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Corporate Governance
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
As Chairman, my role includes upholding the highest levels of corporate governance throughout the Company, particularly at Board level. It therefore gives me great pleasure to introduce our Governance Statement.
The Principles of Corporate Governance
As a Board, we aim towards high standards of corporate governance and recognise its importance in supporting our strategic goals and long-term success. The Company is listed on AIM and is therefore required to provide details of a recognised corporate governance code that the Board of Directors has decided to apply.
We continue to consider that the Quoted Companies Alliance ("QCA Code") is the most appropriate governance code for the Group to apply, being more applicable for small and midsized companies than the UK Corporate Governance Code which would be both unwieldy and costly to comply with fully. The Company is committed to applying the QCA Code in a way which best serves our stakeholders, given the size and nature of the Group. We explain further below how we adhere to the ten principles of the QCA Code, in four key areas.
Delivering Growth
The Board has collective responsibility for setting the strategic aims and objectives of the Group. These aims are articulated in the Chief Executive Officer’s statement in the Annual Report. In the course of implementing these strategic aims, the Board takes into account the expectations of the Company’s shareholder base and also its wider stakeholder and social responsibilities.
The Board also has responsibility for the Group’s internal control and risk management systems and structures. Our risk management process is embedded into the business and starts at Board level but is delivered throughout the Group.
Risk Management
The Board has overall responsibility for the effective management of all risks to which the Company is exposed. Details of the Board’s approach to risk management are set out on pages 5 to 7 of the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th April 2022.
Maintaining a Dynamic Management Framework
As Chairman, I consider both the operation of the Board as a whole and the performance of individual Directors regularly. An internal evaluation of the Board led by the Company Secretary and myself was carried out last year.
Building Trust
Responsibility for the overall leadership of the Group and setting the Group’s values and standards sits with the Board. BOTB is a customer facing and customer focussed organisation, seeking to deliver an excellent experience to everyone we serve. Our business is based heavily on trust and customer feedback is actively sought using independent third parties, including Feefo and Trustpilot, as well as through social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
We strive to maintain the highest standards of probity, integrity and transparency in the operation of our competitions, in our financial affairs and whilst interacting with customers, staff, shareholders and other stakeholders. In line with our strategy, the Directors and senior management seek to provide an entrepreneurial culture for our employees, whilst encouraging the strongly ethical expansion of our competition offerings to new customers, both in the UK and internationally.
Senior management supports our team to learn continuously and offer opportunities for training, in order to grow both together and as individuals. Together, we seek to improve ourselves, our processes and our business to deliver long-term shareholder value and a growing and contented customer base. We strive to support each other and to be good stewards of our assets, of our relationships with customers, staff, suppliers and ultimately of our Company’s reputation.
During the year, BOTB has undertaken a number of investor relations activities to support our shareholders. These include various investor roadshows in combination with the publishing of our bi-annual financial results. Investors are also actively encouraged to attend our AGM and our Board sees this as an important event in the annual calendar to meet with and talk to shareholders and other stakeholders.
Throughout the year, the Board has continued to review governance and the Group’s corporate governance framework. We reviewed our governance against the QCA Code in May 2022 and will do so annually as required by AIM Rule 26.
Charles Butler
Non-Executive Chairman
1st October 2022
Roles and Responsibilities of the Chairman and Chief Executive
The Chairman is responsible for leading an effective Board, upholding the highest levels of corporate governance throughout the Company particularly at Board level; and ensuring that the overall strategy of the Group is considered and deemed appropriate by the Board as a whole.
The Chief Executive, William Hindmarch and Executive Directors, Rupert Garton and Ben Hughes, are responsible for proposing the Group’s strategy and its implementation as well as the day to day management of the Group.
Board Committees
The Board has established an Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee each of which have written terms of reference.
The Audit Committee comprises David Firth (Chairman) and Daniel Burns. The Committee meet as deemed necessary but at least twice a year.
The Audit Committee is responsible for:
• Monitoring the integrity of the financial statements
• Reviewing accounting policies and other reporting issues
• Reviewing the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls and risk management
• Overseeing the relationship with the external auditor including approving their remuneration and approving the audit plan and reviewing its findings
• Reviewing the need for an internal audit function.
The Remuneration Committee comprises Jo Bucci (Chairman) and Charles Butler and is responsible for making recommendations to the Board on the Group’s framework of executive remuneration and its cost. The Committee determines the contract terms, remuneration and other benefits for each of the Executive Directors.
Matters reserved for the Board
There are certain matters specifically reserved to the Board for its decision which includes approvals of major expenditure and investments and key policies. Board meetings are held on a regular basis and effectively no decision of any consequence is made other than by the Board.
To enable the Board to discharge its duties, all Directors have full and timely access to all relevant information. All Directors have access to the Company Secretary, Kerin Williams. There is no agreed formal procedure for the Directors to take independent professional advice at the Company's expense. All Directors submit themselves for re-election at the annual general meeting at regular intervals.
The Directors comply with Rule 21 of the AIM Rules relating to Directors' dealing as applicable to AIM Companies, and the Company has adopted a dealing code that complies with the Market Abuse Regulations.
Shareholder Relations
The Chief Executive is the Group’s principal spokesperson with investors, fund managers, the press and other interested parties. Following the announcement of the interim and full year results, investor roadshows are carried out and at the Annual General Meeting, private investors are given the opportunity to question the Board.
The latest Annual General Meeting was held on 14th September 2022. The Notice of the Annual General Meeting was set out at the back of the Annual Report which is available along with historical Annual Reports and Accounts.
This table displays the voting figures from the Annual General Meeting held on 14th September 2022. All resolutions were passed by means of a poll. Should voting on a resolution receive a significant number of votes against it, the Company would seek to engage with shareholders to understand the reasons behind the result.
Shareholder enquiries
Please contact our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC, should you have a query regarding the administration of your shareholding including:
• Purchasing shares
• Change of name/address
• Lost/stolen share certificate or dividend cheque
• Transferring shares
Shareholder helpline: +44 (0) 370 707 1543
Board Evaluation
We appointed two additional Directors during 2022 increasing the Board from five members to seven, two of whom can be considered independent. Given these recent changes in Board membership, we feel that a Board Evaluation would not be appropriate at this time. We will however consider an evaluation once the Board has had an opportunity to work together for a longer period.
Succession planning
As the Company has a relatively small Board there is no formal procedure in place for succession. Where Directors have left, positions have been filled in consultation with the Nomad and based on the skills and experience required for the role in question.
Culture and Ethics
BOTB is a customer facing and customer focussed organisation, seeking to deliver an excellent experience to everyone we serve. We strive to maintain the highest standards of probity, integrity and transparency in the operation of our competitions, in our financial affairs and whilst interacting with both customers and staff. The Directors and senior management strive to provide an entrepreneurial culture for our employees, whilst encouraging the ethical pursuit of opportunities to expand our product offerings to new customers, both in the UK and internationally. Senior management also support our team to learn continuously and offer opportunities for training, in order to grow both together and as individuals. We will together seek to improve ourselves, our processes and our business to deliver long term shareholder value and a growing and contented customer base. Together, we support each other and will be good stewards of our assets, of our relationships with customers, staff, suppliers and ultimately of our company’s reputation.
Evolution of Governance
The Board is mindful of the importance of governance in the successful growth of the business and it will continue to review and assess its governance framework to ensure it remains appropriate to the size and nature of the business.
This Corporate Governance information was last updated on 4th July 2023.