Our Committees

The Board has three principal committees, each of whose terms of reference are available from the Governance download centre. All committees and all Directors have the authority to seek information from any Group Director or employee and to obtain professional advice.

For more information, please see our latest Annual Report.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is chaired by Ian Krieger and its other members are Gert van de Weerdhof and Jane Bentall. The Committee members have been selected to provide the wide range of financial and commercial expertise necessary to fulfil the Committee’s duties and responsibilities. The Board considers the Committee members’ financial experience to be recent and relevant for the purposes of the UK Corporate Governance Code.
 
Role
The primary function of the Committee is to assist the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. This includes reviewing the financial reports and other financial information before publication. In addition, the Committee also reviews the systems of internal controls on a continuing basis, with respect to finance, accounting, risk management, compliance, fraud and audit that management and the Board have established.

The Committee has responsibility for the financial reporting processes, along with reviewing the roles and effectiveness of both the internal store assurance team and the external auditor. The ultimate responsibility for reviewing and approving the annual and other accounts remains with the Board.

Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee is chaired by David Hearn and its other members are Ian Krieger, the Senior Independent Director, and Gert van de Weerdhof.
 
Role
The Committee keeps the composition of the Board under review, makes recommendations on its membership and monitors succession planning for Directors. It also evaluates Board and Committee performance. The Committee adopts a formal, rigorous and transparent procedure for the appointment of new Directors to the Board.

Remuneration Committee

The Remuneration Committee is chaired by Laure Duhot and its other members are David Hearn, Ian Krieger, Delphine Mousseau, Gert van de Weerdhof and Jane Bentall.
 
Role
The Committee makes recommendations to the Board on remuneration policy for the executive directors, other senior managers and Chairman of the Board. The current remuneration policy was adopted in March  2020, following approval by shareholders at the 2020 Annual General Meeting.