Section 172 statement
In keeping with Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, the Directors continue to have regard to the interests of the company’s employees and other stakeholders, including the impact of its activities on the community, the environment and the company’s reputation, when making decisions. Acting in good faith and with due consideration to a wide range of stakeholders’ interests, the Directors consider what is most likely to promote the success of the Group in the long term.
Shared purpose
Developing and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders supports delivery of the Group’s shared purpose: enabling people, businesses, and communities to develop and flourish for decades to come. As stewards of a family business now in its fourth generation of family ownership, the shareholders are committed to a strategy that centres on sustainable growth and includes carefully managing finances and investing in people and communities.
The importance of relationships with stakeholders is underpinned by the Vestey Holdings performance framework, which includes clear commitments to Finance, Communities, People and Sustainability. Another pillar of the framework is Communications, reflecting a commitment to foster a greater sense of purpose throughout the Group by promoting employee engagement and ensuring the right communication channels – such as the Intranet, website and social media accounts – are in place to engage existing and potential colleagues and stakeholders.
How we create value for our stakeholders
The Vestey Holdings Board develops the broad strategies needed for the Group to create value for stakeholders. The Vestey Holdings executive directors work with the management teams in each of the operating subsidiaries to agree the strategies for their businesses, and the implementation of these strategies are planned and monitored through the Group’s reporting process.
The Vestey Holdings executive directors meet regularly with management teams of the businesses to review progress against agreed strategies and review business development proposals.
Relationships with major stakeholder groups
The Board regularly reviews the company’s principal stakeholders and how we engage with them. The stakeholder voice is brought into the boardroom throughout the annual cycle through information provided by management and by Board members’ direct engagement with stakeholders. The following sections set out our focus on the Company’s key stakeholder relationships.
Shareholders
The Group is ultimately owned by the Joint Vestey Settlement dated 25th March 1942, an Alderney based trust, benefiting the future generations of the Vestey family. As a family business, shareholders are closely engaged in the business, and there are channels in place to ensure an appropriate flow of information. Two members of the Vestey family sit on the Board, with one serving as Chair of the Family Council, tasked with facilitating a flow of information to the broader shareholder Group. During 2024, the Vestey Family Council met three times to consider ownership issues and received business updates from senior managers in the Group.
The Group strongly believes in sharing in the growth of our businesses with our managers. This can be through shareholdings in our subsidiaries, profit shares and bonuses.
Workforce
With over 1,100 employees in the Group, we strive to create an environment in which our people can make a positive contribution, develop their careers and reach their potential.
This environment is fostered by an open flow of information, so that employees can understand how their business contributes to the broader success of the Group. Engagement with our employees takes many forms, including regular updates directly from Vestey Holdings leaders and information cascaded via senior managers of the individual businesses.
The Group intranet, InVest, provides employees with details on developments across the Group and provides access to key policies and other information. In 2024, focus was given to upgrading our Intranet offering with greater access to news, blog posts, updates and assets such as Group policies and strategies and implementing a timetable to widen access to all colleagues.
In December 2024, the Board approved a new Diversity and Inclusion policy, which is being cascaded to businesses in 2025, supported with training for leaders.
A staff survey is undertaken every two years and is reported to the individual subsidiary company boards as well as the main Vestey Holdings Board. The survey provides valuable input into decision-making and guide improvements in the working environment for staff. In 2024 actions were taken to respond to issues raised in the 2023 survey, with follow up actions taken by management reviewed by the Board. Another survey is planned for 2025.
Investment has been made into the welfare of employees through provision of mental health training for line managers and the establishment of Mental Health First Aiders.
Training for all staff has been widened to include access to a learning management platform, with a suite of mandatory courses, plus many optional choices to additionally support and engage staff.
Our customers
The diverse range of businesses in the Group means that our customers in the UK and around the world range from governments, manufacturers, food service providers (restaurants, pubs, other eating out establishments), wholesalers, retailers (supermarkets, garden centres, farm shops) and individual consumers through our direct-to-consumer business.
The long-term success of the businesses requires us to deliver quality products that customers need in a timely and reliable manner.
Businesses within the Group are constantly working with customers on product development to ensure that we continue to meet their requirements with regards to quality and service.
Our suppliers
We serve our customers with great value from a worldwide network of suppliers. Suppliers range from substantial multinational companies to small-scale local businesses providing bespoke products and services when they are needed.
To establish and maintain relationships, meetings are conducted regularly between suppliers and procurement, and tendering and sourcing events are undertaken to select new suppliers.
We focus on delivering products sourced to high standards from transparent supply chains working in partnership with our suppliers to assess, understand, reduce and mitigate human, animal and landscape impacts.
In keeping with our Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking statement, which is approved by the Board annually, we expect all our suppliers to be aware of the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act and we work closely with our suppliers and peers to build knowledge and promote best practice. We are constantly engaging with suppliers that we identify as potentially high-risk. During 2024, training on Modern Slavery was expanded, now being mandatory for all colleagues across the Group, thus raising awareness of the risk and impact of Modern Slavery throughout our operations. Vestey Holdings businesses are active members of Food Network for Ethical Trade, contributing to the working group and taking part in panel discussions on EU regulations at the annual All Members Meeting.
Businesses prepared for the implementation of the (now delayed) EU Deforestation Regulation by mapping the intended process, engaging with suppliers on required data points and understanding the practicalities of complying with the Regulation to ensure continued supply.
Communities
Our community engagement and support programme is a pillar of our Vestey Holdings performance framework, emphasising the importance that we put on supporting communities. Reporting on our contributions and activity enables the Board to remain focused on corporate responsibility issues.
Vestey Holdings supports national charities with local footprints and encourages individual businesses and branches within the Group to partner with local organisations linked with these charities or with charities of their choice. In 2024, Vestey Holdings and its businesses donated over £200,000 in cash, food and in-kind donations to charitable organisations in the UK and overseas. In addition, colleagues took part in 671 hours of workplace volunteering hours supporting their national or local organisations.
Engagement with national charities focuses on helping young people to achieve their full potential. For example, in 2024, Vestey Holdings went into its second year of partnership with YMCA England and Wales, fundraising £11,141 to fund an additional 55 YMCA-supported accommodations. One in six colleagues across the Group took part in its main fundraising event, a virtual step-challenge in June-July, which raised £7,393. The business sponsored the Youth Ambassador Programme, which empowers young people across England and Wales to represent and be a voice for their peers, help shape policies and contribute meaningful change. Vestey Holdings also sponsored the YMCA report ‘On the Ropes’, which highlights the impact of local authority cuts to youth services over the previous 12 years.
The Group and its subsidiaries also supported the charity Chance to Shine with funds donated in 2023, enabling the delivery of street programmes in Aberdeen, Scotland and Dartford, England in 2024. The programmes supported young people living in deprived areas to learn and develop through sport.
More impact on the ground continued to be delivered through the campaign ‘Inspiring a Future in Food’ – a programme initiated in 2023 in partnership with the charity Education and Employers to broaden young people’s horizons and open them up to careers in the food industry. As part of the campaign, a virtual session was organised with Vestey Foods UK and nine schools in England, reaching 200 students. Colleagues also volunteered in their local schools using the Inspiring the Future platform. As of July 2024, 18 colleagues had taken part in volunteering activities, interacting with an estimated 3,852 young people.
During 2024, Vestey Holdings donated £2,068 to other charities supporting local YMCAs or matching colleagues’ fundraising efforts for the charity of their choice. We continued to explore potential relationships between our UK-based businesses and local prisons. In parallel, George Vestey, our Group CEO, remains Chair of the Employment Advisory Board (EAB) at HMP Hollesley Bay and Chair of the Suffolk Community Foundation.
Environment
Sustainability remains a key focus for the Group, with activity in 2024 building on the foundations of previous years and responding to increased requests and expectations from our customers globally.
Vestey Holdings recognises the Group’s responsibilities as part of the global community, and we know that minimising any negative impact of our operations – whether on the environment or the people who work within the sector – is the right thing to do. Accordingly, we have set a target of achieving net zero carbon impact by 2050, with several ambitious elements for the next few years including:
The quality of carbon data we collect has increased, allowing for enhanced visibility of the businesses and Group positions against our targets. A newly formed Energy Committee enabled visibility of UK energy pricing and supported significant energy cost savings. Efficiency actions across all businesses resulted in a reduction of Scope 2 emissions, and a move to renewable electricity tariff was made at most UK sites with the remainder changing in 2025. Supplier engagement resulted in the use of actual supplier data in Scope 3 calculations, our biggest emissions scope. Work continues to focus on efficiencies and strategies to reduce emissions across all scopes.
A robust governance system ensures that environmental issues are well managed, drawing on experience of the businesses and providing a flow of information to the Board. The Sustainability Steering Committee, consisting of representatives of Group businesses as well as Vestey Holdings function leads and the Chief Executive Officer, met three times in the year and completed work on policy creation and implementation, KPI development and monitoring, carbon emissions targets progress review and sharing of best practices across the Group. More information on sustainability governance is on page 11.
In 2024, two of our businesses (Vestey Foods France and WISK Dubai) undertook EcoVadis assessments for the first time, with good results and a commitment to build upon their scores in subsequent years.