The directors present their strategic report on the affairs of the company, together with the financial statements, directors' report and auditor's report, for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The directors, in preparing this strategic report, have complied with s414c of the Companies Act 2006.
During the current year and prior year, Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited was the holding company of a group of companies engaged in the manufacture and sale of components and systems for the automotive industry. The company carries out administrative activities for and provides services to other companies in the group and charges management fees and service charges to those companies for the services provided. The directors are not aware of any likely changes in the company’s activities in the next 12 months from the date of this report.
Principal activities and future developments
The company’s interests continue to be managed by a branch established in France.
The directors reviewed the value of the investments in subsidiary undertakings at the balance sheet date and an impairment of €59,201,000 has been booked (2023: €391,892,000). Further details are included in note 8 to the accounts.
The turnover for the year is higher than that of the prior year at €1,138,000 (2023: €839,000) largely driven an increase in the value of costs recharged to other group entities. The average number of employees is consistent with the prior year at 5 (2023 - 5).
The company made a loss for the year after taxation of €57,719,000 (2023 - €391,412,000). The loss was made this year because of a fixed asset investment impairment of €59,201,000. The impairment was driven by an impairment of the entities investment in Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems (UK) Limited largely owing to a reduction in the value of the defined benefit pension scheme asset and French operations owing to a reduction in the recorded assets of those entities.
The net assets of the company at 31 December 2024 decreased to €397,627,000 from net assets of €454,177,000 at 31 December 2023, as a result of the loss in the year of €57,719,000 together with a currency gain on foreign currency net investments of €1,169,000.
The directors are not aware, at the date of this report, of any likely changes in the company's activities in the next year.
The company is exposed to potential impairments of its underlying investments. The company holds several investments in the United Kingdom and France together with indirect investments in Canada. If the value of those investments should become impaired because of their own trading results and/or losses on investments, then the company will also incur the risk of an impairment loss.
In assessing the net worth of its various investments the directors have used the latest available financial information together with any forecasts alongside other factors such as the overall economy and future prospects together with formal valuations of key indirect investments in determining whether any impairment is necessary
Key performance indicators
As an investment holding company the key performance indicator for the company is the carrying value of its fixed asset investments. The carrying value of the fixed asset investments at 31 December 2024 was €369,820,000 (2023:
€429,021,000).
Section 172 statement
Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited is a holding company and the success of the company is intrinsically linked to the success of its subsidiary undertaking, Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems (UK) Limited. The s172 statement below is therefore heavily linked to the policies and procedures established in Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems (UK) Limited
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires that directors of a company must act in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to:
The likely consequences of any decision in the long term
The interests of the company’s employees
The need to foster the company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers and others
The impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment
The desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct
The need to act fairly as between members of the company
The directors recognise their responsibilities under the Act and are satisfied they have met their duties regarding these matters. Typically, in large and complex companies such as ours, the directors fulfil their duties through a governance framework that delegates day-to-day decision making to employees of the company. The following paragraphs together with relevant cross-references to the financial statements summarise how the directors have fulfilled their duties.
Our purpose, strategy and consideration of the consequences of decisions for the long term
Our vision is to be the recognised leader in advanced braking solutions to the global commercial vehicle market which drives our mission of:
Anticipating customer needs by developing innovative products that provide superior performance, energy efficiency and reliability.
Provide a leading portfolio of differentiated services supporting our customers’ products throughout their life cycle.
Distinguishing ourselves through our ability to consistently deliver on our commitments while also maximising value for our shareholders, customers and employees.
The long term business plan is focused on driving product development with the primary aim of weight reduction. In addition to existing product development, the Board recognises the need to invest in emerging technologies such as electrification and elements of our research and development investment is focused on this key area.
Employees
The company's policy is to consult and discuss with employees, through unions, staff councils and at meetings, matters likely to affect employees' interests. Information about matters of concern to employees is given through information bulletins and reports which seek to achieve a common awareness on the part of all employees of the financial and economic factors affecting the company's performance.
Employee participation
The Company is part of the wider Cummins, Inc. Group and is therefore party to Group wide policies on procedures with regard employee participation. Both the Company and the wider Group is committed to investing heavily in its people recognizing that people are the core of our business and the provision of a work environment that allows our employees to reach their full potential is vital to the success of the wider business.
The Company is committed to recruiting, developing and retaining a high-performing and diverse workforce through strategic partnerships and collaboration within the business. The goal is to maximise individual and organizational potential within the workforce.
Both the Company and the Group recognise the need to communicate regularly and effectively with employees at all levels and this is conducted at both a Group and Company level.
Group communications include, but are not limited to:
Quarterly All Employee meetings
All employees are invited to a quarterly meeting where the group CEO, together with other members of the senior leadership of the Group provide an update on the group covering items such as financial and operational performance, new business wins, strategic update and employee engagement. In addition to being streamed live, these quarterly meetings are available to employees on our intranet sites, Bulletin and Cummins Connect. In addition, on an annual basis this meeting is used to communicate to all employees the annual financial results of the group and how these compare to our stated targets and ultimately on the annual bonus % which all employees are eligible to receive.
All Employee emails
All employee emails are regularly distributed and cover a wide ranging number of matters including organisational changes, strategic announcements, employee initiatives, industry and company news. This information is also available on our intranet sites, Bulletin and Cummins Connect.
Bulletin
This is the group’s intranet site and is available to all employees and covers a wide range of areas including information about the group, employee development portals, and company and industry news. The intranet also provides access to a wide array of employee engagement and development tools such as e-learning, career opportunities, employee development, employee resources and employee discounts. In addition, all employees now have access to the Cummins Connect intranet which provides additional resources over and above those included in the Bulletin intranet.
In addition to the Group communications, those employees who are employed by the Company also receive additional communications including:
Quarterly all employee newsletters
These all employee newsletters provide updates from each of the key functions within the Company including an update on the trading position of the company.
Employee bulletin boards
These boards are used to provide information to employees, particularly those operating on the factory floor and with limited access to the intranet. These cover a wide range of areas including operational and financial performance, employee updates together with any employee vacancies and training.
Trade Union
All employees below management are part of the Trade Union which meets regularly with local leadership to ensure any employee views are considered as part of local decision making including items such as remuneration, working conditions and any other employee related matters.
Disabled persons
Applications for employment by disabled persons are always fully considered, bearing in mind the aptitudes of the applicant concerned. In the event of members of staff becoming disabled, every effort is made to ensure that their employment within the company continues and that the appropriate training is arranged. It is the policy of the company that the training, career development and promotion of disabled persons should, as far as possible, be identical to that of other employees.
Training and development
The company encourages all employees to embrace continuous learning of new concepts, skills and behaviours. All employees are provided access to an employee development in addition to formal training programmes which are relevant to their roles.
Health and safety
Environment, health and safety (EH&S) risk management is a prerequisite for commercial success and forms an integral part of our business strategy. Meritor’s commitments are guided by our EH&S Policy, which is global in scope and covers all company entities, affiliates and consolidated joint ventures.
We are committed to complying with all applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations and are building a performance-based culture that encourages employees to strive for best practices in EH&S performance. EH&S responsibility and performance are relevant factors in employment, retention, compensation and business decisions. We provide our employees with regular training on EH&S issues.
The operations team works closely with our legal group’s environmental compliance experts to ensure we are aware of the latest trends in environmental compliance and sustainability.
Our manufacturing facility in Cwmbran is in compliance with ISO 14001 certification. In addition to systematic management of environmental risks under normal operations, ISO certification also requires the adoption and regular verification of emergency plans and procedures and related staff training. These procedures define roles, responsibilities and responses when tackling emergency situations to protect people and the environment.
The environmental certification maintenance process includes a series of external third-party audits, carried out by accredited bodies. The audit process requires annual surveillance monitoring with certification renewal every three years.
As part of the Cummins Inc group, the company will also be part of the wider group’s Destination Zero initiative which is the group’s strategy for reaching zero emissions by 2050.
Business relationships
Our mission is clearly focused on anticipating our customers’ needs and providing the highest levels of service. We have in place dedicated client service teams who are responsible for managing our customer relationships ensuring their needs are met. We hold regular meetings with our major customers focusing on key areas such as product quality, delivery times, cost savings plans and future development utilising a scorecard approach to monitor this.
We also recognise the key part that our suppliers play in our mission who are all supported by a dedicated procurement team. We value all our suppliers and have multi-year contracts with our key suppliers.
Business conduct
As noted above, the company invests heavily in maintaining strong customer and supplier relationships but the directors also recognise the need to ensure the company conducts its business to the highest standard and meets all regulatory and legal requirements. The directors have established appropriate legal, finance and operational teams to ensure that such matters are met.
Community and Environment
The Board recognises that the company is one of the largest employers in the region and a large proportion of our workforce live locally. The company contributes to a number of local initiatives and annually holds an open day for members of the local community to visit the site and view our operations. In addition, the company is a member of the Welsh Automotive Forum meeting regularly to develop a common approach in achieving sustainable continuous improvement for the Automotive Industry in Wales.
The directors’ also recognise the impact large international manufacturing businesses have on the environment and the increasing need to assess and indeed address this. Whilst no formal policies or procedures exist with this regard the directors have identified key components of the business which could impact climate change including:
Transportation of components from suppliers used in the manufacture of the Company’s goods and the transportation of finished goods to end customers using both road, sea and freight
Energy usage during the manufacture of goods and within the administrative offices
Carbon emissions arising from employees travelling both domestically and internationally
The directors have taken steps to address these matters and will continue to do so in the future including:
Optimising the utilisation of hauliers to limit the number of deliveries required both in terms of supplies received and shipped. In addition, the company seeks to minimise the use of air freight
Use of modern technology such as motion sensor lighting to reduce energy usage
Work with responsible utility providers
Provision of modern technology such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to reduce the requirement for frequent international and domestic air travel
The directors recognise that this is a continually evolving area and the Company is committed to ensuring it responds appropriately to climate risk.
Shareholders
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cummins Inc, a global business listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The vision and mission of the company is aligned with that of Cummins Inc.
Approved by the board and signed on its behalf by
The directors present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The company has a branch, as defined in section 1046(3) of the Companies Act 2006, outside the UK; Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited, French Branch, based in France.
The directors who served throughout the period and up to the signing date were as follows:
The results for the year are set out on page 12.
No ordinary dividends were paid. The directors do not recommend payment of a final dividend.
The Company is a holding company of a group of companies and consequently the most significant financial risk is that associated with liquidity. The Company is however part of the Meritor, Inc. group (“the Group”) and is part of the Group’s cash pooling scheme which ensures sufficient funds are available to maintain liquidity.
The company recognises its obligation to consider its impact on the climate. Whilst the company has minimal trading activities, a number of our employees are required to travel and in order to minimise the impact on the climate the company offers and encourages the use of enhanced communications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom to reduce the amount of travelling required.
The company has not identified any post balance sheet events which would necessitate disclosure in the financial statements.
Business review and future developments are discussed in the Strategic Report.
Whilst the company has made a loss of €57,719,000 in the year, this was driven by an impairment of €59,201,000 in its subsidiary undertakings Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems (UK) Limited and ArvinMeritor Holdings France (SNC). The company has net assets of €397,627,000 including net current assets of €27,877,000. The company generates revenue from other group companies for services rendered by its employees to other Cummins group companies.
The directors have concluded that the company has sufficient resources to continue to trade for at least twelve months from the date of signing the financial statements and meet any liabilities as they fall due. In drawing this conclusion the directors note that:
Cummins, Inc. group has cash and financing resources available to it of approximately $2,264m, revolving credit facilities of $2,741m and other credit facilities of $628m (per the most recent 10k filing).
the company is in a net assets positions; and
the company does not manufacture and has limited overheads which the directors are confident can be met as they fall due.
We have audited the financial statements of Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited (the 'company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the profit and loss account, the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard RS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Basis for qualified opinion
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.
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 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.
Other information
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, except for the possible effects of the matter described in the basis for qualified opinion section of our report, 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.
Except for the possible effects of the matter described in the basis for qualified opinion section of our report, in the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified any material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial statements, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
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.
The Profit and Loss Account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.
Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited is a private Company limited by shares incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 and is registered in England and Wales. The address of the Company’s registered office is shown on the company information page.
The principal activity of the company is stated in the Strategic Report on page 1.
The financial statements are prepared in Euros, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest € 000.
This company is a qualifying entity for the purposes of FRS 102, being a member of a group where the parent of that group prepares publicly available consolidated financial statements, including this company, which are intended to give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the group. The company has therefore taken advantage of exemptions from the following disclosure requirements:
Section 4 ‘Statement of Financial Position’ – Reconciliation of the opening and closing number of shares;
Section 7 ‘Statement of Cash Flows’ – Presentation of a statement of cash flow and related notes and disclosures;
Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instrument Issues’ – Carrying amounts, interest income/expense and net gains/losses for each category of financial instrument; basis of determining fair values; details of collateral, loan defaults or breaches, details of hedges, hedging fair value changes recognised in profit or loss and in other comprehensive income;
Section 26 ‘Share based Payment’ – Share-based payment expense charged to profit or loss, reconciliation of opening and closing number and weighted average exercise price of share options, how the fair value of options granted was measured, measurement and carrying amount of liabilities for cash-settled share-based payments, explanation of modifications to arrangements; and
Section 33 ‘Related Party Disclosures’ – Compensation for key management personnel and other related party transactions.
The financial statements of the company are consolidated in the financial statements of Cummins, Inc. These consolidated financial statements are available from its registered office, 500 Jackson Street Box 3005 Columbus, IN 47201 United States. They can also be downloaded from the website www.cummins.com.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the company transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Derivatives, including interest rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts, are not basic financial instruments. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or finance income as appropriate, unless hedge accounting is applied and the hedge is a cash flow hedge.
Debt instruments that do not meet the conditions in FRS 102 paragraph 11.9 are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Debt instruments may be designated as being measured at fair value through profit or loss to eliminate or reduce an accounting mismatch or if the instruments are measured and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.
Consolidation
The company has taken the exemption provided by Section 401 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not prepared consolidated financial statements on the basis that the company is included in the consolidated financial statements of a larger group and those consolidated financial statements meet the criteria set out in section 401 (2) of the act. These financial statements therefore present information about the company as an individual undertaking and not about its group.
Interest receivable
Interest income is recognised when it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the company and the amount of revenue can be measured reliably. Interest income is accrued on a time basis, by reference to the principal outstanding and the effective interest rate applicable.
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The 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 where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements.
Assets, other than those measured at fair value, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each balance sheet date. If there is objective evidence of impairment, an impairment loss is recognised in the profit or loss as follows: for financial assets carried at cost less impairment, the impairment loss is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the best estimate of the amount that would be received for the asset if it were to be sold at the reporting date.
At the year-end date the company held investments in Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems UK Limited (“HVBS”) of €73.9m, ArvinMeritor Holdings France SNC of €287.4m and Wilmot-Breeden (Holdings) Limited of €8.5m which were supported by the net assets of the relevant entities at that date.
The directors believe that owing to the straightforward nature of the business there are no other key sources of estimation uncertainty or critical accounting judgement.
Turnover represents the value of management fees and services invoiced to customers during the year, excluding Value Added Tax, relating to the principal class of business. Turnover is recognised at the point of provision of those services.
An analysis of the company's turnover is as follows:
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
All directors who were in office during the period are paid directly by other Cummins Inc. group companies. They received no remuneration for their services to Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited. No emoluments for these directors were charged to the company during the year (2023 - €nil).
During the year the company impaired its investment in Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems UK Limited by €12,289,000 (2023: €44,401,000) – the impairment was driven by a significant devaluation of the defined benefit pension scheme asset held in Meritor Heavy Vehicle Braking Systems UK Limited owing to the significant deterioration in market conditions at the time of the actuarial valuation owing to the fallout from the mini budget announcement.
During the year the company impaired its investments in its French operations by €46,921,000 (2023 - €347,491,000) owing to a reduction in the recorded assets of those entities.
The actual charge for the year can be reconciled to the expected credit for the year based on the profit or loss and the standard rate of tax as follows:
In December 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the Pillar Two model rules to reform international corporate taxation. Large multinational enterprises within the scope of the rules are required to calculate their effective tax rate for each jurisdiction where they operate. They will be liable to pay a top-up tax for the difference between their effective tax rate per jurisdiction and the 15% minimum rate. Arvin European Holdings (UK) Limited expects to be within the scope of the Pillar Two rules in 2024 and the group has carried out an impact assessment and has determined that there is no material exposure to top-up taxes for the UK territory including for this entity.
Goodwill is considered to have a finite useful life and is amortised on a systematic basis over its expected life, which is twenty years.
Details of the company's subsidiaries at 31 December 2024 are as follows:
Registered office addresses (all UK unless otherwise indicated):
Amounts owed by group undertakings attract no interest and are payable on demand.
The company is part of a group wide cash pooling agreement. Interest is received on any amount owed by the cash
pooling entity at a rate of SONIA less 0.5% and paid on any amount owed to the cash pooling entity at a rate of
SONIA plus 0.5% remaining. Amounts owed by other group undertakings attract no interest and are payable on demand.
The company is part of a group wide cash pooling agreement. Interest is received on any amount owed by the cash pooling entity at a rate of SONIA less 5% and paid on any amount owed to the cash pooling entity at a rate of SONIA plus 0.5%.
Amounts owed to group undertakings attract no interest and are payable on demand.
This pension-related provision is paid directly to the employee on the date of their retirement.
A deferred tax asset of £73,252,388 (2023: £73,655,516) has not been recognised in respect of losses and capital losses as there is insufficient evidence that the asset will be recovered. This asset would be recovered is ArvinMeritor Limited made sufficient taxable profits from non-trade activities in future accounting periods. An analysis of the unrecognised deferred tax asset is as follows:
The company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the company in an independently administered fund.