TheCityUK (the “Company”) is committed to high standards of Corporate Governance. The Board is accountable to the Company’s members for good governance in its management of the affairs of the Company.
The Directors acknowledge the importance of the principles of corporate governance. As a non-quoted company limited by guarantee, the Company is not obliged to comply with the requirements of the Combined Code, however the Board intends to comply with its main provisions as far as reasonably practicable having regard to the size of the organisation. The Board recognises the importance to members of Corporate Governance disclosure, to this end the Company has developed a set of disclosures that it feels are consistent with the Company’s size and the constitution of the Board and intends to continue to develop these disclosures as it grows.
The Board
The Board currently comprises the following members who are also members of the following committees of the Board:
| Directors | Finance and Audit Committee | Remuneration and Nominations Committee |
| Omar Ali | x | |
| Susan Allen OBE | x | |
| Farmida Bi CBE | ||
| Edward Braham | x | |
| Miles Celic | x | x |
| Georgia Dawson | ||
| Galina Dimitrova | ||
| Adam Farkas | ||
| Hannah Gurga | ||
| Christopher Hayward | x | |
| Sarah Melvin | ||
| Julie Page | ||
| David Postings | x | |
| Christopher Rhodes | ||
| Anne Richards DBE | x | |
| Sir William Russell | x | |
| Ian Stuart | ||
| Jonathan Whitehouse |
Matters reserved to the Board’s attention
The Board has a formal schedule of matters reserved for its decision covering the following areas:
- objectives and strategy
- structure
- membership
- management
- financial reporting, internal controls, risk and capital management
- transactions
- corporate governance
- renumeration and pensions
- board and other board committee appointments
- delegation of authority
- policies
- material contracts.
For more information regarding our Board, please read our Board Charter.
Committees
The Board operates through clearly identified Board committees to which it delegates certain powers. These are the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and the Nominations Committee. They are properly authorised under the constitution of the Company to take decisions and act on behalf of the Board, within the guidelines and delegations laid down by the Board in the Board Charter. The Board is kept fully informed of the work of these committees and each committee has access to and support from the Company Secretary. Any issues requiring resolution are referred to the full Board. A summary of the operations of these committees is set out below.
The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee’s role is to review, and challenge where necessary, the annual operating budget and management accounts of the Company. Its role is also to monitor the quality of internal control, ensuring that the financial performance of the Company is properly measured and reported on, and to review reports from the Company’s auditors relating to its accounting and internal controls, in all cases having due regard to the interests of the members. Finally, this committee reviews the key operational risks facing the Company and management plan to mitigate these risks.
The Nominations Committee leads the process for Board appointments. It vets and presents to the Board potential new Directors. All new appointees undergo a nomination process before the Board considers their appointment. In addition, it shall review and make recommendations to the Board about the Company’s remuneration policy and specifically about the remuneration package of the Chief Executive Officer.
A copy of the Terms of Reference for these committees can be obtained by contacting the Company Secretary at the Company’s Offices.
In addition, the Board receives reports and recommendations from time to time on matters which it considers significant.
Board Meetings
The Board scheduled five meetings during the year ended 31 March 2024. The table below shows the attendance of Directors at regular Board meetings and at meetings of the Board committees during the year.
The Board is supplied in a timely manner with information in a form and of a quality appropriate to enable it to discharge its duties.
| Directors | Date appointed (A) or resigned (R) | Regular Board Meetings | Finance and Audit Committee | Remuneration and Nominations Committee |
| Meetings held | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Susan Allen OBE | (A) 19 March 2024 | 1 | ||
| Omar Ali | 4 | 2 | ||
| Farmida Bi CBE | (A) 20 September 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| Edward Braham | 5 | 2 | ||
| Miles Celic | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Georgia Dawson | (A) 20 September 2023 | 2 | ||
| Galina Dimitrova | 4 | |||
| Adam Farkas | 4 | |||
| Hannah Gurga | 4 | |||
| Christoper Hayward | 3 | 2 | ||
| John Heaps | (R) 15 October 2023 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sarah Melvin | 3 | |||
| Julie Page | (A) 13 December 2023 | 1 | ||
| David Postings | 5 | 2 | ||
| Christopher Rhodes | (A) 13 December 2023 | 1 | ||
| Anne Richards DBE | 5 | 2 | ||
| Sir William Russell | 2 | |||
| Ian Stuart | (A) 19 March 2024 | 1 | ||
| Dr Kay Swinburne | (R) 6 June 2023 | 0 | ||
| Jonathan Whitehouse | 5 | 4 |
Board performance appraisal
With the full support of the Board, the Chairman leads an evaluation of the performance of the Board and its committees on a regular basis. The last review concluded that the Board and its committees are currently effective and each Director continues to demonstrate commitment to their role. The review recommended streamlining of the Board subcommittees and the Board charter was duly amended and implemented.
Re-election of Directors
New Directors are subject to election at the first Annual General Meeting of the Company following their appointment. In addition, up to a third of the Directors (excluding the Nominated Directors of the City of London Corporation and the Greater London Authority) are required to submit themselves for re-election at the AGM of the Company. Each Director shall be entitled to be reappointed but shall not serve as a Director for more than two three-year periods.
Board independence
The Board considers all the Non-Executive Directors to be independent in character and judgement. The Non-Executive Directors have provided robust independent advice and challenge throughout the year. In concluding that all its Non-Executive Directors are independent, the Company considered, inter-alia, the fact that all of the Non-Executive Directors are Directors of other corporations and are unpaid.
