92.00%
93.00%
95.00%
95.00%
95.00%
98.00%
2020
% Diversion target
% Actual diverted
2021
2024
2023
2022
100%
Waste diversion from landfill
Water
We continually monitor our water use so 
we can address any increase. We use 
water‑efficient components in our offices 
and temporary facilities on sites and use 
water recycling technology where possible.
Our buildings are designed in accordance 
with BREEAM Wat 01. Bathroom pods 
are fitted with dual flush toilet cisterns, 
aerated basin taps and eco showerheads 
which are all fully compliant with BREEAM 
water‑saving design standards. We also 
install leak detection systems and surface 
water attenuation (a sustainable drainage 
system) on some of our projects.
Biodiversity
The majority of our developments are 
on brownfield sites, which reduces their 
potential impact on biodiversity. However, 
we still commission ecological appraisals 
of our development sites, to ensure we do 
not negatively affect existing habitats, and 
produce an environmental impact report for 
each project, detailing specific measures 
to be taken to protect the surrounding 
environment.
While our developments often have 
limited space around them for enhancing 
biodiversity, we look to design our buildings 
to maximise the biodiversity benefits, such 
as using roof spaces for planting.
Our environmental policies
Our environmental policy statement sets 
out our commitment to protecting the 
environment, preventing pollution, and 
monitoring and reducing the impact of 
our operations on the environment and 
local communities. The policy requires 
us to work with our clients to promote 
best-practice environmental management 
techniques and with our suppliers to 
ensure strong environmental supply chain 
management and to promote sustainable 
sourcing of products and materials. 
We also have a separate policy covering 
our approach to waste management. 
This details our process for minimising 
waste production and requires us to use 
registered and approved contractors for 
waste management services.
We ensure compliance with our 
environmental policies by:
•	 	implementing environmental 
management systems, in accordance 
with our ISO 14001 accreditation;
•	 developing objectives, supported by 
detailed targets, to manage potentially 
significant environmental aspects;
•	 developing meaningful key performance 
indicators to measure resource use, 
waste and emissions, and to promote 
environmental best practice; and 
•	 providing training to staff and 
subcontractors.
As an ISO 14001 accredited company, our 
environmental policy and waste monitoring 
procedures are well established, and 
we are regularly audited by the British 
Standards Institution to ensure we comply.
Carbon emissions
To reduce carbon emissions we have:
•	 	worked with our plant provision partner 
to specify more efficient tools and plant 
for our sites;
•	 trialled HVO fuel, reducing reliance on 
fossil fuels;
•	 installed EV charging for employees 
at our Chester and Bangor offices to 
support our car fleet, which is now 
exclusively EV or PHEV;
•	 connected earlier in build stage to the 
national grid to reduce fossil fuel usage;
•	 introduced REGO backed electricity 
contracts across our construction sites 
and the Fresh estate; and
•	 rolled out energy-saving initiatives 
across Fresh including LED lighting and 
heating control installations.
As a result, we have seen a 20% decrease 
in total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions on a 
market basis, although we have noted a 
9% increase on a location basis due to the 
completion or near completion of a number 
of large schemes.
CGI Walnut Tree Close, Stratford

Sustainability continued
52	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Our Future Planet continued
Unity Street, Bristol
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
Energy consumption
2023/24
2022/23
Variance
Scope 1: Combustion of fuel and operation 
of facilities
Natural gas (kWh)
632,969
276,609
66%
Direct transport company cars 
(kWh)
1,320,086
2,916,860
(55)%
White diesel (kWh)
2,609,261
3,188,320
(18)%
Red diesel (kWh)
0
0
0%
HVO (kWh)
122,201
91,604
25%
Total Scope 1 energy (kWh) 
excl. refrigerants
4,684,517
6,473,393
(28)%
Scope 2: Electricity purchased
Total electricity (kWh)
5,022,473
2,550,189
49%
Scope 3: Indirect transport
Employee-owned vehicles (kWh)
422,304
227,551
46%
Total Scope 1, 2 and energy consumption (kWh)
10,129,294
9,251,133
9%
Emissions assessment
2023/24
2022/23
Variance
Scope 1: Combustion of fuel and operation of 
facilities
Natural gas (tCO2e)
116
51
56%
Direct transport company cars 
(tCO2e)
294
663
(55)%
White diesel (tCO2e)
624
762
(18)%
Red diesel (tCO2e)
0
0
0%
HVO (tCO2e)
0.4
0.3
25%
Total Scope 1 – tCO2e
1,034
1,477
(28)%
Scope 2: Electricity purchased, and heat  
and steam generated
Location based (LB) (tCO2e)
1,040
528
49%
Market based (MB) (tCO2e)
101
1
99%
Scope 3: Indirect transport
Employee-owned vehicles 
(tCO2e)
98
55
46%
Location based
Total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions 
(tCO2e)
2,172
2,060
9%
Market based
Total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions 
(tCO2e)
1,234
1,533
(20)%
Intensity metric assessment
2023/24
2022/23
Variance
Intensity ratio
Total Scope 1-3 (LB)  
(tCO2e/turnover £m)
6.0
4.9
18%

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Non-financial and sustainability 
information statement
 
Reporting 
requirement
 
Policies and  
standards
Relevant information necessary 
to understand our business and 
its impact
 
 
Page
•	 Environmental policy statement1
•	 Waste management policy1
•	 ISO 14001 accreditation
•	 Corporate social responsibility policy
•	 Health and safety policy1
•	 Anti-slavery and human trafficking 
policy1
•	 Code of conduct
•	 Anti-bribery and corruption policy1
•	 Equity, diversity and inclusion policy
•	 Anti-bribery and corruption policy1
•	 Gifts and hospitality policy
N/A
N/A
N/A
•	 Health and safety policy1
•	 Equity, diversity and inclusion policy
•	 Whistleblowing policy1
•	 Dignity at work policy
•	 Family friendly policy
•	 Agile working policy
•	 Employee handbook
•	 Sustainability report
•	 Carbon emissions
•	 Waste diversion from landfill
•	 Section 172 statement
•	 Sustainability report
•	 Section 172 statement
•	 Sustainability report
•	 Sustainability report
•	 Our business model
•	 Principal risks and uncertainties
•	 Key performance indicators
•	 Sustainability report
•	 Section 172 statement
•	 Sustainability report
•	 Section 172 statement
Pages 41 to 52 
and 62 to 67
Pages 41 to 52 
and 62 to 67
Pages 41 to 52
Pages 41 to 52
Pages 8 and 9
Pages 28 to 40
Pages 16 and 17, 
41 to 52 and 66 
and 67
Pages 41 to 52 
and 62 to 67
The table below sets out the information required to be 
disclosed under sections 414CA and 414CB Companies 
Act 2006 and where it can be found in this annual report.
Environmental 
matters
Employees
Social matters
Human rights
Anti-corruption 
and anti-bribery 
matters
Description 
of business  
model
Principal risks 
and impact on 
business  
activity
Non-financial 
key performance 
indicators
1.	 Our latest policies are available at watkinjonesplc.com/investors/policies-procedures.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Non-financial and sustainability 
information statement continued
We recognise the global climate emergency and the risks 
and opportunities posed by climate change to the Group’s 
business model and strategy.
In this report, we disclose how we manage 
our climate-related financial risks and 
opportunities and what impact these 
risks and opportunities could have on the 
Company. This follows the implementation 
of the Companies (Strategic Report) 
(Climate-related Financial Disclosure) 
Regulations 2022 (CFD). The CFD contains 
eight disclosure requirements related to 
governance, strategy, risk management, 
and metrics and targets. 
The climate-related disclosures set out 
below are consistent with the disclosures 
required by the CFD, although we aim to 
refine our CFD report over time. 
We recognise that climate change poses 
a growing challenge for our business. We 
take seriously our role in tackling climate 
change, noting that while our ultimate 
purpose of providing residential housing 
fulfils a social need, construction activities 
and energy inefficient buildings can have 
a significant impact on the environment. 
We are currently reviewing our potential 
submission of our science-based targets 
to ensure they are aligned to our unique 
position in the market. We are using the 
baseline data achieved as our planned 
submission to deliver against our carbon 
reduction roadmap, in line with our wider 
targets.
01. Governance
At an operational level, the ESG Working Group identifies 
climate-related opportunities to improve the Group’s 
operations. The ESG Working Group is cross-functional and 
includes attendees from Group Procurement, Health & Safety, 
Building Specification and Design, Sustainability and Fresh. 
It generally meets monthly to review progress. 
The ESG Working Group’s activities are directed and overseen 
by the ESG Steering Group, which comprises all members of the 
Executive Committee. The ESG Steering Group meets quarterly. 
The Risk Committee, which comprises all members of the 
Executive Committee, is responsible for identifying and 
considering climate-related risks. 
The Risk Committee oversees the Company’s risk management 
process and puts forward the Company’s principal risks, 
including climate-related risks as appropriate, for review by the 
Audit Committee and subsequently for approval by the Board. 
The Risk Committee meets regularly throughout the year.
The Board has ultimate oversight of climate-related risks and 
opportunities through reports from both the Risk Committee 
and the ESG Steering Group. The Board receives a specific 
update on ESG matters at least every six months, which details 
the output from the ESG Steering Group. As stated above, 
it also considers and approves the climate-related risks put 
forward by the Risk Committee at least annually. 
Our sustainability governance framework is set out on page 41.
Describe the Company’s governance arrangements in relation to 
assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities.

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02. Strategy
Describe: 
i) the principal climate-related risks and 
opportunities arising in connection with 
the operations of the company and the 
time periods by reference to which those 
risks and opportunities are assessed; and
ii) the actual and potential impacts of 
the principal climate-related risks and 
opportunities on the business model and 
strategy of the company and analyse 
the resilience of the business model 
and strategy, taking into consideration 
different climate-related scenarios.
Our review of risks and 
opportunities
We reviewed our climate-related risks 
and opportunities during the year. 
As part of our review, we considered 
the transitional and physical risks 
and opportunities presented by rising 
temperatures, climate-related policy 
and emerging technologies. Physical 
risks arise from the physical aspects of 
climate change. These can be acute, 
such as extreme weather events, or 
chronic, reflecting long-term shifts in 
climate patterns. 
Transition risks are those which arise 
from the transition to a lower-carbon 
economy, such as policy changes or the 
costs of transitioning to lower-emission 
equipment. Opportunities relate to 
benefits arising from new policies or 
operational efficiencies, capitalising on 
the low-carbon market and technological 
drivers.
Time horizons
We considered climate-related risks and 
opportunities over the short, medium 
and long term, which we defined as 
follows: 
•	 Short term: present day to 2027 
•	 Medium term: from 2028 to 2033 
•	 Long term: from 2034 to 2050 
We selected these time horizons as they 
allow for slowly emerging climate‑related 
risks to be captured. The timeframes 
for the short and medium terms 
were chosen to align with our project 
lifecycles, from site identification to 
end of construction, allowing for the 
prioritisation of risks and opportunities 
to be included within operational and 
financial planning. 
The long-term timeframe allows 
for longer‑term planning of key 
climate‑related risks. 
Climate scenario analysis
To further understand and explore how 
potential climate risks and opportunities 
could evolve and impact our business 
over the medium to longer term, we 
then undertook a climate scenario 
analysis, considering three scenarios. 
Climate scenarios provide a plausible 
forward‑looking view of how different 
types of climate-related risks and 
opportunities may impact the Group 
under different levels of global warming 
and states of transition to a low-carbon 
world. Using climate-related scenarios 
developed by the Network for Greening 
the Financial System (NGFS), we 
considered the resilience of our business 
model and strategy by stress-testing key 
climate-related risks and opportunities.
Scenario
Description
Impact on business model  
and strategy
Assumptions
Net Zero 
2050
Sudden shift towards a low-carbon 
economy that limits global warming 
to 1.5°C through stringent climate 
policies and innovation, reaching net 
zero CO2 emissions around 2050.
Physical risks are relatively 
low, but transition risks 
are high.
Ambitious climate policies are introduced 
immediately. Net CO2 emissions reach zero 
around 2050, giving at least a 50% chance 
of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C by 
the end of the century.
Delayed 
Transition 
(2°C)
Global annual emissions do not 
decrease until 2030. Strong policies 
are then needed to limit warming to 
below 2°C. Negative emissions are 
limited.
Transition and physical risks 
are higher than the Net Zero 
2050 scenario.
New climate policies are introduced in 
2030. The availability of carbon dioxide 
removal technologies is low, pushing 
carbon prices higher than in the Net Zero 
2050 scenario. Emissions decline after 2030 
to ensure a 67% chance of limiting global 
warming to below 2°C.
Current 
Policies 
(3°C)
This tests our resilience in a world 
with high warming and physical 
change, as current measures are 
insufficient. The scenario assumes 
that only currently implemented 
policies are preserved.
High physical risks and low 
transitional risks.
We continue on our current path to a 
hothouse world, without any significant 
mitigation. Emissions grow until 2080, 
leading to about 3°C of warming and severe 
physical risks. This includes irreversible 
changes such as rising sea levels.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Non-financial and sustainability 
information statement continued
Climate-related risks
The most relevant climate-related risks identified are summarised below.
Risk type
Risk
Potential impact
Most impactful time 
horizon/climate scenario
Mitigation/response
Physical  
– chronic
Reduction in land 
availability for future 
development due to 
climate change impacts, 
e.g. rising sea levels and 
flooding.
•	 Higher land prices 
due to increased 
competition for 
land, in particular 
greenfield sites.
Current Policies 
scenario
Land availability is likely 
to be reduced most 
in the medium to long 
term by more extreme 
flooding and competition 
for greenfield sites.
•	 Stringent review by Investment 
Committee of environmental risks 
and mitigations.
•	 Our developments are generally 
in city centres rather than 
greenfield sites.
Physical  
– acute
Extreme weather events 
may disrupt our supply 
chain, meaning we are 
unable to source raw 
materials.
•	 Reduced revenue, 
increased costs and 
financial penalties 
as a result of project 
delays.
•	 Increased cost of raw 
materials.
•	 Reputational damage.
Current Policies 
scenario
Without significant 
climate action, extreme 
weather events become 
increasingly frequent 
and severe in the 
medium to long term, 
which means supply 
chain disruption is more 
likely.
•	 We have assessed and 
rationalised our supplier base to 
reduce our exposure to single 
points of failure and ensure that 
we have appropriate coverage in 
all areas, with a view to building 
long-term partnerships with 
preferred suppliers. This should 
reduce the risk of disruption in 
our supply chain and enable us 
to achieve cost and efficiency 
savings.
•	 Our supply chain is 
predominantly domestic, with 
limited reliance on non-UK 
manufacturing. We are also able 
to ringfence stock due to our 
partnership arrangements.
•	 Our internal delivery model 
means we can flex programmes 
in response to certain delays, 
without penalty.
Physical  
– acute
Extreme weather events 
such as flooding or 
heatwaves may damage 
our sites, prevent site 
access, disrupt or delay 
construction, and/or 
disrupt energy and fuel 
supply.
•	 Reduced revenue, 
increased costs and 
financial penalties 
as a result of project 
delays.
•	 Increased costs of 
keeping sites safe.
•	 Site insurance 
premiums are 
increased.
•	 Reduced availability 
of insurance on 
assets in higher-risk 
locations.
•	 Reputational damage.
Current Policies 
scenario
Without significant 
climate action, extreme 
weather events become 
increasingly frequent 
and severe in the 
medium to long term, 
which means increased 
disruption to our 
construction operations.
•	 Development is based solely in 
the UK.
•	 Our developments have a level 
of contingency in place to 
cover (amongst other things) 
weather‑related delays, most 
commonly for weather-sensitive 
works such as working at height.

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Risk type
Risk
Potential impact
Most impactful time 
horizon/climate scenario
Mitigation/response
Transition 
– policy
Reduction in land 
availability for future 
development due to 
factors such as:
•	 Governmental 
policies.
•	 Environmental 
restrictions.
•	 Higher land prices 
due to increased 
competition for 
land, in particular 
greenfield sites.
•	 Higher cost of 
complying with 
environmental and 
planning regulations.
Net Zero 2050 
scenario
Stringent government 
policy to protect 
greenfield sites reduces 
land available for 
construction in the long 
term.
•	 Development is generally on 
brownfield sites which are 
less likely to be subject to 
development restrictions.
•	 Stringent review by Investment 
Committee of environmental, 
political and planning risks and 
mitigations.
•	 Development of more efficient 
specification will help unlock 
developments that may otherwise 
be cost prohibitive.
Transition 
– policy
Introduction of stricter 
UK environmental 
laws, regulations and 
reporting standards.
•	 Increased costs of 
raw materials, as 
suppliers pass on 
costs of compliance.
•	 Increased costs 
of resourcing, to 
ensure compliance 
with a range of new 
requirements.
•	 Regulatory fines for 
non‑compliance.
•	 Reputational impact 
of non-compliance.
Delayed Transition 
scenario
In the long term, this 
could see increased 
and urgent demand 
from government, 
regulators and investors 
to better understand 
the Company’s risk 
exposure and mitigation 
plans.
•	 We closely monitor the 
implementation of relevant 
policies or regulations, to identify 
potential impacts.
•	 Direct relationships with suppliers 
ensure we are able to discuss 
impacts early, including product 
substitutions where relevant.
•	 Major material prices are often 
fixed for the duration of specific 
developments, due to the supply 
commitment with particular 
manufacturers and distributors.
Transition 
– policy
Increasing introduction 
of carbon pricing 
mechanisms.
•	 Increased costs of 
raw materials, as 
suppliers pass on 
costs.
•	 Reduced margin if 
these costs cannot 
be passed on.
Net Zero 2050 
scenario 
This assumes that 
carbon pricing 
mechanisms expand 
to further jurisdictions 
and become mandatory 
in the medium to long 
term.
•	 We constantly monitor the cost 
of raw materials and have a 
committee that meets quarterly 
to assess allowances for build 
cost inflation. We would expand 
this focus to carbon pricing 
where appropriate. 
•	 The rationalisation of our supplier 
base to shift to long‑term 
partnerships with preferred 
suppliers should enable us to 
leverage our relationships to 
achieve cost efficiencies. Our 
direct relationships continue to 
outperform the market which 
will mitigate any cost uplift. 
This rationalisation also includes 
the products themselves.

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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Non-financial and sustainability 
information statement continued
Risk type
Risk
Potential impact
Most impactful time 
horizon/climate scenario
Mitigation/response
Transition – 
technology
•	 Increased cost of 
hiring or purchasing 
equipment.
•	 Project delays due 
to lack of available 
lower-emission 
equipment.
•	 Failure to meet 
pledges or targets, 
as higher-emission 
kit has to be used to 
complete projects.
Delayed Transition 
and Current Policies 
scenarios
The impact is moderate 
across all time 
horizons. In the short to 
medium term, upfront 
costs of transitioning 
to lower‑carbon 
alternatives may be 
higher and a lack 
of investment in 
low‑carbon technology 
hinders a reduction in 
green premiums.
•	 We outsourced the provision of 
plant and machinery in FY22, to 
ensure the use of newer, more 
environmentally friendly cranes, 
general plant and tools without 
capital investment. We also 
look to use electric tools where 
possible, which are quieter and 
more energy efficient.
•	 We also removed traditional 
petrol and diesel-powered 
vehicles from our company car 
policy as far as possible, in favour 
of hybrid and electric vehicles.
•	 We are trialling the use of 
hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel 
and will assess the suitability of 
its use across our pipeline. The 
provision of HVO is at a fixed 
cost for extended periods due 
to our relationships with supplier 
partners.
•	 We have a direct relationship 
with our fuel supplier, to monitor 
availability and cost.
Transition
Continued reliance 
on fossil fuels/
non‑renewable energy 
could lead to energy 
price volatility and 
power outages.
•	 Increased costs due 
to global energy 
prices increasing.
•	 Disruption of 
business operations 
due to power outages 
or lack of supply 
security.
Current Policies 
scenario
Without government 
legislation to phase 
out fossil fuels or 
decarbonise the energy 
grid, global supply of 
gas, oil and coal will 
likely struggle to keep 
up with demand in the 
long term as availability 
decreases, pushing the 
cost of fossil fuels up.
•	 As outlined above, we have 
moved towards using newer, 
more environmentally friendly 
plant, machinery and tools where 
possible. This means the plant 
we use is much newer and more 
efficient. We regularly review 
with our supplier partners the 
appropriateness of tools that 
either harness solar power or run 
on electricity.
•	 We also removed traditional 
petrol and diesel-powered 
vehicles from our company car 
policy as far as possible, in favour 
of hybrid and electric vehicles.
•	 As stated above, we are trialling 
the use of hydrotreated vegetable 
oil fuel on one of our sites.
Climate-related risks continued
Transition to 
lower‑emission 
equipment and fuels 
leads to a supply/
demand imbalance, 
with lower availability 
of equipment as the 
pace of research 
and development 
into lower‑emission 
equipment and fuels 
does not match the 
high rate of adoption.

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Resilience of our business model and strategy under these climate scenarios
The risk analysis shows that the risks identified are more likely to present themselves in the medium to long term. This indicates that 
our business model is resilient in the short term but less resilient in the medium to long term, unless we pursue mitigating actions such 
as those set out on the previous pages. While the need to decarbonise the economy under the Net Zero 2050 and Delayed Transition 
scenarios may expose us to a high risk of transition costs, increased energy and carbon pricing and additional compliance requirements, 
the Current Policies scenario could lead to longer-term risk around extreme weather events, disrupting the supply of raw materials as well 
as causing project delays and site damage. We will continue to monitor the potential impacts of climate change on our strategy and further 
develop mitigating actions where appropriate.
While we forward sell our developments rather than hold them as asset owners, our clients are extremely focused on the energy efficiency 
of those buildings. As such, our building specification includes items such as air source heat pumps, measures to save water, and 
solar PV panels where appropriate. Our sustainability report outlines the targets we set with regard to the environmental quality of our 
developments.
Climate-related opportunities
Opportunity
type
Opportunity
Potential benefit 
Time horizon/climate 
scenario
Response
Transition 
– policy
Invest in the use of 
recycled inputs.
•	 Reduces reliance on 
virgin raw materials.
•	 Reduced energy 
consumption.
•	 Increased competitive 
advantage.
•	 Positive reputational 
impact.
The opportunity is 
greatest in the Net 
Zero 2050 scenario 
in the medium to long 
term, as government 
regulation increases the 
construction industry’s 
demand for recycled raw 
materials, resulting in 
increased supply.
•	 As part of our aim to reduce 
Scope 3 emissions, we are 
working with our subcontractors 
to create a more sustainable 
concrete mix. This will include the 
utilisation of waste by-products. 
•	 Our new window specification 
uses at least 75% post-consumer 
scrap in its production and is 
100% recyclable at demolition 
stage, creating a circular 
economy.
•	 Our product development 
strategy has included a full MMC 
review, allowing us to specify all 
raw materials and reduce any 
waste.
Transition 
– policy
Enrolment in energy 
efficiency programmes.
•	 Cost reduction.
•	 Improved efficiency 
of equipment and 
assets.
•	 Positive reputational 
impact.
The opportunity is 
greatest in the Net Zero 
2050 scenario in the 
medium to long term, as 
stringent government 
regulation will increase 
the construction 
industry’s demand for 
recycled raw materials, 
resulting in increased 
supply.
•	 We have produced an end-of-life 
report, outlining materials that 
can be reused post demolition.
•	 Our increased level of 
partnerships has allowed us to 
further control materials and 
specify those that can be easily 
recycled.
•	 We have worked with our 
professional consultants to 
ensure our buildings are more 
efficient and use less energy in 
their operation.
•	 Through our Refresh initiative, we 
are actively delivering initiatives 
to reduce the carbon footprint of 
buildings.

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Non-financial and sustainability 
information statement continued
Opportunity
type
Opportunity
Potential benefit
Time horizon/climate 
scenario
Response
Transition – 
technology
Working with suppliers 
with more efficient 
processes could 
decrease consumption 
within our operations, 
potentially achieving 
cost savings and 
efficiencies.
•	 Cost reduction.
•	 Improved efficiency 
of equipment and 
assets.
•	 Increased competitive 
advantage.
The opportunity is 
greatest in the Net 
Zero 2050 scenario 
in the medium to long 
term, as regulation and 
demand drive suppliers 
to identify efficiencies 
and opportunities that 
are passed on. The 
greater the drive for 
action across business 
and across society, the 
greater the opportunity 
for efficiencies to benefit 
Watkin Jones.
•	 Several initiatives are underway 
to decrease consumption and 
waste, including the use of 
modular kitchens in addition to 
bathrooms.
•	 Our mechanical and electrical 
(M&E) specification uses no 
natural gas and relies on air 
source heat pumps.
•	 We have an internal target 
of BREEAM Excellent on 
all developments, with gap 
analysis underway to ascertain 
the possibility of BREEAM 
Outstanding in the medium term.
•	 We have increased our diversion 
to landfill target to 97.5% with 
work underway to ascertain how 
we can get to 100%. We are 
trialling building management 
technologies designed to help 
future operators ensure no 
unnecessary heating of buildings. 
Our M&E specification, when 
combined with solar photovoltaic 
and ancillary products, makes 
our developments inherently 
more efficient going forward.
•	 Our Refresh programme is 
designed to help increase the 
efficiency of existing assets, 
whether built by Watkin Jones 
or third parties. This includes 
elements such as LED lighting, 
heating controls and water 
consumption. 
•	 	Our transformation programme 
‘Delivering Excellence through 
Continuous Improvement’ is 
actively finding efficiencies in 
process, technology usage and 
business analytics.
Climate-related opportunities continued

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03. Risk management
Describe how the Company identifies, assesses and 
manages climate-related risks and opportunities 
Climate-related risks are embedded within our integrated 
Group risk management framework and any risks identified are 
subject to the same process and managed in line with all other 
risks. 
Describe how processes for identifying, assessing 
and managing climate-related risks are integrated 
into the overall risk management process in the 
Company 
The Risk Committee conducts deep dives of each principal risk 
throughout the year. It conducts a formal assessment of the key 
risks annually. Climate-related risks are discussed as part of 
that process and informally through the ESG Steering Group. 
The output of climate-related risk assessments is considered by 
the Board during its review of the Company’s principal risks. 
The Board approves a detailed corporate risk register, which 
identifies the principal risks, reviews assurance about the 
management of those risks, and assesses the Group’s risk 
appetite for particular categories of risk, to assess whether the 
principal risks are being mitigated to an acceptable level.
The Group’s strategic risk register is then reviewed at a joint 
meeting of the Board and Audit Committee for each of the 
Group’s principal risks. 
While elements of climate-related risks are present in our 
principal risks, climate change itself is not currently considered 
to be a principal risk.
Our risk management framework and processes are set out in 
more detail on pages 28 to 40.
04. Metrics and targets
Describe: 
i)	 the targets used by the Company to manage climate-related 
risks and to realise climate-related opportunities and of 
performance against those targets; and
ii)	 the key performance indicators used to assess progress 
against targets used to manage climate-related risks and 
realise climate-related opportunities.
Our current KPIs and targets are set out on pages 16 and 17. 
These relate to carbon reduction (measurement of Scope 1 
and Scope 2 emissions), design quality of our developments 
and waste diversion from landfill. Our streamlined energy and 
carbon disclosures are set out on page 52. 

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We maintain constructive dialogue with our stakeholders, to 
help us build trust and allow us to make informed decisions.
Our stakeholders
Employees
Institutional clients
Residents
Key stakeholder issues
•	 Health, safety and wellbeing
•	 Learning and development
•	 Diversity and inclusion
•	 Recognition and reward
Key stakeholder issues
•	 Health, safety and wellbeing 
•	 Quality
•	 On-time delivery
•	 Track record
•	 Value for money
•	 Sustainability
Key stakeholder issues
•	 Customer service
•	 Value for money
•	 Wellbeing
•	 Sustainability
Why we engaged
Having highly engaged and motivated 
employees is central to delivering a pipeline 
of high-quality developments safely and on 
time, and to providing the high standards 
of customer service our residents expect 
from Fresh. We need to understand what our 
people value about working for us, and where 
they think we can do better.
Why we engaged
We need to understand the types of 
development and locations that are attractive 
to clients, so we can develop assets that 
meet their investment criteria. Engagement 
also helps us to create innovative transaction 
structures where necessary, so we can 
broaden the range of institutions able to 
acquire our schemes. Institutions are also 
clients for Fresh, so we need to keep them 
informed about how their buildings are 
performing and ensure we understand 
what they require from an accommodation 
manager, so we can retain their business and 
win new contracts.
Why we engaged
Understanding our residents’ needs helps 
us to provide great customer service. It also 
forms the basis of our design and innovation 
for future developments and helps to ensure 
high levels of occupancy for our institutional 
clients.

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Key metrics
•	 Employee engagement: 72%
Key metrics
•	 Forward funding transactions: £292 million 
of pipeline currently forward sold
•	 Client net promoter score: +62
Key metrics
•	 Student net promoter score: +36
How we engaged during FY24 
We ran our annual employee engagement 
survey, communicated the results to each 
division and team, and discussed feedback 
and proposed actions with the Board.
We also communicated and gathered 
feedback through our employee forum, as 
well as via meetings, appraisals, newsletters, 
our intranet and Yammer.
We engaged with employees on our financial 
performance via emails, following our trading 
updates, half-year and full-year results.
How we engaged during FY24 
We met with clients formally and informally at 
a variety of levels, including when marketing 
assets.
We regularly sent clients newsletters, 
agent updates and news on the industry or 
legislation.
How we engaged during FY24 
Fresh’s on-site teams engage directly with 
residents every day. 
We continued to promote our Be wellbeing 
and lifestyle programme in our student 
schemes, which includes a wide range of 
events each week. We also continued to 
recruit student ambassadors throughout 
our schemes, to research what our 
residents want and bring forward ideas for 
improvement.
Our Belong residents’ club supports 
engagement with residents in the BTR 
schemes. Fresh manages and helps to 
foster a community in each property, with a 
calendar of clubs, socials and other events.
Outcomes of our engagement
Following feedback, we increased our 
focus on health and wellbeing, reward and 
recognition during FY24. See page 44 for 
more information. 
Outcomes of our engagement
During FY24, our engagement with clients 
enabled us to add to our pipeline of 
potential development partnerships, create 
the innovative structure for the transaction 
with HGP, and launch the Refresh business, 
having identified client demand for these 
services.
Outcomes of our engagement
Fresh received extremely positive feedback 
from students, with an excellent net 
promoter score of +36 in the Global Student 
Living Index, against a benchmark of +14. 
Fresh also retained its Platinum rating 
and scored above the benchmark for 
overall satisfaction, as well as for disabled, 
neurodiverse and ethnic minority student 
satisfaction. Fresh continued to take action 
in response to feedback across all elements 
of the customer experience, to continually 
improve its offering.

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Our stakeholders continued
Supply chain
Shareholders
Communities
Key stakeholder issues
•	 Health and safety
•	 Build cost inflation
•	 Prompt payment
•	 Partnership
•	 Environment
Key stakeholder issues
•	 Financial performance
•	 Balance sheet strength and liquidity
•	 Return on investment – share price growth 
or dividends
•	 Sustainability
Key stakeholder issues
•	 Considerate construction
•	 Environment
•	 Health, safety and wellbeing
•	 Sustainable communities
•	 Charitable giving
•	 Availability of modern, fit for purpose 
housing
Why we engaged
Our subcontractors and suppliers provide the 
skilled people and materials to construct our 
developments. A sustainable supply chain is 
therefore crucial to delivering our schemes.
Through collaboration, partnership and 
careful management, we simplify our 
construction process, reduce risk, improve 
quality and generate cost, maintenance and 
environmental benefits.
Why we engaged
Our shareholders rely on us to manage their 
investment responsibly and sustainably and 
expect to be kept well informed about our 
progress.
We want shareholders to understand our 
strategy and performance so they can 
accurately assess our value.
Why we engaged
Construction work can have a significant 
impact on our neighbours if not carried 
out respectfully. We want to be a good 
neighbour and deliver real value to our local 
communities through our developments. 
This can include providing benefits to local 
communities as a condition of receiving 
planning.
Our charitable fund supports a wide range of 
projects, in particular those that improve the 
physical environment and quality of life for 
local people.

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Key metrics
•	 Quality assurance reports
•	 Prompt payment
Key metrics
•	 Share price
•	 Dividend payments
Key metrics
•	 Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) 
ratings
How we engaged during FY24
We have a central procurement function, 
which is responsible for our day-to-day 
engagement with our supply chain. We pay 
close attention to supplier risk, including their 
financial performance and ensuring we have 
alternative sources of supply, where possible.
During FY24 we looked to create partnerships 
with some suppliers, which gives us 
increased buying power with them. We also 
held our second supplier conference, at the 
Samsung Innovation Centre in London, with 
more than 150 attendees. As part of this, we 
launched the Refresh business to our supply 
chain.
How we engaged during FY24 
We held investor roadshows after the 
half‑year, the full-year results and the trading 
update in August 2024. We also held a 
number of one-to-one calls and meetings 
and the annual general meeting.
The Board receives investor feedback from 
our meetings at least twice a year.
How we engaged during FY24 
We register all our construction sites with 
the CCS, which means they are externally 
monitored against criteria such as respecting 
the community, protecting the environment 
and worker safety. Each site sends out 
a monthly newsletter to keep the local 
community informed about how the scheme 
is progressing and upcoming works.
Outcomes of our engagement
Having significantly rationalised our 
supplier base in FY23, we have been able 
to develop stronger relationships with our 
supply chain in FY24. This helped us to 
continue to mitigate build cost inflation. 
Refresh received an enthusiastic response 
at our supplier conference, with suppliers 
identifying products that were new to us and 
would benefit Refresh projects.
Outcomes of our engagement
Discussions with shareholders focused on 
our financial and share price performance, 
cash generation, alternative revenue 
streams, progress on building safety 
remediation and the recovery profile of 
the forward fund market and how we are 
positioning the business in that regard.
Outcomes of our engagement
We achieved an average CCS rating of 
Excellent across our sites, ahead of our 
target of Very Good.

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The engagement activities set out on pages 
62 to 65 enable us to understand what 
matters most to our stakeholders and how 
key decisions will affect them. The Board 
receives an update from the Executive 
Directors at each Board meeting about any 
substantial engagement with shareholders 
and institutional clients.
The Chief Executive Officer also updates 
the Board at each meeting on key 
employee, health and safety, and ESG 
matters. The business case for each 
potential investment opportunity contains 
a Section 172(1) appraisal that explicitly 
addresses how the investment will impact 
stakeholders.
The Board considers the matters set out 
in Section 172(1) of the Companies Act 
2006 when making decisions. The matters 
the Board is required to take into account 
under Section 172(1) are set out below and 
examples of key decisions made by the 
Board and details of its decision-making 
process are set out opposite.
The Group’s long-term success depends on our ability to 
create value for our stakeholders.
Section 172 statement
Matter
Response
a) The likely consequence of any decision 
in the long term.
Our markets are driven by long-term demographic and social trends. We respond 
to these trends through a development process that often takes several years, from 
identifying a site through to handing over the finished building. The Board therefore 
understands that its decisions can have a far-reaching impact on the Group. 
The Board’s decision to prioritise cash management during FY24 (see below) 
has helped to ensure the Group remains soundly financed in the near term, while 
positioning us to take advantage of attractive site acquisition opportunities as our 
market recovers, which will help us to rebuild our pipeline and underpin our growth 
prospects over several years.
The Board also determined that the respective responsibilities of the Executive 
Committee and the Board needed to be reset, to support the effective implementation 
of the strategy, as well as day-to-day operations. See the Board evaluation section on 
page 73 for more information.
b) The interests of our employees.
The Board recognises that having the right culture is essential, making the Group an 
attractive place to work for our people and helping them to deliver great outcomes 
for our clients. During the year, the Board agreed the desired culture and tasked 
the Executive Committee with developing a programme to embed it, including key 
performance indicators. See page 45 for more information.
c) The need to foster business 
relationships with suppliers, customers 
and others.
The Group relies on delivering consistently for institutional clients and our supply chain 
plays a significant role in achieving this. The Board therefore takes a close interest 
in our relationships with these groups, through reports and presentations from the 
Executive Directors and other members of the leadership team. See stakeholder 
engagement on pages 62 to 65.
d) The impact of our operations on the 
community and environment.
The Group’s ESG strategy, Future Foundations, provides a solid base from which to 
manage our environmental impact and community relations. See the sustainability 
report on pages 41 to 52. The Board has ultimate responsibility for endorsing our ESG 
strategy and receives updates from the ESG Steering Group.

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Key decisions during the year
Building safety provision
The Board is firmly of the view that 
individual leaseholders should not 
be burdened with the costs of fire 
safety remediation, and the Group’s 
responsibilities in respect of such matters 
remained a key area of focus for the Board 
during the year.
The Group formally signed up to the 
Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) in 
December 2023. This requires us to:
•	 take responsibility for all necessary work 
to address life-critical fire safety‑defects 
arising from the design and construction 
of buildings 11 metres and over in height 
that we developed or refurbished in 
England over the 30 years to 4 April 2022;
•	 keep residents in those buildings 
informed about progress towards 
meeting this commitment; and
•	 reimburse the government for the cost 
of remedial works where leaseholders 
have accessed the government’s 
Building Safety Fund to remediate 
their properties.
The Group holds a provision for costs 
associated with fire safety remediation 
works, and has spent £16.2 million 
during the year, with the remaining works 
expected to be completed over the next 
several years. An additional provision of 
£7.0 million has been made during the 
year to reflect three additional properties 
requiring remediation, as well as the net 
impact of scope changes to ongoing works. 
To give us greater comfort as to the level 
of provision, we engaged an independent 
consultant to assess the scope and 
cost of our remedial works on relevant 
properties to ensure that our approach 
was appropriate.
Cash management
Given the lower level of forward sales and 
the continued challenging market during 
FY24, the Board continued to focus on 
cash management.
In managing the Company’s cash position 
during the year, the Board:
•	 reviewed expenditure on enabling 
works for schemes that had not been 
forward sold, pausing works where 
appropriate until the viability of the 
schemes was clearer;
•	 reviewed the Company’s bank facilities, 
which can be used to fund land 
acquisitions and development costs, 
and which have now been extended 
by two years to November 2027; and
•	 decided not to pay an interim or final 
dividend to shareholders.
As a result, at the year end, we had gross 
cash of £97.0 million, adjusted net cash 
of £83.4 million and total net cash and 
available facilities of £143.2 million. The 
Board is therefore satisfied that the Group 
remains soundly financed. 
Change in Chief Financial Officer
In April 2024, we announced that Sarah 
Sergeant would be stepping down as Chief 
Financial Officer and from the Board as 
part of a managed succession process. 
Sarah Sergeant was replaced by Simon 
Jones on 21 May 2024. 
The Board, on the Nomination Committee’s 
recommendation, appointed Simon as 
a highly experienced Chief Financial 
Officer with a strong track record within 
the property sector, and with proven 
commercial and operational expertise 
and a focus on performance improvement 
and growth.
Matter
Response
e) The desirability of maintaining a 
reputation for high standards of business 
conduct.
The Group relies heavily on its reputation and the Board therefore prioritises taking 
constructive action to resolve issues when they arise. The Group’s actions on 
remediating cladding and fire safety issues continue to demonstrate this. The Group 
also has robust policies and controls in relation to protecting human rights and 
preventing bribery and corruption (see page 46).
f) The need to act fairly between our 
shareholders.
None of the Group’s major shareholders are represented on the Board, ensuring that 
no shareholder or group of shareholders has undue influence on the Board’s decisions. 
The Board’s primary decision directly affecting shareholders in FY24 was to prioritise 
cash management, resulting in no interim or final dividends being paid for the financial 
year. All shareholders have been treated equally in this decision and the Board believes 
it is in shareholders’ best interests in the medium to long term.

What’s in this section?
Governance
69	
Chair’s introduction 
70	
Board of Directors
71	
Corporate governance
75	
Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) Corporate 
Governance Code
76	
Audit Committee report
80	
Nomination Committee report
82	
Directors’ remuneration report
89	
Directors’ report
Governance
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Tai Afon, Central Quay, Cardiff

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69
Chair’s introduction
Board of Directors: 
Alan Giddins
Chair 
Alex Pease
Chief Executive Officer
Simon Jones
Chief Financial Officer
Rachel Addison
Independent Non-Executive Director
Liz Reilly
Independent Non-Executive Director
Francis Salway
Independent Non-Executive Director
Alan Giddins
Chair
Dear shareholder
I am pleased to introduce this corporate 
governance report which sets out our key 
areas of focus during the year.
Building safety
The Group’s first priority will always be the 
safety of our buildings and the people who 
live in them. Following the introduction 
of the Building Safety Act in 2022, the 
Group has allocated significant resource to 
evaluating the specific properties impacted 
and the level of potential remedial costs. 
This work has been undertaken together 
with third-party commercial property and 
legal advisers.
Over the last 12 months, working with 
building owners and tenants, the Group has 
undertaken remedial work on a number of 
properties at a cost of c.£16.2 million. This 
process of remediation is likely to continue 
for a number of years, and the Group 
has a provision on its balance sheet to 
reflect the current estimated level of future 
remedial costs, which has been increased 
by £7.0 million during the year for additional 
works required. 
Board changes
Sarah Sergeant stepped down as Chief 
Financial Officer and from the Board in 
June 2024, having joined the Group in 
October 2021. The Nomination Committee 
ran an extensive process, involving a 
third-party search firm, to identify an 
appropriate candidate for the role, resulting 
in a recommendation to the Board to 
appoint Simon Jones. In recommending 
Simon’s appointment, the Committee 
took account of his strong track record 
within the property sector and his proven 
commercial and operational expertise. 
Further information on the Committee’s 
search process can be found on pages 
80 and 81.
Risk assessment
Our assessment of risk continued to be 
important given the ongoing challenges 
in the forward fund market, and in light of 
continuing general macroeconomic and 
geopolitical uncertainties.
The bow‑tie methodology we use for 
our principal risks enables us to assess 
preventative measures and recovery 
barriers for specific scenarios. Further 
information can be found in the risk 
management and principal risks section on 
pages 28 to 40 and in the Audit Committee 
report on pages 76 to 79.
QCA Code
The corporate governance statement and 
committee reports on the following pages 
explain our approach to governance.
The Board follows the principles set out 
in the 2018 Quoted Companies Alliance 
Corporate Governance Code (the ‘QCA 
Code’). A summary of how we have 
complied with the principles is set out on 
page 75. There are no significant areas 
where our governance structures and 
practices differ from the QCA Code’s 
expectations.
The Board notes the publication of the 
2023 QCA Code which will apply to the 
Company for its FY25 annual report and 
will work towards complying with the 
updated principles in due course. 
A complete index of the disclosures 
required by the 2018 QCA Code, including 
those on the Company’s website, can be 
found at watkinjonesplc.com/investors/
corporate‑governance.
Alan Giddins
Chair
23 January 2025

Board of Directors
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Skills and experience
•	 Extensive investment expertise gained 
principally in private equity and investment 
banking environments and more recently in 
social impact investment.
•	 Substantial leadership and board 
experience, including as chair.
•	 Qualified chartered accountant with a 
degree in economics.
Skills and experience
•	 Extensive knowledge of the property sector. 
•	 Strong relationships with institutional 
investors.
•	 Joined Watkin Jones in 2010, appointed 
as Group Investment Director in 2013 and 
Chief Investment Officer in 2022.
•	 Spent six years in the Savills Residential 
Investment team specialising in brokerage, 
consultancy and valuation across all 
residential asset classes.
•	 Qualified chartered surveyor (MRICS).
Skills and experience
•	 Considerable financial, commercial and 
operational experience in the property 
sector.
•	 Former CFO at the US majority owned 
Mapeley Group, the property outsourcing 
specialist.
•	 Previously held a number of senior finance 
roles within Bass PLC (now IHG Group 
PLC), Hilton and Whitbread PLC. 
•	 Qualified chartered accountant.
Other current appointments
Chair of Hill & Smith PLC, a FTSE 250 
company, and non‑executive director and 
investment committee member of Better 
Society Capital.
Other current appointments
N/A
Other current appointments
N/A
Past appointments
Managing Partner and Global Head of 
Private Equity at 3i Group plc. Member of its 
executive and investment committees which 
included board appointments to Audley 
Travel, Mayborn Group, Foster + Partners and 
Element Materials Technology.
Past appointments
N/A
Past appointments
Mapeley Group.
Alan Giddins
Chair
Appointed to the Board: 
19 July 2021
Alex Pease
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed to the Board: 
10 October 2022
Simon Jones 
Chief Financial Officer
Appointed to the Board: 
21 May 2024

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Company information
Governance
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Skills and experience
•	 Over 20 years of executive experience in 
organisational design and development, 
talent management, reward and cultural 
transformation in large-scale UK 
businesses, including J Sainsbury plc, 
FCC Environment and latterly SEGRO plc.
•	 Developed knowledge of the real estate 
sector during 11 years as Group Human 
Resources Director of FTSE 100 listed 
SEGRO PLC which owns, manages and 
develops modern warehousing and light 
industrial property across the UK and 
Continental Europe.
Skills and experience
•	 Nearly 30 years of finance experience. 
•	 Has held a number of senior financial, 
operational and board-level roles across 
different sectors.
•	 Experience in mergers and acquisitions, 
integration, business transformation and 
risk management. 
•	 Qualified chartered accountant.
Skills and experience
•	 Brings a wealth of property expertise to 
the Board. 
•	 Leadership experience in large UK-listed 
businesses.
•	 Knowledge of affordable housing having 
been Chair of Town and Country Housing 
Association.
Other current appointments
Wates Group Ltd.
Other current appointments
Non‑Executive Director of Marlowe plc, 
Gamma Communications plc, Hollywood 
Bowl Group plc and Wates Group Ltd.
Other current appointments
Non‑Executive Director of Cadogan Group 
Limited which owns and manages the 
Cadogan Estate in Chelsea.
Past appointments
Retail Human Resources Director for 
J Sainsbury plc.
Group Human Resources Director for FCC 
UK Environmental (previously the Waste 
Recycling Group).
Past appointments
Chief Financial Officer at Future plc and TI 
Media Ltd. 
Managing Director for Reach Regionals and 
both CFO and COO for Local World Ltd and 
Northcliffe Media Ltd. 
Head of Risk Management at Boots the 
Chemist. Non-Executive Director at Hyve 
Group plc and Mango Publishing Group.
Past appointments
Chief Executive of Land Securities plc, then 
the country’s largest listed commercial 
property company, between 2004 and 2012.
Non-Executive Director of NEXT plc.
Liz Reilly
Independent Non‑Executive Director
Appointed to the Board: 
21 January 2019
Rachel Addison
Independent Non‑Executive Director
Appointed to the Board:  
1 April 2022
Francis Salway
Independent Non‑Executive Director
Appointed to the Board:  
10 October 2022

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Board structure
The Board is responsible for the overall 
leadership of the Group and setting its 
values and standards. It comprises the 
Chair, two Executive Directors and three 
independent Non‑Executive Directors. 
Their biographies can be found on pages 
70 and 71.
The Chair and Chief Executive Officer have 
separate, clearly defined roles. The Chair is 
responsible for leading the Board, setting 
the agenda for Board meetings (with the 
Company Secretary) and for ensuring the 
Board operates effectively, by promoting a 
culture of openness and robust discussion. 
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible 
for setting and implementing the Group’s 
strategy, for leading and developing the 
executive team and for managing the 
Group’s day‑to‑day operations, taking 
account of the objectives, policies and 
risk appetite set by the Board.
Board meetings
The Board meets regularly to consider 
strategy, performance, internal control 
matters and material investment decisions. 
To enable the Board to discharge its duties, 
all Directors receive appropriate and timely 
information, including briefing papers 
distributed in advance of Board meetings.
These papers include reports from the 
Chief Executive Officer and the Chief 
Financial Officer, as well as reports on 
the status of the Group’s transaction 
pipeline and key delivery projects, health 
& safety, investor relations and corporate 
governance.
The Company Secretary produces minutes 
of each meeting, including actions to be 
taken. The Chair then follows up each 
action at the next meeting.
Only the Non‑Executive Directors are 
members of the Board committees. 
Alex Pease and Simon Jones are invited 
to attend committee meetings as required 
to assist with the matters discussed.
Corporate governance
Attendance at meetings
The table below sets out the number of formal Board and committee meetings attended by each Director during FY24. While the 
Executive Directors are not members of the Board committees, they are invited to attend meetings as required. Further details on 
management attendance are set out in the relevant committee reports. 
Board 
(13 meetings)
Audit 
Committee 
(9 meetings)
Remuneration 
Committee 
(6 meetings)
Nomination 
Committee 
(3 meetings)
Alan Giddins1
12/13
9
6
3
Alex Pease
13
—
—
—
Sarah Sergeant2
9/9
—
—
—
Simon Jones3
4/4
—
—
—
Rachel Addison
13
9
6
3
Liz Reilly
13
9
6
3
Francis Salway
13
9
6
3
1.	 Alan Giddins was unable to attend a Board meeting due to a close family bereavement.
2.	 Stepped down from the Board on 21 May 2024; actual attendance/maximum number of meetings Sarah Sergeant could attend.
3.	 Appointed to the Board on 21 May 2024; actual attendance/maximum number of meetings Simon Jones could attend.

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Matters reserved for the Board
Matters reserved for the Board for its 
decision include:
•	 approving the Group’s strategic 
objectives;
•	 reviewing performance against the 
Group’s strategic objectives and 
business plans;
•	 overseeing the Group’s operations;
•	 approving changes to the Group’s 
capital, corporate or control structures;
•	 approving results announcements and 
the annual report and accounts;
•	 approving the dividend policy;
•	 declaring the interim dividend and 
recommending the final dividend;
•	 approving the treasury policy;
•	 approving the Group’s risk appetite and 
principal risk statements;
•	 reviewing the effectiveness of the 
Group’s risk and control processes;
•	 approving major capital projects and 
material contracts or arrangements;
•	 approving delegated levels of authority;
•	 approving changes to the Board and its 
committees; and
•	 approving all Board mandated policies.
Advice for Directors
All Directors have access to the advice 
and services of the Company Secretary, 
who ensures that the Board’s procedures 
are followed and that applicable rules and 
regulations are complied with. In addition, 
the Company has procedures to enable 
the Directors to obtain independent 
professional advice at the Company’s 
expense, if necessary to further the 
Directors’ duties.
Re-election of Directors
The Board’s policy is for all Directors to 
seek re‑election each year and as a result, 
all of the Directors will be standing for 
re‑election at the forthcoming AGM.
Directors’ time commitments
All the Non-Executive Directors are 
required to devote sufficient time to Watkin 
Jones to enable the Board to discharge its 
duties effectively. This includes preparation 
for and attendance at scheduled Board 
and committee meetings, as well as ad hoc 
meetings or calls as required. The Board 
confirms that each of the Non‑Executive 
Directors can commit the necessary time 
to fulfil their roles.
Directors’ training
All the Directors look to keep their skills 
and experience up to date. They benefit 
from briefings, presentations and papers 
provided by our advisers and other 
professional services firms, covering topics 
such as new regulations, developments in 
corporate governance and emerging best 
practice. The Non‑Executive Directors 
also benefit from the interaction with the 
other boards they sit on, providing us with 
a range of different perspectives we can 
apply to Watkin Jones.
Board effectiveness
During the year, the Board appointed Board 
Excellence to undertake a formal Board 
evaluation. As part of this process, Board 
Excellence interviewed all of the Board 
members, certain other senior executives 
within the Group, as well as other external 
stakeholders. They also attended Board 
and committee meetings and were 
provided with papers and minutes. 
Their final report was presented at the 
July 2024 Board meeting. 
Following the evaluation, the Board agreed upon an action plan over the next 12 months focused on the following areas: 
Area
Action
Right people
Review the Board composition, development needs and succession planning.
Right attitude
Carry out an assessment of culture within the organisation and the benefits of increased 
visibility for Board members to a broader base of employees across the organisation.
Right issues
Seek to balance the Board agenda so that it considers issues across a range of strategic and 
operational topics.
Right information
Review the quality and composition of Board papers to balance between sufficiently detailed 
yet concise and focused. 

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Board committees
The Board has established Audit, 
Nomination and Remuneration 
Committees, which operate under written 
terms of reference. The reports of these 
committees can be found on  
pages 76 to 88.
Terms of reference
The terms of reference for the Board 
and the committees can be found 
at watkinjonesplc.com/investors/
corporate‑governance.
Internal controls
The Board is responsible for the Group’s 
system of internal control and for reviewing 
its effectiveness. Any system of internal 
control can only provide reasonable, 
but not absolute, assurance against 
material misstatement or loss. The Board 
considers that the internal controls in 
place are appropriate for the Group’s size, 
complexity and risk profile.
The key features of the Group’s internal 
control system include:
•	 the preparation of monthly management 
accounts and comparison to budget;
•	 clearly defined roles and responsibilities, 
with appropriate segregation of duties;
•	 clear authorisation and approval 
processes;
•	 regular preparation and review of cash 
forecasts;
•	 senior management review of material 
contracts and agreements; and
•	 approval by senior management of all 
land purchases and development sales 
agreements.
KPMG provides internal audit services to 
the Group. More information can be found 
in the Audit Committee report on page 77. 
The need for an internal audit function is 
kept under review and currently the Board 
considers that the Company is of sufficient 
size to merit the appointment of a third 
party to provide this service. As well as 
a robust and independent perspective, 
KPMG provides specialist expertise which 
assists management in developing its risk 
register and ensuring that controls are 
operating effectively.
Relations with shareholders
The Board recognises the importance 
of maintaining an open dialogue with 
shareholders and keeping them informed 
of the Group’s strategy, progress and 
prospects. As part of this, the Board is 
committed to a high standard of corporate 
reporting.
During the year, the Executive Directors 
continued their programme of meetings 
with existing and potential shareholders. 
The Board was kept informed about 
shareholders’ views after these meetings 
by feedback from the Company’s corporate 
brokers. Alan Giddins also spoke with a 
number of the Group’s major shareholders 
to gauge their views on the performance 
and management of the Company.
In addition to the above, the Group looks to 
keep investors informed through regulatory 
announcements of important newsflow, 
including forward sales of developments, 
planning permissions received and sites 
acquired.
Annual general meeting (AGM)
The Company’s AGM will be held at 
10.30am on 4 March 2025. The Notice 
of Meeting, setting out the resolutions 
proposed, is contained in a separate 
document and is available on the Group’s 
website, watkinjonesplc.com.
Corporate governance continued

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The Company adopted the QCA Code on the basis that it is the corporate governance code most suited to the requirements and size of 
the business. Set out below is a summary of how we have complied with the ten principles of the QCA Code during the year and where to 
find further information.
Principle 
Approach 
01 – Establish a strategy and business 
model which promote long‑term value for 
shareholders
•	 Our strategy is to deliver sustainable growth as a leading developer and manager of residential 
for rent assets in the UK. Our strategic objectives are based on growth, operational excellence 
and responsible operations. 
•	 Our business model principally uses a capital-light forward sale model to minimise risk and 
provide clear visibility on future revenues. 
•	 See pages 14 and 15 for details of our strategic progress during the year and pages 8 and 9 
for details of our business model.
02 – Seek to understand and meet 
shareholder needs and expectations
•	 Our Executive Directors held calls and meetings with shareholders following our half‑year 
results, full-year results and trading updates. As Chair, Alan Giddins spoke with certain major 
shareholders. We held an in‑person AGM to which shareholders were invited.
03 – Take into account wider stakeholder 
and social responsibilities and their 
implications for long‑term success to 
promote long‑term value for shareholders
•	 Operating responsibly is a key strand of our strategy. Our strategic framework, Future 
Foundations, helps us manage our approach to ESG initiatives based around three themes –  
our people, our places and our planet. 
•	 Our Section 172(1) statement on pages 66 and 67 and our sustainability report on pages 41 
to 52 set out more information on how we take into account wider stakeholders and social 
responsibilities.
04 – Embed effective risk management, 
considering both opportunities and 
threats, throughout the organisation
•	 Details of our risk management processes and our principal risks are set out on pages 28 to 40. 
•	 We have identified our principal risks and considered the level of risk the Board is willing to 
accept to achieve the Group’s business objectives.
05 – Maintain the Board as a 
well‑functioning, balanced team led 
by the Chair
•	 The Board comprises the Chair, two Executive Directors and three independent Non‑Executive 
Directors. Biographies of the Directors can be found on pages 70 and 71. 
•	 The Non-Executive Directors are considered by the Board to be independent of management 
and free from any business or other relationship that could materially interfere with the exercise 
of their independent judgement in accordance with the QCA Code. 
•	 The Chair and Chief Executive Officer have separate, clearly defined roles. The Chair is 
responsible for leading the Board and for ensuring the Board operates effectively. The Chief 
Executive Officer is responsible for setting and implementing the Group’s strategy, for leading 
and developing the executive team and for managing the Group’s day‑to‑day operations, taking 
account of the objectives, policies and risk appetite set by the Board.
06 – Ensure that between them the 
Directors have the necessary up‑to‑date 
experience, skills and capabilities
•	 During FY24, we recruited one Executive Director to the Board. A detailed profile of the 
experience, skills and capabilities needed for the role was agreed by the Nomination Committee 
to ensure the Board was sufficiently balanced and had the appropriate expertise. 
•	 The Board received training on new legislation as well as market updates during the year.
07 – Evaluate Board performance based 
on clear and relevant objectives, seeking 
continuous improvement
•	 An external Board effectiveness review was carried out during the year. Details of the outcome 
of this review can be found on page 73.
08 – Promote a culture that is based on 
ethical values and behaviours
•	 Our corporate culture – what our values are and how we behave – is integral to the success of 
the Company. 
•	 A key theme of our Future Foundations framework is to create an engaged and motivated 
workforce that acts with the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We conducted our fourth 
annual employee engagement survey during the year, with themes around leadership and 
inspiration, realising potential, motivation and health and wellbeing. For more details, please see 
page 42 of our sustainability report.
09 – Maintain governance structures and 
processes that are fit for purpose and 
support good decision‑making by the 
Board
•	 The Group has suitable and robust governance structures and policies in place.
•	 Our Board is appropriately balanced between Executive Directors and independent 
Non‑Executive Directors, excluding the Chair. The Board has a defined schedule of matters 
reserved to it. We have a delegated authorities matrix which sets out limits and authorities for 
approving a number of matters; this is reviewed annually by the Board to ensure it remains 
appropriate. 
•	 Only the Non‑Executive Directors are members of the Board committees, although the CEO 
and CFO are invited to attend meetings where appropriate to assist with the matters discussed.
10 – Communicate how the Company 
is governed and is performing by 
maintaining a dialogue with shareholders 
and other relevant stakeholders
•	 Our Executive Directors held calls and meetings with shareholders following our half-year 
results, full-year results and trading updates. 
•	 See pages 62 to 65 for details of how we engaged with our stakeholders during the year.
Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) 
Corporate Governance Code

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Image Caption
Committee responsibilities
•	 Overseeing the accounting principles, 
policies and practices adopted by the 
Company.
•	 Overseeing the external financial 
reporting and associated 
announcements.
•	 Overseeing the appointment, 
independence, effectiveness and 
remuneration of the Company’s external 
auditor, including the supply of non-audit 
services.
•	 Reviewing and challenging the risk 
identification and mitigation processes.
•	 Monitoring the quality of the Company’s 
internal controls. 
•	 Ensuring the establishment and oversight 
of fraud prevention arrangements and 
reports under the whistleblowing policy.
•	 Liaising with and reviewing the work 
of the Group’s internal and external 
auditors. 
•	 Providing advice to the Board on 
whether the annual report and accounts, 
when taken as a whole, is fair, balanced 
and understandable and provides all the 
necessary information for shareholders 
to assess the Company’s performance, 
business model and strategy.
The Audit Committee’s duties and 
responsibilities are set out in full in its 
terms of reference which are available on 
the Company’s website at watkinjonesplc.
com/investors/corporate‑governance. 
The terms of reference were reviewed by 
the Committee during the year and no 
changes were proposed.
The Committee met nine times in FY24, 
with meetings generally timed to coincide 
with the financial and reporting cycles 
of the Company. Attendance at these 
meetings is set out in the table on page 72.
The Committee meets with the external 
auditor without management being present 
at least twice a year. The Chair of the 
Committee speaks individually with the 
internal and external auditors before every 
scheduled Audit Committee meeting to 
ensure that all appropriate matters are 
notified to the Committee and members. 
The Chair of the Committee also holds 
regular meetings with the CFO (who has 
responsibility and custody of the internal 
control framework).
The Chair reports to the Board on 
Committee proceedings after each 
meeting. Committee papers and minutes 
are made available to all members of the 
Board.
The Board is satisfied that the Chair of the 
Committee has the necessary recent and 
relevant financial experience to chair the 
Audit Committee.
Audit Committee report
Committee members: 
Rachel Addison (Chair) 
Alan Giddins
Liz Reilly
Francis Salway 
The Chair of the Company is a 
member of the Committee. The 
Board considers this appropriate as 
Alan Giddins possesses extensive 
business experience and knowledge 
of financial markets which enables 
him to play a full and valuable role 
on the Committee. The composition 
of the Committee will be kept under 
review during FY25.
The CEO, CFO, the external audit 
engagement partner, the internal 
auditor and other members of senior 
management are invited to attend 
Committee meetings as necessary. 
The Company Secretary is the 
Secretary to the Committee.
External auditor: Deloitte LLP 
(since 2022)
Internal auditor: KPMG (since 2018)
Rachel Addison
Chair of the Audit Committee

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Dear shareholder
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to 
present the Audit Committee report for 
FY24. The Committee has an important role 
to play in providing independent oversight 
and safeguarding shareholders’ interests. 
In fulfilling this role, we considered the 
following matters during the year.
Risk management
The Board has overall responsibility for 
determining the nature and extent of its 
principal and emerging risks and the 
extent of the Group’s risk appetite, and for 
reviewing the effectiveness of the Group’s 
system of risk management and internal 
control. The Committee ensures effective 
and sufficient coverage of financial 
reporting risks within the Company’s risk 
management process.
The Group’s principal risks are summarised 
on pages 28 to 40. The Board has identified 
the Group’s risk appetite in relation to each 
of those risks and this position is reviewed 
annually at a joint meeting of the Board and 
Audit Committee.
Management continued to apply the 
‘bow‑tie’ methodology to manage the 
Group’s principal risks. It used the 
methodology to analyse risk scenarios, 
identify process barriers to reduce the 
probability of the event crystallising, and 
identify ways to reduce the consequences 
should the event occur.
The Executive Committee conducted deep 
dives on each of the risks to consider 
those mechanisms and agree actions to 
improve them further. The output was then 
presented at a joint meeting of the Board 
and Audit Committee for discussion in 
November 2024. The Board approved the 
risk profile.
The internal control framework and its 
effectiveness are discussed on page 74.
Internal audit
The internal audit function was outsourced 
to KPMG in January 2018. KPMG’s role as 
internal auditor is to provide independent 
and objective assurance to the Committee 
and senior management on matters set out 
in the internal audit plan.
The internal audit director attends all 
scheduled meetings of the Committee and 
further meetings with the Committee Chair 
without management present.
During the year, KPMG presented 
the internal audit plan and resourcing 
requirements.
The Committee received updates on 
progress against the plan, which included 
a summary of results of any completed 
audits and any changes to the plan. Internal 
audit reports were provided by KPMG in 
relation to our cost valuation report (CVR) 
process, risk assessment and control 
matrix preparation, and liquidity and cash 
flow management. Recommendations in 
relation to those areas were accepted.
The Committee closely monitors 
management’s response to actions 
identified in the reports. It also monitors 
open actions to ensure management are 
supported to progress these in a timely 
manner. In addition, KPMG reviews the 
effectiveness of the implementation of 
recommended improved controls and 
reports to the Committee on their findings.
The effectiveness of KPMG was assessed 
during the year, taking into account the 
audit plan, the mechanisms in place for 
escalating issues to senior management 
or the Committee, their objectivity and 
independence, the quality and clarity 
of their reports, the credibility of their 
recommendations, the resources at their 
disposal and value for money.
Having considered those factors, the 
Committee confirmed that it was satisfied 
with the effectiveness of KPMG as internal 
auditor.
Significant accounting risks and judgements made in the annual financial statements
As a Committee, we reviewed the key accounting matters with reference to areas of higher risk, areas that would have the most significant 
potential impact on performance and areas involving significant judgement:
Area
Action 
Revenue recognition 
The Company enters into long-term contracts to develop 
properties. Recognition of long‑term contract revenue and profit 
is made on a percentage completion basis. Various assumptions 
are made within the development appraisals when determining 
the period in which revenue should be recognised. For forward 
sold developments, the amount recognised is dependent on 
the estimated costs to complete. There is a risk that the amount 
recognised is incorrect if the estimated costs to complete are 
inaccurate.
In the year, the Company entered into a joint venture arrangement 
in relation to a new PBSA scheme. The accounting for such 
arrangements is complex, with a risk that amounts recognised in 
relation to the joint venture are inaccurate.
We considered the estimates and assumptions made by 
management and were satisfied that the processes and controls 
in place around technical accounting matters and the estimates 
of costs to complete were robust. External specialist accounting 
and tax advice was obtained regarding the new joint venture 
arrangement to ensure appropriate treatment.
Deloitte confirmed that they had evaluated the design of key 
controls around the stage of completion for revenue recognition 
on ongoing developments. They summarised the work 
undertaken to challenge revenue, including substantive testing 
of key inputs and assumptions to the contract assessments 
and attendance at divisional performance review meetings, and 
noted no significant issues. They have also reviewed the technical 
accounting surrounding the new joint venture arrangement, and 
noted no significant issues.

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Area
Action 
Remediation costs in relation to legacy properties 
The Company holds a provision in relation to fire safety 
remediation costs with a net balance of £48.0 million at 
30 September 2024 (£54.7 million at 30 September 2023). 
Following the conclusion of investigations undertaken, necessary 
remedial works were identified at further properties, and 
the scope of works at a number of properties already under 
remediation has been revised. An additional net provision of £7.0 
million (30 September 2023: £35.0 million) has therefore been 
made during the year, for which further information is provided in 
note 4 to the financial statements.
The Committee recognised the extensive work undertaken by 
the Company to address known remediation issues, conclude 
negotiations with regard to contributions to work undertaken 
or required, and estimate the scope and costs of future works 
required for properties within the provision. 
This is a highly complex area with judgements and estimates in 
respect of the cost of remedial works, the methodology to be 
used in agreeing remedial solutions, and the scope of applicable 
guidance and legislation, which continues to evolve.
The Committee accepted the recommendation from management 
to join the Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) in December 2023. 
We challenged management’s approach to the assessment of 
risk factors across the property portfolio and their assessment 
of the scope of buildings within the provision. 
We also challenged the assumptions applied to determine 
remediation costs, including cost estimates, potential recoveries 
from suppliers and insurers, as well as inflation and discounting 
assumptions. We also considered the clarity and completeness 
of the associated disclosures. 
We are satisfied with the approach of assessing and quantifying 
the provision and the accounting treatment and disclosures 
thereof.
Land and work in progress valuation 
The valuation of inventories requires significant judgement 
by management over anticipated revenues and forecast 
development costs. There is a risk that the carrying value of the 
land and work in progress balances reported within inventories 
are overstated. 
The Committee reviewed the Company’s clear accounting 
policies for these valuations, the reduction of risk in the sale price 
by using a forward sale model, the impairment made during the 
year, and the output from the audit activities of Deloitte, including 
their challenge of the valuation of the Group’s development sites 
that had not been forward sold. 
The Committee was satisfied with the judgements made.
Impairment testing for leased investment properties 
This encompasses four legacy student accommodation assets 
that were sold and leased back. Assumptions relate to discount 
rates, investment yields and operating income (taking into 
account occupancy rates, income inflation and cost inflation). 
No impairment was proposed for FY24 by management.
The Committee reviewed the assumptions made by management, 
noting that: 
•	 occupancy rates remain high and the rates assumed by 
management are considered appropriate; 
•	 management considered it to be appropriate to maintain 
discount rates at the same level as last year; and 
•	 downside scenarios sensitising discount rates, occupancy 
rates and rental growth continued to show headroom. 
We are satisfied with the position, as reported by management, 
that no impairment is required.
Impairment testing for intangible assets relating 
to Fresh 
The Group holds intangible assets relating to Fresh of £1.2 million 
in customer relationships, £0.1 million in brand and £9.7 million in 
goodwill. No impairment was proposed for FY24 by management.
The Committee reviewed the assumptions made by management 
as part of the impairment assessment, noting that: 
•	 the forecasts, terminal value and discount rate assumptions 
adopted by management in assessing the recoverable value of 
goodwill appear reasonable, with sufficient headroom; and 
•	 sensitivities applied to this analysis over revenue and discount 
rate continue to show headroom. 
We are satisfied with the position, as reported by management, 
that no impairment is required.
Audit Committee report continued
Significant accounting risks and judgements made in the annual financial statements continued

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External audit
Deloitte was appointed as the Company’s 
auditor in FY22, and has been re-appointed 
for each subsequent year. 
We reviewed Deloitte’s findings from the 
FY23 audit and approved the plan for FY24, 
along with management’s response to any 
points raised. 
We reviewed the effectiveness of the FY24 
external audit process and assessed 
Deloitte’s continuing independence. 
The Committee and the Board continue to 
be comfortable that Deloitte is independent 
and that the audit service provided is 
effective. We have recommended to 
the Board that Deloitte be re-appointed 
as external auditor and this resolution 
will be proposed to shareholders at the 
2025 AGM.
The Committee approved Deloitte’s 
audit fees.
Non-audit services
The Company’s policy on non-audit 
services is reviewed annually in line with 
the FRC’s Revised Ethical Standards. 
Whilst not specifically applicable 
to AIM‑listed companies, the Audit 
Committee has decided that it wishes 
to follow the principle provided for in the 
European Audit Regulation and Directive, 
and has set a limit to the amount of fees 
which may be incurred in any one year 
for non‑audit services. Fees for non‑audit 
services may not exceed 70% of the 
average of the Group’s statutory audit fees 
over the previous three years.
Deloitte did no chargeable work for the 
Company other than the audit.
Consideration of the final year-end 
audit report
The Committee reviewed the external 
auditor’s plans for the full-year audit and 
then met with Deloitte and reviewed their 
report on the year-end results. Reporting 
materiality, which was set by the auditor at 
0.7% of revenue, equated to £2.4 million, 
with audit differences over £0.12 million 
reported to the Committee.
Annual report and financial 
statements
The Committee reviewed the annual report 
and other financial statements during the 
year to ensure that they were fair, balanced 
and understandable. It then recommended 
those reports to the Board for approval.
Going concern statement
The Committee reviewed the going 
concern statement set out on pages 39 
and 40 and confirmed its satisfaction 
with the methodology, including the 
appropriateness of sensitivity testing. 
The Committee debated possible downside 
scenarios and how the Board would react 
to various circumstances. The Committee 
recommended the Board accept the going 
concern statement.
Other matters considered by the 
Committee
Dividends
The Committee reviewed the capacity 
of the Company to pay such dividends 
from distributable reserves and its 
appropriateness, and recommended to the 
Board that no dividend is paid.
Whistleblowing 
The Committee reviewed the Company’s 
whistleblowing arrangements. Details 
of any calls received to the external 
whistleblowing hotline, as well as matters 
raised through other channels, are 
reported to the Committee. In order to 
satisfy itself as to the effectiveness of the 
whistleblowing arrangements and the 
culture of the Company, questions are 
included as part of the annual employee 
engagement survey as to whether 
employees know how to raise concerns 
and whether they feel safe to speak up 
if they have concerns. Both questions 
received strong positive scores.
Unit-based annual bonus
The Committee approved the payment of 
the unit-based annual bonus, applicable 
to those below senior management. 
The bonus scheme has historically been 
paid in December before the accounts 
are signed off. This is a legacy scheme, 
which is widely regarded as a Christmas 
bonus, and management believes that it 
is important to pay it in December rather 
than wait until January when the accounts 
are approved. The Committee approved 
the profit estimate for use in this bonus. 
The impact of any likely error in the profit 
forecast on the bonus is unlikely to be 
material, given the scaling and size of the 
bonus scheme. This scheme is not open 
to senior executives or Directors (whose 
bonus scheme is approved only after the 
accounts have been finalised).
Performance 
The Committee’s performance was 
reviewed as part of the external Board 
evaluation process carried out during the 
year. It was considered to be operating 
effectively.
Looking forward
As well as the regular cycle of matters that 
the Committee schedules for consideration 
each year, we plan over the next 12 
months to:
•	 continue to monitor legislative and 
regulatory changes that may impact the 
work of the Committee; and 
•	 continue to review the documented 
framework for key internal control 
procedures and policies.
Rachel Addison 
Chair of the Audit Committee
23 January 2025

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Ravensbourne Place, Lewisham
Committee responsibilities
The Committee is responsible for 
succession planning and appointments 
at Board level, oversight of appointments 
and succession planning at the Executive 
Committee and making recommendations 
to the Board on the composition of Board 
committees.
In FY24, the Committee met on three 
occasions. Attendance at these meetings 
is set out in the table on page 72.
Dear shareholder
The appointment and retention of talented 
individuals is key to the success of the 
Group. This report explains the work of the 
Committee during the financial year.
Appointment of Chief Financial 
Officer
In April 2024, we announced that Sarah 
Sergeant would be stepping down as Chief 
Financial Officer and from the Board as 
part of a managed succession process. 
In identifying a successor, the Committee 
agreed a detailed brief for the role and 
objective criteria against which candidates 
would be assessed. Teneo was engaged 
to conduct a search for suitable external 
candidates against these criteria.
A long list of external candidates was 
drawn up based on the agreed candidate 
profile. First round interviews were 
undertaken by a sub-committee, following 
which two candidates were subsequently 
taken through to a final interview with all 
Non-Executive Directors. Simon Jones 
was the unanimous choice based on his 
experience and knowledge of the property 
sector, depth and range of experience, and 
financing knowledge. 
Accordingly, the Committee recommended 
to the Board that Simon Jones be 
appointed Chief Financial Officer. The 
Board approved this recommendation.
Nomination Committee report
Committee members: 
Alan Giddins (Chair) 
Liz Reilly
Rachel Addison 
Francis Salway 
The Chief Executive Officer is invited 
to attend Committee meetings, 
as appropriate. The Secretary to 
the Committee is Adam McGhin, 
Company Secretary.
Alan Giddins
Chair of the 
Nomination Committee

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
81
• 	Female	
2
•	 Male 	
4
•	 0-2 years	
3
•	 3-5 years 	
1
• 	5+ years 	
2
Succession Planning at the 
Executive Committee
In light of Richard Harris, Managing 
Director of Group Delivery, retiring in 
January 2025, the Committee worked with 
management to consider an appropriate 
replacement for Richard. The decision was 
made to split his role, with Gwyn Pritchard 
being appointed Head of Construction, and 
Michael Bunyan, Head of Project Services. 
Both have joined the Executive Committee. 
Adam McGhin also joined the Executive 
Committee in October 2024 as Chief Legal 
Officer and Company Secretary, following 
an external search process.
Following these changes I believe we have 
a strong and balanced Executive team 
capable of delivering against the Group’s 
strategic plan.
Board composition
The Committee considered the current 
composition of the Board and believes 
that the Board has the necessary skills, 
experience and knowledge to support 
the Group.
Considerations for FY25
The Committee will focus over the next 
12 months on reviewing the personal 
development plans for each of the 
Executive Committee members, a number 
of whom are new in role. We will also be 
looking at longer term Board succession 
planning.
In previous years, the Committee 
considered it appropriate for the Company 
Chair to be a member of the Audit 
Committee given the small size of the 
Board. We will keep this under review 
in FY25, noting that we now have three 
independent Non‑Executive Directors but 
acknowledging that the tenure of the Board 
as a whole is relatively short.
Diversity
The Committee recognises the ethical 
and business benefits of diversity and, 
as set out in our sustainability report, 
diversity is one of the central strands of 
our Future People proposition. The gender 
diversity of the Board has changed during 
the year, ending the year with two female 
(33.3%) and four male (66.6%) Board 
members. While we have good gender 
and ethnic diversity across the Group, 
women and BAME employees remain 
under‑represented at senior levels. 
We will continue to look for ways to 
enhance all aspects of diversity across 
the Group.
Alan Giddins
Chair of the Nomination Committee
23 January 2025
Tenure – as at January 2025
Experience – as at January 2025
Gender – as at January 2025
• 	Property	
3
•	 Finance/Accounting 	
3
• 	Retail 	
2
•	 Strategy	
5
• 	HR 	
1

The Waterways, Nottingham
Directors’ remuneration report
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Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024
Committee responsibilities
•	 Determines the Company’s remuneration 
policies to support its strategy and 
promote its long‑term sustainable 
success.
•	 Reviews the performance of the 
Executive Directors.
•	 Determines the terms and conditions of 
service for Executive Directors.
•	 Determines the remuneration of the Chair 
and the Executive Committee.
During FY24, the Committee met six times. 
Attendance at these meetings is set out in 
the table on page 72.
Activities during the year
•	 Agreed the leaver terms for Sarah 
Sergeant, former Chief Financial Officer, 
and the recruitment arrangements for 
Simon Jones, her successor.
•	 Reviewed the fees for the Chair and 
salary levels for the Executive Directors 
and Executive Committee.
•	 Reviewed the FY23 Directors’ 
remuneration report prior to its approval 
by the Board and subsequent approval 
by shareholders at the AGM.
•	 Reviewed performance against the FY23 
annual bonus plan targets and resulting 
awards and agreed the metrics and 
targets for the FY24 bonus plan.
•	 Reviewed LTIP award levels and 
performance metrics/targets for the 2024 
LTIP award. 
•	 Approved the 0% vesting of the 2021 
LTIP award.
Committee members: 
Liz Reilly (Chair) 
Alan Giddins
Rachel Addison
Francis Salway
The CEO, the HR Director, the 
Company Secretary and the 
independent remuneration 
consultant are invited to attend 
Committee meetings as necessary. 
Remuneration consultant:  
FIT Remuneration Consultants LLP
Liz Reilly
Chair of the 
Remuneration Committee

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
Annual statement
Dear shareholder
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased 
to present our Directors’ remuneration 
report for FY24. It sets out the Group’s 
remuneration policy for the Directors and 
explains how this policy was applied during 
the year. The principles underpinning our 
remuneration policy have not changed. 
Our policy is designed to:
•	 attract, retain and motivate executive 
management of the quality required to 
run the Company;
•	 incentivise and fairly reward our 
Executive Directors and the other 
members of the Executive Committee; 
and
•	 support the Company’s strategy and 
promote its long-term sustainable 
success.
Pay and performance in FY24
The wider property sector in the UK 
continues to be a challenging market in 
which to operate. The ongoing geopolitical 
instability and economic uncertainty have 
contributed to the difficulties faced by the 
business. Our adjusted operating profit 
was £10.6 million (FY23: £0.2 million). 
Adjusted EPS was 3.5 pence (FY23: loss 
of 0.6 pence). A strong focus on cash 
management resulted in a year-end 
adjusted net cash position of £83.4 million 
(FY23: £43.9 million). 
While the Committee considers that 
management has performed strongly and 
there has been an improvement of the 
financial performance on the prior year, 
the challenging market environment has 
affected the level of executive remuneration 
in respect of both long-term and short-term 
incentives. 
Annual bonus for FY24
Following a review of performance against 
the annual bonus targets, bonuses of 25% 
of total opportunity for Alex Pease and 
Simon Jones (pro‑rated) were awarded. 
While the threshold financial target was 
missed, the personal and ESG objectives 
(being 25% of the bonus opportunity) were 
met in full.
Long‑term incentives
LTIP awards were granted to Executive 
Directors in January 2022 with vesting 
based on EPS (50% of awards), absolute 
TSR (25% of awards) and relative TSR (25% 
of awards). As a result of the threshold EPS 
and TSR targets not being met, the 2022 
LTIP awards will lapse in full.
Board changes
As announced on 23 April 2024, Simon 
Jones joined Watkin Jones as Chief 
Financial Officer Designate and as a 
member of the Board on 21 May 2024 to 
succeed Sarah Sergeant as Chief Financial 
Officer. Details of the remuneration 
arrangements in respect of Sarah’s 
departure and Simon’s appointment are set 
out on page 87.
Wider employee and environmental 
considerations
The Committee reviews arrangements 
across the Group when considering 
remuneration decisions in respect of 
Executive Directors. The Committee also 
reviews a range of information on pay, 
bonuses, benefits, diversity, equality 
of pay and culture. During the year, the 
Committee:
•	 supported the intention of the Company 
to continue to pay a living wage to all 
employees;
•	 received proposals for base pay 
increases across the business, having 
regard to the prevailing macroeconomic 
context;
•	 considered salary increases for the 
Executive Directors; and
•	 reviewed, as part of the Board, the 
output of Your Voice, a Company‑wide 
employee engagement survey, health 
and safety performance and progress 
on diversity and inclusion within the 
organisation.
Implementing the remuneration 
policy for FY25
In respect of the remuneration policy for 
FY25 for Executive Directors:
•	 base salary levels for the Chief Executive 
Officer and Chief Financial Officer were 
increased by 2% from 1 October 2024, 
below the average workforce level, to 
£433,500 and £357,000 respectively;
•	 pension will continue at a workforce 
aligned contribution of 7% of salary; 
•	 the annual bonus will continue to be 
capped at 125% of salary, with 25% of 
any bonus deferred into shares for two 
years. Bonus objectives will continue to 
be based on financial, strategic and ESG 
metrics, and personal targets; 
•	 the Committee is currently reviewing 
long-term incentive provision for 2025 
and will consult major shareholders to 
the extent considered appropriate; and
•	 shareholding guidelines, set at 200% of 
salary, will continue to operate.
The Committee will continue to keep the 
remuneration policy and the way it is 
operated under review to ensure it aligns 
the objectives of the Executive Directors 
with stakeholders and delivers the desired 
outcomes.
Liz Reilly
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
23 January 2025
	
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83

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Directors’ remuneration report continued
Remuneration policy 
The Remuneration Committee considers the remuneration policy annually to ensure that it continues to underpin the Group’s strategy. 
The main aim of the Group’s policy for Executive Directors is to align their interests with the Group’s growth strategy and long‑term 
creation of sustainable shareholder value. 
Summary of Directors’ remuneration policy
Component
Purpose and 
link to strategy
Operation
Maximum
Performance
Base salary
To provide a competitive 
base salary to attract, 
motivate and retain 
Directors with the 
experience and 
capabilities to achieve the 
strategic aims.
Normally reviewed annually after 
considering pay levels at comparably 
sized listed companies and sector peers; 
the performance, role, skills, experience 
and responsibility of each Director; the 
economic climate, market conditions and 
the Company’s performance; and the level of 
pay across the Group as a whole.
n/a
n/a
Benefits
To provide a 
market‑competitive 
benefits package.
Offered in line with market practice, and may 
include a car allowance, private medical, 
income protection and death in service 
insurance.
n/a
n/a
Pension
To provide an appropriate 
level of retirement benefit.
Executive Directors are eligible to participate 
in the Group’s defined contribution personal 
pension plan and may elect to receive all 
or part of the pension contribution in cash, 
provided there is no difference in cost to the 
Company.
7% of salary
n/a
Annual bonus
To reward performance 
against annual targets 
which support the 
strategic direction of the 
Group.
Awards are based on annual performance 
with a minimum of 25% of any bonus 
deferred into shares for two years. 
Awards may be subject to malus/
clawback provisions at the discretion of the 
Committee.
125% of salary
Financial, 
personal, 
strategic and/or 
ESG targets.
LTIP
To drive and reward 
the achievement of 
longer‑term objectives, 
support retention and 
promote share ownership 
for Executive Directors.
Conditional shares and/or nil cost or nominal 
cost share options. Vesting is normally 
subject to the achievement of challenging 
performance conditions, normally over a 
period of three years. Dividend equivalents 
may be awarded to the extent awards 
vest. Awards may be subject to malus/
clawback provisions at the discretion of the 
Committee.
150% of salary
Financial, share 
price, strategic 
and/or ESG 
targets.
Shareholding 
guidelines
To promote share 
ownership for Executive 
Directors.
Executive Directors are expected to build 
a shareholding in the Group over time by 
retaining at least 50% of the net-of-tax LTIP 
awards which vest.
200% of salary
n/a
Non-Executive 
Directors
The Committee 
determines the Chair’s 
fee and fees for the 
Non‑Executive Directors 
are agreed by the Chair 
and Chief Executive 
Officer.
Fees are reviewed annually taking into 
account the level of responsibility and 
relevant experience. Fees may include a 
basic fee and additional fees for further 
responsibilities. Fees are paid in cash. Travel 
and other reasonable expenses incurred 
in the course of performing their duties are 
reimbursed.
n/a
n/a

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
85
Annual report on remuneration
Implementation of the remuneration policy for FY25
The table below sets out how the Committee intends to operate the remuneration policy in FY25.
Base salary levels for the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer were increased by 2% from 
1 October 2024, below the average workforce level, to £433,500 and £357,000 respectively.
Base salary
There were no material changes to benefits provision during the year.
Benefits
The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer will continue to receive a workforce-aligned contribution 
of 7% of salary.
Pension
The annual bonus will continue to be capped at 125% of salary, with 25% of any bonus deferred into shares for 
two years. Bonus objectives will continue to be based on financial, strategic and ESG metrics, and personal 
targets.
Annual bonus
The Committee is currently reviewing long-term incentive provision for 2025 and will consult major shareholders 
to the extent considered appropriate.
LTIP
Shareholding guidelines set at 200% of salary will continue to apply.
Shareholding 
guidelines
Non-Executive Director fees were not increased from 1 October 2024. As such, the current fee for Alan Giddins 
is £143,363. The current fees for Liz Reilly and Rachel Addison are £59,639 and the current fee for Francis 
Salway, who does not chair a Board committee, is £50,923.
Non-Executive 
Director fees
Single total figure of remuneration for FY24
In the year to 30 September 2024, the Directors received the following emoluments:
Salary/fees
Pension
Benefits
Annual bonus
LTIP7
Total
FY24
FY23
FY24
FY23
FY24
FY23
FY24
FY23
FY24
FY23
FY24
FY23
Executive Directors
Alex Pease1
421,955 319,647
27,168
20,837
12,846
18,094 128,846
90,672
—
— 590,815 449,250
Simon Jones2
130,128
—
2,622
—
8,068
—
39,964
—
—
— 180,782
—
Non-Executive Directors
Alan Giddins
143,363
139,187
—
—
—
—
—
— 
—
— 143,363
139,187
Liz Reilly
59,639
57,902
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
59,639
57,902
Rachel Addison3
59,639
57,902
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
59,639
57,902
Francis Salway4
50,923
48,362
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
50,923
48,362
Former Directors
Sarah Sergeant5
324,450 315,000
21,170
20,211
11,998
8,601
57,715
79,790
—
— 415,333 423,602
Richard Simpson6
333,797
413,272
58,664
72,566
14,038
17,175
—
57,257
—
— 406,499 560,270
1.	 Appointed to the Board on 10 October 2022; appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer on 18 July 2023 and Chief Executive Officer on 15 November 2023.
2.	 Appointed to the Board on 21 May 2024.
3.	 Appointed to the Board on 1 April 2022.
4.	 Appointed to the Board on 10 October 2022.
5.	 Stepped down from the Board on 21 May 2024.
6.	 Stepped down from the Board on 18 July 2023.
7.	 The LTIP awards granted to Richard Simpson and Alex Pease in January 2021 lapsed in full in January 2024. The LTIP awards granted to Alex Pease, 
Richard Simpson and Sarah Sergeant in January 2022 will lapse in full in January 2025 as a result of the threshold EPS and TSR targets not being met.

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Directors’ remuneration report continued
Annual report on remuneration continued
Annual bonus in respect of FY24
The annual bonus for the Executive Directors is comprised of:
•	 Financial targets (75% of maximum).
•	 Personal strategic objectives (15% of maximum).
•	 ESG objectives (10% of maximum).
The Committee made an assessment in respect of each element of the targets and determined:
•	 That the threshold of the PBIT financial target was not met and therefore the outturn in respect of this measure is 0%.
•	 That the personal and strategic targets for each of the Executive Directors (relating to building an effective management team, 
improving effectiveness and efficiency in respect of the development and finance functions, delivering on key revenue and income 
generation initiatives, and effective cash management) were met in full and therefore the outturn of this measure is 15%.
•	 That the ESG targets (relating to planning applications submitted to BREEAM excellent standards or HQM equivalent, employee 
engagement levels and the management of and reporting on legacy projects) were met and therefore the outturn of this measure 
is 10%.
Based on these assessments, the annual bonus awards for Alex Pease and Simon Jones are 25% of the maximum potential as set out 
below. In the case of Simon the bonus is pro-rated for the duration of his service during the year. 
Financial
Personal (15%)
ESG (10%)
Alex Pease
£nil
£77,308
£51,538
Simon Jones
£nil
£23,978
£15,986
 Ravensbourne Place, Lewisham

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
87
LTIP award vesting
LTIP awards were granted to Executive Directors in January 2022 with vesting based on EPS (50% of awards), absolute TSR (25% of 
awards) and relative TSR (25% of awards). As a result of the threshold EPS and TSR targets not being met, these awards will lapse in full.
Share awards granted in FY24 
The following LTIP awards were granted to the Executive Directors during the year ended 30 September 2024:
Basis
of award
Number of shares
under award
Alex Pease
200% of salary
1,859,956
Simon Jones
200% of salary
1,531,728
Sarah Sergeant
125% of salary
887,445
The awards have an exercise price of one pence per share and vest subject to continued employment and three-year absolute total 
shareholder return (TSR) targets. Vesting of awards will be determined by reference to growth above the ‘base share price’, being the 
Watkin Jones average share price from 1 October 2023 to 29 January 2024 (i.e. the day before grant in respect of the awards made to 
Alex Pease and Sarah Sergeant). 0% of awards will vest if TSR is 0% p.a. or less, increasing pro‑rata to 100% vesting for maximum 
performance if TSR is 43.5% compound growth p.a. or better, using the three-month average share price to the end of the performance 
period and adjusted for any dividends during that period (applying standard TSR methodology). In addition to assessing performance 
against the TSR targets, the Remuneration Committee retains discretion to reduce the vesting of awards to ensure that all relevant factors 
are taken into account, including the consideration of any windfall gains.
Board changes
Sarah Sergeant stepped down from the Board in May 2024. She continued to receive her salary and benefits for the remainder of her 
six‑month notice period which ended on 23 October 2024 and remained eligible to receive an annual bonus for FY24 in line with her 
termination agreements. Her outstanding LTIP awards will continue to vest on the normal vesting dates, subject to performance conditions 
and time pro-rating. No termination payments were paid or are payable.
Simon Jones was appointed Chief Financial Officer and his package from appointment is as follows:
•	 base salary: £350,000;
•	 pension: 7% of salary (workforce aligned);
•	 annual bonus: maximum of 125% of salary (pro-rated for FY24) with 25% of any bonus award deferred into shares for two years; and
•	 LTIP: 200% of salary for FY24, reducing to 150% of salary p.a. from FY25 onwards.
Outstanding share awards
Outstanding LTIP share awards for the current Executive Directors at 30 September 2024 and as at the date of this report were as follows:
Alex Pease
Simon Jones
LTIP
LTIP
LTIP
LTIP
Exercise price
1p
1p
1p
1p
Date of grant
31 Jan 2022
3 Feb 2023
30 Jan 2024
30 Aug 2024
Date of vesting
31 Jan 2025
3 Feb 2026
30 Jan 2027
21 May 20271
Interest at 1 Oct 2023
78,422
 265,957
—
—
Granted in the year
—
—
1,859,956
1,531,728
Dividend equivalents
—
—
—
—
Lapsed
—
—
—
—
Exercised in the year
—
—
—
—
Interest at 30 Sep 2024
78,422
265,957
1,859,956
1,531,728
Performance period
EPS: 1 Oct 2021
to 30 Sep 2024
Absolute and relative
TSR: 1 Oct 2021 to
30 Sep 2024
Relative TSR: three
years from
grant date
Absolute TSR: 
Three years from 30 Jan 2024
1.	 Reflecting a delay to the grant of the LTIP awards, the vesting date was aligned to the date Simon Jones was appointed to the Board.

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Directors’ remuneration report continued
Annual report on remuneration continued
Directors’ interests in the Company’s shares
At 30 September 2024 and as at the date of this report, the Directors had the following interests in the Company’s shares:
Number of shares
Alex Pease
868,206
Simon Jones
8,000
Alan Giddins
880,000
Rachel Addison
49,693
Liz Reilly	
 50,000
Francis Salway
45,500
Total
1,766,349
Service contracts
Executive Directors
Alex Pease and Simon Jones were appointed under service agreements dated 10 October 2022 and 20 May 2024 respectively.  
Both service agreements contain six-month notice periods in respect of notice given by the Company or the Director. 
Non-Executive Directors
Non-executive appointments run for an initial term of three years from the date of appointment and continue thereafter, subject to 
annual re-election at annual general meetings. Alan Giddins was appointed to the Board by a letter of appointment dated 17 July 2021. 
Rachel Addison and Francis Salway were appointed to the Board by letters of appointment dated 31 March 2022 and 7 October 2022 
respectively. Liz Reilly was appointed to the Board by a letter of appointment dated 4 January 2019.
Date of appointment
to the Board
Notice period where
given by the Company
Notice period where
given by the Director
Alan Giddins
19 July 2021
3 months
3 months
Rachel Addison
1 April 2022
3 months
3 months
Liz Reilly
21 January 2019
3 months
3 months
Francis Salway
10 October 2022
3 months
3 months
Advisers to the Committee
FIT Remuneration Consultants LLP (FIT) provides advice to the Committee as and when required in respect of remuneration quantum 
and structure and developments in governance and best practice more generally. FIT is a member and signatory of the Remuneration 
Consultants Group and voluntarily operates under the Code of Conduct in relation to executive remuneration consulting in the UK, details 
of which can be found at remunerationconsultantsgroup.com.
Performance and terms of reference
The Committee’s performance was considered as part of the Board evaluation process described on page 73. Feedback showed that the 
Committee was felt to be operating well.
The Committee’s terms of reference were reviewed during the year. A copy of the Committee’s terms of reference is available on the 
Company’s website at watkinjonesplc.com/investors/corporate‑governance.
Liz Reilly
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
23 January 2025

Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
89
Directors’ report
The corporate governance disclosures on  
pages 72 to 74 form part of this report.
Substantial shareholdings
Based on the share register analysis as at 15 October 2024, unless otherwise notified, the following represents interests in excess of 3% 
of the Company’s ordinary share capital. These holdings may subsequently have changed, but notification of any change is not required 
until the next notifiable threshold is crossed.
Holder
Percentage
FIL Investment International	
9.93
Octopus Investments	
9.53
Gresham House	
6.52
Hargreaves Lansdown	
6.47
Interactive Investor	
5.39
M&G Investments	
5.13
Mr Mark Watkin Jones	
4.42
Polar Capital 	
3.63
Janus Henderson Investors	
3.39
Principal activity
The Company is incorporated and 
registered in England and Wales, with 
registered number 9791105. Its shares 
are traded on the Alternative Investment 
Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The Company is the ultimate holding 
company of the Group. The Group’s 
principal activities are described in the 
strategic report on pages 1 to 67. 
Review of business
The strategic report on pages 1 to 67 
provides a review of the business, the 
Group’s trading for the year ended 
30 September 2024, key performance 
indicators and an indication of future 
developments and risks.
Result and dividend
The Group’s loss for the year was 
£0.3 million (FY23: loss of £32.5 million). 
More information about the Group’s 
financial performance can be found in 
the financial review on pages 22 to 27 
and in the financial statements on pages 
91 to 144.
The Board does not recommend a final 
dividend for the year (FY23: 0 pence 
per share). 
Directors
The Company’s Directors during the 
year were:
•	 Alan Giddins
•	 Alex Pease 
•	 Sarah Sergeant (resigned 21 May 2024)
•	 Simon Jones (appointed 21 May 2024)
•	 Liz Reilly
•	 Rachel Addison 
•	 Francis Salway 
The current Directors’ biographies can be 
found on pages 70 and 71. Details of the 
Executive Directors’ service contracts, 
the Non‑Executive Directors’ letters of 
appointment and the Directors’ dates of 
appointment can be found in the Directors’ 
remuneration report on page 88.

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Directors’ report continued
Directors’ interests
The Directors’ interests in the Company’s 
shares are set out in the Directors’ 
remuneration report on page 88.
Directors’ indemnity provisions
The Company has purchased and 
maintained throughout the period 
Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance 
in respect of the Directors.
Share capital structure
At 30 September 2024, the Company’s 
issued share capital was £2,566,530.97, 
divided into 256,653,097 ordinary shares of 
one pence each.
The holders of ordinary shares are entitled 
to one vote per share at the Company’s 
general meetings.
Engagement with employees, 
suppliers, customers and other 
stakeholders
Information on the Group’s engagement 
with its employees, clients, customers, 
supply chain, shareholders and 
communities can be found in the strategic 
report on pages 62 to 65. Information on 
other employee matters such as investing 
in the workforce, employee diversity and 
the provision of equal opportunities for 
disabled employees can be found in the 
strategic report on pages 44 to 46.
Political donations
The Company made no political donations 
during the year.
Financial instruments
Information on financial instruments is 
given in note 30 to the financial statements.
Auditor
Deloitte was appointed as external auditor 
during FY22. Deloitte has expressed its 
willingness to continue in office as auditor 
and a resolution to re-appoint Deloitte will 
be proposed at the 2025 annual general 
meeting.
Going concern
After making enquiries and as more fully 
explained in the going concern review on 
pages 39 and 40, the Directors have a 
reasonable expectation that the Group has 
adequate resources to continue to trade 
for the period to 31 January 2026. For this 
reason, they continue to adopt the going 
concern basis in preparing the financial 
statements.
Dividend policy
The Group maintains its policy of aiming 
to pay a dividend which is 2.0x covered by 
adjusted earnings when financial flexibility 
permits.
Approval
In the case of each Director in office at the 
date the Directors’ report is approved:
•	 so far as the Director is aware, there is 
no relevant audit information of which the 
Company’s auditor is unaware; and
•	 they have taken all steps that they ought 
to have taken as a Director in order to 
make themselves aware of any relevant 
audit information and to establish that 
the Company’s auditor is aware of that 
information.
This Directors’ report was approved on 
behalf of the Board on 23 January 2025.
Simon Jones 
Chief Financial Officer
23 January 2025
The Waterways, Nottingham

The Directors are responsible for preparing 
the annual report and the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable 
law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to 
prepare financial statements for each 
financial year. Under that law the Directors 
are required to prepare the Group financial 
statements in accordance with United 
Kingdom adopted international accounting 
standards. The financial statements 
also comply with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as issued by 
the IASB. The Directors have also chosen 
to prepare the parent company financial 
statements under United Kingdom adopted 
international accounting standards. 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 
Company and of the profit or loss of the 
Company for that period. 
In preparing these financial statements, 
International Accounting Standard 1 
requires that Directors:
•	 properly select and apply accounting 
policies;
•	 present information, including 
accounting policies, in a manner that 
provides relevant, reliable, comparable 
and understandable information; 
•	 provide additional disclosures 
when compliance with the specific 
requirements of the financial reporting 
framework are insufficient to enable 
users to understand the impact of 
particular transactions, other events 
and conditions on the entity’s financial 
position and financial performance; and
•	 make an assessment of the Company’s 
ability to continue as a going concern.
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 also responsible for 
safeguarding the assets of the Company 
and hence for taking reasonable steps for 
the prevention and detection of fraud and 
other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the corporate 
and financial information included on the 
Company’s website. Legislation in the 
United Kingdom governing the preparation 
and dissemination of financial statements 
may differ from legislation in other 
jurisdictions.
Responsibilities statement
We confirm that to the best of our 
knowledge:
•	 the financial statements, prepared in 
accordance with the relevant financial 
reporting framework, 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;
•	 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; and
•	 the annual report and financial 
statements, taken as a whole, are fair, 
balanced and understandable and 
provide the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the Company’s 
position and performance, business 
model and strategy.
This responsibility statement was approved 
by the Board of Directors on 23 January 
2025 and is signed on its behalf by:
Alex Pease
Chief Executive Officer
23 January 2025
Directors’ responsibilities
in relation to the annual report and financial statements
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
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91

Independent auditor’s report
to the members of Watkin Jones plc
Report on the audit of the financial statements
1. Opinion
In our opinion:
•	 the financial statements of Watkin Jones plc (the ‘parent company’ or the ‘company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) give a true and 
fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 30 September 2024 and of the group’s profit for the year 
then ended;
•	 the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom adopted international accounting 
standards;
•	 the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 101 “Reduced Disclosure Framework”; and
•	 the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements which comprise:
•	 the consolidated statement of comprehensive income;
•	 the consolidated statement of financial position;
•	 the consolidated statement of changes in equity;
•	 the consolidated statement of cash flows; 
•	 the related notes to the consolidated financial statements 1 to 38;
•	 the company statement of financial position;
•	 the company statement of changes in equity; and
•	 the related notes to the company financial statements 39 to 45.
The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the group financial statements is applicable law and United 
Kingdom adopted international accounting standards. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of 
the parent company financial statements is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 101 “Reduced 
Disclosure Framework” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
2. Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities 
under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. 
We are independent of the group and the parent company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the 
financial statements in the UK, including the Financial Reporting Council’s (the ‘FRC’s’) Ethical Standard as applied to listed entities, and 
we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. 
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
3. Summary of our audit approach
Key audit matters
The key audit matters that we identified in the current year were:
•	 Revenue recognition; and
•	 Completeness and valuation of provisions relating to the Building Safety Act.
Within this report, key audit matters are identified as follows:
 Newly identified  
  Increased level of risk  
  Similar level of risk  
  Decreased level of risk
Materiality
The materiality that we used for the group financial statements was £2.44 million which was determined on the 
basis of revenue. The basis of materiality is consistent with that applied in the prior year. Further details concerning 
the determination of materiality are provided in section 6.
Scoping
Full scope audit work was performed on two reporting components. Our full scope and specified audit procedures 
covered 98% of group revenue and 98% of group loss before tax.
4. Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation 
of the financial statements is appropriate.
Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment of the group’s and parent company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of 
accounting included:
•	 obtaining an understanding of the group’s relevant controls over the going concern assessment;
•	 challenging the assumptions used in the Board-approved forecasts by reference to historical performance and other supporting 
evidence such as market data; 
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•	 assessing the amount of headroom in the forecasts and reasonable downside scenarios modelled by management (in liquidity terms 
and against the relevant covenant limits);
•	 assessing the sensitivity analysis performed by management, including actions that could be taken to mitigate the risk against any 
potential covenant breaches; and
•	 evaluating whether the disclosures in respect of going concern within the financial statements meet the requirements of IAS 1.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually 
or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group’s and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at 
least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
5. Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements 
of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) that we 
identified. These matters included those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy, the allocation of resources in the 
audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team.
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and 
we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
5.1. Revenue recognition 
Key audit matter 
description
The group recognised revenue of £362.4 million (FY23: £413.2 million) which is primarily arising from contracts with 
customers in developing residential and commercial properties, as described in note 6. This is considered to be 
a critical judgement for the Group, as noted on page 105 and considered by the Audit Committee as a significant 
judgement as per page 77.
In line with IFRS 15 ‘Revenue from contracts with customers’, revenue and margin is recognised on a percentage 
completion basis, being costs incurred to date over total forecast cost. The determination of revenue in relation to 
open contracts contains various assumptions that require management judgement, as described in note 3.6. 
As such, we have identified a key audit matter in relation to the risk, either due to fraud or error, to the key 
judgements inherent within certain open development contracts, based on a number of risk factors, including 
forecast costs to complete within the Build To Rent (‘BTR’) and Student Accommodation segments as a key 
determinant for revenue recognised in the year. 
How the scope of 
our audit responded 
to the key audit 
matter
We have performed the following procedures to address this key audit matter:
•	 performed testing of relevant controls over revenue, including controls that address forecasting accuracy, 
including the determination of the stage of completion; 
•	 reconciled revenue per management’s internal cost valuation report (‘CVR’) to the management accounts and 
trial balance being audited; 
•	 validated the key inputs into the CVR process, including reconciling total expected revenue per development to 
signed contract agreements and variation agreements on a sample basis; 
•	 assessed the recoverability of contract amounts held within debtors, by agreement to post year end billing and 
cash receipt;
•	 for a sample of costs incurred to date, we assessed the accuracy and validity by agreement to supporting 
evidence in order to assess the accuracy of management’s calculation of the percentage completion;
•	 performed a stand back review of all live contracts including assessing the accuracy of judgements taken by 
management in relation to risks and opportunities identified within their CVR process through corroboration to 
supporting evidence and review of performance in the post year-end trading period;
•	 evaluated the percentage of procured subcontractor costs for all live contracts through agreement to external 
information, such as invoices and quotes from subcontractors;
•	 with respect to management’s assumptions over unprocured forecast costs, we assessed the validity of the 
inputs used in the CVRs, by comparing them with supporting evidence such as third party quotes and cost 
rates; and
•	 held meetings with relevant commercial directors to understand status of open developments, which 
included assessing their assumptions in relation to costs to complete, and their judgements made about each 
development. 
Key observations
Based on our procedures performed, we are satisfied that the revenue recognised during the year-ended 30 
September 2024 is appropriate. We made recommendations to management with respect to improvements to 
internal controls in this area.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
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93

Independent auditor’s report continued
to the members of Watkin Jones plc
5. Key audit matters continued
5.2. Completeness and valuation of provisions relating to the Building Safety Act 
Key audit matter 
description
As described in notes 4 and 27, the group holds a gross provision of £55.6 million (FY23: £65.6million) in relation to 
the Building Safety Act, of which a reimbursement asset of £7.6 million (FY23: £10.9 million) from property owners 
has been recognised. 
This is also considered by the Audit Committee as a significant judgement as per page 78 and a key source of 
estimation uncertainty in the notes to the financial statements on page 106.
The completeness and valuation of fire-safety provisions is complex and thus requires significant judgement by 
management over the value of the expected costs, including associated legal claims, and contingencies. As such, 
we have assessed completeness and valuation of the provision relating to the Building Safety Act as a key audit 
matter.
How the scope of 
our audit responded 
to the key audit 
matter
We have performed the following procedures to address this key audit matter:
•	 obtained an understanding of relevant controls relating to the Building Safety Act provision; 
•	 assessed how the value of the provision has been determined, whether a present obligation to rectify the 
properties existed at the balance sheet date and that the associated costs have been recorded in the 
appropriate accounting period;
•	 for properties not included in the provision we evaluated management’s judgement as to why there remained 
sufficient uncertainty that such properties should only be included as contingent liabilities, as disclosed in note 
4. This included review of fire safety reports and legal correspondence;  
•	 for sites supported by external quotations assessed the cost estimates against underlying support such as 
quotations from external subcontractors, legal claims and correspondence with third parties, including external 
consultants used by the group in assessing the budgets and estimates used in deriving certain elements of the 
provision;
•	 evaluated the competence, capabilities and objectivity of the external consultants used in supporting 
management’s conclusions;
•	 challenged assumptions made as to the nature and level of contingency held within the provision by reference to 
a number of factors including wider industry and legislative information, the macro-economic uncertainty with 
regards to inflation and cost risk, and the risk of scope increase on remedial works yet to commence;
•	 assessed the completeness of the provision by inquiring of the of group internal and external legal counsel, 
challenging management’s risk of assessment of the property database on a property by property basis 
through a check of a sample of properties to assess for any contradictory evidence that may suggest a fire 
safety risk exists, using publicly available information such as review of external facades, media searches and 
evidence of open-market sales and lettings;
•	 reviewed legal correspondence and status of litigation matters, assessed the evolution of the regulatory and 
legal landscape;
•	 challenged that the increase in estimated costs has been recorded in the appropriate accounting period by 
assessing that all information that could reasonably be expected to have been obtained by management 
was reflected in the provision recorded in the prior accounting period and that the charge for the year is a 
consequence of new information that became available during FY24; and 
•	 assessed the associated disclosures, including quantification of reimbursement assets associated with certain 
properties, the identification properties for which contingent liabilities have been disclosed, and the key sources 
of estimation uncertainty identified. 
Key observations
Based on the procedures performed we concluded the provision recorded to be appropriate as at 30 September 
2024, however we observed a high level of estimation uncertainty in the assumptions applied.  
Accordingly, we concur with the disclosure of this provision as a key source of estimation uncertainty within note 4 
of the financial statements.
We made recommendations to management with respect to improvements to internal controls in this area.
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6. Our application of materiality
6.1. Materiality
We define materiality as the magnitude of misstatement in the financial statements that makes it probable that the economic decisions of 
a reasonably knowledgeable person would be changed or influenced. We use materiality both in planning the scope of our audit work and 
in evaluating the results of our work.
Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:
Group financial statements
Parent company financial statements
Materiality
£2,440,000 (2023: £2,440,000) 
£2,196,000 (2023: £2,196,000)
Basis for determining 
materiality
0.7% of revenue (2023: 0.6% of revenue).
Our basis for materiality was determined based upon 
2% (FY22: 3%) of the parent company’s net assets 
capped at 90% of group materiality (FY22: capped at 
90% of group materiality).
Rationale for the 
benchmark applied
Revenue is considered to be the most stable 
benchmark for the basis of materiality and a 
key financial metric for the users of the financial 
statements.
The parent company does not generate external 
sales therefore we have determined net assets for the 
current year to be the appropriate basis.
6.2. Performance materiality
We set performance materiality at a level lower than materiality to reduce the probability that, in aggregate, uncorrected and undetected 
misstatements exceed the materiality for the financial statements as a whole. 
Group financial statements
Parent company financial statements
Performance 
materiality
50% of group materiality (2023: 60%)
70% of parent company materiality (2023: same)
Basis and rationale 
for determining 
performance 
materiality
In determining performance materiality, we considered the following factors: 
•	 the control environment in place across the group;
•	 the wider macro-economic environment and inherent uncertainty in the market impacting upon the 
performance of the group in FY24; and
•	 the level of corrected and uncorrected misstatements identified in the prior year audit.
6.3. Error reporting threshold
We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to the Committee all audit differences in excess of £122,000 (2023: £122,000), 
as well as differences below that threshold that, in our view, warranted reporting on qualitative grounds. We also report to the Audit 
Committee on disclosure matters that we identified when assessing the overall presentation of the financial statements.
7. An overview of the scope of our audit
7.1. Identification and scoping of components
The group operates solely in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Our group audit was scoped by obtaining an understanding of the group 
and its environment, including group-wide controls, and assessing the risks of material misstatement at the group and component level.  
The audit was performed solely by the group audit team in the UK.
We have considered reporting components based on their contribution to group revenue and profit, as well as qualitative considerations.
Reporting components in scope, being the main trading component of the group and the parent company, was subject to an audit 
materiality level of £1.2 million and £2.2 million respectively (FY23 £1.4 million and £2.2 million). Our full scope and specified audit 
procedures covered 98% of Group revenue and 98% of Group operating profit.  
7.2. Our consideration of the control environment 
We obtained an understanding of the relevant internal controls over key audit matters as referenced above. 
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
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Independent auditor’s report continued
to the members of Watkin Jones plc
7. An overview of the scope of our audit continued
7.3. Our consideration of climate-related risks 
In planning our audit, we have considered the potential impact of climate change on the group’s business and its financial statements.
As noted within the Sustainability Report starting on page 41 the group has assessed the risk and opportunities relevant to climate change 
and has not identified a principal risk in relation to climate change.
We performed our own risk assessment of the potential impact of climate change on the group’s account balances and classes of 
transaction and did not identify any risks of material misstatement. Our procedures included reading disclosures in the strategic report to 
consider whether they are materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained in the audit.
8. Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report 
thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our 
report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with 
the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to 
a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a 
material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
9. Responsibilities of directors
As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial 
statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary 
to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent company’s ability to continue 
as a going concern, disclosing as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless 
the directors either intend to liquidate the group or the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
10. Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, 
whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of 
assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when 
it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably 
be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at:  
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
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11. Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our 
responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our 
procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below. 
11.1. Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and 
regulations, we considered the following:
•	 the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance including the design of the group’s remuneration 
policies, key drivers for directors’ remuneration, bonus levels and performance targets;
•	 results of our enquiries of management, internal audit, the directors and the audit committee about their own identification and 
assessment of the risks of irregularities, including those that are specific to the group’s sector; 
•	 any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the group’s documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:
•	 identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance; 
•	 detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; 
•	 the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations. 
•	 the matters discussed among the audit engagement team and relevant internal specialists, including valuations, IT, and real estate 
specialists regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and 
identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: revenue recognition, and the completeness and valuation of provisions 
relating to the Building Safety Act. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to 
respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the group operates in, focusing on provisions of those 
laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key 
laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act, Listing Rules, Building Safety Regulations, and tax 
legislation.  
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but 
compliance with which may be fundamental to the group’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty.
11.2. Audit response to risks identified
As a result of performing the above, we identified revenue recognition and the completeness and valuation of provisions relating to the 
Building Safety Act as key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud. The key audit matters section of our report explains the 
matters in more detail and also describes the specific procedures we performed in response to those key audit matters. 
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
•	 reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with provisions of relevant 
laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements; 
•	 enquiring of management, the audit committee and the group’s internal and external legal counsel concerning actual and potential 
litigation and claims;
•	 performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement 
due to fraud; 
•	 reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, reviewing internal audit reports and reviewing correspondence with 
HMRC; and 
•	 in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other 
adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating 
the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business. 
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members including 
internal specialists, and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
 
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
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Independent auditor’s report continued
to the members of Watkin Jones plc
Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
12. Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
•	 the information given in the strategic report and the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are 
prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
•	 the strategic report and the directors’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and their environment obtained in the course 
of the audit, we have not identified any material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report.
13. Matters on which we are required to report by exception
13.1. Adequacy of explanations received and accounting records
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
•	 we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
•	 adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received 
from branches not visited by us; or
•	 the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns.
We have nothing to report in respect of these matters.
13.2. Directors’ remuneration
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are also required to report if in our opinion certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration have not 
been made.
We have nothing to report in respect of these matters.
14. Use of our report
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. 
Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in 
an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone 
other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Scott Bayne FCA (Senior statutory auditor)
For and on behalf of Deloitte LLP 
Statutory Auditor 
Manchester, United Kingdom
23 January 2025
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Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 30 September 2024
Year ended 30 September 2024
Year ended 30 September 2023
Notes
Before
exceptional
items
£’000
Exceptional
items
£’000
Total
£’000
Before
exceptional
items
£’000
Exceptional
items
£’000
Total
£’000
Continuing operations
Revenue
6
362,371
—
362,371
413,236
—
413,236
Cost of sales
(328,565)
—
(328,565)
(378,377)
—
(378,377)
Gross profit
33,806
—
33,806
34,859
—
34,859
Administrative expenses
8
(29,499)
(7,001)
(36,500)
(34,689)
(38,140)
(72,829)
Profit on disposal of subsidiary
19
6,260
—
6,260
—
—
—
Operating profit/(loss)
10,567
(7,001)
3,566
170
(38,140)
(37,970)
Share of loss in joint ventures
20
(8)
—
(8)
(13)
—
(13)
Finance income
1,008
—
1,008
496
—
496
Finance costs
12
(2,356)
(2,517)
(4,873)
(3,514)
(1,458)
(4,972)
Profit/(loss) before tax 
9,211
(9,518)
(307)
(2,861)
(39,598)
(42,459)
Income tax (expense)/credit
13
(178)
2,380
2,202
1,196
8,716
9,912
Profit/(loss) for the year attributable 
to ordinary equity holders of the 
parent
9,033
(7,138)
1,895
(1,665)
(30,882)
(32,547)
Other comprehensive income
That will not be reclassified to profit 
or loss in subsequent periods:
Net loss on equity instruments 
designated at fair value through other 
comprehensive income, net of tax
(236)
—
(236)
(188)
—
(188)
Total comprehensive income/(loss) 
for the year attributable to ordinary 
equity holders of the parent
8,797
(7,138)
1,659
(1,853)
(30,882)
(32,735)
Pence
Pence
Pence
Pence
Pence
Pence
Earnings per share for the year 
attributable to ordinary equity 
holders of the parent
Basic earnings/(loss) per share
14
3.521
(2.782)
0.739
(0.649)
(12.043)
(12.692)
Diluted earnings/(loss) per share
14
3.497
(2.763)
0.734
(0.649)
(12.043)
(12.692)
The notes on pages 103 to 139 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 
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Consolidated statement of financial position
as at 30 September 2024
Notes
30 September 
2024
£’000
30 September
2023
£’000
Non-current assets
Intangible assets
16
11,047
11,606
Investment property (leased)
17
20,751
24,240
Right-of-use assets
17
5,747
5,276
Property, plant and equipment
18
1,401
1,796
Investment in joint ventures
20
7,952
1
Reimbursement assets
27
6,147
4,007
Deferred tax assets
28
15,090
12,096
Other financial assets
29
866
1,129
69,001
60,151
Current assets
Inventory and work in progress
21
94,266
123,516
Contract assets
22
36,538
66,368
Trade and other receivables
23
31,191
35,104
Reimbursement assets
27
1,470
6,858
Current tax receivable
2,461
7,088
Cash and cash equivalents
24
96,962
72,431
262,888
311,365
Total assets
331,889
371,516
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
25
(86,054)
(100,723)
Contract liabilities
22
(3,252)
(1,469)
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
26
—
—
Lease liabilities
17
(7,750)
(7,567)
Provisions
27
(12,090)
(24,457)
(109,146)
(134,216)
Non-current liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
26
(13,591)
(28,530)
Lease liabilities
17
(33,019)
(37,628)
Provisions
27
(43,543)
(41,137)
(90,153)
(107,295)
Total liabilities
(199,299)
(241,511)
Net assets
132,590
130,005
Equity
Share capital
31
2,567
2,564
Share premium
84,612
84,612
Merger reserve
(75,383)
(75,383)
Fair value reserve of financial assets at FVOCI
162
425
Share‑based payment reserve
32
1,780
1,407
Retained earnings
118,852
116,380
Total equity
132,590
130,005
The notes on pages 103 to 139 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Approved by the Board of Directors on 23 January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Alex Pease
Director
100	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 September 2024
Share
capital
£’000
Share
premium
£’000
Merger
reserve
£’000
Fair value
reserve of
financial
assets at 
FVOCI
£’000
Share-based
payment
reserve
£’000
Retained
earnings 
£’000
Total
£’000
Balance at 30 September 2022
2,564
84,612
(75,383)
662
526
163,972
176,953
Loss for the year
—
—
—
—
—
(32,547)
(32,547)
Other comprehensive income
—
—
—
(237)
—
49
(188)
Total comprehensive income
—
—
—
(237)
— 
(32,498)
(32,735)
Share-based payments (note 32)
—
—
—
—
1,067
—
1,067
Recycled reserve for fully vested 
share-based payment schemes
—
—
—
—
(186)
186
—
Deferred tax debited directly to equity 
(note 28)
—
—
—
—
—
(151)
(151)
Dividend paid (note 15)
—
—
—
—
—
(15,129) 
(15,129)
Balance at 30 September 2023
2,564
84,612
(75,383)
425
1,407
116,380
130,005
Profit for the year
—
—
—
—
—
1,895
1,895
Other comprehensive income
—
—
—
(263)
—
27
(236)
Total comprehensive income
—
—
—
(263)
—
1,922
1,659
Share-based payments (note 32)
—
—
—
—
901
—
901
Recycled reserve for fully vested 
share-based payment schemes
—
—
—
—
(528)
528
—
Issue of new share capital
3
—
—
—
—
—
3
Deferred tax credited directly to 
equity (note 28)
—
—
—
—
—
22
22
Dividend paid (note 15)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Balance at 30 September 2024
2,567
84,612
(75,383)
162
1,780
118,852
132,590
The notes on pages 103 to 139 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
101

Consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 30 September 2024
Notes
Year ended
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended 
30 September
2023
£’000
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash inflow/(outflow) from operations
33
27,521
(17,215)
Interest received
1,008
496
Interest paid
(2,177)
(3,315)
Tax received/(paid)
3,872
(11,466)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
30,224
(31,500)
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment
(120)
(550)
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment
12
210
Proceeds on disposal of PRS assets 
—
15,323
Proceeds on disposal of subsidiary
6,260
—
Repayment of related party loan following disposal of subsidiary
18,540
—
Investments in joint venture interests
(7,951)
—
Net cash inflow from investing activities
16,741
14,983
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid
15
—
(15,129)
Payment of principal portion of lease liabilities
(7,370)
(6,806)
Drawdown of RCF
—
27,579
Repayment of bank loans and RCF
(15,064)
(27,537)
Net cash outflow from financing activities
(22,434)
(21,893)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash
24,531
(38,410)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 October 2023 and 1 October 2022
72,431
110,841
Cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2024 and 30 September 2023
96,962
72,431
The notes on pages 103 to 139 are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
 
102	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Notes to the consolidated financial statements
for the year ended 30 September 2024
1. General information
Watkin Jones plc (the ‘Company’) is a 
public limited company incorporated in 
the United Kingdom under the Companies 
Act 2006 (registration number 9791105) 
and its shares are listed on the Alternative 
Investment Market of the London Stock 
Exchange. The Company is domiciled in 
the United Kingdom and its registered 
address is 12 Soho Square, London, 
United Kingdom, W1D 3QF. 
The principal activities of the Company and 
its subsidiaries (collectively the ‘Group’) 
are those of property development and 
the management of properties for multiple 
residential occupation.
The consolidated financial statements for 
the Group for the year ended 30 September 
2024 comprise the Company and its 
subsidiaries. The basis of preparation of 
the consolidated financial statements is set 
out in note 3.1 below.
2. Basis of preparation 
The financial statements of the Group 
have been prepared and approved by the 
Directors in accordance with International 
Accounting Standards in conformity 
with the requirements of the Companies 
Act 2006 and in accordance with United 
Kingdom adopted International Accounting 
Standards. 
The preparation of financial information in 
conformity with IFRS requires management 
to make estimates and assumptions that 
affect the reported amounts of assets 
and liabilities at the date of the financial 
statements and the reported amounts 
of revenues and expenses during the 
reporting period. Although these estimates 
are based on management’s best 
knowledge of the amount, event or actions, 
actual events may ultimately differ from 
those estimates.
The accounting policies set out in the 
notes have, unless otherwise stated, 
been applied consistently to all periods 
presented in these financial statements. 
The financial statements are prepared 
on the historical cost basis except as 
disclosed in these accounting policies.
The financial statements are presented in 
pounds sterling and all values are rounded 
to the nearest thousand (£’000), except 
when otherwise indicated. 
3. Accounting policies 
This section sets out the Group’s 
accounting policies that relate to the 
financial statements as a whole. Where an 
accounting policy is specific to a particular 
note to the financial statements, the policy 
is described in the note to which it relates.
3.1 Basis of consolidation
Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the 
date of acquisition, being the date on which 
the Group obtains control, and continue to 
be consolidated until the date when such 
control ceases. Control is achieved when 
the Group is exposed, or has rights, to 
variable returns from its involvement with 
the investee and has the ability to affect 
those returns through its power over the 
investee. The financial statements of the 
subsidiaries are prepared for the same 
reporting period as the parent company, 
using consistent accounting policies. 
All intra-group balances, transactions, 
unrealised gains and losses resulting from 
intra-group transactions and dividends are 
eliminated in full.
When the Group loses control of a 
subsidiary, the gain or loss on disposal 
recognised in profit or loss is calculated as 
the difference between (i) the aggregate of 
the fair value of the consideration received 
and the fair value of any retained interest 
and (ii) the previous carrying amount of the 
assets (including goodwill), less liabilities 
of the subsidiary. Where a subsidiary being 
disposed constitutes a business, and 
control is transferred to a joint venture, 
the gain or loss on disposal is recognised 
in full under IFRS 10. The fair value of 
any investment retained in a former 
subsidiary at the date when control is 
lost is regarded as the fair value on initial 
recognition for subsequent accounting 
under IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’ when 
applicable, or the cost on initial recognition 
of an investment in an associate or a 
joint venture.
The terms of the acquisition of the shares 
in Watkin Jones Group Limited by the 
Company on its IPO in March 2016 in 
the year ended 30 September 2016 
were such that the Group reconstruction 
should be accounted for as a continuation 
of the existing Group rather than as 
an acquisition, and as such merger 
accounting was applied. Accordingly, the 
difference between the cash consideration 
paid and the nominal value of the share 
capital acquired as part of the Group 
reconstruction was reflected against a 
merger reserve.
3.2 Going concern
The Directors have undertaken a thorough 
review of the Group’s ability to continue 
to trade as a going concern for the period 
to 31 January 2026 (the ‘forecast period’). 
This review has been undertaken taking 
into consideration the following matters.
Liquidity
At 30 September 2024, the Group had a 
robust liquidity position, with cash and 
available headroom in its banking facilities 
totalling £143.2 million, as set out below.
£m
Cash balances
97.0
RCF headroom
36.2
Overdraft facility
10.0
Total cash and available 
facilities
143.2
Strong liquidity has been maintained 
through the first quarter of the year ending 
30 September 2025, providing the Group 
with a good level of cash and available 
banking facilities for the year ahead.
The Group’s revolving credit facility 
(RCF) is committed and has recently 
been extended to November 2027 to 
give flexibility given the current market 
conditions. The overdraft facility has been 
replaced with a £10.0 million accordion 
option within the RCF, which reduces 
associated facility charges for the Group. 
The RCF can be used for the acquisition 
of land and associated development works. 
All financial covenants under this facility 
were met at 30 September 2024 and are 
forecast to be met throughout the period 
to 31 January 2026.
Business model
Our business model is capital light. By 
forward selling or acting as development 
partners for the majority of our build to 
rent, purpose built student accommodation 
and Refresh developments, we receive 
payment before we incur any significant 
development cash outflows.
In FY24 our business model has evolved 
to include a joint venture structure at 
Stratford, which is not capital intensive but 
does allow us to benefit from future market 
improvement on disposal of the asset.
By controlling our pipeline we are able to 
ensure that we only commit expenditure 
to projects that are either development 
partnerships, are forward sold or on which 
we are undertaking a modest level of 
enabling works.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
103

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
3. Accounting policies continued
3.2 Going concern continued
In certain circumstances we may decide 
to continue construction activities beyond 
the initial enabling phase, without a forward 
sale agreement in place, but we take this 
decision based on our available liquidity 
and can suspend the works should it prove 
necessary. This greatly limits our exposure 
to development expenditure which is not 
covered by cash income.
Sites are normally secured on a subject to 
satisfactory planning basis, which gives us 
time to manage the cash requirements and 
to market them. We also take a cautious 
approach to managing our land acquisition 
programme to ensure that we have 
sufficient liquidity available to complete 
the acquisition of the sites without any new 
forward sales being secured.
The Fresh business receives a regular 
contractual monthly fee income from 
its multiple clients and the short to 
medium‑term risk to its revenue stream 
is low.
Our Refresh business involves little initial 
investment or rolling working capital, with 
works completed generally certified and 
invoiced on a monthly basis. 
For our Affordable Homes business, 
which is currently relatively small and only 
has a few sites in build, we manage our 
development expenditure so that, other 
than for infrastructure works, we only 
commit expenditure where it is supported 
by a forward sales position. In addition, a 
significant portion of our largest site has 
been forward sold such that we will receive 
payment for development works as they 
progress.
We also receive rental income from tenants 
on our leased PBSA assets. The PBSA 
assets are anticipated to be almost fully 
occupied for the 2024/25 academic year. 
Our business model and approach to cash 
management therefore provides a high 
degree of resilience.
Counterparty risk
The Group’s clients are predominantly 
blue-chip institutional funds, and the risk 
of default is low. The funds for a forward 
sold development are normally specifically 
allocated by the client or backed by 
committed debt funding.
For forward sold developments, our cash 
income remains ahead of our development 
expenditure through the life of the 
development, such that if we were exposed 
to a client payment default, we could 
suspend the works, thereby limiting any 
cash exposure.
Fresh has many clients and these are 
mostly institutional funds with low default 
risk.
Base case cash forecast
We have prepared a base case cash 
forecast for the forecast period, based 
on our current business plan and trading 
assumptions for the year. This is well 
supported by our forward sold pipeline 
of two PBSA developments and five 
BTR developments for delivery during 
the period FY25 to FY27, as well as the 
reserved/exchanged and forward sales for 
our Affordable Homes business and the 
contracted income for Fresh and Refresh. 
Our current secured cash flow, derived 
from our forward sold developments and 
other contracted income, net of overheads 
and tax, results in a modest cash utilisation 
over the forecast period, with the result that 
our liquidity position is maintained.
In addition to the secured cash flow, the 
base case forecast assumes a number of 
new forward sales and further house sales, 
which if achieved will result in a further 
strengthening of our liquidity position. 
This scenario includes allowances for 
remedial spend on building safety matters, 
including a contingency value. 
Risk analysis
In addition to the base case forecast, 
we have considered the possibility of 
continued disruption to the market given 
the market turbulence seen in the UK over 
recent years. This is our most significant 
risk as it would greatly limit our ability to 
achieve any further disposals.
We have run a reasonable downside model 
scenario, such that forward sales and new 
site acquisitions are delayed by up to six 
months, to assess the possible impact 
of the above risks. The cash forecast 
prepared under this scenario illustrates that 
adequate liquidity is maintained through 
the forecast period and the financial 
covenants under the RCF would still 
be met. 
The minimum total cash and available 
facilities balance under this scenario was 
£82.2 million (excluding the £10.0 million 
accordion facility). 
We consider the likelihood of events 
occurring which would exhaust the total 
cash and available facilities balances 
remaining to be remote. However, should 
such events occur, management would 
be able to implement reductions in 
discretionary expenditure and consider the 
sale of the Group’s land sites to ensure that 
the Group’s liquidity was maintained.
Conclusion
Based on the thorough review and 
robust downside forecasting undertaken, 
and having not identified any material 
uncertainties that may cast any significant 
doubt, the Board is satisfied that the 
Group will be able to continue to trade for 
the period to 31 January 2026 and has 
therefore adopted the going concern basis 
in preparing the financial statements.
3.3 Business combinations
Business combinations are accounted for 
using the acquisition method. The cost 
of any acquisition is measured as the 
aggregate of the consideration transferred, 
measured at acquisition date fair value. 
There have been no non-controlling 
interests recognised in the business 
combinations to date. Acquisition costs 
incurred are expensed and included in 
administrative expenses.
When the Group acquires a business, 
it assesses the assets and liabilities 
assumed for appropriate classification 
and designation in accordance with 
the contractual terms, economic 
circumstances and pertinent conditions as 
at the acquisition date. Goodwill is initially 
measured at cost, being the excess of the 
aggregate of the consideration transferred 
over the net identifiable assets acquired 
and liabilities assumed. If the fair value of 
the net assets acquired is in excess of the 
aggregate consideration transferred, the 
Group re-assesses whether it has correctly 
identified all of the assets acquired and all 
of the liabilities assumed and reviews the 
procedures used to measure the amounts 
to be recognised at the acquisition date. If 
the re-assessment still results in an excess 
of the fair value of net assets acquired over 
the aggregate consideration transferred, 
then the gain is recognised immediately in 
the statement of comprehensive income.
104	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

After initial recognition, goodwill is 
measured at cost less any accumulated 
impairment losses. Goodwill is carried 
in the statement of financial position 
at deemed cost as at 1 October 2012, 
the date of transition to IFRS for the 
Group, less accumulated impairment 
losses. For the purpose of impairment 
testing, goodwill acquired in a business 
combination is, from the acquisition 
date, allocated to each of the Group’s 
cash‑generating units that are expected to 
benefit from the combination, irrespective 
of whether other assets or liabilities of the 
acquiree are assigned to those units.
Where goodwill has been allocated to a 
cash-generating unit (CGU) and part of 
the operation within that unit is disposed 
of, the goodwill associated with the 
disposed operation is included in the 
carrying amount of the operation when 
determining the gain or loss on disposal. 
Goodwill disposed in these circumstances 
is measured based on the relative values of 
the disposed operation and the portion of 
the CGU retained (note 16).
3.4 Impairment of non‑financial 
assets
At each reporting period, the Group 
reviews the carrying amounts of its 
non‑financial assets to determine whether 
there is any indication that those assets 
have suffered an impairment loss. If any 
such indication exists, the recoverable 
amount of the asset is estimated in order to 
determine the extent of the impairment loss 
(if any). Where it is not possible to estimate 
the recoverable amount of an individual 
asset, the Group estimates the recoverable 
amount of the CGU to which the asset 
belongs.
The recoverable amount is the higher of fair 
value less costs to sell and value in use.
In assessing value in use, the estimated 
future cash flows are discounted to their 
present value using a pre-tax discount rate 
that reflects current market assessments 
of the time value of money and the risks 
specific to the asset.
When the carrying amount of an asset or 
CGU exceeds its recoverable amount, the 
asset is considered impaired and is written 
down to its recoverable amount, with 
any impairment recognised immediately 
through the statement of comprehensive 
income. 
Intangible assets with indefinite useful 
lives are not amortised, but are tested for 
impairment annually, either individually or at 
the CGU level. The assessment of indefinite 
life is reviewed annually to determine 
whether the indefinite life continues to be 
supportable. 
If not, the change in useful life from 
indefinite to finite is made on a prospective 
basis.
If indication exists that previously 
recognised impairment losses no longer 
exist or have decreased, the Group 
estimates the asset’s or CGU’s recoverable 
amount. A previously recognised 
impairment loss is reversed only if there 
has been a change in the assumptions 
used to determine the asset’s recoverable 
amount since the last impairment loss was 
recognised. 
The reversal is limited so that the carrying 
amount of the asset does not exceed 
its recoverable amount, nor exceed the 
carrying amount that would have been 
determined, net of depreciation, had no 
impairment loss been recognised for 
the asset in prior years. Such reversal 
is recognised in the statement of 
comprehensive income unless the asset 
is carried at a revalued amount, in which 
case the reversal is treated as a revaluation 
reserve. No impairment loss in respect of 
goodwill is permitted to be reversed.
3.5 Foreign currency
The Group’s presentational currency, 
which is pounds sterling, is also the 
functional currency of the parent and its 
subsidiaries. Foreign currency transactions 
are translated into the functional currency 
using the exchange rates prevailing at the 
dates of those transactions.
Monetary assets and liabilities 
denominated in foreign currencies at each 
reporting date are retranslated at the 
foreign exchange rate ruling at that date. 
Foreign exchange differences arising on 
translation are recognised in the statement 
of comprehensive income.
3.6 Revenue recognition
Revenue recognition is a critical judgement 
for the Group. 
When the Group recognises revenue under 
a construction contract or development 
agreement, revenue is recognised using 
the percentage of completion method as 
construction progresses with the estimated 
total revenue and cost to complete forming 
key estimates in determining the amount of 
revenue recognised. 
The estimates for total contract costs 
take account of any uncertainties in the 
cost of work packages which have not yet 
been let and materials which have not yet 
been procured, the expected cost of any 
changes in the scope of works and the 
expected cost of any rectification works 
during the defects liability period. 
4. Key sources of estimation 
uncertainty
In the application of the Group’s accounting 
policies, management are required to make 
judgements, estimates and assumptions 
about the carrying amounts of assets and 
liabilities that are not readily apparent from 
other sources.
Estimates and assumptions
Estimates and underlying assumptions are 
reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to 
accounting estimates are recognised in the 
period in which the estimate is revised if the 
revision affects only that period, or in the 
period of the revision and future periods if 
the revision affects both current and future 
periods.
Impairment of investment property 
(leased)
As described in note 17, the Group 
assesses at each reporting date whether 
there is an indication that an asset may 
be impaired. If any indication exists, the 
Group estimates the asset’s recoverable 
amount. The recoverable amount is 
the higher of an asset’s fair value less 
costs of disposal and its value in use. 
The Group treats each of its student 
accommodation leaseback arrangements 
as a separate cash‑generating unit 
for impairment testing. Where there is 
evidence of impairment, the value in use 
for its student accommodation investment 
property (leased) assets is calculated using 
estimates of the future economic benefits 
that will be derived from the operations of 
each property, which is discounted using 
an estimated discount rate reflecting the 
market assessment of risk that would 
be applied to each asset. This estimate 
of value in use is then compared to 
the net book value of the investment 
property (leased) to determine whether an 
impairment provision is required. Further 
details are included in note 17.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
105

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
4. Key sources of estimation 
uncertainty continued
Building safety provision
The Group holds a provision for building 
safety remedial works, for which the 
legislative background was disclosed 
in the Group’s annual report and 
financial statements for the year ended 
30 September 2023.
During the year ended 30 September 2023, 
the Group was formally approached to 
sign up to the Responsible Actors Scheme 
(RAS) which came into force in England on 
4 July 2023.
By signing up to the RAS the Group 
is required to sign the Developers’ 
Remediation Contract (the ‘Contract’) 
which requires us to:
•	 take responsibility for all necessary work 
to address life-critical fire safety defects 
arising from the design and construction 
of buildings 11 metres and over in height 
that we developed or refurbished in 
England over the 30 years ending on 
4 April 2022; 
•	 keep residents in those buildings 
informed about progress towards 
meeting this commitment; and
•	 reimburse taxpayers for funding spent 
on remediating their buildings, i.e. 
where leaseholders have accessed the 
Building Safety Fund to remediate their 
properties.
The Group signed the Contract in 
December 2023. Under the obligations of 
the scheme we have written to building 
owners to understand their position 
regarding those buildings.
The Contract is intended to cover leasehold 
buildings rather than PBSA or BTR, 
and therefore the significant majority of 
buildings that the Group has developed 
over the last 30 years are outside the scope 
of the Contract. There are 13 leasehold 
buildings falling within the scope of the 
RAS, and five of these are included 
within the provision, with no further 
buildings being added during the year 
ended 30 September 2024. To date, no 
communications have been received from 
building owners for any of these remaining 
properties. 
Based on our internal review procedures 
described above, the provision made 
in the year ended 30 September 2023 
included an estimation of works required in 
relation to buildings identified as requiring 
remediation.
Provisions are recognised when three 
criteria are met: 1) the Group has a present 
obligation as a result of a past event;  
2) it is probable that an outflow of 
resources will be required to settle the 
obligation; and 3) a reliable estimate can be 
made of the obligation. 
This is a highly complex area with 
significant estimates in respect of the cost 
of remedial works, the quantum of any legal 
expenditure associated with the defence of 
the Group’s position in this regard, and the 
extent of those properties within the scope 
of the applicable government guidance and 
legislation, which continue to evolve. For 
those properties not covered by the RAS, 
the Group is under no obligation to contact 
property owners. 
In addition, the legislation underpinning the 
determination of liability for remediation of 
fire safety issues is complex, with case law 
evolving. All our buildings were signed off 
by approved inspectors as compliant with 
the relevant Building Regulations at the 
time of completion.
The amount provided for these works has 
been estimated by reference to recent 
industry experience and external quotes for 
similar work identified. The investigation of 
the works required at many of the buildings 
is at an early stage and therefore it is 
possible that these estimates may change 
over time or if government legislation 
and regulation further evolves. If further 
buildings are identified this could also 
increase the required provision, but the 
potential quantity of this change cannot 
be readily determined in the absence of 
such identification through further claims or 
investigative work.
As a number of other housebuilders 
and developers have done since the 
introduction of the RAS, the provision 
made in the year ended 30 September 
2023 included an amount for contingency 
to reflect further buildings being identified 
as within the scope of the RAS and for 
unforeseen remediation costs beyond 
management’s current knowledge.
In 2023, the Welsh Government announced 
a new agreement with developers to tackle 
fire safety defects in medium high‑rise 
residential buildings, known as the 
Developers’ Pact, which the Group signed 
during the year ended 30 September 
2024. The Group has been approached 
in respect of one property which we have 
provided for on the basis that minimal 
remedial works are required. In our view, 
based on the investigative procedures that 
we have carried out, there are no further 
remedial works required to any other Welsh 
properties. 
The Housing (Cladding Remediation) 
(Scotland) Act was passed in June 
2024, and contained provision for the 
Responsible Developers Scheme, a 
remediation agreement for which the 
specific details are still to be agreed with 
developers. It is the Group’s expectation 
that the basis for this scheme will be 
consistent with the RAS, such that it is 
intended to cover leasehold buildings. 
The Group has constructed one leasehold 
property in Scotland, which remains 
under contract. In our view, based on the 
investigative procedures that we have 
carried out, there is no remedial work 
required on that property.
During the year ended 30 September 2024, 
the Group continued to work closely with 
residents and building owners within our 
legacy portfolio. Works were completed at 
three properties, with final legal settlement 
reached for a further three properties, all 
of which were included in the prior year’s 
provision. 
Following the conclusion of investigations 
undertaken, necessary remedial works 
were identified at further properties and 
appropriate costs provided. Contributions 
towards the remediation costs for a number 
of these properties have been agreed with 
building owners.
As remediation of the remaining properties 
in the Group’s programme continues, 
the scope of works at a number of these 
properties has been revised. Whilst for 
certain properties the required level of 
remediation has reduced from original 
estimates, at others the anticipated scope 
and cost for remediation has increased. 
An additional net provision of £7.0 million 
(30 September 2023: £35.0 million) for 
remedial works has therefore been 
made during the year, whilst broadly 
maintaining the level of contingency 
held from the prior year to reflect the 
continued levels of uncertainty of extent of 
remediation required. The net provision at 
30 September 2024 was therefore £48.0 
million (30 September 2023: £54.7 million).
We expect this cost to be incurred over the 
next six years, and the provision has been 
discounted to its present value accordingly. 
The timing of this expenditure will be 
dependent on the timely engagement by 
building owners, revisions to programme 
under the new BSA Gateways, and the 
availability of appropriately qualified 
subcontractors.
106	
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We continue to make progress with negotiating contributions from clients to mitigate our liability in relation to these remedial works and 
received £4.9 million of such contributions during the year. At the balance sheet date the Group has recognised reimbursement assets 
remaining of £7.6 million (30 September 2023: £10.9 million). These are expected to be recovered over the next five years.
At 30 September 2024, the Group remained in discussions with a number of property owners for eight properties whereby the legal 
responsibility or confirmation of fire safety remediation requirements remains uncertain and which therefore form part of the Group’s 
contingent liabilities. As referred to above, the clarification of whether these liabilities crystallise is dependent on multiple factors which 
are expected to be concluded in the next 12 to 24 months. 
At the same time, the Group continues to explore opportunities to recover the costs of remediation through the Group’s insurance 
providers and supply chain. However, no benefit has been assumed within the provision unless contractual terms have been established.   
Of the outstanding net provision, £9.1 million is fixed as a result of legal settlements agreed with building owners. However, for the 
remaining liabilities, should the costs associated with the remedial works increase by 10%, the provision required would increase by 
£3.5 million. Should the discount rate applied to the calculation reduce by 1%, the provision required would increase by £0.8 million. 
Further details of the provision are set out in note 27.
Should an additional property be identified which requires remedial works for which the Group is liable, it would be reasonable to estimate 
the additional cost at c.£0.9 million, based on the average expected cost of works for recently identified properties requiring remediation.
5. New standards and interpretations 
Impact of accounting standards and interpretations in issue but not yet effective
At the reporting date there are a number of new standards and amendments to existing standards in issue but not yet effective. 
The Group has not adopted the new or amended standards early in preparing these consolidated financial statements.
The following new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board 
(IASB) became effective during the year:
Standard or interpretation
Effective for
accounting 
periods 
beginning on 
or after
IFRS 17 – Insurance Contracts
1 January 2023
Definition of Account Estimates – Amendments to IAS 8
1 January 2023
Disclosure of Accounting Policies – Amendments to IAS 1 and IFRS Practice Statement 2
1 January 2023
Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities arising from a Single Transaction – Amendments to IAS 12
1 January 2023
There is no impact from these standards.
The following standards and interpretations that are anticipated to be relevant to the Group have an effective date after the date of 
these financial statements. The Group has not early adopted them and plans to adopt them from the effective dates once endorsed for 
application in the UK. These standards are not expected to have a significant impact on the Group’s consolidated financial statements.
Standard or interpretation
Effective for
accounting 
periods 
beginning on 
or after
Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback – Amendment to IFRS 16
1 January 2024
Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current – Amendments to IAS 1
1 January 2024
Non-current Liabilities with Covenants – Amendments to IAS 1
1 January 2024
Supplier Finance Arrangements – Amendments to IAS 1
1 January 2024
Lack of Exchangeability – Amendment to IAS 21
1 January 2025
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
107

6. Disaggregated revenue information
Accounting policy
The Group’s primary sources of revenue from contracts with customers are from developing residential and commercial 
properties. It also provides accommodation management services to third parties. When developing purpose built student 
accommodation (PBSA), build to rent (BTR) and commercial properties, the Group often acquires the land on which the 
development will be constructed before it is sold to a customer alongside a construction contract or development agreement 
for the delivery of the relevant scheme. 
Sale of land or completed property
The Group derives a significant portion of its revenue from the sale of land, and the development and sale of completed 
residential and commercial properties. Most of the Group’s land sale agreements relate to sites for PBSA and BTR 
developments where the Group has obtained planning permission and they are sold to customers in conjunction with a 
construction contract for the Group to deliver the property.
Contracts for the sale of land and completed residential and commercial developments are typically satisfied at a point in 
time. This is usually deemed to be the legal completion as this is the point at which the Group has an enforceable right to 
payment. Revenue from the sale of land, residential and commercial properties is measured at the transaction price agreed 
in the contract with the customer. 
Construction contracts and development agreements
Construction contracts and development agreements mainly relate to the development of PBSA and BTR properties along 
with any commercial elements of these projects, our Refresh business and our affordable housing projects. The duration of the 
contracts vary but are typically 18 to 30 months in duration. Most contracts are considered to contain only one performance 
obligation for the purposes of recognising revenue, being the development of the scheme to the agreed specification. 
While the scope of works may include a number of different components, in the context of construction service activities 
these are usually highly interrelated and produce a combined output for the customer.
Contracts are typically recognised over time as the development works are undertaken on land owned and therefore 
controlled by the customer, with the services being provided by the Group enhancing that land through the construction 
of a building and associated landscaping and enabling works. In addition, the construction contracts or development 
agreements provide an enforceable right to payment for the value of construction works performed. Progress is typically 
measured through valuation of the works undertaken by a professional quantity surveyor, including an assessment of any 
elements for which a price has not yet been agreed, such as changes in scope.
In order to recognise the profit over time it is necessary to estimate the total contract revenue and costs. Once the outcome 
of a performance obligation of a construction contract, affordable housing project or development agreement can be 
reasonably measured, margin is recognised in the income statement in line with the corresponding stage of completion.
Total contract revenue
Contract revenue corresponds to the initial amount of revenue agreed in the contract and any variations in contract work, claims 
and incentive payments to the extent that it is probable that they will result in revenue, and they are capable of being reliably 
measured. Payments due to customers which relate to these same contractual obligations are treated as a reduction to revenue.
Total contract costs 
The estimates for total contract costs take account of any uncertainties in the cost of work packages which have not yet 
been placed and materials which have not yet been procured, the expected cost of any changes in the scope of works and 
the expected cost of any rectification works during the defects liability period. 
Contract costs include costs that relate directly to the specific contract and costs that are attributable to contract activity 
in general and can be allocated to the contract. Costs that relate directly to a specific contract comprise: site labour costs 
(including site supervision); costs of materials used in construction; depreciation of equipment used on the contract; costs of 
design; and technical assistance that is directly related to the contract.
Significant financing component
The Group often enters into construction contracts or development agreements which entail a final payment upon the 
practical completion of the property, typically linked to its timely completion. 
These amounts are included in the estimates for total contract revenue for a scheme such that the period between the 
recognition of revenue by the Group and when the customer pays can be greater than one year. This difference arises for 
reasons other than the provision of finance to the customer as it is intended to provide protection to the customer that 
the Group fulfils its obligations under the contract. Accordingly, these contracts are not deemed to contain a significant 
financing component. 
Accommodation management
Management fees relate to contracted charges for the provision of management services as an agent to landlords of PBSA and 
BTR properties. Management fees are recognised in line with the management contracts in the period to which they relate.
Rental income
Rents receivable are credited to the statement of comprehensive income on a straight-line basis.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
108	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Year ended 30 September 2024
Student
Accommodation
£’000
Build
To Rent
£’000
Affordable
Homes
£’000
Refresh  
£’000
Accommodation
Management
£’000
Corporate
£’000
Total
£’000
Type of goods or service
Construction contracts or 
development agreements
97,765
211,267
6,699
10,896
—
—
326,627
Sale of land
9,850
—
—
—
—
1,457
11,307
Sale of completed property
—
—
6,159
—
—
—
6,159
Rental or other income
9,989
—
21
—
—
204
10,214
Accommodation management
—
—
—
—
8,064
—
8,064
Total revenue from contracts 
with customers
117,604
211,267
12,879
10,896
8,064
1,661
362,371
Timing of revenue recognition
Goods transferred at a point 
in time
9,850
—
6,453
—
—
1,457
17,760
Services transferred over time
107,754
211,267
6,426
10,896
8,064
204
344,611
Total revenue from contracts 
with customers
117,604
211,267
12,879
10,896
8,064
1,661
362,371
Year ended 30 September 2023
Student
Accommodation
£’000
Build
To Rent
£’000
Affordable
Homes
£’000
Refresh
£’000
Accommodation
Management
£’000
Corporate
£’000
Total
£’000
Type of goods or service
Construction contracts or 
development agreements
145,067
196,199
8,908
—
—
—
350,174
Sale of land
21,700
10,450
—
—
—
—
32,150
Sale of completed property
—
—
10,699
—
—
—
10,699
Rental or other income
8,972
1,062
—
—
—
698
10,732
Accommodation management
—
—
—
—
9,481
—
9,481
Total revenue from contracts 
with customers
175,739
207,711
19,607
—
9,481
698
413,236
Timing of revenue recognition
Goods transferred at a point 
in time
21,700
10,450
11,719
—
—
—
43,869
Services transferred over time
154,039
197,261
7,888
—
9,481
698
369,367
Total revenue from contracts 
with customers
175,739
207,711
19,607
—
9,481
698
413,236
Revenue from three customers (2023: four) in the year accounted for more than 10% of total revenue, representing revenue of 
£210,845,000 (2023: £315,465,000). Of this, £32,519,000 was reported under the Student Accommodation segment, £169,356,000 was 
reported under the Build To Rent segment, and £8,970,000 (2023: £nil) was reported under the Refresh segment.
7. Segmental reporting
Accounting policy
Operating segments are identified in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating 
decision‑maker. The Group determines its reportable segments having regard to permitted aggregation criteria with the 
principal condition being that the operating segments should have similar economic characteristics. For the purposes of 
determining its operating segments, the chief operating decision‑maker has been identified as the Executive Committee. 
This committee approves investment decisions, allocates the Group’s resources and reviews the internal reporting in order 
to assess performance.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
109

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
7. Segmental reporting continued
The Group has identified six segments for which it reports under IFRS 8 ‘Operating Segments’. The following represents the segments 
that the Group operated in during FY24 and FY23:
a.	
Student Accommodation – the development of purpose built student accommodation;
b.	
Build To Rent – the development of build to rent accommodation;
c.	
Affordable Homes – the development of residential housing; 
d.	
Refresh – the refurbishment, redevelopment and repurposing of existing accommodation; 
e.	
Accommodation Management – the management of student accommodation and build to rent/private rental sector (PRS) property; 
and
f.	
Corporate – revenue from the development of commercial property forming part of mixed‑use schemes and other revenue and costs 
not solely attributable to any one other operating segment.
All revenues arise in the UK.
Performance is measured by the Board based on gross profit as reported in the management accounts.
Apart from inventory and work in progress, no other assets or liabilities are analysed into the operating segments.
Year ended 30 September 2024
Student
Accommodation
£’000
Build
To Rent
£’000
Affordable
Homes
£’000
Refresh
£’000
Accommodation
Management
£’000
Corporate
£’000
Total
£’000
Revenue
117,604
211,267
12,879
10,896
8,064
1,661
362,371
Segmental gross profit/(loss)
13,634
18,019
(232)
1,548
4,390
(2,784)
34,575
Impairment of land assets
—
—
—
—
—
(769)
(769)
Gross profit/(loss)
13,634
18,019
(232)
1,548
4,390
(3,553)
33,806
Administration expenses
—
—
—
—
(4,799)
(24,700)
(29,499)
Profit on disposal of subsidiary
6,260
—
—
—
—
—
6,260
Exceptional administrative 
expenses
—
—
—
—
—
(7,001)
(7,001)
Operating profit/(loss)
19,894
18,019
(232)
1,548
(409)
(35,254)
3,566
Share of loss in joint ventures
—
—
—
—
—
(8)
(8)
Finance income
—
—
—
—
—
1,008
1,008
Finance costs
—
—
—
—
—
(2,356)
(2,356)
Exceptional finance costs
—
—
—
—
—
(2,517)
(2,517)
Profit/(loss) before tax
19,894
18,019
(232)
1,548
(409)
(39,127)
(307)
Taxation
—
—
—
—
—
2,202
2,202
Continuing profit/(loss) for 
the year
19,894
18,019
(232)
1,548
(409)
(36,925)
1,895
Profit for the year attributable 
to ordinary equity 
shareholders of the parent
1,895
Inventory and work in progress 
(note 21)
42,701
25,958
23,511
508
—
1,588
94,266
110	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Year ended 30 September 2023
Student
Accommodation
£’000
Build
To Rent
£’000
Affordable
Homes
£’000
Refresh
£’000
Accommodation
Management
£’000
Corporate
£’000
Total
£’000
Revenue
175,739
207,711
19,607
—
9,481
698
413,236
Segmental gross profit
11,409
19,836
1,920
—
5,988
1,202
40,355
Impairment of land assets
—
—
—
—
—
(5,496)
(5,496)
Gross profit/(loss)
11,409
19,836
1,920
—
5,988
(4,294)
34,859
Administration expenses
—
—
—
—
(5,441)
(24,664)
(30,105) 
Loss on disposal of PRS assets
—
—
—
—
—
(4,584)
(4,584)
Exceptional administrative 
expenses
—
—
—
—
—
(38,140)
(38,140) 
Operating profit/(loss)
11,409
19,836
1,920
—
547
(71,682)
(37,970)
Share of loss in joint ventures
—
—
—
—
—
(13)
(13) 
Finance income
—
—
—
—
—
496
496
Finance costs
—
—
—
—
—
(3,514)
(3,514) 
Exceptional finance costs
—
—
—
—
—
(1,458)
(1,458)
Profit/(loss) before tax
11,409
19,836
1,920
—
547
(76,171)
(42,459)
Taxation
—
—
—
—
—
9,912
9,912 
Continuing profit/(loss) for 
the year
11,409
19,836
1,920
—
547
(66,259)
(32,547)
Profit for the year attributable 
to ordinary equity 
shareholders of the parent
(32,547)
Inventory and work in progress 
(note 21)
83,430
10,970
27,314
—
—
1,802
123,516
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
111

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
8. Exceptional costs
Accounting policy
Exceptional items are disclosed separately in the financial statements where it is necessary to do so to provide further 
understanding of the financial performance of the Group. They are items of income or expense that are material to the Group 
in aggregate and have arisen from one-off or unusual circumstances that could not reasonably have been expected to arise 
from normal trading.
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2023
£’000
Recognised in administrative expenses
Building Safety provision
7,001
35,000
Restructuring costs
—
3,140
Total exceptional items recognised in administrative expenses
7,001
38,140
Recognised in finance costs
Unwind of discount rate on Building Safety provision
2,517
1,458
Total exceptional items recognised in finance costs
2,517
1,458
Total exceptional costs
9,518
39,598
There has been an additional charge of £7,001,000 (2023: charge of £35,000,000) taken in relation to provisions made for Building Safety 
related costs. The provision made in the prior year has been unwound to its present value, resulting in £2,517,000 (2023: £1,458,000) of 
finance costs. Further information on these charges is included in note 4 and note 27.
All of the exceptional costs in the year were treated as allowable deductions for corporation tax purposes.
9. Total operating profit
This is stated after charging/(crediting):
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Audit services to the parent company
100
100
Audit services to the subsidiaries
425
275
Amortisation of intangible assets 
559
559
Impairment of land assets (see note 21)
769
5,496
Depreciation:
   Property, plant and equipment
411
697
   Investment property (leased)
4,432
4,217
   Right-of-use assets
1,503
1,474
Loss on disposal of PRS assets
—
4,584
Loss/(profit) on disposal of property, plant and equipment
91
(294)
112	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

10. Staff numbers and costs
The average number of persons employed by the Group (including Directors) during the year, analysed by category, was as follows:
Number of employees
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
Year ended
30 September
2023
Construction
189
217
Accommodation management
308
371
Management and administration
118
123
615
711
The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2023
£’000
Wages and salaries
28,585
28,976 
Employee incentive – long-term incentive plans (note 32)
901
1,067
Social security costs
3,603
3,911
Defined contribution pension costs
1,056
1,081
34,145
35,035
Pensions
The Group operates a defined contribution Group personal pension plan scheme for the benefit of the employees and certain Directors. 
The assets of the scheme are administered in a fund independent from those of the Group. Contributions during the year amounted to 
£1,056,000 (2023: £1,081,000). There were £130,915 unpaid contributions at the end of the year (2023: £138,088). 
The Group also operates a small defined contribution scheme for the benefit of certain former employees. This scheme is closed to new 
entrants. The assets of the scheme are administered by trustees in a fund independent from those of the Group. Contributions during the 
year amounted to £nil (2023: £nil).
Key management personnel
The Group considers that its Directors and other senior managers who are either members of the Executive Committee or Directors of 
Watkin Jones & Son Limited are key management personnel for the purposes of IAS 24 ‘Related Parties’.
The aggregate payroll costs of key management personnel were as follows:
Year ended
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2023
 £’000
Wages and salaries
3,435
2,810
Compensation for loss of office
169
—
Employee incentive – long-term incentive plans (note 32)
901
822
Social security costs
491
391
Pension costs
183
181
5,179
4,204
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
113

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
11. Directors’ emoluments
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Wages and salaries
1,867
1,461 
Long-term employee incentives exercised in period
—
— 
Social security costs
264
210
Pension costs
110
114
2,241
1,785
Highest paid Director:
Emoluments
525
430
Long-term employee incentives exercised in period
—
—
Pension costs
27
73
During the year ended 30 September 2024, no share options were exercised (2023: nil).
12. Finance costs
Accounting policy
All borrowing costs are recognised in the Group’s profit for the year on an effective interest rate (EIR) basis except for 
interest costs that are directly attributable to the construction of qualifying assets, being the Group’s inventory. These are 
capitalised and included within the cost of the asset. Capitalisation commences when both expenditure on the asset and 
borrowing costs are being incurred, and necessary activities to prepare the asset for use are in progress. In the case of new 
developments, this is generally once planning permission has been obtained. Capitalisation ceases when the asset is ready 
for use or sale. Interest capitalised relates to borrowings specific to a development.
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Finance charges
637
1,735
Interest on lease liabilities (note 17)
1,719
1,779
Unwind of discount on Building Safety provision (note 8)
2,517
1,458
4,873
4,972
During the year the Group has capitalised interest payable on bank loans of £1,900,000 (2023: £1,908,000) in development land and work 
in progress. The capitalised interest related to borrowings for specific developments funded using the Group’s revolving credit facility, 
at the rates described in note 26.
13. Income taxes
Accounting policy
Tax on the profit or loss for the year comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the statement of 
comprehensive income except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other comprehensive income (OCI) or those 
recognised directly in equity, in which case it is recognised in accordance with the underlying item.
Current tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year, using tax rates enacted or 
substantively enacted at the reporting date, and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous years.
Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
amounts in the financial statements. Deferred tax is determined using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or 
substantively enacted by the year end and are expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset is realised or the 
deferred tax liability is settled. A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable 
profits will be available against which the temporary difference can be utilised.
114	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Current income tax
UK corporation tax on profits for the year
—
—
Adjustments in respect of prior periods
745
318
Foreign taxes
—
27
Total current tax
745
345
Deferred tax
Origination and reversal of temporary differences
(1,272)
(9,229)
Adjustments in respect of prior year
(1,675)
216
Remeasurement of deferred tax for changes in tax rates
—
(1,244)
Total deferred tax
(2,947)
(10,257)
Total tax credit
(2,202)
(9,912)
Reconciliation of total tax credit:
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Loss before tax
(307)
(42,459)
Loss multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 25% (2023: 22%)
(77)
(9,341)
Fixed asset differences
—
40
Expenses not deductible
369
86
Income not taxable
(1,565)
(36)
Remeasurement of deferred tax for changes in tax rates
—
(1,244)
Other differences
25
178
Differences to foreign tax rates
—
(20)
Adjustments in respect of prior periods
745
318
Prior year adjustment to deferred tax
(1,699)
107
At the effective rate of tax of 717.3% (2023: 23.3%) 
(2,202)
(9,912)
Income tax credit reported in the statement of profit or loss
(2,202)
(9,912)
As a result of the Finance Act 2021, the rate of UK corporation tax increased to 25% from 6 April 2023. The deferred tax assets and 
liabilities held by the Group at the start of the current year have been revalued to reflect this increase. The deferred tax asset arising from 
losses in the period is expected to be fully utilised in the medium term. 
14. Earnings per share
Accounting policy
Basic
Basic earnings per share (EPS) amounts are calculated by dividing the net profit or loss for the year attributable to ordinary 
equity holders of the parent by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year. 
Diluted
Diluted EPS is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of shares in issue by the dilutive effect of ordinary 
shares that the parent may potentially issue relating to its contingent share awards under the Group’s share incentive 
schemes, based upon the number of shares that would be issued if the year-end date was the end of the contingency 
period. Where there is a loss from operations in the financial year, such shares are not considered dilutive.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
115

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
14. Earnings per share continued
The following table reflects the income and share data used in the basic and diluted EPS computations:
Year ended
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Profit/(loss) for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent
1,895
(32,547)
Add back exceptional costs for the year (note 8)
9,518
39,598
Less corporation tax benefit from exceptional costs for the year
(2,380)
(8,716)
Adjusted profit/(loss) for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent (excluding 
exceptional items after tax)
9,033
(1,665)
Year ended
30 September 
2024
Number of 
shares
Year ended
30 September 
2023
Number of 
shares
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for basic earnings per share
256,564,829
256,434,903
Adjustment for the effects of dilutive potential ordinary shares
1,736,691
—
Weighted average number for diluted earnings per share 
258,301,520
256,434,903
Year ended
30 September 
2024
Pence
Year ended
30 September 
2023
Pence
Basic earnings per share
Basic profit/(loss) for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent
0.739 
(12.692)
Adjusted basic earnings per share (excluding exceptional items after tax)
Adjusted profit/(loss) for the year attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent
3.521
(0.649)
Diluted earnings per share
Basic profit/(loss) for the year attributable to diluted equity holders of the parent
0.734 
(12.692)
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (excluding exceptional items after tax)
Adjusted profit/(loss) for the year attributable to diluted equity holders of the parent
3.497 
(0.649)
15. Dividends
Accounting policy
Dividends are recognised through equity when approved by the parent’s shareholders or on payment, whichever is earlier.
Year ended 
30 September 
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Final dividend paid in February 2023 of 4.50 pence per share
—
11,539
Interim dividend paid in June 2023 of 1.40 pence per share
—
3,590
— 
15,129
No final dividend is proposed for the year ended 30 September 2024 (2023: nil pence per ordinary share). As such, no liability 
(2023: liability of £nil) has been recognised at that date. At 30 September 2024, the Company had distributable reserves available of 
£41,643,000 (30 September 2023: £41,115,000).
116	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

16. Intangible assets
Accounting policy
The cost of intangibles acquired as part of a business combination is the fair value at the date of acquisition.
Intangible assets other than goodwill are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. Amortisation 
is charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income within administrative expenses on a straight-line basis 
over the estimated useful lives of the intangible assets as follows:
•	 customer relationships: 11 years; and
•	 brand: ten years.
Customer 
relationships
£’000
Brand
£’000
Goodwill
£’000
Total
£’000
Cost
At 1 October 2022, 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024
5,604
499
9,744
15,847
Amortisation
At 30 September 2022
3,354
328
—
3,682
Amortisation for the year
510
49
—
559
At 30 September 2023
3,864
377
—
4,241
Amortisation for the year
509
50
—
559
At 30 September 2024
4,373
427
— 
4,800
Net book value
At 30 September 2024
1,231
72
9,744
11,047
At 30 September 2023
1,740
122
9,744
11,606
Intangible assets relate to the acquisition of Fresh Property Group Ltd (formerly Fresh Student Living Limited), which was acquired by the 
Group in the year ended 30 September 2016. 
The Directors have assessed whether there are indicators of impairment against each of the customer relationship and brand assets in 
line with IAS 36 as at 30 September 2024. No indicators of impairment have been identified, and therefore no impairment test has been 
performed. 
The Directors have reviewed the carrying value of the goodwill in Fresh Property Group Ltd, which is a single CGU, at 30 September 2024 
compared to its recoverable amount and are satisfied that no impairment is required. The recoverable amount has been based on value in 
use, by reference to the budgets and projected cash flows for the CGU over a five‑year period, with future pre-tax cash flows discounted 
at a rate of 11.90% (2023: 12.25%) to reflect the time value of money. Cash flows beyond the five-year period are extrapolated using a 
3.0% growth rate, which is seen as the long-term average growth rate for the business. 
The following are the key base case assumptions used in projecting the cash flows as at 30 September 2024:
•	 contracted management agreements in place are renewed in line with past experience;
•	 new management agreements are secured to deliver the budgeted units under management for the CGU for the five-year period 
ending 30 September 2029. Units under management are forecast to be approximately 22,000 in FY25, 24,000 in FY26, 27,000 in FY27, 
29,000 in FY28 and 31,000 in FY29. This reflects the CGU’s past success in securing new management agreements in the student 
accommodation sector along with assumed growth in apartments under management in the build to rent market;
•	 management fees charged will increase in line with inflation;
•	 the achieved gross margin is maintained in line with past experience; and
•	 indirect costs are incurred in line with the budgets and five-year plan for the CGU up to the period ending 30 September 2029 and 
thereafter increase at 3.0% per annum.
Impairment calculations are sensitive to changes in the assumptions around trading performance and discount rate. Reasonable 
sensitivities have been applied to these assumptions as two separate scenarios, being a) a reasonable downside scenario with revenue 
reducing compared to the base case by £1.3 million in the first year and c.£10 million across the five-year plan, offset by targeted cost 
mitigation; b) a shortfall in revenue of 5% per annum against the base case with no cost mitigation applied; and c) an increase in the 
discount rate of 1 percentage point. In each of these scenarios there remained significant headroom against the carrying value of the 
goodwill held.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
117

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
17. Leases
Accounting policy
The Group assesses at contract inception whether a contract is, or contains, a lease.
Group as a lessee
Investment property (leased)
The Group has entered into a number of student accommodation sale and leaseback arrangements for which the associated 
right‑of‑use assets are classified as investment property (leased). Investment property (leased) is measured at cost, less 
any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses and adjusted for any remeasurement of lease liabilities. The cost of 
the investment property (leased) includes the amount of lease liabilities recognised, initial direct costs incurred, and lease 
payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received. Investment property (leased) is 
depreciated on a straight‑line basis over the shorter of the lease term and the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:
•	 investment property (leased): 15 to 17 years.
Investment property (leased) is also subject to impairment in accordance with accounting policy 3.4.
Right-of-use assets
The Group recognises right-of-use assets at the commencement date of the lease. Right-of-use assets are measured at 
cost, less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses, and adjusted for any remeasurement of lease liabilities. 
The cost of the right-of-use assets includes the amount of lease liabilities recognised, initial direct costs incurred, and 
lease payments made at or before the commencement date less any lease incentives received. Right‑of‑use assets are 
depreciated on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term and the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:
•	 office properties: two to 25 years; and
•	 motor vehicles: three years.
The right-of-use assets are also subject to impairment in accordance with accounting policy 3.4.
Lease liabilities
At the commencement date of the lease, the Group recognises lease liabilities measured at the present value of lease 
payments to be made over the lease term. The lease payments include fixed payments less any lease incentive receivable, 
variable lease payments that depend on an index or rate, and amounts expected to be paid under residual value guarantees. 
In calculating the present value of lease payments, the Group uses a company-specific incremental borrowing rate 
at the lease commencement date because the interest rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable. After the 
commencement date, the amount of lease liabilities is increased to reflect the accretion of interest and reduced for the lease 
payments made. In addition, the carrying amount of lease liabilities is remeasured if there is a modification, a change in lease 
term, a change in lease payments resulting from a change in an index or rate used to determine such lease payments, or a 
change in the assessment of an option to purchase the underlying asset.
Short-term leases and leases of low‑value assets
The Group applies the short-term lease recognition exemption to its short-term leases of machinery and equipment for a 
term of 12 months or less. It also applies the lease of low-value assets recognition exemption to leases of office equipment 
that are considered to be low value, being those with a value on acquisition of less than £10,000.
Group as a lessor
Leases in which the Group does not transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of an asset are classified 
as operating leases. Initial direct costs incurred in negotiating and arranging an operating lease are added to the carrying 
amount of the leased asset and recognised over the lease term on the same basis as rental income. Contingent rents are 
recognised as revenue in the period in which they are earned.
118	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Set out below are the carrying amounts of right-of-use assets recognised and the movements during the year:
Investment
property 
(leased)
£’000
Offices
£’000
Motor
vehicles
£’000
Total
£’000
Cost
At 30 September 2022
83,591
10,251
1,556
95,398
Additions/adjustment
1,126
843
1,509
3,478
Disposals
—
(1,370)
(485)
(1,855)
At 30 September 2023
84,717
9,724
2,580
97,021
Additions/adjustment
943
1,723
1,138
3,804
Disposals
— 
(3,612)
(794)
(4,406)
At 30 September 2024
85,660
7,835
2,924
96,419
Depreciation
At 30 September 2022
50,562
6,476
593
57,631
Charge for the year
4,217
829
645
5,691
Disposals
—
(1,300)
(215)
(1,515)
At 30 September 2023
54,779
6,005
1,023
61,807
Charge for the year
4,432
638
865
5,935
Disposals
— 
(3,250)
(269)
(3,519)
At 30 September 2024
59,211
3,393
1,619
64,223
Impairment
At 30 September 2022
5,698
—
—
5,698
Charge for the year
—
—
—
—
At 30 September 2023
5,698
—
—
5,698
Charge for the year
—
—
—
—
At 30 September 2024
5,698
— 
— 
5,698
Net book value
At 30 September 2024
20,751
4,442
1,305
26,498
At 30 September 2023
24,240
3,719
1,557
29,516
At 30 September 2022
27,331
3,775
963
32,069
Investment property (leased) assets relate to the Group’s four (2023: four) student leaseback arrangements. Each of the four leaseback 
arrangements are considered to be a separate CGU. The Directors have reviewed the carrying value of these leases where there is an 
indication of impairment and compared them to their respective recoverable amounts. No impairment charge (2023: no impairment 
charge) has been recognised during the year.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
119

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
17. Leases continued
The recoverable amount for each CGU has been calculated as its value in use. The valuation technique used is a discounted cash 
flow. Due to the bespoke nature of these arrangements, these valuations are also considered to represent the fair value of each of 
the investment property (leased) assets. The key inputs into the valuation are gross rental income, operating costs, lease term and an 
estimated discount rate reflecting the market assessment of risk that would be applied to each asset. The estimated discount rates for 
each property, together with their value in use, are included in the following table.
Impairment charge/(reversal) £’000
Value in use £’000
Year ended
30 September 
2024
Year ended
30 September 
2023
Discount
rate
Lease
termination 
date
Year ended
30 September 
2024 
Year ended
30 September 
2023 
Collegelands, Glasgow
—
—
5.5%
6 September 2026
7,277
8,170
Europa, Liverpool
—
—
6.5%
18 March 2030
8,352
9,598
Optima, Loughborough
—
—
5.0%
18 March 2030
1,616
1,615
Glassyard Building, London
—
—
6.0% 10 September 2034
8,884
9,283
Total
—
—
26,129
28,666
These impairment calculations are sensitive to changes in the assumptions around discount rate and revenue growth. Reasonable 
sensitivities have been applied to these assumptions, including an increase in the discount rate applied of 1 percentage point and 
assuming no revenue growth from 2026 onwards. In these scenarios there remained headroom against the carrying value of the 
assets held.
Set out below are the carrying amounts of lease liabilities and movements during the period:
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
At the start of the period
45,195
49,099
Additions
3,850
3,262
Disposals
(906)
(360) 
Accretion of interest
1,719
1,779
Payments
(9,089)
(8,585) 
At the end of the period
40,769
45,195
Current
7,750
7,567
Non-current
33,019
37,628
Group as lessor – operating lease rentals receivable
Year ended 
30 September 
2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Non-cancellable operating lease rentals are receivable as follows:
Within one year
8,604
8,316 
Later than one year and less than five years
20
135 
After five years
—
43 
8,624
8,494 
The Group acts as lessor in respect of certain commercial property and for the student accommodation properties operated under the 
sale and leaseback arrangements detailed above.
120	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

18. Property, plant and equipment
Accounting policy
Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Cost represents 
expenditure that is directly attributable to the purchase of the asset.
Depreciation is charged so as to write off the cost of assets less their residual values over their estimated useful lives, on the 
following basis: 
Plant and machinery:
20% reducing balance
Motor vehicles:
25% reducing balance
The assets’ estimated useful lives, depreciation rates and residual values are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each 
reporting period. 
The gain or loss arising on disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sales proceeds and the carrying amount of 
the asset and is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.
Plant and 
machinery
£’000
Motor
vehicles
£’000
Total
£’000
Cost
At 30 September 2022
3,297
155
3,452
Additions
550
—
550
Disposals
(416)
(155)
(571)
At 30 September 2023
3,431
—
3,431
Additions
120
—
120
Disposals
(652)
—
(652)
At 30 September 2024
2,899
—
2,899
Depreciation
At 30 September 2022
1,288
155
1,443
Charge for the year
697
—
697
Disposals
(350)
(155)
(505)
At 30 September 2023
1,635
—
1,635
Charge for the year
411
—
411
Disposals
(548)
—
(548)
At 30 September 2024
1,498
—
1,498
Net book value
At 30 September 2024
1,401
—
1,401
At 30 September 2023
1,796
—
1,796
At 30 September 2022
2,009
—
2,009
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
121

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
19. Subsidiaries
The Group holds 100% of the share capital of the following, unless otherwise stated:
Name	
Class of shares
Nature of business
Anderson Wharf (Student) Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Battersea Park Road London Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Bridge Road Bath Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Bridle Path Watford Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Crown Place Woking Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Customhouse Student Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Duncan House Developments Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Ellen Street Hove Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Elliot Road Selly Oak Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Gas Lane Bristol Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Goldcharm Residential Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Gorse Stacks Development Limited6
Ordinary 
Property developer
Headrow House Leeds Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Heol Santes Helen Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
India Street Glasgow Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Malago Road Bristol Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
New Mart Road Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Northop Road Flint Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Onega Centre Bath Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Pirrie Belfast Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Randalls Road Leatherhead Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Sherlock Street Birmingham Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Stylegood Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Superscheme Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
Walnut Tree Close Guildford Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
Watkin Jones & Son Limited4
Ordinary
Property developer
Wilmslow Road Manchester Limited5
Ordinary 
Property developer
WJ AS1 Bristol Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
WJ GQ London Limited5
Ordinary
Property developer
WJ HR Wembley Limited1,5
Ordinary
Property developer
WJ TQ PBSA Belfast Limited1,5
Ordinary
Property developer
Fresh Property Group Ltd9
Ordinary
Accommodation management
Fresh Property Group Ireland Limited10
Ordinary
Accommodation management
DR (Student) Limited5
Ordinary
Holding company
Fresh Property Group Holdings Ltd5
Ordinary
Holding company
Watkin Jones Group Limited²
Ordinary
Holding company
Watkin Jones Holdings Limited3
Ordinary
Holding company
Newmark Developments Limited5
Ordinary
Holding company and 
property development services
Watkin Jones AM Limited5
Ordinary
Property fund asset manager
Dunaskin Student Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
Finefashion Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
New Bridewell Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
New Bridewell 1 Limited8
Ordinary
Property letting 
Nicelook Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
Polarpeak Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
Qualityoffer Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
Scarlet P Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
Spiritbond Stockwell Green Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
Swiftmatch Limited5
Ordinary
Property letting
122	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Name	
Class of shares
Nature of business
Bailey Lane Student Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Blackhorse Lane Student Limited5
Ordinary 
Dormant
Bridge Street Student Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Christchurch Road Bournemouth Limited5
Ordinary 
Dormant
Conington Road Lewisham Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Dalby Avenue Bedminster Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Darley Student Accommodation Limited7
Ordinary
Dormant
Extralap Limited6
Ordinary
Dormant
Extraneat Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Fairleague Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Five Nine Living Limited9
Ordinary
Dormant
Forest Road Student Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Fresh Student Living Limited10
Ordinary
Dormant
Gladstone Road Exeter Limited5
Ordinary 
Dormant
Goldcharm Student Lettings Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Gorgie Road Edinburgh Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
High Street Swansea Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Holdenhurst Road Bournemouth Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Hunter Street Chester Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Iona Street Edinburgh Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Kelaty House Wembley Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Liverpool Road Chester Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Lower Bristol Road Bath Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
LPS Nottingham Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Lucas Student Lettings Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Military Road Canterbury Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
New Bridewell 2 Limited8
Ordinary
Dormant
Oxford House Bournemouth Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Q Street Student Properties Limited10
Ordinary
Dormant
Quarter House Studios Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Rockingham Street Student Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Saxonhenge Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Sutton Court Road Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
TG Southall Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
The Hale Tottenham Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
This Is Fresh Limited10
Ordinary
Dormant
Trafford Street Chester Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Victoria Park Bath Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Watmor Limited5	
Ordinary
Dormant
Westfield Avenue Edinburgh Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
Wisedeed Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
WJ Developments (Residential) Limited5
Ordinary
Dormant
1.	 	Incorporated during the year.
2.	 	Wholly owned by Watkin Jones plc.
3.	 	Wholly owned by Watkin Jones Group Limited.
4.	 	Wholly owned by Watkin Jones Holdings Limited.
5.	 	Wholly owned by Watkin Jones & Son Limited.
6.	 	Wholly owned by Newmark Developments Limited.
7.	 	Wholly owned by DR (Student) Limited.
8.	 	Wholly owned by New Bridewell Limited.
9.	 	Wholly owned by Fresh Property Group Holdings Ltd.
10.	Wholly owned by Fresh Property Group Ltd.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
123

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
19. Subsidiaries continued
All of the Group’s subsidiaries have the same registered office address of 3 Llys y Bont, Parc Menai, Bangor, LL57 4BN, with the exception 
of Fresh Property Group Holdings Ltd, Fresh Property Group Ltd, Five Nine Living Limited, This Is Fresh Limited and Fresh Student Living 
Limited whose registered office address is 12 Soho Square, London, United Kingdom, W1D 3QF, and Fresh Property Group Ireland 
Limited, whose registered office is One Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland.
During the year ended 30 September 2024, the Group sold its former subsidiary Grove Crescent Stratford Limited to a related party, the 
joint venture entity Watkin Jones (Grove Crescent) Holdings Limited (see note 20). On disposal the subsidiary had net assets of £nil, with 
disposal proceeds received of £6,260,000. As part of the transaction, a related party loan of £18,540,000 was settled between the two 
parties.
20. Joint ventures
Accounting policy
A joint venture is a type of joint arrangement whereby the parties that have joint control of the arrangement have rights to the 
net assets of the arrangement. 
Joint control is the contractually agreed sharing of control of an arrangement, which exists only when decisions about the 
relevant activities require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control.
The Group’s investments in joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method.
Under the equity method, the investment in a joint venture is initially recognised at cost. The carrying amount of the 
investment is adjusted to recognise changes in the Group’s share of net assets of the joint venture since the acquisition date. 
Goodwill relating to the joint venture is included in the carrying amount of the investment and is not tested for impairment 
separately.
The statement of comprehensive income reflects the Group’s share of the results of operations of the joint venture. Any 
change in other comprehensive income (OCI) of those investees is presented as part of the Group’s OCI. In addition, when 
there has been a change recognised directly in the equity of the joint venture, the Group recognises its share of any changes, 
when applicable, in the statement of changes in equity. Unrealised gains and losses resulting from transactions between the 
Group and the joint venture are eliminated to the extent of the interest in the joint venture.
The aggregate of the Group’s share of profit or loss of a joint venture is shown on the face of the statement of comprehensive 
income outside operating profit and represents profit or loss after tax and OCI of the joint venture.
When necessary, adjustments are made to bring the accounting policies of joint ventures in line with those of the Group. 
After application of the equity method, the Group determines whether it is necessary to recognise an impairment loss on 
its investment in joint ventures. At each reporting date, the Group determines whether there is objective evidence that the 
investment in joint ventures is impaired. If there is such evidence, the Group undertakes an impairment test and calculates 
the amount of any impairment as the difference between the recoverable amount of the joint venture and its carrying value, 
and then recognises the loss as ‘share of profit of joint ventures’ in the statement of comprehensive income.
Upon loss of joint control over a joint venture, the Group measures and recognises any retained investment at its fair value. 
Any difference between the carrying amount of the joint venture upon loss of joint control and the fair value of the retained 
investment and proceeds from disposal is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.
During the year the Group entered into a joint venture arrangement to develop a new PBSA property in Stratford. The Group 
holds 25% of the allotted share capital in Watkin Jones (Grove Crescent) Holdings Limited, but maintains joint control 
through the terms of the shareholder and investment agreements.
At 30 September 2024, the Group had the following joint ventures, whose principal place of business is the UK:
Name	
Class of shares
Percentage 
share 
capital held
Financial
year end
Activity
Deiniol Developments Limited1
Ordinary
50%
30 September
Property 
development
Watkin Jones (Grove Crescent) Holdings Limited1
Ordinary
25%
30 September
Property 
development
Spiritbond Finsbury Park Limited1
Ordinary
50%
30 September
Dormant
Spiritbond Elephant & Castle Limited1
Ordinary
50%
30 September
Dormant
Freshers PBSH Chester (General Partner) Limited1
Ordinary
50%
30 September
Property fund
 general partner
1.	 Held by Watkin Jones & Son Limited.
124	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Summarised financial information of the joint ventures and reconciliation with the carrying amount of the investment in the consolidated 
statement of financial position is set out below:
Year ended 30 September 2024
Stratford PBSA
joint venture
£’000
All other joint
ventures
£’000
Total
£’000
Revenue
—
—
—
Operating loss
(31)
—
(31)
Finance income/(expense)
—
—
—
Loss before tax
(31)
—
(31)
Income tax gain
—
—
—
Loss for the year 
(31)
—
(31)
Total comprehensive loss for the year
(31)
—
(31)
Group share of loss for the year
(8)
—
(8)
Current assets, including cash and cash equivalents
42,058
9
42,067
Non-current assets
6,260
40
6,300
Current liabilities, including financial liabilities
(4,243)
(4)
(4,247)
Non-current liabilities, including financial liabilities
(11,754)
(47)
(11,801)
Net assets/(liabilities)
32,321
(2)
32,319
Equity
At 1 October 2023
—
(2)
(2)
Loss for the year
(31)
—
(31)
Dividend distribution
—
—
—
Capital contribution
32,352
—
32,352
At 30 September 2024
32,321
(2)
32,319
Remove joint venture partners’ share of net assets
(24,241)
1
(24,240)
Remove unrealised profit on related party transactions
(127)
—
(127)
Group’s carrying amount of the investment
7,953
(1)
7,952
Year ended 30 September 2023
All joint
ventures
£’000
Total
£’000
Revenue
—
—
Operating loss
(26)
(26)
Finance income/(expense)
—
—
Loss before tax
—
—
Income tax gain
—
—
Loss for the year 
(26)
(26)
Total comprehensive loss for the year
(26)
(26)
Group share of loss for the year
(13)
(13)
Current assets, including cash and cash equivalents
9
9
Non-current assets
40
40
Current liabilities, including financial liabilities
(4)
(4)
Non-current liabilities, including financial liabilities
(47)
(47)
Net assets
(2)
(2)
Equity
At 1 October 2022
3
3
Loss for the year
(17)
(17)
Dividend distribution
—
—
Capital contribution
12
12
At 30 September 2023
(2)
(2)
Remove joint venture partners’ share of net assets
1
1
Group’s carrying amount of the investment
(1)
(1)
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
125

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
21. Inventory and work in progress
Accounting policy
Inventory is stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost comprises all costs directly attributable to the 
purchasing of land and buildings and the development of property, including legal costs, attributable overheads, attributable 
finance costs and the cost of bringing developments to their present condition at the balance sheet date. Net realisable value 
is based on estimated selling price less the estimated cost of disposal. Provision is made for any obsolete or slow‑moving 
inventory where appropriate.
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Development land
67,748
98,353
Stock and work in progress
26,518
25,163
Total inventories at the lower of cost and net realisable value
94,266
123,516
A number of legacy land bank assets were impaired and early-stage opportunities were strategically aborted in response to volatile 
market conditions, resulting in an impairment charge of £769,000 (2023: £5,496,000) within gross margin.
22. Contract assets and liabilities
(a) Current contract assets
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
At 1 October 
66,368
50,821
Transferred to receivables 
(46,209)
(50,821)
Balance remaining in relation to contract assets at the start of the year
20,159
—
Increase relating to services provided in the year
16,379
66,368
At 30 September
36,538
66,368
The contract assets primarily relate to the Group’s right to consideration for construction work completed but not invoiced at the balance 
sheet date. The contract assets are transferred to trade receivables when the amounts are certified by the customer. Most of the Group’s 
contracts for student accommodation and build to rent developments are structured such that there is a significant final payment which 
only becomes due upon the practical completion of the relevant property. Most of the Group’s developments span at least two financial 
years, which results in the recognition of a contract asset up until the practical completion of the property, at which point it is transferred 
to trade receivables. The material reduction in contract assets reflects the collection of such final payments at the completion of a number 
of schemes during the year, which had been accruing over the previous financial years.
None of the contract assets at the end of the year are past due, and taking into account the historical default experience, an assessment 
of credit risk and the future prospects in the industry, the Directors consider that no contract assets are impaired.
(b) Current contract liabilities
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
At 1 October
1,469
5,052
Revenue recognised in the year that was included in contract liabilities at the beginning of the year
(1,469)
(5,052)
Balance remaining in relation to contract liabilities at the start of the year
—
—
Increase due to costs associated with performance obligations which have not yet been fully satisfied
3,252
1,469
At 30 September
3,252
1,469
The contract liabilities relate to costs associated with performance obligations which have not yet been fully satisfied.
126	
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The following table includes revenue expected to be recognised in the future related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied or 
partially satisfied at the reporting date in relation to the development of student accommodation, build to rent, affordable homes and 
commercial projects:
30 September 2024
Year ended
30 September
2025
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2026
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2027
£’000
Total
£’000
Construction contracts
187,600
95,679
8,243
291,522
30 September 2023
Year ended
30 September
2024
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2025
£’000
Year ended
30 September
2026
£’000
Total
£’000
Construction contracts
318,558
151,468
66,016
536,042
23. Trade and other receivables
Accounting policy
Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for impairment in trade receivables is established when there is 
an expectation of cash shortfalls over the expected life of the amounts due. The movement in the provision is recognised in 
the statement of comprehensive income.
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Trade receivables
24,714
29,212
Less: provision for impairment of receivables
(137)
(137)
Trade receivables – net
24,577
29,075
Prepayments and other receivables
4,234
3,365
Equity instruments designated at fair value through OCI
—
130
Refundable land deposits paid
2,380
2,534
Total trade and other receivables
31,191
35,104
The fair value of the Group’s equity interest in shared ownership schemes, included within equity instruments designated at fair value 
through OCI, is materially equal to historic cost.
The ageing analysis of trade receivables is as follows:
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Neither past due nor impaired
24,131
29,062
Past due but not impaired:
Not more than three months
39
—
Greater than three months
407
13
24,577
29,075
The Group estimates expected credit losses on trade receivables by reference to past default experience of the debtor and an analysis of 
the debtor’s current financial position, adjusted for factors that are specific to the debtors, general economic conditions of the industry in 
which the debtors operate and an assessment of both the current as well as the forecast direction of conditions at the reporting date. As 
at 30 September 2024 and 2023, trade receivables that were neither past due nor impaired related to a number of debtors for whom there 
is no recent history of default and the future credit risk is considered to be low. The other classes of trade and other receivables do not 
contain impaired assets.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
127

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
24. Cash and cash equivalents
Accounting policy
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position comprises cash at bank and in hand and short-term highly 
liquid deposits with a maturity of three months or less, that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and subject to 
an insignificant risk of change in value.
Cash at bank and in hand as at 30 September 2024 includes £53,000 of cash deposited by the Group in an escrow account in connection 
with a development in progress, access to which is contingent upon the completion of certain development works (30 September 2023: 
£53,000). For the purpose of the statement of cash flows, cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and in hand. The Group had 
not drawn on any overdraft facilities at the year end.
25. Trade and other payables: current
Accounting policy
Trade and other payables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method.
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Trade payables
59,505
80,932
Deferred rental income
1,823
1,561
Taxes and social security costs
2,059
1,177
Accruals and other payables
22,667
17,053
Total trade and other payables
86,054
100,723
26. Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
Accounting policy
After initial recognition, interest-bearing loans and borrowings are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest rate (EIR) method. Gains and losses are recognised in the statement of comprehensive income when the 
liabilities are derecognised as well as through the EIR amortisation process. 
Amortised cost is calculated by taking into account any discount or premium on acquisition and fees or costs that are an 
integral part of the EIR. The EIR amortisation is included in finance costs in the statement of comprehensive income.
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Current
HSBC Bank plc RCF arrangement fees
—
—
Other interest‑bearing loans
—
—
—
—
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Non-current
HSBC Bank plc RCF
13,791
28,855
HSBC Bank plc RCF arrangement fees
(200)
(325)
Other interest‑bearing loans
—
—
13,591
28,530
There is no material difference between the fair value of the Group’s borrowings and their book values.
128	
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The Group holds a five-year revolving credit facility (RCF) with HSBC to a value of £50.0 million (2023: £50.0 million) with a maturity date 
of 15 November 2025. At 30 September 2024, the Group had undrawn borrowing facilities of £46.2 million (2023: £31.1 million) with HSBC 
Bank plc, comprising its RCF and a £10.0 million on‑demand and undrawn overdraft facility. As is the case in most loan agreements, the 
RCF includes a material adverse event clause but management believe the risk of this clause being exercised is very remote. Following 
the year end, the Group has amended and extended this facility, which now runs to 15 November 2027. The overdraft facility has been 
replaced with a £10.0 million accordion facility which can be drawn to fund land development.
The RCF is secured by a debenture over Watkin Jones Group Limited, Watkin Jones Holdings Limited, Watkin Jones & Son Limited, 
Walnut Tree Close Guildford Limited and India Street Glasgow Limited. The applicable benchmark rate is SONIA, with a margin of 2.65%.
27. Provisions
Accounting policy
Provisions are recognised when three criteria are met: 1) the Group has a present obligation as a result of a past event; 2) it 
is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation; and 3) a reliable estimate can be made of the 
obligation.
Building Safety provision
 
Provision
£’000
Reimbursement
asset
£’000
Total
£’000
At 1 October 2022
33,448
—
33,448
Arising during year
45,865
(10,865)
35,000
Utilised
(15,177)
—
(15,177)
Unwind of discount rate
1,458
—
1,458
At 1 October 2023
65,594
(10,865)
54,729
Arising during year
8,147
(1,146)
7,001
Utilised
(21,125)
4,894
(16,231)
Unwind of discount rate
3,017
(500)
2,517
At 30 September 2024
55,633
(7,617)
48,016
The balance can be classified as follows:
Year ended 30 September 2024
Provision
£’000
Reimbursement
asset
£’000 
Total
£’000
Current
12,090
(1,470)
10,620
Non-current
43,543
(6,147)
37,396
Total
55,633
(7,617)
48,016
Year ended 30 September 2023
Provision
£’000
Reimbursement
asset
£’000 
Total
£’000
Current
24,457
(6,858)
17,599
Non-current
41,137
(4,007)
37,130
Total
65,594
(10,865)
54,729
A provision of £65,594,000 was held at 30 September 2023 for the Group’s anticipated contribution towards the cost of building safety 
remedial works. 
A further net increase in provision of £7,001,000 has been made during the year ended 30 September 2024 for building safety remediation 
costs. The judgements and estimates surrounding this provision and corresponding reimbursement assets are set out in note 4.
The net provision at 30 September 2024 amounts to £48,016,000, of which £10,620,000 is expected to be incurred in the year ending 
30 September 2025 and £37,396,000 is expected to be incurred between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2030. The provision has 
been discounted to its present value accordingly, at a risk-free rate of 4.54% based on UK five-year gilt yields (2023: 4.60%).
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
129

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
28. Deferred tax
Accounting policy
Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying 
amounts in the financial statements. Deferred tax is determined using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or 
substantively enacted by the year end and are expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset is realised or the 
deferred tax liability is settled. A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable 
profits will be available against which the temporary difference can be utilised.
The movement on the deferred tax account is shown below:	
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
At the start of the period
12,096
1,941
Included directly in equity
22
(151)
Statement of comprehensive income credit
2,972
10,306
At the end of the period
15,090
12,096
Comprising:
Deferred tax asset
15,443
12,906
Deferred tax liability
(353)
(810)
At the end of the period
15,090
12,096
The movements in deferred tax assets and liabilities are shown below:
Short-term
timing 
differences
£’000
Accelerated
capital 
allowances
£’000
Total
£’000
At 1 October 2023
12,906
(810)
12,096
Statement of comprehensive income credit
2,515
457
2,972
Included directly in equity
22
—
22
At 30 September 2024
15,443
(353)
15,090
Short-term
timing 
differences
£’000
Accelerated
capital 
allowances
£’000
Total
£’000
At 1 October 2022
2,677
(736)
1,941
Statement of comprehensive income credit/(debit)
10,380 
(74)
10,306
Included directly in equity
(151)
—
(151)
At 30 September 2023
12,906
(810)
12,096
In the year ended 30 September 2024, deferred tax debited directly to equity of £22,000 (2023: credited £151,000) related to the Group’s 
share‑based Long Term Incentive Plan, the comprehensive income charges for which are recognised as a movement in the share-based 
payment reserve. The short-term timing differences predominantly relate to carried forward losses, which are expected to be utilised in 
the medium term.
130	
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29. Other financial assets and liabilities
Other financial assets
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Financial instruments at fair value
Equity instruments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income
866
1,129
Other financial assets
866
1,129
Equity instruments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income comprise the value of units held by Watkin Jones & Son 
Limited in the Curlew Student Trust (CST), together with the value of the carried interest held by Fresh Property Group Ltd in CST and 
Curlew Student Trust 2 (CST2). CST and CST2 are Guernsey‑registered unitised funds established to invest in student accommodation. 
Watkin Jones & Son Limited originally made an investment in CST, as part of an agreement to develop three student accommodation 
properties for the fund, and Fresh Property Group Ltd made a carried interest investment aligned to its role as preferred property manager 
for the fund.
Fresh Property Group Ltd subsequently made a carried interest investment of £350,000 in CST2 on its establishment, aligned to its role as 
preferred property manager for CST2.
The Group received £15,000 distributions against the carrying value of its investments in CST and CST2 in the year ended 
30 September 2024 (2023: £nil).
The Group’s investment in CST and CST2 comprises the following:
30 September 2024
Units
Price 
£
Value
£’000
Curlew Student Trust
Units held by Watkin Jones & Son Limited
1,689,991
0.302711
512
Carried interest investment held by Fresh Property Group Ltd
44
Curlew Student Trust 2
Carried interest investment held by Fresh Property Group Ltd
310
Group’s carrying amount of the investment
866
30 September 2023
Units
Price 
£
Value
£’000
Curlew Student Trust
Units held by Watkin Jones & Son Limited
1,689,991
0.426316
720
Carried interest investment held by Fresh Property Group Ltd
62
Curlew Student Trust 2
Carried interest investment held by Fresh Property Group Ltd
347
Group’s carrying amount of the investment
1,129
The fair value of the units held by Watkin Jones & Son Limited in the Curlew Student Trust, included within equity instruments designated 
at fair value through other comprehensive income, is based on a quoted fund unit price (Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy). This is an 
investment and is not related to any individual property. The carried interest investments held by Fresh Property Group Ltd are stated at 
fair value (Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy).
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
131

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
30. Financial risk management
Accounting policy
Cash and cash equivalents 
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position comprises cash at bank and in hand.
Financial assets
Financial assets are classified, at initial recognition, depending on the financial asset’s contractual cash flow characteristics 
and the Group’s business model for managing them. With the exception of trade receivables, the Group initially measures 
a financial asset at its fair value plus transaction costs and subsequently measures it at amortised cost or fair value through 
other comprehensive income (OCI). Trade receivables are initially recognised at fair value and are subsequently measured 
at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method with an appropriate allowance for estimated irrecoverable amounts 
recognised in the income statement when there is objective evidence that the asset is impaired. 
The Group’s investments in unit trusts and equity interests held under shared ownership schemes are classified as equity 
instruments designated at fair value through OCI. Gains and losses on these assets are never recycled to profit or loss. 
Dividends are recognised as other income in the statement of comprehensive income when the right to payment has been 
established. Equity instruments designated at fair value through OCI are not subject to impairment assessment. 
Impairment of financial assets
The Group recognises lifetime expected credit losses for trade receivables, contract assets and loans to joint ventures. 
The expected credit losses on these financial assets are estimated based on the Group’s historical credit loss experience, 
adjusted for factors that are specific to the debtors and an assessment of both the current as well as forecast direction of 
economic conditions at the reporting date, including the time value of money where appropriate.
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities are classified, at initial recognition, as loans and borrowings or payables. They are initially recognised 
at fair value net of directly attributable transaction costs. The Group’s financial liabilities include trade and other payables 
and loans and borrowings, including bank overdrafts. After initial recognition, interest-bearing loans and borrowings are 
subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate (EIR) method. Gains and losses are recognised 
in the statement of comprehensive income when the liabilities are derecognised as well as through the EIR amortisation 
process. 
Derecognition
A financial liability is derecognised when the obligation under the liability is discharged or cancelled or expires. 
When an existing financial liability is replaced by another from the same lender on substantially different terms, or the terms 
of an existing liability are substantially modified, such an exchange or modification is treated as a derecognition of the 
original liability and the recognition of a new liability, and the difference in the respective carrying amounts is recognised in 
the statement of comprehensive income.
Fair value measurement
Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between 
market participants at the measurement date. The fair value measurement is based on the presumption that the transaction 
to sell the asset or transfer the liability takes place either:
•	 in the principal market for the asset or liability; or
•	 in the absence of a principal market, in the most advantageous market for the asset or liability.
The principal or the most advantageous market must be accessible by the Group.
The fair value of an asset or a liability is measured using the assumptions that market participants would use when pricing 
the asset or liability, assuming that market participants act in their economic best interest.
All assets and liabilities for which fair value is measured or disclosed in the financial statements are categorised within the 
fair value hierarchy, described as follows, based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement as 
a whole:
•	 Level 1 – quoted (unadjusted) market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
•	 Level 2 – valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement is directly 
or indirectly observable; and
•	 Level 3 – valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement is 
unobservable.
132	
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The Group is exposed to a variety of risks, such as market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. The Group’s principal financial 
instruments are: 
•	 loans and borrowings; and
•	 trade and other receivables, trade and other payables, and cash arising directly from operations. 
This note provides further detail on financial risk management and includes quantitative information on the specific risks.
The Group recognises that movements in certain risk variables might affect the value of its loans and also the amounts recorded in its 
equity and its profit and loss for the period. Therefore, the Group has assessed the following risks:
Market risk
Market risk is the risk that the fair value of future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in market prices. 
Market risk comprises three types of risk: interest rate risk; currency risk; and other prices risk, such as equity price risk. 
The Group’s exposure is primarily to the financial risks of changes in interest rates in relation to loans and borrowings. 
Interest rate risk
Due to the levels of interest-bearing loans and borrowings at 30 September 2024, the Group had no material exposure to interest rate 
movements. The Group holds an RCF with HSBC with an amount available under this facility of £50 million, which means that the Group 
could potentially be exposed to increased interest rate risk in the future. The Group has a treasury and hedging policy under which it 
determines the value at risk that it is willing to accept from a foreseeable movement in interest rates. Interest rate hedging contracts will 
only be used to keep its interest rate risk exposure within these parameters and there were no hedging contracts utilised during the year 
ended 30 September 2024 (2023: none).
A 0.5% movement in the interest rate applied to the interest-bearing loans and borrowings held at year end would have an impact on the 
Group’s profit before taxation as below:
Effect on profit before tax
0.5% change in interest rate
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Impact on profit before tax
69
143
Foreign currency risk
Capital items that are non-sterling priced are monitored to review the requirement for appropriate hedging. The Group has minimal 
exposure to foreign currency risk as it rarely carries out transactions in foreign currencies.
Liquidity risk
Cash flow is regularly monitored and the relevant subsidiaries are aware of their working capital commitments. The Group reviews its 
long‑term funding requirements in parallel with its long-term strategy, with an objective of aligning both in a timely manner.
The table below summarises the maturity profile of the Group’s gross, undiscounted financial liabilities at 30 September 2024 and 
30 September 2023:
Liquidity risk – 30 September 2024
On demand
£’000
Less than
one year
£’000
Between one
and five years
£’000
More than
five years
£’000
Total
£’000
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
—
—
13,591
—
13,591
Trade and other payables
—
86,054
—
—
86,054
—
86,054
13,591
—
99,645
Liquidity risk – 30 September 2023
On demand
£’000
Less than
one year
£’000
Between one
and five years
£’000
More than
five years
£’000
Total
£’000
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
—
—
28,530
—
28,530
Trade and other payables
—
100,723
—
—
100,723
—
100,723
28,530
—
129,253
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
133

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
30. Financial risk management continued
Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligations under a financial instrument leading to a financial loss. The Group is 
exposed to credit risk from its cash and cash equivalents and trade receivables. 
Credit risk from balances with banks and financial institutions is managed by depositing with reputable financial institutions, from which 
management believes the risk of loss to be remote. The Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk for the components of the statement of 
financial position is the carrying amounts of cash at bank and in hand.
Our customers are predominantly blue-chip institutional funds and the risk of non-payment of the trade receivables they owe the Group 
is low. In many cases, the funds for a forward sold development are ring-fenced, placed in escrow, or backed by committed debt funding 
which reduces the risk of non-payment. Credit evaluations are performed for all customers. Management has policies and procedures in 
place to monitor the Group’s exposure to credit risk and the payment performance of the Group’s customers. 
At the year end there were no significant concentrations of risk. The maximum exposure to credit risk is represented by the carrying 
amount of each financial asset in the statement of financial position. 
Capital management policy
The primary objective of the Group’s capital management is to ensure that it has the capital required to operate and grow the business at 
a reasonable cost of capital without incurring undue financial risks. The Board periodically reviews its capital structure to ensure it meets 
changing business needs. The Group defines its capital as equity plus loans and borrowings. The Directors consider the management 
of debt to be an important element in controlling the capital structure of the Group. The Group may carry moderate levels of long-term 
borrowings to fund operations and working capital requirements. The net cash of the Group is analysed in note 34.
31. Share capital and other reserves
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Allotted, called up and fully paid
Ordinary shares of one pence each
2,567
2,564
The number of ordinary shares in issue at 30 September 2024 was 256,653,097 (30 September 2023: 256,441,253). 
In addition to share capital and premium, the Group holds a merger reserve, which was created in prior periods in accordance with merger 
accounting principles as a result of Group restructuring.
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32. Employee benefits – long-term incentive plans
Accounting policy
The Group operates a long-term incentive plan for certain members of the senior management team under which those 
employees receive remuneration in the form of share-based payments, whereby employees render services as consideration 
for equity instruments (‘equity-settled transactions’). The cost of the equity-settled transactions is determined by the fair 
value at the date the grant is made using an appropriate valuation model, further details of which are given in the note below. 
That cost is recognised in staff costs, together with a corresponding increase in equity over the period to which the service 
and performance conditions are fulfilled (the ‘vesting period’). The cumulative expense recognised for equity‑settled 
transactions at each reporting date until the vesting date reflects the extent to which the vesting period has expired and the 
Group’s best estimate of the number of equity instruments which will ultimately vest. The expense or credit in the statement 
of comprehensive income for a period represents the movement in cumulative expenses recognised as at the beginning and 
end of that period.
Service and non-market performance conditions are not taken into account when determining the grant date fair value of 
awards, but the likelihood of the conditions being met is assessed as part of the Group’s best estimate of the number of 
equity instruments which will ultimately vest. Market performance conditions are reflected within the grant date fair value. 
Where awards are linked to non-market performance conditions, no expense is recognised if the performance conditions 
are not met and/or service conditions are not met. Where awards include a market condition, the transactions are treated as 
vested irrespective of whether the market or non-vesting condition is satisfied, provided that all other performance and/or 
service conditions are satisfied.
The Watkin Jones plc Long Term Incentive Plan (the ‘Plan’) was approved by shareholders at the AGM held on 13 February 2018. Details 
of the Plan, the vesting requirements and the performance targets applicable to the awards are set out in the Directors’ remuneration 
report on pages 82 to 88.
The Group issues two sets of awards under the Plan: an annual LTIP award (LTIP) and a Restricted Stock Award (RSA). 
LTIP 
LTIP awards can be subject to various performance conditions. The fair value of the share awards granted subject to earnings per share 
(EPS) performance conditions is the market price of an ordinary share of the Company at the date the award is granted, less the exercise 
price. The fair value of the share awards granted subject to absolute and relative total shareholder return (TSR) performance conditions 
have been estimated at the grant date using a Monte Carlo valuation model. 
RSA
RSAs are subject only to a service condition, such that employees must remain in service until the vesting date to receive any award. 
The fair value of the share awards granted subject to this condition is the market price of an ordinary share of the Company at the date 
the award is granted, less the exercise price. 
The aggregate total awards granted under the Plan are as follows:
Share awards granted under the Plan
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
Number
Year ended
30 September 
2023
Number
At 1 October
3,596,898
2,902,491
Granted in the year
6,825,223
2,272,953
Exercised in the year
—
—
Lapsed in the year
(2,472,166)
(1,578,546)
At 30 September
7,949,955
3,596,898
There were no awards exercised during the year (2023: nil). The weighted average exercise price for all awards is one pence per share. 
The weighted average remaining contractual life for the awards outstanding at 30 September 2024 was 1.9 years (2023: 1.5 years).
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
135

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
32. Employee benefits – long-term incentive plans continued
Save As You Earn scheme
The Group operates a Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme. Participating employees may elect to save funds by means of deductions from 
post-tax salary up to a maximum contribution per employee per scheme of £3,000 per year. At the end of the three-year vesting period 
such funds can then be used to acquire shares at a discounted price to the market price on the date of grant (the ‘exercise price’). 
These awards are subject only to a service condition, such that employees must remain in service until the vesting date to receive the 
discounted exercise price. The fair value of the share awards granted subject to this condition is the market price of an ordinary share of 
the Company at the date the award is granted, less the exercise price. 
The aggregate total awards granted under the SAYE scheme are as follows:
Share awards granted under the SAYE scheme
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
Number
Year ended
30 September 
2023
Number
At 1 October
1,964,513
—
Granted in the year
582,534
2,077,512
Exercised in the year
(5,622)
—
Lapsed in the year
(800,016)
(112,999)
At 30 September
1,741,409
1,964,513
There were 5,622 awards exercised during the year. The weighted average exercise price for all awards is 48.77 pence per share 
(2023: 53.36 pence per share). The weighted average remaining contractual life for the awards outstanding at 30 September 2024 was 
2.1 years (2023: 2.3 years).
The following table lists the inputs to the model used for the share awards granted in 2024 and 2023:
2024 SAYE
2024 LTIP
2023 SAYE
2023 RSA
2023 LTIP
Share price at grant (p)
45.00 
46.20 
76.50 
112.00 
112.00 
Exercise price (p)
39.07
1.00
53.36
1.00
1.00
Expected term (years)
3.3
3.0
3.3
3.0
3.0
Expected volatility (%)
38.90
38.29
42.88
40.95
40.98
Risk-free interest rate (%)
4.41
3.95
4.84
2.85
2.85
Are dividend equivalents receivable for the award 
holder?
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
The fair value of the share awards granted under the Plan is charged to the statement of comprehensive income over the vesting period 
of the awards, provided that the service conditions attaching to the awards continue to be met. The cumulative charge to the statement 
of comprehensive income is recognised in the statement of financial position as a ‘share‑based payment reserve’. For the year ended 
30 September 2024, the amount charged to the statement of comprehensive income and credited to the share‑based payment reserve 
was £901,000 (2023: £1,067,000). 
Historic charges of £528,000 (2023: £186,000) related to share awards which have now vested and been fully exercised or lapsed have 
been recycled from the share-based payment reserve to the profit and loss reserve during the year.
136	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

33. Reconciliation of profit before tax to net cash flows from operating activities
Year ended 
30 September
 2024 
£’000
Year ended
30 September 
2023
£’000
Loss before tax
(307)
(42,459)
Depreciation of leased investment properties and right-of-use assets
5,935
5,691
Depreciation of plant and equipment
411
697
Amortisation of intangible assets
559
559
Profit on disposal of subsidiary
(6,260)
—
Loss/(profit) on disposal of property, plant and equipment
91
(294)
Loss on disposal of operational PRS assets
—
4,584
Finance income
(1,008)
(496)
Finance costs
4,873
4,972
Share of loss in joint ventures
8
13
Decrease in inventory and work in progress
10,711
4,634
Decrease/(increase) in contract assets
29,830
(15,547)
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables
3,913
(6,476)
Increase/(decrease) in contract liabilities
1,783
(3,583)
Decrease/(increase) in reimbursement assets
3,748
(10,865)
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables
(14,689)
9,600
(Decrease)/increase in provisions
(12,978)
30,688
Increase in share‑based payment reserve
901
1,067
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities
27,521
(17,215)
Major non-cash transactions
There were no major non-cash transactions during the period.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
137

Notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
34. Analysis of net cash/(debt)
30 September 2024
At beginning 
of year
£’000
Cash flow
£’000
Other
movements
£’000
At end of year
£’000
Cash at bank and in hand
72,431
24,531
—
96,962
Bank loans
(28,530)
15,064
(125)
(13,591)
Net cash before deducting lease liabilities
43,901
39,595
(125)
83,371
Lease liabilities (note 17)
(45,195)
9,089
(4,663)
(40,769)
Net cash/(debt)
(1,294)
48,684
(4,788)
42,602
30 September 2023
At beginning 
of year
£’000
Cash flow
£’000
Other
movements
£’000
At end of year
£’000
Cash at bank and in hand
110,841
(38,410)
—
72,431
Bank loans
(28,288)
(42)
(200)
(28,530)
Net cash before deducting lease liabilities
82,553
(38,452)
(200)
43,901
Lease liabilities (note 17)
(49,099)
6,806
(2,902)
(45,195)
Net cash/(debt)
33,454
(31,646)
(3,102)
(1,294)
Cash at bank and in hand as at 30 September 2024 includes £53,000 of cash deposited by the Group in an escrow account in connection 
with a development in progress, access to which is contingent upon the completion of certain development works (30 September 2023: 
£53,000). Non‑cash movements relate to the amortisation of bank loan arrangement fees and changes to the value of lease liabilities as a 
result of leases entered into or terminated in the period or due to movements in the rent inflation rates assumed.
35. Capital and other financial commitments
There were no material capital commitments at 30 September 2024 (2023: £nil). 
36. Contingent liabilities
The Group has contingent liabilities of £15,867,000 (2023: £39,103,000) in respect of performance bonds entered into with a number of 
surety providers. 
Watkin Jones Group Limited, Watkin Jones Holdings Limited, Watkin Jones & Son Limited and certain subsidiaries thereof have given 
debentures containing fixed and floating charges and have entered into a corporate guarantee of the Group’s bank borrowings from HSBC 
Bank plc, which at the balance sheet date amounted to £13,791,000 (2023: £28,855,000).
No material liabilities are expected to arise as a result of the above arrangements.
As described in more detail in notes 4 and 27, the Group holds a provision, and corresponding reimbursement asset, for building safety 
remediation projects. This is a highly complex area with significant estimates in respect of the cost of remedial works, the quantum of any 
legal expenditure associated with the defence of the Group’s position in this regard, and the extent of those properties within the scope of 
the applicable government guidance and legislation, which continue to evolve. As such, these estimates may be updated to reflect such 
changes.
138	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

37. Related party transactions
As referred to in note 20, Watkin Jones & Son Limited holds an investment in units in the Curlew Student Trust (CST), and Fresh Property 
Group Ltd has a carried interest investment in CST and in Curlew Student Trust 2 (CST2). Fresh Property Group Ltd is the preferred 
property manager for both CST and CST2. The Group received distributions against the carrying value of its investments in CST and CST2 
of £15,000 in 2024 (2023: £nil). The fair value of the units held in CST by Watkin Jones & Son Limited at 30 September 2024 amounted 
to £512,000 (2023: £720,000) and the fair values of the carried interest investments in CST and CST2 held by Fresh Property Group Ltd 
amounted to £44,000 (2023: £62,000) and £310,000 (2023: £347,000) respectively. 
Under a joint venture agreement, the Group was owed £1,787 at 30 September 2024 from Deiniol Developments Limited (2023: £1,787). 
During the year the Group received no payments from Deiniol Developments Limited and made no capital contributions to Deiniol 
Developments Limited. The Group owns 50% of the share capital in Deiniol Developments Limited. 
Under a joint venture agreement, at 30 September 2024 the Group was owed £8,088,000 from Watkin Jones (Grove Crescent) Holdings 
Limited (2023: £nil) held within investment in joint ventures, and £250,000 from Grove Crescent Stratford Limited (2023: £nil) held within 
trade and other receivables. The Group owns 25% of the share capital in Watkin Jones (Grove Crescent) Holdings Limited, which in turn 
owns 100% of the share capital in Grove Crescent Stratford Limited. 
All transactions with related parties have been carried out on an arm’s length basis.
38. Subsequent events
Following the balance sheet date, the Group has amended and extended its bank facilities with HSBC. Further details of this amendment 
and extension are included in note 26.
There were no other such events requiring recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
139

Company statement of financial position 
as at 30 September 2024
Notes
30 September
 2024 
£’000
30 September
2023
£’000
Fixed assets
Investments
42
260,776
259,875
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
43
(130,174)
(130,177)
Total liabilities
(130,174)
(130,177)
Net assets
130,602
129,698
Equity
Share capital
44
2,567
2,564
Share premium
84,612
84,612
Share‑based payment reserve
1,780
1,407
Retained earnings
41,643
41,115
Total equity
130,602
129,698
The notes on pages 142 to 144 are an integral part of these Company financial statements.
No income statement has been presented as permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company’s profit for the year 
after taxation was £nil (2023: £nil).
Approved by the Board of Directors on 23 January 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Alex Pease
Director
140	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Share
capital
£’000
Share
premium
£’000
Share‑based
payment
reserve
£’000
Retained
earnings
£’000
Total
£’000
Balance at 30 September 2022
2,564
84,612
526
56,058
143,760
Dividend paid (note 41)
—
—
—
(15,129)
(15,129)
Share‑based payments
—
—
1,067
—
1,067
Recycled reserve for fully vested share-based 
payment schemes
—
—
(186)
186
—
Balance at 30 September 2023
2,564
84,612
1,407
41,115
129,698
Issue of shares
3
—
—
—
3
Share‑based payments
—
—
901
—
901
Recycled reserve for fully vested share-based 
payment schemes
—
—
(528)
528
—
Balance at 30 September 2024
2,567
84,612
1,780
41,643
130,602
 
Company statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 September 2024
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
141

Notes to the Company financial statements
for the year ended 30 September 2024
39. Accounting policies 
General information
Watkin Jones plc (the ‘Company’) is a public limited company incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 
(registration number 9791105) and its shares are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company 
is domiciled in the United Kingdom and its registered address is 12 Soho Square, London, United Kingdom, W1D 3QF.
Basis of preparation
The Company’s financial statements were prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework 
(FRS 101). In preparing these financial statements, the Company applies the recognition, measurement and disclosure requirements of 
International Accounting Standards in conformity with the requirements of United Kingdom adopted International Accounting Standards 
(‘Adopted IFRSs’), but makes amendments where necessary in order to comply with the Companies Act 2006 and has set out below 
where advantage of the FRS 101 disclosure exemptions has been taken. 
In these financial statements, the Company has applied the exemptions available under FRS 101 in respect of the following disclosures: 
•	 a cash flow statement and related notes; 
•	 comparative period reconciliations for share capital, tangible fixed assets, intangible assets and investment properties;
•	 disclosures in respect of transactions with wholly owned subsidiaries;
•	 disclosures in respect of capital management;
•	 the effects of new but not yet effective IFRSs; and
•	 disclosures in respect of the compensation of key management personnel.
No income statement has been presented as permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company’s profit for the year 
after taxation was £nil (2023: £nil).
The Company has provided parent company guarantees to the following of its subsidiaries at 30 September 2024 under Section 479C of 
the Companies Act 2006 (the ‘Act’). These entities are exempt from the requirements of the Act relating to the audit of individual accounts 
by virtue of Section 479A of the Act.
Company name	
Company number
Company name	
Company number
Anderson Wharf (Student) Limited
06126636
New Bridewell Limited
09027661
Battersea Park Road London Limited
13168454
New Bridewell 1 Limited
09132046
Bridge Road Bath Limited
12445011
Nicelook Limited
07145637
Bridle Path Watford Limited
14175079
New Mart Road Limited
12738337
Crown Place Woking Limited
11826151
Newmark Developments Limited
05614426
Customhouse Student Limited
09767068
Northop Road Flint Limited
13920741
Dunaskin Student Limited
08748667
Onega Centre Bath Limited
09685453
Duncan House Developments Limited
09694863
Pirrie Belfast Limited
13009889
Ellen Street Hove Limited
12044774
Polarpeak Limited
06686090
Elliott Road Selly Oak Limited
11165995
Qualityoffer Limited
06710999
Finefashion Limited
06686047
Randalls Road Leatherhead Limited
13371252
Gas Lane Bristol Limited
12482112
Scarlet P Limited
07268296
Goldcharm Residential Limited
09568372
Sherlock Street Birmingham Limited
12054262
Gorse Stacks Development Limited
04351332
Spiritbond Stockwell Green Limited
07262463
Headrow House Leeds Limited
13899071
Stylegood Limited
06092932
Heol Santes Helen Limited
06256807
Swiftmatch Limited
07145665
India Street Glasgow Limited
12789502
TG Southall Limited
13500432
Liverpool Road Chester Limited
10597515
Walnut Tree Close Guildford Limited
12251752
Malago Road Bristol Limited
14044675
Watkin Jones AM Limited
07321534
High Street Swansea Limited
13113187
Westfield Avenue Edinburgh Limited
12706956
Holdenhurst Road Bournemouth Limited
09162309
Wilmslow Road Manchester Limited
12456538
India Street Glasgow Limited
12789502
Wisedeed Limited
06825836
Iona Street Edinburgh Limited
10872784
WJ AS1 Bristol Limited
15110160
Liverpool Road Chester Limited
10597515
WJ GQ London Limited
14972231
LPS Nottingham Limited
13206896
WJ HR Wembley Limited
15221095
Malago Road Bristol Limited
14044675
WJ TQ PBSA Belfast Limited
15331557
142	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

40. Employee costs
The only employees of Watkin Jones plc are the Executive and Non-Executive Directors. Details of the employee costs associated with 
the Directors are included in the Directors’ remuneration report and summarised below. All employee costs related to these Directors are 
borne by Watkin Jones & Son Limited, the Company’s principal trading subsidiary.
 2024 
£’000
2023
£’000
Wages and salaries
1,867
1,461
Employee incentive – long-term incentive plans
—
—
Social security costs
264
210
Pension costs
110
114
2,241
1,785
41. Dividends
 2024 
£’000
2023
£’000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year
Final dividend paid in February 2023 of 4.50 pence per share
—
11,539
Interim dividend paid in June 2023 of 1.40 pence per share
—
3,590
— 
15,129
No final dividend is proposed for the year ended 30 September 2024 (2023: nil pence per ordinary share). As such, no liability 
(2023: liability of £nil) has been recognised at that date. At 30 September 2024, the Company had distributable reserves available of 
£41,643,000 (30 September 2023: £41,115,000).
42. Investments in subsidiaries
Accounting policy
The Company’s investments in subsidiaries are accounted for at cost less accumulated impairment losses.
Subsidiary
undertakings
£’000
Cost
At 30 September 2022
258,808
Capital contribution relating to share‑based payments
1,067
At 30 September 2023
259,875
Capital contribution relating to share‑based payments
901
At 30 September 2024
260,776
The Company owns 100% of the issued shares in Watkin Jones Group Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. 
The principal activity of Watkin Jones Group Limited and its subsidiary companies is that of property development.
Financial statements
Company information
Governance
Strategic report
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
143

43. Trade and other payables: current
 2024 
£’000
2023
£’000
Financial liabilities
Amounts owed to Group undertakings
130,174
130,177
Amounts owed to Group undertakings are repayable on demand.
44. Share capital
 2024 
£’000
2023
£’000
Allotted, called up and fully paid
Ordinary shares of one pence each
2,567
2,564
The number of ordinary shares in issue at 30 September 2024 was 256,653,097 (30 September 2023: 256,441,253).
45. Share‑based payments
Accounting policy
Details of share awards granted by the Company to Executive Directors and to employees of its subsidiaries, and that 
remain outstanding at the year end over the Company’s shares, are set out in note 32 to the Group financial statements. 
The Company did not recognise any expense related to equity-settled share‑based payment transactions in the current or 
preceding year.
The cost of the equity-settled transactions is determined by the fair value at the date the grant is made using an appropriate 
valuation model, further details of which are given in note 32 to the Group financial statements. 
That cost is recognised in staff costs, together with a corresponding increase in equity over the period to which the service 
and performance conditions are fulfilled (the ‘vesting period’). The cumulative expense recognised for equity‑settled 
transactions at each reporting date until the vesting date reflects the extent to which the vesting period has expired and 
the Company’s best estimate of the number of equity instruments which will ultimately vest. The expense or credit in the 
statement of comprehensive income for a period represents the movement in cumulative expenses recognised as at the 
beginning and end of that period.
Service and non-market performance conditions are not taken into account when determining the grant date fair value of 
awards, but the likelihood of the conditions being met is assessed as part of the Company’s best estimate of the number 
of equity instruments which will ultimately vest. Market performance conditions are reflected within the grant date fair value. 
Where awards are linked to non-market performance conditions, no expense is recognised if the performance conditions 
are not met and/or service conditions are not met. Where awards include a market condition, the transactions are treated 
as vested irrespective of whether the market or non-vesting condition is satisfied, provided that all other performance and/or 
service conditions are satisfied.
Notes to the Company financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 September 2024
144	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Financial statements
Governance
Strategic report
Company information
Nominated adviser and broker
Peel Hunt LLP
7th Floor  
100 Liverpool Street  
London EC2M 2AT
Joint broker
Jefferies International Limited 
100 Bishopsgate  
London EC2N 4JL
Auditor
Deloitte LLP 
The Hanover Building  
Corporation Street  
Manchester M4 4AH
Solicitors to the Company
DLA Piper UK LLP 
Victoria Square House  
Victoria Square  
Birmingham B2 4DL
Company registrars
MUFG Corporate Markets
10th Floor  
Central Square  
29 Wellington Street  
Leeds LS1 4DL
Financial PR
MHP Group
4th Floor 
60 Great Portland Street 
London W1W 7RT
Advisers
Country of incorporation and main 
country of operation
Watkin Jones plc is incorporated in 
England and Wales. The Company 
operates in the UK.
Number of securities in issue
As at 30 September 2024, the Company’s 
issued share capital consists of 
256,653,097 ordinary shares with a nominal 
value of one pence each. The Company has 
no treasury shares.
Details of other exchanges 
or trading platforms
The Company’s shares will only be traded 
on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM 
market at present.
Company registration
Registered office: 12 Soho Square, London 
W1D 3QF. 
Registered in England and Wales (company 
number 9791105).
Shareholder information
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
145

AGM	
Annual general meeting
AIM	
Alternative Investment Market
APM	
alternative performance measure
BSA	
Building Safety Act 2022
BTR	
build to rent
CGU	
cash-generating unit
CST	
Curlew Student Trust
CST2	
Curlew Student Trust 2
EBITDA	
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and 
amortisation
EIR	
effective interest rate
EPS	
earnings per share
Fresh or FPG	
Fresh Property Group
FVOCI 	
fair value through other comprehensive income
GDPR 	
General Data Protection Regulation
HSE 	
health, safety and environment
IFRS	
International Financial Reporting Standards 
IPO 	
initial public offering
OCI	
other comprehensive income
PBSA	
purpose built student accommodation
PRS	
private rental sector
RCF 	
revolving credit facility
SDGs 	
UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
TSR	
total shareholder return
Annual general meeting (AGM)
The Company’s AGM will be held at 10.30am on 4 March 2025 
at the offices of MHP Group, 60 Great Portland Street, London 
W1W 7RT. The Notice of Meeting is available on the Group’s 
website watkinjonesplc.com.
Financial calendar
Glossary
146	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

Financial statements
Governance
Strategic report
Company information
Notes
	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024	
147

Notes continued
148	
Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024

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Creating the  
future of living
Watkin Jones plc
12 Soho Square 
London 
W1D 3QF
+44 (0)330 912 4000 
info@watkinjones.com
watkinjonesplc.com
@Watkin_Jones
Watkin Jones Group

Watkin Jones plc | Annual report and financial statements 2024