Annual Report
& ACCOUNTS 2025
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
2
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
To be the leading specialist recruitment
consultancy in each of our chosen markets.
To change lives.
This forms the foundation of our business and guides us in
everything we do.
Our Purpose
Our Ambition
Our three
strategic goals
Operating profit of
£400m
Changing
One million
lives
Increasing our net
promoter score to
60+
Our four strategic
pillars of growth
Maximising
our core business
Accelerating growth
of our Technology
business
Expanding
Page Executive
Building out
our capabilities for
Strategic Customers
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Chair’s Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Chief Executive Officer’s Review
..................................................................................................................7
Our Business
...............................................................................................................................................9
Review of the Year
.....................................................................................................................................23
Key Performance Indicators
....................................................................................................................... 28
Q&A with Nick Kirk, CEO
...........................................................................................................................31
Artificial Intelligence
....................................................................................................................................33
People and Culture
....................................................................................................................................36
Stakeholder Engagement
..........................................................................................................................45
Sustainability
.............................................................................................................................................51
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
.................................................................................58
Risk Management
......................................................................................................................................64
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
...............................................................................................................66
Disclosure Statements
...............................................................................................................................74
Strategic Report
Contents
Chair’s Introduction to Corporate Governance ...........................................................................................77
Our Board of Directors
...............................................................................................................................79
The Executive Board
..................................................................................................................................83
Corporate Governance Report
..................................................................................................................85
Nomination Committee Report
..................................................................................................................93
Audit Committee Report
............................................................................................................................98
Directors’ Remuneration Report – Annual Statement
...............................................................................105
Directors’ Remuneration Report
..............................................................................................................107
Directors’ Report
.....................................................................................................................................135
Directors’ Statements of Responsibility
....................................................................................................138
Corporate Governance
Financial Statements
Independent Auditor’s Report ..................................................................................................................141
Consolidated Income Statement
..............................................................................................................148
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.................................................................................148
Consolidated and Parent Company Balance Sheets
...............................................................................149
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
.........................................................................................150
Statement of Changes in Equity – Parent Company
................................................................................. 151
Consolidated and Parent Company Cash Flow Statements
....................................................................152
Notes to the Financial Statements
...........................................................................................................153
Additional Information
Shareholder Information and Advisers .....................................................................................................186
Introduction
PageGroup at a Glance ...............................................................................................................................1
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
1
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
PageGroup at a Glance
Headcount
6,820
Countries
34
123
Offices
Australasia
Asia
UK
EMEA
North
America
Latin
America
Middle
East
How we deliver
The Group’s strategy is driven by our purpose of changing lives and being customer-led,
people-powered and insights-driven.
CUSTOMER LED
Our consultants provide
valuable expertise, market
knowledge and insight
to our customers, acting
as a trusted partner; we
work with clients to shape
their talent management
strategies and with
candidates to help navigate
their career journeys.
Human interaction is vital
in order to deliver the most
successful outcome for
each party.
PEOPLE POWERED
We are committed to
organic growth and offering
our People a career in
recruitment, rather than just
a job. As a result, we have
highly trained and motivated
employees. Each office,
region or discipline is led
by experienced PageGroup
management, equipped with
the skills and experience to
maintain our market-leading
position. Our unique culture
is a key factor in our success,
both now and for the future.
INSIGHT DRIVEN
Our role is to help our
Customers - candidates and
clients - to make informed
decisions. Critical to that
success is having data and
insights available to support
their decision. Our global
reach and infrastructure
allow us to provide our
consultants with market-
leading technology and data,
as well as access to the
best candidates. This drives
better, targeted outcomes for
our customers.
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
2024: £842.6m
£769.5m
Gross Profit
-7.6%
£20.9m
Operating Profit
2.7%
Conversion Rate*
2.9p
Basic Earnings per Share
8.57p
Total Ordinary Dividend
2024: £52.4m
-58.8%
2024: 6.2%
2024: 9.1p
-68.1%
2024: 17.11p
-49.9%
Financial highlights
2025 Overview
Non-financial highlights
Client Net
Promoter Score
66
Lives changed
since 2020*
793,323
Scope 1 & 2 carbon
reduction since 2022
-46%
Generalist staffing
Support professional
Qualified professional
ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
Executive search
Our brands
*Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit
* Number of people whose lives we have changed by placing them into work or helping them access our social impact programmes
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
3
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Strategic
Report
Contents
4
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Strategic
Report
Review of the Year ......................................................23
Key Performance Indicators
........................................28
Q&A with Nick Kirk, CEO
............................................31
Artificial Intelligence
.....................................................33
People and Culture
.....................................................36
Stakeholder Engagement
...........................................45
Sustainability
..............................................................51
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures
....58
Risk Management
.......................................................64
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
................................66
Disclosure Statements
................................................74
Chair’s Introduction ..................................................... 5
Chief Executive Officer’s Review
...................................7
Our Business
Business Model ............................................................9
Market Dynamics
........................................................13
Strategy
......................................................................15
Competitive Advantage
..............................................21
Capital Allocation Policy
..............................................22
Review of the Year
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
5
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Chair’s Introduction
Introduction
In a year defined by challenging macro-economic
conditions, we delivered a resilient performance whilst
maintaining our commitment to exceptional customer
service. At the same time, we continued to invest in
innovation and technology to ensure we remain at the
forefront of our industry.
Whilst subdued market conditions continued throughout
2025, we were encouraged by growth in the US and
positive performances in a number of our Asian and Latin
American markets. Europe and the UK have undoubtedly
remained challenging and given the importance of these
to our overall business, this has been reflected in our
financial performance. However, the Board has been,
and continues to be, focused on managing costs. As a
result, the Group is well-placed to capitalise on recovery
conditions in the future. For further details on performance
during the year, please see page 23.
Board Composition
On 1 July 2025, the Plc Board welcomed Paul Harrison as
a Non-Executive Director. Full details of his appointment
can be found in his biography on page 80. Sylvia Metayer
stepped down from the Board at the Company’s 2025
AGM. I would like to thank Sylvia for her contribution to
the Board.
The Board regularly reviews its members’ key skills and
experience, and it is committed to ensuring that we
always have the appropriate expertise to support the
Company in its strategic objectives. The Board meets the
Parker Review Recommendations. The biography of each
of the Directors and their contribution to the Board can be
found on pages 79 to 83.
We continue to support the FTSE Women Leaders Review
and the requirement to disclose the gender balance of
senior management. On the Plc Board as at 31 December
2025, female representation was 37.5% (40% or above
on Board Committees). On our Executive Board, female
representation was 43%. At the Director level, female
representation was 45%. In 2021, we signed up to the
UN Global Compact Network with a target of achieving
gender equality in senior management roles by 2030.
Full details of the work undertaken by the Board during
the year are set out in the Corporate Governance Report.
Purpose and Culture
Our Purpose is to change lives and this is at the heart of
everything we do. We change lives for the candidates we
place, the clients we help in reaching their potential and by
offering our People a rewarding career in recruitment.
In 2025, our focus was to foster growth for our People
by recognising high performance and by providing
development opportunities. Inclusion remains fundamental
to our culture, and this year’s global campaign centred on
building psychological safety across our organisation. We
are proud that our Have Your Say survey results continued
to exceed external benchmarks for overall engagement and
performed strongly across all key categories.
Looking ahead, we will continue to listen to our employees
to define our approach to People and Culture. The
employee experience will be further enhanced by the
implementation of a new global HR technology system,
allowing our People and Culture teams to focus on
efficient, personalised, value-added support.
Dividends
In 2025, despite the ongoing challenging macro-economic
conditions, we continued to deliver shareholder returns.
We paid an interim dividend of £16.7m in October 2025.
We generated cash from operations of £74.3m in 2025,
ending the year with net cash of £31.4m.
Based on this cash position, the levels of distributable
reserves and our 2025 results, we are proposing a
final dividend of 3.21p. This, combined with the interim
dividend of 5.36p paid in October, represents a total
ordinary dividend of 8.57p.
Sustainability
Our sustainability approach is driven by four goals: to drive
positive social impact; to reduce our carbon emissions; to
advance gender equality in our leadership; and to support
our customers to find top sustainability talent.
In 2025, we changed 147,592 lives through placements
and participants in our social impact programmes. More
employees than ever have volunteered their time and their
skills to support those often furthest from the workforce to
prepare for employment. Our carbon emissions continued
to decrease, driven by improved efficiencies, careful travel
monitoring, and reduced energy consumption.
At the start of the decade, we set ourselves a target to
establish a meaningful sustainability business by 2026.
With net fees from sustainability roles in 2025 more than
five times those of our 2019 baseline year, I am pleased to
confirm that the target has been achieved.
Conclusion
On behalf of the Board, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank our People for their hard work
and dedication this year. They have continued to
demonstrate their ability to evolve and adapt in response
to the challenging conditions we’ve seen over the past
12 months, and I am grateful for their commitment.
I would also like to thank the Board, our Customers
and our Shareholders for their continued support.
Angela Seymour-Jackson
Chair
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Angela Seymour-
Jackson,
Chair
Our Purpose is to change
lives and this is at the heart of
everything we do.”
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Chief Executive Officer’s
Review
2025 performance
Despite ongoing macro-economic uncertainty, the Group
delivered a resilient performance in 2025. Overall for the
year, gross profit was £769.5m. After one-off costs of
c. £15m relating to restructuring and transformation, we
delivered operating profit of £20.9m.
In our largest region, EMEA, we continued to see tough
trading conditions. The region was down 11.9% on 2024,
due to ongoing political and macro-economic instability
across most markets, particularly our two largest, France
and Germany. Temporary recruitment, down 8%, was
more resilient than permanent, down 14%, indicative of
the current uncertainty within the market.
Asia Pacific was down 1.4% on 2024. However, we saw
improved activity, trading and confidence in Asia. South
East Asia grew 2%, with improved conditions across most
of our markets in this region. In Greater China, down 7%,
trading remained challenging. Despite this, productivity
remained high due to the level of experience of our
consultants. In Japan, we have continued to invest in fee
earners due to the size of the market and its strategic
importance to the Group. India delivered the standout
performance with another record year, up 14%. Australia
declined 10%, with challenging conditions in all states.
The US grew 9%, an improvement on the decline of
11% in 2024. We saw good levels of activity and trading,
particularly in our largest discipline of Construction. In
Latin America, excluding Argentina due to hyperinflation,
gross profit declined 3%. We saw challenging conditions
in Mexico, down 12%, due to tariff and political
uncertainty, as well as low levels of customer confidence.
However, Brazil grew 3%, driven by our temporary
recruitment business.
The UK market remains tough, down 12.8% for the year.
We continued to see clients deferring hiring decisions and
candidates cautious about accepting offers. Permanent
recruitment declined 10% against 2024, with temporary
down 19%, due primarily to the migration of our UK
Page Personnel business, which had a greater degree of
temporary recruitment, to Michael Page this year.
Strategy
We launched our Strategy in 2023 with a clear ambition to
be the leading specialist recruitment consultancy in each
of our chosen markets. This Strategy takes the Group
to 2030 and prioritises delivering what we are famous
for, building on our existing strengths and leveraging
our established global platform. Despite the challenging
conditions, we continue to make progress on our strategic
goals to ensure that the Group is well placed to take
advantage of opportunities when conditions improve.
Our three key strategic goals by 2030 are to deliver
operating profit of £400m, to change one million lives and
to increase our client net promoter score to over 60. To
achieve our Strategy, we have four pillars of growth: our
Core business, our Technology business, Page Executive
and our Enterprise Solutions business.
When we launched our Strategy in 2023, our operating
profit goal of £400m was based on seven years of
positive macro-economic conditions. Since then,
trading conditions in the majority of our markets have
deteriorated. We continue to reallocate resource, in line
with our Strategy, into the areas of the business where we
see the most significant long-term structural opportunities.
We reviewed disciplines that were less profitable and
transferred consultants to more productive roles.
Against our social impact goal of changing one million
lives, we performed strongly. In 2025, we changed
147,592 lives, which brings us to a total of 793,323 lives
changed since we set this target in 2020. This puts us
well on track to deliver our one million target by 2030.
We also made excellent progress on our customer
experience goal of achieving a client net promoter score of
over 60, from our baseline of 52 in 2022. Our NPS score
increased to 61 in 2024, and in 2025 our score improved
again to 66, exceeding our 2030 target for the second
consecutive year. This highlights our commitment to
providing outstanding service to our customers.
Looking ahead
As we enter 2026, a high degree of macro-economic
and geopolitical uncertainty remains across the majority
of our markets. The conversion of interviews to accepted
offers is still the most significant area of challenge due to
subdued candidate and client confidence.
Despite this, we have made good progress against
our Strategy. We have an established, experienced
management team and a flexible business model, and I
remain confident in the execution of our Strategy, driving
the long-term profitability of the Group.
For almost 50 years, PageGroup has grown and evolved
in order to deliver specialised sector experience, market
knowledge and a consultative approach to recruitment.
One thing that remains unchanged is our commitment
to the professional success of our clients, candidates
and employees. The Company values of earn trust, grow
connections and make a difference are as evident now as
they have ever been. The PageGroup team look forward
to working for your future.
Nick Kirk
Chief Executive Officer
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Despite ongoing macro-
economic uncertainty, the
Group delivered a resilient
performance in 2025.”
Nick Kirk
Nicholas Kirk,
CEO
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
9
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Business Model
Our model at work
Our People
An experienced senior management
team and high-quality consultants.
Expertise in premium candidate
sourcing and advocating for clients and
candidates.
Our Culture
Diverse and inclusive culture with
ingrained values of how to do
business ethically. We have created
an environment where developing our
People and achieving results for our
Customer is paramount.
Our Relationships
We work closely with our clients and
candidates. Our Customer-centric
ethos upholds our reputation, maintains
our competitive edge and enables our
business to thrive.
Our Brand and Scale
Global reach, with deep local
knowledge. Specialist industry and
market knowledge. High levels of
operational efficiency.
Technology and Innovation
Focused on how best to acquire,
engage and nurture Customers to
build long-term relationships. The use
of technology allows us to leverage
growth and improve our conversion
rate.
Financial Capability
Our business is supported by a strong
balance sheet and significant cash flow
generation.
Our Purpose
Our Value
Proposition
Model
Underpinned by our values
Clients
• Sector expertise
• Appropriate candidate shortlist
• Professional high quality service
Candidates
• Professional high-quality service
• Market understanding and client
profiling
• Career advice
Consultants
• Team-based structure and
compensation
• Access to jobs across entire Group
• Consistent process
10
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
GROW
CONNECTIONS
EARN
TRUST
MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
Leads to...
• Repeat business
• Greater exclusivity
• Future candidates
Leads to...
• Rapid career promotion
• Career opportunities
• Reward and recognition
Leads to...
• Career-long relationships
• Peer recommendations
• Future clients
Our People
Supportive, inclusive culture
where they experience real
opportunities for development
and a long and rewarding
career.
Investors
Seek assurance that their
investment will grow under
responsible stewardship.
Customers
Rely on us to provide world-
class specialist recruitment
services and solutions to
help drive their business and
careers forward.
Society & Government
Need businesses that have a
positive impact.
Suppliers
Seek strong and enduring
partnerships based on fair
terms.
Our strategic framework is
outlined on page 19.
Delivering our
strategic
objectives
Organic, high
margin, diversified
growth:
With a core focus on
organic growth, our broad-
based capabilities enable
us to capitalise on market
opportunities around the
globe, avoiding over-
reliance on one geography
or discipline.
Scalable and flexible
capacity:
Our brand and scale
enable us to build an
unrivalled skillset, together
with the ability to respond
quickly to changing market
conditions.
Talent and skills
development:
The recruitment, retention
and development of talent
is fundamental to driving
our meritocratic growth
model.
Sustainable
growth for the
benefit of our
Stakeholders
Stakeholder engagement is
outlined on page 45.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
11
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Services, scale and specialisms
PageGroup is a worldwide leader in specialist recruitment. We have
49 years of recruitment experience and deliver recruitment services to
clients across 34 countries through our network of 123 offices.
What we do
Our substantial and well-balanced business reaches across all regions.
Our global model allows us to source candidates from domestic and
international markets and provide a comprehensive service to both
local and multinational clients.
Geographic reach
We have developed PageGroup’s reputation as a global recruitment
leader through our focus on specialist areas of the market, replicated
across our international network. We operate across 14 disciplines
aligned with professions, with further specialism focus within these
(e.g. cyber security and AI within Technology) to ensure we provide
expert recruitment capability to our clients.
Specialist expertise
PageGroup is the international market leader for permanent recruitment
in the majority of the countries in which we operate. Our specialist
capability has fuelled a substantial and growing non-permanent
recruitment business, focused on markets where non-permanent
placements, including contracting, for professionally qualified candidates
play a significant role in the working environment.
Perm and non perm mix
12
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Michael Page comprises 14 disciplines, each providing the capability to meet the needs of our clients to
recruit permanent, temporary, contract and interim opportunities, typically at qualified professional and
management level. The businesses we work with range from SMEs to global blue-chip organisations.
Page Personnel offers specialist recruitment services to clients requiring permanent, temporary or contract
employees. It provides specialist services to organisations requiring talent at professional clerical and
support levels.
The executive search division of PageGroup provides a range of search, selection and talent management
solutions for organisations on a permanent and interim basis. Recognised for our powerful in-house
research function, speed and flexibility of response, and assignment completion rates, organisations
worldwide use Page Executive to secure their senior talent. The roles on which we focus typically sit at the
sub-Board and Board levels.
Our brands
Our Enterprise Solutions team brings together the full power of PageGroup to support our largest
customers with their complex, global requirements. We build deep, long-term partnerships, leveraging our
global scale, insights and technology to deliver for our customers in a more efficient way, allowing them to
focus on their core business. Our flexible offering covers a range of global managed recruitment solutions
through our outsourcing business, including Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed
Service Provision (MSP), together with a number of outsourcing consultancy solutions.
Enterprise Solutions
+ Boutiques
Generalist staffing
Support professional
Qualified professional
Market gap
ENTERPRISE
SOLUTIONS
+ Boutiques
Executive search
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
13
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The professional recruitment sector has always
been highly sensitive to fluctuating economic
conditions and is influenced strongly by client and
candidate confidence. Market liquidity can change
rapidly, whether in terms of candidate confidence or
availability of jobs.
It can also be localised, by geography or discipline,
and differ between non-permanent and permanent
placements in the same market.
In a number of geographic regions, such as Asia and
Latin America, our target markets are very large, yet
relatively immature. This provides not only significant
market share opportunities, but also challenges in
areas such as business development. New markets
can take time to reach maturity, but the advantages
of being an early mover and being able to build scale
can be considerable.
As well as the influence of the general macro-
economic environment on business activity, there are
a number of market-based drivers that can impact
financial performance materially.
These are split into elements which affect market
liquidity and those which influence consultant
productivity and therefore gross profit. It is the nature
of the professional recruitment market that strong
market conditions will see drivers align in both
elements and this can have a dramatic impact on
our overall performance.
Market dynamics
14
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Candidate availability
Often highly discipline/geography-specific, especially at midpoints
in the cycle as client confidence grows. This is a key driver of
most other elements, as the quality of a recruiter is most clearly
demonstrated through their ability to source difficult-to-find
candidates.
Candidate confidence
A major influence on market liquidity where the macro environment
is sufficiently stable, candidates will look to progress their careers,
which helps to drive job liquidity.
Mainly visible
through
improvement in
gross profit, a
buoyant market
helps to drive
consultant
productivity.
Impact
Financial Impact
Gross Profit and Productivity
Fees/Rates
Group average typically moves within a c. 10% range over the cycle
(19%-21%), but a much wider range by geographical market (c.
15%-35%).
Time-to-hire
In usual times, as candidates become scarcer, companies shorten
the decision-making process in order not to lose preferred
candidates. This has become particularly noticeable since the
introduction of video interviews.
However, current macro-economic uncertainty has reduced levels of
candidate and client confidence, leading to higher levels of candidate
offer rejections and more risk averse client behaviour. This has
slowed the recruitment process, impacting time-to-hire.
Notable influence
on both gross profit
and also conversion
rate. Productivity,
especially in
permanent
recruitment,
is significantly
enhanced as these
market drivers align
positively.
Impact
Financial Impact
Market Liquidity
Wage inflation
Reflects level of candidate shortage and liquidity within a particular
discipline or geography, plus macro-economic conditions.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
15
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
To be the leading specialist recruitment
consultancy in each of our chosen markets.
To change lives.
This forms the foundation of our business and guides us in everything we do.
Our Purpose
Our Ambition
Our three
strategic goals
Operating profit of
£400m
Changing
One million
lives
Increasing our net
promoter score to
60+
Our four strategic
pillars of growth
Maximising
our core business
Accelerating growth
of our Technology
business
Expanding
Page Executive
Building out
our capabilities for
Strategic Customers
Our Strategy
16
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Accelerating growth
of our Technology
business
Expanding
Page Executive
Building out
our capabilities for
Strategic Customers
We launched our refreshed Strategy in September 2023, which takes the Group through to 2030. We have three
strategic goals: delivering operating profit of £400m; changing one million lives; and increasing our net promoter score
to over 60. This year we made good progress on our strategic objectives, which will ensure that we are well placed to
take advantage of opportunities when market conditions improve.
Operating Profit
Our primary financial goal is to deliver £400m of Operating Profit by 2030 for
our Shareholders and our People. This is based on targeting gross profit of just
under £2bn, at a conversion rate in excess of 20%. To achieve this goal, we will
continue to build on our existing strengths and leverage our global platforms, in
order to maximise performance.
This goal was based on seven years of positive macro-economic conditions.
Since we launched the Strategy, trading conditions in the majority of our
markets have been challenging. We continue to reallocate resource, in line with
our Strategy, into the areas of the business where we see the most significant
long-term structural opportunities. As part of this, we reviewed businesses that
were less profitable and transferred consultants to more productive roles.
£400m
Social Impact
1m lives
changed
Since 2020, we have committed
to the goal of changing one
million lives by 2030. Progress
against our Social Impact goal
is measured by the number of
people whose lives we have
changed by placing them into
decent work as well as the
number of people who access
our social impact programmes,
including skills-sharing
volunteering events.
In 2025, we changed 147,592
lives, which brings us to a total of
793,323 lives changed since we
set this target in 2020. This puts
us well on track to deliver our one
million target by 2030.
Customer Experience
60+ NPS
We are committed to delivering a best-in-class Customer
experience. As a cross-industry benchmark, this means exceeding
what is classed as ‘excellent’. This is a critical measure of how we
build deeper, continuous relationships with clients to ensure our
long-term success.
We have made significant progress on our customer experience
goal of achieving a client net promoter score of over 60, from our
baseline of 52 in 2022. Our NPS score increased to 61 in 2024,
and in 2025 our score improved again to 66, exceeding our
2030 target for the second consecutive year. This supports our
commitment to providing excellent service to our customers, further
solidifying our position as a benchmark of quality in our industry.
60+
EXCE LLENT
GOOD
FAIR
61
in 2024
Source: Bain & Company, an NPS score above 0 is fair,
above 20 is good and above 50 is excellent.
Our strategic goals
66
in 2025
NPS
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
17
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our strategic pillars
Our Strategy prioritises delivering what we are famous for, building on our existing strengths and leveraging our
established global platform.
To achieve our Strategy, we have four pillars of growth: our Core business, our Technology business, Page Executive and
Enterprise Solutions, which supports our strategic customers with their complex, global requirements.
Our Core business is the main driver of Group performance. We define
our Core business as Michael Page and Page Personnel, which covers
all disciplines except Technology. We remain focused on strengthening
our market-leading positions and exiting less profitable business lines in
certain markets.
Despite the tougher market conditions, we have made progress with our
Strategy. We have remained focused on reallocating resources to match
activity levels, as well as investing into business areas where we see the
greatest long-term opportunities.
Whilst macro-economic uncertainty continues to impact the majority of
our geographies, we have seen a recovery in our US business, which has
delivered five successive quarters of growth. As anticipated, this recovery
has been driven almost entirely by an improvement in the conversion rate
of offers to placements, rather than increasing activity levels.
Technology recruitment is a scale play for Page, enabling us to build a
high-volume, high-value business. Our goal is to build a £350m gross
profit business by 2030, with a 20% conversion rate.
As has been widely reported in recent years, trading conditions in the
Technology sector have been challenging. Despite this, Technology
remains our second largest discipline, making up 12% of the Group’s
gross profit in 2025.
Within Technology, we continue to see a more resilient performance
from non-permanent recruitment. We are reshaping this business from
the pre-pandemic model, increasing our offering within contracting
and interim roles. This is particularly evident in markets such as Brazil,
Greater China, Colombia and Spain. We have also been rolling out
our proven contracting model from Germany into other markets in
Northern Europe.
Despite the tough conditions globally, there were some individual
markets which delivered good growth in 2025, including the US,
Colombia, Greater China, India and Japan. We continue to believe
Technology is a key part of our Strategy and Vision.
Technology
Core
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Page Executive is a market gap play. We operate at salary levels above
Michael Page, specialising in senior leadership search and recruitment,
as well as offering executive advisory services. Our goal is to generate
over £200m of gross profit by 2030.
We delivered another strong performance in 2025, down just 2%
against a record comparator. Within this, our best performing markets
were Spain, Colombia, Greater China and South East Asia.
A key element of our Page Executive strategy has been to focus on
more senior leadership roles and, as a result, increase the salary levels
at which we place. This strategy continues to prove successful and
we have seen a notable increase in the median placement salary.
Alongside this, the track record and success of our well-tenured
consultants in Page Executive has resulted in an increase in our
median fee.
We continue to believe that the market gap opportunity within Page
Executive is greater than we initially anticipated.
Enterprise Solutions is a partnership play. We support our largest
strategic customers with their complex, global requirements. We build
deep, long-term partnerships, leveraging our global scale, insights and
technology to deliver for our customers in a more efficient way, allowing
them to focus on their core business. Our goal by 2030 is to deliver a
business with gross profit of £500m, at a conversion rate of 20%.
Our well-established, global platform across 34 markets allows us
to consult with clients as they look to enter new markets. And our
customer centric approach, highlighted by our net promoter score,
increasingly makes us the partner of choice.
Despite the sector-wide challenges in recruitment outsourcing, we
delivered an encouraging performance in 2025. Against the backdrop
of a difficult macro, we generated 12% more gross profit from our
largest 20 clients than we did in our record year in 2022.
Within Enterprise Solutions, our outsourcing business delivered growth
of 18% and a record performance. We have also seen a strong
increase in our sales pipeline as our strategic commitment to global
customers gathers momentum.
We remain focused on winning business that delivers conversion rates
in line with our Strategy.
Page
Executive
Enterprise
Solutions
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our strategic framework centres on three core objectives that drive progress towards our strategic Vision and deliver
sustainable financial returns. These are to:
Our business model is centred on delivering organic, targeted and diverse growth.
As recruitment is a cyclical business and impacted by the strength of economies,
diversification and targeted growth are important components of our Strategy, reducing
our reliance on any individual market or business and focusing on accelerating growth
where we see high potential. Our objective is to be the leading specialist recruitment
consultancy in each of our chosen markets.
We have continued to expand in selective markets and to reallocate headcount in
line with our Strategy, to ensure that we are well positioned to take advantage of
opportunities and deliver against our strategic goals when macro-economic conditions
improve. We continue to invest in organic growth by drawing upon the skills and
experiences of our proven management teams, ensuring we have the best and most
experienced home-grown talent in each key role.
By focusing on targeted markets within our core businesses, Michael Page and Page
Personnel, and building out our capabilities in our high growth businesses, Page
Executive and Enterprise Solutions, the Group is better positioned to face adverse
market conditions.
PageGroup’s historical success across major global economies has helped us to
identify the markets likely to produce long-term gross profit growth at attractive
conversion rates. This enables us to offer a premium service that is valued by our
clients and attracts the highest calibre of candidates.
Look for organic, targeted and diversified growth
1
Our strategic framework
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Our ability to respond quickly to changes in market conditions is critical
to managing the business efficiently through economic cycles. Our
team-based structure and profit share business model has proven highly
scalable on a global basis.
The small size of our specialist teams enables us to grow gross profit
quickly with incremental increases in fee-earner headcount. When market
conditions tighten, this headcount is reduced, mostly via natural attrition,
to ensure a lower cost base in a slowdown.
Having invested years in training and developing our highly capable
management teams, our objective is to ensure we retain this expertise
within the Group. By following this course of action, we typically gain
market share during downturns and position our businesses for market-
leading growth when economic conditions improve.
Our global footprint requires high levels of operational efficiency in order
to achieve this strategic objective. Our focus on shared service centres
has delivered greater economies of scale and efficiencies. It has driven
consistency, increased flexibility and improved the quality of the service
provided to our operational business. Collectively, our shared service
centres allow us to be more agile, reduce our fixed costs and remove
constraints on how quickly we can react to market conditions.
Position the business to be scalable and highly
flexible to react to market conditions
We recognise that our employees are key to our long-term success.
The recruitment, development and retention of talent is a key priority for
the Group. We recruit from a diverse set of backgrounds and value our
consultants’ experiences greatly.
We have clear and defined career pathways for consultants through to senior
management and Board level. This helps to ensure that we retain the best
talent and develop our People for leadership positions. We have a proven
track record of internal promotion and international career moves, and the
newly evolving hybrid working model will provide greater opportunities in
this area.
Our highly experienced management team has the longest tenure in the
industry and is passionate about developing the next generation of Page
leaders. Many of our management team have international experience and
this has helped with global knowledge sharing and best practice. It also
allows us to capitalise on opportunities and react to market conditions
effectively. Increasingly, we are promoting within regions, and many of our
leaders have had long-standing careers in those markets, combined with
valuable local expertise.
We introduced our continuous listening strategy in 2020, and the insights
from these initiatives have allowed us to build understanding and drive
change and improvement. We are committed to diversity and inclusion and
have made significant progress in this area in recent years. Underpinned
by our global diversity and inclusion framework, we have numerous internal
communities to ensure all our employees have networks in which they can
connect, share and learn.
Nurture and develop our People, driving our
meritocratic growth model
2
3
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our competitive advantage
Scale
Our scale enables PageGroup to commit to
markets through economic cycles, which,
combined with our strong financial standing,
has given clients the confidence to build lasting
relationships with us. Temporary staff also take
reassurance from our financial strength, knowing
their services will be paid for.
The breadth of our client base globally, even in our
new markets, gives us the ability to offer diverse
expertise across a wide range of complementary
specialisms and geographies, enhancing our
offering to the market and the candidate pools
we can access.
Our scale has led to us having an unrivalled skillset
with high levels of experience, which is available
to clients of any size and across all the sectors in
which we operate.
Culture
PageGroup’s culture is unique and sets us apart
from the competition. Our global culture delivers a
consistent approach, both internally and externally,
whilst remaining accepting of each of our market’s
local characteristics.
A diverse team brings different perspectives and
insight to our business. We work closely with our
clients to source and recruit from a diverse talent
pool to provide them with the best candidates.
We have ingrained values of how we do business
ethically and make long-term decisions.
Our Purpose and Values that are the key to our
success are set out on page 37.
Data and Technology
Brands
We deliver specialised sector experience via
three key brands: Page Executive, Michael Page
and Page Personnel, supported by Enterprise
Solutions and supplementary brands throughout
our international locations.
The first class reputation of our brands gives
high-quality candidates assurance to place
key decisions on their future in our hands. Our
superior level of expertise and the knowledge of
our consultants inspires trust and assurance of
service quality, for both clients and candidates,
enabling our brands to outperform other
recruitment businesses.
The digital revolution has transformed the
recruitment market. The impact of technology on
the behaviours and expectations of both clients
and candidates continues to grow at pace. Our
innovation approach is focused on how best
to acquire, engage and nurture customers,
both candidates and clients, to build long-term
relationships.
Our internal Business Technology function focuses
on designing, implementing and exploiting scalable
global systems. By improving our processes
and tools, we empower consultants to be more
productive. In our operational business we are
utilising technologies such as our fully integrated
sales and marketing platform, Customer Connect,
to engage with customers throughout their journey.
The use of our global data and insights allows us
to leverage growth in the business and improve
our conversion rate.
Our global reach, established brands and unique culture create strength; our data and technology turn it into results
- together they power growth and leadership in every market. Our competitive advantage stems from the balanced
combination of these four factors, refined over the past 49 years of business success.
22
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
The Group’s Strategy is to operate a policy of financing the activities and development of the Group (including our
sustainability objectives) from our retained earnings and to maintain a strong balance sheet position. We first use our
cash for our operational and investment requirements, and for hedging our liabilities under the Group’s
share plans.
Over and above this requirement, we review our liquidity to make returns to Shareholders, primarily by way of ordinary
dividends. Our policy is to grow the ordinary dividend over the course of the economic cycle, in line with our long-term
growth rate. We believe this will enable us to sustain the ordinary dividend payments during a downturn, as well as
increase it during more prosperous times.
Beyond these two priorities, cash generated will be returned to Shareholders through supplementary returns, using
either special dividends or share buybacks.
Capital allocation policy
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
23
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Financial summary 2025 2024 Change Change CC*
Revenue £1,596.6m £1,738.9m -8.2% -7.4%
Gross profit £769.5m £842.6m -8.7% -7.6%
Operating profit £20.9m £52.4m -60.2% -58.8%**
Profit before tax £16.2m £49.1m -67.0%
Basic earnings per share 2.9p 9.1p -68.1%
Diluted earnings per share 2.9p 9.0p -67.8%
Total dividend per share 8.57p 17.11p
At constant exchange rates, Group revenue decreased
7.4% to £1,596.6m (2024: £1,738.9m), and gross profit
decreased 7.6% to £769.5m (2024: £842.6m) for the year
ended 31 December 2025. Gross profit per fee earner
remained high, up 0.3% in constant currencies, but down
0.8% in reported rates to £148.9k (2024: £150.0k).
The Group’s revenue and gross profit mix between
permanent and temporary placements were 35:65 (2024:
35:65) and 72:28 (2024: 72:28) respectively. Revenue
from temporary placements comprises the salaries of
those placed, together with the margin charged. This
margin on temporary placements was in line with 2024 at
21.0%. Pricing remained strong across the Group, as we
continued to see candidate shortages in the majority of
our markets.
Total Group headcount decreased by 541 (-7.3%) in the
year to 6,820. This comprised a net decrease of 402 fee
earners (-7.5%) and 139 operational support staff (-7.0%).
We reduced our fee earner headcount in all four quarters,
primarily in Europe and the UK, in line with the tougher
trading conditions seen throughout 2025.
In total, administrative expenses decreased 4.2% in
constant currencies to £748.7m (2024: £790.1m). The
Group’s operating profit from trading activities totalled
£20.9m (2024: £52.4m).
Gross profit Reported CC
Year-on-year % of Group 2025 (£m) 2024 (£m) % %
EMEA 53% 409.9 462.5 -11.4% -11.9%
Americas 19% 147.9 149.2 -0.9% +3.3%**
Asia Pacific 16% 120.6 126.4 -4.7% -1.4%
UK 12% 91.1 104.5 -12.8% -12.8%
Total 100% 769.5 842.6 -8.7% -7.6%
Permanent 72% 551.2 605.9 -9.0% -7.7%
Temporary 28% 218.3 236.7 -7.8% -7.5%
*At constant currency – all growth rates in constant currency at prior year rates unless otherwise stated
** Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina
Review of the Year
Regional Reviews
** Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Americas (£m) Growth rates
(19% of Group in 2025) 2025 2024 Reported CC
Gross profit 147.9 149.2 -0.9% +3.3%**
Operating profit 4.7 6.9 -32.6% -23.8%**
Conversion rate (%) 3.2% 4.7%
In constant currencies and excluding Argentina due to
hyperinflation, revenue grew 5.2% to £282.8m (2024:
£279.8m) while gross profit increased 3.3% to £147.9m
(2024: £149.2m).
In North America, gross profit grew 8%, due to the US,
which was up 9%. We saw good levels of activity and
trading, with strong results particularly in our largest
discipline of Construction, as well as in Manufacturing.
In Latin America, excluding Argentina, gross profit
declined 3% with mixed performance across the region.
Mexico, our largest country in the region, declined 12%,
due to the ongoing tariff uncertainty. Brazil grew 3%,
driven by our temporary recruitment business, up 10%.
The remaining four countries in the region grew 2%
collectively.
The Americas delivered operating profit of £4.7m
(2024: £6.9m) at a conversion rate of 3.2% (2024: 4.7%).
Excluding one off costs, underlying operating profit was
£6.5m, with a conversion rate of 4.4%, broadly in line
with 2024. Across the region, headcount decreased by
19 (-1.4%) in 2025 to 1,308 (2024: 1,327).
The Americas
EMEA (£m) Growth rates
(53% of Group in 2025) 2025 2024 Reported CC
Gross profit 409.9 462.5 -11.4% -11.9%
Operating profit 31.4 60.9 -48.4% -48.8%
Conversion rate (%) 7.7% 13.2%
In constant currencies, revenue declined 9.5% to
£863.9m (2024: £946.8m) and gross profit declined
11.9% to £409.9m (2024: £462.5m).
Market conditions remained tough throughout the year
in EMEA, due to ongoing political and macro-economic
instability across most markets, particularly our two
largest, France and Germany. France, the Group’s largest
market, declined 17%. Temporary recruitment, down 7%,
was more resilient than permanent, down 25%. Germany,
our second largest market, declined 12%. Trading was
challenging but stable in H2, with companies continuing
to limit and delay hiring decisions due to macro-economic
uncertainty. Our Technology and Finance focused Interim
business was the most resilient, down 5%. However,
tough conditions continued in Michael Page, down 22%.
Spain delivered the standout result in the region, growing
2%, with good levels of candidate and client confidence.
Elsewhere in Europe, market conditions remained
challenging in all countries.
The region delivered operating profit of £31.4m (2024:
£60.9m), with a conversion rate of 7.7% (2024: 13.2%).
Excluding one off costs, underlying operating profit was
£39.4m, with a conversion rate of 9.6%. Profitability
decreased on 2024 due to the tougher trading conditions
seen in 2025, albeit the region continues to have the
highest conversion rate of the Group. Headcount across
the region decreased by 326 (-9.2%) during the year, to
3,204 at the end of 2025 (2024: 3,530).
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
** Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina
EMEA is the Group’s largest region, contributing 53% of
the Group’s gross profit in the year. With operations in
14 countries, PageGroup has a strong presence in the
majority of EMEA markets and is the clear leader in
specialist permanent recruitment in the two largest, France
and Germany, and many of the others. Across the region,
permanent placements accounted for 65% and temporary
placements 35% of gross profit.
The Americas accounted for 19% of the Group’s gross
profit in 2025, with North America representing 11% of the
Group and Latin America, 8%. The US, where we have
seven offices, has a well-developed recruitment industry,
but in many disciplines, for example Construction, there
is limited national competition of any scale. PageGroup’s
breadth of professional specialisms and geographic reach
is uncommon and provides a real competitive advantage.
Latin America has a highly under-developed recruitment
industry, where PageGroup enjoys the market-leading
position with over 500 fee earners in seven countries.
There are few international competitors and none
with regional scale. Across the Americas, permanent
placements accounted for 81% of gross profit and
temporary placements 19%.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
25
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
UK (£m) Growth rate
(12% of Group in 2025) 2025 2024
Gross profit 91.1 104.5 -12.8%
Operating loss -13.3 -7.1 -89.0%
Conversion rate (%) -14.6% -6.7%
In the UK, revenue decreased 16.3% on 2025 to £234.7m
(2024: £280.5m) and gross profit decreased 12.8% from
£104.5m in 2024 to £91.1m. We continued to see clients
deferring hiring decisions and candidates cautious about
accepting offers. Permanent recruitment declined 10%
against 2024, with temporary down 19%, due partially to
the migration of our UK Page Personnel business, which
had a greater degree of temporary recruitment, to Michael
Page this year.
The operating result for the year was a loss of £13.3m
(2024: loss of £7.1m). While the UK trading business
was profitable despite the tougher trading conditions,
the high proportion of Group senior management and
Group support based in the UK meant the region had a
negative conversion rate of 14.6%. Excluding one off costs,
the underlying operating loss was £7.9m. Headcount
decreased by 132 (-13.6%) in the year to 840 at the end of
December 2025 (2024: 972).
United Kingdom
Asia Pacific (£m) Growth rates
(16% of Group in 2025) 2025 2024 Reported CC
Gross profit 120.6 126.4 -4.7% -1.4%
Operating (loss)/profit -1.9 -8.3 +77.2% +81.7%
Conversion rate (%) -1.6% -6.6%
In Asia Pacific, in constant currencies, revenue declined
3.7% to £215.2m (2024: £231.8m) and gross profit
declined 1.4% to £120.6m (2024: £126.4m).
In Greater China, where gross profit declined 7%, trading
remained challenging. Despite this, productivity remained
high due to the level of experience of our consultants.
South East Asia grew 2%, with particularly strong results
in Page Executive. Japan declined 1%. India delivered
the standout result with another record year, up 14% on
2024. Australia declined 10%, with ongoing challenging
conditions across all states.
The region made an operating loss of £1.9m (2024: loss
of £8.3m), with a negative conversion rate of 1.6%, albeit
this was a significant improvement on 2024, due to the
improved trading conditions. Excluding one off costs,
underlying operating loss was £1.7m, with a negative
conversion rate of 1.4%. Headcount across the region
decreased by 64 (-4.2%) in the year, ending the year at
1,468 (2024: 1,532). This was due to the finalisation of the
transition of our SSC from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in
the year.
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific represented 16% of the Group’s gross profit
in 2025, with 84% of the region being Asia and 16%
Australia. Other than in the financial centres of Hong
Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, the Asian recruitment
industry is generally highly under-developed and
offers attractive opportunities in both international and
domestic markets at good conversion rates. With a
highly experienced management team, just over 1,000
fee earners and limited competition, the size of the
opportunity in Asia is significant. Across Asia Pacific,
permanent placements accounted for 86% and temporary
placements only 14% of gross profit, well below the Group
average, however we have seen increasing demand for
flexible hiring options in recent years.
Australia is a mature, well-developed and highly
competitive recruitment market. PageGroup has
a meaningful presence in white-collar permanent
recruitment in the majority of the professional disciplines
and major cities in Australia.
The UK represented 12% of the Group’s gross profit in
2025. It is a mature, highly competitive and sophisticated
market with the majority of vacant positions being
outsourced to recruitment firms. In the UK, permanent
placements accounted for 70% and temporary
placements 30% of gross profit.
We drove further efficiencies in the organisation through
the migration of our Page Personnel brand to Michael
Page, which we completed in January 2025. Our focus
remains to ensure a seamless journey for our clients and
candidates through one core brand, Michael Page. There
remain opportunities to increase the size and breadth of
our reach in the UK under the higher salary-level Page
Executive brand, as well as by growing our contracting/
interim business and by building on our existing strengths
within permanent recruitment in Michael Page.
26
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Operating profit and conversion rates
The Group’s organic growth model and profit-based team
bonus ensures cost control remains tight. Approximately
three-quarters of costs were employee related, including
wages, bonuses, share-based long-term incentives, and
training & relocation costs. Depreciation and amortisation
for the year totalled £57.3m (2024: £62.9m).
Against the ongoing challenging trading conditions, we
have taken robust action to optimise our cost base by
simplifying our management structure, reducing our
leadership team and improving the efficiency of our
business support functions. These initiatives incurred a
one-off cost of c. £15m in 2025, partially offset by savings
in 2025 of c. £5m. The programme remains on track to
deliver annualised savings of c. £15m from 2026.
Group operating profit declined 58.8% to £20.9m (2024:
£52.4m) for the year ended 31 December 2025, and
the Group’s conversion rate for the year decreased
from 6.2% in 2024 to 2.7%. This was due to the more
challenging trading conditions experienced through 2025
in the majority of our markets and one-off costs relating
to our cost optimisation programme, partially offset by the
reduction in fee earner headcount.
A net interest charge of £4.6m (2024: £3.3m) was due
primarily to an IFRS 16 interest charge of £5.1m.
Earnings per share
In 2025, basic and diluted earnings per share both
decreased to 2.9p (2024: 9.1p basic and 9.0p diluted),
as a result of the decrease in profits due to the tougher
trading conditions.
Capital allocation
The Group’s strategy is to operate a policy of financing the
activities and development of the Group from our retained
earnings and to maintain a strong balance sheet position.
The first use of our cash is to satisfy our operational and
investment requirements and to hedge our liabilities under
the Group’s share plans.
The second use of cash is to make returns to
Shareholders through ordinary dividends. We review our
liquidity over and above our operational and investment
requirements to determine the amount of these returns.
Our policy is to grow this ordinary dividend over the
course of the economic cycle, in line with our long-term
growth rate, subject to affordability.
Thirdly, any remaining surplus cash will be returned to
Shareholders through supplementary returns, using
special dividends or share buybacks.
We paid an interim dividend of 5.36p per share, flat on the
2024 interim dividend. This amounted to a cash return to
shareholders of £16.7m, paid out in October 2025.
PageGroup’s stated capital allocation policy is for
the Directors to continue to finance the activities and
development of the Group from retained earnings and to
maintain a strong balance sheet position. While reviewing
the Group’s current and future cash position, in light
of the sustained challenging trading environment and
the ongoing unpredictable nature of our markets, the
Board believes it is prudent to declare a final dividend for
2025 of 3.21p (2024: 11.75p) per ordinary share. This
action balances the Group’s current level of profitability
and affordability with the desire to continue to invest in
growth areas. The Board recognises the importance of
dividends to shareholders and will continue to assess the
level of dividend payment while considering the Group’s
prospects. When taken together with the interim dividend
of 5.36p (2024: 5.36p) per ordinary share, this represents
a total dividend for the year of 8.57p per ordinary share.
The proposed final dividend, which amounts to £10.0m,
will be paid on 17 June 2026 to shareholders on the
register as at 15 May 2026, subject to shareholder
approval at the Annual General Meeting on 28 May 2026.
We will continue to monitor our cash position in 2026
and will make returns to shareholders in line with the
above policy.
Cash flow and balance sheet
Cash flow in the year was strong, with £73.8m (2024:
£145.9m) generated from operations. The closing cash
balance was £31.4m at 31 December 2025 (2024:
£95.3m).
In October 2025 the Group extended the maturity date
of its £80m committed multi-currency revolving credit
facility agreement with HSBC and BBVA by one year to
8 December 2028. There were no further amendments
to the pricing, covenants or other terms of the Facility.
In addition, PageGroup maintains an uncommitted
Confidential Invoice Facility with HSBC whereby the Group
has the option to discount receivables in order to advance
cash. The Invoice Facility is for up to £50m depending
on debtor levels. Neither of these facilities were drawn as
at 31 December 2025. We also have uncommitted bank
overdraft facilities of £22m. These facilities are used on an
ad hoc basis to fund any major Group GBP cash outflows.
Income tax paid in the year was £24.2m (2024: £19.3m)
and net capital expenditure was £11.4m (2024: £15.8m).
Total dividends of £53.6m were paid in 2025 (2024:
£52.0m). In 2025, £8.3m (2024: £13.2m) was spent on
the purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust to
satisfy future committed obligations under our employee
share plans.
The most significant item in our balance sheet was trade
receivables, which amounted to £213.0m at 31 December
2025 (2024: £223.3m), comprising permanent fees
invoiced and salaries and fees invoiced in the temporary
placement business, but not yet paid. Day’s sales in
debtors decreased due to temporary recruitment, which
has a shorter collection period, being more resilient in
2025 than permanent recruitment.
Taxation
The tax charge for the year was £7.2m (2024: £20.7m).
This represented an effective tax rate of 44.4% (2024:
42.1%). The rate is higher than the effective UK rate for
the calendar year of 25.0% (2024: 25.0%) due primarily
to the impact of irrecoverable overseas withholding taxes
and permanent differences, which have a disproportionate
impact due to the reduction in profits compared to the
prior year. The prior year rate was significantly impacted
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
27
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
by the one off derecognition of certain deferred tax assets.
In 2025, the tax rate was impacted primarily by
irrecoverable overseas withholding taxes and differing
overseas tax rates of 22.1%, other permanent differences
of 9.8%, offset against other tax movements (5.5%) and
prior year adjustments of (7.0%).
As at 31 December 2025, PageGroup’s deferred tax
assets were £28.5m (2024: £18.1m) and its deferred tax
liabilities were £0.7m (2024: £0.6m).
The tax charge for the year reflects the Group’s tax
strategy, which is aligned to business goals. It is
PageGroup’s policy to pay its fair share of taxes in the
countries in which it operates and deal with its tax affairs
in a straightforward, open and honest manner. The
Group’s tax strategy is set out in detail on our website in
the Investor section under “Responsibilities”.
UK deferred tax assets
The Group has recognised deferred tax assets of £8.7m
(2024: £0.3m) in the UK, primarily in respect of losses.
These losses were mainly generated during the current
year due to challenging trading conditions and non-
recurring restructuring costs incurred by the Group. These
losses can be carried forward indefinitely and are able to
be utilised against future profits generated in the UK.
The Group has reviewed the latest forecasts, based
on the most recent financial budget and management
projections, in order to assess the likelihood of the losses
being utilised within a reasonably foreseeable timeframe.
Due to the structure of the Group, changes in profitability
of the operating entities globally can significantly impact
the UK’s profitability. Based on various scenarios applied
to the Group, utilising differing levels of growth, the
forecast recovery period is between three and eleven
years, with the average utilisation period being six years.
UK law restricts the amount of losses that can be used
in any given year to 50% of the in-year profits, over a
de minimis threshold of £5m, which contributes to the
extended period of utilisation.
As such, the Group concluded it is probable that the UK
business will generate sufficient taxable profits against
which we can utilise these losses.
Share options and share repurchases
At the beginning of 2025 the Group had 12.7m share
options outstanding, of which 5.3m had vested, but had
not been exercised. During the year, options were granted
over 2.4m shares under the Group’s share option plans.
No options were exercised during the year, and options
lapsed over 2.0m shares. At the end of 2025, options
remained outstanding over 13.1m shares, of which 4.5m
had vested, but had not been exercised. During 2025,
2.9m shares were purchased by the Group’s Employee
Benefit Trust, and no shares were cancelled (2024: 2.8m
shares were purchased and no shares were cancelled).
Approved by the Board on 4 March 2026 and signed on
its behalf by:
Kelvin Stagg
Chief Financial Officer
Dec 2024
Cash
EBITDA Working
Capital
Tax and net
interest
Net
Capex
Lease
payment
EBT share
purchases
Exchange
Dec 2025
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
8.1
£m
(40.1)
Increase
Decrease
Dividends
0.9
95.3
81.8
23.7
11.3
41.6
8.3
53.6
31.4
Cash flow waterfall 2025
28
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
We use the following key performance indicators to measure our progress against our strategic objectives:
Key Performance Indicators
Financial
Basic earnings per share (pence)
How measured: Profit for the
year attributable to the Group’s
equity shareholders, divided by the
weighted average number of shares
in issue during the year.
Why it’s important: This measures
the underlying profitability of the
Group and the progress made
against the prior year.
How we performed in 2025:
The Group saw a 68.1% decrease
in Basic EPS to 2.9p, due to the
decline in operating profit from 2024.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
Ratio of permanent versus temporary placements (%)
How measured: Gross profit
earned from permanent and
temporary placements, expressed
as percentage of the Group’s total
gross profit.
Why it’s important: This ratio
reflects both the current stage of the
economic cycle and our geographic
spread, as a number of countries
culturally have minimal white collar
temporary roles. It gives a guide as
to the operational gearing potential
in the business, which is significantly
greater for permanent recruitment.
How we performed in 2025: 72%
of our gross profit was generated
from permanent placements, in
line with 2024. During periods of
market uncertainty, clients often seek
more flexible options in temporary
recruitment. However, due to
softer activity and trading in our
European businesses, where we
have a higher proportion of non-
permanent business, as well as a
tougher comparator in temporary
recruitment, we saw similar declines
across permanent recruitment
(-7.7%) and temporary (-7.5%).
Relevant strategic objective:
Diversification.
2021
2022
2020
2023
2024
43.7
-1.8
37.2
9.1
24.4
Gross profit growth* (%)
* Increase in gross profit in constant currency
over the prior year
2021
2022
2020
2023
2024
20.2
-12.8
-28.1
-6.3
49.1
How measured: Gross profit growth
represents revenue less cost of
sales expressed as the percentage
change over the prior year. It
consists principally of placement fees
for permanent candidates and the
margin earned on the placement of
temporary candidates.
Why it’s important: This metric
shows the income growth of the
business. The indicator is recorded in
both constant and reported currency,
as foreign exchange movements in
our international markets can impact
it significantly.
How we performed in 2025: Gross
profit decreased 7.6% in constant
currencies and 8.7% in reported
rates against 2024. This was due to
continued tough trading conditions
in 2025, which impacted client and
candidate confidence.
Relevant strategic objective:
Organic growth.
Gross Profit Perm Temp
2025 72 28
2024 72 28
2023 73 27
2022 77 23
2021 77 23
2020 72 28
2025
-7.6
2025
2.9
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
29
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Strategic
Fee earner headcount growth (%)
How measured: Number of fee
earners and directors involved in
revenue-generating activities at
the year end, expressed as the
percentage change compared to the
prior year.
Why it’s important: Growth in fee
earners is a guide to our confidence
in the business and macro-
economic outlook, as it reflects our
expectations as to the level of future
demand for our services above the
existing capacity currently within the
business.
How we performed in 2025: Net
fee earner headcount decreased by
402, or 7.5%, in the year, resulting
in 4,968 fee earners at the end
of the year. We saw reductions
primarily across Europe and the UK,
as challenging trading conditions
continued in 2025. However, we
continued to reallocate resources into
markets where we saw improvements
in business confidence, such as in
Asia and the US.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
2021
2022
2020
2023
2024
14.2
-8.2
18.2
-15.7
-14.6
2025-7.5
Gross profit per fee earner (£’000)
How measured: Gross profit
divided by the average number of
fee-generating staff, calculated on a
rolling monthly average basis.
Why it’s important: This is our
indicator of productivity, which is
affected by levels of activity in the
market, capacity within the business
and the number of recently hired
fee earners who are not yet at full
productivity. Currency movements
can also impact this figure.
How we performed in 2025:
Productivity grew 0.3% in constant
currencies but declined 0.8% in
reported rates to £148.9k (2024:
£150.0k). Whilst we experienced
tough trading conditions in 2025,
our action on fee earner headcount
through the year, down 7.5%, meant
productivity stayed relatively flat
on 2024 and at high levels for the
Group.
Relevant strategic objective:
Organic growth.
2021
2022
2020
2023
2024
159.4
157.2
150.0
159.0
113.3
2025
148.9
Conversion rate (%)
How measured: Operating profit
(EBIT) shown as a percentage of
gross profit.
Why it’s important: This reflects
how successful the Group is at
managing business-related costs,
growing fee-earner productivity and
the level of investment being directed
towards future growth.
How we performed in 2025: The
Group’s conversion rate for the year
decreased to 2.7% (2024: 6.2%).
This was reflective of the tougher
trading conditions during the year
and one-off costs, partly offset by the
reduction in fee earner headcount.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
2021
2022
2020
2023
2024
18.2
19.2
6.2
11.8
2.8
2025
2.7
Cash (£m)
How measured: Cash and short-
term deposits.
Why it’s important: The level of
cash reflects our cash generation
and conversion capabilities and
our success in managing our
working capital. It determines our
ability to reinvest in the business,
to return cash to shareholders and
to ensure we remain financially
robust through cycles.
How we performed in 2025:
Cash decreased to £31.4m
(2024: £95.3m). The year-on-year
movement was driven primarily
by reduced cash generation from
operations, as a result of the ongoing
challenging market conditions.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
2021
2022
2020
2023
2024
95.3
2025
31.4
166.0
166.0
154.0
131.5
90.1
30
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
People
Employee index
To become Net-zero across our full value chain by 2050
Intensity values of GHG emissions
How measured: The GHG Protocol
is used to calculate direct and indirect
GHG emissions.
Why it’s important: In the emissions
estimates, CO
2
e impact of our value
chain and operations are examined in
absolute terms.
How we performed in 2025: Total
GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3)
decreased by 16% to 45,343 tCO
2
e.
Operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2
emissions) reduced by 17% to 1,623
tCO
2
e, due partly to the continued
transition of our offices to renewable
energy. Value chain emissions (Scope
3) decreased by 16% to 43,719 tCO
2
e,
with reductions across almost all Scope
3 categories including purchased goods
and services.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
How measured: A significant output
of the Company’s periodically taken
employee surveys.
Why it’s important: When there
is a sustainable work environment
and motivated staff in the business,
critical talent is retained and productivity
is enhanced.
How we performed in 2025: We
recorded a 79% positive score for
employee engagement in the latest
Employee Engagement Survey in 2025,
broadly in line with the previous year
(2024: 80%). The 2025 survey included
a combination of questions, including:
how valued our people felt; how proud
they were to work for PageGroup; and
how they can see their work relates to
PageGroup’s purpose of changing lives.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
How measured: Intensity levels of
GHG emissions are measured by
total emissions per 1,000 people. For
PageGroup, the most precise metric of
activity levels is headcount, which is not
influenced by factors like fluctuations in
foreign exchange rates and business
blend.
Why it’s important: It helps to find
the areas where emissions reduction
efforts have been successful, as GHG
measurements are normalised in context
of the Group’s changing business profile
and especially movement in headcount.
How we performed in 2025: Tonnes of
CO
2
e per employee decreased by 10%
to 6.6 tonnes of CO
2
e per employee.
The reduction in overall emissions
decreased by a greater amount than the
reduction in headcount.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
Client net promoter score
How measured: Client net promoter
score is a metric used to measure
customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Why it’s important: This score helps
the Group gauge the quality of our
customer service, and allows us to
benchmark against our competitors.
How we performed in 2025: The
Group’s net promoter score improved to
66 (2024: 61), exceeding our strategic
target for a second consecutive year.
This highlights our commitment to
providing excellent service to our
customers, further cementing our
position as a benchmark of quality in
our industry.
Relevant strategic objective:
Sustainable growth.
79%
Positive
Engagement
Score
-16%
Total GHG
emissions –
CO
2
e tonnes
Tonnes of CO
2
e
per employee
66
Rated as
excellent
-10%
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
31
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Q&A with Nick Kirk, CEO
Nick joined Michael Page in February 1995, when the
Company had around 400 employees and operated in
just six countries. Starting as a consultant in the newly
created Michael Page Sales business, he progressed
into management and leadership as the business grew
and new offices were opened around the UK. Continued
success led to him being promoted to Director in 2002.
He was promoted again in 2007 to Managing Director
of the Michael Page Sales business. Nick then began to
take responsibility for other businesses including Page
Personnel and Michael Page Finance. In 2013, Nick was
promoted to Regional Managing Director and in 2018 he
took full responsibility for the UK business. Three years
later, he added the North American business to his remit
and became a member of Executive Board.
On 1 January 2023, Nick was appointed Chief Executive
and, in conjunction with the Board, led the development
of Page’s new Strategy, setting ambitious future goals for
the Group. He has a proven track record of addressing
business challenges in a people-focused business.
What is your outlook for 2026?
Looking ahead, global macro-economic and political
uncertainty continues to affect the majority of our
markets. Despite this backdrop, we delivered consistent
growth in the US and Asia this year. Where we saw
improved trading, this was driven by higher levels of
conversion of offers to placements. In our other countries
where trading remains challenging, we are yet to see any
improvement in this metric, due to subdued candidate
and client confidence.
In response to the challenging environment, we took
decisive action to optimise the cost base. This included
simplifying our management structure, reducing the size
of our operational leadership team and increasing the
efficiency of our business support functions. In line with
our expectations, these initiatives incurred a one-off cost
of c. £15m this year, within operating profit. This was
partially offset by savings in H2 2025 of c. £5m. Going
forward, these initiatives will deliver annualised savings of
c. £15m from 2026.
Consistent with our Strategy, we continue to align
headcount with activity levels across all our markets.
Our focus remains to balance near-term productivity
with ensuring we are well placed to take advantage of
opportunities when market conditions improve.
We have a diversified and adaptable business model,
a highly experienced management team, a strong
balance sheet and our cost base is under continuous
review. These fundamental strengths give us confidence,
despite the macro-economic uncertainty, in our ability
to implement our Strategy and drive the long-term
profitability of the Group.
What has driven the US recovery this year?
Our business, like others in the sector, is inherently
cyclical. One of the distinguishing factors of the most
recent downturn however, is not a fall in activity levels
- job acquisition and interview volumes have remained
broadly stable – but a decline in the conversion of offers
to placements. Traditionally, our consultants would see
four out of every five offers accepted. Over the past two
years, that ratio has slipped to three out of five, meaning
our consultants are delivering the same workload for
roughly 25% less revenue.
Towards the end of last year and throughout 2025, we
saw a gradual but meaningful return to more typical
conversion levels in the US. Confidence has improved
across both candidates and clients, and, contrary to the
past couple of years, when initial offers are declined,
both parties are now more open to negotiate to reach
agreement. This improvement has been supported by a
greater willingness by clients to enhance salary offers.
Although increases are not returning to the levels we saw
in 2021 and 2022, when initial salary proposals fall short,
clients are prepared to offer more to secure preferred
candidates.
The US grew every quarter this year, despite no material
increase in job acquisition and interview volumes. In
The US recovery has been
confidence-led and conversion-
driven, rather than activity-led.
It reflects a normalisation of
candidate and client behaviour”.
32
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
summary, our recovery in the US has been confidence-led
and conversion-driven, rather than activity-led. It reflects
a normalisation of candidate and client behaviour and
a return to offer dynamics more consistent with pre-
pandemic conditions.
What is your approach to dividends in the
current environment?
We have a clear capital allocation strategy, with three
defined uses of cash. We first use our cash to satisfy our
operational and investment requirements, and to hedge
our liabilities under the Group’s share plans.
The second use of cash is to make returns to
Shareholders through ordinary dividends. We review our
liquidity over and above our operational and investment
requirements to determine the amount of these returns.
Our policy is to grow this ordinary dividend over the
course of the economic cycle, in line with our long-
term growth rate, subject to affordability. We believe
this enables us to sustain the level of ordinary dividend
payments during a downturn, as well as increasing it
during more prosperous times. The nature of our business
is that should we experience sustained tough market
conditions, our working capital position unwinds, allowing
us to sustain dividend payments.
Thirdly, any remaining surplus cash will be returned to
Shareholders through supplementary returns, using
special dividends or share buybacks. Since flotation in
2001, we have returned over £1.3bn to Shareholders,
over half of which has come via supplementary returns.
Clearly there is a heightened degree of macro-economic
and political uncertainty in the majority of the markets in
which we operate, but we will continue to monitor our
liquidity in 2026 and will make returns to Shareholders in
line with the above policy.
Will AI make human recruiters obsolete?
AI is not a passing trend; it is a permanent and rapidly
evolving force that is reshaping the recruitment industry.
Whilst it brings a number of risks that must be carefully
managed, it also presents significant opportunities,
including increased efficiency and automation.
Like past technological advancements, AI will undoubtedly
create job disruption. Certain roles will change or
disappear, but new roles and capabilities will also emerge.
Our history shows that we adapt, and we will continue to
do so.
We have proactively embraced this shift. We are proud
to say that we are at the very forefront of the industry in
our adoption of, and exploration into, AI. We have already
implemented several AI-driven tools within our business,
with further solutions in development.
Our business is focused on white-collar, professional
recruitment, an area where our consultants’ expertise,
market knowledge and human judgement remain
essential. Candidates with established careers seek
meaningful discussions about their long-term aspirations
and the nuances of prospective roles and employers.
Similarly, clients value consultative advice when assessing
candidates, beyond what appears on paper. These are
complex conversations that require empathy, contextual
understanding and strategic guidance, which AI cannot
replicate. Whilst technology and AI can act as a powerful
tool to support efficiency and enhance certain stages
of the process, we are a People business, and our
consultants remain right at the centre of what we do.
For further insight into the risks and opportunities
associated with AI, and our assessment of its long-term
impact on recruitment, please refer to pages 33 to 35.
How are you reshaping the business for
continued success?
In response to the tougher macro-economic conditions,
we continue to review our business operations,
reallocating resources into areas where we see the
greatest future potential. As part of this repositioning,
we have been reviewing disciplines that are less profitable
and transferring consultants to more productive roles.
In Japan, we had a business across multiple disciplines
and brands. We operated in many markets without
achieving significant levels of penetration or market share.
In line with our Strategy, we have simplified the operating
model to position the business for accelerated longer
term growth, with three key areas of focus: as a specialist
Technology recruiter in the domestic Nikkei market;
as a dedicated contracting recruiter across Technology
and Finance; and building on our existing strength
as a permanent recruiter in the bilingual, bicultural,
Gaishikei market.
Within Technology, one of our strategic pillars of growth,
we continue to see a more resilient performance in non-
permanent recruitment. We are reshaping this business
from the pre-pandemic model, increasing our offering
within contracting and interim roles. This is particularly
evident in markets such as Brazil, Greater China,
Colombia and Spain. We have also been rolling out
our proven contracting model from Germany into other
markets in Northern Europe, and I am pleased with the
progress to date.
These are just a few of the many examples where we have
executed our Strategy, streamlining and refocusing the
business into markets we believe will offer us long-term
growth at conversion rates in line with or above our target.
We are streamlining and
refocusing the business into
markets we believe will offer us
long-term growth at conversion
rates in line with or above
our target.”
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
33
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Artificial Intelligence
Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence
Technology and AI have positively reshaped our industry in recent years, driving a more data-led approach to
recruitment.
We are already leveraging AI to enhance the recruitment experience for our People and our Customers.
Like any major innovation, AI presents both risks and opportunities for our industry, challenging traditional
recruitment practices, whilst offering new ways to enhance efficiency, insights, and customer service.
Changing jobs and the
workforce
As intelligent automation accelerates, it is inevitable
that AI will have an impact on the workplace, displacing
and altering roles. Whilst highly administrative jobs
are expected to be more exposed, professional and
specialist roles are likely to remain more resilient.
This is not new. Technological enhancements are
constantly reshaping the workspace, giving rise to new
skills, roles and job opportunities. These advancements
offer employers the opportunity to focus their staff on
high-value tasks. As a trusted recruitment partner, we
are constantly talking to our clients about future-proofing
their organisation, and about the new skills and roles they
will need to be successful.
Customer expectations
AI is transforming customer service in recruitment by
improving speed, accuracy and candidate matching.
However, excessive reliance on automation can
weaken the human connection that drives strong hiring
outcomes and customer satisfaction. Without proper
oversight, AI may add bias, misinterpret CVs or mis-rank
candidates, reducing trust and service quality. Empathy,
communication and cultural fit remain critical qualities
best assessed through meaningful human interaction with
experienced consultants.
34
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Looking ahead
AI will undoubtedly reshape elements of our industry, but we
do not believe it poses a long-term threat to our business
model. In recent times, our industry has adapted to many
technological changes including the internet, job boards,
social media and data analytics. Each of these changed
how we worked, but none removed the need for high-quality
recruitment consultancy.
Fundamentally, we operate as a relationship-led, white-collar
professional recruitment business. Whilst AI may pose more
of a threat to high-volume, blue-collar recruitment, the
dynamics of white-collar hiring are inherently different. Our
candidates have established careers, complex motivations
and long-term goals, and they expect a trusted human adviser
to understand these. Likewise, employers hiring at this level
want more than a CV; they require informed, human insight
into cultural fit, leadership potential and long-term value. AI
can support the process, but it cannot replace the depth of
conversation, credibility and judgement that our experienced
consultants provide.
Whilst technology and AI are powerful tools, we expect them
to remain a vital supporting role to our consultants rather
than a replacement. By staying alert to emerging risks and
continuing to adapt, our relationship-driven model and focus
on white-collar professional recruitment positions us strongly
for the years ahead.
Data security and responsible AI
Data security and responsible AI are central to our programme. We are committed to protecting candidate and
client information through robust governance, secure systems and compliance with data regulations. Our AI tools
are carefully selected, monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure fairness, transparency and ethical use.
Human oversight remains embedded in our AI-enabled process, ensuring accountability and reducing the risk of
bias or error. By combining secure technology with responsible innovation, we build trust, safeguard
sensitive data and deliver reliable, high-quality recruitment outcomes.
We use AI to enhance, not replace, our consultants in the recruitment experience. Technology handles the
heavy lifting, whilst our teams focus on building relationships, advising clients and supporting candidates. This
balanced approach ensures every customer benefits from both data-driven insights and human expertise, and
strengthens our commitment to service excellence as reflected in our market-leading net promoter score.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
35
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In recent years, we have focused on building solid
foundations to enable us to accelerate the use of AI
across our organisation. By implementing global systems
such as Customer Connect and our Global Finance
System, we have created an integrated data ecosystem
where information is organised, consistent, optimised,
secure and governed. Our data intelligence platform has
been built with market-leading systems including Azure,
Databricks, GCP and Salesforce, giving us the scalability
and reliability to deploy AI at pace across our organisation.
To build on these foundations, we have also established
a dedicated data and innovation lab that provides the
infrastructure for us to quickly experiment, test and learn,
ensuring we focus on moving solely use cases that drive
real business value to production.
AI built on solid foundations
The opportunities to deploy AI are extensive but we need
to drive value into the business and ensure we keep
humans at the heart of what we do, building around the
blend of technology and human capability across the
recruitment framework. Our focus is on where we deploy
technology or human engagement, weighted towards the
best outcome for our customers.
Our deployment is centred around three core
programmes:
Empowering our employees – we have deployed and
trained our teams to use Microsoft Copilot to elevate
individual productivity and enable our People to work
smarter, reduce time spent on routine tasks, and focus on
high value client and candidate engagement.
Enhancing our tools and systems – AI tools, either
within suppliers’ products or purpose built, have been
deployed to streamline and automate routine, manual
tasks that currently consume significant consultant and
business support time. Significant parts of our recruitment
cycle already deployed globally include: Intelligent job
advert creation, Copilot agents and customer journey
personalisation.
Innovating to drive growth and efficiencies – we are
using traditional and agentic AI to rethink and redesign
some of our core business processes and products that
are used by our back-office teams and our consultants
to drive efficiencies. An example of one of these
products is our Business Development hub. This tool
brings all the right opportunities into one place, whether
from marketing, internal or external data sources. It
leverages AI to enrich and prioritise these opportunities
more quickly, enabling more meaningful and informed
conversations with our clients.
Keeping our consultants at the heart of what we do
Recruit Smarter, Work Smarter
Source
Match
AI Deployed
Connect
Progress
Place
Engage & Enrich
36
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
People & Culture
Awards and Recognition
At Page, our Purpose to change lives
starts with our own People. We are
committed to organic growth, creating
opportunities for our People to build
long-term, rewarding careers in
recruitment.
Our People are key to our success
and we believe that human connection
will remain at the heart of our services.
By fostering a culture that is inclusive,
enables high-performance, and is
aligned to what matters most to our
employees, we aim to create positive
outcomes for both our People and
our Customers.”
We are proud of the culture we have built at
Page. It is embedded across our organisation
through our Purpose, values, behaviours
and actions.
We promise our People an inclusive culture
that rewards strong performance, and the
training, support, tools and technology to help
them achieve their full potential. We believe
our Culture fosters long-term relationships with
our Customers, where we can deliver valuable
insights and excellent experiences.
In 2025, we focused on fostering growth through
development opportunities and high-performance
recognition. The global rollout of a new learning
experience platform is keeping us at the forefront
of human capital development by allowing
personalised, modernised learning journeys.
Inclusion and psychological safety remain
foundational to our Culture. It is embedded
through global and local campaigns, ensuring
recruitment that is free from bias, and providing
accessible development pathways and
opportunities.
Our People value flexibility and are passionate
about delivering positive social impact
through our volunteering programmes. We are
encouraged that our survey results show high
satisfaction with both of these areas.
Our Culture framework, set out on page 37,
outlines how we assess, embed and monitor
culture. Pages 36-44 provide further details on
our key initiatives and activities in 2025.
Tessel Naaijkens
Chief People
Officer
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
37
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our Customers
Our Purpose articulates the underlying motivation for
our actions and why we are engaged in our business.
Our Purpose
Our values are central to everything we do.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO HOW WE WANT TO WORK
EARN TRUST
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
GROW CONNECTIONS
AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
WHERE EVERYONE CAN THRIVE
PageGroup is all about People
Creating opportunities to engage with People through
key life moments; having valuable conversations
–more frequently and with more relevant dialogue.
Inclusive Culture
Ensuring every employee has a sense of belonging
and can be their authentic self.
Growth and Rewards
Clear and challenging career paths, industry-leading
training and fostering a high-trust, high-performance
culture.
Wellbeing and Flexibility
Enabling our People to perform at their best.
Tools and Technology
Providing our People with a competitive edge.
Social Impact
So our People know they are part of something bigger.
Customers are at the centre of ourbusiness
Aiming to be the most customer-centric recruiter and
setting us apart from the competition by delivering
an excellent experience for our Customers.Staying
ahead – leadingour industry to best support our
Customers.
Improving processes and tools tosupport consultant
productivity.
Leveraging technology
Improving our Customer experience.
Innovative approaches
Providing a more effective service.
Building relationships
Going further to build lasting relationships with our
clients, candidates and consultants.
Through a personal, professional service, creating the
opportunity forcandidates and clients to reach their
potential.
STAYING AHEAD –
LEADING OUR INDUSTRY
Our Values
Our People
Employee voice Retention Career progression & mobility Talent development
Inclusive culture Rewards & recognition Health & wellbeing
Engaging our Customers –NPS, Customer satisfaction
Retaining our Customers –repeat business, Preferred Supplier Agreements
Innovation
Our People
Our Customers
Public commitments
Awards
External Recognition
KEEPING US ON TRACK, FOCUSED ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Our Measures
38
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
HOW WE WANT TO WORK
Employee Voice
Our People
As a people-business, understanding and engaging our
employees is key to maintaining our Culture and to our
success. Our continuous listening strategy utilises a range
of feedback mechanisms including our annual ‘Have Your
Say’ (HYS) employee survey, onboarding and exit surveys,
internal Shadow Boards and our Speak-Up helpline.
We also host global, regional and function-specific
town halls to facilitate direct dialogue between our
People and leaders.
Results from HYS consistently show that we have an
engaged workforce, with performance exceeding external
benchmarks in most areas. We are pleased to report that
this positive trend continued in 2025; further details are
outlined below.
It is important that we reflect on the feedback and use this
to inform our future strategy and actions. For example,
the 2024 HYS results highlighted an opportunity to
improve how valued our employees feel. In response,
we have made recognition a bigger part of our Culture
by promoting #MomentsThatMatter across our internal
communications channels. We also implemented AI
nudges, which included prompts for leaders to recognise
performance. As a result, over 1,400 managers received
nudges for the statement “I feel valued as an employee of
Page” and we saw a 10% year-on-year increase in scores
for this area.
Individual teams and functions also took local action in
2025. For example, our Finance function launched The
Always Listening Team to ensure employee ideas are
heard and translated into meaningful change.
In 2025, our survey response rate was 82% and we continued to exceed
the external benchmark by 3%. While our employee engagement dipped
1% year-on-year, our overall engagement remains strong and 7 out of 11
categories we assessed were above the external benchmark
1
.
Highlights include:
in understanding our
customers’ needs, which is
core to how we deliver value.
Pride in
working at Page
is strong at
85%
favourable
Our inclusive
leadership scores
stand out at
88%
favourable
proof that our efforts to build an
inclusive culture are making a
difference.
Customer
focus
is clear, with
90%
favourability
Enhancing our listening strategy
In 2025, we revamped the onboarding and exit surveys to better capture employee insights at two critical moments by
simplifying our surveys and aligning them with our employee value proposition. We assigned clear ownership, making
them more actionable and engaging.
We are now better equipped to close the feedback loop and leverage insights to drive productivity and retention, in turn
helping us to achieve our operating profit goals.
1. Benchmark defined as the overall benchmark for companies within the Perceptyx database.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
39
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
62%
(5)
Male Female
Inclusive Culture
Having an inclusive culture where all our employees feel
welcome, valued and supported is critical to our success.
By fostering this environment, we believe we enhance our
ability to attract, retain, develop and promote exceptional
individuals from a broad range of backgrounds and
experiences.
We invite all our employees to participate in our inclusion
campaigns and voluntary events throughout the year.
We celebrate different dimensions of inclusion. We raise
awareness, educate, challenge the status quo and inspire
action. This is done via Global Campaigns for International
Women’s Day, Pride Month and Inclusion Week, where
this year we centred on Psychological Safety as a theme.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to inclusion. Local
initiatives are designed and delivered in line with, and
against a backdrop of, complying with local obligations
and legal requirements in the markets in which we
operate.
We also take steps to ensure that employment, training
and development opportunities are accessible to all
our employees, free from bias or barriers to entry and
grounded in equity. Our recruitment processes follow the
same principles and can help our clients tap into broad
pools of talent to find the best candidates.
Psychological Safety: Speak,
Listen, Act
Our Global Inclusion Week campaign
focused this year on psychological safety
and how leadership sets the tone across
our business. We heard from Executive
Board members and Managing Directors
across the globe and facilitated discussions
to encourage two-way feedback.
Our commitment to gender equality
We continue to work towards 50:50 gender balance in senior
management by 2030. As at 31 December 2025, 45% of our senior
leadership population (Associate Director and above) are female.
This is a slight reduction vs. 2024 (-1%) due to changes to our
organisational structure. However, we have robust succession plans
in place that are in line with our ambitions and continue to ensure
that all appointments are based on merit and objective criteria.
Additionally, our female representation at the senior level as defined
by the UK Corporate Governance Code (Executive Board and
direct reports) as at 31 December 2025 is 37%.
2025
38%
(3)
2024
50%
(4)
Male Female
50%
(4)
Board Directors
55%
(566)
Male Female
2025
45%
(457)
2024
54%
(565)
Male Female
46%
(477)
Senior Management
1
1. The data above reflects those that PageGroup considers to be its senior
management. The Companies Act 2006 definition of senior managers requires the
directors of PageGroup’s subsidiaries to be considered senior management and the
data calculated in accordance with that definition is 570 male and 459 female.
38%
(2,324)
Male Female
2025
62%
(3,813)
2024
38%
(2,556)
Male Female
62%
(4,087)
Other Employees
40
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Wellbeing and Flexibility
At Page, our Customers and our office network will always
be at the heart of everything we do. We expect our People
to prioritise connection and collaboration with colleagues
in the office. We also trust and empower our People to
perform at their best, and understand that supporting our
employees to balance all elements of their lives is a crucial
enabler of this.
Around the world, we have set out policies and practices
to empower our People to fulfil personal responsibilities
without compromising on performance and valuable
time spent in the office, recognising that flexibility looks
different for every person. This includes initiatives such as
Wellbeing Days, Employee Assistance Programmes, and
Mental Health First Aiders. We accommodate preferences
in ways of working through accessible office layouts,
different working patterns and a hybrid working culture.
Our Have Your Say survey results indicate that we are
getting this right. Flexibility at Work is the most important
factor for why our employees choose to stay at Page
and has an 80% satisfaction rating. Seventy five percent
of our People are in the office three or more days per
week, demonstrating the value they place on in-person
collaboration.
Growth and Reward
Organic growth is a key pillar of our strategy and is
underpinned by our commitment to fostering learning,
talent development, and rewarding high performance.
In 2025, we strengthened our learning culture through the
launch of our experience platform, ‘My Learning Hub’. We
also reimagined our Learning and Development operating
model and introduced new specialist roles, dedicated
to partnering, tailored journeys, product creation, and
delivery. These changes enable an even greater focus on
individual needs, continuously modernising our offerings
and expanding facilitation capacity.
Our talent development and leadership programmes help
us to build and maintain a pipeline of high-performing
future leaders. This year, we strengthened this ambition
by launching a global succession planning approach
and defining an executive development programme for
successors, ensuring readiness for critical roles. We
introduced targeted talent management solutions: a
coaching platform to develop the capabilities of high
potential incumbents and an Executive Board mentoring
programme to create exposure opportunities. We also
enhanced our feedback culture. These initiatives reflect
our commitment to empowering our people, enabling
career mobility, and sustaining leadership excellence
across Page.
It remains important to Page and to our People that we
reward high performance. Management actions in 2025
allowed Page to safeguard salary uplifts and gave us the
ability to recognise performance through bonus.
Rewarding high
performance
483
promotions
41
international transfers
Global roll out of
MyLearningHub
In 2025, we launched MyLearningHub,
our global learning experience platform,
to transform how employees engage
with development. This initiative
supports our strategy of organic
growth and high performance by
fostering a continuous learning culture
and offering personalised,
on-demand content aligned to
individual roles and career goals.
The phased rollout was a success, with
adoption reaching 90% by the end of
November, which is significantly higher
than the external benchmark of 70%.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
41
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Tools and Technology
Our tools and technology play a crucial
role in supporting our People to deliver the
most successful recruitment outcomes
for our clients and our candidates. We
believe our industry-leading platforms,
Page Insights and Customer Connect,
give us a competitive edge.
We seek to identify where the application
of AI in our organisation drives efficiency
and better outcomes for our People,
for example as part of our new Human
Resources Information System.
Further details on our AI strategy can be
found on pages 33-35.
Transforming our Human Resource Information
System (HRIS)
In 2025, we launched a strategic programme to improve efficiency
and future-proof our HR services. A core part of the future system
is a unified, global HR Technology system supplied by a global
leader in enterprise applications. The platform has been designed
to deliver a seamless, self-serve experience and provides a single
source for employee data. For our People, this transformation means
streamlined processes, providing straightforward and speedy access
to HR services, and a significantly enhanced employee experience.
Social Impact
Our People take pride in playing a part in life-changing moments for the candidates we place and the people and
communities we support through our social impact programmes. ‘Changing Lives and being something bigger’ remained
one of the most important factors for employees when considering their future at Page, with a satisfaction rating of 92%.
In all our countries, our People want to use their skills and experience for good, often volunteering their time to support
those that can be furthest from the workplace. These programmes are an integral part of our business, and we have
strong employee participation. Examples include members of our Finance team sharing careers advice at local schools,
consultants providing mock interviews and career workshops, and our Executive Board members participating in work
experience programmes. To read more about our social impact and case studies, see page 53.
Leaders living our Purpose
All our People are welcomed and encouraged
to participate in sharing their skills via our social
impact programmes, and our Executive Board is no
exception. In 2025, members of our Executive Board
actively supported our charity partners, for example:
Tessel Naaijkens provided mentorship through
Generation’s Alumni Mentorship Programme, helping
a young professional explore his career goals.
Kaye Maguire and Eamon Collins participated
in a work-shadowing day with UK social mobility
charity LTSB, offering insights into legal and marketing
careers.
Nicolas Bechu dedicated time to work experience
students, sharing practical knowledge and inspiring
future talent.
42
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Our Customers
Our aim is to be the world’s most customer-centric
recruiter. To achieve this, we must foster and prioritise
long-term, strategic partnerships with our Customers.
We have clients all around the world and in many
industries, from large global brands to small to medium-
sized enterprises. We recognise that their needs are
unique, and we collaborate closely to create tailored
solutions that deliver measurable value. For our largest
global clients, our Enterprise Solutions team provides
dedicated support, helping them design agile workforce
strategies that meet today’s demands and prepare for the
future.
We are equally committed to our candidates. By
understanding their specific needs and ambitions, we
want to do more than find the right placement for now. We
strive to become a partner across their whole careers. Our
tools and technologies provide a seamless experience,
backed by insights and expertise, while human interaction,
counsel, and advice remains at the heart of what are often
pivotal and life-changing moments.
2024
61
2025
Client Net Promoter Score
66
Results from our customer satisfaction survey 2025
82%
Satisfied candidates
93%
Satisfied clients
Talent Trends 2025: Turning insights into
business opportunity
Our global insight and industry knowledge is what makes us
different. We build strong, long-term partnerships and use
our expertise to help our clients attract and retain top talent.
One example is our flagship Talent Trends study. In 2025,
we surveyed more than 50,000 customers, with our insights
covering 34 markets, uncovering what drives career
decisions and hiring strategies in a rapidly evolving world
of work. The resulting report and interactive tools provide
actionable insights and practical recommendations, enabling
clients to align their talent strategies with the values and
expectations of skilled professionals.
To amplify impact, we led a global campaign, with
consultants from across our business sharing the report and
engaging in conversations with new and existing contacts
around the world. We achieved over 150,000 views of our
content and thousands of ready-to-hire leads.
In a world shaped by disruption and transformative
forces such as AI, we provide stability and insight.
Our global perspective spans multiple markets and
industries, combining cutting-edge technology and
digital experiences with the human interaction that
defines our service.
Our client net promoter score (NPS) sits as one of
our three core strategic goals. As of 31 December
2025, our NPS was 66, up 5 percentage points
from last year and well above our target of 60+.
With 50+ considered excellent, this result is a strong
endorsement of our approach and a benchmark of
industry-leading performance.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
43
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Culture and the Board
The Board recognises its responsibility for the oversight
of the Group’s Culture and the importance in leading
by example. It is acutely aware of its responsibilities
contained in the UK Corporate Governance Code
2024 (the “Code”) to assess and monitor culture,
and understand how our desired inclusive culture has
been embedded.
The Board approves the culture framework (page 37)
that outlines how culture, purpose and values are aligned
and embedded across the organisation. It defines the
measures by which the Board monitors progress and,
where necessary, acts and makes decisions. Twice a
year, the Board reviews the Framework in deep dive
sessions which consider how culture is embedded across
key pillars such as reward, workforce engagement and
inclusion activities. The key insights and outcomes are
summarised overleaf.
Culture is embedded across recruitment and onboarding,
reward and communications:
• Our values and behaviours are introduced in detail in our
onboarding programme
• Performance reviews assess demonstration of
behaviours and contribution to global strategic goals,
covering customer focus and social impact, as well as
revenue.
• Global and local inclusion and social impact activities
are promoted widely across internal communication
platforms, with active participation from Executive Board
members.
• Our Purpose and our Culture is championed by Nick
Kirk, our CEO, who reinforces cultural priorities in his
communication to employees. In 2025, Nick participated
in an interview broadcast to all employees exploring how
to shape a workplace where everyone feels encouraged
to speak, listen and act: a psychologically safe culture.
The Board also considers the factors that can influence
a positive culture and is alert to the signs of possible
cultural problems. In 2025, the Board was satisfied that
leadership were leading by example, that there were high
levels of engagement between leaders and employees,
that incentives were aligned with our Culture, and that a
culture of Speaking Up was in place. This demonstrates to
the Board that the desired culture is embedded.
The Board engages with the workforce, choosing to
adopt alternative arrangements to the three prescribed
methods set out in the Code. All Board members have
a responsibility for workforce engagement activities to
maximise the breadth and timeliness of information.
The Board is formally engaged through:
• Twice yearly culture sessions.
• Board Committees review workforce rewards, evaluate
talent, development, and succession activities and have
oversight of risk, regulation and any ethical concerns.
• Board members have access to our internal
communications platform to see day-to-day activities
and engagement from employees.
At an individual level, Board members also participate
in workforce engagement and take steps to set the
tone from the top. For example, in 2025, Angela
Seymour-Jackson took part in a live interview and Q&A
session open to all employees in Northern and Central
Europe. In addition, all Executive and Non-Executive
Directors mentor individual employees, providing real-time
insight into our employee experiences. Non-Executive
Directors also have access to future leaders across the
business in Board presentations and informal social
events.
Further details on how the Board considers the interests
of employees and all other stakeholder groups can be
found on pages 45-50.
Board members, Nick Kirk and Kelvin
Stagg, supporting Social Impact
‘Speak Up’ platform renewal
Our goal is to maintain a culture where our
stakeholders feel safe to raise concerns
anonymously and without fear of retaliation.
Speaking up is a critical part of how we protect
our People and our Values and gives us
confidence in how well our Culture is embedded
across the organisation.
In 2025, we implemented a new whistleblowing
platform, optimised for accessibility and ease of use.
The system features a simplified interface and mobile
access, and is available to external parties such as
job applicants, suppliers or family members.
Social impact is core to our Culture. By participating
in our programmes, Board members set a clear tone
from the top. Their direct engagement also allows
them to see first-hand the quality of our initiatives
and hear from our charity partners. For example, as
part of our ongoing partnership
with LTSB, Nick and Kelvin
hosted a shadowing day
with young people from
disadvantaged backgrounds.
44
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
How the Board monitors culture
and how it is embedded
Insights Gained
Employee Voice Annual Have Your Say, Onboarding,
and Exit surveys, employee
engagement activities
Our employees care about where we are heading and
want to shape what comes next.
Pride in working at Page remains high and, in line with our
strategy, there are high levels of confidence in how well our
people understand customer needs which in turn is driving
our increased NPS score.
Inclusive Culture Bi-annual review of inclusion
measures and activities
Our efforts to build a culture of belonging are landing and
making a difference, evidenced by strong feedback on
inclusive leadership questions in Have Your Say results.
Women in leadership dipped slightly in 2025, minus one
percentage point to 45%. However, Page remains on track
for 2030 targets.
Growth &
Reward
Bi-annual review of key measures,
including training completion,
retention, career progression and
international mobility
Annual salary review
Nomination Committee Talent &
Development sessions
Have Your Say results indicate development and reward
are the key reasons our employees choose to stay with
Page.
Page is nurturing future talent through formal talent
practices such as talent reviews and succession planning.
The outcomes are presented to the Board in addition to
mentoring and other on-the-job exposure opportunities for
talent to meet the Board.
Wellbeing &
Flexibility
Bi-annual review of wellbeing
measures, employee engagement
and retention
Have Your Say results indicate high satisfaction with
flexible working arrangements, and strong office
attendance reflects the value placed on in-person
collaboration and connection.
Social Impact Bi-annual update of changing lives
measures
Board members partake in Social
Impact activities (see page 43)
Have Your Say results indicate this issue is key for
our employees, and they are proud of PageGroup’s
approach to date. Page is nurturing strong and long-term
relationships with key charity partners.
Tools and
technology
Technology and strategy sessions 10% of employees believe having the tools & technology
that give us a competitive edge is a reason to stay with
Page, which is a 2% increase year over year.
Customer NPS and strategy sessions Increase in NPS score and Customer experience is a
focus of the Executive Board and future strategy.
Whistleblowing Annual review of whistleblowing Have Your Say results show 92% of employees know how
to report ethical concerns or observed misconduct.
2025 outcomes
Continue to invest in
our People against
a backdrop of
challenging economic
circumstances
The Board
considered desired
culture appropriately
embedded, with no
intervention required
Implemented
updated
whistleblowing
policy and
framework
1 2 3
The Board is satisfied that
leaders and all layers of
management are driving
correct culture and
behaviours
4
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
45
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Section 172(1) Statement
This part of the Strategic Report, along with the
referenced pages, constitutes the Company’s statement
under section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006.
Together with earlier disclosures in this report, it outlines
how the Directors have considered the interests of
stakeholders and the factors set out in section 172(1)
when fulfilling their duty to promote the long-term
success of the Company.
The following pages detail the Board’s approach
to engaging with key stakeholders, the methods of
engagement, how stakeholder views inform decision-
making, and their integral role in shaping the Company’s
strategy.
In 2025, the Board remained focused on advancing the
Group’s strategic objectives in a manner that supports
and promotes the interests of all stakeholder groups. In
doing so, the Board consistently considered the long-
term implications of its decisions, the potential impact
on stakeholders, and the broader context in which those
decisions were made.
As part of its governance framework, the Board and
individual Directors assess both current and emerging
risks associated with each stakeholder group. These
considerations are embedded within the principal risk
assessment, which can be found on pages 64–73 of
this report.
Stakeholder Engagement
85%
“I am proud to
wor
k at Page.”
81%
“I understand how my role
contributes to the success of
Page’s Global Strategy.”
“At PageGroup, I can
be my authentic self
at work.”
84%
Society &
Government
Suppliers
Refreshed Materiality Assessment
for environmental, social and
governance (ESG) topics that
mattered most to
our Stakeholders.
-17% Decrease from
2024 in operational GHG
emissions (absolute
Scope 1 & 2 emissions).
147,592 Lives
changed
through
placements and social
impact programmes.
Regular reviews with strategic
and business critical Suppliers,
driving collaboration and
innovation.
Continued optimisation of our Cloud estate
has resulted in a 28% reduction in the carbon
intensity of our Cloud storage over the last
12 months.
Investors
Interim Dividend of 5.36p
per ordinary share, totalling
£16.7 million.
10 conferences,
15 roadshows,
and 24 meetings,
totalling 133 investors.
Final dividend
for
the year of 3.21p per
ordinary share, totalling
£10.0 million.
Customers
Achieving and maintaining
a global strategic goal of
66 Net Promoter Score.
Enriching our technology platforms
to allow greater collaboration and insight with
our Customers.
Our
People
Key Highlights
46
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Why our Stakeholders are important to our business model
The Board comprises a diverse and complementary mix of
skills, experience, and perspectives, enabling robust and
informed decision-making that supports the Company’s
long-term success. In accordance with the UK Corporate
Governance Code and Section 172 of the Companies Act
2006, the Directors actively consider the interests of all
stakeholder groups when shaping strategy, culture, and
risk management.
Stakeholder engagement is embedded throughout the
Group. Both Executive and Non-Executive Directors
engage directly with stakeholders to understand the
needs and expectations of our People, Customers,
Suppliers, Investors and communities. These insights
inform strategic priorities and help foster a culture of
transparency, inclusion, and accountability.
Board discussions are characterised by constructive
challenge and collaborative thinking. Directors draw on
their expertise to guide decisions that enhance employee
experience, deliver exceptional service to customers,
strengthen supplier partnerships, generate sustainable
returns for shareholders, and create positive societal
impact.
Risk management remains a core element of the Board’s
oversight responsibilities. Directors assess current and
emerging risks across stakeholder groups within the
Group’s principal risk framework. The Board receives
regular updates from management, including detailed
reporting, benchmarking data, and progress against
strategic initiatives. This enables effective monitoring
of risk exposure, evaluation of internal controls, and
refinement of mitigation strategies where necessary.
Further details on the Board’s composition,responsibilities,
and activities are provided on pages 78-83 .
How the Board fulfils its section 172 duties
Customers
Suppliers
Investors
Society &
Government
Our People
Our People are the driving force behind
the Group’s success. The Board values
the meaningful engagement it has with our
People, recognising that this connection fuels
performance, innovation, and impact across
the organisation. We are committed to an
inclusive, global community where diverse,
high-performing individuals are empowered
to thrive. With united values and a common
purpose, we are not just delivering the strategy,
we are changing lives, together.
Our
People
Investors
The Board is committed to transparent,
long-term engagement with investors.
Their confidence is essential to success.
Through clear, consistent communication and
engagement, we keep investors informed and
connected to strategic objectives.
Customers
The Board is committed to fully
understanding the changing needs
of clients across sectors and
geographies. We recognise that
candidates trust us to connect
them with opportunities that
reflect their values and ambitions.
Delivering on these expectations
remains central to our strategy and
essential to creating meaningful
impact at scale.
Society & Government
Supporting the communities where we operate remains integral to
our strategy. The Board is committed to meaningful engagement that
promotes a sustainable, inclusive future, while acting transparently and
meeting the expectations of governments, regulators, and wider society.
Suppliers
The Group depends on a
network of strategic partners to
enable internal operations and
deliver services to Customers.
The Board recognises these
partnerships as essential for
driving sustainable growth and
supporting the Group’s wider
objectives.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
47
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Who Engages?
• The Board evaluates survey
findings to understand employee
sentiment and monitor progress
against feedback.
• Executive Directors conduct
office visits across the UK and
internationally throughout the
year.
• Non-Executive Directors
participate in mentoring
programmes.
• Chair and CEO carry out
live interviews with internal
colleagues.
Our People
Engagement and Outcome
Engagement
• Global and regional, office
visits, and virtual forums.
• Local and Executive Shadow
Boards, reporting to and
attending Board sessions.
• Leadership participation in
Board Meetings to reinforce
strategic alignment.
• Organisation-wide
communication via
Viva Engage, our
internal networking and
communication platform.
Performance Information
Provided to Directors
• Insights from the ‘Have Your
Say’ survey and biannual Culture
& Engagement reviews which
include metrics to monitor
values, behaviours and working
environment.
• Speak-Up reports.
• Monitoring of the UK Gender
Pay Gap.
• Feedback from employee
representatives.
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Employee satisfaction is driven
by a competitive reward package
and a strong focus on flexibility in
working practices.
Despite a challenging trading
environment, we maintained salary
increases and performance-linked
bonuses, while continuing our
commitment to flexible working.
High levels of employee engagement
serve as a critical driver of enhanced
Customer experience.
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Mental health is a priority for us, and is
important to our employees.
We are committed to building a
culture where everyone feels safe to
speak openly about wellbeing and is
supported every day to thrive.
We foster transparent
communication, supported by
external employee assistance
services and targeted training
aimed at identifying and
addressing mental health needs.
Our people drive our success.
They are talented, motivated, and
committed to excellence. We foster
an inclusive, supportive environment
where everyone can thrive and deliver
for our Customers.
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Feedback from employees show
a need for systems and tools that
simplify processes, improve
efficiency, and create a smooth,
intuitive experience.
In 2025, the Board approved a
Transformation programme to
improve efficiency and future-proof
HR services for our People.
A unified global HR technology
system and operating model
improves our employee experience
across all our businesses and makes
our people more efficient.
48
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Who Engages?
This remains a collective
responsibility for all Directors
of the Board.
Investors
Engagement
• Investor roadshows.
• Investor conferences.
• Individual Investor meetings.
• Engagement calls with proxy
agencies.
• Annual General Meeting.
Performance Information
Provided to Directors
• Investor Relations reports,
including feedback from
roadshows.
• Proxy ratings and reports (ISS,
Glass Lewis, IVIS and PIRC).
• Investor voting outcomes.
Engagement and Outcome
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Consultation with key shareholders
showed understanding and support
for the Group’s current remuneration
policy.
The Executive Director reward
framework has been retained and
will be proposed to shareholders at
the 2026 AGM.
Investor feedback reinforces that
our executive reward framework
is aligned with the strategy: a
competitive structure is critical to
attract and retain the leadership talent
needed to deliver sustainable growth.
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Investors expressed general support
for the Group’s capital allocation policy,
understanding the need for prudence
during periods of macro-economic
uncertainty.
The Board reviewed this feedback
alongside the Group’s financial
position and resolved to declare an
interim dividend at the half year,
while determining that a special
dividend was not appropriate.
For details on the final dividend,
please see below.
In challenging trading conditions, it
remains essential to engage with and
respond to investor input, ensuring
decisions align with long-term value
creation for the Group.
Our stated capital allocation policy is to continue to finance the activities and development of the Group from retained
earnings and to maintain a strong balance sheet position. Accordingly, the Group’s current and future cash position
was reviewed and in light of the sustained challenging trading environment and the ongoing unpredictable nature of
our markets, the Board believed it prudent to declare a final dividend for FY25 of 3.21p per ordinary share. This action
balances the Group’s current level of profitability and affordability with the desire to continue to invest in growth areas. The
Board recognises the importance of dividends to shareholders and will continue to assess the level of dividend payment
while considering the Group’s prospects.
Case Study
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
49
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Who Engages?
• The Board ensures strategy
sessions incorporate customer
perspective as part of the agenda.
• Data and information security
remain a core responsibility of the
Group and a shared Board priority,
with key performance metrics
reviewed quarterly.
• The Board reviews insights from
market research and engages
in discussions on the Group’s
Customer Promise.
Customers
Engagement
• Series of webinars, and
guidance initiatives to
support candidates
throughout their careers.
• Regular client
performance review
meetings, in-depth
strategy sessions,
webinars and thought-
leadership content.
Performance Information
Provided to Directors
• Service quality measured through
Net Promoter Scores.
• Real-time feedback via Google review
surveys from clients and candidates.
• Quarterly Board updates on
Information Security and
Data Protection.
• Senior management provide
Customer feedback in person and an
update on the strategic goals.
Engagement and Outcome
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Our Enterprise Customers tell us
that they rely on us to listen to
their needs and provide bespoke
solutions to help solve their
challenges in multiple markets.
We support diverse industries worldwide
by creating agile workforce strategies
and delivering seamless candidate
experiences. For example, in 2025 we
commenced trials with a third-party
provider to automate and eliminate
certain manual recruitment tasks.
Our global approach provides
trusted, stable insight for
recruitment solutions in a
rapidly changing market
shaped by efficiency and digital
transformation.
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Customer feedback consistently
highlights the importance of
delivering high-quality experiences
that meet Customer expectations.
The Board confirmed alignment on
the need for a consistent Customer
Promise and its role in guiding operations.
Customer feedback will continue to
inform strategic decisions
and improvement initiatives.
Embedding the Customer Promise
into our strategy strengthens trust
and loyalty. It ensures we remain
focused on delivering value and
building long-term relationships.
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Candidates want more than a
single placement—they expect
personalised support and a
seamless experience throughout
their careers.
Our continued investment in technology
delivers a seamless experience
supported by insights, while human
guidance remains central to key
career decisions.
Providing tailored experiences
and long-term career partnerships
strengthens our customer-centric
strategy and differentiates us in a
competitive talent market.
50
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Who Engages?
• Engagement is primarily
undertaken by Executive
Directors and senior
management, who provide
regular in-person feedback
to the Board.
• The Board retains
oversight responsibility,
fulfilled through reports on
engagement activities.
Engagement
• Engagement with shareholders,
proxy advisors, and ratings
agencies.
• Participation in charity
programmes that help under-
represented communities access
employment opportunities.
• Collaboration with specialist
third-party advisors on financial,
legal, regulatory, and risk-related
matters.
Society & Government
Performance Information
Provided to Directors
• Annual sustainability metrics and feedback.
• Sustainability reporting and frameworks,
and outcomes of climate-related risk
assessments.
• Data on progress regarding Science Based
Targets.
• The General Counsel & Company Secretary
regularly updates on all material litigation
and/or regulatory matters.
Who Engages?
• Group procurement and vendor
management teams, alongside internal
Stakeholders responsible for sourcing
services.
• The Board reviews the output on
information security and modern slavery
risks, approves major supplier arrangements
and determines any actions required.
Suppliers
Engagement
• Rigorous supplier
selection, verification
and onboarding process.
• Regular vendor
management reviews,
including financial
assessments and service
level evaluations.
Performance Information
Provided to Directors
• Assessment of contractual
performance, service level
metrics and assurance activities.
• Review and approval of
Modern Slavery statement and
associated KPIs.
Engagement and Outcome
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
Governments and regulators are updating
sustainability reporting regulation. The EU
has confirmed simplified CSRD-aligned
sustainability reporting requirements
through its Omnibus package. Other
regions have confirmed adoption of ISSB
standards into legislation.
The Sustainability Committee determined
that the Sustainability function
commence a structured programme
to define a reporting strategy that will
ensure the Group can meet current
and future legislative requirements in a
efficient and effective manner.
Implementing robust
sustainability reporting and
performance management
enables us to capture
business opportunities and
deliver a positive impact for
our People and the planet.
Engagement and Outcome
Feedback Decision Link to strategy
The Group would benefit from
a global HR information system
and adaptation of the People &
Culture operating model.
We launched a programme in 2025 to
implement a unified global HRIS, offering self-
service functionality and a single source of
employee data. This facilitates optimisation of
the Group’s People & Culture operating model.
Leveraging technology partners
and deep expertise creates a
consistent, optimised employee
experience that delivers better
results for our Customers.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
51
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our Purpose to Change Lives underpins our approach
to sustainability. We know the transformative impact that
access to decent work can have on individuals, families,
and communities. Our sustainability strategy is designed
to maximise this positive impact while managing risks
and opportunities for our business. This means focusing
on social impact by sharing our skills, networks, and
expertise to support those further from the workplace to
secure employment. It also means looking after our own
people, ensuring a positive and fair recruitment process for
candidates, and partnering with clients as they transform
their workforces to meet sustainability objectives.
As a responsible business, it is important to uphold
high standards of ethics, apply technology responsibly,
protect candidate and client data, and safeguard people’s
welfare across our value chain. We are equally committed
to addressing climate change by reducing our carbon
emissions to net-zero by 2050 and helping clients recruit
top green talent.
Our four global targets, outlined overleaf, keep us
focused on these priorities. We validate our approach
through materiality assessments to ensure alignment with
stakeholder expectations and the market and regulatory
landscape. In 2024, we completed our first materiality
assessment and refreshed it in 2025. We consider our
material topics to be those related to our Workforce,
Social Impact, Data Protection, Corporate Culture and
Ethical Recruitment.
Sustainability Governance
The Board provides oversight and governance over our
sustainability programme. Day-to-day management is
delegated to the Sustainability Committee, chaired by our
Chief Financial Officer, Kelvin Stagg, and comprising other
Executive Board members (membership is detailed on
pages 83-84). The Sustainability Committee is responsible
for setting and monitoring the Group’s sustainability
strategy, policies and targets. It also assesses
sustainability-related risks and opportunities, including
climate risk, and monitors evolving regulation.
The Sustainability Committee meets quarterly, with
standard agenda items covering biannual reviews of
performance against targets, and an annual assessment
of material risks, impacts and opportunities, and
sustainability-related policies. In addition, this year, the
Sustainability Committee closely monitored developments
in sustainability-related reporting, notably the CSRD,
as the EU omnibus process advanced, and considered
the environmental implications of our AI programme in
response to growing stakeholder interest, particularly
among employees. Key outcomes from the Sustainability
Committee’s activities in 2025 are summarised below.
The delivery of our sustainability programme is embedded
throughout the organisation, in the recruitment community
and in all our support functions, including People &
Culture, Property, Procurement, Legal and Finance.
Sustainability objectives are integrated into executive
remuneration, forming part of the CEO and CFO’s plans
(see pages 107-134) and, where applicable, into Managing
Directors’ bonus structures in line with local legislation.
Sustainability
Progress against our sustainability strategy and targets, and details of the key activities in each area can be
found on pages 51-57. PageGroup’s TCFD disclosures can be found on pages 58-63. Further details on our
sustainability performance, our GHG emissions assurance statement and our basis of reporting can be found
at
www.page.com/sustainability
Sustainability Committee outcomes
• Changes to the EU CSRD
through the omnibus
process mean PageGroup
EU entities fall out of scope
for Wave 2 reporting
• Prepare for Group
reporting in line with
International Sustainability
Standards Board (ISSB)
• Page has achieved its
target to ‘Establish a
meaningful sustainability
business by 2026’
52
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Target Measure 2025
Performance
Progress
vs 2024
Progress against
baseline
Baseline
year
To positively change
over one million lives
in the ten years to
2030
1
The number of people we
place into decent work
75,565 people
accessed
decent work
-7% 523,169 people
accessed decent
work
2020
The number of people that
access our social impact
programmes
72,027 people
accessed our
social impact
programmes
+29% 270,154 people
accessed our
social impact
programmes
2020
Total number of lives positively
changed
147,592 lives
positively
changed
+8% 793,323 lives
positively
changed
2020
To target an increase
in gender diversity
within our senior
management to
50/50 by 2030
The number of women within
leadership roles within our
business, globally
2
45% female vs
55% males
-1
percentage
point
+17 percentage
points
2020
To establish a
meaningful global
sustainability
business by 2026
Percentage growth of net fees
generated from sustainability
roles
-4% y-o-y
growth in our
sustainability
net fees
-4% 407% growth in
our sustainability
net fees
2019
To become Net-zero
across our full value
chain by 2050
3
Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions 1,623 tCO
2
e -17% -46% decrease in
Scope 1 & 2
2022
Scope 3 GHG emissions 43,719 tCO
2
e -16% -30% decrease in
Scope 3
2022
Total Scope 1, 2 & 3 GHG
emissions
45,343 tCO
2
e -16% -30% decrease in
total emissions
2022
Progress vs targets
In 2025, PageGroup received a
rating of B for its CDP response
Accreditations
1. Total lives changed is calculated as the total number of temporary and permanent candidate placements, combined with the number of external
participants in our social impact programmes (see page 53 for further details). 2025 and 2024 placements include Page Outsourcing figures.
2. 2020 definition of senior management: Executive Board members and direct reports. 2021 - 2025 definition of senior management: Associate
Directors and above.
3. Our net-zero commitment has been validated by the Science-based Targets initiative (SBTi). Full details of our near-term and long-term SBTs are listed
below and further details on progress can be found on page 55.
- Near-term targets: 60% reduction in absolute Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 2030 from a 2022 baseline year. 25% reduction in absolute Scope 3
emissions from purchased goods and services and business travel by 2030 from a 2022 baseline year.
- Long-term net-zero target: 95% reduction in absolute Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 2050 from a 2022 baseline year. 90% reduction in absolute
Scope 3 emissions by 2050 from a 2022 baseline year.
As of December 2025, PageGroup
achieved ISS quality scores for E (1),
S (2) and G (3).
Group France
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
53
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Social Impact
In 2020, we set a goal to change one million lives by 2030,
and we do this in two ways:
• Connecting people to decent work by placing candidates
into Permanent and Temporary roles with our clients,
helping them build their careers.
• Empowering people to start and progress their careers,
particularly those who are at a distance from the
workforce through our social impact programmes. Our
people volunteer their recruitment and industry expertise
to boost the employability skills, confidence, and
aspirations for those who need it most.
This year we changed 147,592 lives, taking us to 793,323
lives changed since 2020 and putting us on track to
achieve our one million goal by 2030. Our goal to change
one million lives is one of three business priorities for the
group and a part of our Culture. Since embedding a social
impact target into every employee’s performance appraisal
and linking it to the remuneration plans of our Executive
Board and Managing Directors, we have seen remarkable
momentum, with the proportion of our people volunteering
on our social impact programmes increasing by 59% year-
on-year.
We continue to collaborate with a diverse network of
charities, non-profits and schools globally to reach the
groups in our societies needing extra guidance. We have a
particular focus on social mobility and are passionate about
working towards a world where every individual can thrive
and succeed. We are also proud to have deepened and
expanded our global partnership with Generation.
Global partnership with Generation
We partner globally with Generation to advance our joint belief in the power of jobs to change
lives. Generation is an economic mobility nonprofit that trains and places people into careers that
would otherwise be inaccessible.
In 2025, we are thrilled to have expanded our partnership to 15 of Generation’s 17 countries,
including offering virtual support to their learners in Ghana and Kenya. Around 500 Page
volunteers have coached and guided over 2,500 Generation learners worldwide through varied
employability interventions, including practice interviews, mentoring and group learning sessions.
We’re proud that learners rate us 9/10 (global average) for their satisfaction with our volunteer
support, the learning content they’ve received and their likelihood to recommend taking part
to a peer.
At PageGroup, our Social Impact mission is aligned with our core purpose: to Change Lives. We understand
the transformative power of meaningful employment and the difference it can make for individuals, families, and
communities. As a global recruitment business, we are positioned to help people access opportunities, build
fulfilling careers, and realise their potential.
In Brazil, we supported over 200 learners through one-to-one
mentoring and workshops on self-awareness and CV development.
We hosted learners from Generation Thailand who are receiving
IT training despite limited access to formal eduction. Our event
provided CV reviews, career guidance, mock interviews and a panel
discussion with IT professionals.
More than 100 Page volunteers across the UK, Europe, MEA and
APAC delivered virtual mock interviews for Generation Ghana
learners training for Data and Digital roles.
54
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Environment
Our sustainability business
We know that people and skills are
essential to a transition to a more
sustainable economy. Organisations are
considering their workforce strategies
and operating models to deliver their
sustainability objectives. They are
also having to think creatively about
upskilling and reskilling as there is a
green skills gap. We believe we have an
important role to help our clients find top
sustainability talent.
In 2020, we set a target to establish
a meaningful sustainability business
by 2026, in recognition of our client’s
need for a workforce to deliver their
sustainability objectives.
Since then, we have placed thousands
of candidates into a range of technical,
professional and leadership roles around
the world. These roles include renewable
energy engineers, Environmental Health
and Safety leads, non-financial reporting
managers, and Chief Sustainability
Officers, among many others.
In 2025, we have seen our sustainability
business remain resilient despite
challenging macro-economic conditions.
Revenues reduced by 4% this year.
However, the business is now more
than five times larger than at the start
of the decade, when we set the target.
Sustainability recruitment is delivered
through our core operations, with our
Brands, disciplines and markets having
service offerings to meet the specific
demands of their customers.
As a result, we are pleased to conclude
that we have achieved our target to
establish a meaningful sustainability
business by 2026.
We recognise the environmental challenges facing the world today. Organisations, including Page, can help
solve these challenges and at the same time, capitalise on the opportunities that a transition to a more
sustainable future present. We are also committed to reducing our own impact on the environment. We have
a target to be net-zero across our full value chain by 2050, and this target has been validated by the science-
based targets initiative.
As public discourse around sustainability
evolves, its influence remains strong.
In many markets, regulation and
stakeholder expectations continue to
create a clear case for action.
Companies are moving beyond words,
and those that succeed demonstrate
tangible value from their sustainability
strategies. As a result, we are finding
Boards are increasingly seeking leaders
who combine commercial acumen with
sustainability expertise. At the same
time, many organisations are embedding
sustainability thinking across their entire
C-suite, ensuring that finance, operations
and HR leaders all understand and
champion sustainability outcomes.
This shift in leadership requirements
is clearly visible in hiring trends.
Sustainability-related roles are among
the fastest growing executive search
mandates across Europe and Asia-
Pacific.
We are proud of the role we play in
providing top sustainability talent to our
clients”.
Nina Buttle, Page Executive UK
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
55
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Reducing our carbon footprint
We have committed to achieving net-zero emissions
across our full value chain by 2050 and have set near-
term and long-term targets, validated by the science-
based targets initiative (SBTi).
2025 performance
Overall GHG emissions continued to reduce in 2025,
and across almost all individual emissions categories
(see table opposite). This progress was driven by our
ongoing initiatives to reduce energy consumption, source
renewable energy, increase our electric company car
offering and monitor business travel. These actions were
supported by improved data quality, alongside reductions
in headcount and cost efficiencies.
We are pleased with the progress we have made against
SBTs. However, some reductions were influenced by
market conditions and so, as business activity increases,
we expect emissions to stabilise and potentially increase.
We are therefore not yet concluding our Scope 3 target.
Carbon reduction plan
Renewable, efficient and green offices: We are
minimising our Scope 2 energy consumption (-21%
in 2025) by appropriately sizing our offices for hybrid
working and leasing offices with high standards of energy
efficiency. We are also shifting to renewable energy
wherever possible, with 70% of electricity consumption
in our offices from renewable sources in 2025. We are
focused now on transitioning our APAC offices and have
conducted a review of all our buildings, the landlords and
managing agents to create an engagement plan focused
on shared net-zero commitments.
Electric vehicles: We are progressing towards a fully
electric company car offering. Where the local landscape
allows, we only offer electric and hybrid cars under our
leasing scheme and will be phasing out petrol and diesel
cars globally.
Reducing business travel: Our air travel monitoring
system is proving to successfully manage air travel and
ensure employees are only travelling where there is a clear
business need.
Transitioning to a low-carbon supply chain:
Purchased goods and services is the largest source of
emissions for PageGroup, in particular Technology and
Facilities. For these categories we have developed an
engagement strategy to better understand service-specific
emissions and to collaborate jointly on initiatives to reduce
emissions.
Alternative commutes: Our commuting survey shows
many of our employees already commute by walking,
cycling or public transport, and we will continue to
encourage and support our employees to travel via lower-
carbon methods.
Near-term science-based target 2025 Progress
60% reduction in absolute
Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions
(market-based) by 2030 from a
2022 baseline
1,623 tCO
2
e,
-46% vs 2022
25% reduction in absolute
Scope 3 emissions from
purchased goods and services
and business travel by 2030 from
a 2022 baseline
35,818 tCO
2
e,
-30% vs 2022
Our Carbon Offsets
We continue to use credible carbon removals to offset a portion of our global
GHG emissions. In 2025, we supported reforestation projects in Panama, and
a sustainability agriculture project in Italy. These projects also supported local
communities, providing employment to hundreds of farmers.
In line with SBTi guidance, offsets are not used to achieve any reported GHG
emission reductions.
GHG emissions reporting methodology
The table opposite has been prepared to meet the requirements for the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting
requirements and data covers the period 1 October 2024 - 30 September 2025. GHG emissions have been calculated in
line with the GHG Protocol Corporate Reporting Standard using Ecometrica, an external sustainability software platform.
ERM CVS have provided Independent Limited Assurance for GHG emissions. Please see the assurance report provided
on page.com/sustainability along with our basis of reporting document.
56
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
2024 2025
Emissions Source (tCO
2
e) UK and
offshore
Global
(excluding
UK and
offshore)
Global
(including
UK and
offshore)
UK and
offshore
Global
(excluding
UK and
offshore)
Global
(including
UK and
offshore)
% change
in total
emissions (vs
previous year)
Scope
1 Direct GHG Emissions 33 795 828* 30 666 696* -16%
Natural gas 12 77 89 12 71 83 -7%
Company-owned vehicles
1
21 718 739 18 595 613 -14%
Scope 2 Indirect GHG Emissions
(Market-Based)
50 1,077 1,127* 43 884 927* -18%
Purchased electricity (market based)
2
42 1,071 1,113 27 870 897 -19%
Company-owned electric vehicles
1
8 6 14 16 14 30 +114%
Total Scope 3 GHG Emissions
(consisting of the below categories)
7,294 44,798 52,092* 5,777 37,942 43,719* -16%
Category 1: Purchased goods &
services
3,4
5,480 35,080 40,560* 4,254 29,348 33,602* -17%
Category 3: T&D losses and upstream
emissions
83 906 989* 65 766 831* -16%
Category 5: Waste generated in
operations
5
21 99 120* 10 112 122* +2%
Category 6: Business travel
6
709 1,920 2,629* 517 1,699 2,216* -16%
Category 7: Homeworking
7
&
commuting
1,001 6,793 7,794* 931 6,017 6,948* -11%
Total tonnes of CO
2
e 7,377 46,670 54,047 5,850 39,492 45,343 -16%
GHG emissions intensity
Number of employees
9
1,006 6,437 7,442 874 6.029 6,903 -7%
Tonnes of CO
2
e per employee 7.3 7.3 7.3 6.7 6.6 6.6 -10%
Energy consumption
Scope 1 energy consumption (MWh)
10,11
150 3,080 3,230 139 2,395 2,534 -22%
Scope 2 energy consumption (MWh)
12
1,150 7,202 8,352 827 5,732 6,559 -21%
Scope 3 energy consumption (MWh)
13
1,783 14,821 16,604 1,613 12,893 14,506 -13%
Total energy consumption (MWh) 3,083 25,103 28,186 2,579 21,020 23,599 -16%
Absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions
1. Company car travel for personal use is excluded from emissions. Based on an analysis of client visits in company cars recorded in our Customer
Connect system, we estimate personal use to be 85% in Europe and 75% in LATAM.
2. Gaps in electricity data have been estimated based on historical consumption data or floor space where historical consumption was unavailable.
3. Purchased goods and services emissions are calculated using global aggregated figures for procurement spend. In 2025, we expanded the use of
publicly available actual GHG emissions data (location based). We researched the top 80% of suppliers by spend and, where available, used reported
GHG emissions and apportioned to Page in line with spend with supplier. For all other suppliers, EPA factors are used to estimate emissions based on
spend. In 2026, emissions decreased due to reduced procurement spend and the updates to methodology described above. Figures for the UK have
been estimated by apportioning global emissions to the UK, based on UK FTE as a percentage of global FTE.
4. Purchased goods and services includes emissions from our contractor business, most of which are remote/homeworking IT and HR professionals.
Emissions from our contractor business apply Ecometrica’s homeworking model to the total FTE number of contractors by location.
5. Emissions associated with landfilled waste are estimated based on waste measurement pilots in certain offices, where actual data is unavailable.
6. PageGroup reported global emissions associated with air travel, rail, taxi, bus, accommodation, car rentals and expensed fuel for business travel.
7. Homeworker emissions have been calculated based on Ecometrica’s homeworking model using FTE data.
9. 2024 FTE is the total headcount for PageGroup as per September 2024. 2025 FTE is the total headcount for PageGroup as per September 2025.
10. Energy 1 MWh = 1,000 kWh.
11. Energy consumption from Scope 1 is energy from fuel for company vehicles and natural gas use in offices.
12. Energy consumption from Scope 2 is electricity use in offices and electricity for company electric vehicles.
13. Energy consumption from Scope 3 is energy from fuel associated with business travel (cars and taxis) and commuting (employee-owned vehicles).
* This metric is subject to external independent limited assurance by ERM Certification and Verification Services Limited (‘ERM CVS’). For the results of the
assurance, see ERM CVS’s assurance report and PageGroup’s Reporting Criteria on www.page.com/sustainability
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
57
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Responsible Business
Respect for Human Rights
Supporting fundamental Human Rights goes hand in hand
with our Purpose to change lives. For our employees,
we provide safe working conditions and a safe, inclusive
environment. In our supply chain, we seek to ensure that
we are partnering with businesses that share our respect
for human rights, and for our candidates, we seek to
respect their Human Rights by ensuring a positive and fair
recruitment process.
Our Human Rights policy sets out our commitment,
including our efforts to respect and uphold internationally
recognised standards. We are a signatory to the United
Nationals Global Compact and support its principles,
including those regarding human rights and labour rights.
In 2025, we refreshed our human rights risk assessment
and conducted a deep dive into modern slavery risk.
This review covered our supply chain, operations, and
customer checks. While no concerns were identified,
we have committed to a programme of continuous
improvement in relation to customer checks and
recruitment practices in 2026 to maintain the highest
standards.
Responsible sourcing
The relationship we have with our suppliers is crucial to
achieving high performance across the business and
to delivering our sustainability objectives. We view the
suppliers we partner with as an extension of our own
teams and therefore it is imperative our suppliers are
committed to meeting our standards.
Our supplier code of conduct outlines, among other
things, our expectations of our suppliers’ sustainability
performance. We ask our suppliers to demonstrate their
overall sustainability performance and use EcoVadis as
our preferred platform for assessment. We also expect
suppliers to conduct appropriate due diligence and supply
chain management to ensure their own supply chain and
partners share our values. We also ask our suppliers to
help us achieve our net-zero commitment by sharing
accurate environmental data, as well as partnering on
shared initiatives to collectively reduce emissions.
In 2025, we were pleased to advance our sustainable
supply chain programme by increasing data visibility:
53% of strategic suppliers, and 39% of all suppliers, have
shared EcoVadis scores
1.
We also researched actual
GHG emissions for the top 80% of our largest suppliers.
Based on this information, we identified a shortlist of
suppliers for targeted engagement and have begun to
embed sustainability into Quarterly Business Reviews.
We also use EcoVadis to assess our own sustainability
performance and were pleased to achieve a score of
70/100 for our supply chain management in 2025.
Our support for the UN
Development Goals
We support the UN’s 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. Through our core
business and sustainability strategy, we
are proud to make a direct and significant
contribution to the four ‘primary’ goals: SDG
5:Gender Equality, SDG 8:Decent Work
and Economic Growth, SDG 10:Reduced
Inequalities and SDG13:Climate Action.
For Page, acting as a responsible business means ensuring that we deliver the fundamentals: applying
principles of good governance, upholding a culture of ethics and compliance, respecting human rights and
ensuring responsible sourcing. Further information, including that related to data protection, ethics, corruption
and tax, can be found on pages 27, 66-72, 92 and 104.
Since 2021, PageGroup
has participated in the
UN Global Compact
corporate responsibility
initiative and is committed
to its principles in the
areas of human rights,
labor, environment, and
anti-corruption.
1. Strategic suppliers are top 40 based on spend. Percentage of coverage calculated based on spend rather than number of suppliers.
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Task force on climate-
related financial disclosures
This section outlines PageGroup’s climate-related financial disclosures covering all four pillars and 11
recommended disclosures set out by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). These
are consistent with all of the TCFD recommendations pursuant to Listing Rule 6.6.6R(8). Our disclosures also
meet the Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022 amended
sections 414C, 414CA, and 414CB of the Companies Act 2006.
Governance
The Board provides oversight and governance over
PageGroup, including its Sustainability programme and
strategy. The Board has delegated responsibility for the
identification and management of climate-related risks
to the Sustainability Committee (further details in
Governance B).
During 2025, Sustainability and climate were dedicated
Board agenda items on two occasions. The Board
received a half-year and full-year report to monitor
progress towards our SBTs, which are in place to
mitigate our climate-related risks. The Sustainability
function also provided updates to the Sustainability
Committee on developments in the mandatory reporting
landscape, including i) ongoing EU Omnibus
proposals related to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive (CSRD), requiring Page to report
in the future under Wave 4 (non-EU companies),
and ii) consultation on the implementation of ISSB
(International Sustainability Standards Board) under the
UK SRS. PageGroup is preparing for future climate-
related reporting under IFRS S2. Minutes of the
Sustainability Committee meetings were made available
to the Board.
The Board receives an annual update on the outcome
of the Group’s climate-related risk assessment from the
Sustainability Committee, allowing it to provide views
and feedback on current status. The Audit Committee
considers ESG reporting risk under its ‘Risk and Internal
Control’ agenda as set out on pages 64-65. GHG
emissions data form part of the ongoing internal audit
of risks and controls and were included within the Audit
Committee’s review. There were no material risks arising.
The Board and Committees mentioned above consider
climate-related issues in guiding PageGroup’s overall
Strategy, risk management, business plans and
budgets. For example, in 2025, the Board reviewed
and commented on the outcomes of the 2025 climate
risk assessment and carbon reduction activities. Costs
for climate-related activities, such as the investment in
carbon removals to offset PageGroup’s GHG emissions,
are included in the annual Group Sustainability Budget.
Sustainability-related metrics form part of the CEO and
CFO’s remuneration plan, as outlined on pages 107-
134. These measures focus on Social Impact, reflecting
the core priorities of our business, and do not include
carbon-related metrics.
Governance B): describe management’s role in assessing and managing climate-related risks
and opportunities.
The Executive Board (see pages 83-84) has day-to-day
management responsibility of PageGroup, including
the Sustainability programme, and ensures focus on
sustainability at a local and regional level.
PageGroup’s principal body for identifying, managing,
and addressing climate-related issues is the Sustainability
Committee and its membership includes our most senior
leaders and Executive Board representation (see page 51).
The Sustainability function, led by the Global Sustainability
Director, is responsible for the identification of climate-
related risks, as well as driving carbon reduction and
risk mitigation strategies through the business. Climate-
related issues are raised to the Sustainability Committee
via the Global Sustainability Director. The Sustainability
Committee meets quarterly to discuss sustainability
matters, including climate-related risks and opportunities
and the associated climate-related goals and targets. The
Sustainability Committee’s activities are further discussed
on page 51.
The Sustainability Committee monitors progress against
climate goals and targets, supports country management
and Group functions on sustainability and climate
matters, and discusses recommendations to be taken to
the Executive Board and Board. In 2025, this included
progress vs SBTs and the outcomes from the 2025
climate-related risk assessment.
The Sustainability function also provides internal reports
on sustainability and climate-related metrics, such as air
travel, to relevant stakeholders including Executive Board
members. In 2025, reports on progress against our SBTs
and business travel were provided and discussed at
Executive Board meetings.
Governance A): describe the Board’s oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Strategy
Strategy A): describe the climate-related risks and opportunities the organisation has identified over
the short, medium, and long term.
At PageGroup, we define short term as 0-1 year, medium term as 1-5 years, and longer term as 5+ years, as these
are aligned to the business’ Strategy and planning time horizons. A description of the identified risks and opportunities
is included below. Strategy B and Strategy C then outline the impact of the risks, our risk mitigation strategies and the
strategic implications. We believe the overall impact of climate-related risks to be low and we consider that we have strong
processes and strategies in place to mitigate these risks. The risks outlined below have been identified in accordance with
the processes described in Risk Management A.
Physical risks:
• Acute physical: Reduced revenue due to workforce
disruption during extreme weather events. Extreme
weather events, such as floods, cold extremes, and
heatwaves, have the potential to impact our direct
operations by restricting our employees’ ability to get to
work, or communicate with candidates and clients. This
risk is already being felt in some countries such as Spain,
Indonesia and the Philippines, and could be exacerbated
in the medium to long term. The likelihood of more
extreme hazards materialising generally increases as
warming intensifies towards a >3°C scenario.
• Chronic physical: Increased costs or reduced
revenues from disruption to operations in ‘high
risk’ locations. Chronic changes to weather conditions
may have an impact on our physical office locations, or
the locations of our employees in the medium to long
term. The likelihood of rising chronic hazards generally
increases as warming intensifies towards a >3°C
scenario.
Transition risks:
• Regulation: Increased cost to comply with
current and emerging GHG regulation. In the short
term, PageGroup is already subject to current GHG
emissions and climate risk reporting requirements and
regulation. Going forward, regulation is likely to become
more stringent in many regions where PageGroup
operates, with the greatest likelihood in a Net-zero
(1.5°C) scenario. We will continue to monitor, anticipate
and keep pace with changes to regulation to ensure
compliance.
• Market (energy): Increased costs because of
higher energy prices. PageGroup is reliant on
several elements to achieve its carbon reduction plan,
including the procurement of renewable energy. We
also voluntarily use credible carbon offsets to neutralise
residual emissions. There is a risk in the medium term
that the availability of renewable electricity may become
limited, or that the cost will increase. Also, the cost and
availability of quality carbon offsets is uncertain, and
costs could increase over time. Likelihood increases
under the net-zero (1.5°C) scenario, where higher global
costs of carbon are projected.
• Market (client disruption): Reduced revenue from
decreased demand for services from clients in
‘high risk’ sectors. Given the nature of our business,
the impact of climate change can come through our
client base. Market risks and opportunities will arise
from client disruption in sectors and regions which are
likely to be most impacted by climate risk, potentially
leading to reduced demand for recruitment services.
For example, this could include clients in heavy carbon-
emitting sectors. This risk could be felt in the medium
to long term. Likelihood increases under the Current
Policies (>3°C) scenario, where more significant
unmitigated economic damages are expected as a
result of climate change, predominately due to its
physical effects.
• Reputation: Reduced revenue from decreased
demand for services and negative workforce
impacts, if PageGroup were to fail to meet client,
Shareholder, and employee expectations around
decarbonisation. PageGroup has observed an
increasing interest and focus on its climate performance
from its Stakeholders. Failure to act sufficiently may
result in loss of clients and/or higher employee attrition
in the medium to long term. Likelihood increases under
the Net-zero (1.5°C) scenario, where SBT uptake
across client sectors would be expected to increase,
particularly in the medium to long term.
Transition opportunities:
• Products & services: Increased revenue from
increased demand for low carbon services. There
will be opportunities in emerging clients, sectors and
roles that are likely to grow quickly during a transition
to a low carbon economy. We believe climate change
and the required business upheaval will create an
opportunity for PageGroup in the medium to long
term in the form of new and changing employment
opportunities. This will also provide an opportunity for
our recruitment consultants to expand their careers and
specialisms to focus on those sectors and roles most
profitable under a low carbon economy. Likelihood
increases under the net-zero (1.5°C) scenario, where
there could be a greater need for growth in green and
sustainability-related jobs.
• Resource efficiency: Reduced costs from
efficiency measures. Cost saving opportunities may
arise from initiatives that reduce both GHG emissions
and business costs, such as energy efficiency, a
reduction in travel and fewer business class flights.
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Strategy B): describe the impact of climate-related risks and opportunities on the organisation’s
businesses, Strategy and financial planning.
The risks and opportunities have been assessed to consider their impact on our businesses, Strategy and financial
planning. The size of this impact is described in the table overleaf.
Strategy C): describe the resilience of the organisation’s strategy, taking into consideration different
climate-related scenarios, including a 2°c or lower scenario.
Impact of climate risks on PageGroup’s Strategy:
Driving positive social impact by changing one million
lives in the decade to 2030 is one of PageGroup’s three
central targets in its refreshed Group Strategy, sitting
alongside operating profit and customer satisfaction. This
is because, as a recruitment company, we believe our
social impact is where we can make the biggest positive
difference (see page 53 for further details).
We assess our Strategy against physical and transition
risks identified overleaf on an annual basis. The largest
climate-related risks and opportunities for PageGroup
come through our client portfolio: there are opportunities
to provide human capital services to organisations
transforming their workforces to deliver their net-zero
and other sustainability objectives; equally, there are risks
that the clients we work with will be disrupted by climate
change and their demand for recruitment services will
decrease. A number of our clients are also focused on
their supply chain and wanting to work with partners that
share their commitment to Sustainability.
Therefore, we need a Strategy that enables us to
anticipate and respond to our clients’ human capital and
sustainability needs, that will allow us to capitalise on the
growth of green jobs and that does not heavily expose
us to industries that will be most disrupted by climate
change. Our Customers remain diversified across industry
and geography, meaning PageGroup is not heavily
exposed to heavy-emitting industries or those that are
likely to be disrupted by climate change. PageGroup’s
sustainability strategy has also been developed to
mitigate against climate risks and take advantage of the
opportunities.
Impact of climate risks on financial planning: Climate
risks and opportunities are embedded into financial
planning. The PageGroup global sustainability team
budget is reviewed and approved annually and includes
costs to deliver our climate strategy. The allocation of
budget for sustainability and climate-related issues is
made on the basis of project-specific business cases and
the overall plan for the sustainability function. Costs for
business travel, office leasing, supplier management and
employee benefits, such as company car offerings, are
managed via local/functional budgets, which are reviewed
and approved annually.
PageGroup is resilient to the impact of climate change
under different climate-related scenarios, including
a 1.5°C, a 2°C and a >3°C scenario across the time
horizons considered. Once the effects of the strategies
we have in place to manage key risks and opportunities
have been accounted for, i.e., those that have the highest
potential to impact financial performance and position of
the business (as detailed in Strategy A and B), our residual
risk is deemed to be low.
The determination of strategic resilience is driven by
PageGroup’s SBTs and our Sustainability function that are
in place and have been established to mitigate against
risks. In addition, PageGroup’s business model means
revenues are diversified across industries, geographies
and disciplines, allowing PageGroup to respond to
climate-related disruption and capitalise on opportunities,
under any climate scenario.
The table on pages 61-62 details the impact and
resilience of the business against each risk and
opportunity.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
61
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Transition Risks
Risk Resilience and management response Residual
risk
Regulation: Increased cost
to comply with current and
emerging GHG regulation.
PageGroup has a Sustainability and Legal function that monitor emerging
regulatory obligations. PageGroup is currently in compliance with
mandatory regulations and is preparing for upcoming regulations such as
the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the UK
Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). Management for this risk sits
with the Sustainability function and the Sustainability Committee.
Low
Market (energy): Increased
costs because of higher
energy prices.
PageGroup has a target to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60%
by 2030. A key element of this is to reduce energy consumption, thus
reducing PageGroup’s exposure to energy price fluctuations and the
cost of carbon offsets. Management of emissions reduction sits with the
Sustainability function and the Sustainability Committee.
Low
Market (client disruption):
Reduced revenue from
decreased demand for
services from clients in ‘high
risk’ sectors.
The financial impact is limited by operating in diversified markets - over
half of PageGroup’s income is generated from sectors relatively less
exposed to climate risk and our client portfolio is more aligned to industries
expected to grow under a net-zero economy. Therefore, there is also an
opportunity for increased demand and greater revenues from clients that
will have stronger business performance during the transition, for example
those in the renewable energy sector. This risk is monitored by the
Sustainability function and managed by local Managing Directors.
Low
Reputation: Reduced
revenue from decreased
demand for services and
negative workforce impacts,
if PageGroup were to fail to
meet client, shareholder, and
employee expectations around
decarbonisation.
We acknowledge the reputational risk and associated financial impacts
that could arise if we fail to act on climate change, with highest drive
towards action in a net-zero (1.5°C) scenario. However, this is mitigated
by strong commitments on climate change and ongoing engagement
regarding our stakeholders’ expectations. For example, PageGroup has
near and long-term validated science-based targets, the ‘gold standard’
for carbon target setting, which are aligned to the most mature stakeholder
expectations. PageGroup is making strong progress on reducing Scope
1 and 2 emissions and is developing plans to ensure Scope 3 emissions
reduce over time (see page 55 for more detail on our carbon reduction
plan). The Sustainability Committee and Sustainability function have
overall responsibility to review carbon targets, GHG reduction plans and
performance to ensure PageGroup is meeting stakeholder expectations.
Low
Physical Risks
Risk Resilience and management response Residual
risk
Acute physical: Reduced
revenue due to workforce
disruption during extreme
weather events.
PageGroup is well mitigated against this risk under all scenarios that
have been assessed. We have virtual working in place globally, and our
employees can work and communicate with clients and candidates from
either the office or home.
Low
Chronic physical: Increased
costs or reduced revenues
from disruption to operations
in ‘high risk’ locations.
The majority of PageGroup’s offices are located in countries where
vulnerability to climate change is relatively low and readiness to improve
resilience in the context of climate change is relatively high. PageGroup
is also well mitigated against this risk as we operate 3-10 year leases,
offering flexibility for shifting office locations. This risk is managed by local
Managing Directors and our global Property function.
Low
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Opportunities
Risk Resilience and management response Residual
risk
Products & services:
Increased revenue from
increased demand for low
carbon services.
PageGroup has achieved its target to establish a meaningful sustainability
business by 2026. Since 2019, the business has grown more than five-
fold. This opportunity is managed by local Managing Directors.
Low
Resource efficiency:
Reduced operating costs
through energy efficiency
gains and limited business
travel spend.
PageGroup has committed to near-term and long-term science-based
targets. PageGroup’s existing and future decarbonisation activities will
drive some cost savings (e.g. reduced energy consumption and reduced
business travel). Therefore, PageGroup is already taking advantage of this
opportunity. The Sustainability Committee and Sustainability function have
overall responsibility to review carbon targets and GHG reduction plans.
Low
Key For the purposes of TCFD reporting, impact thresholds are defined as below.
Low <5% of annual gross profit
Medium 5-10% of annual gross profit
High (material) >10% of annual gross profit
Scenario analysis methodology:
Physical:
The physical risk data was provided by a third-
party supplier, Ecometrica, and was used to assess
a range of scenarios covering a baseline data
set (1981 – 2010), 1.5°C and 2°C Paris Aligned
Scenarios and a ‘worst case’ scenario of >3°C.
The analysis looked at nine acute and chronic
risk indicators across PageGroup’s operating
geographies, e.g., changes in frequency and/
or duration of floods, drought, heatwaves, and
exposure to sea level rises over the relevant
time horizons. In 2025, we refreshed our model
assumptions and updated site locations and
headcounts, however the geographical footprint
has not changed significantly. This also included
revalidating mitigation measures. For example,
office leasing structures, capacity to work from
home, and whether financial impacts were
experienced during severe weather events
(e.g., Valencia flooding in 2024).
Transition:
The transition risk assessment utilised climate
scenario data from the NGFS (Network for
Greening of the Financial System) covering a low
emissions Paris Aligned scenario (Net Zero 2050),
a late action scenario (Delayed Transition), and a
hot house world scenario (Current Policies). The
NGFS variables used in the analysis included
carbon prices and climate-related GDP impacts.
The analysis integrated company-specific
data including GHG emissions, gross profit,
geographical locations and client industries to
evaluate the potential financial impacts of risks
and opportunities over different scenarios and
time horizons. The analysis considered the relative
impacts of operating across different markets
and sectors. In 2025, we refreshed our model
assumptions on client sector risk exposure
using the SASB Standards Materiality Finder
(Sustainability Accounting Standards Board).
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Metrics and Targets
Metrics and targets A): disclose the metrics
used by the organisation to assess climate-
related risks and opportunities in line with its
Strategy and risk management process.
PageGroup uses a range of metrics to assess and manage
climate-related risks and opportunities. Scope 1, 2 and 3
GHG emissions, including emissions from its supply chain,
employee homeworking and commuting, are monitored half
yearly and externally disclosed annually. We also monitor
growth in net fees from Page’s Sustainability recruitment
business to assess its alignment with the opportunity to
provide a low carbon service offering. Current and historic
performance against these metrics can be found on pages
52 and 55. Internally, PageGroup tracks and reports these
metrics at a country level to ensure there is local action and
accountability. An internal price on carbon is not currently
applied.
Metrics and targets B): disclose Scope 1,
Scope 2 and, if appropriate, Scope 3
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the
related risks.
Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions are disclosed on
page 56.
Metrics and targets C): describe the targets
used by the organisation to manage climate-
related risks and opportunities and performance
against targets.
Performance against our SBTs is found on page 55. In
2025, we achieved our target to establish a meaningful
sustainability business by 2026. Further details on
page 54.
Risk Management
Risk management A): describe the
organisation’s processes for identifying and
assessing climate-related risks.
Climate-related risks are integrated into a multi-disciplinary
Company-wide risk management process (see Risk
Management C) as well as considered in a specific
climate-related risk management process.
A specific climate-related risk assessment, including
risk and opportunity screening and assessment, is
conducted annually by the Sustainability function. In
2025, we refreshed our physical climate risk assessment
by revalidating assumptions and updating internal data
inputs; the scenario analysis was reperformed using Earth
Observation indicators for physical risks provided by
Ecometrica in 2021.
The transition risk assessment is updated annually using
the latest NGFS scenarios data and most recent internal
data for the reporting year (further details in Strategy C –
Scenario analysis methodology).
The physical and climate risk reviews are combined and
the outcomes of the specific assessment are discussed
at the Sustainability Committee, reported to the Main
Board annually and used to determine the climate-related
risks that are included in the risk register as part of the
enterprise risk management process.
Risk management B): describe the
organisation’s processes for managing
climate-related risks.
The Sustainability Committee is tasked by the Main Board
with leading on the assessment and management of
climate related risks and opportunities. Plans to mitigate,
transfer, accept or control principal and emerging risks
identified are discussed and monitored, and adjusted as
required, by the Sustainability function.
The response strategy and management for specific
climate risks is outlined in the table on pages 61-62.
A description of prioritisation and materiality is covered
in Risk Management C.
Risk management C): describe how
processes for identifying, assessing, and
managing climate-related risks are integrated
into the organisation’s overall risk management.
Climate-related risks are assessed within the annual cycle
of enterprise risk assessment. Risk is the responsibility
of the Group Financial Controller and risks are owned by
functional units across the organisation. Risk surrounding
climate sits with the Sustainability function.
The status of risk and controls are reported formally twice
annually – and include an assessment of climate and
sustainability-related risks, controls and mitigating
actions – which is conducted by the Sustainability
function. This assessment takes place at a Group level
only and is informed by the process described in Risk
management A.
Climate-related risks are categorised based on
PageGroup’s existing risk impact and likelihood thresholds
(see page 62) and categories (financial, strategic,
people, operational). The scenario analysis described
in Strategy C enables a broad assessment of financial
impact. Categorising risks in this way allows for relative
comparison and prioritisation of climate-related risks,
as well as comparison and prioritisation against broader
emerging and principal business risks as part of the
annual cycle of enterprise risk assessment. Existing and
emerging regulatory requirements relating to climate
change – such as mandatory disclosures on GHG
emissions and carbon transition plans – are included as
part of PageGroup’s risk assessment.
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Process
Effective risk management is essential to achieving our
business objectives.
Our management team, at all levels, assesses our
business environment regularly and ensures that we
both identify and manage the risks we face to an
acceptable level.
They are supported by a Group-wide process which
consists of local risk registers that capture and assess the
gross risks to our business objectives, the key controls
that mitigate these risks and the resulting level of net risk.
Our Board sets and communicates our business risk
appetite against which these assessments are measured.
Any risks outside of our risk appetite require either
corrective action, or are insured, or have been accepted
at a Group level.
To ensure we have a global picture of our business
risks, local registers are consolidated twice per annum,
and combined with top down reviews from senior
management. They are presented to the Executive Board
and Audit Committee for review on behalf of the Board.
In the intervening periods, the risks associated with
changes in either the external environment or internal
operations are discussed as part of our ongoing business
reviews and are responded to accordingly.
In key risk areas we have also established compliance
teams whose role it is to ensure our key controls are
effective on an ongoing basis. These are in IT security,
data regulation compliance, revenue recognition and
project management teams.
Our Internal Audit programme is aligned to provide
assurance on the controls that mitigate the principal risks
identified from this process.
Our principal risks are split into Manage and Monitor
risks. Manage risks are those where we actively seek
to manage the net risk level alongside our risk appetite.
For the monitor risks, these are risks which reflect the
environment we operate in. There are limited actions
available to manage the risk level, so these risks are
just monitored.
Our risk appetite and net risk levels
Recruitment is inherently sensitive to business sentiment
and thus financially dependent on the economic cycle.
PageGroup operates in this environment with a low risk
appetite, seeking to mitigate its strategic risks, maintain a
strong financial position and only take the operational risks
it has the experience and capability to manage.
Our growth model is organic and profit focused, rolling out
the proven disciplines for our brands to a wide geographic
spread. We drive this by ensuring consistency of model
and business culture across the Group.
We continue to focus on the services we provide to
our customers, clients and candidates, ensuring quality
engagements in a manner that meets both their needs
and their expectations, as well as our targets for process
efficiency.
We maintain a strong sales-driven, meritocratic culture
with a commitment to operating in an ethical, legal and
sustainable manner.
We operate a conservative financial position with a strong
balance sheet, reflecting the degree of operational gearing
inherent in the business.
We monitor our net risk position on an ongoing basis
against our Board-approved risk appetite and ensure,
where possible, that management action is focused on
risks which we can appropriately further mitigate.
This measured approach to taking risk ensures we are
best placed for success globally.
Risk Management
Our risk and control framework
Business Reviews/Internal Control Checklists
Policies and Procedures
Compliance Checks
Risk Registers
Group Finance
Audit Reports | Quarterly Updates
Management
Compliance Teams
Risk Management
Group Financial
Control
Internal Audit
Board/Audit
Committee
Executive Board
Functions Review
Controls
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Net risk movement
2025 risks review
RISK LEVEL LOW MEDIUM HIGH
MANAGE
1. Shift in business model
2. Transformation and change
3. Customer and brands
4. People
5. Cyber security
6. Fiscal and legal compliance
7. Data protection regulations
MONITOR
8. Macro and geopolitical exposure
9. Foreign exchange translation
RISK LEVEL LOW MEDIUM HIGH
PageGroup Risk Appetite
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
2024
/25
Macro exposure and
global event
These risks have been
consolidated into Macro and
Geopolitical exposure Risk,
acknowledging that macro-
economic factors and global
events are interrelated and
managed through similar
mitigation strategies.
During the year, the Board undertook a robust assessment of the principal risks facing the Group.
As part of this review:
Information systems
risk
This risk has been removed
as a principal risk following
significant investment in
systems resilience. The
Board is satisfied that residual
risk is now managed within
operational tolerances and
continues to be monitored.
Financial management and
fiscal and legal compliance
These risks have been combined into
a single category, Fiscal and Legal
Compliance, reflecting the integrated
nature of financial governance and
regulatory compliance processes. This
provides clearer insight into how these
areas are managed collectively.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Principal Risks and
Uncertainties
Principal risks
Nature of risk
• We fail to take advantage of technology opportunities
to support our drive on productivity, and client and
candidate experience.
• The emergence of new technology platforms and
providers offering HR solutions and consulting may lead
to increased competition and pressure on margins,
which may adversely affect the Group’s results if we are
unable to respond effectively.
Significant influencing factors
• Further acceleration of digital, automation and Artificial
Intelligence is creating opportunities to use technology
in new ways, to improve our productivity and address
our Customers’ needs.
• Electronic platforms have become an established
feature of lower level recruitment.
Mitigating actions
• We continue to monitor what is happening externally,
both in recruitment, but also in the wider environment
to understand how the business model could be
disrupted.
• We have trialled and rolled out the use of AI
applications, utilising our global data and infrastructure
to enhance our recruitment capabilities.
• We are reviewing our delivery models including location
strategy and how we develop our shared service centre
capability.
• We continue to partner with our strategic vendors,
among them Microsoft, Accenture, Salesforce and
Google, in continuing forward-looking conversations
about technology.
• We train our consultants in the use of the new
technologies to enable them to resource candidates for
our clients at an overall cost that they cannot match.
• Our Global IT capability is based around standard
applications and processes, and an outsourced service
model with leading edge providers that enables us to
respond effectively to required changes.
• Continued investment in data and business intelligence
processes will support internal decision making and
provide an opportunity to deliver information services to
our Customers.
1. Shift in business model
The Board’s view of direction of travel of
gross risk
Global economies in 2025 continued to feel the effects
of macro-economic and political uncertainty, which is
impacting candidate and client confidence.
We continue to see demand for high quality, skilled
candidates. 2025 also saw an acceleration of the
discussion on the impact AI may have on the workplace.
These events could change working practices including
those of recruitment. Through our diversified offer of Perm
and Temp, geographical spread and range of disciplines, as
well as our focus on Customer and societal impact, we are
well positioned to respond to these changes.
Emerging risks
In addition to our principal risks, we also identify any
emerging risks that could have a significant impact on
the Group’s activities. In our 2025 review we continue to
recognise Environmental, Social and Governance risks,
in particular climate change and inclusion, as such risks.
Having reassessed the potential impact, we continue to
incorporate specific elements of these risks within our
current principal risks. We will continue to monitor this
position and to determine current appropriate mitigating
actions.
Manage
Similar to prior year Lower than prior year
Increased since prior year
Similar to prior year
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Nature of risk
• Our focus on Enterprise Solutions, strategic clients and
Page Outsourcing creates demand for a more bespoke
service offering which is more likely to be at the forefront
of technology. We need to be able to satisfy their
demand at a cost that meets our objectives.
• The relevance of the client and candidate engagement
we offer could impact our success in acquiring,
engaging and nurturing new clients and candidates.
• The quality of the services we provide to both clients
and candidates could have a significant impact on how
our brand is viewed.
• We continue to see the reputational impact one-off
events can quickly have with the adoption of social
media. Any event that could cause reputational damage
is a risk to the Group, such as a failure to comply with
regulations, or loss or theft of confidential data anywhere
in our operating environment.
Significant influencing factors
• Our Strategy review recognised the specific
opportunities and needs of our strategic Customers.
• Economic uncertainty and relatively low levels of
global growth have made both clients and candidates
more cautious.
• Expectations of business in relation to Environmental,
Social and Governance have accelerated in all three
areas.
Mitigating actions
• We continue to work with our global strategic
partnerships (LinkedIn, Indeed, Seek, Google) and
monitor developments in technology in other business
segments.
• Diversification of media programmes for targeting on
digital channels.
• We work with the global media agency Merkel and use
a single global ad-tech platform, which supports both
effectiveness and efficiency, and enables innovation in
seeking out candidates.
• The use of Salesforce Marketing Suite and tools, such
as Medallia, to enable segmentation and personalised
activity programmes, are fully integrated into our
Salesforce-based Customer Connect programme.
• Our teams identify and assess innovations that enable
the ongoing development of our proposition from idea
generation and piloting to implementation.
• Policies and training on the most appropriate uses of
social media, both in recruitment processes and in
general use, to meet regulatory requirements and to
adhere to good common practices.
• We have tried and tested crisis management response
processes at Group and regional level. These include
experienced senior personnel from all functions who
can respond quickly and appropriately, incorporating
current media and working with specialist third parties
as required. The availability and use of Microsoft Teams
has further enhanced the process.
• Our Strategy recognises the need for us to drive benefit
to society and contribute to tackling environmental
concerns supported by good governance. We ensure
that our Customers are informed of our activities and
that these activities continue to align with external
expectations. Our Strategy includes a target of changing
people’s lives through placing them in jobs or via our
social impact programmes.
3. Customer and brands
Similar to prior year
Nature of risk
• Evolving capabilities and business environment mean
that we need to continuously improve the services
we deliver and how we deliver them. In some cases,
this requires a step change in capability. A failure
to recognise this need to change would impact our
business.
• Poor management of our global programmes could lead
to excessive costs or poor delivery, impacting service
levels and anticipated benefits.
Significant influencing factors
• Our strategy requires effective activity prioritisation and a
focus on profitability, achieving change and new ways of
working together.
• Programmes will continue to be presented and
delivered by functional management, but within a central
governance structure.
Mitigating actions
• A global governance process has been established
which will drive how we evaluate, prioritise and deliver
business change.
• The most material transformation programmes are
substantially complete.
2. Transformation and change
Similar to prior year
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Nature of risk
• We are unable to recruit people with the right potential in
a competitive market for talent.
• Our management practices fail to keep pace with
expectations of society and our people.
• A lack of inclusion and appropriate culture limits our
employer attractiveness.
• Ability to maximise the potential of our people by
providing development opportunities.
• Ability to offer the working practices employees
demand.
• Ability to retain our high performers due to pressures
from competitors.
• Leavers not managed well, leading to legal and
reputational risk.
• There has been significant levels of change in people’s
responsibilities due to the refreshed Strategy. Some of
these changes may not be successful and need to be
carefully managed.
• There are also increased pressures on different ways of
working as we seek to operate more globally.
Significant influencing factors
• Economic activity and outlook continues to be subdued
and uncertain, making candidates more cautious.
• Remuneration pressure caused by higher and sustained
inflation is abating in most regions. We continue to
see increasing expectations around career and pay
transparency.
• The next generation of employees demand ever
greater business involvement and support on current
social issues.
• There continues to be more emphasis and scrutiny
around the conduct of management and leaders.
• The refreshed Strategy has impacted our people and
structures. The focus on profitability is changing our
business model and the use and location of resources.
These changes put a greater emphasis on collaboration
in a matrix organisational structure.
• Remote working is still evolving post pandemic, trying
to find a balance between business needs and
employee demands.
• Page Executive and Enterprise Solutions will require us
to hire externally, as well as introducing internal mobility
into these global brands.
Mitigating actions
• Our employee selection and onboarding programmes
are focused on making people successful quicker.
• We provide ongoing training via our digital learning
platform with blended learning programmes to support
this new way of working, regularly updating our learning
programmes to reflect employee needs.
• We have developed a flexibility guideline and a
principles-based approach to remote working,
supporting management’s implementation locally.
• We maintain focus on our inclusion programmes
globally, to ensure we can recruit and retain from all
groups of society as our workplace is attractive and
inclusive to all. These are supported by Group and
regional Shadow Boards.
• We continue to review our benefits offering to ensure
they are competitive and in line with markets.
• As part of our continuous listening strategy, we conduct
a global ‘Have Your Say’ survey and continue to gain
feedback from our people in structured programmes for
our new joiners and exit- surveys for our leavers. Based
on these outcomes, we put in place action plans to
reinforce strengths and improve weaknesses.
• Our performance management process drives clarity and
focus on objectives and behaviours. We take a global
Talent Review approach to ensure a strong talent pipeline
and address any gaps at managing director (MD) and
above. We continue to invest in leadership development
programmes.
• We advertise and promote internal career opportunities
to all our employees.
• We have developed our People data reporting
capabilities for actionable data. This extracts data from
our Global Enterprise Data Management and Hierarchy
Management Tool systems.
4. People
Similar to prior year
Nature of risk
Loss of data or systems due to the actions of:
• Malicious outsiders – targeted attack of PageGroup
systems.
• Malicious insiders – assisted or generated attack by a
disgruntled employee or contractor.
• Accidental outsiders – errors caused by our suppliers.
• Accidental insiders – successful phishing, social
engineering, business email compromise.
Significant influencing factors
• The move to using public Cloud services for business-
critical activities, our significant email use, and extensive
use of social media have increased the Group’s
exposure to external threats, as reflected in a high
gross risk rating.
5. Cyber security
Similar to prior year
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Nature of risk
• The Group operates in a large number of jurisdictions
that have varying legal, regulatory, tax and compliance
requirements to those placed on a UK Plc.
• The Group’s focus on Outsourcing and Enterprise
Solutions and increased “Flex” recruitment models, as
well as evolving Customer services within shared service
centres, means that we are likely to enter more complex
contractual services outside of our business-as-usual
delivery model.
• Any breach of the regulatory requirements could have
a significant adverse effect on the reputation of the
Group’s brands or financial results.
• Failure to maintain adequate financial processes
and controls could lead to poor quality management
decisions, resulting in the Group not achieving its
financial targets, or errors in the Group’s financial results,
leading to reputational damage, penalties or legal action.
• Failure to standardise systems and processes could
lead to excessive costs within the finance function,
or a lack of ability to adapt to changes in business
requirements.
Significant influencing factors
• Commercial drive from the Group in non-perm business
and Enterprise Solutions present both new and country-
specific legal requirements, in particular, licensing
requirements, recruitment specific legislation, employment
law regulations, data protection requirements, anti-
competition laws and cross-border tax requirements.
• New and evolving legislation will continue to impact how
we operate in areas such as ESG, Artificial Intelligence
and Corporate Governance.
• Increased desire to use ArtificiaI Intelligence for clients,
and management of liability for these third party
systems, could increase the Group’s potential risk profile
going forward.
6. Fiscal and legal compliance
Similar to prior year
• Cyber attacks continue to increase globally, affecting
many businesses.
• We are affected by impersonation attacks, using
consultant profiles, that target potential candidates.
These attacks link to the creation of false Michael Page
Websites to ‘validate’ the scam. Although our systems
are unaffected and we take these sites down, our
brand could be affected.
• The most common route into an organisation’s network
is via phishing emails (over 90%). As we rely heavily
on the use of email, and it is normal to receive emails
from unknown senders, our exposure to phishing
remains high.
• Patching our global systems to mitigate vulnerabilities
is challenging due to the number of systems and the
testing we need to conduct to ensure we can function
as expected.
• We have limited control over vendor maturity in
defending themselves from cyber-related incidents.
Mitigating actions
Our dedicated Information Security Team continues to
mature and identify areas for continued improvement.
Our Security Improvement Plans continue to reduce the
opportunity of a cyber-attack. They include:
• Our Cyber Insurance Policy whilst not ‘preventative,’
does give us access to specialist resources that could
help us recover, faster.
• Warning Banners on all emails to identify potential
phishing attacks, for all users.
• An ‘anti-impersonation’ tool that prevents email
compromise attacks.
• Bespoke and targeted internal Phishing campaigns and
training to educate staff.
• Active Web Monitoring identifies malicious website
registrations attempting to use the PageGroup Brand
or where a website is actively mimicking us to falsely
attract clients and candidates away from our business.
The process now in place allows us have them
taken down.
• Updated and enhanced Multi Factor Authentication
methodologies to continue to ensure secure access to
our systems (similar to Banking applications).
• Password Quality Enhancements, ensuring users select
very secure passwords.
• Maturing use of our security and privacy management
tool to identify and manage risks more cohesively
across our global business.
• Better-governed vulnerability and patch management
processes, including new reporting dashboards.
• Continued fine-tuning and automation of SOC Alerts,
with updated run-books.
• Continued External Certification to ISO 27001 – the
globally recognised InfoSec Framework and Continued
External Certification to Cyber Essentials Plus –
Government Cyber Standard.
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Nature of risk
• Personal data breaches are committed by our
employees and/or third-party vendors. (For cyber
security risks, please see page 68).
• Data requests cannot be fulfilled within deadlines
imposed by regulators.
• Regulator guidance on regulatory action against
companies, including imposition of fines for data
protection breaches, is evolving and may result in more
severe penalties. In the event of an incident, where our
processes and documentation are deemed insufficient,
the scale of any fine may be increased.
• Our interpretation of data protection laws may prove to
be incorrect, following clarification by the courts and/or
data protection regulators.
• The use of international delivery centres means there
are transfers of data.
Significant influencing factors
• Data Protection regulations in the UK and Europe
are now well established. European data protection
regulators (including the UK regulator) are actively
following up on complaints of breaches of
GDPR/UK GDPR.
• Robust data protection regulations are in place in all
other regions.
• Increased demand of utilising delivery centres heightens
our data protection responsibilities and increases our
risk profile.
• As more of our systems support has been outsourced,
together with Page Outsourcing’s reliance on using
third parties to service their business models, our
reliance on third parties to have processes in place
to effectively manage our data has increased.
• Recent material fines in closely related sectors.
Mitigating actions
• We maintain a regional approach to ensuring legal
requirements are met effectively, with specialist
resources used to support internal management.
• Employees receive ongoing data protection training
programme, (including ePrivacy) delivered via our
global platform. Data management training is
compulsory. We have regular data protection
awareness campaigns.
• We have regional teams, including legal support, in
place where required who respond to data requests and
data related queries including from regulators.
7. Data protection regulations
• The efficiency of finance processes, facilitated by our
Global Finance System, Netsuite, to handle changing
volumes of activity efficiently, will have a significant
impact on the Group’s profitability. Further consolidation
of processes and SSCs, as well as progress against
Provision 29 of the Corporate Governance Code, are
strengthening our control environment.
Mitigating actions
• The Group’s Fiscal requirements are managed by Group
and Regional finance management to regulatory and
legislation policies, supported by external advisors
in each country.
• On material legal challenges, Group management
support regional legal teams in ensuring risks are
appropriately mitigated.
• Group Treasury through a Global Treasury Policy, direct
and support regional management in addressing banking,
funding and the requirements of economic sanctions.
• Group Tax co-ordinate with regional management and
tax advisors on the Group’s tax matters.
• We maintain strong financial policies and procedures
with clear lines of authority. Group, regional and local
finance teams ensure these policies, as well as local
statutory requirements, are adhered to.
• Shared service centres, under a global reporting
structure, have increased resilience and introduced
greater levels of process standardisation and
improved controls. Global process owners oversee the
maintenance of our finance processes.
• We have an established global finance system, enabling
standardisation on best practice and global visibility of
finance transactions. Access is managed centrally with
predefined rights and a regular review of segregation of
duties conflicts.
• There are legal and compliance teams located in
each region that support local, regional and Group
management in ensuring legal and fiscal compliance,
including monitoring revenue recognition. Additionally,
there is a global transactional process risk and controls
team who support management to ensure appropriate
controls are in place.
• We have risk and controls registers which are owned
and embedded within the businesses. Risk reporting is
aggregated globally and reviewed every six months by
the Executive, Audit Committee and the Board.
Similar to prior year
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
71
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Monitor
Nature of risk
• Recruitment activity is driven largely by economic
factors and levels of business confidence. Businesses
are less likely to need permanent new hires and
employees are less likely to move jobs when they do
not have confidence in the economy, leading to reduced
recruitment activity.
• Whilst a shallow or short-term reduction in activity may
see a transfer between Perm and Temp placements, a
severe or prolonged economic decline is likely to impact
both permanent and temporary recruitment activity
adversely.
• During periods of rapid economic expansion, increasing
demand for candidates puts pressure on processes and
resource levels and our ability to fill vacancies. While
with reduced economic activity this risk is likely to abate,
we may see continued issues in ‘pockets’ of the global
economy that represent opportunity for growth.
• An external event occurs that disrupts business and
world economies significantly, requiring a response in
excess of ‘normal’ contingency planning.
Significant influencing factors
• Geopolitical factors have continued to be an economic
determinant. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and
subsequent sanctions continue to impact economies
globally. China’s claim over Taiwan also remains a
potential hotspot and the conflict in the Middle East has
added to the level of risk.
• Some industry sectors, however, continue to be more
resilient and, similarly, countries are seeing significantly
different levels of economic contraction or growth,
despite the forecast for overall global growth slowing.
• Over the past two decades we have experienced
the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 global
pandemic, followed by the war in the Ukraine – major
unpredictable incidents that have had immediate and
severe long-lasting impacts.
Mitigating actions
• We use our geographical spread to invest in countries
and regions where growth is highest and manage
resource levels in areas that are not growing.
• We will continue to develop our brands to target the
needs of geographies and Customers.
• Our Strategy review heightened the focus on profitable
growth opportunities.
• We continue to balance our permanent and temporary/
contracting recruitment mix in line with business levels in
each market. The temporary business tends to be more
resilient in times of economic downturn.
• We protect key resources in the short term so that we
can capitalise when the economies recover.
• We have a Group-led Crisis Management policy and
process which covers the Group in the occurrence of
unpredictable events. This lays out the processes to be
followed in developing appropriate responses. The Crisis
Management process has been cascaded to all Group
and regional business leaders.
• We maintain a strong ethical culture which ensures
that whatever situation the business faces, the focus
is to protect our employees, clients and candidates,
as well as ensuring that we fulfil our broader social
responsibilities.
• We have adopted a conservative financial strategy,
which maintains a strong balance sheet and healthy
cash balances and facilities.
• We have an experienced and agile management team
and structure, regionally based and in a good position to
liaise with Group and local management.
• Our flexible workforce can be deployed to focus on any
areas of opportunity and be appropriately scaled.
8. Macro and geopolitical exposure
Similar to prior year
• We have an external data protection officer (DPO) in
place, who provides us with an external view of our data
protection compliance.
• Our contracts with third parties ensure that
responsibilities around data management are clear and
understood and our third party management processes
have been appropriately aligned.
• We also have a Crisis Management policy to address
external data breaches, including informing authorities
and Customers.
• Information Security and Internal audit conduct onsite
visits to our Shared Service Centres and Delivery
Centres to confirm that they are comfortable with the
internal controls in place.
• See Cyber security risk for mitigating activities regarding
data protection loss due to system attacks.
72
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Going concern
The Board has undertaken a review of the Group’s
forecasts, and associated risks and sensitivities, in
the period from the date of approval of the financial
statements to 31 March 2027 (review period).
The Board considered a variety of downsides that the
Group might experience, such as a global downturn, a
cyber-attack resulting in significant reputational damage
and loss of clients and candidates, and the Group’s
business model becoming ineffective due to new
innovations such as recruitment using AI and technology.
All modelled scenarios would be expected to impact
gross profit and headcount, impacting conversion.
The Group had £31.4m of cash as at 31 December
2025, with no debt except for IFRS 16 lease liabilities
of £132.3m. Debt facilities relevant to the review period
comprise a committed £80m RCF maturing December
2028, an uncommitted UK trade debtor discounting
facility (up to £50m depending on debtor levels) and
uncommitted bank overdraft facilities of £22m. These
facilities were undrawn as at 31 December 2025. The
Group’s forecast financial position indicates compliance
with all relevant banking covenants during the review
period.
Despite the macro-economic and political uncertainty
that currently exists, and its inherent risk and impact on
the business, based on the analysis performed, there are
no plausible downside scenarios that the Board believes
would cause a liquidity issue.
Given the Group’s fundamental strengths, the level of
cash in the business and the Group’s borrowing facilities,
the geographical and discipline diversification, limited
customer concentration risk, as well as the ability to
manage the cost base, the Board has concluded that the
Group has adequate resources to continue in operation,
meet its liabilities as they fall due, retain sufficient available
cash and not breach the covenants under the RCF for the
foreseeable future, being the period to 31 March 2027.
The Board therefore considers it appropriate for the Group
to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial
statements.
Nature of risk
• Material changes in the strength of Sterling against the
Group’s main functional currencies significantly affects
the Group’s reported Sterling profits in the financial
statement.
• The main functional currencies in addition to Sterling are
the Euro and the US Dollar.
Significant influencing factors
• The global environment is stabilising with inflation
starting to reduce but with geopolitical factors, the
situation is still fragile.
• The US Dollar is at a four year low, driven by unresolved
threats of tariffs and the prospect of an accelerated
reduction in interest rates. These factors, combined with
the US deficit, have negatively impacted the role of the
USD as a safe haven.
• The Euro has benefitted as a relative safe haven, with
markets anticipating higher growth as a result of pledges
of increased defence and infrastructure spending.
• As we continue to expand our overseas operations
successfully, the risk of a strengthening of Sterling
increases our translation exposures, having a negative
impact on our overseas earnings when converted to
Sterling. The trend continues to show an increase in
percentage of revenue overseas.
Mitigating actions
• Our Group Treasury function reviews our global cash
position on a daily basis.
• Repatriation of funds and conversion back to Sterling
protects against any significant Sterling recovery.
• We do not hedge the translation of our profits.
• Our communications focus on ensuring the market
adjusts correctly for any impact.
• Group Treasury regularly reviews our level of FX
transactional exposure and seeks to hedge those
exposures through the use of forward foreign exchange
contracts. We continue to drive the business to settle
intercompany trading balances within the reporting
month to minimise any risk.
9. Foreign exchange translation
Similar to prior year
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
73
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Viability statement
Assessing the prospects of the Company
Our strategy and the key risks we face are described
on pages 15-22. A full business forecasting process is
performed on a quarterly basis, with a full budget for the
following year created during October and November,
being presented to the Board in December. The Board
reviews the Group’s strategy and approves an annual
Group budget. Performance is then monitored by the
Board through the review of monthly reports showing
comparisons of results against budget, quarterly
forecasts and the prior year, with explanations provided
for significant variances. Discussion around strategy is
undertaken by the Board in its normal course of business,
as well as at an annual dedicated Strategy day.
We also prepare longer term projections which drive
our strategic plan. These are typically three years. Our
strategic plan provides a clear vision for the Group,
aligns the Group to one clear culture, provides clarity on
investment priorities, aligns the brands, provides belief in
achievable goals and clarity on the goals for our financial
Vision.
The period over which we confirm longer term
viability
Within the context of the above, in accordance with
provision 31 of the UK Corporate Governance Code,
the Board has assessed the viability of the Group.
Given the inherent uncertainty involved, the period
over which the Directors consider it possible to form a
reasonable expectation as to the Group’s longer term
viability is the three-year period to 31 December 2028.
This period has been selected as it is short enough to
present the Board and, therefore, users of the annual
report with a reasonable degree of confidence, whilst
still providing an appropriate longer term outlook. Whilst
the Board has no reason to believe the Group will not
be viable over a longer period, the Board has taken into
account the short-term visibility inherent in a recruitment
business with a permanent recruitment bias.
Stress testing
The forecasting and budgeting process is also supported
by scenarios that encompass a broad range of potential
outcomes. These scenarios are designed to explore
the resilience of the Group to the potential impact of
the significant risks as set out on pages 66-72, or a
combination of those risks. A range of scenarios were
considered, including cyber incidents, disintermediation
by way of innovation, changes in technology and a global
downturn. We also modelled a worst-case scenario,
where the combination of factors led to a decline in gross
profit similar to the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis.
We have assumed that, as in the past, as downside risks
materialise, our headcount will flex through natural attrition
in line with the drop in gross profit, such that the impact
on operating profit is partially mitigated.
As seen in the global financial crisis in 2009, as well
as during the pandemic, working capital from both
permanent and temporary recruitment unwinds, providing
the Group with a sizeable cash buffer.
The scenarios were designed to be severe, but plausible,
and were modelled individually and in combination.
In each case, the Group remained viable throughout.
However, it is considered extremely unlikely that this
combination of events would ever occur. Controls are also
in place, where possible, to mitigate the impact of these
scenarios. These are described on pages 66-72.
Various events may also alert the Main and Executive
Boards to a potential threat to viability, including macro
events driving the recruitment industry, or a drop in GDP
in a particular country which could lead to a reduction in
gross profit growth rates.
We consider that this stress testing-based assessment of
the Group’s prospects is reasonable in the circumstances,
given the inherent uncertainty involved.
Confirmation of longer term viability
The Directors confirm that their assessment of the
principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group was
robust. Based upon the robust assessment of the
principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group and
the stress testing-based assessment of the Group’s
prospects, all of which are described above, the Directors
have a reasonable expectation that the Group will be able
to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall
due over the period to 31 December 2028. However, we
operate in an environment of limited visibility, dependent
upon confidence in the global marketplace. Further
weakness in the macro-economic outlook may cause
us to adapt our strategy during the three-year period in
response, leading to a re-evaluation of additional risks
involved which might impact the business model.
Compliance with Section 414 of the Companies
Act 2006
We have complied with the requirements under the
provisions of the Companies Act 2006 contained in
Sections 414CA and 414CB of the Companies Act 2006.
Our Non-financial and Sustainability Information Statement
can be found on page 74.
74
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Disclosure Statements
The Group complies with the local legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which it operates. The annual report reflects
the Group’s operations, policies and practices during the financial year ended 31 December 2025.
Non-financial and sustainability information statement
Section 172(1) statement and stakeholder engagement
See pages 45-50 within Governance for our ‘Section 172(1) statement’. This describes how the Directors have regard to
the interests of stakeholders and the matters set out in section 172(1) of the Companies Act 2006 when performing their
duty to promote the success of the Company. Our activities with stakeholders and the impact of those interactions are set
out on pages 47-50.
The Board reviewed and approved the Strategic Report on pages 3-74 of this annual report.
By order of the Board
Angela Seymour-Jackson
Chair
Description Page
Business model 9-10
Non-financial key performance indicators 29-30
Description and management of principal risk and impact of business activity 66-72
Employees 38-41
Social and community 38-41, 53
Respect for human rights 57
Anti-corruption and anti-bribery 92, 104
Environmental matters 51-52, 54-63
TCFD-aligned climate-related financial disclosures, meeting the requirements of the
new mandatory climate-related financial disclosure requirements under UK CFD.
58-63
The following chart details where you can find further information in this Annual Report on each of the key areas of
disclosure that these Sections 414CA and 414CB require.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Corporate
Governance
Contents
76
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Corporate
Governance
Chair’s introduction to Corporate Governance ............ 77
Our Board of Directors
.................................................79
The Executive Board
....................................................83
Reports
Corporate Governance Report ....................................85
Nomination Committee Report
....................................93
Audit Committee Report
..............................................98
Directors’ Remuneration Report – Annual Statement
.....105
Directors’ Remuneration Report
................................107
Directors’ Report
.......................................................135
Directors Statement of Responsibility
.........................138
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Chair’s Introduction to
Corporate Governance
Pages 77-138 comprise the Corporate Governance Report
for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.
As challenging conditions persisted throughout 2025, the
Board focused on setting clear strategic priorities: driving
operational efficiencies, reducing costs and identifying
growth areas for investment. Management delivered
strongly against these priorities, optimising the business to
ensure it is well positioned for future growth.
The Board remains confident in the Group’s Strategy and
its leadership and looks forward to the business capitalising
on opportunities throughout 2026.
Board Oversight
Board activities in 2025 centred on oversight of strategy
and business performance.
Further details on the Group’s performance against its
strategy are set out on pages 15-16.
Specific areas where decisions were taken, reviewed and
monitored included:
• oversight of management actions designed to drive
global efficiencies such as the HR Transformation
Programme, transferring Shared Service Centre activities
to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore and the Group’s
management delayering exercise;
• approving the approach to the Group’s Customer
Promise; and
• deployment of AI tools to optimise processes and AI
governance.
Corporate Governance Code 2024
During the year, the Board sought to ensure the principles
and provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code
2024 (the ‘Code’) were fully embedded across the
business. Further information on how the Board has
monitored and reviewed the effectiveness of its risk
management and internal control frameworks can be found
in the Audit Committee report on pages 98-104.
Stakeholder Focus
The Board remains committed to understanding and
delivering on its responsibilities to stakeholders. In 2025,
we delivered value to shareholders through final and
interim dividends totalling 8.57p per ordinary share, while
opting not to declare a special dividend in light of prevailing
market uncertainties.
In addition, in 2025, a comprehensive consultation process
on the Group’s Remuneration Policy occurred. Shareholder
views were sought and incorporated into the revised
Remuneration Policy which will be voted upon at the
2026 AGM, further details of which are available on
pages 109-118.
As a people business, culture is critical to our success.
In 2025, as in prior years, the Board dedicated significant
time to understanding how culture is embedded across the
organisation and how we can protect and reflect our values
and behaviours in the services we provide, while ensuring
we continue to foster an inclusive approach.
Broader stakeholder engagement activities undertaken by
the Board during the year are outlined on pages 45-50.
Board Composition
Sylvia Metayer stepped down from the Board at the
Company’s 2025 AGM, having made a hugely valuable
contribution for over seven years. The Board were delighted
to welcome Paul Harrison to the Board in July 2025. Paul
brings a wealth of executive and non-executive experience
to the Board. Full details of his appointment can be found
on page 86 and his biography is set out on page 80.
Michelle Healy, having served nine years as a Non-
Executive Director, will step down from the Board from
30 April 2026. I would like to thank Sylvia and Michelle for
their contribution and impact over their years of service to
the Board. For details on the search process underway to
replace Michelle Healy, see page 95.
Looking ahead to 2026
The Board is committed to our corporate strategy, investing
in our strategic growth areas of Page Executive, Enterprise
Solutions, Technology and promoting our core Michael
Page business.
In 2026, we will continue to monitor performance against
our strategic pillars and seek to further our strategic
objectives in respect of changing lives, promoting inclusion
and delivering for our customers.
I hope you find the Corporate Governance Report
informative. The Board will be available at the Annual
General Meeting on 28 May 2026 to respond to any
shareholder questions.
Angela Seymour-Jackson
4 March 2026
Angela Seymour-
Jackson
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Our Corporate Governance Framework
Responsible for the review, recommendation and
implementation of the Group’s remuneration strategy,
its framework and cost.
Sets the remuneration for the Chair and Executive
Directors.
Determines targets, performance metrics and issue of
share and performance-related pay plans.
Details on pages 105-134.
Responsible for structure and composition of the Board,
including appointments and reappointments.
Monitors and oversees succession planning for the
Executive Board, ensuring a diverse talent pipeline.
Reviews the effectiveness of the Company’s talent and
succession development.
See pages 93-97.
Nomination Committee
Chief Executive
Officer (CEO)
Key responsibility is to develop
and deliver the Group’s Strategy
within the policies and values
established by the Board.
Chief Financial
Officer (CFO)
Responsible for managing the
financial risks, reporting and
planning of the Group.
Sustainability
Committee
Responsible for monitoring
progress against sustainability
targets, as well as implementing
the Group’s Strategy and
contribution to the environment
and social impact.
Details on page 51.
General Counsel &
Company Secretary
Responsible for ensuring the
Board complies with all legal,
regulatory and governance
requirements.
Assists the Board in monitoring the integrity and
effectiveness of the Company’s financial statements
and performance, ensuring the appropriate internal
controls and risk management systems are in place.
Monitors and reviews the effectiveness of internal audit
and oversees the Group’s relationship with external
auditors.
Reviews and monitors the Group’s principal and
emerging risks.
Details on pages 98-104.
Audit Committee
Remuneration Committee
PageGroup PLC Board
The Board is responsible for setting the Company’s values, purpose and strategy. Its primary role is to
provide strategic leadership to the Group within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enable
risk to be assessed and managed, at all times having due regard to the Company’s Stakeholders. Further
details are set out on pages 85-92.
Executive Board
The Executive Board is chaired by the CEO and is responsible for driving performance of the Strategy in our
regions and business functions Group-wide. Details on pages 83-84.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Chair of the Board
Date of Appointment:
Director, October 2017, Chair, May 2022
Past roles: Angela has previously held Executive roles
with Aegon UK, RAC Motoring Services Limited and Aviva
UK Limited, and was Senior Advisor to Lloyds Banking
Group (insurance). Prior to that, Angela held senior
marketing roles with CGU Insurance plc, General Accident
plc and the Norwich Union Insurance Group. Angela has
also served as a Non-Executive Director of esure plc
and Rentokil Initial plc. She was Deputy Chair, Senior
Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee of GoCompare.com Group until February
2021 when GoCompare.com Group was acquired by
Future plc.
Other Current Appointments: Non-Executive Director
of Future plc and Janus Henderson Group plc. Non-
Executive Director and Senior Independent Director of
Trustpilot Group plc. Angela is also the Deputy Chair of
Pikl, a start-up insurance business.
Board Committees: Nomination (Chair)
Skills and Experience:
• Extensive experience in service-focused organisations.
• Deep understanding of strategic planning.
• Proven leadership in executive and non-executive roles
across multiple sectors.
• Strong commercial acumen with a focus on marketing.
• Comprehensive experience of managing complex,
geographically diverse businesses.
Contribution: Angela Seymour-Jackson brings a wealth
of experience from both non-executive and senior
executive roles across multiple industries, making her
well-equipped to chair the Board. Her strong grasp of the
Group’s operations allows her to effectively align strategic
and governance priorities with the needs of the business.
Our Board of Directors
Angela Seymour-Jackson
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director
Date of Appointment:
January 2023
Nick joined Michael Page in February 1995 when the
Company had around 400 employees and operated in
just six countries. Starting as a consultant in the newly
created Michael Page Sales business, he progressed
into management and leadership as the business grew
and new offices were opened around the UK. Continued
success led to him being promoted to Director in 2002.
He was promoted again in 2007 to Managing Director
of the Michael Page Sales business. Nick then began to
take responsibility for other businesses, including Page
Personnel and Michael Page Finance. In 2013, Nick was
promoted to Regional Managing Director and in 2018 he
took full responsibility for the UK business. Three years
later, he added the North American business to his remit
and became a member of Executive Board.
On 1 January 2023, Nick was appointed Chief Executive
and, in conjunction with the Board, led the development
of Page’s new Strategy, setting ambitious future goals for
the Group. He has a proven track record of addressing
business challenges in a people-focused business.
Other Current Appointments: None
Board Committees: None
Skills and Experience:
• Over 30 years’ service with the Group and in the
recruitment industry.
• Significant experience of leading business operations in
key markets.
• Strong track record of delivering growth.
• Extensive understanding of the Group’s culture, purpose
and values.
• Excellent leadership, entrepreneurial and strategic skills.
Contribution: With a strong track record of leading the
business across key global markets, Nick has played a
pivotal role in the Group’s success to date. He brings
a deep understanding of the Company, along with the
expertise and experience needed to ensure continued
delivery of its Strategy for Shareholders and broader
Stakeholders.
Nicholas Kirk
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Past Roles: Before his current role at AutoStore
Holdings Ltd, Paul held several Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Operating Officer roles within listed international
technology and data-driven companies. These have
included serving as Chief Operating Officer of Ascential
plc, Chief Financial Officer of Just Eat plc, Chief Financial
Officer of WANdisco PLC and Chief Financial Officer
of The Sage Group plc. Paul has also served as a
Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair of
Darktrace plc and as Senior Non-Executive Director and
Audit and Remuneration Committee Chair of Hays plc.
Other Current Appointments: Chief Financial Officer,
AutoStore Holdings Ltd.
Board Committees: Audit, Nomination, Remuneration
Skills and Experience:
• Combined 17 years as CFO of FTSE 100 companies.
• Operational experience, complemented by finance and
business strategy expertise, having held the COO role
in a listed business environment.
• Deep knowledge of financial, audit and risk
management considerations for large complex
companies.
• Significant leadership experience in data-driven and
technology companies.
Contribution: Paul Harrison brings extensive experience
from senior finance and operational leadership roles
within listed technology companies. His insights into the
complexities and demands of large, growing international
organisations are instrumental in supporting the
Company’s continued success. His financial expertise
further enhances the depth and rigour of the Company’s
strategic decision-making.
Past Roles: Kelvin joined PageGroup plc in July 2006 as
Group Financial Controller and Company Secretary. He
was appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer in October
2013. In June 2014, Kelvin was appointed Chief Financial
Officer. Prior to joining the Group, Kelvin spent six years
at Allied Domecq and four years at Unilever in a variety
of finance functions. He has significant international
experience and has high levels of compliance, change
management and systems implementation experience,
across almost every finance discipline. He is a Chartered
Management Accountant.
Other Current Appointments: None
Board Committees: Sustainability (Chair)
Skills and Experience:
• More than 19 years in the Group with a detailed
knowledge of the Group’s operations.
• Extensive experience in finance, audit and risk
management
• Significant international experience, including roles
in the UK, Continental Europe and Asia.
• Strong network of finance professionals.
Contribution: Kelvin Stagg plays an integral role in the
Company’s long-term success, overseeing financial
risk management, reporting, and strategic planning. He
contributes to the oversight of the Company’s Strategy
and leads the global delivery of all business technology
services, including the execution of major transformation
projects. With extensive experience managing multi-
disciplinary functions and over 19 years of service, Kelvin
possesses a deep understanding of the Company’s
operations at every level.
Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director
Date of Appointment:
June 2014
Kelvin Stagg
Independent Non-Executive Director
Date of Appointment:
July 2025
Paul Harrison
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Past Roles: Between 1998 and 2013, Karen was the
Group HR Director at The Sage Group plc. Subsequent
to this, Karen held Group Human Resources executive
positions with WANdisco, based in the US, and with
Micro Focus International plc. She held the position of
Chief Human Resources Officer, having initially joined
the business as a Non-Executive Director and Chair
of the Remuneration Committee in 2016. Karen was
Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration
Committee at ASOS plc until December 2022.
Other Current Appointments: Karen is currently
Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director
of Mobico plc, and a Non-Executive Director and Chair
of the Remuneration Committee of Sabre Insurance
Group plc.
Board Committees: Audit, Nomination and
Remuneration (Chair)
Skills and Experience:
• Over two decades of international Human Resources
(HR) leadership within the technology sector, with
a particular focus on operations across Europe and
the US.
• Extensive expertise in designing, developing, and
leading HR and Reward functions across a diverse
portfolio of listed international organisations.
• Deep understanding of business strategy and operating
models, complemented by practical experience in
supporting organisations to unlock and maximise their
potential through periods of growth.
• Experienced in leading and delivering transformation
initiatives.
Contribution: Karen Geary brings a broad set of
capabilities to both the Board and the Remuneration
Committee. She has a strong grasp of business strategy
and its alignment with people strategy. With over 20 years
of experience in executive and non-executive roles, she
possesses deep expertise in HR and reward within listed
international companies, making her well qualified to serve
as Chair of the Remuneration Committee.
Past Roles: Ben was previously the Group Finance
Director and member of the Board of British American
Tobacco (“BAT”) plc, having spent 29 years with the
company in a variety of finance and operational roles in
the UK and overseas. Prior to that, he held commercial
and finance roles at both Thorn EMI plc and BET plc. He
has also held Non-Executive Director roles with Trifast plc
in the UK and with ITC Ltd in India. He holds a Bachelor’s
degree in Economics from the University of Manchester
and an MBA from Manchester Business School.
Other Current Appointments: Non-Executive Director
and Chair of the Audit Committee and Transaction
Committee of ISS A/S.
Board Committees: Audit (Chair), Nomination,
Remuneration
Skills and Experience:
• CFO of a FTSE 100 public company for over ten years.
• Extensive line management experience having served
as Director, Europe for BAT and Managing Director of
BAT’s operations in Pakistan and in Russia.
• Wide-ranging experience in financial, audit and risk
management.
• Comprehensive international experience through roles in
the UK and overseas.
Contribution: Ben Stevens brings a broad range of
expertise to both the Board and the Audit Committee.
He has extensive international executive leadership
experience, having led the finance function of a FTSE 100
company for several years. Throughout his career, he has
worked across global markets and managed international
operations, equipping him with a strong understanding
of diverse business challenges. His deep knowledge of
audit committee responsibilities within large listed groups
is further reinforced by his current non-executive role as
Audit Committee Chair at ISS A/S.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Date of Appointment:
April 2022
Karen Geary
Senior Independent Director
Date of Appointment:
January 2021
Ben Stevens
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Past Roles: Babak was appointed as a Non-Executive
Director on 10 April 2023. He is currently an Executive
Vice President for CloudHQ, one of the world’s largest
data centre developers, and also serves as a senior
advisor as part of the Accenture Luminary program. Until
August 2023, he was Chief Technology & Digital Officer
and Member of the Board of Management at Koninklijke
KPN NV, the telecommunications company based in the
Netherlands. Prior to this, he held a number of senior
technology positions in the telecoms sector, including
Chief Technology Officer at MTN Group plc and Chief
Technology Officer (Romania and then Spain) at Vodafone
Group plc.
Skills and Experience:
• Proven expertise in delivering complex, large-scale
international technology initiatives.
• Extensive leadership experience in infrastructure
projects spanning digital transformation, data
management, systems development, and network
deployment across a variety of markets.
• Wide experience of operations and general commercial
management.
• Strong strategic understanding of risk management,
with particular expertise in supporting transformation
and change initiatives.
Contribution: Babak’s extensive technology expertise
ensures the Board is well positioned to make informed
decisions across its technology and innovation agenda.
His international experience within large multinational
organisations brings valuable global perspective to the
strategic challenges facing PageGroup in its diverse
markets.
Past Roles: Before joining Kerry Group plc, Michelle
was Group People & Culture Officer for ISS World
Services A/S. Prior to this she has held a number of
senior executive roles including Director, Group Integrated
Change Programme at SABMiller plc and General
Manager UK & Ireland for British American Tobacco plc,
having previously undertaken a number of senior HR roles
within the Group. Michelle’s executive career spans four
global listed companies, and she has lived and worked in
nine countries across Europe and Asia.
Other Current Appointments: Chief Human Resources
Officer, Kerry Group plc
Board Committees: Audit, Nomination, Remuneration
Skills and Experience:
• Broad experience in global human resources leadership.
• Wide-ranging experience in leading and delivering
organisational change and transformation.
• Substantial leadership experience across global listed
companies spanning the service, consumer, and B2B
sectors.
• Strong, commercial mindset and approach.
• Extensive experience in general management.
Contribution: The Company’s long-term success
is highly influenced by ensuring it has a well thought
through human capital strategy. It recognises its people
are at the heart of everything it does, particularly as an
organically grown business. Michelle Healy provides the
Board with valuable insight into this area, drawing on her
extensive experience in senior HR leadership roles and her
background in operational business management.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Date of Appointment:
October 2016
Michelle Healy
Independent Non-Executive Director
Date of Appointment:
April 2023
Babak Fouladi
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Past Roles: Kaye started her career in private practice,
working for international law firms, Hogan Lovells, Allen
& Overy and Jones Day. She then spent over nine years
at Legal & General where she held a variety of senior
positions, including Head of Legal at Legal & General
Group plc and Chief Resourcing & Legal Officer at Legal
& General Investment Management Limited. She joined
PageGroup in 2018, and was appointed to the Executive
Board in January 2023.
Skills and Experience:
• Over 20 years’ experience in legal and company
secretarial matters for public companies.
• Extensive listed company, compliance, litigation and
corporate governance experience.
• Experience of building, developing and leading high-
performing legal and company secretarial functions
within international businesses.
• International experience working for FTSE businesses
across various sectors and jurisdictions.
Contribution: Kaye brings extensive technical and
strategic experience to the Group. She has substantial
experience of advising boards on a range of contentious
and non-contentious legal issues including governance
and regulatory matters, international and multi-jurisdiction
contracts, transactions and large-scale litigation.
Attending Board and Board Committee meetings, her
experience serves the Board well in terms of ensuring
legal and governance matters are anticipated, considered
and addressed.
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Date of Appointment:
October 2018
Kaye Maguire
Nicholas Kirk
Kelvin Stagg
Chief Financial Officer,
Executive Director
See biography on page 80.
Kaye Maguire
General Counsel &
Company Secretary
See biography above.
Chief Executive Officer,
Executive Director
See biography on page 79.
The Executive Board
Eamon Collins
Chief Marketing and Data Officer
Eamon joined the Group in 2007 as UK Marketing Director, having previously held senior marketing and communication
roles at Samsung and Hitachi.
Eamon became the Group Marketing Director in 2012 and was responsible for the Group’s global brand, communications,
and digital channels. During his time in this role, he oversaw significant changes both to the platforms that PageGroup
uses in reaching Customers and to the marketing teams worldwide that work on them.
Eamon’s remits include responsibility for marketing strategy, including digital presence, the Customer value proposition,
and our data programme covering insights, data enablement and applications of Artificial Intelligence. Eamon is a member
of the Sustainability Committee.
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General Counsel &
Company Secretary
See biography above.
Tessel began her career in HR in the Netherlands and has worked in a wide range of sectors and markets, holding
senior positions in Philip Morris, L’Oréal, Getronics and Oriflame.
Her international experience includes prior roles in Corporate Recruitment in Paris, as country HR director in
Mexico, and as Vice President Global HR in Sweden.
In 2018, Tessel joined PageGroup as HR Director for Continental Europe. She was promoted to Chief People
Officer in October 2024. Tessel is a member of the Sustainability Committee.
Nicolas joined Michael Page in France (Paris) as a consultant in the Finance practice in 1995, and was promoted
to Director in 2000. In 2002, he launched the newly established business in Belgium and was promoted to
Managing Director in 2003. In 2007, Nicolas moved to Milan to manage the PageGroup operations in Italy. In
2010, he transferred to the Netherlands and became responsible for Northern Europe. In 2021, he joined the
Executive Board. In 2023, Nicolas was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, leading commercial operations in
Northern & Central Europe, UK, and Asia Pacific.
Nicolas Béchu
Chief Operating Officer
Tessel Naaijkens
Chief People Officer
Northern & Central Europe, UK, and Asia Pacific
Isabelle began her career in banking, then quickly moved into the recruitment sector where she managed a
portfolio of large national accounts. She joined Page Personnel France in 1999 as a consultant in Finance and was
quickly promoted to Director. In the 2000s she grew a number of disciplines, resulting in a strong market position
for the French business. Isabelle was appointed as Managing Director in 2007, and in 2014 she launched Page
Outsourcing. She is a member of the Executive Board, and, in 2023, Isabelle was promoted to Chief Operating
Officer, leading commercial operations in France, Southern Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East and
Africa. She is a board member at Prism’Emploi, the French staffing association, collaborating closely with non-
profit organisations to drive positive societal impact. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Creadev, a sustainable
investment company. Isabelle’s contribution to the industry was recognised in 2023 when she was included in the
SIA’s 2023 Global Power 150 Women in Staffing.
Isabelle Bastide
Chief Operating Officer
France, Southern Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East
and Africa
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Board and its operation
The Board of PageGroup plc is the body collectively
responsible for the overall leadership, management, and
governance of the Group. It is responsible for approving
the Group’s Strategy and overseeing its effective
implementation. The Board’s powers and responsibilities
are defined by the laws of England and Wales and the
Company’s Articles of Association.
The Board shapes the Group’s purpose, values, and
strategic direction. It provides strategic leadership within
a robust framework of prudent and effective controls,
enabling the identification, assessment, and management
of risk. In fulfilling its duties, the Board is committed to
promoting the long-term sustainable success of the
Group, delivering value to all stakeholders, and making a
positive impact on society.
Composition of the Board
As at 31 December 2025, the Board comprised the Chair,
the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and
five independent Non-Executive Directors. The biography
of each of the Directors and their contribution to the Board
can be found on pages 79-83.
As Chair, Angela Seymour-Jackson has overall
responsibility for the leadership of the Board and ensuring
its effectiveness. The Board’s composition is regularly
reviewed to ensure it has the appropriate balance of
skills, experience and knowledge to lead the Group.
The diversity of expertise and experience among Board
members enables the Board to oversee the business
effectively, engage in constructive challenge and provide
strategic guidance to promote the Group’s interests. The
Board considers it has the requisite skills across all areas
considered important for the Group’s success. For further
details, see page 93.
The Board monitors the independence of the Directors,
engages in constructive debate with management and
sets the Group’s Strategy. All current Non-Executive
Directors are independent, in line with the Corporate
Governance Code, and the Chair was independent on her
appointment to the Board.
There is clear division of the role and responsibilities
between the leadership of the Board and that of the
Executive Directors (for further details please refer to the
Corporate Governance Framework on page 78). While
the Board is responsible collectively for the success of
the Company, the Chair manages the Board to ensure
that the Company has appropriate objectives, information
and an effective strategy. The Chair ensures that the Chief
Executive Officer has a team to implement the approved
Strategy and that there are processes and procedures
in place to inform the Board of performance against the
Group’s strategy and objectives. The Chair also ensures
that the Company operates in accordance with the
principles of good corporate governance. The Chair’s
other significant commitments are set out on page 79.
The Board considers that these are not a constraint on the
Chair’s agreed time and commitment to the Company.
As Senior Independent Director, Ben Stevens provides an
alternative channel of communication for Shareholders.
He also acts as a sounding board for the Chair and serves
as an intermediary for other Directors.
The Chief Executive Officer has the overall responsibility
for day-to-day management on matters affecting the
operation and performance of the Group, and the delivery
of the Board’s strategy. The Chief Executive Officer
chairs the Executive Committee (known within the Group
as the “Executive Board”) and delegates aspects of
authority to the Executive Board as permitted under the
Corporate Governance framework. The Executive Board
is responsible collectively for executing the delivery of
the annual operating plans. The Chief Executive Officer
also leads the programme of communication with
Shareholders.
Executive and Non-Executive Directors are equal
members of the Board and have collective responsibility
for Board decisions. The Non-Executive Directors bring a
diverse wealth of skills and experience to the Board and
its Committees.
Committees
The Board Committees are the Audit Committee,
Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee.
Additionally, the Board has delegated responsibility for
sustainability matters to the Sustainability Committee and
receives regular updates and reporting on the work of this
Committee. For further details please see pages 51-63.
The Audit and Remuneration Committees are composed
solely of independent Non-Executive Directors. The
Nomination Committee also comprises independent
Non-Executive Directors and is chaired by the Chair of the
Board, who was independent on appointment. Details of
the composition and activities of the Committees can be
found in the Audit Committee Report on pages 98-104;
the Nomination Committee Report on pages 93-97; and
the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 105-134.
Their terms of reference are reviewed annually, copies
of which can be found on the Company’s website at
www.page.com.
Corporate Governance
Report
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Each of the Committees mentioned above reviews
its performance and effectiveness and makes
recommendations to the Board about any changes
necessary. The Chair of the Board and the Chairs of
each of its Committees will be available to answer
Shareholders’ questions at the Company’s forthcoming
Annual General Meeting on 28 May 2026.
The General Counsel & Company Secretary, or their
nominee, acts as secretary to each of these Committees
and minutes of meetings are circulated to all Committee
members and to all members of the Board unless it would
be inappropriate to do so.
The Sustainability Committee, which oversees the
Group’s Sustainability strategy, is chaired by the Chief
Financial Officer and reports to the Board. Details of the
membership and activities of the Sustainability Committee
can be found on pages 51-63.
The Group Executive Board is chaired by the Chief
Executive Officer. Biographies for Executive Board
members can be found on pages 83-84. The Executive
Board meets regularly and is responsible for assisting
the Chief Executive Officer in the performance of
his duties. These include the development and
implementation of strategy, operational plans, policies,
procedures and budgets.
Induction, training and information
A suite of relevant training, advice and information is
provided to Directors to enable the Board to function
effectively. This is achieved through a variety of means
including internal and external presentations from senior
executives within the business, advisors and tailored
guidance briefings circulated to Board members. As
and when new Directors join the Board, the Chair of the
Board and the General Counsel & Company Secretary
are responsible for their induction. On appointment to
the Board, each Director discusses with the Chair and
the General Counsel & Company Secretary the extent
of training required. The programme typically consists
of individual meetings with senior executives, office
visits, attending senior management meetings and work
shadowing to understand the day-to-day activities of
the business.
On appointment as Non-Executive Director, Paul
Harrison was provided with a detailed induction pack and
undertook a tailored induction programme that focused
on the Group’s culture, values, stakeholders, operations,
strategy and governance. Meetings were arranged with
each Executive Board member and other key members of
senior management, designed to give a detailed overview
of key areas of responsibility relevant to the Group’s
success. In addition, Paul Harrison undertook internal
training from our consultants and received training from
external legal and remuneration advisers.
Directors update and refresh their knowledge through
participation at meetings with, and receiving presentations
from, senior management. This enables them to stay
close to the current challenges and opportunities arising
within the business. The Board also receives regularly
KPIs to enable it to track the Group’s strategic growth
pillars.
All Directors have access to the advice of the General
Counsel & Company Secretary. She is present at all Board
meetings and is responsible to the Board for ensuring
that Board procedures are complied with as well as
advising the Board on legal matters, including forthcoming
legislation and corporate governance considerations.
Where necessary, external advisors will also attend
meetings to provide updates and to answer any questions
that are of interest to the Board.
The Board, Committees and Directors are also able to
access independent professional advice at the Group’s
expense if the Directors deem it necessary in order for
them to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
The Board operates an annual cycle of matters for its
consideration, supplemented with strategic topics and
governance matters. See page 87 for a list of matters
reserved for the Board.
The frequency of meetings and the Board agendas are
also kept under regular review to ensure any matter that
requires discussion within, or escalation to, the Board
can be accommodated. For each Board and Committee
meeting, Directors receive a pack of relevant papers and
information on the matters to be discussed. The Board
uses a third party board portal to distribute information
quickly and securely.
At Board meetings, the Chief Executive Officer presents
a comprehensive update on all key business issues
across the Group and the Chief Financial Officer presents
a detailed analysis of the Group’s financial performance.
The Board also receives at each Board Meeting an
Investor Relations Report, including any feedback from
investors and Investor Roadshows. Members of the
Executive Board, Regional Managing Directors and other
senior managers may also attend relevant parts of Board
meetings and the Board Strategy Day in order to make
presentations on their areas of responsibility. All of the
above gives a comprehensive view on the issues facing
the business and enables robust review of the current and
future performance of the Group.
Succession planning
Ensuring the necessary skills and experience are
represented on the Board, is an important responsibility
overseen by the Board. Senior management development
and succession planning discussions are held annually.
These discussions focus on the development and
succession of the Executive Directors, Executive Board
members and other senior managers over the short,
medium and longer term. The Group operates Talent,
Succession & Development programmes across the
business, targeting high-potential employees at different
stages in their career. The Board, through the work of
the Nomination Committee, monitors access to career
development to ensure this is fair and representative of
our employees.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Board activities
During the year, the Board held eight meetings, together with a separate dedicated Strategy Day. The Board’s strategy
sessions included deep-dive sessions on Enterprise Solutions, Page Executive and core key markets. A non-exhaustive
list of the of key activities considered, reviewed and monitored by the Board is set out below.
Pages 45-50 provide full details of how the Board has taken into account Stakeholder interests in accordance with section
172 of the Companies Act. The key above provides an additional snapshot of where Stakeholder groups have been
considered as part of the Board’s work and decision-making.
Financial Performance
• Group’s financial results throughout the year
• Analysis of the Group’s cash position, headcount,
productivity and costs
• The annual budget and quarterly forecasts
• Capital returns policy
• KPI dashboard monitoring business performance
• Appointment of new Corporate Broker
Strategy
• Focus on high potential growth Pillars
• Deep-dive sessions in key markets
• HR transformation
• AI and Innovation update and review
• Enterprise Solutions – Deep Dive
• Investor feedback
Compliance and
Regulations
• Corporate Governance updates
• Schedule of matters reserved
• Board and Committee evaluation
• Modern slavery update and KPIs
• Information Security and Data Protection
monitoring and reporting
• ESG commitments and target monitoring
Culture and
Engagement
• Culture Framework measures and data.
Please see pages 37, 43, 44 for further details
• Inclusion initiatives update
• Employee voice activities: engaging with our
People and reviewing outputs from surveys
• Office visits
• Review of brand and customer promise
Key
Our People
Investors Customers
Communities and
Government
Suppliers
Through the work of the Nomination Committee, the
Board also considers the breadth and depth of experience
of the Non-Executive Directors and regularly evaluates,
succession planning for the Board as a whole. Further
details on which, and the Board’s policy on diversity and
inclusion and other initiatives, both at Board level and the
Group, can be found in the Nomination Committee Report
on pages 96-97 and the Strategic Report on pages 36-
38. Talent, Development and Succession also form part
of the Chief Executive Officer’s responsibilities and are
assessed through his annual objectives.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Matters reserved
for the Board
The Board has a formal schedule
of matters reserved for its decision-
making and approval.
The Board reviews the schedule
annually to ensure it remains fit for
purpose and updates are made as
appropriate.
The key matters reserved for the
Board are set out below.
• Group Strategy and corporate
objectives;
• determining the nature and extent
of the Board’s risk appetite;
• determining major changes to
the nature, scope or scale of the
business of the Group;
• key corporate governance matters;
• approval of Nomination Committee
recommendations on the
appointment and removal of
Directors and succession planning;
• changes to the Group’s capital
structure and approval of any
business plan prior to a new entity
being established in a new territory;
• significant changes to the
Group’s corporate structure and
management control structure;
• significant financial reporting, audit
and tax matters;
• material contracts and transactions
not in the ordinary course of
business;
• material capital expenditure
projects;
• approval of the annual budget
• obtaining major financing; and
• complying with regulatory
requirements.
AI and Technology
In 2025, the Board spent time assessing
how AI and technology can add value to the
business and reviewing governance around AI.
Below are two examples of items discussed by
the Board and the resulting outcomes of those
discussions.
AI Governance:
As the Company seeks to advance its position
as a leader in Generative AI within recruitment
through tools such as Job Advert Generator,
the Board has prioritised AI governance.
This includes formal policies and adoption of
only trusted technologies to ensure the safe,
responsible, and compliant use of AI within the
organisation. In response to the growing use
of AI and the proliferation of large language
models (LLMs), the Company has approved
and deployed a single LLM that has been
assessed for compliance. In support of this,
clear policies and guidance have been issued
to outline the risks of improper use of the tool
and to promote responsible deployment of
LLMs within the business. The Company is
also exploring the use of agentic AI to drive
efficiencies.
Global HR System:
As part of the Company’s HR transformation
programme, the Board has approved the
implementation of a global HR system,
consolidating access to PageGroup HR
services into a single platform.
This initiative aims to drive efficiencies and
user experience across the 34 countries in
which the Group operates. The system is
designed to support compliance with local data
protection and employment legislation. Access
to workforce metrics will enable advanced
analytics and predictive modelling to enhance
talent management and support strategic
workforce planning.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024
The UK Corporate Governance Code 2024, (the “Code”) effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025
(except for provision 29 which applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026), sets out principles of good
governance for listed companies. During the year ended 31 December 2025, the Company applied the principles and
complied with all of the provisions of the 2024 Code applicable for the period under review.
The Code is publicly available on the FRC website (www.frc.org.uk). As this is the first year of reporting under the 2024
Code, we have summarised the key changes and where you will find the disclosures within this report.
Board leadership and company purpose
Principle C: Board decisions, outcomes and
departures from the code.
Throughout the 2025 annual report and accounts we have
focused on reporting outcomes in the context of the Company’s
strategy and objectives.
Provision 2: Board assessment and
monitoring of culture
See the culture section on pages 43-44 for an explanation of
how the Board has assessed and monitored culture and how
the desired culture has been embedded.
Composition, succession and evaluation
Principle J: Board monitoring of diversity See the Nomination Committee report on page 96 for how the
Board has monitored diversity and inclusion.
Provision 23: Additional diversity initiatives See page 39 within the People and Culture section for details
of any further initiatives that are in place besides the Company’s
diversity and inclusion policy.
Audit, risk and internal control
Principle O: Responsibility for the risk
management and internal control framework
See the Audit Committee Report on pages 102-103 for an
explanation of how the Board has maintained the effectiveness
of the risk management and internal control framework.
Provision 25 and Provision 26: Audit
Committees and the External Audit: Minimum
Standard
See the Audit Committee Report on page 104 for reporting
against the Audit Committees and the External Audit: Minimum
Standard.
Provision 29: Monitoring the Company’s risk
management and internal control framework
Reporting of provision 29 is effective from 1st January 2026.
See page 99 of the Audit Committee Report for details of
how the Board and Audit Committee have been preparing for
compliance with provision 29, the annual review of effectiveness
of the Company’s risk management and internal control
framework, and the ongoing monitoring and review of the
material controls - including financial, operational, reporting and
compliance controls.
Remuneration
Provision 37: Malus and clawback in
Directors’ contracts and other agreements
See page 109 of the Remuneration Committee Report for the
proposed Remuneration policy for approval at the 2026 Annual
General Meeting. Details of the malus and clawback provisions
can be found on page 114 of the Remuneration Policy.
Provision 38: Description of malus and
clawback provisions
See page 114 of the Remuneration Committee Report for an
explanation of all PageGroup’s malus and clawback provisions.
Summary of key changes arising from the 2024 Code
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
2024 Code Principles
Composition, succession and evaluation (J-L)
Pages 93-97 and 79-83 (Nomination Committee Report and Directors’ Biographies)
Audit, risk and internal control (M-O)
Pages 85-92, 98-104 and 66-72 (Corporate Governance Report, Audit Committee Report, Principal Risks, Going
Concern and Viability Statement)
Board leadership and Company Purpose (A-E)
(Risk – pages 64-73, Culture & Engagement – pages 36-44 and Stakeholder Engagement – pages 45-50)
Division of responsibilities (F-I)
Pages 77-78 and 85-92 (Corporate Governance Report)
Remuneration (P-R)
Pages 105-134 (Directors’ Remuneration Report)
Board and Committee attendance
The table below sets out the number of meetings the
Board held during the year and individual attendance
by the Directors at these meetings, demonstrating
commitment to their role as Directors of the Company.
Attendance by the relevant members of each Committee
can be found on page 99 (Audit Committee), page 94
(Nomination Committee) and page 119 (Remuneration
Committee). The Board met eight times during the year.
During the year under review, the Non-Executive Directors
met on several occasions without the Executive Directors
being present.
The Senior Independent Director reviewed the performance
of the Chair and Directors had the opportunity to meet
without the Chair present.
Director No. of meetings attended
Angela Seymour-Jackson 8 out of 8
Karen Geary 8 out of 8
Michelle Healy 8 out of 8
Nicholas Kirk 8 out of 8
Babak Fouladi 8 out of 8
Sylvia Metayer
1
3 out of 4
Kelvin Stagg 8 out of 8
Ben Stevens 8 out of 8
Paul Harrison
2
4 out of 4
1. Sylvia stepped down from the Board at the 2025 AGM on 3 June 2025.
2. Paul Harrison has attended all meetings since he was appointed as Non-
Executive Director
Board performance review
The Board is committed to effective evaluation of its
performance and that of its Committees and Directors in
accordance with the Code.
The 2024 review findings highlighted the main priorities
of the Board: to focus on strategy execution, continuing
to keep close to reviewing the performance of forecasted
plans and keeping abreast of AI and technological
developments. Please see the Board activities section on
page 88 for more information about the Board’s work in
2025 addressing these areas.
In 2025, an internal evaluation of the Board and its
Committees was undertaken. An externally facilitated
review occurred in 2023. Accordingly, in line with the
Code, in 2026 an external review of Board and Committee
performance will take place.
The 2025 evaluation focused on key topics such as
board composition, stakeholder oversight, meeting
management, board dynamics, board support, strategic
oversight, and board priorities. The roles and impact of
the Chair, Committee Chairs, the Senior Independent
Director, and individual Board members were included in
the evaluation.
The review involved anonymous Board and Committee
evaluation surveys being circulated and distributed to
Board members and the General Counsel & Company
Secretary. The surveys provided scope to rate the areas
described above, together with functionality to provide
free text commentary.
Feedback was discussed between the Chair and
the General Counsel & Company Secretary and a
comprehensive report was presented to the Board for
discussion. A summary of the themes and proposals
arising out of the review are set out over the page.
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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Evaluation Outcome
The Board’s performance was viewed positively, with
strong ratings of good or excellent standards being
achieved. Effective leadership, an inclusive culture that
values diverse perspectives and constructive challenge
were identified as key strengths, contributing to good
quality Board decisions and decision-making processes.
Board members confirmed that governance processes
remain robust, decision making is timely, horizon scanning
and understanding of business needs effective, and Board
processes well managed. The Company’s strategy was
considered well aligned with evolving market conditions
and focused on areas of clear competitive advantage,
with appropriate attention given to legal and regulatory
developments throughout the year.
Board members reported that ongoing focus on driving
profitability and growth, focussing on the Company
strategic pillars, along with leveraging AI and digital
transformation would be priorities for 2026. Additionally,
Board succession matters would be a focus in 2026.
The Chair provides feedback to individual Directors
throughout the year and is responsible for reviewing
individual Directors’ contribution to the Board, which formed
part of the Board evaluation. Ben Stevens, the Senior
Independent Director, conducted a review of the Chair.
Feedback on individual Directors and Chair performance
was positive and revealed Board members, including the
Chair are highly valued and performing well.
Re-election of Directors
The Code requires all Directors to stand for election or
re-election at each Annual General Meeting. In
accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association,
all Directors will be required to stand for election or
re-election at the Company’s upcoming Annual General
Meeting to renew their appointment.
Internal control and risk management
The Board retains responsibility for the Group’s overall risk
appetite and for the effectiveness of its risk management
and internal control systems. In compliance with the 2024
Code, the Board monitors the effectiveness of the Group’s
risk management and internal control framework, and at
least annually conducts a review of its effectiveness.
The Board has followed a timetable to compliance with
provision 29 of the Code. In Q3 of 2024, the Board
agreed its definition of material controls and by early 2025
had agreed a list of material controls for the Company.
The Board then agreed the target level of confidence
for each material control, and has since tested these
for effectiveness, with the Board receiving regular
updates throughout the year. The Board will report the
effectiveness of the risk management and internal control
process in the FY2026 Annual Report.
The internal control and risk procedures established by
the Board have been designed to meet the requirements
of the Group and the risks to which it is exposed, and
cover all material controls, including financial, operational,
reporting and compliance controls.
These procedures also provide an ongoing process
for identifying, evaluating and managing principal and
emerging risks. The system of internal control includes
financial, compliance and operational controls, which
are designed to meet the Group’s needs. These controls
aim to safeguard Group assets and reputation, ensure
that proper accounting records are maintained, and that
financial information used within the business and for
publication is reliable and supports the successful delivery
of the Group’s Strategy. Any system of internal control
can only provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance
against material misstatement or loss. In practice, the
Board delegates the day-to-day implementation of
the Board’s policy on risks and control to executive
management and this is monitored by the Group’s Internal
Audit function which reports back to the Board through
the Audit Committee.
The key elements of our system of internal control are as
follows:
Group Organisation – The Board of Directors meets at
least eight times a year and holds extra meetings where
this is considered necessary. The Board meetings focus
both on strategic issues and operational and financial
performance. There is also a defined policy on matters
reserved strictly for the Board which is reviewed on an
annual basis. Senior Managing Directors or Regional
Managing Directors, supported by Regional Finance
Directors, of each of our regions/markets are accountable
for establishing and monitoring internal controls.
Annual Business Plan – The Board reviews the
Group’s Strategy and business plan. Performance is then
monitored by the Board through the review of a series of
monthly reports showing comparisons of results against
budget or modelling, and the prior year, with explanations
provided for significant variances.
Policies and Procedures – Policies and procedures
are documented over both financial controls and non-
quantifiable areas such as the Group’s whistleblowing
policy and its policy relating to anti-bribery and corruption,
and gifts and hospitality.
Risk Management – The Board has established a
framework for identifying current and emerging risks,
and processes, and controls for managing risk, both
at a strategic and operational level. In 2025, this was
conducted at the half year and full year.
Internal Audit – The Group’s Internal Audit function
examines business process controls throughout the
Group on a risk basis and reports the findings to the
Executive Board and Audit Committee. Agreed actions are
monitored and reported to the Audit Committee, who in
turn report to the Board.
Confirmations from Executive Management – The
Managing Director and Finance Director of our operations
in each country formally certify twice a year whether the
business has adhered to the system of internal control
during the period, including compliance with Group
policies. The statement also requires the reporting of any
significant control issues that have emerged, including
suspected or reported matters, so that areas of concern
can be identified and investigated as required. These
confirmations and supporting controls self-assessment
questionnaires are reviewed by the Internal Audit function
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
and a summary of findings is provided to the Audit
Committee for review.
In accordance with the requirements of the 2024 Code,
the Board has reviewed and agreed its approach to
risk and its risk appetite when considering the Group’s
strategy and the management of its risks. It has also
considered its longer term viability. Details on the Board’s
risk appetite and its assessment of its longer term viability
can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 66-73. The
Board, with the assistance of the Audit Committee, has
carried out a review of the effectiveness of the Group’s
risk management and internal control systems, including
a review of the Internal Audit activities and the financial,
operational and compliance controls for the period from
1 January 2025 to the date of this Annual Report.
This review covered strategic, operational and principal
risks and the effectiveness of the control environment
applied to those principal risks across the business. The
Board discusses and formally confirms its understanding
of the key risks affecting the Group and its risk appetite.
This follows deep dive risk review sessions at the Audit
Committee. These reviews are guided by an annual audit
plan, and adjusted during the year.
No significant failings or weaknesses were identified.
Culture
The Board is committed to promoting and monitoring a
culture that supports the Company’s purpose, values,
and strategy. In line with the UK 2024 Code, the Board
recognises that its own behaviours and decisions set
the tone from the top and actively seeks assurance that
the desired culture is consistently embedded across the
organisation. Details on the Board’s approach to culture
governance are provided on pages 43-44.
The Board understands that a well run and trusted
whistleblowing policy and helpline is a key tool for strong
and effective corporate governance, compliance and risk
management. The Company operates an external global
confidential ‘Speak-Up’ helpline supported by a Speak-Up
policy available on each country’s website and translated
into all local languages. In 2025 the ‘Speak-Up’ platform
was renewed to optimise accessibility and ease of use.
The Board reviews all reports to the helpline including
the Company’s response. In 2025, eight instances to the
Speak-Up helpline were investigated. Reports investigated
related to local HR matters such as allegations of unfair
treatment or concerns about customer relationship issues.
The Board discussed all investigated instances and was
satisfied with how the Company addressed each report.
Directors’ confirmation
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual
Report in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Having taken advice from the Audit Committee, the Board
considers the Annual Report and Accounts, taken as a
whole, as fair, balanced and understandable and that it
provides the information necessary for Shareholders to
assess the Company’s position, performance, business
model and strategy. Neither the Company nor the
Directors accept any liability to any person in relation to
the Annual Report except to the extent that such liability
could arise under English law.
Understanding the views of Shareholders and active
engagement with our Shareholders is always considered
a key priority for the Board. The Chief Executive Officer
and the Chief Financial Officer, supported by the Investor
Relations team, make themselves available, wherever
possible, to meet with Shareholders and analysts at
their request. In 2025, 15 investor roadshows were held
and 10 investor relations conferences were attended.
There were also 24 individual meetings, telephone or
video calls. The meetings were held either in person or
virtually. This regular engagement was supplemented with
presentations to analysts after our quarterly, interim and
full-year results. In 2025, we also carried out an extensive
shareholder consultation process regarding the renewal
of the Company’s Remuneration Policy, details of which
are contained in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on
pages 109-118.
The Annual Report and Accounts are available to all
Shareholders either in hard copy or via the Company’s
website www.page.com. The website contains up-to-
date information on the Group’s activities, published
financial results and the presentations used for briefings
and investor meetings held during the year. These are
available to download. The Annual General Meeting is
an additional opportunity for Board members to meet
with Shareholders and give them the opportunity to ask
questions. Final voting results are published through a
Regulatory Information Service and on the Company’s
website following the meeting. The Board looks forward
to the Annual General Meeting on 28 May 2026 and
engaging with Shareholders.
Conflict of interest
The Company has implemented robust procedures in
line with the Companies Act 2006, requiring Directors
to seek appropriate authorisation from the Board prior
to entering into any outside business interests which
have, or could have, a direct or indirect interest that
conflicts, or may conflict, with the Group’s interests. These
procedures have operated effectively throughout the year
under review. The Nomination Committee is responsible
for reviewing possible conflicts of interest. It makes
recommendations to the Board as to whether a conflict
should be authorised and the terms and conditions on
which any such authorisation should be given by the
Board. Please see page 93 of the Nomination Committee
report which provides further details about how the Board
considered conflicts in respect of Directors’ additional
appointments.
Only Directors without an interest in the matter being
considered will be involved in any decision involving a
potential conflict and each Director must act in a way
they consider, in good faith, will promote the success
of the Group. All Directors are aware of their continuing
obligation to report any new interests, or changes in
existing interests, that might amount to a possible conflict
of interest in order that these may be considered by the
Board and appropriate authorisation given.
Angela Seymour-Jackson
Chair
4 March 2026
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Nomination Committee
Report
Angela
Seymour-Jackson
Committee Chair
This report comprises the Nomination Committee Report
for the year ending 31 December 2025, setting out the
main work of the Committee during the year and how it
fulfilled its responsibilities.
2025 Highlights
The Committee plays a vital role in shaping the Group’s
leadership and ensuring strong talent development across
the business. In 2025, our focus was on two key areas:
• Board and senior leadership succession planning; and
• talent development across the organisation.
These efforts directly impact our culture, helping to build
an inclusive environment where people can grow and
succeed. We are committed to promoting a diverse mix
of skills, experiences, and perspectives throughout the
business.
Committee Membership
Appointments to the Board and its Committees are
generally made for three-year terms. Angela Seymour-
Jackson chaired the Committee in 2025. Committee
members included:
• Babak Fouladi
• Ben Stevens
• Michelle Healy
• Karen Geary
• Sylvia Metayer; and
• Paul Harrison.
In 2025, Sylvia Metayer stepped down from the
Committee and Paul Harrison was appointed. Angela
Seymour-Jackson, Karen Geary and Michelle Healy’s
appointments were renewed. Directors do not vote on
their own reappointments.
Executive directors, the Chief People Officer, and the
Global Talent Director regularly attend meetings to provide
insights into talent processes. The General Counsel &
Company Secretary attends meetings and supports
the Chair with governance and secretarial duties. These
contributions help ensure informed discussions and
constructive challenge.
Time Commitments
All additional time commitments are reviewed and
discussed at the Committee. Any additional time
commitments are approved by the Committee. Details
of all Directors’ time commitments can be found on
pages 79-83.
Skills and Competencies
Nick
Kirk
Kelvin
Stagg
Angela
Seymour-
Jackson
Paul
Harrison
Babak
Fouladi
Karen
Geary
Michelle
Healy
Ben
Stevens
Finance
Audit & Risk
Legal & Regulatory
Public Company Governance
Sales & Distribution - B2B/ Institutional
Sales and Distribution - D2C
Technology - Infrastructure
Technology - software development/
emerging technology and Artificial Intelligence
Data Management/ Data Privacy/ Information
Strategy
HR/Talent Management, DE&I
ESG/Sustainability
Business Transformation & Change
Experience Extensive experience
Limited or no experience
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Committee’s focus for 2025
Areas of focus for the Committee meetings in 2025 are
set out below.
March
Board Succession
Renewal of NED appointment letters
June
Board Succession
Senior Leadership succession and talent development
Mentoring programme
August
Talent planning and accelerating top talent
October
Board Succession
December
Board Succession
Talent Development – Senior Leadership
Attendance during the year
The Committee met five times in 2025. Attendance for
each Committee member is set out below.
Committee Member
No. of meetings
attended
Angela Seymour-Jackson 5 out of 5
Babak Fouladi 5 out of 5
Ben Stevens 5 out of 5
Karen Geary 5 out of 5
Michelle Healy 5 out of 5
Paul Harrison
1
3 out of 3
Sylvia Metayer
2
1 out of 2
1
1. Paul Harrison attended all meetings he was entitled to attend
following his appointment to the Committee.
2. The unattended meeting was scheduled the day prior to the
AGM when Sylvia Metayer stepped down from the Committee
and the Board.
Responsibilities
The Committee’s responsibilities include:
• overseeing and managing Non-Executive, CFO and
CEO appointments to the Board;
• maintaining the right mix of character, skills and
experience on the Board and its Committees;
• making recommendations to the Board on development
and succession plans for members of the Board and
senior management;
• assessing and nominating members to the Board
in accordance with fair processes and inclusivity
considerations;
• approving job descriptions and written terms of
appointment for Directors;
• reviewing the independence of Non-Executive Directors,
taking into account their other directorships; and
• where appropriate, setting diversity-related targets and
considering inclusion objectives in terms of the Group’s
talent pipeline and new senior appointments.
Board Succession
The Committee has a continuous focus on ensuring the
Board has the right composition and mix of skills, and that
the qualities and capabilities we value as a business are
represented at Board level.
As mentioned earlier in this report, Sylvia Metayer stood
down from the Committee in 2025. The Committee would
like to thank Sylvia Metayer for her valuable contribution
over the last seven years. The Committee undertook an
extensive search for her replacement, the details of which
are set out below.
Requirements:
The Committee discussed and agreed the
specification and skills needed. It was particularly
interested in a director with current international
executive experience and with strong governance
and finance experience. These were highlighted as
areas that needed to be replaced following Sylvia
Metayer’s departure.
Process:
Executive search agencies were invited to tender.
The Committee chose Spencer Stuart & Associates
based on its proven track record in identifying
FTSE 250 non-executive directors, its international
reach and understanding of the search brief. The
Committee agreed on a short list and interviewed
a number of candidates. Paul Harrison was
selected following interviews with all the Board’s
Directors. He was chosen on the basis of his
current international business experience, finance
experience, understanding of the recruitment sector
and personal qualities, all of which meant the
Committee was confident he would add value to
the Board and its work.
Induction:
Understanding the current landscape and
challenges facing the recruitment sector is
key to any Director’s success. Paul Harrison’s
induction was in depth and conducted by “A Day
in the Life of” session with our London based
Operations colleagues and a series of one-to-one
meetings with senior leaders leading our business
internationally and functionally. Additional details
can be found on page 86.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
95
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
As announced in March 2026, Michelle Healy will step
down from the Board with effect from 30 April 2026. In
light of this, the Committee has initiated a search process
to identify a new Non-Executive Director to join the Board.
While the Committee approach, in line with provision
20 of the Code, is to generally use an external search
consultancy, the Committee has been impressed with
talent and investment made into the Page Executive as a
core strategic pillar of the Group and specifically the UK
Page Executive Board practice, and therefore selected it
as its partner to identify Michelle’s replacement. This is the
first time that Page Executive has been used in a search
for a Non-Executive Director.
Page Executive was selected in this instance given its
international network combined with its understanding
of the Committee’s needs, particularly in terms of
the desire to have an candidate with deep European
experience.
The Committee monitors length of service for Board and
Committee members to ensure ongoing independence
and for specific skills or experience such as for the
Chair or Committee chairs. Angela Seymour-Jackson
will reach nine years on the Board in October 2026 and
identifying and securing her successor is a focus for
the Committee.
Talent Development
The Committee has an important role in ensuring that our
people have opportunities to develop throughout their
career and that there is a rich pipeline of talent for future
success. In 2025, the Committee invited the Global Talent
Director to present throughout the year on a range of
actions being taken in respect of talent, succession and
development. Topics reviewed included the succession
plans for all roles identified as critical to the organisation,
development plans for high potential talent to accelerate
their growth, and talent review processes. It also oversaw
changes to the senior leadership team.
Exposure to top talent is prioritised by the Committee. To
achieve this, a range of measures are in place, including
presentations to the Board or to its Committees and a
mentoring programme described below. Every six months,
Committee members receive an update on activities
undertaken to ensure high potential talent has exposure to
Committee members.
In 2025, the Committee was satisfied that the experience
required for the Group was present, including in respect
of non-executive versus executive experience and across
the leadership team. The Committee is confident that
the appropriate mix of technical skills, experience and
knowledge are adequately represented at the Board, and
its Committees including the Executive Board.
Spotlight on Board
Mentoring
Objective
Maintain Board and Committee membership to be at
least 40% female.
Status
Met for Board Committees. 37.5% of the Board are
female.
Partially Met
The Committee has championed an
extensive mentoring programme across the
Group during 2025. Care is taken to match
individuals with a mentor who is considered
well suited to assist with their development.
Broadly, this is 12-month programme which
commences with a 360° assessment to
inform the mentoring sessions. Mentors
include all members of the Board and
Executive Board. Mentees are identified
through talent review processes and criticality
of skills.
• The mentee cohort is from a broad
international talent pool representing
different levels around the business.
• The programme is reviewed for impact
at frequent intervals.
• Feedback is that the programme
offers mentees a global view, allyship
and candour, and provides targeted
conversations for development.
Objective
Meet the Parker Review recommendation of one
Director from a minority ethnic background.
Status
Babak Fouladi was appointed due to his extensive
technology experience. He was appointed in April 2023.
Met
Objective
Ensure at least one of the senior Board positions (Chair,
Chief Executive Officer, Senior Independent Director or
Chief Financial Officer) is a woman.
Status
Angela Seymour-Jackson is the Chair of the Company.
Met
96
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Committee Performance Evaluation
In line with the requirements of the Code, the Committee
undertook an internal evaluation to assess 2025
performance, having conducted an externally facilitated
review in 2022 and 2023. The review focuses on the
following:
• Overall Committee Performance
• Effectiveness of oversight of management and
development of talent
• Review of Board succession processes
• Adequacy of data and information provided to the
Committee for Talent, Development and Succession
responsibilities; and
• Chair and members effectiveness
An anonymous survey tool was utilised to capture
feedback. The tool allowed for free text comments as well
as rating the Committee in a series of questions covering
the above.
Performance Outcome
A theme that emerged from the 2024 review was a desire
for the Committee to continue to build upon exposure
to key senior talent. The review in 2025 commended
the talent oversight activities of the Committee, with
the feedback from 2024 having been considered and
acted upon.
The 2025 outcome of the assessment of the Committee
was overall very positive, the process to identify and
appoint Paul Harrison was widely praised, as was the
consideration on areas such as leadership programmes,
retention and mobility.
Objective
Female representation of at least 40% within senior
management and their direct reports as defined by the
Corporate Governance Code (the “Code”).
Status
As at 31 December 2025, 37% of senior management
as defined by the Code and their direct reports were
female.
Ongoing
Objective
50:50 gender split for management grades across the
global organisation.
1
Status
As at 31 December 2025, there were 45% women and
55% men holding positions of Associate Director (and
equivalent) and above.
Ongoing
Improvements had been made in respect of greater
visibility on succession plans, development programmes,
talent reviews and opportunities for exposure to talent.
Continued engagement with high-potential talent through
mentoring and Board visibility emerged as a priority for
the future. Linked to this was a desire to ensure that in
line with best practice, key senior executive positions had
continued focus to ensure succession plans were suitably
rigorous and the pipeline well understood.
The following were identified as areas of focus for 2026:
• Board succession in respect of appointing a Non-
Executive Director to replace Michelle Healy and
consideration of Chair succession;
• maintaining accountability for delivering the existing
Talent plan; and
• continued exposure to high-potential employees for
Directors and Committee members.
Inclusion
As a recruitment company, we are committed to
promoting inclusion in the workplace both internally and
externally. Our Company Purpose is to change lives.
Inclusion is therefore central to our Culture and the
services we provide our Customers.
The Parker Review recommendations request companies
set a target for ethnic minority representation in senior
management. As reported last year, the Committee set a
minimum target of 10% of the Executive Board and their
direct reports identifying as being from an ethnic minority
background by 2027. The Group has currently 13.7%
of this population identifying as from an ethnic minority
background.
The Board and its Committees’ diversity and inclusion
policy is reviewed annually and is available on the
Company’s website at www.page.com.
The Nomination Committee implements the diversity and
inclusion policy. A summary of key objectives regarding
diversity and inclusion are set out below:
• to ensure Board and Committee membership is diverse
in all its forms;
• requirement for diverse shortlists for non-executive
positions; and
• seek to have Board and Committee membership with
40% female membership.
The Committee recognises that while progress is being
made in achieving its gender diversity targets, it must
continue to drive forward towards achievement of the
Group’s goals.
Directors mentor high potential talent and where
permissible, and appropriate, Managing Directors within
the business have targets to help achieve our stated
aim of having 50:50 gender representation in senior
management.
1 Appointments are made based on merit and objective criteria
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
97
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Men
62.75%
Women
37.25%
Gender representation in senior management and direct reports – 31 December 2025
As determined in accordance with the definition contained in the Corporate Governance Code.
For additional information, as at 31 December 2025,
gender composition of the Audit and Remuneration
Committees was 60% male: 40% female. The Nomination
Committee was 50% male: 50% female.
As at 31 December 2025, the Company met the majority
of the diversity targets set out in the FCA’s UK Listing
Rules. As noted above, one of the four senior positions
on the Board is held by a woman, and the Board
composition includes a Director from an ethnic minority
background, 37.5% of the Board are women. Having had
50% female representation on the Board for a number
of years, the Board dropped slightly below 40% due to
recent Non-Executive Director changes and the number of
positions on the Board having not increased. However, the
Committees mentioned above remain at 40% or higher in
terms of female representation.
The Board and Committee will continue to consider the
objectives of the Board diversity and inclusion policy when
considering appointments.
2026 Focus
In 2026, the Committee plans to focus on Board
succession matters. It will also continue to ensure
adequate oversight of succession plans for key senior
executive leadership roles, continue to optimise exposure
to the organisation’s high-potential talent and monitor
development programmes to ensure the Group has the
necessary skills to succeed in the future.
Angela Seymour-Jackson,
Nomination Committee Chair
4 March 2026
Number
of Board
members
Percentage
of the Board
Number of senior positions
on the Board (CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)
Number in
executive
management
Percentage
of executive
management
Men
5 62.5% 3 4 57.1%
Women
3 37.5% 1 3 42.9%
Not specified/prefer not to say
- - - - -
Number
of Board
members
Percentage
of the Board
Number of senior
positions on the Board
(CEO, CFO, SID and Chair)
Number in
executive
management
Percentage
of executive
management
White British or other White
(including minority-white groups)
7 87.5% 4 6 85.7%
Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups
- - - - -
Asian/Asian British
- - - - -
Black/African/Caribbean/Black
British
- - - - -
Other Ethnic group
1 12.5% - - -
Not specified/prefer not to say
- - - 1 14.3%
Ethnicity representation in Board and senior management – 31 December 2025
As determined in accordance with the definition contained in the FCA’s UK Listing Rules. Information in relation to the
Board and senior management is collected by asking each relevant individual to complete a questionnaire aligned to the
requirements and definitions in the FCA’s Listing Rules on a confidential and voluntary basis through which they self-
report the requested data.
Gender representation in Board and senior management – 31 December 2025
As determined in accordance with the definition contained in the FCA’s UK Listing Rules.
98
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Below is the Audit Committee report for the financial year
ended 2025.
With macro-economic uncertainty continuing throughout
2025, the business focused on cost optimisation and
driving operational efficiencies. Accordingly, during this
period key priorities for the Committee were to oversee
reporting processes and financial reporting itself, to ensure
this was accurate, transparent, and informative. Further,
the Committee’s work has centred on maintaining robust
internal controls and monitoring current and emerging
risks.
Purpose
The Audit Committee plays a critical role within the
Group’s governance framework, ensuring the integrity
of the Company’s financial statements and external
performance reporting, while overseeing the effectiveness
of internal controls and risk management systems.
Membership
Ben Stevens, is the Committee Chair. In 2025 members
of the Committee included Michelle Healy, Sylvia
Metayer, Karen Geary, Babak Fouladi and Paul Harrison.
Sylvia Metayer ceased being a Committee member on
3 June 2025 when she stepped down from the Board
at the AGM. Paul Harrison, a valuable addition to the
Committee, joined the Committee on 1 July 2025. Paul
has extensive executive and non-executive experience,
full details of which are set out in page 80. He currently
holds the position of Chief Financial Officer of Autostore
Holdings Ltd and has a combined 17 years of experience
as a FTSE 100 CFO.
The Committee contains members with recent and
relevant financial and corporate governance experience
drawn from a variety of sectors, which equips the
Committee with the necessary skills to perform the work
of the Committee. The quality of the Committee’s work is
supported by training, which takes place on an ongoing
basis through updates provided by the Company’s
External Auditor and/or internal finance team, on areas
such as developments in corporate reporting, cyber risk
and internal control frameworks. The General Counsel
Audit Committee Report
Ben Stevens
Committee Chair
& Company Secretary also advises the Committee on
legislative or regulatory changes or areas of relevance or
interest to the Group.
Only members of the Committee are entitled to attend
meetings. Other individuals, such as the Chair of the
Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial
Officer, the General Counsel & Company Secretary, the
Director of Internal Audit and the external Audit Partner,
are regularly invited to attend meetings as necessary.
The Committee can invite others to attend as appropriate.
The Board assesses the competence of those sitting
on the Committee annually. In 2025, it was satisfied that
Ben Stevens had recent and relevant financial experience
as required by the Corporate Governance Code (the
“Code”) and competence in accounting as required by
the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance
and Transparency Rules. This assessment was based on
his prior experience as a FTSE 100 Chief Financial Officer
and his Audit Committee Chair experience in other large
organisations.
The Board also noted that, prior to stepping down from
the Committee, Sylvia Metayer brought relevant financial
and accounting expertise. Similarly, Paul Harrison
possesses the necessary financial and accounting
experience as required by the Code and competence
in accounting as required by the Financial Conduct
Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The remaining members of the Committee contributed
a broad range of business knowledge and professional
expertise. Accordingly, the Board was satisfied the
Committee collectively demonstrated competence
appropriate to the sector in which the Company operates.
For further details, the relevant qualifications and
experience of the Committee members are shown in their
biographies on pages 79-83.
The Committee met with the Director of Internal Audit and
the External Auditor during the year without the presence
of management in order to provide an opportunity for
confidential discussion. The Director of Internal Audit and
the External Auditor also met with, and have direct access
on an ongoing basis to, the Chair of the Committee.
Committee’s focus during 2025
The Committee is focused on overseeing and monitoring
the quality and integrity of financial reporting, as well as
assessing the Company’s risk management systems and
internal control environment.
Set out in the table on pages 100-101 is a summary of the
main activities of the Committee during 2025.
The Committee received regular updates to monitor the
Company’s preparedness in anticipation of proposed
corporate governance and audit reforms. Deep-dive
sessions were also held on data protection and privacy
and internal controls in respect of third party payroll
vendors.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
99
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In line with previous years, the tax strategy and
treasury policy were reviewed by the Committee and
recommended for approval by the Board.
The Committee met on seven occasions. Committee
meetings are set to coincide with key dates in the financial
reporting calendar and the audit cycle. The Committee is
provided with sufficient resources to undertake its duties.
Details of the members’ attendance at the meetings of the
Committee are as follows:
Director No. of meetings attended
Sylvia Metayer
1
3 out of 3
Michelle Healy 7 out of 7
Ben Stevens 7 out of 7
Karen Geary 7 out of 7
Babak Fouladi 7 out of 7
Paul Harrison
2
3 out of 3
1. Sylvia Metayer attended all meetings that she was eligible to attend
before she stepped down as Non-Executive Director.
2. Paul Harrison has attended all meetings since he was appointed as
Non-Executive Director
Corporate Governance reforms and
provision 29 of the Code
During the year under review, the Audit Committee has
overseen preparations for compliance with provision 29
of the revised UK Corporate Governance Code 2024 (the
“Code”). The Group has undertaken a comprehensive
review of its risk management and internal control
framework to ensure alignment with the enhanced
requirements of provision 29. This process included
detailed assessment of key controls, integration of
additional controls, and close collaboration between
the Committee and the internal risk function to ensure
understanding of the internal control framework and
governance practices. The internal control framework and
identification of key controls has been embedded across
the Group’s operations, providing a solid foundation for
effective risk oversight and assurance.
The Company will report for the first time its compliance
with provision 29 in the FY2026 annual report and
accounts, including the appropriate declaration on the
effectiveness of material controls of the Company.
For more information about the Company’s risks and
controls please see pages 66-73.
Financial reporting
In its financial reporting to shareholders and other
stakeholders, the Board through the work of the Audit
Committee ensures that it presents a fair, balanced and
understandable assessment of the Group’s financial
position and long-term sustainability, providing necessary
information for shareholders to assess the Company’s
position, performance, business model and strategy.
The Company has an established process for reviewing
the Annual Report and Accounts to ensure that it is fair,
balanced and understandable. The process was followed
for the 2025 Report and Accounts and included:
- ensuring compliance with the regulatory requirements for
the Annual Report and Accounts;
- a thorough review of the going concern analysis;
- a process to determine the accuracy, consistency and
clarity of the data and language; and
- a detailed review by all appropriate parties including
external advisers.
To document the process, a checklist of all the elements
of the process was completed and cascaded. Sign-off
was implemented through the Group’s management
structure to provide assurance to the Committee that the
appropriate procedures had been undertaken by all Group
companies.
The Committee has reviewed the Company’s 2025 Annual
Report and Accounts. It provided comments that were
incorporated into the Annual Report and Accounts and
the Committee has advised the Board that, in its opinion,
the Annual Report and Accounts taken as a whole is
fair, balanced and understandable and provides the
information necessary to assess the Company’s position,
performance, business model and strategy.
Significant accounting issues and areas of judgement
The Committee reviews key accounting policies and practices adopted by the Group. It also considers any significant
areas of judgement that may materially impact reported results, as well as the clarity of disclosures, compliance with
financial reporting standards and the relevant requirements around financial and governance reporting. Details on
accounting policies can be found on pages 153-159.
Out of the accounting issues and areas of judgement reviewed by the Committee during the year, one was considered
significant, which was addressed as follows:
100
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
January
Review of Financial Statements
Quarter 4 Results and Full Year Trading Update
March
Review of Financial Statements
• Judgemental and Accounting issues
• External Auditor’s year-end report
• Fair, balanced and understandable review
Going Concern Analysis
• Viability statement
• Confirmation of external auditor’s independence
• Draft preliminary results announcement and FY2024
Annual Report and Accounts
• Management letter of representation
Risk and Internal Control
• Internal Audit report
Compliance
• Review of litigation register
• Meeting between External Auditor without Executive
Directors
• Meeting between Head of Internal Audit without
Executive Directors
External Auditor
• External Auditor effectiveness and rigour survey
April
Review of Financial Statements
• Quarter 1 trading update
July
Review of Financial Statements
• Quarter 2 trading update
Main activities of the Audit Committee
during 2025
The Committee has an agreed rolling programme of agenda
items which the Committee Chair and General Counsel &
Company Secretary keep under regular review to ensure
that all key financial reporting and risk matters are properly
considered. The list below summarises the key items
considered by the Committee during the year.
Significant issue –
Revenue Recognition
How the Committee addressed
the issue
Context:
Revenue recognition for permanent and
temporary placements, with particular focus on
Period-end cut off and appropriate accounting
treatment in accordance with IFRS and Group
accounting policies.
Revenue from permanent placements is derived
from both retained assignments (income
recognised on completion of defined stages of
work) and non-retained assignments (income
recognised at the date an offer is accepted by
a candidate and where a start date has been
determined). There is a risk that a candidate
reverses their decision to take up a placement
before the start date and as such the revenue
recognised would be reversed. A provision
is made by management, based on past
historical experience, for the proportion of those
placements where this is expected to occur.
Revenue from temporary placements, which
represents amounts billed for the services of
temporary staff, including the salary cost of
these staff, is recognised when the service has
been provided.
Actions taken:
As in previous years, the Committee assessed
the Group’s revenue recognition policies relative
to IFRS and the sector to ensure that they are
appropriate, and challenged management on
the internal control and compliance processes
over revenue recognition, taking into account
the views of Internal Audit and the External
Auditor. The External Auditor explained to the
Committee the procedures they performed
and the areas of challenge addressed to
management in respect of revenue recognition,
in particular, Period-end cut off. On the basis of
their audit work, the External Auditor concluded
that the revenue recognised in 2025 is materially
in accordance with the Group’s revenue
recognition policy and IFRS, and the provision
for expected revenue reversals is materially
appropriate.
Conclusions and rationale:
The Committee concluded that the approach
to revenue recognition was consistent with
the policies and the judgements made were
appropriate.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
101
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December
Review of Financial Statements
• Review of 2025 Annual Report and Accounts
process
• Judgemental and accounting Issues
Risk and Internal Control
• Internal Audit update
• Approval of Internal Audit plan for 2026
• Risk review and confirmation of principal and
emerging risks
• Annual review of anti-bribery compliance
• Material Controls reporting for 2026
External Auditor
• Audit progress update report
• Review and approval of audit fee
• Cyber security briefing
Compliance
• Year-end legislative and procedural matters
• Terms of reference review
• Annual Committee evaluation
• UK Corporate Governance Code compliance
• Review of Internal Audit
Tax and Treasury
• Review of Tax strategy
• Review of Treasury matters and Treasury policy
August
Review of Financial Statements
• Draft interim results announcement
• Judgemental and accounting Issues
• Going concern analysis
Risk and Internal Control
• Internal audit update
• Risk review and confirmation of principal and
emerging risks
• Review of Group insurance renewal
• Deep Dive - Review of data privacy
External Auditor
• External Auditor’s interim review
• Interim review of management letter of representation
• Scope of the full year audit
• Non-audit fees review
• External Audit FY2026 Planning Report
Compliance
• Review of litigation register
• Meeting between Head of Internal Audit and External
Auditors without Executive Directors
October
Review of Financial Statements
• Quarter 3 trading update
Compliance
• Deep Dive - payroll vendors
External Auditor’s independence
and effectiveness
The Committee monitors the objectivity, independence
and effectiveness of the External Auditor, Ernst & Young
LLP (“EY”). The Committee seeks to meet best practice
and comply with audit legislation with regard to audit firm
rotation and the provision of non-audit services including:
• the FRC’s Audit Committees and the External Audit:
Minimum Standard (“Minimum Standard”); and
• the Competition and Market Authority Audit Order 2014.
EY was first appointed as the Company’s External Auditor
in 2011. The Company last held a competitive tender of
external audit services in 2020, and following a rigorous
process, EY was successful. In accordance with applicable
law and regulation, the Company will re-tender the external
audit at least every ten years and will change the External
Auditor at least every 20 years.
The Committee reviews regularly the objectivity and
independence of the External Auditor and has concluded
this is achieved by:
• obtaining assurances, subject to safeguards, from the
External Auditor that adequate policies and procedures
exist within its firm to ensure that the firm and staff are
independent of the Group by reason of family, finance,
employment, investment and business relationship (other
than in the normal course of business);
• meeting with the External Auditor without management
being present;
• enforcing a policy of reviewing all cases where it is
proposed that a former employee of the External Auditor
be employed by the Group in a senior management
position or at Board level;
• monitoring the External Auditor’s compliance with
applicable UK ethical guidance on the rotation of audit
partners;
• approving non-audit services undertaken by the External
Auditor;
• the committee ensures that the external auditor adheres
to The Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standard 3,
which requires the rotation of the audit partner for listed
companies every five years. As a result the committee
noted that this is the fifth and last fiscal year for Jose
Yglesia to serve as the audit partner. It is the intention
for Tim West to take over as audit partner for the 2026
financial year; and
102
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
• the quality, performance and effectiveness of the
External Auditor is reviewed annually by the Committee.
This covers the quality of robust challenge provided
by the audit team and of key components of the audit
and the level of expertise and resources applied to the
audit. It also provides assurance that there are no issues
which could adversely affect the external auditor’s
independence and objectivity.
The Committee reviews the following:
• robustness of the External Auditor’s plan and its
identification of key risks and whether the plan has
been met;
• approach to and execution of the agreed plan;
• robustness (including the audit team’s ability to
challenge management) and perceptiveness of the
External Auditor in handling key accounting and audit
judgements including demonstrating professional
scepticism and independence;
• quality and content of reports provided to the
Committee by the External Auditor including reporting
on internal controls;
• feedback from management which is ascertained from
staff surveys completed by employees involved in the
audit process;
• the External Auditor’s management letter to assess the
External Auditor’s understanding of the Company and
its business and whether recommendations have been
acted on; and
• communications in and outside of meetings between
the External Auditor and the Committee.
Audit Fees
The Committee reviewed all non-audit services to ensure
the non-audit services are closely linked to the audit itself
or required by law or regulation, having regard to the
provisions of the FRC’s Ethical Standard for Auditors.
In accordance with the FRC’s Minimum Standard, the
Committee has a policy to safeguard the independence
of the external auditor providing non-audit services. The
policy outlines permitted non-audit work and imposes
limits on the amount of non-audit work that can be
undertaken. The CFO must authorise all non-audit work
and the Audit Committee Chair is informed of all the non-
audit work undertaken.
2025 2024
£000 % £000 %
Audit of PageGroup plc
and its subsidiaries
1
2,025 95.9 1,791 95.5
Interim review
procedures
2
75 3.6 74 3.9
Non-audit services
3
11 0.5 11 0.6
Total fees 2,111 1,876
1. Of the total fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of
PageGroup plc and its subsidiaries of £2.0m, £0.2m relates to fees in
respect of the audit of financial year ended 31 December 2024.
2. Interim review procedures were carried out on in respect of the half-
year results
3. Non-audit fees relate to local filing requirements; certifying revenue
and expenses in France, certifying revenue in the Netherlands, and
certifying tax records in Italy.
The audit fees and non-audit fees are presented in the
table above.
In light of the above review, the Committee concluded
that the quality and effectiveness of EY’s external audit for
2025 was of sufficiently high standard.
Each year, the Committee reviews the planned scope
of assurance activities across the Group to determine
whether adjustments are needed to maintain the required
level of assurance.
Internal control and risk management
The Board’s responsibilities for, and their report on, risk
management and the systems of internal control and their
effectiveness are set out in the Corporate Governance
Report on page 91.
On behalf of the Board, the Audit Committee undertakes
a robust assessment of principal and emerging risks.
This involves reviewing the Group’s risk assessment
procedures and risk registers and its longer term
viability. The risk assessment considers all top down and
aggregate risks and evaluates the effectiveness of the
controls implemented to mitigate the principal risks of the
business, including environmental, social and governance
matters, inherent in the strategy of the business and its
plan. The risk assessments consider the level of gross risk
to the business, the effectiveness of controls in mitigating
those risks and the resulting net risk level. If the net risk
level is above the Group’s risk appetite, management
develop further remedial action plans.
There are processes across the Group to identify and
address emerging risks. Within our Group operational
risk assessment and reporting process cycle, twice per
annum, management are formally required to consider
and disclose any emerging risks. These are reviewed at a
Group level together with a top down perspective gained
from engagement with senior management. In addition,
our internal audit programme reviews the basis of risk
submissions with local management for principal risks,
including any emerging risks. The principal risk reports
are independently reviewed with the External Auditor
to identify the potential risks that the Group should be
considering and anticipating.
The 2025 assessment of principal risks included a
review of the risk monitoring and management process.
The outcome of the assessment was a streamlining of
principal risks with some risks removed as they were
considered otherwise captured and others were being
combined. There was also greater clarity over which risks
would be monitored as they are less within the control of
the business and those that would be actively mitigated. It
is considered that these actions enable the Committee to
improve risk reporting for the businesses stakeholders.
With regard to principal risks, some key insights from the
review process included the following. Over the course
of the year, macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty
in a number of the Group’s markets have meant trading
conditions have continued to be difficult. The Group’s
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
103
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
global footprint mitigates this risk to the extent currently
possible.
In 2025, the Company assessed and monitored the
use and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
its impact on the business. AI applications have been
implemented across several areas to improve business
processes. Given the Group’s focus on professional
and often permanent roles, AI is not deemed a material
disruptor. However, the Committee will continue to
monitor developments in this area.
The Committee remains vigilant with regard to data
protection and cyber security risks, cognisant that
this is an area that requires an ongoing programme of
investment, monitoring and improvements in order to
stay up to date and keep systems and data secure and
compliant. During the period under review, no material
information security breaches or third party breaches
were reported and the Committee held a deep-dive
review session on the Company’s compliance with data
protection regulations.
Full and further details of the Group’s principal and
emerging risks and the areas of mitigation can be found in
the risk management section on pages 64-73.
The Company’s risk review procedures include, at a
minimum, half-year and full-year reports to the Committee
from the Director of Internal Audit on the performance of
the system of internal controls and on its effectiveness in
managing material and emerging risks and identifying any
control failings or weaknesses.
The Committee reviews the Group’s risk management
process annually, with the outcome being reported to the
Board. This process, combined with regular updates to
the Board on material risks, enables the Board to make
the assessment on the system of internal controls and
the residual risks for the purpose of making its public
statement. The risk process, together with the key
risks and their indicators, have been identified and
mitigating actions are described in the Strategic Report
on pages 64-73.
Where weaknesses within the system of internal controls
in mitigating risks to an acceptable level are identified,
plans to strengthen the control system are implemented.
Action plans in this respect are regularly monitored until
completion. During the period under review there were
no control failings or weaknesses that resulted in material
losses for the Group.
An update on the Committee’s preparedness for
corporate governance reforms can be found on page 99.
Internal audit activities
The Group’s Internal Audit function consists of a Director
of Internal Audit supported by a team of internal auditors,
alongside a co-sourcing arrangement with a third-party
provider. The Director of Internal Audit reports directly
to the Audit Committee and collaborates with the CFO
and CEO to set priorities. He also has unrestricted
access to both the Committee and the Board, ensuring
opportunities for open and transparent dialogue. The
Director’s remuneration is determined by the Committee
Chair in consultation with the CFO to safeguard
independence.
The scope of Internal Audit’s work is agreed annually with
the Committee, and findings from audits are reported
to both the Executive Board and the Audit Committee.
Audits are conducted on a rotational, risk-based basis to
evaluate the effectiveness of controls in mitigating risks
to an acceptable level. This process addresses all major
risks, including those related to Group functions, change
programmes, governance, and environmental and social
matters. Actions to maintain and strengthen the control
environment are agreed with management, monitored,
and reported to the Committee.
Risks are reviewed regularly, and adjustments are
made to the risk profile and, where necessary, to Internal
Audit activities. For example, in 2025 the scope of
the internal audit was increased to include a review of
compliance with the failure to prevent fraud offence. Any
changes to the Internal Audit plan are approved by the
Committee Chair.
Committee performance review
In line with the Code, the Committee conducts an
annual review of its performance. The 2024 assessment
highlighted the need to maintain close oversight of
the financial statements and the Company’s resilience
during periods of economic uncertainty, while continuing
to ensure full compliance with the internal control
requirements of the 2024 Governance Code and other
forthcoming regulatory changes. During 2025, the
Committee has focused on these areas and ensured
compliance with the applicable provisions of the
2024 Code.
In 2025, the Committee determined it was appropriate
to undertake the evaluation of the Committee internally.
An externally facilitated review last took place in 2023.
Accordingly, in line with the Code an externally facilitated
review will take place in 2026.
The review involved an anonymous evaluation survey that
was circulated and distributed to Committee members
and the General Counsel & Company Secretary. The
review covered the Committee’s remit and overall
performance, including assessing the Committee’s abilities
in identifying, monitoring and managing risks.
The outcome of the review was that the Committee
is working well and effectively. As macro-economic
conditions continued to be difficult, the Committee’s
oversight of financial performance and reporting was
rated highly.
Themes from the feedback included:
• embedding the material control changes and ensuring
alignment with the UK Code changes; and
• continuing to monitor risks posed by areas such as
cyber resilience, new technologies, and economic
downturn.
Further details of the process and outcome of the Board
and Committee evaluation process can be found in the
Corporate Governance Report on page 91.
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Fraud
The Committee oversees the procedures for the
prevention and detection of fraud in the Group. Suspected
cases of fraud must be reported to the CFO and the
Director of Internal Audit and investigated by operational
management and Internal Audit. The outcome of any
investigation is reported to the Committee. A register of
all suspected fraudulent activity and the outcome of any
investigation is kept and is circulated to the Committee on
a regular basis. During the year in question, no frauds of a
significant or material nature were reported.
Anti-bribery and corruption and
business ethics
The Company has a Code of Conduct which can be
found on its website www.page.com. This defines
the standards of behaviour by which all employees of
the Group are bound and is based on the Company’s
commitment to acting professionally, fairly and with
integrity.
The Group maintains a zero tolerance approach against
corruption. It has an established anti-bribery and
corruption policy, which includes guidance on the giving
and receiving of gifts and hospitality. This policy applies
across the Group and is supported by anti-bribery and
corruption training. In order to capture any concerns
that employees or external parties may have in relation
to bribery and corruption, the policy highlights internal
contacts who can assist in any queries surrounding gifts
and hospitality or concerns around bribery and corruption.
There is also a process whereby senior management (as
defined by the Corporate Governance Code) and their
direct reports minus two levels are required to sign a
statement disclosing any conflicts of interest. Compliance
with the anti-bribery and corruption policy is reviewed
annually by the Internal Audit function and reported to the
Committee. The latest review showed there was a good
understanding of the issues and no breaches
were reported.
Additionally, the Company operates a global “Speak-
Up” helpline and actively promotes its use for any ethical
matters. All matters raised on the helpline are reported to
the Board. In 2025, it was satisfied with the investigations
and actions taken in respect of the reports to the helpline.
For further details see page 92.
Compliance with Statutory Audit
Services Order
The Company confirms that it has complied with the
provisions of the CMA’s Statutory Audit Services for
Large Companies Market Investigation (Mandatory Use
of Competitive Tender Processes and Audit Committee
Responsibilities) Order 2014 for the financial year
under review.
Audit committees and the external audit:
minimum standard compliance statement
The Company and the Audit Committee considered and
applied the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) “Audit
Committees and the External Audit: Minimum Standard”
published in May 2023. The Audit Committee Report
discusses how the Company has complied with the
Minimum Standard, (in particular the requirements of
paragraph 24) during the financial year. There were no
regulatory inspections in relation to the Company’s audit
for financial year ended 31 December 2025, and no
requests made by Shareholders in connection with the
Company’s audit.
In accordance with its terms of reference, the Committee
oversaw the relationship with the external auditor. This
included an assessment of the external auditor’s overall
effectiveness, including by reference to a number of
the factors set out in paragraph 16 of the Minimum
Standard assessing the auditor’s expertise, qualifications,
independence, objectivity, and overall effectiveness over
the external audit.
The Committee continued to understand the risks to audit
quality and to maintaining high quality audits over the
course of the year while receiving an efficient service from
the external auditor. The Committee receives an annual
report of audit results which includes the details
of any quality issues or concerns reported during the
audit. The Committee meets regularly with the External
Auditor, with or without the presence of management, and
is able to raise any concerns about audit quality on an
ongoing basis.
The Committee monitors the effectiveness of the
external auditor through an annual effectiveness survey
distributed to management. In 2025, EY continued to
receive positive feedback.
The Committee noted the findings of the Financial
Reporting Council’s latest inspection of audit quality
of EY released in July 2025.
In accordance with paragraph 24 of the Minimum
Standard, details on the Company’s accounting policies
can be found on pages 153-159.
Following its assessment of audit quality, the Committee
is satisfied that EY have demonstrated their effectiveness
as an auditor and produced sufficiently high quality audits
over the course of the year under review.
The Committee concluded that the external auditor and
audit process were effective, and a recommendation
was made to the Board on the reappointment of EY as
the auditor for the year ending 31 December 2025 at the
forthcoming AGM.
The Company’s AGM will take place on 28 May 2026
where Committee members will be available to answer
any questions from shareholders on the work of the
Committee.
Ben Stevens
Audit Committee Chair
4 March 2026
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
105
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Below is the Directors’ Remuneration Report for the
financial year ended 31 December 2025.
Our disclosure includes details of our new Remuneration
Policy (‘Policy’) that we will ask shareholders to approve
at our AGM, in line with the standard three-year renewal
cycle. As a Committee we have used 2025 to carry out
a detailed review of our existing Policy. This has included
consideration of alternative incentive structures and their
respective fit for PageGroup’s business and industry
sector, more details of which are included in this report.
We have discussed the proposed Policy closely with our
major shareholders and I would like to thank all those
shareholders who engaged with us as part of a structured
consultation exercise over the past nine months, and for
their constructive inputs into our process.
2025 has continued to be a tough trading environment
globally with the recruitment sector experiencing market
challenges in the face of prolonged economic uncertainty,
and this has been reflected in the reward outcomes for
2025 which have reduced year-on-year. We continue
to believe that it is important to drive retention of our
leadership teams through the full range of economic
conditions, and to ensure that the business is well placed
to leverage opportunities through market recovery, and
this has been a key consideration during the Committee’s
review of the Policy.
Design of our updated proposed
Remuneration Policy
During 2025, we carried out a comprehensive review
of our existing Policy to understand the extent that it
was delivering on its stated aims, and if these remained
appropriate to the underlying strategy of the business.
In doing this we considered the Executive Single Incentive
Plan (ESIP). This was introduced in 2017, specifically
designed for PageGroup as a recruitment company
operating in a highly cyclical market sector. We have seen
high levels of support from shareholders for the way the
Policy and the ESIP as an incentive mechanism has been
implemented since 2017, and endorsement that this has
been successful in aligning pay with performance.
The ESIP was designed to reduce volatility in reward
outcomes, develop levels of shareholding by executive
leaders and drive performance and retention of leadership
through the stages of the economic cycle.
We are now experiencing a more sustained period of
slowdown in some markets than has been the case
during any other stage since the ESIP’s introduction.
We explored whether there were other approaches to
remuneration that could better align with business strategy
and drive performance in this context, as well as better
support the Company to take advantage of the recovery
when it arrives. This included structures based more
heavily around annual performance only and profit-sharing
models. Our analysis and assessment concluded that the
ESIP remains the current best fit for PageGroup over the
next Policy period with an appropriate balance between
annual and long term performance in the context of the
cyclical environment in which the business operates.
We were keen to gain shareholder perspectives on our
own findings and we carried out an extensive consultation
process, the details of which are provided on the following
pages. Overall, we heard broad support from shareholders
for our approach and validation of the conclusions we
had arrived at as a Committee. Therefore, we propose
to maintain the ESIP structure for variable reward into
the next remuneration policy cycle, with unchanged
opportunity levels for executives.
2025 ESIP Determination
ESIP assessment is considered through a scorecard of
business metrics covering both annual and longer term
three-year metrics. Longer-term assessment considers
both the absolute performance of the business against
targets, and also the relative performance compared to
industry peers. We believe both metrics are important
in driving and assessing business performance,
recognising that the sector has inherent volatility linked to
external market conditions, but also that assessment of
PageGroup against competitors is a key business metric
integral to the way the business is actually run in practice.
Directors’ Remuneration
Report
Karen Geary
Committee
Chair
Section 1 –
Chair’s introduction
106
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Overall, the ESIP outcome for the CEO was 36.6% of
maximum and 36.4% of maximum for the CFO, a reduction
in award level from 44.6% last year and the lowest level of
award under the ESIP since its inception (other than during
the Covid-impacted trading in 2020).
The Committee set a target profit range for 2025 reflecting
both internal forecasts and wider market sentiment. The
agreed target range also reflected costs that would be
incurred in 2025 to support the future strategy of the
business, as outlined to shareholders, which the Committee
wanted to ensure management were encouraged to pursue
rather than defer. The final PBT outcome in constant
currencies was £17m against a range of £7m to £27m,
resulting in an award of 62.5% of maximum for this metric.
As a Committee we value the importance of progress in
the delivery of our refreshed strategy, which ensures the
business is positioned to benefit from more favourable
trading conditions in the future, and this is reflected in the
awards made for progress against the strategic targets we
set, which are disclosed in more detail later in the report.
Outcomes under each of the longer-term metrics (both
absolute and relative measures) fell short of the target
ranges and therefore did not result in any payouts under
these elements. When forward-looking targets were
set in early 2023, we did not anticipate the extent and
prolonged nature of suppression of economic activity and
the EPS for 2025 fell short of the target range. Our relative
gross profit performance over the three-year period was
marginally below the median of the comparator group, in
contrast to the performance of this metric in recent years.
While the comparator group are all recruitment sector
peers, we saw those recruiters who specialise in generalist
staffing and temporary placements perform more robustly
through current trading conditions than companies such as
PageGroup.
The Committee considered that the overall outcome was a
fair reflection of underlying business performance and the
stated aims of the ESIP structure. The Committee therefore
did not apply any discretion to adjust the formulaic
outcome, and the corresponding resulting single figure
value for each executive represents a material reduction
year-on-year.
We remain focused on the translation of business
performance into reward outcomes, ensuring that our
structure is competitive and able to attract and retain the
talent needed to advance our strategy.
Target setting and implementation
of reward for 2026
We will structure the ESIP for 2026 with the same key
business metrics and weightings. The Committee considers
that this suite of measures will continue to ensure that
Executive Directors are incentivised to drive performance
and returns to shareholders as signs of recovery emerge in
our markets.
Profit targets are commercially sensitive and will be
disclosed in our next annual report. They are determined
reflecting the prevailing economic conditions, consensus
forecasts and our plans for the coming year. They recognise
the sector and economic uncertainty, yet incentivise leaders
to drive the business in pursuit of growth.
The external commitments we have made around changing
lives and driving gender diversity within the workplace
continue to be a key part of the PageGroup culture and
we will therefore continue to have 15% of the overall
assessment linked to strategic delivery against tangible
metrics set by the Committee. We have set a forward-
looking EPS range for 2026 to 2028 of 5% to 15% per
annum growth from our 2025 baseline in respect of future
operation of our incentive plans, consistent with the
performance range adopted over the past two years.
Executive Directors will receive a pay increase for the year
in line with the overall core investment budget for the wider
workforce (1.5%), following a similar level increase in 2025
and no increase in 2024.
Wider workforce
The Committee regularly reviews the way reward is
delivered across the organisation. This includes the use of
incentives to drive performance, and the way that benefits
are provided as part of a wider employment offer. For
other Executive Committee members (known internally as
the Executive Board), we determined reward outcomes
for 2025 and the level of vesting of longer-term incentives
linked to company performance and individual contribution.
Strategic performance metrics based on those used for
the Executive Directors are used to assess part of these
awards, and these themes are cascaded through the wider
organisation.
Driving effective governance
A Committee evaluation process was carried out in 2025
and the results discussed by the Committee. Overall
findings were that the Committee was effective in meeting
its responsibilities. We actively monitor the wider landscape,
so we have confidence that our approach is right for the
business while meeting shareholder expectations around
remuneration and corporate governance.
Conclusion
I hope the attached report provides insight into our working
as a Committee during 2025, how we have implemented
the agreed Policy during the year, and the way we have
considered the renewal of our future Policy and engaged
with shareholders to gain their perspectives and evolve
our thinking. I look forward to continued effective ongoing
dialogue with Shareholders on reward and for your support
for our Committee activities at the forthcoming AGM.
Karen Geary
Remuneration Committee Chair
4 March 2026
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
107
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ESIP Outcomes – Aligning Pay with Performance
Weighting 35%
• Overall award 36.6% of maximum for CEO and 36.4% of maximum for CFO
• 40% of award delivered in cash, remainder in deferred shares released on 2nd and 3rd anniversary of award,
and then subject to further holding period if shareholding guideline not met at point of vest.
Group PBT 2025
ESIP 2025 Outturn
Threshold
£7m
Stretch
Actual
(Below Median)
Weighting 30%
Relative Gross Profit Growth 2023-25
Threshold
Median
Stretch
Upper quartile
Weighting 15%
Strategic Progress in 2025 (inc. ESG)
Final outcome for CEO = 98% of maximum, 97% of
maximum for CFO. Excellent continued progress made
against each of the three themes: Positively Changing Lives,
Talent Development and Strategic Execution (see page 122).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2019
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
ESIP % Maximum
Share price – 31 December each year
ESIP Award:
(% Maximum)
Share Price
as at 31 December
each year (£)
2025
75.4%
16.5%
74.4%
60.1%
78.9%
44.6%
36.6%
History of ESIP Outcomes
Outcomes shown for CEO
Single Figure ESIP outcome (% maximum)
2025 2024 2023 2025 2024 2023
CEO – Nicholas Kirk £1,531k £1,669k £2,442k 36.6% 44.6% 79%
CFO – Kelvin Stagg £1,049k £1,159k £1,689k 36.4% 44.6% 79%
Section 2 – at a glance
£27m
Threshold Stretch
Actual
Final PBT outcome for the year was in the middle of the
range set by the Committee. Threshold performance
delivers 25% of maximum through to full awards at
stretch performance or above. Actual Performance of
£17m equates to an outcome of 62.5% of maximum.
Actual
£17m
Target
Actual EPS for 2025 was 2.9p which was below the
EPS achieved in 2022. This was below the range set,
resulting in no award
Weighting 20%
Earnings per Share (EPS) 2023-25
Threshold
3% growth
Stretch
12% growth
Final outcome = nil award
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
2025 Outcomes (£k) vs Policy Scenarios (CEO)
Salary Benefits (including pension) ESIP
Policy Implementation for 2026 - Executive Directors
Fixed Pay
Attract, retain and reward high calibre
Executive Directors
Salary CEO: Increase
by 1.5% to
£618.1k
CFO: Increase
by 1.5% to
£426.5k
Pension 7% of salary, aligned to the
prevailing rate of the UK
workforce.
Benefits Range of benefits including car
allowance, private health care,
permanent health insurance and
life assurance.
Executive Single Incentive Plan (ESIP)
Rewards both short- and long-term performance.
Aligns interests of Executive Directors with
shareholders.
Opportunity: 375% of salary
Assessment: Half of assessment based on 2026
delivery. Half based on 2024-26 (3 year) achievement
Delivery: 40% of award delivered in cash, remainder in
deferred shares released on 2nd and 3rd anniversary of
award.
Protection: Awards subject to malus and clawback
Metrics Weighting
2026 PBT 35%
2026 Strategic including ESG 15%
2024-26 EPS growth 20%
2024-26 Relative Gross Profit growth 30%
Shareholding Guideline
To align Executives to company performance
through meaningful levels of mandatory
shareholding.
Post-cessation Policy to align executives beyond
termination of employment.
In Role: Requirement of 200% of base salary, achieved
through application of two-year post vest holding periods
(net of tax) from share awards from the ESIP.
Post Cessation: Holding of 200% salary (or actual
shareholding if lower) for one year post cessation,
reducing to 100% salary for subsequent 12 months.
Malus and Clawback
Malus and Clawback provisions apply to cash and
deferred portions, for misstatement, substantial
failure of risk control and gross misconduct
Application: Clawback period applies up to the 3rd
anniversary of payment for cash payments, and the
second anniversary of the normal vesting date for share
awards.
0
500 1,000 2,000
Outcome
2,500
1,531
Maximum
3,000
1,500
Target
Fixed
835
Fixed Actual Target
Maximum
609 2,960
67 2,284
609 1,81867 1,142
609 67667
609 87
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
109
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Policy Introduction
This section has been prepared in accordance with the
Remuneration Reporting Regulations, and sets out the
details of the 2026 Policy to be tabled for approval at the
2026 AGM, and is intended to remain in effect for three
years following the 2026 AGM.
Setting the Policy
The Remuneration Committee is responsible for setting
the overall Remuneration Policy, and makes decisions
about remuneration arrangements for senior leaders in the
context of broader remuneration throughout the Group.
The Committee is provided with and uses data such as
gender pay analysis, CEO pay ratio details and salary
and incentive insight from across the business to help in
the role of determining the prevailing Policy for Executive
Directors.
When assessing this, the Committee considers the
external environment in which the Company operates and
the guidelines provided by shareholders or organisations
representing shareholder interests, such as proxy
agencies.
ESIP Evaluation and Shareholder
Consultation during 2025
The Executive Single Incentive Plan (ESIP) is designed
to recognise cyclicality of economic conditions, and to
provide motivation through all stages of the cycle. More
recent market conditions have seen longer periods of
market uncertainty and suppressed levels of activity, and
the business strategy has been focused on short term
delivery while ensuring the readiness of the business to
maximise future opportunities as economic confidence
returns. Against this backdrop, we have spent time
considering the continued fit of the ESIP to PageGroup,
and assessing whether the design provides alignment
from a shareholder perspective but also delivers
appropriate motivation for leadership to drive the agreed
strategy forward.
Current ESIP Structure
The ESIP was introduced in 2017 and over the past
nine years has been used to align pay and performance
through cyclical and volatile economic conditions, aligning
Executives with the shareholder experience through their
shareholding in the business. The ESIP is designed to:
• align reward with Company performance through
delivery against predominantly financial targets;
• recognise the highly cyclical nature of the industry in
which PageGroup operates;
• reduce undue reward volatility to drive performance
and retention of Executives through all stages of the
economic cycle; and
• foster development of shareholding by Executives to
align with the wider Shareholder experience.
The structure takes a long-term approach to reward, using
performance achieved to make awards (partly in cash
and mostly in shares) and for these shares to be subject
to further holding periods, determined with reference to
the shareholding levels of each Executive at the point
of vesting. It can result in time periods of up to eight
years between the start of performance assessment and
access to shares by the Executive: three years of business
performance, followed by up to three years for vesting
to occur and then a further two-year mandatory holding
period if the shareholding of the Executive falls below the
shareholding requirement in place.
Consideration of Alternatives
As part of our deliberations, we considered alternative
variable remuneration models, including more traditional
annual bonus and Performance Share Plan (PSP)
approaches, the use of profit sharing as a funding
mechanism, and annual-only plans with higher deferral
levels into company shares. We also looked at the use
of restricted stock with a quantum reduction, trading
reduced quantum for increased certainty.
Our activities included modelling of outcomes through
alternative PageGroup performance scenarios across a
range of market conditions. Our finding as a Committee
was that the current structure continues to align with
shareholder interests, and we have been unable to find
any compelling rationale from the alternatives considered
to justify material changes, particularly given the potential
disruption to participants of introducing a new incentive
structure. At a time where leaders are focused on driving
the business forward and ensuring that PageGroup is well
positioned to maximise opportunities from future wider
economic recovery, our view is that the ESIP continues
to be a robust incentive design aligned to the underlying
strategy of PageGroup.
Gaining Shareholder Perspectives to evolve
our thinking
We engaged with all our key shareholders to seek their
views on our findings. This included discussions with
a number of shareholders who have developed their
holding more recently, and did not have significant (or any)
shareholding at the point when the current policy was
approved in 2023 with a vote of over 88% in favour of
the Policy.
Key topics discussed are shown in the table, including
examples of the responses we heard through
consultation. Overall, we heard strong support for
continued use of the ESIP structure and the way that
the existing Policy has been implemented, as reflected
through robust votes at recent successive AGMs. As may
be expected, on some specific points we did find some
variation in perspectives across our diverse shareholder
base.
Section 3 – Our Remuneration Policy
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Specific areas discussed through consultation (including examples of shareholder
responses)
Area Shareholder feedback Response/What we have reflected within our future Policy
Overall track
record of ESIP
delivery
We heard support and
acknowledgement for the
stated aims of the ESIP and the
subsequent historic alignment
between pay outcomes and
company performance.
Our future Policy continues to outline a framework, with some
flexibility for the Committee to apply small changes for each
operation of the ESIP, such as to specific performance metrics or
weightings.
Balancing
long term and
annual metrics
Most shareholders were keen
that longer term performance
would continue to form a
material part of assessment of
awards under the ESIP.
One shareholder looked for
a greater weighting through
implementation of the Policy
towards longer-term metrics.
Our proposed Policy continues to place high emphasis on long-
term delivery: at least half of the award linked to three-year
performance metrics.
Our Policy gives commitments around the balance of annual and
long-term metrics used in the ESIP, and we continue to review this
balance ahead of the operation of each ESIP cycle.
Use of absolute
and relative
performance
metrics
We received questions around
the use of absolute and relative
metrics within the application
of the current Policy, and some
would like to see a higher
weighting towards absolute
metrics.
We currently use a split of absolute and relative metrics (EPS and
Relative Gross Profit vs a peer group) to assess performance, and
we determine the appropriate balance in advance of the operation
of each ESIP. We do not plan changes to weightings for 2026.
Through differing economic conditions the ability of the business to
gain or lose market share is a key metric of internal performance.
We were keen to ensure that metrics within the ESIP align to
the execution of the business strategy and the wider culture of
PageGroup, and will continue to include the relative metrics in
2026.
We continue to retain discretion to be able to adjust the formulaic
outcomes under variable incentives (up or down) to ensure overall
outcomes are a fair reflection of performance achieved.
Approach to
Target Setting
Shareholders acknowledged
the highly cyclical nature of
the sector and were keen that
reward reflected long-term
growth of the business.
Almost all supported the
approach to consistency of
target setting through the
economic cycle, noting that
trying to set specific three-year
targets through points of the
cycle could be very difficult.
Shareholders indicated that
the approach had delivered
fair outcomes previously, and
that considering growth over
the long term was aligned with
shareholder interests.
Looking three years ahead in a sector that is heavily linked to the
wider economic climate can make target setting difficult, especially
in a sector that can respond very quickly to changeable market
conditions. Therefore, profitability (a key determinant of EPS) can
change materially year-on-year, and PageGroup is consistent with
the wider sector in this regard.
We believe that driving a broad consistency of approach (say 5%-
15% annual EPS growth) over each successive three year period
is a balanced perspective rather than trying to engineer specific
targets for each successive award reflecting any available market
sentiment and forecast economic conditions.
The Committee always has the ability to override or set different
targets, but we believed that taking a consistent approach over
successive three-year cycles is appropriate for our sector and
wider market expectations within the FTSE 250.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Area Shareholder feedback Response / What we have reflected within our future Policy
NED
Shareholding
One shareholder requested
that we adopt a mandatory
approach to shareholding for
NED’s, with a requirement to
develop and maintain a holding
equivalent to 1x core fee levels
in company shares.
Most shareholders preferred a
position of encouraging rather
than mandating shareholding,
to ensure effective alignment.
Several flagged concerns that
mandating shareholding could
jeopardise the ability of the
company to secure the best
Board talent.
Many of our NEDs have a shareholding in the business.
Market data shows that our current position is typical with the
wider FTSE250: very few mandate shareholding requirements and
instead prefer a route of encouraging and supporting alignment of
the wider Board with the shareholder experience.
We want to ensure that our Policies are able to attract and secure
the best talent to support the business now and in the future.
We have therefore committed to maintaining our current approach
in this area, with ongoing monitoring.
Potential
future salary
adjustments for
Executives
Shareholders were supportive
of ensuring competitiveness
of reward for leaders in the
business.
We heard some preference for
any market competitiveness
gap to be addressed through
variable reward rather than
fixed pay adjustments.
Shareholders requested that
if any adjustment were to be
made, it would be supported
by disclosure of appropriate
market data showing the
current and revised positioning.
There were mixed views
expressed over whether
potential adjustments should
be made in one go, or phased
over time.
We have no plans for any material adjustment to base pay levels for
Executives for 2026. However, we monitor competitiveness of pay
as part of our core activities, and we do believe that the base pay
level (especially for the CEO) is below the desired level. This follows
an appointment salary at the lower end of market norms when
Nicholas was appointed in January 2023, followed by modest or nil
salary increases in subsequent years.
The Committee intends to review this base pay level during the
life of the next Policy, aligned to anticipated improved market
conditions and business performance outcomes.
Concluding our Proposed Policy Design
Our conclusion following our consultation process
was a broad validation of our perspectives from our
shareholders, albeit with some acknowledgement of
specific points where particular individual shareholders
may have individual views not observed more broadly by
others. We have therefore elected to maintain aspects of
our Policy that we believe are right for the business and
have historically been supported by most shareholders.
The proposed Policy remains very similar to that agreed
by Shareholders at the 2023 AGM with no material
changes proposed. We have used the Policy to provide
greater transparency to the reader in specific areas,
including our considerations should we need to appoint
a new Executive Director, either via internal promotion or
through external recruitment.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Directors’ Remuneration Policy - policy table
Our current remuneration Policy was approved by shareholders on 1 June 2023. In line with regulations, our revised policy
is shown below, and is expected to apply for the next three years following approval by shareholders at the 2026 AGM.
Purpose
and link to
strategy
Opportunity & Operation Performance
Measures
Summary of key
changes from
existing Policy
Base Salary Attract,
retain and
reward
high calibre
Executive
Directors
Salary levels (and subsequent increases) are set
after reviewing various factors, including individual
and Company performance, role and responsibility,
internal relativities such as the increases awarded
to other employees and prevailing market levels for
Executive Directors at companies of comparable
status and market value, using both a general
industry and recruitment sector subset as
comparators, in each case considering the total
remuneration package.
Salaries are normally reviewed annually. Salary is
paid monthly, and increases are generally effective
from 1 January.
There is no maximum salary. Salary increases
would normally be no higher than the wider
workforce, but may be at a different level in
exceptional circumstances, such as a change
in the responsibility, size or complexity of the
role. Additionally, larger increases may be made
where an individual has developed within the
role, including situations such as where a salary
awarded to a Director on appointment was set
at a lower level compared to market data points,
to allow the desired market positioning to be
achieved over time.
Not applicable None
Benefits Attract,
retain and
reward
high calibre
Executive
Directors
Competitive benefits including car allowance or
company car (including running costs), private
medical insurance for the individual and family,
permanent health insurance and four times salary
life assurance. Provision of relocation assistance
and any associated costs or benefits (including but
not limited to housing benefits, personal tax advice
and school fees) upon appointment if applicable.
The Company may also provide tax equalisation
arrangements.
There is no defined maximum. Benefit levels are
set at a level the Committee deems appropriate
compared to other employees, and with reference
to prevailing market practice.
Not applicable None
Pension Attract,
retain and
reward
high calibre
Executive
Directors
Executive Directors may receive a defined
contribution pension benefit, cash supplement
or a combination of both elements. The amount
payable will be determined with reference to
amounts payable within the wider workforce in the
country where the Executive Director is based.
Not applicable None
Confirmation
that any pension
allowance would
be set with
reference to the
level available
to the wider
workforce.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Purpose
and link to
strategy
Opportunity & Operation Performance
Measures
Summary of key
changes from
existing Policy
Incentives The Executive
Single
Incentive Plan
(ESIP) rewards
both short-
and long-term
performance.
High
proportions
of awards
are delivered
in shares,
aligning the
interests of
Executive
Directors with
Shareholders.
The ESIP operates annually and is assessed
through a combination of one-year (annual)
and three-year (long term) metrics.
At least 50% of any award will depend on
assessment against longer-term metrics.
A minimum of 80% of the possible award will
normally be linked to financial metrics.
For each metric used, a maximum of 25%
vesting will apply for delivery of threshold
performance.
The maximum ESIP award permissible under
the Policy in any year is 375% of salary.
Awards are made following the conclusion of
the respective performance period. 40% of the
award is paid as cash, and the remaining 60%
made as an award of deferred shares that vest
at defined future dates subject to continued
employment (equally on the second and third
anniversary of grant).
A further post-vesting holding period may
apply depending on the level of share
ownership of the Director at the point of vest
(see Notes to the Policy Table Section).
Dividend equivalents accrue during the vesting
period but are only released to the extent
awards vest.
Malus and clawback provisions apply as set
out in the Notes to the Policy Table Section.
Performance will
be measured
against a
balanced
scorecard
designed to
support the
Company’s
strategy.
Performance
targets will be a
mix of financial
and strategic
targets which
may comprise,
but are not limited
to, the following:
PBT; key strategic
projects; ESG
metrics; people
development; cost
management;
relative Gross
Profit vs a
comparator
group; and
Earnings Per
Share (EPS).
None
Information on performance measures and targets for
each award are disclosed in detail in the Directors’ Annual
Remuneration Report. When choosing performance
measures and setting targets, the Committee is guided by
the following principles:
• performance measures should drive and reward the
achievement of key short- and long-term financial and
strategic goals;
• performance measures should provide alignment
between the interests of management and those of
Shareholders;
• a significant proportion of any incentive scheme should
be linked to Group financial performance.
Profit before Tax (PBT) and Earnings per Share (EPS) are
used currently because they are key measures of business
performance and profitability.
Strategic measures focus Executives on key drivers that
underpin long-term financial performance. The Committee
is mindful that:
• targets for financial and strategic measures should be
stretching yet achievable, and set with reference to
internal plans and external expectations; and
• targets should not incentivise excessive risk taking.
The Committee considers and determines metrics each
year ahead of operation of the ESIP and have the ability to
change metrics (or weightings of existing metrics) subject
to the overall limits stated within the Policy table. This is
done with reference to the Group’s strategic objectives
and the wider macro-economic environment. The specific
metrics and weightings for operation of the ESIP in a
particular year will be disclosed in advance through the
Annual Report on Remuneration.
Choice of performance conditions and target setting for variable compensation
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For operation of the ESIP for 2026 the Committee has determined the following metrics and weightings within the
performance scorecard, unchanged from those used in 2025.
Metric Weighting Commentary
Profit before Tax
(2026)
35% Profit delivery in 2026 will be assessed against an agreed range, determined
considering budgets, analyst expectations and market conditions. The targets are
commercially sensitive and will be disclosed in the 2026 Annual Report along with
associated outcomes achieved.
Strategic
Progress (2026)
15% There are a small number of key strategic metrics consistent with the execution
of the refreshed strategy announced in 2023 that represent activities or actions in
pursuit of long-term stated goals of the business.
Relative Gross
Profit Growth
(2024-26)
30% This looks at the respective achievement of PageGroup against a selected group of
recruitment sector peers.
Earnings
Per Share
Growth (2024-26)
20% This metric considers the absolute delivery of Earnings per Share, considering
growth over our 2023 EPS outcome. It is measured in constant currency, with a
performance range equivalent to 5% annual growth (threshold – 25% of award)
through to 15% growth or above for maximum awards under this metric.
Malus and clawback provisions
Malus and Clawback provisions are in place for awards
under the ESIP in line with the UK Corporate Governance
Code and may be applied to the cash and share elements
of the award in certain circumstances including:
• misstatement of performance or error in calculation
of awards
• substantial failure of risk control
• gross misconduct by a participant, and
• circumstances which give rise to reputational damage to
the company (or would have done if the circumstances
had been made public).
These provisions apply for the period of three years from
the date of payment of the cash element of any award
under the ESIP, or, for share awards granted under the
ESIP, the period ending on the second anniversary of
vesting of awards under the scheme. We believe this is an
appropriate timeframe for operation of these provisions,
and allows for a significant period of time following
conclusion of the respective performance period upon
which the awards were initially determined.
Shareholding guidelines
We use shares to deliver awards under our incentive
plans, to align Executives to future Company
performance. We have shareholding requirements that we
expect each Executive to meet, requiring meaningful levels
of mandatory shareholding. Additionally, we have a post-
cessation Shareholding Policy to align former Executives
beyond termination of employment.
Share Deferral and Holding Periods under the ESIP
Awards under the ESIP are made as a mix of cash and
shares. Cash awards (worth 40% of the total ESIP award
determined by the Committee) are normally made in
March following the end of the period of performance
assessment for the ESIP. 60% of the award is made in
shares and these vest equally on the second and third
anniversary of award, subject to continued employment.
At the point of vesting, shares are then subject to a
further two-year holding period if the Director has not
met the prevailing shareholding guideline at that stage,
after allowing for some shares to be sold to settle any
associated tax liability on vesting.
Ongoing Shareholding Requirement
We have a shareholding guideline of 200% of salary for
Executive Directors and expect this to be met within
5 years of appointment as an Executive Director. This
is achieved through shares held in the Company by the
individual or spouse, along with the value of any shares
awarded but not yet vested under Company share plans
which are not subject to any future company performance
conditions. These unvested shares are calculated on
a net of tax basis.
Shareholding against these guidelines is calculated
annually, using the average share price for the last three
months of the year and Company shares held as at
31 December. The extent of holding against the guideline
determines whether any further holding period may apply
to future shares vesting under the ESIP following their
core deferral period. Details of ownership in shares and
progress towards meeting the guideline is disclosed each
year in the Annual Report on Remuneration.
Post Cessation Shareholding Requirement
A post-cessation shareholding policy requires leavers to
hold 200% of salary for the first 12 months post-cessation
of employment and 100% of salary for the subsequent
12 months. We believe this tapering of holding is
appropriate for a business such as PageGroup, where
significant changes in performance could materialise in a
short space of time following departure of the Executive.
Any Executives who are deemed to be good leavers
would continue to have alignment to the business through
unvested share awards, and we believe that our approach
strikes an appropriate balance between ongoing holding
and exposure to future performance, especially when
coupled with malus and clawback provisions.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our approach to recruitment
Remuneration will be subject to the maximum levels as
set out in the Directors’ Remuneration Policy in force at
the time of appointment. As a result, the maximum level
of variable remuneration would be 375% of base salary
under the ESIP (excluding any “buy out” payments).
Individuals would participate in the ESIP up to the normal
annual limit subject to:
• award levels in the year of appointment being pro-rated
to reflect the proportion of the financial year worked;
and
• performance measures and/or measurement periods
may be adjusted for newly appointed Executive
Directors, taking account of the timing of appointment
and the individual’s role.
We recognise that the ESIP operates differently to
many traditional reward models of Annual Bonus and
Performance Share Plan (PSP) awards. Our aim is to
ensure that participants experience an effective transition
onto the ESIP structure, and one that is motivational for
participants yet reflects the contribution and alignment
individuals have made to business performance. In
determining our approach to remuneration for new joiners
to the ESIP, the Committee will consider multiple factors
including:
• Whether an individual has become an Executive Director
with PageGroup for the first time through internal
promotion, is a change of role for an existing Executive
Director, or is an external hire into the business;
• The extent they have contributed to PageGroup
performance within the metrics used for assessment
under the ESIP (which could include PageGroup
performance prior to their appointment into the role);
and
• The extent of other outstanding awards that the
Committee may compensate for on appointment/
joining, including quantum, underlying performance
metrics and timing of delivery of these awards.
Separately, we recognise that there may be cases where
individuals forfeit awards as a result of acceptance of an
offer for an Executive Director position. The table below
sets out our approach to the treatment of outstanding
awards of variable remuneration when recruiting externally
or internally:
Element of
Remuneration External Recruits Internal Recruits
Treatment of
outstanding
awards of
variable
remuneration.
May offer additional cash and/or share-based elements when
considered to be in the best interest of the Company, and therefore
Shareholders, in order to ‘buy-out’ forfeited remuneration.
Any ‘buy-out’ payments would be based solely on remuneration
lost when leaving the former employer and would be on terms that
are no more favourable than the delivery mechanism (i.e. cash,
shares, options) and time horizons. Where forfeited remuneration
is performance related, any ‘buy-out’ payment would be subject to
performance conditions determined by the Committee, or set based
on the expected payout of the forfeited award.
The Committee may need to avail itself of the current Listing Rule
9.3.2 to make such awards where doing so is necessary to facilitate,
in exceptional circumstances, the recruitment of the relevant
individual.
Any variable pay element
awarded in respect of the
prior role may be allowed
to pay out according to its
terms on grant.
In addition, the structure of remuneration for a
new Executive Director may differ temporarily from
that in operation for other Executive Directors. The
circumstances in which this may occur are as follows:
• when it is appropriate to offer a below-market salary
initially, a series of salary increases may be given over
the following years subject to individual performance
and experience in role which bring the incumbent to the
determined salary level, reflective of the Policy to pay
market competitive salaries;
• where the Committee may agree that the Company will
meet certain costs associated with the recruitment (for
example legal fees); and
• where the Committee may adjust the respective
performance period for performance metrics such
that Company performance already determined on
appointment is not included within calculation of ESIP
awards.
Policy on payment for loss of office
On termination, any compensation payments due to
an Executive Director are calculated in accordance
with normal legal principles, including mitigation, as
appropriate. Should notice be served by either party, an
Executive Director can continue to receive basic salary,
benefits and pension for the duration of their notice
period during which time the Company may require the
individual to continue to fulfil their current duties or may
place the individual on garden leave. The Company can
make a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) as a lump sum
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
equivalent to the amount of base salary, benefits and
pension that would have been payable to the Executive.
This payment may be phased over the remainder of the
notice period and be subject to reduction if there are
alternative earnings. A payment may be made in respect
of accrued but untaken holiday.
An Executive Director who resigns or is dismissed for
cause will not be eligible for an ESIP award and will forfeit
any deferred awards.
In respect of the ESIP, an Executive Director may be
deemed a ‘good leaver’, for example due to:
• redundancy, retirement, injury, disability, ill health or
death in service;
• a transfer of employment in connection with the disposal
of a business or undertaking;
• the company with which the Executive Director holds
office or employment ceasing to be a member of the
Group; or
• other appropriate circumstances at the discretion of the
Committee.
As a ‘good leaver’ they will be eligible for an ESIP award
for their last year of employment pro-rated for the portion
of the year worked and subject to performance. Unvested
deferred ESIP awards may be retained by the Executive
Director and will normally vest at the established vesting
dates and will continue to be subject to malus and
clawback. They may also be subject to time pro ration at
the Remuneration Committee’s discretion.
The extent to which any awards made under legacy share
plans prior to the effective date of this policy would vest
upon cessation of employment (if applicable) would be
determined in accordance with their terms and the plan
rules.
In considering the exercise of discretion as set out above,
the Committee will consider all relevant circumstances.
Factors that the Committee may (but shall not be obliged
to) consider will include, but not be limited to, the
following:
• the best interests of the Company;
• the contribution of the Executive Director to the success
of the Company during their tenure;
• the need to ensure continuity;
• the need to compromise any claims that the Executive
Director may have;
• whether the Executive Director received a PILON
payment;
• whether a greater proportion of the outstanding award
may have vested had the Executive Director served out
his notice;
• whether the Executive Director has presided over an
orderly handover; and
• adjustment of performance outcomes to ensure that
pay-out is fair and reasonable in the context of the
Company’s overall performance.
The Committee may agree that the Company will
meet certain costs associated with the departure of an
Executive from the business (for example connected legal
fees).
Performance scenarios
The chart below gives an indication of the total
remuneration which could be received by the Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer under the
Policy. This also includes an additional scenario to show
the impact of 50% share price growth on deferred shares
as required under the regulations. The impact of any
dividends paid is not shown in the table below.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
£686
£1,845
£3,004
£3,700
£481
£1,281
£2,081
£2,561
Fixed
100%
37%
25%
38%
23%
31%
46%
19%
25%
56%
100%
38%
25%
37%
23%
31%
46%
19%
25%
56%
Target Maximum Maximum
+50% share
price growth
Fixed Target Maximum Maximum
+50% share
price growth
CFO (£k)
CEO
(£k)
L£,000
Incentives (Cash)
Fixed pay Incentives (Shares)
Assumptions
Fixed - Shows the value of fixed
pay using a salary value of £618.1k
for CEO and £426.5k for CFO, with
expected benefit values based on
our Policy. Pension contributions
reflect wider workforce levels in the
UK of 7%. Assumes no awards
under variable plans.
Target - Calculation as per fixed with
awards of 50% of maximum under
the ESIP, with opportunity for each
participant of 375% of salary.
Maximum - Calculation as per fixed
with full awards under the ESIP.
Maximum plus share price
growth - As maximum, but assumes
a 50% share price increase between
award of shares under ESIP and
subsequent vesting.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Statement of consideration of employment
conditions elsewhere in the group
PageGroup does not consult directly with employees
when determining the remuneration policy for Executive
Directors. However, regular employee surveys and direct
engagement give insight to the Committee on a range of
employee aspects, including reward.
During 2025, the Committee conducted a detailed review
of the current remuneration policy and potential options
for change. This included inputs from management
and independent advisers, taking steps to ensure that
any conflicts of interests were managed. We sought
perspectives from a number of major shareholders on
specific topics (covering in excess of half of our issued
share capital), including consideration of any feedback
received on remuneration through normal business
activity and previous commentary from shareholder
proxy agencies.
The Committee receives information on the approach
to reward in place across the organisation, including the
types of incentives and ways that individuals and teams
are incentivised to work together to achieve business
outcomes. Additionally, the Committee has visibility to
levels of pay investment across the senior management
and wider workforce when setting pay levels and any
salary changes for Executive Directors. The key difference
between the approach for Executive Directors compared
to the wider workforce is that remuneration for Executive
Directors is more heavily weighted towards variable
remuneration, with a higher weighting towards strategic
delivery and longer-term performance delivery.
Statement of consideration of shareholder
views
The Committee considers Shareholder feedback received
in relation to the AGM each year at its first meeting
following the AGM. The Remuneration Committee
Chair will seek to inform major Shareholders of any
proposed material changes to the Remuneration Policy
in advance and will generally offer a meeting to discuss
potential changes and seek feedback and perspectives
from shareholders. Details of feedback received from
shareholders through our recent consultation exercise is
included elsewhere within this disclosure.
Key areas of discretion
Key areas of Committee discretion in the Remuneration
Policy include (but are not limited to):
• the choice of performance measures in variable
remuneration and the choice of performance targets for
those measures;
• the treatment of leavers in the ESIP (as described in
the “Policy on payment for loss of office” section on
page 115;
• the ability to amend performance conditions for new
Executive Director appointments such that corporate
performance already established and complete does
not feed into ESIP calculations;
• certain discretions as set out in the ESIP plan rules
such as:
• the timing of grant of award and/or payment;
• the size of an award and/or a payment (subject to
the maximums set out in the Future Policy Table for
Executive Directors);
• determination of a good leaver (in addition to any
specified categories) for incentive plan purposes
based on the rules of the ESIP, and the resulting
treatment of the award (as described in the “Policy
on payment for loss of office” section on page 115);
• adjustments required in certain circumstances (e.g.
rights issues, corporate restructuring and special
dividends); and
• the ability to adjust existing performance conditions
for exceptional events so that they can still fulfil their
original purpose (subject to the amended condition
not being materially less challenging).
• The ability to make minor amendments to the
arrangements described for Directors within the Policy
without shareholder approval for regulatory purposes
(for reasons including but not limited to, exchange
control, tax or administrative purposes, or to take
account of a change in legislation).
External non-executive director position
Subject to Board approval, Executive Directors are
permitted to take on non-executive positions with other
companies. Executive Directors are permitted to retain
their fees in respect of such positions. Details of any
outside directorships held by the Executive Directors
are provided within the Directors’ Annual Remuneration
Report.
Future policy table for board chair and
non-executive directors
The Chair of the Board and Non-Executive Directors
receive a fee for their services and do not receive any
other benefits from the Group, nor do they participate in
any of the bonus or share schemes. The fees recognise
the responsibility of the role and the time commitments
required and are not performance related or pensionable.
They are paid monthly in cash and there are no other
benefits provided.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Element
Purpose and Link to
Strategy Operation
Maximum
Opportunity
Fees Attract, retain and fairly
reward high calibre
individuals.
Reviewed by the Board after recommendation by
the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive (and by
the Committee in the case of the Chair) considering
individual responsibilities, such as Committee
Chairship and Membership, time commitment, general
employee pay increases, and prevailing market levels
at companies of comparable status and market value.
Fee increases are normally reviewed annually and
are generally effective from 1 January. Non-Executive
Directors also receive reimbursement of reasonable
expenses incurred in connection with Company
business and the Company may settle any tax incurred
in relation to these.
The maximum
aggregate fees
for all Directors
allowed by the
Company’s
Articles of
Association is
£1m. Current
fee levels are
set out in the
Directors’ Annual
Remuneration
Report.
Service contracts and letters of
appointments
All Executive Directors’ service contracts contain a twelve-
month notice period. The service contracts also contain
restrictive covenants preventing the Executive Directors
from competing with the Group for at least six months
following the termination of employment and preventing
the Executive Directors from soliciting key employees,
clients and candidates of the employing company and
Group companies for twelve months following termination
of employment.
Non-Executive Directors, including the Chair of the
Board, are engaged under letters of appointment and do
not have service contracts with the Company. They are
appointed for a fixed term of three years, during which
period the appointment may be terminated by either party
upon one-month’s written notice or in accordance with the
Articles of Association of the Company.
There are no provisions on payment for early termination
in the letters of appointment. After the initial three-year
term, they may be reappointed for a further term of three
years, subject to annual re-election at Annual General
Meetings.
Further detail on service contracts and letters of
appointment are set out in the Remuneration Report
on page 129 and copies are available for inspection at
the Company’s registered office during normal business
hours.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
119
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Section 4 – Annual report on remuneration
This part of the report has been prepared in accordance
with Part 3 of the Large and Medium-sized Companies
and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment)
Regulations 2013. The information on pages 120-122 has
been audited where required under the Regulations. The
elements of the Directors’ Annual Remuneration Report
subject to audit are the:
(a) single total figure for remuneration and the
accompanying notes;
(b) details of the performance against metrics for variable
awards included in the single total figure table;
(c) details of the ESIP award made in 2025;
(d) section on outstanding share awards;
(e) payments to past Directors; and
(f) payment for loss of office.
During the year under review, the members of the
Committee were Karen Geary, Michelle Healy, Sylvia
Metayer, Ben Stevens, Babak Fouladi and Paul Harrison.
Director No. of meetings attended
3
Karen Geary 6 out of 6
Michelle Healy 6 out of 6
Sylvia Metayer
1
2 out of 3
Ben Stevens
3
5 out of 6
Babak Fouladi
3
5 out of 6
Paul Harrison
2
3 out of 3
1. Sylvia stepped down from the Board at the 2025 AGM on
3 June 2025.
2. Paul was appointed as a Director on 1 July 2025.
3. On a small number of occasions specific Directors were unable to
attend a meeting due to pre-existing appointments. In each case they
provided comments on papers to the Committee Chair so their views
could be reflected as part of the Committee discussion.
Only members of the Committee are entitled to attend
meetings. Other individuals, such as the Chair of the
Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial
Officer, the Chief People Officer, the General Counsel &
Company Secretary and external advisers, may attend
meetings by invitation when appropriate.
No Director takes part in discussions relating to their
own remuneration. The Committee last conducted
a review of its Remuneration Advisers in 2018 and,
following a comprehensive tender process, appointed
PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) as the adviser to the
Committee. PwC is one of the founding members of the
Remuneration Consultants Group and as such adheres to
the code of conduct in relation to executive remuneration
consulting in the UK.
PwC’s appointment commenced in November 2018
and the Committee is satisfied the advice received is
objective and independent. The annual fees paid to PwC
totalled £85k plus VAT. PwC provided unrelated tax and
HR consultancy advice during the year through separate
teams. The Committee is satisfied that these activities
did not compromise the independence or objectivity of
the advice it received from PwC. PwC’s core services are
provided on a fixed fee arrangement, with additional items
provided on a time and materials basis.
During 2025, the Committee met six times and considered
the following topics:
February 2025
• Discuss formulaic outcomes for 2024 ESIP and
final determination of award levels
• Confirm strategic targets for 2025 ESIP
• Confirm vesting of previous share awards
• Conclude reward design for Executive Board for
2025 including target setting
March 2025
• Determine EPS targets for period January 2025-
December 2027
• Finalise remuneration disclosure within Annual
Report
• Review UK Gender pay disclosure
June 2025
• Executive Director benchmarking review
• UK market trends and governance developments
• Initial session on Policy review: discussion
of alternative variable reward models and
applicability to the business.
July 2025
Additional working session of Committee linked to
Policy Review:
• Refinement of alternative models and review
outcome scenarios given differing performance
levels
• Determine approach to shareholder consultation
October 2025
• Review forecast ESIP projections for 2025
• Finalise ongoing operational timetable for
operation of 2025 cycle and 2026 target setting
process
• Discuss feedback to date from shareholder
consultation
• Review draft of proposed changes to future
Remuneration Policy
December 2025
• Shareholder consultation process update
• Wider workforce update
• Reward design and implementation for 2026
• Determination of salary adjustments
• Committee Effectiveness review
120
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Committee Evaluation
An annual evaluation of Committee effectiveness was completed during 2025. This covered multiple aspects of the
operation of the Committee, including meeting effectiveness, quality of materials and insight to support discussion,
and opportunities for improvement.
Overall results were positive with the Committee judged to be performing well. Particular comments highlighted the
Policy review process, and the greater visibility and transparency by the Committee to wider workforce remuneration
across the business.
Salary
£’000
Benefits
£’000
Pensions
£’000
Subtotal
for Fixed
Pay
£’000
ESIP -
Cash
£’000
ESIP -
Deferred
Shares
£'000
Subtotal
for
variable
pay
£’000
Total
£’000
Note 1 Note 2 Note 3 Note 4 Note 4
Nicholas Kirk
2025 609 44 43 696 334 501 835 1,531
2024 600 25 42 667 401 601 1,002 1,669
Kelvin Stagg
2025 420 25 29 475 230 344 574 1,049
2024 414 25 29 468 277 415 692 1,160
Notes:
1. Salary and fees represent the salary and fees paid in cash in respect of the financial year.
2. Benefits represent the taxable value of the benefits provided in the year and comprise a Company car or cash equivalent; fuel; permanent health
insurance; medical insurance; and life insurance. The 2025 value for the CEO includes a payment of £10k (net) in recognition of his 30 years of
service with the business, consistent with the wider company approach.
3. Pension includes the cash value of Company contributions to defined contribution pension plans and cash payments in lieu of pension contributions.
In line with our Remuneration Policy, contributions for both Kelvin Stagg and Nick Kirk align to the rates for the UK wider workforce.
4. The ESIP payment is determined using a balanced scorecard of short-term and long-term performance measures. Under the Policy, 40% of the
award is expected to be delivered in cash and is shown in the “ESIP – Cash” column. The remaining 60% of the ESIP is delivered in deferred shares
which vest in future tranches, as shown in the “ESIP – Deferred Shares” column.
Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration as a single figure
The table below provides the single figure for total remuneration for each Non-Executive Director for the years ended
31 December 2025 and 31 December 2024.
Year Fees £’000s
Michelle Healy
2025 61
2024 60
Sylvia Metayer
1
2025 26
2024 60
Karen Geary
2025 75
2024 74
Angela Seymour-Jackson
2025 236
2024 232
Ben Stevens
2025 85
2024 84
Babak Fouladi
2025 61
2024 60
Paul Harrison
2
2025 30
2024 n/a
1. Sylvia Metayer stepped down from the Board and Remuneration Committee on 3 June 2025.
2. Paul Harrison joined the business on 1 July 2025.
There were no payments to past Directors or any payments for loss of office during 2025.
Directors’ remuneration as a single figure (audited)
The table below shows the single figure values for total remuneration for each Executive Director for the years ended
31 December 2025 and 31 December 2024.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
121
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Linkage of Company performance into ESIP
outcomes
PBT: The Group’s PBT for 2025 in constant currencies
was £17m. This was within the performance range set
by the Committee and equated to an award of 62.5% of
maximum. The final PBT outcome included the impact of
robust actions taken to simplify the management structure
and improve the efficiency of business support operations,
resulting in a one-off cost in 2025 of c. £15m.
Strategic Performance: Strong progress was made
against the quantitative strategic targets set for the
year, ensuring the business is well placed to respond to
future upturns in economic conditions. Full details of the
strategic objectives set for each Executive Director and
the associated performance against them is shown on
page 122.
EPS: The EPS growth range set at the start of 2023 for
the period 2023 to 2025 required 3% annualised growth
at threshold through to 12% at stretch, calculated on a
point to-point basis, measured in constant currency. The
final EPS for 2025 of 2.9p is below the threshold level of
growth required from the 2022 outcome, resulting in a nil
award under this metric.
Relative Gross Profit: The Committee determined
awards under this metric using all publicly available
data as at 6 February 2026 (the date of the respective
Remuneration Committee meeting). The peer group
contains organisations with different year ends and with
different timings of scheduled public announcements.
This was the approach adopted by the Committee when
the ESIP structure (and use of this metric) was decided
in 2017, and has been applied consistently since the
ESIP has been in operation. This meant that full data was
publicly available for all of the peer group other than two
companies (where data through to Q3 2025 was used).
PageGroup delivered relative gross profit performance
below median against the peer group, resulting in a nil
award under this metric.
Formulaic breakdown of 2025 ESIP (audited)
Performance Metrics Weighting Target and Outcome Achievement (% of max)
CEO CFO
Annual Performance Metrics – 2025
Profit Before Tax 35% Threshold (25% award) = £7m
Stretch (100% award) = £27m or above
Actual PBT in constant currency was £17m
Award Level = 62.5%
Strategic Goals
(including ESG)
15% See breakdown in table 98% 97%
3-year Performance Metrics (Jan 2023 to Dec 2025)
Cumulative EPS 20% Annual Growth in EPS over a 3-year period in
constant currency, measured on a point-to-point
basis
Threshold = 3% growth (25% vesting)
Stretch = 12% growth (100% vesting)
Actual EPS for 2025 was 2.9p which is a reduction
in the EPS from the base year
Award Level = 0%
Relative Gross Profit
Growth
30% Based on average growth over the 3-year period
compared to peer group.
Median = 25% vesting through to Upper quartile
= Full vesting
PageGroup Actual = (8.9)% growth. Median was
(8.3)%, Upper Quartile (6.5)%
Award Level = 0%
Overall Formulaic Outcome (% maximum) 36.6% 36.4%
Discretion applied by Committee
The Committee did not exercise any discretion to the formulaic outcomes calculated under the ESIP and were satisfied
that the formulaic outcomes were a fair reflection of overall performance over the assessment period.
Additionally, the business has extensive provisions linked to malus and clawback in place, which were not utilised during
the implementation of the agreed Remuneration Policy in 2025.
122
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Final award calculation and delivery (audited)
Calculation CEO (Nick Kirk) CFO (Kelvin Stagg)
Maximum Opportunity (% salary) 375% 375%
Final Award (% of maximum) 36.6% 36.4%
Final Award (% of salary) 137.2% 136.6%
Salary used for ESIP calculation £609,000 £420,200
Final Award Value £835,282 £573,967
Delivery CEO CFO
Cash Award (March 2026) (40% of the total award) £334,113 £229,587
Share Award in March 2026 of shares to value shown in table
(representing 60% of the award).
Vesting to occur in March 2028 and March 2029 and subject to a further
two-year holding period in event shareholding guidelines are not met at
point of vest
£501,169 £344,380
Strategic Goals (including ESG): targets and outcomes within 2025 ESIP (audited)
CEO – Nicholas Kirk / CFO – Kelvin Stagg
Theme Weighting Objective Measure Key Achievements
Achievement
(% of max)
Total
CEO = 98%
CFO = 97%
Positively
Changing
lives
5% Achieving 1 million
lives changed by
2030.
Enable us to share
our skills back
with society in a
meaningful way.
• Target of 135,000 lives
changed in 2025 with
a 5%+ improvement
(Vs 2024) in the
number of people
accessing social
impact programmes.
• Cumulative lives changed to end
2025 of 793k and on track to
achieve 1 million target ahead of
2030.
• Lives changed in 2025 ahead
of target (147.5k vs 135k) – an
8% increase achieved with a 8%
reduction in headcount.
• Internal “Have Your Say” score of
91 for social impact – increase of
3 points over 2024 and ahead of
industry benchmark of 78.
100%/100%
Talent
development,
Succession
and Diversity
1
5% Gender diversity to
50/50 by 2030.
Build strong pipeline
of talent across
all key functions
with clear focus on
diversity of all kinds.
• Female representation
at AD level and above
to 47%, and at EB-1
level to 36% by end of
2025.
• Female representation at AD level
was 45% at year end, and at EB-1
was 37%.
• On track to achieve gender targets
by 2030.
• Continued active mentor programme
including high potential females.
• Survey score for inclusive behaviour
amongst leadership team is currently
16 points above market benchmark.
• Multiple external recruits of senior
female leaders from competitors
during 2025.
95%/90%
Executing
our strategic
plans –
building
out the new
pillars of
growth
5% Utilising our four
pillars to create a
path to superior
Operating Profit
delivery.
Creating traction
and accelerated
performance in our
key growth areas.
On track to achieve
NPS score of at
least 60 by 2030.
• Company
engagement scores
including believing in
the new strategy.
• Combined GP growth
across Technology,
Page Executive and
Page Outsourcing to
materially outperform
the Core.
• NPS Scores
• Internal alignment and belief in
strategy at all levels of the business.
“Have Your Say” survey showed
material improvements with the
majority of outcomes well above
industry benchmarks and belief in
strategy showing a 10 point increase
over 2024.
• Realised performance across
strategic growth pillars around twice
as strong as core.
• NPS score well ahead of long-term
target: increase in score from 61 in
2024 to 66 in 2025.
100%/100%
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
123
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Change in Salary/Fees Change in Benefits
3
Change in Annual Cash Incentive
2025
vs
2024
2024
vs
2023
2023
vs
2022
2022
vs
2021
2
2021
vs
2020
2020
vs
2019
2025
vs
2024
2024
vs
2023
2023
vs
2022
2022
vs
2021
2021
vs
2020
2020
vs
2019
2025
vs
2024
2024
vs
2023
2023
vs
2022
2022
vs
2021
2021
vs
2020
2020
vs
2019
Nicholas
Kirk
1
1.5% 0% n/a n/a n/a n/a 77%
4
0% n/a n/a n/a n/a (17%) (44%) n/a n/a n/a n/a
Kelvin
Stagg
1.5% 0% 8% 3% 6% (5%) 1.2% 0% 0% 4% 0% 0% (17%) (43%) 65% (17%)
Not
calculable
(100%)
Michelle
Healy
1.7% 0% 3% 3% 7% (5%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Sylvia
Metayer
11
(56.7)% 0% 3% 3% 7% (5%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Angela
Seymour-
Jackson
7
1.7% 0% 33% 148% 7% (5%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Ben
Stevens
6
6.3% 5% 11% 18% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Babak
Fouladi
9
1.7% 0% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Karen
Geary
8
1.4% 0% 40% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Paul
Harrison
10
n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Wider
PageGroup
Employees
5
1% 1% 5% 3% 6% (5%) 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Not
calculable
12
(100%)
Change in board’s remuneration compared to other employees
The following table shows the percentage change in the annual remuneration of Directors from 2019 onwards as well as
a comparator number showing the average percentage change for employees (excluding Directors) of the listed parent
company on a full-time equivalent basis.
1. Nick Kirk joined the Board as CEO on 1 January 2023.
2. Wider PageGroup employees represents average UK increase. The increases for the Executive Directors between 2020 and 2021 reflect the voluntary
waiver of 20% of salary during Q2 2020. The increase in contractual salary levels from 2020 to 2021 was 1.5% for each Executive.
3. Excludes pensions. As outlined in previous remuneration disclosures, the value of pension contributions payable to each Executive was set at a fixed
level (based on that received in 2019) before moving to a level equivalent to the wider workforce from the end of 2022.
4. The change in CEO benefits between 2024 and 2025 includes a payment of £10k (net) in recognition of his 30 years of service with the business.
5. This shows the contrast of changes of reward elements between 2019 and 2025. The wider PageGroup employees reflects all employees of Michael
Page International Recruitment Limited as at 31 December 2025. Calculations have been derived on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis to enable effective
comparison.
6. The changes in fee for Ben Stevens reflect the fact that he was Chair of the Audit Committee for all of 2022 and only part of 2021. The fee change from
2022 to 2023 reflects his appointment as Senior Independent Director effective 1 June 2023.
7. The “2021 vs 2022” and “2022 vs 2023” changes for Angela Seymour-Jackson r
eflect her appointment as Chair effective 1 May 2022.
8. Karen Geary joined the Board on 1 April 2022.
9. Babak Fouladi joined the Board on 10 April 2023.
10. Paul Harrison joined the Board on 1 July 2025
11. Sylvia Metayer stepped down from the Board at the 2025 AGM meeting on 3 June 2025
12. It is not possible to calculate the percentage change for 2021 following nil bonus awards in 2020.
124
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Policy implementation for 2026
Executive Directors
Policy Area 2026 Implementation
Base Salaries
Key Features:
Attract, retain and reward high
calibre Executive Directors
The Base salaries of the CEO and CFO will be increased in line with the wider core
increase for the UK population effective 1 January 2026 (1.5%). The revised CEO
salary will be £618,100 and the CFO Salary £426,500.
Benefits
Key Features:
Competitive benefits including
car allowance, private medical
insurance for the individual
and family, permanent health
insurance and life assurance
No changes to benefits provided compared to 2025.
Pensions
Key Features:
Executive Directors may receive
a defined contribution pension
benefit or cash supplement
Allowances for each executive will be in the form of a cash supplement, based on
the levels equivalent to the wider UK workforce of the company (currently 7%).
Incentives
Key Features:
Rewards both short- and
long-term performance. Aligns
interests of Executive Directors
with Shareholders
Overall opportunity for both Executive Directors will be 375% of salary. Awards will
be determined following year end with 40% of the award delivered in cash and the
remainder in deferred shares which vest equally on the second and third anniversary
of award, subject to continued employment. These are then subject to a further
holding period depending on the overall shareholding level at the point of release.
The weightings between performance metrics are unchanged from those used in
2025.
Time frame Detail
PBT
(35%)
Annual -
2026
Targets for the year will be disclosed on a retrospective
basis. Targets are determined considering budgets, analyst
expectations and market conditions.
Strategic
(including
ESG)
(15%)
Strategic metrics have been set for each Executive Director
for the year ahead and will be disclosed retrospectively. They
represent key activities or goals consistent with our refreshed
Strategy announced during 2023.
EPS
(20%)
3-year
2024-2026
Measured on a point-to point basis over the three-year period
from the 2023 baseline. Threshold annual growth of 5% (25%
award) through to maximum awards for annual growth of
15% or above.
Measurement in constant currency.
Relative
Gross
Profit
Growth
(30%)
Assessed against comparator group: Current list of
companies: SThree, Robert Half, Randstad, Robert Walters,
Adecco, Hays, Manpower.
Performance range: Below median = no award. Median =
25% of award through to 100% of award for upper quartile
performance.
In the event of material change of one of the companies
within the comparator group (e.g. due to M&A activity) the
Committee retains flexibility to adjust the peer group with a
stated desire to capture organic growth only.
Measurement in constant currency.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
125
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031
Measures, Weightings
and Time Period
PBT
(35%)
Strategic &
ESG (15%)
40% of
award
in cash
60% of
award
in deferred
shares
Cash
paid
Dividends
Under the single plan, dividend equivalents will
accrue in respect of any shares deferred but not
yet released. Dividend equivalents are paid, in
accordance with the rules, at the time of vesting.
Half of
shares vest
Half of
shares vest
* Holding Period
Vested shares have to be held for a further two years if
the shareholding guidelines have not been met at point of
release (except for sales to meet a resulting tax liability).
deferred
deferred
holding period*
holding period*
2024
Assessment
Delivery
ESIP operation for 2026
ESIP 2026 – Operation
EPS Growth (2024 to 2026)
(20%)
Relative Gross Profit Growth
(2024 to 2026) (30%)
Non Executive Directors
Policy Area 2025 Implementation
Fees
Key features
• Attract, retain and
fairly reward high
calibre individuals.
Year ending
31 December 2025
Effective from
1 January 2026
Chair £236,000 £239,500
Non-Executive basic fee £61,000 £62,000
Additional fees payable
Senior Independent Director £10,000 £10,000
Chair of the Audit Committee £14,000 £14,000
Chair of the Remuneration Committee £14,000 £14,000
Fees for Non-Executive Directors will be increased by 1.5% effective 1 January 2026. The Non-Executive core fee will
increase to £62,000. The Chair fee will also increase by a similar level to £239,500.
History of EPS targets: approach and application
We look to set EPS targets at the start of the respective three-year performance period. Outlined below are the EPS targets
that have been set by the Committee for the ongoing operation of the ESIP.
ESIP Scheme EPS Period
Agreed Cumulative EPS Range / Annual Growth
(constant currency)
ESIP 2026 January 2024 - December 2026 5% - 15%
ESIP 2027 January 2025 - December 2027 5% - 15%
ESIP 2028 January 2026 - December 2028 5% - 15%
126
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
EPS performance range for Jan 2026 – December 2028
Consistent with the recent operation of the ESIP, we will measure EPS over the forthcoming three-year period (2026-
2028) on a “point-to-point” basis. We will compare the EPS achieved in 2028 against that delivered in 2025 to derive the
equivalent annual growth achieved over the three-year period, which we continue to assess in constant currency.
We have set an EPS growth range for the period 2026 to 2028 of 5% per annum growth (with 25% award for threshold
performance) through to maximum awards at 15% per annum growth or above, consistent with the growth range set
last year.
Conditional awards of deferred shares were made on 13th March 2025 in respect of the operation of the 2024 ESIP.
Number of shares awarded Face value at date of award Vesting
Nicholas Kirk 185,567 £601.4k
Shares vest in two tranches
equally on the second and third
anniversary of award, subject to
continued employment.
Kelvin Stagg 128,041 £415k
Shares awarded in 2025 (audited)
Awards were made on 13 March 2025. The share price used to make awards was 324.1p, being the middle market
quotation price on 12 March 2025. The Committee was comfortable that the price used to make awards was appropriate,
calculated in line with the ESIP structure and Plan rules, and represents awards against delivery of performance already
achieved by the Executives.
The share price at the start of the year was 343p and was 235p on 31 December 2025. The low and high share prices
during the year were 343p and 219p respectively.
Details of all outstanding share awards are provided later in the report. We have shown all ordinary shares held by each
Executive. Additionally, and consistent with our approach in previous years, we have included any shares awarded under
the ESIP that have not yet vested (which are not subject to any further Company performance conditions). It is forecast
that Nick Kirk will achieve the required shareholding requirement in advance of the five years from appointment, as
required under our Policy.
Executive shareholding and alignment to the organisation
Ordinary shares
ESIP shares (net)
0
100% 300%
Nicholas Kirk
(CEO) – 2025
45%
132%
Shareholding Requirement
= 200% of salary
400%
309% 101% 411%
Kelvin Stagg
(CFO) – 2025
500%
Shareholding as percentage of salary
Executive Directors – as at 31 December 2025
86%
200%
Based on PageGroup average share price over the last quarter of 2025 which was 235p
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
127
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For illustration, we have shown below the impact that changes to the share price would have on overall shareholding levels
for each Executive.
Calculated shareholding
level (as % of salary)
if share price were to
decrease by 10%
Shareholding as a
percentage of salary as at
31 December 2025 (based on
average share price over last
quarter of 2025 of 235p)
Calculated Shareholding
level (as % of salary)
if share price were to
increase by 10%
Nicholas
Kirk
Shareholding
(As % of salary)
119% 132% (£0.8m) 145%
Change in
indicative value
Decrease of £80k Increase of £80k
Kelvin
Stagg
Shareholding
(As % of salary)
370% 411% (£1.7m) 452%
Change in
indicative value
Decrease of £172k Increase of £172k
Nicholas Kirk
Executive Single Incentive Plan (ESIP)
Grant Date
Number of
shares at
1 January 2025
Granted
during
the year
Vested
during
the year
Lapsed
during
the year
Number of
shares at
31 December 2025 Vesting
12 March 2024 118,244 - - - 118,244 12 March 2026
12 March 2024 118,245 - - - 118,245 12 March 2027
13 March 2025 - 92,783 - - 92,783 13 March 2027
13 March 2025 - 92,784 - - 92,784 13 March 2028
Total 236,489 185,567 Nil Nil 422,056
Management Incentive Plan (MIP)
Nick held shares awarded under the Management Incentive Plan (MIP) which were awards made under senior leadership
incentive plans prior to his appointment as CEO and which vested in full in 2025 as shown below.
Grant Date
Shares with future
vesting subject to
Company performance
conditions as at 31
December 2024
Shares with
vesting subject
to continued
employment as at
31 December 2024
1
Vesting
in year
Lapsed
in year
Outstanding
number of
shares at 31
December 2025
Scheduled
Vesting Date
15 March 2022 - 63,295 (63,295) - - 15 March 2025
Total - 63,295 (63,295) - -
1. Shows shares that vested subject to continued employment with no further Company performance conditions.
Outstanding share awards
This section sets out the share interests of the incumbent Executive Directors as at 31 December 2025 under the
PageGroup Incentive Plans.
128
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Kelvin Stagg – ESIP
Executive Single Incentive Plan (ESIP)
Grant Date
Number of
shares at
1 January 2025
Granted
during
the year
Vested
during
the year
Lapsed
during
the year
Number of
shares at
31 December 2025 Vesting
15 March 2022 54,552 - (54,552)
1
- - 15 March 2025
16 March 2023 50,591 - (50,591)
2
- - 16 March 2025
16 March 2023 50,591 - - - 50,591 16 March 2026
12 March 2024 81,330 - - - 81,330 12 March 2026
12 March 2024 81,330 - - - 81,330 12 March 2027
13 March 2025 - 64,020 - - 64,020 13 March 2027
13 March 2025 - 64,021 - - 64,021 13 March 2028
Total 318,394 128,041 (105,143) - 341,292
1. A sufficient number of shares were sold to cover applicable taxes with the balance of 28,912 shares held as ordinary shares.
2. A sufficient number of shares were sold to cover applicable taxes with the balance of 26,813 shares held as ordinary shares.
Statement of Directors’ shareholdings (audited)
It is the Company’s policy that Executive Directors are required to build and hold a direct beneficial holding in the
Company’s ordinary shares of an amount equal to two times their base salary. The beneficial interests of the Directors who
served during 2025, and their connected persons, in the ordinary shares of the Company are shown in the table below.
The table does not include interests in shares which are subject to ongoing company performance conditions but does
include shares awarded but not yet vested under the ESIP (on a net of tax basis).
Ordinary
shares held
as at 31 Dec
2025
Unvested Share
Award (ESIP) as
at 31 Dec 2025
% of salary
held
1
Shareholding
guideline
Ordinary shares held
as at 31 Dec 2024
Executive Directors
2
Nicholas Kirk 117,595 422,056 132% 200% 84,049
Kelvin Stagg 552,672 341,292 411% 200% 496,947
Non-Executive Directors
Michelle Healy - n/a n/a n/a -
Angela Seymour-Jackson 3,733 n/a n/a n/a 3,150
3
Ben Stevens 5,748 n/a n/a n/a 5,748
Karen Geary 3,250 n/a n/a n/a 3,250
Babak Fouladi - n/a n/a n/a -
Paul Harrison - n/a
1. This uses the average share price for the last quarter of the year ending on 31 December 2025 which was 235p per share and includes unvested
shares awarded under the ESIP calculated on a post-tax basis. The highest and lowest share prices during the year were 343p and 219p respectively.
2. The shareholding for Nick is growing but currently below the guideline set by the Committee which expects this to be met within five years from
appointment. Kelvin meets the shareholding guideline with a holding well in excess of the 200% of base salary level. Further commentary on this is
provided on page 114.
3. This value relating to Angela Seymour-Jackson’s shareholding now includes dividend reinvested shares that were omitted from the previous year
disclosure. No other Non-Executive’s shareholding figure is required to be updated.
There were no changes in the Directors’ interests between 31 December 2025 and the date of this report.
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
129
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Relative importance of spend on pay
The graph below shows details of the Company’s retained profit after tax, distributions by way of dividend, shares
purchased by the Michael Page Employee Benefit Trust, overall spend on pay to all employees (see Note 4) in the financial
statements on page 162, overall spend on Directors’ pay as included in the single figure table on page 112 and the tax
paid in the financial year. The percentage change to the prior year is also shown.
Profit after
tax (£m)
Dividends
paid (£m)
Shares
purchased by
the EBT (£m)
Tax paid
(£m)
Overall spend
on pay (£m)
Overall spend
on Directors’
pay (£m)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2025
2024
13.2
£m
9.0
53.6
8.3
3.2
24.2
19.3
28.4
52.0
3.4
-68%
+3%
-6%
-37%
-7%
+25%
613.2
574.3
Executive Director Service Contract Date Unexpired Term Notice Period
Nicholas Kirk 18 October 2022 No specific term 12 months
Kelvin Stagg 27 July 2014 No specific term 12 months
Non-Executive Directors’ letters of appointment
None of the Non-Executive Directors has a service contract with the Group. They do have letters of appointment, and will
be submitted for election or re-election annually. Copies of letters of appointment are available to view at the Company’s
registered office. The dates relating to the appointments of the Chair and Non-Executive Directors are as follows:
Director Role
Date of
appointment
Date of
appointment
letter
Date of election/
re-election
Angela Seymour-
Jackson
Independent Non-Executive Chair 1 October 2017 22 August 2017 3 June 2025
Michelle Healy Independent Non-Executive Director 10 October 2016 2 September 2016 Not seeking re-election
Ben Stevens Independent Non-Executive Director 1 January 2021 23 December 2020 3 June 2025
Babak Fouladi Independent Non-Executive Director 10 April 2023 22 December 2022 3 June 2025
Karen Geary Independent Non-Executive Director 1 April 2022 10 March 2022 3 June 2025
Paul Harrison Independent Non-Executive Director 1 July 2025 10 June 2025 Not applicable
1
Service contracts and letters of appointment
All Executive Directors’ service contracts contain a
twelve month notice period. The service contracts also
contain restrictive covenants preventing the Executive
Directors from competing with the Group for at least six
months following the termination of their employment
and preventing the Executive Directors from soliciting
key employees, clients and candidates of the employing
Company and Group companies for twelve months
following termination of employment. The Remuneration
Committee has the right to exercise mitigation in the event
of termination.
Non-Executive Directors, including the Chair of the Board,
are engaged under letters of appointment and do not have
service contracts with the Company. They are appointed
for a fixed term of three years, during which period the
appointment may be terminated by either party upon
giving one month’s written notice or in accordance with the
provisions of the Articles of Association of the Company.
There are no provisions on payment for early termination in
the letters of appointment. After the initial three-year term,
Directors may be reappointed for a further term of three
years, subject to annual re-election at each year’s Annual
General Meeting.
Where any Director’s letter of appointment was renewed
during the year, they were not entitled to vote on their own
appointment. Copies of the service contracts and letters
of appointment are available for inspection during normal
business hours at the Company’s registered office.
Statement of voting at the Annual General Meeting
At the Company’s Annual General Meeting held on 1 June 2023, Shareholders approved the existing Remuneration Policy.
The table below shows the results of the binding voting on the Remuneration Policy and the most recent advisory vote
1. Paul Harrison will stand for election at the 2026 AGM.
130
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Total Shareholder Return
The performance graph below shows the movement in the value of £100 invested in the shares of the Company compared
to an investment in the FTSE 250 index and the FTSE Support Services index over the period 31 December 2015 to 31
December 2025. The graph shows the Total Shareholder Return generated by the movement in the share price and the
reinvestment of dividends.
The FTSE 250 index and the FTSE Support Services index have been selected as the Company was a member of each
index throughout the period. The table below shows the total remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer over the same
ten-year period.
CEO 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Incumbent Steve Ingham Nicholas Kirk
Single
remuneration total
£2,089k £3,660k £4,340k £3,769k £1,171k £2,606 £2,323 £2,442 £1,669 £1,531
Short-term
incentives (% of
maximum)
60% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Long-term
incentives (% of
maximum)
60% 55.35% 96.1% 96% n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Executive Single
Incentive Plan
(% of maximum)
n/a 91% 87.7% 75.4% 16.5% 74.4% 60.1% 78.9% 44.6% 36.6%
0
50
100
150
200
250
31 Dec 2015
31 Dec 2016
31 Dec 2017
31 Dec 2018 31 Dec 2019 31 Dec 2020
PageGroup FTSE 250 FTSE SS
100.0
106.67
106.66
84.60
123.65
125.62
132.04
108.98
113.87
106.52
156.71
157.35
112.95
134.06
210.05
167.98
183.06
31 Dec 2021
140.45
149.65
107.36
31 Dec 2022
135.01
129.45
31 Dec 2023
179.53
153.37
139.85
31 Dec 2024
151.24
112.29
31 Dec 2025
170.86
82.04
192.94
164.54
External Directorships
No Executive Directors earned any fees from external directorships during the year ending 31 December 2025.
on the Directors’ Remuneration Report put to Shareholders at the AGM in June 2025. Each resolution required a simple
majority of the votes cast to be in favour in order for each of the resolutions to be passed.
Resolutions AGM Date Votes For % Votes Against % Votes Withheld
Remuneration Policy 1 June 2023 251,088,739 88.72 31,916,890 11.28 1,687
Directors’ Remuneration Report 3 June 2025 272,269,832 92.65 21,587,253 7.35% 1,523,141
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
131
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Section 5 – Remuneration for Employees
Our remuneration philosophy is cascaded through the
organisation and is orientated around rewarding collective
achievement and recognising team-based success.
At more senior levels, we use a mix of share awards
and cash to achieve this and drive alignment with the
business. At more junior levels, variable reward is delivered
through cash bonuses only.
Overall reward is benchmarked on a regular basis to
the respective local market and is linked to skill and
experience in role. We offer a wider range of benefits
that evolves over time. This includes Company-provided
benefits, but also extends to a range of policies to support
work-life balance and wellbeing.
The Company does not consult formally with employees
on remuneration matters in relation to executive pay
or Remuneration Policy design. Regular all-employee
surveys (such as “Have your say”) and pulse surveys from
joiners and exit surveys ask questions on reward, and
quantitative results are considered (including outcomes
against established benchmarks) alongside verbatim
anonymised comments from employees. A summary
of survey findings are shared and discussed with the
Remuneration Committee annually, along with actions or
changes we may plan as a result of employee feedback.
Reward across the PageGroup business
We operate within a broad reward framework across
the organisation, designed to support effective internal
progression of talent and visibility of potential career paths.
We focus on how we drive team-based behaviours to
create better Customer relationships to support our
strategy of organic growth. Employees typically receive
salary alongside a range of benefits which are typically
informed by local market norms and practice. Most of
our employees also have access to variable pay schemes
aligning them to the success they help create.
Base Salary Benefits Variable Pay
Salaries are set with reference to the
skills and experience of the individual
and reflect the local market ranges.
The career journey of the fee-
earning population enables regular
pay reviews on achievement of
performance-based targets which
will contribute to the success of the
team.
For others, salaries are usually
reviewed annually and adjusted
in consideration of business
affordability, individual performance
and market benchmarking insight.
We operate across a range of
countries where we see very
different practices in terms of benefit
provision.
Our benefits typically include items
such as pension provision, life
insurance and medical cover.
The levels of contribution or
investment in benefits will be driven
by local market factors rather than a
single global approach.
The variable pay of the consultant
population is primarily driven by
team-based incentives, designed to
drive people to work collectively.
These deliver cash awards, which
reflect both the performance of the
team and the respective performance
of the individual consultant. A small
number of consultants work on an
individual commission basis linked
to the specific nature of the role they
perform.
Across leadership level roles we also
offer deferred cash incentives to drive
retention of talent, in addition to the
bonus structures available.
At more senior leadership levels
we provide access to share-based
incentives, designed to enable
individuals to build up a holding in
Company shares and fully align them
to the Shareholder experience.
132
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Committee insight and focus
The Committee receives an annual overview of the reward structure in place across the organisation including any
changes that have taken place. Subsequent discussion included the following themes and responses:
Theme Findings
Linkage of reward with
performance assessment
• All colleagues participate in performance management processes which give
clarity over both what someone is expected to accomplish and how this should
be achieved
• It is achieved through the combination of:
Goals: expected outputs over the review period
KPIs: actions and metrics expected in pursuit of the goals
Behaviours: that should be demonstrated in pursuit of the above
• Specific behaviours are based around defined criteria linked to seniority of role
• Overall attainment is directly linked to awards under variable plans and any future
salary adjustments
Provision of benefits across a
global organisation
• Regular assessments are made regarding the market competitiveness of
benefits within our key markets, using external benchmark data
• Benefits do vary between countries, reflecting different market norms
• Activities to understand benefit provision globally highlight opportunities to drive
standardisation or enable more cost-effective benefit provision, or routes to
enhance the benefits offer in an affordable way
• Proposed changes to benefits are done through engagement with the regional
HR and finance leaders, with proposals reviewed centrally depending on the
level of cost investment
How awards under variable pay
plans are governed through the
business
• Funding of bonus pools is managed by finance teams with central oversight
• Country leaders make proposals on allocation of bonuses which are reviewed by
their respective managers
• All proposals are collated centrally to review levels of spend and affordability
• Centrally-led processes to understand local variation in bonus design and drive
future standardisation of design have taken place during 2024
Alignment to culture and
linkage to diversity and
inclusion
• There is a demonstrable cascade of key objectives through the organisation. As
an example, Managing Directors have designated diversity and inclusion targets
where appropriate
Ways that the organisation
gains insight into employee
satisfaction with reward
• Questions are included within the “Have Your Say” engagement survey linked to
benefits and trends tracked over time
• Pulse surveys and use of internal technology (e.g. Viva Engage) monitors
responses to key questions and tracks changes
• Engagement sessions with staff members, including those attended by Non-
Executive Directors
• Feedback from employees who choose to leave us (gained through exit surveys)
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
133
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
CEO Pay Ratio
This is the seventh year that we have disclosed the ratio of CEO remuneration to that of our employees in the UK.
CEO Pay Ratio
Incumbent Calculation Method 25th Percentile Median 75th Percentile
2025
Nicholas Kirk
Option A 40:1 27:1 18:1
2024 Option A 49:1 32:1 21:1
2023 Option A 75:1 50:1 32:1
2022
Steve Ingham
Option A 75:1 49:1 31:1
2021 Option A 88:1 57:1 37:1
2020 Option A 43:1 27:1 17:1
2019 Option A 160:1 105:1 64:1
We believe that the median ratio is consistent with the Company’s wider policies on employee reward, pay and
progression.
Commentary on the ratio
The volatility in the CEO pay ratio since 2019 reflects the changeable market conditions and derived business
performance, and the greater leverage of reward towards variable pay for more senior people within the organisation,
including Executive Directors.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
143
144
2018
15
168
194
117
49
17
95:1
105:1
27:1
57:1
49:1
50:1
32:1
27:1
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023 2024 2025
Group PBT (£m)
Group PBT £m
CEO pay ratio
The single figure for the CEO has decreased by 37% since 2023. This is the impact of the change in award level under the
ESIP of 36.6% of maximum in 2025 from 78.9% of maximum in 2023.
134
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Approach and calculation
We have elected to use Option A to calculate the ratio as we believe this gives the most accurate insight into employee pay and
benefits, and the closest comparison to the CEO single figure value. The reward structure for our CEO is weighted far more towards
variable reward than that of most of our employees within the UK.
We also recognise that the earnings profile across our UK employees means that both the mean and median can be useful measures.
We have provided two supplementary ratios for illustration as follows:
Scenario
Resulting CEO Single
Figure
Resulting CEO Pay
to Median Ratio
CEO “On-Target” Remuneration compared to 2025 UK Median £1,818k 32:1
CEO single figure compared to UK mean FTE earnings £1,531k (as disclosed) 22:1
The employee figures
1
for our UK workforce to calculate the ratios are as follows:
Scenario 25th Percentile Median 75th Percentile
Total pay and benefits – 2025 £37,970 £57,450 £83,230
Change on 2024 +11% +11% +6%
Total salary 2025 £33,400 £47,700 £68,100
Change on 2024 +11% +11% +7%
1. These values are calculated on a full-time equivalent basis as required under the regulations, based on our UK workforce as at 31 December 2025.
Summary
I look forward to continued discussions with Shareholders over the coming year and for your support for our Committee
activities at the AGM.
The Directors’ Remuneration Report has been approved and signed on behalf of the Board of Directors.
Karen Geary
Remuneration Committee Chair
4 March 2026
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
135
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Results and dividends
The results for the year are set out in the Consolidated
Income Statement on page 148.
An analysis of revenue, profit and net assets by region is
shown in note 2 on pages 159-161.
A final dividend for 2024 of 11.75p per ordinary share was
paid on 23 June 2025; an interim dividend for 2025 of
5.36p per ordinary share was paid on 10 October 2025.
The Directors recommend the payment of a final dividend
for the year ended 31 December 2025 of 3.21p per
ordinary share on 17 June 2026 to Shareholders on the
register of members on 15 May 2026.
If approved by Shareholders at the Annual General
Meeting, this will result in a total ordinary dividend for the
year of 8.57p per ordinary share (2024: 17.11p).
Share capital
As at 31 December 2025, the Company’s issued capital
comprised a single class of 328,618,774 ordinary shares
of 1p each, totalling £3,286,187.74. At the Annual
General Meeting held on 3 June 2025, the Shareholders
authorised the Company to purchase up to a maximum of
10% of the issued share capital in the market. No shares
were repurchased during the year. Shareholders also
authorised the Directors to allot shares up to an aggregate
nominal value of £1,095,395.91. Further resolutions in
respect of these matters will be put to Shareholders at the
forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The Directors are not
aware of any agreements between holders of securities
that are known to the Company and may result in
restrictions on the transfer of securities or on voting rights.
Stakeholders and employment policy and
employee involvement
Pages 45-50 of the Strategic Report and the pages to
which it refers comprise the Company’s section 172(1)
statement, together with the statements as to how the
Directors have engaged with employees and had regard
to their interests and how the Directors have had regard
to the Company’s business relationships with Customers,
suppliers and other external Stakeholders.
The Group is committed to creating a working environment
that is truly inclusive and promotes diversity, and seeks to
ensure that training, career development and promotion
is fair in all circumstances. Full, fair and transparent
consideration is given to applications for employment
made by those with disabilities, and the Group will ensure
continued employment of those who may become disabled
during their employment.
The Group is committed to employee involvement
throughout the business. Directors engage with employees
and take their considerations into account when making
decisions. Employees are kept well informed of the
Director’s Report
Kaye Maguire
General Counsel
& Company
Secretary
Likely future developments
7
Policy on disability
135
Employee engagement
and Stakeholder consideration
36-50
Greenhouse gas emissions and
energy consumption
56
Directors’ interests
126-130
Share capital and acquisition
of own shares
135
Directors’ disclosure of information
to the auditor in respect of the audit
138
Directors’ Responsibility Statement
138
Going concern
72
Viability Statement
73
Powers of Directors
137
Share capital and Shareholder
rights – Details of employee
share schemes
178-180
Subsidiary and associated
undertakings and branches
169-174
Our approach and structure
The composition of the Board at the date of this report can
be found on pages 79-83. The Directors who served during
the year were Angela Seymour-Jackson, Karen Geary,
Michelle Healy, Sylvia Metayer, Ben Stevens, Babak Fouladi,
Paul Harrison, Nicholas Kirk and Kelvin Stagg. Paul Harrison
joined the Board on 1 July 2025 and Sylvia Metayer retired
from the Board at the AGM held on 3 June 2025.
In accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association,
Directors are required to stand for election or re-election
at the Company’s 2026 Annual General Meeting to renew
their appointment.
136
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
performance and strategy of the Group through personal
video briefings, regular online interactive townhall
meetings, Viva Engage (the Group’s internal social
collaboration site), emails and other communications
from the Chief Executive Officer and members of the
Executive Board. Further details of employment policies
and employee involvement can be found in the Strategic
Report on pages 36-44.
Directors’ indemnities
The Company purchased and maintained Directors’ and
Officers’ Liability Insurance throughout the period under
review, which gives appropriate cover for legal actions
brought against the Directors. The Company granted
separate indemnities to Directors to cover liabilities arising
from third parties. The extent of the indemnities provided
is as permitted under law.
Financial instruments and financial
risk management
Details of the Group’s use of financial instruments,
including financial risk management objectives and
policies of the Group, and exposure of the Group to
certain financial risks, can be found in note 22 on
pages 181-184.
Significant agreements containing
change of control provisions
The Group has an invoice discounting facility that
terminates on a change of control, with prepaid amounts
being repayable. The Group also has available to it an
£80m revolving credit facility with HSBC and BBVA
which includes a provision entitling lenders to cancel the
facility in the event of a change of control such that loan
amounts would be repayable. This facility is nil drawn at the
balance sheet date. Directors’ and employees’ contracts
do not normally provide for payment for loss of office or
employment as a result of a change of control. However,
the Company operates several share and share option
schemes for the benefit of its Executive Directors and
employees, the rules of which contain provisions which
may cause options and share awards granted to vest on a
change of control.
Political contributions
No political donations, expenditure or contributions were
made during the year. The Company has a policy of not
making political donations to political organisations or
independent election candidates anywhere in the world as
defined by the Political Parties, Election and Referendums
Act 2000.
Post balance sheet events
There have been no significant post balance sheet events
since 31 December 2025.
Listing Rule UKLR 6.6.1
There is no information required to be disclosed under
Listing Rule UKLR 6.6.1.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held
on 28 May 2026. The notice of meeting will be made
available on the Company’s website www.page.com and
posted separately to Shareholders that have requested this.
Substantial Shareholders
At 31 December 2025, the Company had been notified, in accordance with the FCA Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules, of the undermentioned noted interests in its ordinary share capital. The percentage of voting rights
shown below are as at the date of notification.
Shareholder
No. of voting
rights
% of voting
rights
Apex Group Fiduciary Services Ltd as Trustee of the Michael Page Employees’ Benefit Trust 17,358,758 5.28%
Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. 16,839,420 5.12%
GLG Partners LP 16,548,226 5.03%
FIL Limited 16,522,814 5.03%
Liontrust Investment Partners LLP 16,412,741 4.99%
Heronbridge Investment Management LLP 16,303,888 4.96%
Franklin Templeton Institutional LLC 16,104,930 4.93%
Marathon Asset Management Limited 16,175,054 4.92%
The Capital Group Companies, Inc 14,647,804 4.46%
The following notifications were received during the period 1 January 2026 to 4 March 2026
Since the date of disclosure, the above shareholdings may have changed.
Shareholder
No. of voting
rights
% of voting
rights
FIL Limited 33,128,098 10.08%
Annual Report & Accounts 2025
137
STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The following summarises certain provisions of the
Company’s Articles of Association (as adopted on
3 June 2021) and applicable English Law (including the
Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”), as amended) as required
by applicable law and regulation.
Share capital and rights attaching to shares
The Company has one class of share in issue being
328,618,774 ordinary shares with a nominal value of one
pence each. No shares are held in treasury and there are
no persons holding shares that carry special rights with
regard to the control of the Company.
The Articles of Association provide that subject to any
rights or restrictions attached to any shares, on a show
of hands every member and every duly appointed
proxy present shall have one vote. Every corporate
representative present who has been duly authorised by a
corporation has the same voting rights as the corporation
would be entitled to. On a poll, every member present
in person or by a duly appointed proxy or corporate
representative shall have one vote for every share of
which they are a holder or in respect of which their proxy
or corporate representative has been made. No member
shall be entitled to vote in respect of any share held by
them if any call or other sum payable by them to the
Company remains unpaid.
Any form of proxy sent by the Shareholders to the
Company in relation to any general meeting must be
delivered to the Company (via its registrars), whether in
written or electronic form, not less than 48 hours before
the time appointed for holding the meeting or adjourned
meeting at which the person named in the appointment
proposes to vote.
Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares may by ordinary
resolution declare dividends, but no such dividend shall
exceed the amount recommended by the Directors. If, in
the opinion of the Directors, the profits of the Company
available for distribution justify such payments, the
Directors may, from time to time, pay interim dividends
on the shares of such amounts and on such dates and
in respect of such periods as they think fit. The profits of
the Company available for distribution and resolved to be
distributed shall be apportioned and paid proportionately
to the amounts paid up on the shares during any portion
of the period in respect of which the dividend is paid. The
Shareholders may, at a general meeting of the Company
declaring a dividend upon the recommendation of the
Directors, direct that it shall be satisfied wholly or partly by
the distribution of specific assets.
If the Company is wound up, the liquidator can, with
the sanction of a special resolution passed by the
Shareholders and any other sanction required by law,
divide among the Shareholders all or any part of the
assets of the Company and he/she can value assets
and determine how the division shall be carried out
as between the Shareholders or different classes of
Shareholders. The liquidator can also, with the same
sanction, transfer the whole or any part of the assets
to trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the
Shareholders. No Shareholder will be compelled to accept
assets which are subject to a liability.
Limitations on the transfer of shares
Any member may transfer all or any of his shares in
certificated form by instrument of transfer in the usual
common form or in any other form which the Directors
may approve.
Where any class of shares is for the time being a
participating security, title to shares of that class which
are recorded as being held in uncertificated form, may
be transferred (to not more than four transferees) by the
relevant system concerned.
The Directors may in their absolute discretion refuse to
register any transfer of shares (being shares which are not
fully paid or on which the Company has a lien), provided
that if the share is listed on the Official List of the Financial
Conduct Authority such refusal does not prevent dealings
in the shares from taking place on an open and proper
basis.
The Directors may also refuse to register a transfer of
shares (whether fully paid or not) unless the transfer
instrument:
(a) is lodged at the registered office, or such other place
as the Directors may appoint, accompanied by the
relevant share certificate(s);
(b) is in respect of only one class of share; and
(c) is in favour of not more than four transferees.
The Directors of the Company may refuse to register
the transfer of a share in uncertificated form to a person
who is to hold it thereafter in certificated form in any case
where the Company is entitled to refuse (or is excepted
from the requirements) under the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001 to register the transfer.
English law treats those persons who hold the shares and
are neither UK residents nor nationals in the same way as
UK residents or nationals. They are free to own, vote on
and transfer any shares they hold.
Powers of the Directors
Directors may exercise all the powers of the Company,
subject to the provisions of the Articles of Association,
statutory restrictions and any authorisation or directions
given by resolution, including powers relating to the issue
and/or buying back of shares by the Company.
Director’s appointment, retirement
and removal
Subject to the provisions of the Articles of Association,
a Director may be appointed by ordinary resolution.
In addition, the Directors may appoint a person who is
willing to act as a Director, and is permitted by law to
do so, to be a Director, either to fill a vacancy or as an
additional Director. A Director so appointed shall retire at
the next Annual General Meeting, notice of which is first
given after their appointment and shall then be eligible for
reappointment.
At each Annual General Meeting all Directors at the time
the notice of that Annual General Meeting is given shall
retire from office and be subject to re-election by the
Shareholders.
Articles of Association Summary
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual
Report and the Group financial statements in accordance
with applicable law and regulations. Detailed below
are statements made by the Directors in relation to
their responsibilities, disclosure of information to the
Company’s auditor and going concern.
1. Financial Statements and accounting records
Company law of England and Wales requires the Directors
to prepare financial statements for each financial year.
Under that law the Directors have elected to prepare
the Group and Parent Company financial statements in
accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards (“IFRS”). Under company law the Directors
must not approve the Group financial statements unless
they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the Group and the Company and of
the profit or loss of the Group and the Company for that
period.
In preparing these financial statements the Directors are
required to:
• select suitable accounting policies in accordance with
IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting
Estimates and Errors, and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are
reasonable and prudent;
• present information, including accounting policies, in a
manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and
understandable information;
• provide additional disclosures when compliance with
the specific requirements in IFRS is insufficient to
enable users to understand the impact of particular
transactions, other events and conditions on the
Group’s financial position and financial performance;
• in respect of the Group financial statements, state
whether UK-adopted international accounting standards
have been followed, subject to any material departures
disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
• in respect of the Parent Company financial statements,
state whether UK-adopted international accounting
standards have been followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in the financial
statements; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern
basis unless it is appropriate to presume that the
Company and/or the Group will not continue in
business.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the Company’s and Group’s transactions and disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial
position of the Company and the Group and enable them
to ensure that the Company and the Group financial
statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They
are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of
the Group and Parent Company and hence for taking
reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud
and other irregularities.
Under applicable law and regulations, the Directors
are also responsible for preparing a Strategic Report,
Directors’ Report, Directors’ Remuneration Report and
Corporate Governance Report that comply with that law
and those regulations.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and
integrity of the corporate and financial information included
on the Company’s website.
2. Directors’ Responsibility Statement
The Directors confirm, to the best of their knowledge:
• that the consolidated financial statements, prepared
in accordance with UK-adopted international
accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the
assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the
Parent Company and undertakings included in the
consolidation taken as a whole; and
• that the Annual Report, including the Strategic
Report, includes a fair review of the development
and performance of the business and the position
of the Company and undertakings included in the
consolidation taken as a whole, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that
they face.
3. Disclosure of information to the Auditor
Having made the requisite enquiries, so far as the
Directors are aware as at the date of this Statement,
there is no relevant audit information (as defined by
section 418(3) of the Companies Act 2006) of which
the Company’s auditor is unaware and the Directors
have taken all the steps they ought to have taken as a
Director to make themselves aware of any relevant audit
information and to establish that the Company’s auditor is
aware of that information.
Kelvin Stagg
Chief Financial Officer
4 March 2026
Directors’ Statements of Responsibility
In addition to any power of removal under the Act, the
Company may, by special resolution, remove a Director
before the expiration of their period of office.
A Director shall cease to hold office in certain
circumstances specified in the Company’s Articles of
Association.
Amendments to the Articles of Association
Subject to the Act, the Articles of Association of the
Company can be altered by special resolution of the
members.
By order of the Board
Kaye Maguire
General Counsel & Company Secretary
4 March 2026
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Financial
Statements
Contents
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Financial
Statements
Independent Auditor’s Report .............................................. 141
Consolidated Income Statement
.......................................... 148
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income............. 148
Consolidated and Parent Company Balance Sheets
............ 149
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
..................... 150
Statement of Changes in Equity - Parent Company
............. 151
Consolidated and Parent Company Cash Flow Statements
.... 152
Notes to the Financial Statements
....................................... 153
Additional Information
Shareholder Information and Advisers .................................. 186
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Opinion
In our opinion:
• PageGroup plc’s group financial statements and parent company financial statements (the “financial statements”) give
a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 December 2025 and of the
group’s profit for the year then ended;
• the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK adopted international accounting
standards;
• the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK adopted international
accounting standards as applied in accordance with section 408 of the Companies Act 2006; and
• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements of PageGroup plc (the ‘parent company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the
year ended 31 December 2025 which comprise:
Group Parent Company
Consolidated balance sheet as at 31 December 2025 Balance sheet as at 31 December 2025
Consolidated income statement for the year then ended Statement of changes in equity for the year then ended
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the
year then ended
Statement of cash flows for the year then ended
Consolidated statement of changes in equity for the year then
ended
Related notes 1 to 25 to the financial statements
including material accounting policy information
Consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended
Related notes 1 to 25 to the financial statements, material
accounting policy information
Independent Auditor’s
Report to the Members of
PageGroup plc
The financial reporting framework that has been applied
in their preparation is applicable law and UK adopted
international accounting standards and as regards the
parent company financial statements, as applied in
accordance with section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International
Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable
law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further
described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of
the financial statements section of our report. We believe
that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and
appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Independence
We are independent of the group and parent in
accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant
to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including
the FRC’s Ethical Standard as applied to listed public
interest entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical
responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
The non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical
Standard were not provided to the group or the parent
company and we remain independent of the group and
the parent company in conducting the audit.
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. Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment
of the group and parent company’s ability to continue to
adopt the going concern basis of accounting included:
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• Confirming our understanding of the directors’
going concern assessment process, performing our
own related risk assessment, and engaging with
management early to ensure all key factors were
considered in their assessment.
• Assessing the appropriateness of the duration of
the going concern assessment period to 31 March
2027 and considering the existence of any significant
events or conditions beyond this period based on our
knowledge arising from other areas of the audit.
• Reviewing borrowing facilities to confirm their availability
to the Group, alongside the consideration of the key
covenants on such facilities.
• Testing the assessment for clerical accuracy.
• Assessing whether assumptions made were reasonable,
including challenging key assumptions in the forecasts
by reference to historical trends, independent sector
forecasts and other information where available. Key
assumptions include those over, gross profit, cost
mitigations and cash. In assessing the appropriateness
of management’s assessment, we have considered
contradictory evidence for the assumptions used.
• Considering the appropriateness of management’s
base case and downside scenarios, to understand how
severe conditions would have to be to breach liquidity
and whether the reduction in profitability required has no
more than a remote possibility of occurring.
• Performing independent sensitivity analysis on
management’s assumptions including applying
incremental adverse cashflow sensitivities such as a
reverse stress test which would breach covenants.
These sensitivities included the impact of certain
severe but plausible scenarios, evaluated as part of
management’s work on the Group’s long term viability,
materialising within the going concern period; and
• Reviewing the appropriateness of the Group’s going
concern disclosures included in the Annual Report.
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 group and parent company’s
ability to continue as a going concern for a period to
31 March 2027.
In relation to the group and parent company’s reporting
on how they have applied the UK Corporate Governance
Code, we have nothing material to add or draw attention
to in relation to the directors’ statement in the financial
statements about whether the directors considered
it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the
directors with respect to going concern are described in
the relevant sections of this report. However, because
not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this
statement is not a guarantee as to the group’s ability to
continue as a going concern.
An overview of the scope of the parent
company and group audits
Our audit scoping reflects the requirements of ISA (UK)
600 (Revised). We have followed a risk-based approach
when developing our audit approach to obtain sufficient
appropriate audit evidence on which to base our audit
opinion. We performed risk assessment procedures, with
input from our component auditors, to identify and assess
risks of material misstatement of the Group financial
statements and identified significant accounts and
disclosures. When identifying components at which audit
work needed to be performed to respond to the identified
risks of material misstatement of the Group financial
statements, we considered our understanding of the
Group and its business environment, the potential impact
of climate change, the applicable financial framework, the
group’s system of internal control at the entity level, and
the existence of centralised processes and applications.
Individually relevant components
We identified 4 components as individually relevant to the
Group due to materiality or financial size of the component
relative to the group.
For those individually relevant components, we identified
the significant accounts where audit work needed
to be performed at these components by applying
professional judgement, having considered the group
significant accounts on which centralised procedures
will be performed, the reasons for identifying the
financial reporting component as an individually relevant
Overview of our audit approach
Audit scope • We performed an audit of the complete financial information of 4 components and audit
procedures on specific balances for a further 9 components which included certain centralised
procedures on Permanent and Temporary revenue, Property, plant and equipment, Intangible
assets, Right-of-use assets, Cash and cash equivalents, Trade receivables, Bad debt provision,
Accrued Income (net of revenue reversals) and Prepayments
Key audit matters
• Revenue recognition for permanent and temporary placements
Materiality
• Overall group materiality of £5.4m which represents 0.7% of gross profit.
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Involvement with component teams
In establishing our overall approach to the Group audit,
we determined the type of work that needed to be
undertaken at each of the components by us, as the
Group audit engagement team, or by component auditors
operating under our instruction.
The Group audit team continued to follow a programme of
planned visits that has been designed to ensure that the
Senior Statutory Auditor and delegates visit the full and
specific scope components on a rotational basis. During
the current year’s audit cycle, visits were undertaken by
the primary audit team to the component teams in France,
Belgium and Spain, as well as visiting the shared service
centres in Spain and Kuala Lumpa. These visits involved
discussing the audit approach with the component team
and any issues arising from their work, meeting with local
management, and reviewing relevant audit working papers
on risk areas. The Group audit team interacted regularly
with the component teams where appropriate during
various stages of the audit, reviewed relevant working
papers and were responsible for the scope and direction
of the audit process. Where relevant, the section on key
audit matters details the level of involvement we had
with component auditors to enable us to determine that
sufficient audit evidence had been obtained as a basis for
our opinion on the Group as a whole.
This, together with the additional procedures performed at
Group level, gave us appropriate evidence for our opinion
on the Group financial statements.
Climate change
Stakeholders are increasingly interested in how climate
change will impact PageGroup plc.
Given the nature of the business in a non-carbon
intensive industry, where remote working has become
typical, management do not consider there to be a
material impact. The Group has determined that the most
significant future impacts from climate change on their
operations will be from severe weather events impacting
office-based locations, however, with a predominately
leased property footprint, the Group considers there to
be little risk of significant business disruption or significant
financial impacts from climate change. Furthermore, the
transition risks are not considered by management to
be material. Whilst the risks from climate change are not
considered material, the most significant future impacts
are explained on pages 58-63 in the required Task Force
On Climate Related Financial Disclosures and on pages
66-73 in the principal risks and uncertainties. They have
also explained their climate commitments on pages
54-57. All of these disclosures form part of the “Other
information,” rather than the audited financial statements.
Our procedures on these unaudited disclosures
therefore consisted solely of considering whether they
are materially inconsistent with the financial statements
or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or
otherwise appear to be materially misstated, in line with
our responsibilities on “Other information”.
In planning and performing our audit we assessed the
potential impacts of climate change on the Group’s
business and any consequential material impact on its
financial statements.
The Group has explained in its Material Accounting
Policies disclosures how they have reflected the impact
of climate change in their financial statements including
their commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Significant judgements and estimates relating to climate
change are included in note 1.
Our audit effort in considering the impact of climate
change on the financial statements was focused on
evaluating management’s assessment of the impact
of climate risk, physical and transition, their climate
commitments, the effects of material climate risks disclosed
on pages 59-63 and the significant judgements and
estimates disclosed in note 1 and whether these have been
Having identified the components for which work will be
performed, we determined the scope to assign to each
component.
Scoping
Of the 13 components selected, we designed and
performed audit procedures on the entire financial
information of 4 components (“full scope components”).
For the remaining 9 components, we designed and
performed audit procedures on specific significant
financial statement account balances or disclosures of the
financial information of the component (“specific scope
components”).
Our scoping to address the risk of material misstatement
for each key audit matter is set out in the key audit
matters section of our report.
component and the size of the component’s account
balance relative to the group significant financial statement
account balance.
Additionally relevant components
We then considered whether the remaining group
significant account balances not yet subject to audit
procedures, in aggregate, could give rise to a risk of
material misstatement of the group financial statements.
We selected 9 additionally relevant components of the
group to include in our audit scope to address these risks.
Procedures performed centrally
We also determined that centralised audit procedures
could be performed on 5 of the 13 components in the
following audit areas:
Key audit area on which procedures were performed centrally Component subject to central procedures
Revenue recognition for permanent and temporary placements UK, US, Germany, Belgium and Brazil
Trade receivables UK, US, Germany, Belgium and Brazil
Accrued income (net of revenue reversals) UK, US, Germany, Belgium and Brazil
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appropriately reflected in the financial statements. As part of
this evaluation, we performed our own risk assessment to
determine the risks of material misstatement in the financial
statements from climate change which needed to be
considered in our audit.
We also challenged the Directors’ considerations of
climate change risks in their assessment of going
concern and viability and associated disclosures. Where
considerations of climate change were relevant to our
assessment of going concern, these are described above.
Based on our work we have not identified the impact of
climate change on the financial statements to be a key
audit matter or to impact a key audit matter.
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our
professional judgement, were of most significance in our
audit of the financial statements of the current period and
include the most significant assessed risks of material
misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) that we
identified. These matters included those which had the
greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy, the allocation
of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the
engagement team. These matters were addressed in
the context of our audit of the financial statements as a
whole, and in our opinion thereon, and we do not provide
a separate opinion on these matters.
Risk Our response to the risk
Re
venue recognition
Revenue recognition for permanent and
temporary placements – Refer to the
Audit Committee Report (page 100);
Accounting policies (page 154); and
Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial
Statements (page 159).
The Group has reported permanent
placement revenue of £556.2 million
(2024: £610.9 million) and temporary
placement revenue of £1,040.3 million
(2024: £1,128.0 million).
For permanent placements there is a risk
around the timing of revenue recognition
as revenue is recognised when customer
and candidate agreement is achieved,
which may be several months in
advance of the start of employment.
Consequently, there is a risk that:
• recognition occurs before revenue
recognition criteria have been met;
• period end cut-off is performed
incorrectly.
For temporary placement revenue is
recognised before a candidate has
performed billable work; or that period
end cut-off is performed incorrectly.
Consequently, there is a risk that:
• revenue is recognised before a
candidate has performed billable work;
or
• that period end cut-off is performed
incorrectly.
Procedures designed to address the risk of cut-off:
We performed the following procedures over this risk area:
• For permanent and temporary revenue streams, we identified and
assessed the process and design of key controls to validate that
revenue recognition was appropriate and applied in accordance with
the Group’s accounting policies.
• For in-scope components, performed period-end cut off testing
for a sample of revenue transactions to assess whether all revenue
recognition criteria for the permanent and temporary placements had
been met and that revenue had been recognised in the correct period.
• We reviewed and tested management’s assessment of Group cut-off at
year-end and assessed the reasonableness of the results in the context
of Group materiality.
• We used data analytics covering all revenue transactions in the year to
test the correlation between revenue, accounts receivable and cash. To
test those transactions not collected in cash we performed existence
testing procedures on accounts receivable to verify that the revenue
recognition criteria had been met. We performed revenue analytical
procedures to identify outliers which may indicate cut-off differences.
Other audit procedures performed in respect of revenue recognition at
in-scope components:
• We compared the level of permanent placement revenue reversals
over the last 12 months, which occur as a result of non-completion
of contractual placements, to the provision recorded against accrued
income and trade receivables to determine if the assumptions used
to calculate the provision were appropriate. We also re-performed the
provision calculation to confirm its accuracy.
• We performed testing of cash collections made post year-end for a
sample of balances to validate the existence of accrued revenue and
trade receivable balances. For those transactions not collected in cash
we verified documents to check all revenue recognition criteria had
been met.
• To address the risk of management override, we performed journal
entry testing over revenue, focusing on management-initiated entries
and top-side adjustments specifically around year end. In addition, we
performed testing over credit notes issued subsequent to year end.
Key observations communicated to the Audit Committee
We concluded that revenue recognised for permanent and temporary placements is materially correct and recorded in
accordance with the Group’s revenue recognition criteria and UK adopted international accounting standards.
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Our application of materiality
We apply the concept of materiality in planning and
performing the audit, in evaluating the effect of identified
misstatements on the audit and in forming our audit
opinion.
Materiality
The magnitude of an omission or misstatement that,
individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be
expected to influence the economic decisions of the users
of the financial statements. Materiality provides a basis for
determining the nature and extent of our audit procedures.
We determined materiality for the Group to be £5.4
million, which is 0.7% of Gross Profit (2024: £6.0 million,
which was 0.5% of normalised profit before tax).
In the current year, we reassessed the appropriateness
of the basis used for materiality in light of the Group’s
continued low levels of profitability as it continues to
rebalance its cost base, together with the ongoing
macroeconomic challenges affecting the recruitment
sector. As a result, we determined that profit before tax-
based measures were no longer the most appropriate
basis.
We therefore selected gross profit as the basis for
materiality, as it represents a key performance measure
used by management and is considered to better reflect
the size and scale of the Group’s operations, while being
less susceptible to volatility in the current economic
environment. The basis and percentage applied resulted in
a materiality level that appropriately reflects the reduction
in overall activity in the year compared with the prior
period.
We determined materiality for the Parent Company to be
£9.9 million (2024: £9.5 million), which is 0.5% (2024:
0.5%) of total assets. We believe that total assets is an
appropriate basis to determine materiality given the nature
of the Parent company as the holding company of the
Group.
During the course of our audit, we reassessed initial
materiality using actual results in the determination of our
final materiality. The underlying basis of materiality was not
changed compared with the planning stage when using
actual results.
Performance materiality
The application of materiality at the individual account
or balance level. It is set at an amount to reduce to
an appropriately low level the probability that the
aggregate of uncorrected and undetected misstatements
exceeds materiality.
On the basis of our risk assessments, together with our
assessment of the Group’s overall control environment,
our judgement was that performance materiality was 75%
(2024: 75%) of our planning materiality, namely £4.1m
(2024: £4.5m). We have set performance materiality at
this percentage due to lower likelihood of misstatements
based on prior periods’ experience.
Audit work was undertaken at component locations
for the purpose of responding to the assessed risks of
material misstatement of the group financial statements.
The performance materiality set for each component is
based on the relative scale and risk of the component to
the Group as a whole and our assessment of the risk of
misstatement at that component. In the current year, the
range of performance materiality allocated to components
was £0.8m to £1.5m (2024: £0.9m to £1.7m).
Reporting threshold
An amount below which identified misstatements are
considered as being clearly trivial.
We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report
to them all uncorrected audit differences in excess of
£0.27m (2024: £0.30m), which is set at 5% of planning
materiality, as well as differences below that threshold
that, in our view, warranted reporting on qualitative
grounds.
We evaluate any uncorrected misstatements against both
the quantitative measures of materiality discussed above
and in light of other relevant qualitative considerations in
forming our opinion.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included
in the annual report set out on pages 1-138, including the
Strategic Report and Corporate Governance set out on
pages 3-138, other than the financial statements and our
auditor’s report thereon. The directors are responsible for
the other information contained within the annual report.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover
the other information and, except to the extent otherwise
explicitly stated in this report, we do not express any form
of assurance conclusion thereon.
Our responsibility is to read the other information and,
in doing so, consider whether the other information
is materially inconsistent with the financial statements
or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit
or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If
we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent
material misstatements, we are required to determine
whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the
financial statements themselves. If, based on the work
we have performed, we conclude that there is a material
misstatement of the other information, we are required to
report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by
the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, the part of the directors’ remuneration
report to be audited has been properly prepared in
accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
In our opinion, 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
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financial statements are prepared is consistent with
the financial statements and those reports have
been prepared in accordance with applicable legal
requirements;
• the information about internal control and risk
management systems in relation to financial reporting
processes and about share capital structures, given in
compliance with rules 7.2.5 and 7.2.6 in the Disclosure
Rules and Transparency Rules sourcebook made
by the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA Rules),
is consistent with the financial statements and has
been prepared in accordance with applicable legal
requirements; and
• information about the company’s corporate governance
statement and practices and about its administrative,
management and supervisory bodies and their
committees complies with rules 7.2.2, 7.2.3 and 7.2.7
of the FCA Rules.
Matters on which we are required to report
by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the
group and the parent company and its environment
obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified
material misstatements in:
• the strategic report or the directors’ report; or
• the information about internal control and risk
management systems in relation to financial reporting
processes and about share capital structures, given in
compliance with rules 7.2.5 and 7.2.6 of the FCA Rules
We have nothing to report in respect of the following
matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006
requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the
parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have
not been received from branches not visited by us; or
• the parent company financial statements and the part
of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited
are not in agreement with the accounting records and
returns; or
• certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified
by law are not made; or
• we have not received all the information and
explanations we require for our audit
• a Corporate Governance Statement has not been
prepared by the company
Corporate Governance Statement
We have reviewed the directors’ statement in relation to
going concern, longer-term viability and that part of the
Corporate Governance Statement relating to the group
and company’s compliance with the provisions of the UK
Corporate Governance Code specified for our review by
the UK Listing Rules.
Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we
have concluded that each of the following elements of the
Corporate Governance Statement is materially consistent
with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained
during the audit:
• Directors’ statement with regards to the appropriateness
of adopting the going concern basis of accounting and
any material uncertainties identified set out on page 72;
• Directors’ explanation as to its assessment of the
company’s prospects, the period this assessment
covers and why the period is appropriate set out on
page 72;
• Directors’ statement on whether it has a reasonable
expectation that the group will be able to continue in
operation and meets its liabilities set out on page 72;
• Directors’ statement on fair, balanced and
understandable set out on page 92;
• Board’s confirmation that it has carried out a robust
assessment of the emerging and principal risks set out
on page 91;
• The section of the annual report that describes the
review of effectiveness of risk management and internal
control systems set out on page 91; and
• The section describing the work of the audit committee
set out on pages 98-104.
Responsibilities of directors
As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities
statement set out on page 138, the directors are
responsible for the preparation of the financial statements
and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view,
and for such internal control as the directors determine
is necessary to enable the preparation of financial
statements that are free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are
responsible for assessing the group and parent company’s
ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as
applicable, matters related to going concern and using the
going concern basis of accounting unless the directors
either intend to liquidate the group or the parent company
or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but
to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements as a whole are free from
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error,
and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is
not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance
with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement
when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or
error and are considered material if, individually or in
the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to
influence the economic decisions of users taken on the
basis of these financial statements.
Explanation as to what extent the audit was
considered capable of detecting irregularities,
including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-
compliance with laws and regulations. We design
procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above,
to detect irregularities, including fraud. The risk of not
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher
than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as
fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example,
forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through
collusion. The extent to which our procedures are capable
of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.
However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and
detection of fraud rests with both those charged with
governance of the company and management.
• We obtained an understanding of the legal and
regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the group
and determined that the most significant are those
that relate to the reporting framework (UK adopted
international accounting standards, the Companies Act
2006 and UK Corporate Governance Code) and the
relevant tax compliance regulations in the jurisdictions
in which the Group operates and the EU General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). There are no significant,
industry specific laws or regulations that we considered
in determining our approach.
• We understood how PageGroup plc is complying with
those frameworks by making enquiries of management,
internal audit, those responsible for legal and
compliance procedures and the company secretary.
We corroborated our enquiries through our review
of board minutes and papers provided to the Audit
Committee, correspondence received from regulatory
bodies and attendance at meetings of the Audit
Committee, as well as consideration of the results of our
audit procedures across the Group. Our assessment
included: incorporating data analytics across our audit
approach, journal entry testing with a focus on manual
consolidation journals and journals meeting our defined
risk criteria based on our understanding of the business;
enquiries of the legal counsel, Group management,
internal audit and all full and specific scope
management; review of Board and Audit Committee
reporting; and focused testing as referred to in the key
audit matters section above.
• We assessed the susceptibility of the group’s financial
statements to material misstatement, including how
fraud might occur by meeting with management from
various parts of the business including management and
finance teams of the local markets where appropriate,
Head Office, the Audit Committee, the internal audit
function, the Group legal function and individuals in
the Risk management function to understand where
it considered there was susceptibility to fraud; and
assessing whistleblowing incidences for those with a
potential financial reporting impact. We also considered
performance targets and their propensity to influence
management to manage earnings.
• Based on this understanding we designed our audit
procedures to identify non-compliance with such
laws and regulations. Our procedures included
journal entry testing, with a focus on manual journal
entries, consolidation journals and journal entries
indicating large or unusual transactions using data
analytics. We based this testing on our understanding
of the business, enquiries of management, including
internal audit, legal and other advisors, the company
secretary and reading relevant reports. We performed
specific searches derived from forensic investigations
experience and leveraged our data analytics platform
in performing our testing. We have also reviewed the
whistleblowing reports issued during the year. Any
instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations
identified that might have an impact on components
were communicated to the component audit teams and
considered in our audit approach.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit
of the financial statements is located on the Financial
Reporting Council’s website at https://www.frc.org.uk/
auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our
auditor’s report.
Other matters we are required to address
Following the recommendation from the audit committee,
we were appointed by the company in June 2021 to audit
the financial statements for the year ending 31 December
2021 and subsequent financial periods.
The period of total uninterrupted engagement including
previous renewals and reappointments is 15 years,
covering the years ending 31 December 2011 to
31 December 2025.
The audit opinion is consistent with the additional report to
the audit committee.
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.
Jose Yglesia (Senior statutory auditor)
for and on behalf of Ernst & Young LLP,
Statutory Auditor
London
4 March 2026
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Consolidated Income Statement
For the year ended 31 December 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | ||
| Note | £’000 | £’000 | |
Revenue | 2 | ||
Cost of sales | ( | ( | |
Gross profit | 2 | ||
Administrative expenses | ( | ( | |
Operating profit | 2 | ||
Financial income | 5 | ||
Financial expenses | 5 | ( | ( |
Profit before tax | 2 | ||
Income tax expense | 6 | ( | ( |
Profit for the year | 3 | ||
| Attributable to: | |||
Owners of the parent | |||
| Earnings per share | |||
Basic earnings per share (pence) | 9 | ||
Diluted earnings per share (pence) | 9 |
The above results relate to continuing operations.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 31 December 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | ||
| Note | £’000 | £’000 | |
Profit for the year | |||
| Other comprehensive income/(loss) for the year | |||
| Items that may subsequently be reclassified to profit and loss: | |||
Currency translation differences net of tax | ( | ||
| Items that may not subsequently be reclassified to profit and loss: | |||
Actuarial gain/(loss) on retirement benefits net of tax | 15 | ( | |
Total comprehensive income for the year | |||
| Attributable to: | |||
Owners of the parent |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Consolidated and Parent Company Balance Sheets
As at 31 December 2025
Group | Company | |||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Note | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | ||
| Non-current assets | ||||||
Property, plant and equipment | 10 | – | – | |||
Right-of-use assets | 11 | – | – | |||
Intangible assets | - Goodwill and other intangibles | 12 | – | – | ||
| - Computer software (including assets | ||||||
held under construction) | 12 | – | – | |||
Investments | 13 | 559,521 | 555,796 | |||
Deferred tax assets | 18 | – | – | |||
Other receivables | 14 | 1,435,597 | 1,336,349 | |||
1,995,118 | 1,892,145 | |||||
| Current assets | ||||||
Trade and other receivables | 14 | – | – | |||
Current tax receivable | 7 | – | – | |||
Cash and cash equivalents | 21 | – | – | |||
– | – | |||||
Total assets | 2 | 1,995,118 | 1,892,145 | |||
| Current liabilities | ||||||
Trade and other payables | 15 | ( | ( | (1,633,126) | (1,485,600) | |
Provisions | 16 | ( | ( | – | – | |
Lease liabilities | 11 | ( | ( | – | – | |
Current tax payable | 7 | ( | ( | – | – | |
( | ( | (1,633,126) | (1,485,600) | |||
Net current assets/(liabilities) | (1,633,126) | (1,485,600) | ||||
| Non-current liabilities | ||||||
Other payables | 15 | ( | ( | – | – | |
Lease liabilities | 11 | ( | ( | – | – | |
Deferred tax liabilities | 18 | ( | ( | – | – | |
Provisions | 16 | ( | ( | – | – | |
( | ( | – | – | |||
Total liabilities | 2 | ( | ( | (1,633,126) | (1,485,600) | |
Net assets | 361,992 | 406,545 | ||||
| Capital and reserves | ||||||
| Called-up share capital | 19 | 3,286 | 3,286 | |||
Share premium | 20 | 99,564 | 99,564 | |||
Capital redemption reserve | 20 | 932 | 932 | |||
Reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust | 20 | ( | ( | – | – | |
Currency translation reserve | 20 | – | – | |||
Retained earnings | 258,210 | 302,763 | ||||
Total equity | 361,992 | 406,545 |
The financial statements of PageGroup plc (Company Number 3310225) set out on pages 148-185 were approved by
the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 4 March 2026. The Company’s profit for the financial year amounted to
£5.3m (2024: £138.4m).
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 31 December 2025
| Reserve | ||||||||
| for shares | ||||||||
| Called- | Capital | held in the | Currency | |||||
| up share | Share | redemption | employee | translation | Retained | Total | ||
| capital | premium | reserve | benefit trust | reserve | earnings | equity | ||
| Note | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
Balance at 1 January 2024 | ( | |||||||
| Currency translation differences | ||||||||
net of tax | ( | ( | ||||||
| Actuarial loss on retirement | ||||||||
benefits net of tax | ( | ( | ||||||
| Net (expense)/income recognised | ||||||||
directly in OCI | ( | ( | ||||||
Profit for the year | ||||||||
| Total comprehensive (expense)/ | ||||||||
income for the year | ( | |||||||
Purchase of shares held in the employee benefit trust | ( | ( | ||||||
Exercise of share plans | ||||||||
| Transfer from reserve for shares | ||||||||
held in the employee benefit trust | ( | |||||||
Credit in respect of share schemes | ||||||||
| Debit in respect of tax on share | ||||||||
schemes | ( | ( | ||||||
Dividends | 8 | ( | ( | |||||
( | ( | ( | ||||||
| Balance at 31 December 2024 | ||||||||
and 1 January 2025 | ( | |||||||
| Currency translation differences | ||||||||
net of tax | ( | |||||||
| Actuarial gain on retirement | ||||||||
benefits net of tax | ||||||||
| Net income/(expense) recognised | ||||||||
directly in OCI | ( | |||||||
Profit for the year | ||||||||
Total comprehensive income for the year | ||||||||
Purchase of shares held in the employee benefit trust | ( | ( | ||||||
| Transfer from reserve for shares | ||||||||
held in the employee benefit trust | ( | |||||||
Credit in respect of share schemes | ||||||||
| Debit in respect of tax on share | ||||||||
schemes | ( | ( | ||||||
| Dividends | 8 | ( | ( | |||||
( | ( | ( | ||||||
Balance at 31 December 2025 | ( |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Statement of Changes in Equity – Parent Company
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Note
Called-up
share capital
£’000
Share premium
£’000
Capital
redemption
reserve
£’000
Retained
earnings
£’000
Total equity
£’000
Balance at 1 January 2024 3,286 99,564 932 213,885 317,667
Profit for the year
– – – 138,362 138,362
Total comprehensive income for
the year
– – – 138,362 138,362
Credit in respect of share schemes
– – – 2,520 2,520
Dividends
8 – – – (52,004) (52,004)
– – – (49,484) (49,484)
Balance at 31 December 2024
and 1 January 2025 3,286 99,564 932 302,763 406,545
Profit for the year – – – 5,290 5,290
Total comprehensive income for
the year – – – 5,290 5,290
Credit in respect of share schemes – – – 3,725 3,725
Dividends
8 – – – (53,568) (53,568)
– – – (49,843) (49,843)
Balance at 31 December 2025 3,286 99,564 932 258,210 361,992
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Consolidated and Parent Company Cash Flow Statements
For the year ended 31 December 2025
Group | Company | ||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | ||
| Note | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
Profit before tax | 6 | 5,290 | 138,362 | ||
Depreciation and amortisation charges | 10/11/12 | – | – | ||
Impairment of receivables | 21,731 | 27,842 | |||
(Gain)/Loss on sale of property, plant and equipment, and computer software | ( | – | – | ||
Share scheme charges | – | – | |||
Net finance cost | – | – | |||
Operating cash flow before changes in working capital | 27,021 | 166,204 | |||
Decrease/(Increase) in receivables | (174,547) | (258,776) | |||
(Decrease)/Increase in payables | ( | ( | 147,526 | 92,572 | |
Cash generated from operations | – | – | |||
Income tax paid | ( | ( | – | – | |
Net cash from operating activities | – | – | |||
| Cash flows from investing activities | |||||
Purchases of property, plant and equipment | 10 | ( | ( | – | – |
Purchases of intangibles | 12 | ( | ( | – | – |
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment, and computer software | – | – | |||
Interest received | – | – | |||
Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ( | – | – | |
| Cash flows from financing activities | |||||
Funds from Treasury Company | 53,568 | 52,004 | |||
Dividends paid | ( | ( | (53,568) | (52,004) | |
Interest paid | ( | ( | – | – | |
Lease liability principal and interest repayment | ( | ( | – | – | |
Issue of own shares for the exercise of options | – | – | |||
| Purchase of shares held in the employee benefit | |||||
trust | ( | ( | – | – | |
Net cash used in financing activities | ( | ( | – | – | |
| Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash | |||||
equivalents | ( | – | – | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning | |||||
of the year | – | – | |||
| Exchange gain/(loss) on cash and cash | |||||
equivalents | ( | – | – | ||
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year | 21 | – | – |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For the year ended 31 December 2025.
1. Material Accounting Policies
Notes to the Financial Statements
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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2. Segment reporting
All revenues disclosed are derived from external customers.
The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group’s accounting policies described in Note
1. Segment operating profit represents the profit earned by each segment including allocation of central administration
costs. This is the measure reported to the Group’s Board, the chief operating decision maker, for the purpose of resource
allocation and assessment of segment performance. Segments are aggregated in accordance with management
ownership, and determined by the possession of similar characteristics such as geography, market maturity and
economic environment. No judgements were applied to identify the reportable segments.
| Gross | Operating | ||
| Revenue | profit | profit | |
| 2025 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
EMEA | 863,858 | 409,936 | 31,412 |
Asia Pacific | 215,231 | 120,572 | (1,906) |
Americas | 282,775 | 147,886 | 4,682 |
United Kingdom | 234,713 | 91,122 | (13,323) |
Operating profit | – | – | 20,865 |
Net financial expense | – | – | (4,638) |
1,596,577 | 769,516 | 16,227 |
| Gross | Operating | ||
| Revenue | profit | profit | |
| 2024 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
EMEA | 946,755 | 462,450 | 60,895 |
Asia Pacific | 231,842 | 126,455 | (8,345) |
Americas | 279,825 | 149,181 | 6,949 |
United Kingdom | 280,515 | 104,500 | (7,050) |
Operating profit | – | – | 52,449 |
Net financial expense | – | – | (3,322) |
1,738,937 | 842,586 | 49,127 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
(b) Segment assets, liabilities, non-current assets and capital expenditure by reportable segment
Total assets | Total liabilities | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
EMEA | 267,942 | 287,233 | 213,216 | 216,982 |
Asia Pacific | 79,636 | 77,088 | 44,728 | 52,470 |
Americas | 95,116 | 96,260 | 49,871 | 49,330 |
United Kingdom | 110,515 | 171,491 | 51,883 | 65,715 |
Segment assets/liabilities | 553,209 | 632,072 | 359,698 | 384,497 |
Income tax | 22,520 | 18,023 | 1,404 | 3,189 |
575,729 | 650,095 | 361,102 | 387,686 |
Property, plant and equipment | Intangible assets | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
EMEA | 17,602 | 16,607 | 1,965 | 1,889 |
Asia Pacific | 3,385 | 4,295 | 4 | 13 |
Americas | 5,446 | 6,710 | 7 | 9 |
United Kingdom | 17,039 | 18,199 | 13,946 | 21,743 |
43,472 | 45,811 | 15,922 | 23,654 |
Right-of-use assets | Lease liabilities | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
EMEA | 70,021 | 74,027 | 76,247 | 78,025 |
Asia Pacific | 11,384 | 9,980 | 12,002 | 16,728 |
Americas | 12,826 | 11,538 | 14,536 | 13,269 |
United Kingdom | 22,639 | 25,166 | 29,469 | 28,768 |
116,870 | 120,711 | 132,254 | 136,790 |
The below analysis in note (c) and (d) relates to the requirement of IFRS 15 to disclose disaggregated revenue by streams
and region.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Revenue | Gross profit | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
Permanent | 556,247 | 610,889 | 551,233 | 605,865 |
Temporary | 1,040,330 | 1,128,048 | 218,283 | 236,721 |
1,596,577 | 1,738,937 | 769,516 | 842,586 |
Permanent | Temporary | |||
| Year ended | Year ended | Year ended | Year ended | |
| 31 December | 31 December | 31 December | 31 December | |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
EMEA | 268,296 | 310,496 | 595,562 | 636,259 |
Asia Pacific | 103,058 | 107,768 | 112,173 | 124,074 |
Americas | 120,381 | 121,903 | 162,394 | 157,922 |
United Kingdom | 64,512 | 70,722 | 170,201 | 209,793 |
556,247 | 610,889 | 1,040,330 | 1,128,048 |
Revenue | Gross profit | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
Accounting and Financial Services | 588,519 | 656,048 | 267,304 | 280,564 |
Technology | 260,424 | 278,896 | 93,004 | 107,152 |
Legal, HR, Secretarial and Other Engineering, Property & Construction, | 238,220 | 267,805 | 115,614 | 135,858 |
Procurement & Supply Chain | 361,513 | 379,407 | 189,499 | 208,932 |
Marketing, Sales and Retail | 147,901 | 156,781 | 104,095 | 110,080 |
1,596,577 | 1,738,937 | 769,516 | 842,586 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Profit for the year is stated after charging: | ||
Employment costs (Note 4) | 574,280 | 613,161 |
Net exchange losses | 2,133 | 1,826 |
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment – owned (Note 10) | 11,714 | 12,635 |
Amortisation of intangibles (Note 12) | 10,261 | 10,785 |
Expected credit losses (Note 22) | 31,666 | 33,425 |
Expected credit losses recovered/reversed (Note 22) | (27,479) | (30,540) |
Depreciation of right-of-use assets (Note 11) | 35,300 | 39,504 |
(Gain)/loss on sale of property, plant and equipment and computer software | (29) | 1,053 |
Restructuring costs* | 15,425 | 6,935 |
| Fees payable to the Company’s auditor: | ||
Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the Company’s annual accounts** | 1,095 | 901 |
| Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and associates for other services: | ||
– The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation | 930 | 890 |
Total audit fees | 2,025 | 1,791 |
– Audit related assurance services | 75 | 74 |
– Other non-audit services | 11 | 11 |
Total non-audit fees | 86 | 85 |
Total fees | 2,111 | 1,876 |
4. Employee information
The average number of employees (including Executive Directors) during the year and total number of employees
(including Executive Directors) at 31 December 2025 were as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | At 31 Dec | At 31 Dec | |
| Average | Average | 2025 | 2024 | |
| No. | No. | No. | No. | |
| Management | 418 | 421 | 376 | 426 |
| Client services | 4,754 | 5,193 | 4,592 | 4,944 |
| Administration | 1,897 | 1,990 | 1,852 | 1,991 |
7,069 | 7,604 | 6,820 | 7,361 |
Employment costs (including Directors’ emoluments) comprised:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
Wages and salaries | 476,593 | 512,977 |
Social security costs | 64,039 | 65,406 |
Pension costs – defined contribution plans | 24,158 | 26,521 |
Share-based payments and deferred cash plan | 9,490 | 8,257 |
574,280 | 613,161 |
No staff are employed by the Parent Company (2024: none) hence no remuneration has been disclosed for the Company.
Remuneration for Directors for their services on behalf of the Parent Company are included in the Directors’ Remuneration
Report on pages 105-134.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Financial income | ||
Interest receivable | 1,580 | 2,170 |
1,580 | 2,170 | |
| Financial expenses | ||
Interest payable | (1,145) | (834) |
Interest on lease liabilities | (5,073) | (4,658) |
(6,218) | (5,492) |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Analysis of charge in the year | £’000 | £’000 |
Current tax expense in respect of the current year | 17,806 | 21,175 |
Adjustments in respect of prior years | 94 | (644) |
Current tax charge for the year | 17,900 | 20,531 |
| Deferred tax | ||
Adjustment in respect of prior years | (1,220) | 1,583 |
Origination and reversal of temporary differences | (9,406) | (5,537) |
Derecognition of losses and other tax attributes | 48 | 4,107 |
Impact of tax rate changes | (112) | – |
Deferred tax (credit)/charge for the year | (10,690) | 153 |
Total tax expense in the income statement | 7,210 | 20,684 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |||
| Reconciliation of effective tax rate | £’000 | % | £’000 | % |
Profit before taxation | 16,227 | 49,127 | ||
| Profit before tax multiplied by the standard rate of corporation | ||||
tax in the UK | 4,057 | 25.0 | 12,282 | 25.0 |
| Effects of: | ||||
Disallowable items and other permanent differences | 1,591 | 9.8 | 1,235 | 2.5 |
Unrelieved overseas losses | 1,667 | 10.3 | 1,082 | 2.2 |
(Recognition)/derecognition of overseas losses and other tax attributes | (1,619) | (10.0) | 2,744 | 5.6 |
Other tax movements | (830) | (5.1) | (971) | (2.0) |
Lower tax rates on overseas earnings | (2,061) | (12.7) | (1,634) | (3.3) |
Other tax overseas | 5,644 | 34.8 | 5,006 | 10.2 |
Movement of rate difference | (112) | (0.7) | – | – |
Adjustment to tax charge in respect of prior periods | (1,127) | (7.0) | 940 | 1.9 |
Tax expense and effective rate for the year | 7,210 | 44.4 | 20,684 | 42.1 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Tax recognised directly in other comprehensive income | £’000 | £’000 |
Currency translation difference | (264) | 700 |
Remeasurement of retirement benefit obligations | (47) | 88 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Tax recognised directly in equity | £’000 | £’000 |
Relating to settled transactions | (208) | (45) |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year: | ||
| Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 of 11.75p per ordinary share | ||
| (2023: 11.24p) | 36,879 | 35,211 |
| Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2025 of 5.36p per ordinary share | ||
| (2024: 5.36p) | 16,689 | 16,793 |
53,568 | 52,004 | |
| Amounts proposed as distributions to equity holders in the year: | ||
| Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2025 of 3.21p per ordinary | ||
| share (2024: 11.75p) | 9,995 | 36,803 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
9. Earnings per Ordinary share
The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Earnings | ||
Earnings for basic and diluted earnings per share (£’000) | 9,017 | 28,443 |
Number of shares | number | number |
Weighted average number of shares used for basic earnings per share (‘000) | 312,322 | 314,038 |
Dilutive effect of share plans (‘000) | 924 | 1,068 |
Diluted weighted average number of shares used for diluted earnings per share (‘000) | 313,246 | 315,106 |
pence | pence | |
Basic earnings per share | 2.9 | 9.1 |
Diluted earnings per share | 2.9 | 9.0 |
The above results relate to continuing operations.
Basic
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to equity holders of the Company by the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year, excluding unallocated ordinary shares purchased by the
Employee Benefit Trust and held in the reserve.
Diluted
Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume
conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. This calculation determines the number of shares that could have been
acquired at fair value (determined as the average market price of the Company’s shares) based on the monetary value of the
subscription rights attached to the outstanding share options. The number of shares calculated in the basic earnings per
share is then adjusted to reflect the number of shares deemed to be issued for nil consideration as a result of the potential
exercise of existing share options. The remaining share options that are currently not dilutive and hence excluded from the
dilutive earnings per share calculation remain potentially dilutive until they are either exercised or they lapse.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
10. Property, plant and equipment
Group
| Furniture, | ||||
| Leasehold | fixtures and | Motor | ||
| improvements | equipment | vehicles | Total | |
| 2025 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
| Cost | ||||
| At 1 January | 56,034 | 50,053 | 6,640 | 112,727 |
| Additions | 5,487 | 1,183 | 3,291 | 9,961 |
| Disposals | (3,055) | (2,509) | (1,746) | (7,310) |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | 952 | 725 | 3 | 1,680 |
| At 31 December | 59,418 | 49,452 | 8,188 | 117,058 |
| Depreciation | ||||
| At 1 January | 29,769 | 34,808 | 2,339 | 66,916 |
| Charge for the year | 5,619 | 4,329 | 1,766 | 11,714 |
| Disposals | (2,572) | (2,644) | (1,021) | (6,237) |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | 572 | 618 | 3 | 1,193 |
| At 31 December | 33,388 | 37,111 | 3,087 | 73,586 |
| Net book value | ||||
| At 31 December | 26,030 | 12,341 | 5,101 | 43,472 |
| Furniture, | ||||
| Leasehold | fixtures and | Motor | ||
| improvements | equipment | vehicles | Total | |
| 2024 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
| Cost | ||||
| At 1 January | 55,323 | 51,873 | 5,927 | 113,123 |
| Additions | 9,540 | 3,816 | 2,306 | 15,662 |
| Disposals | (6,844) | (3,350) | (1,503) | (11,697) |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | (1,985) | (2,286) | (90) | (4,361) |
| At 31 December | 56,034 | 50,053 | 6,640 | 112,727 |
| Depreciation | ||||
| At 1 January | 30,797 | 33,223 | 1,651 | 65,671 |
| Charge for the year | 5,560 | 5,583 | 1,492 | 12,635 |
| Disposals | (5,195) | (2,486) | (760) | (8,441) |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | (1,393) | (1,512) | (44) | (2,949) |
| At 31 December | 29,769 | 34,808 | 2,339 | 66,916 |
| Net book value | ||||
| At 31 December | 26,265 | 15,245 | 4,301 | 45,811 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Motor | ||||
| Property | Vehicles | Other Assets | Total | |
| Group | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
| Right-of-use assets | ||||
| At 1 January 2024 | 83,953 | 13,799 | 634 | 98,386 |
| Additions | 71,678 | 9,793 | 172 | 81,643 |
| Disposals | (16,598) | – | – | (16,598) |
| Impairment | (1,452) | – | – | (1,452) |
| Depreciation expense | (26,800) | (12,159) | (545) | (39,504) |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | (3,615) | 1,851 | – | (1,764) |
| At 31 December 2024 and 1 January 2025 | 107,166 | 13,284 | 261 | 120,711 |
| Additions | 19,070 | 13,043 | 96 | 32,209 |
| Disposals | (3,187) | – | – | (3,187) |
| Impairment | (1,576) | – | – | (1,576) |
| Reversal of impairment | 1,452 | – | – | 1,452 |
| Depreciation expense | (23,322) | (11,839) | (139) | (35,300) |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | 1,840 | 721 | – | 2,561 |
| At 31 December 2025 | 101,443 | 15,209 | 218 | 116,870 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Lease liabilities | £’000 | £’000 |
| As at 1 January | (136,790) | (110,933) |
| Additions | (32,210) | (81,643) |
| Disposals | 3,188 | 16,598 |
| Interest expense | (5,073) | (4,658) |
| Payments | 41,594 | 41,631 |
| Effect of movements in foreign exchange | (2,963) | 2,215 |
| As at 31 December | (132,254) | (136,790) |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Less than a year | 36,664 | 35,706 |
| Between 1 and 2 years | 28,596 | 30,132 |
| Between 2 and 5 years | 54,022 | 51,315 |
| Over 5 years | 28,330 | 36,108 |
147,612 | 153,261 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Computer | |||||||
| software, | |||||||
| Computer | assets under | ||||||
| software | construction | Subtotal | Goodwill | Trademark | Subtotal | Total | |
| 2025 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
| Cost | |||||||
| At 1 January | 84,709 | 56 | 84,765 | 1,539 | 1,699 | 3,238 | 88,003 |
| Additions | 1,500 | 957 | 2,457 | - | 66 | 66 | 2,523 |
Effect of movements in foreign exchange | 212 | - | 212 | - | - | - | 212 |
| At 31 December | 86,421 | 1,013 | 87,434 | 1,539 | 1,765 | 3,304 | 90,738 |
| Amortisation | |||||||
| At 1 January | 62,849 | - | 62,849 | - | 1,500 | 1,500 | 64,349 |
| Charge for the year | 10,207 | - | 10,207 | - | 54 | 54 | 10,261 |
Effect of movements in foreign exchange | 206 | - | 206 | - | - | - | 206 |
| At 31 December | 73,262 | - | 73,262 | - | 1,554 | 1,554 | 74,816 |
| Net book value | |||||||
| At 31 December | 13,159 | 1,013 | 14,172 | 1,539 | 211 | 1,750 | 15,922 |
| Computer | |||||||
| software, | |||||||
| Computer | assets under | Total | |||||
| software | construction | Subtotal | Goodwill | Trademark | Subtotal | ||
| 2024 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £000 |
| Cost | |||||||
| At 1 January | 80,674 | 2,025 | 82,699 | 1,539 | 1,699 | 3,238 | 85,937 |
| Additions | 2,508 | - | 2,508 | - | 99 | 99 | 2,607 |
| Disposals | (29) | (162) | (191) | - | - | - | (191) |
| Transfer | 1,807 | (1,807) | - | - | - | - | - |
Effect of movements in foreign exchange | (251) | - | (251) | - | (99) | (99) | (350) |
| At 31 December | 84,709 | 56 | 84,765 | 1,539 | 1,699 | 3,238 | 88,003 |
| Amortisation | |||||||
| At 1 January | 52,460 | - | 52,460 | - | 1,379 | 1,379 | 53,839 |
| Charge for the year | 10,663 | - | 10,663 | - | 122 | 122 | 10,785 |
| Disposals | (30) | - | (30) | - | - | - | (30) |
Effect of movements in foreign exchange | (244) | - | (244) | - | (1) | (1) | (245) |
| At 31 December | 62,849 | - | 62,849 | - | 1,500 | 1,500 | 64,349 |
| Net book value | |||||||
| At 31 December | 21,860 | 56 | 21,916 | 1,539 | 199 | 1,738 | 23,654 |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| UK | 1,274 | 1,274 |
| USA | 214 | 214 |
| Singapore | 51 | 51 |
1,539 | 1,539 |
| Subsidiary undertakings | |
| Company | £’000 |
| Cost at 1 January 2025 | 555,796 |
| Transactions relating to share plans for subsidiaries’ employees | 3,725 |
Cost at 31 December 2025 | 559,521 |
| Country of | Principal | ||
| Name of undertaking | incorporation | activity | Registered office |
| Michael Page International | Argentina | Recruitment | Cordoba 111, Piso 14 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, |
| Argentina SA | Consultancy | C1054AAH, Argentina | |
| Page Personnel Argentina | Argentina | Recruitment | Cordoba 111, Piso 14 Ciudad de Buenos Aires, |
| Servicios Eventuales SA | Consultancy | C1054AAH, Argentina | |
| Michael Page International | Australia | Recruitment | Level 21, 9 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, |
| (Australia) Pty Limited | Consultancy | Australia | |
| Michael Page International | Austria | Recruitment | Fleischmarkt 1-5/2 (1. OG), 1010 Wien, Austria |
| Austria GmbH | Consultancy | ||
| Michael Page International | Belgium | Recruitment | Place du Champ de Mars 5, 1050 Brussels, Belgium |
| (Belgium) NV/SA | Consultancy | ||
Page Interim (Belgium) NV/SA | Belgium | Recruitment | Place du Champ de Mars 5, 1050 Brussels, Belgium |
| Consultancy | |||
| Michael Page International | Brazil | Recruitment | Rua Olimpíadas nº 205, sala: 111, 112, 113 e 114 - |
| Do Brasil - Recrutamento | Consultancy | 11º andar, Vila Olímpia, São Paulo, 04551-000 - SP, | |
| Especializado Ltda | Brasil |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Country of | Principal | ||||
| Name of undertaking | incorporation | activity | Registered office | ||
| Page Interim Do Brasil - | Brazil | Recruitment | Rua Olimpíadas nº 205, sala: 111, 112, 113 e 114 - | ||
| Recrutamento Especializado Ltda | Consultancy | 11º andar, Vila Olímpia, São Paulo, 04551-000 - SP, | |||
| Brasil | |||||
| Page Personnel do Brasil - | Brazil | Recruitment | Rua Olimpíadas nº 205, sala: 111, 112, 113 e 114 - | ||
| Recrutamento Especializado e | Consultancy | 11º andar, Vila Olímpia, São Paulo, 04551-000 - SP, | |||
| servicos corporativos Ltda | Brasil | ||||
| Michael Page International Canada | Canada | Recruitment | Suite 515, Bay Adelaide Centre, 333 Bay St., Toronto, | ||
| Limited | Consultancy | ON, M5H 2R2, Canada | |||
| Michael Page International Chile | Chile | Recruitment | Magdelana 181, Piso 1, Depto. 1601, Las Condes, | ||
| Ltda | Consultancy | Santiago 7550055, | Chile | ||
| Page Personnel International Chile | Chile | Recruitment | Magdelana 181, Piso 1, Depto 1601, Las Condes, | ||
| Ltda | Consultancy | Santiago 7550055, | Chile | ||
Page Consulting Chile Ltda | Chile | Recruitment | Av. El Bosque Norte 0177, Office 602, Santiago, 755- | ||
| Consultancy | 0100, | Chile | |||
| Empresa de Servicios Transitorios | Chile | Recruitment | Magdelana181, Piso 1, Depto 1601, Las Condes, | ||
| Page Interim Chile Limitada | Consultancy | Santiago 7550055, | Chile | ||
| Michael Page (Beijing) Recruitment | China | Recruitment | Unit 10B-11 No.2101 Building 1, 21/F No.1 East | ||
| Co., Ltd | Consultancy | 3Rd Ring Middle Road, Chaoyang Distrtict, Beijing, | |||
100020, | China | ||||
| Michael Page (Shanghai) | China | Recruitment | Unit 1801 and Unit 1807 - 1811, HKRI Centre Two, | ||
| Recruitment Co., Ltd | Consultancy | 288 | Shimen Road (No.1), Shanghai, 200041, China | ||
| Page Contracting (Shanghai) Co. | China | Recruitment | Unit 1801 and Unit 1807 - 1811, HKRI Centre Two, | ||
| Ltd | Consultancy | 288 | Shimen Road (No.1), Shanghai, 200041, China | ||
| Michael Page International | Colombia | Recruitment | Calle 81 Nº11 – 08 Piso 11, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia | ||
| Colombia SAS | Consultancy | ||||
Page Interim Colombia SAS | Colombia | Non-trading | Calle 81 Nº11 – 08 Piso 11, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia | ||
| Michael Page Czech Republic s.r.o Czech | Recruitment | Pobřežní 249/46, Karlín, Praha 8, 186 00, Czech | |||
| Republic | Consultancy | Republic | |||
Michael Page Partnership Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||||
| Michael Page Employment | England and | Recruitment | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Services Limited | Wales | Consultancy | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| LPM (Professional Recruitment) | England and | Holding | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Limited | Wales | company | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
Accountancy Additions Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||||
Slamway Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||||
| Assessment Centre Limited (The) | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||||
LPM (Group Services) Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||||
Page Partnership Limited (The) | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, | |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||||
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Country of | Principal | |||
| Name of undertaking | incorporation | activity | Registered office | |
| Sales Recruitment Specialists | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Limited | Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| Michael Page International | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Limited | Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| Michael Page International 1982 | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Limited | Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| Michael Page International | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Investment Limited | Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| Michael Page International | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Finance Limited | Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
Page Personnel (UK) Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |||
Michael Page Holdings Limited | England and | Support | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Wales | services | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| Michael Page International | England and | Holding | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Holdings Limited | Wales | company | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |
| Michael Page International | England and | Recruitment | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Recruitment Limited* | Wales | Consultancy | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |
Michael Page Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |||
| Michael Page International | England and | Holding | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Southern Europe Limited* | Wales | company | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |
Michael Page UK Limited | England and | Non-trading | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Wales | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |||
| Michael Page Recruitment Group | England and | Holding | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Limited | Wales | company | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | |
Page Outsourcing UK Limited | England and | Recruitment | 200 | Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park, |
| Wales | Consultancy | Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX, UK | ||
| Michael Page International | France | Recruitment | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| France SAS | Consultancy | Paris, France | ||
| MP Financial Services | France | Support | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| France SAS | services | Paris, France | ||
Page Personnel SAS | France | Recruitment | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| Consultancy | Paris, France | |||
| Michael Page Business Services | France | Recruitment | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| SARL | Consultancy | Paris, France | ||
| Michael Page Ingénieurs et | France | Recruitment | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| Informatique SARL | Consultancy | Paris, France | ||
Michael Page Tertiaire SARL | France | Recruitment | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| Consultancy | Paris, France | |||
Michael Page Nord SARL | France | Recruitment | 14 place du Général de Gaulle – 59800 LILLE | |
| Consultancy | ||||
Michael Page Sud SARL | France | Recruitment | 9 Rue des Cuirassiers, 69003 LYON, France | |
| Consultancy | ||||
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Country of | Principal | |||
| Name of undertaking | incorporation | activity | Registered office | |
MP Advertising SAS | France | Support | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| Services | Paris, France | |||
Page Consulting SARL | France | Recruitment | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| Consultancy | Paris, France | |||
MP EDP SARL | France | Support | 164 | Avenue Achille Peretti, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, |
| Services | Paris, France | |||
| Michael Page International | Germany | Recruitment | Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| (Deutschland) GmbH | Consultancy | |||
Page Personnel Services GmbH | Germany | Recruitment | Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| Consultancy | ||||
| Page Personnel (Deutschland) | Germany | Recruitment | Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| GmbH | Consultancy | |||
Page Contracting GmbH | Germany | Recruitment | Hans-Böckler-Straße 33, 40476 Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| Consultancy | ||||
| Michael Page International | Hong Kong | Recruitment | Suite 1701, | 17F Central Tower, 28 Queen’s Road |
| (Hong Kong) Limited | Consultancy | Central, Central Hong Kong | ||
| Michael Page International | India | Recruitment | 5th Floor, 2 North Avenue, Maker Maxity, Bandra-Kurla | |
| Recruitment Pvt Ltd | Consultancy | Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai 400051, India | ||
| PT Michael Page Internasional | Indonesia | Recruitment | One Pacific Place, Suites B-F, Level 12, Sudirman | |
| Indonesia | Consultancy | Central Business District, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav 52- | ||
| 53, Jakarta 12190, Indonesia | ||||
| Michael Page International | Ireland | Recruitment | 6th Floor, Southbank House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, | |
| (Ireland) Limited | Consultancy | Ireland | ||
| Michael Page International | Italy | Recruitment | Galleria Passarella, 2, Milan, 20122, Italy | |
| Italia Srl | Consultancy | |||
| Michael Page International | Japan | Recruitment | 6F Hulic Kamiyacho Building, 4-3-13 Toranomon, | |
| (Japan) K.K. | Consultancy | Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan | ||
| Michael Page International | Kingdom of | Support | 7335 | Prince Turki Bin Abdulaziz Al Awwal Street, 2185 |
| Regional Headquarters Company | Saudi Arabia | Services | Al Nakheel District, 12385, Riyadh | |
Michael Page Limited | Kingdom of | Recruitment | 7335 | Prince Turki Bin Abdulaziz Al Awwal Street, 2185 |
| Saudi Arabia | Consultancy | Al Nakheel District, 12385, Riyadh | ||
| Agensi Pekerjaan Michael Page | Malaysia | Recruitment | Level 6 Corporate Towet 3A, Pavilion Damansara | |
| International (Malaysia) SDN BHD | Consultancy | Heights, Jalan Damanlela, Off Lebuhraya Sprint, Kuala | ||
Lumpur, 50490, | Malaysia | |||
| Page Contracting (Malaysia) | Malaysia | Contracting/ | Level 5, Guoco Tower, 6 Jalan Damanlela, Damansara | |
| Sdn Bhd | Temporary | City, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah | ||
| placements | Persekeutuan, Malaysia | |||
| Page Group Corporate Solutions | Malaysia | Support | Level 5, Guoco Tower, 6 Jalan Damanlela, Damansara | |
| Sdn Bhd | services | City, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah | ||
| Persekeutuan, Malaysia | ||||
| Michael Page International | Mauritius | Recruitment | 15/03, Telfair Avenue, Moka, Mauritius | |
| (Mauritius) Limited | Consultancy | |||
| Michael Page International | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| Mexico Reclutamiento | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
| Especializado, S.A. de C.V. | 11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | ||
| Michael Page International Mexico | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| Servicios Corporativos SA de CV | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | |||
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Country of | Principal | |||
| Name of undertaking | incorporation | activity | Registered office | |
| Page Interim Mexico Servicios | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| SA de CV | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | |||
| Page México Operaciones | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| PG S.A. DE C.V. | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | |||
| Page Consulting México S.A. | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| DE C.V. | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | |||
| Page Resourcing Process S.A. | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| DE C.V. | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | |||
| Page Internacional ADM S.A. | Mexico | Recruitment | Av. Paseo de la Reforma 115-Piso 10, Lomas - | |
| DE C.V. | Consultancy | Virreyes, Lomas de Chapultepec, Miguel Hidalgo, | ||
11000 | Ciudad de México, CDMX | |||
| Michael Page International Maroc | Morocco | Recruitment | 93 - 93A Capital Tower B76, Angle Abdelkrim | |
| SARL AU | Consultancy | Bencherif et Main Street, Casablanca, Morocco | ||
| Michael Page International | Netherlands | Recruitment | Strawinskylaan 959, 1077XX Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| (Nederland) B.V. | Consultancy | |||
Page Interim B.V. | Netherlands | Recruitment | Strawinskylaan 959, 1077XX Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Consultancy | ||||
| Michael Page International | Panama | Recruitment | Punta Pacifica, Blvrd Pacifica Oceania Business Plaza, | |
| Panama S.A. | Consultancy | Torre 2000, | Piso 43, Panama | |
| Michael Page International Peru | Peru | Recruitment | Calle Las Orquídeas 675 esq. Andrés Reyes - Piso 5, | |
| S.R.L | Consultancy | Oficina 501, San Isidro 15046, Peru | ||
| Page Personnel Servicios | Peru | Recruitment | Calle Las Orquídeas 675 esq. Andrés Reyes - Piso 5, | |
| Temporales Peru S.R.L | Consultancy | Oficina 501, San Isidro 15046, Peru | ||
| Michael Page International | Philippines | Recruitment | 21/F Units 4-5 Zuellig Building, Makarti Avenue, Cnr | |
| Recruitment (Philippines) Inc. | Consultancy | Paseo de Roxas and Sta Potencia Street, Makarti City, | ||
| Metro Manila, Philippines | ||||
| PageGroup Corporate Services | Philippines | Support | 24th Floor, Robinsons Summit Centre, 6783 Ayala | |
| (Philippines) Inc. | services | Avenue, Makati City, NCR, Philippines 1226 | ||
Michael Page International (Poland) Poland | Recruitment | Chmielna 69, 00-801 Warsaw, Poland | ||
Sp.z.o.o | Consultancy | |||
| Michael Page International | Portugal | Recruitment | Av. Liberdade nº 180 A, 3º andar, Lisboa, 1250-146, | |
| Portugal - Empressa de Trabalho | Consultancy | Portugal | ||
| Temporario e Servicos de | ||||
| Consultadoria Lda | ||||
MICPAGE Services Lda | Portugal | Recruitment | Av. Liberdade nº 180 A, 3º andar, Lisboa, 1250-146, | |
| Consultancy | Portugal | |||
| PageGroup International | Romania | Recruitment | 169A, | Office 2023-2024, Calea Floreasca, Building |
| Recruitment S.R.L. | Consultancy | A, Floor 4, Register 02, Sector 1, Bucharest, 014459, | ||
| Romania | ||||
| Michael Page International Pte | Singapore | Recruitment | One Raffles Place, #09-61 Office Tower Two, | |
| Limited* | Consultancy | Singapore 048616 | ||
Michael Page (Personnel) Pte Ltd | Singapore | Recruitment | One Raffles Place, #09-61 Office Tower Two, | |
| Consultancy | Singapore 048616 | |||
| Michael Page International (SA) | South Africa | Recruitment | 2 Maude Street, The Forum, 5th Floor, Sandton City, | |
| (Pty) Limited | Consultancy | Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa | ||
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Country of | Principal | |||
| Name of undertaking | incorporation | activity | Registered office | |
Michael Page Holding España SL | Spain | Holding | Paseo De La Castellana 130, 8º Planta, Madrid, | |
| company | 28046, | Spain | ||
| PageGroup Technology | Spain | IT consultancy | Paseo De La Castellana 130, 8º Planta, Madrid, | |
| Services SL | services | 28046, | Spain | |
Page Group Europe SL | Spain | Support | Plaza Europa 21-23 P. 5, 08908 L’Hospitalet de | |
| Services | Llobregat, 08908, Spain | |||
| Page Group Spain Recursos | Spain | Recruitment | Paseo De La Castellana 130, 8º Planta, Madrid, | |
| Humanos ETT SA | Consultancy | 28046, | Spain | |
| Michael Page International | Sweden | Recruitment | Mäster Samuelsgatan 42, Stockholm 111 57, Sweden | |
| (Sweden) AB | Consultancy | |||
| Michael Page International | Switzerland | Recruitment | 12, Quai de la Poste, Geneva, 1204, Switzerland | |
| Switzerland SA | Consultancy | |||
| Michael Page International | Taiwan | Recruitment | 8F-1 Shin Kong Xin Yi Financial Building, 36-1 | |
| Company Limited | Consultancy | Songren Road Xin-Yi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110 | ||
Michael Page Limited | Thailand | Holding | 689 | Bhiraji Tower at EmQuartier, 41st Floor, Unit |
| company | 4108-4109, Sukhumvit Road, North Klongtong, | |||
| Vadhana, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand | ||||
| Michael Page International | Thailand | Recruitment | 689 | Bhiraji Tower at EmQuartier, 41st Floor, Unit |
| Recruitment (Thailand) Limited | Consultancy | 4108-4109, Sukhumvit Road, North Klongtong, | ||
| Vadhana, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand | ||||
| Michael Page International Nem | Turkey | Recruitment | Kanyon 185, Kapı No: 349, Esentepe Mah. Büyükdere | |
| Istihdam Danışmanlığı Limited | Consultancy | Cad., Istanbul, Turkey | ||
| Şirketi | ||||
| Michael Page International | United Arab | Recruitment | Level 2, Currency House - Building 1, Dubai | |
| (UAE) Limited | Emirates | Consultancy | International Financial Centre, Dubai, 506702, United | |
| Arab Emirates | ||||
Michael Page International Inc.* | United States | Recruitment | 622 | Third Avenue, 29th Floor, New York, NY10017, |
| Consultancy | USA | |||
Page Outsourcing Inc. | United States | Recruitment | 251 | Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, New Castle County, |
| Consultancy | Delaware 19801, USA | |||
| Michael Page International | Vietnam | Recruitment | The Hallmark, L20.01 Level 20 Tower A, Functional | |
| (Vietnam) Co. Limited | Consultancy | Area No,1-No.15, Tran Bach Dang Street, Thu Thiem | ||
| Ward, Thu Duc City. Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam | ||||
Company name | Companies House registration number |
LPM (Professional Recruitment) Limited | 01529437 |
Michael Page Holdings Limited | 01823297 |
Michael Page International Holdings Limited | 02327465 |
Michael Page International Southern Europe Limited | 04125211 |
Michael Page Partnership Limited | 01757874 |
Michael Page Recruitment Group Limited | 02245324 |
Page Outsourcing UK Limited | 13701685 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Group | Company | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| Current | ||||
| Trade receivables | 225,331 | 234,948 | – | – |
| Less allowance for expected credit losses | (12,376) | (11,660) | – | – |
| Net trade receivables | 212,955 | 223,288 | – | – |
| Other receivables | 7,038 | 8,404 | – | – |
| Accrued Income (net of revenue reversals) | 68,045 | 68,716 | – | – |
| Prepayments | 14,534 | 14,849 | – | – |
302,572 | 315,257 | – | – | |
| Non-current | ||||
Amounts due from Group companies | – | – | 1,435,597 | 1,336,349 |
Other receivables | 14,502 | 13,164 | – | – |
14,502 | 13,164 | 1,435,597 | 1,336,349 |
Group | Company | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| Current | ||||
| Trade payables | 7,331 | 15,110 | – | – |
| Amounts owed to Group companies | – | – | 1,632,987 | 1,485,461 |
| Other tax and social security | 47,727 | 47,555 | – | – |
| Other payables | 29,638 | 37,111 | – | – |
Accruals | 121,174 | 129,684 | 139 | 139 |
205,870 | 229,460 | 1,633,126 | 1,485,600 | |
| Non-current | ||||
Other tax and social security | 2,016 | 1,196 | – | – |
Accruals and other payables | 13,326 | 9,230 | – | – |
15,342 | 10,426 | – | – |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Dilapidations | NI on Share Schemes | Other | Total | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
At 1 January 2024 | 6,528 | 1,233 | 1,080 | 8,841 |
Foreign exchange | 517 | – | (1,016) | (499) |
Provided | 687 | – | 70 | 757 |
Utilised | (563) | (483) | 124 | (922) |
Released | (894) | (22) | (49) | (965) |
| At 31 December 2024 and 1 January 2025 | 6,275 | 728 | 209 | 7,212 |
Foreign exchange | (1,320) | – | (94) | (1,414) |
Provided | 985 | 165 | 930 | 2,080 |
Utilised | (705) | (396) | (22) | (1,123) |
Released | (616) | – | (589) | (1,205) |
At 31 December 2025 | 4,619 | 497 | 434 | 5,550 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| (£’000) | (£’000) | |
| Current | 1,869 | 2,653 |
| Non-current | 3,681 | 4,559 |
| Total provisions | 5,550 | 7,212 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Deferred tax assets | 28,495 | 18,127 |
Deferred tax liabilities | (682) | (609) |
27,813 | 17,518 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Share-based | Related party | |||||
| payments | Tax losses | Provisions | transactions | Other | Total | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| At 1 January 2025 | 2,017 | 4,346 | 9,642 | 1,271 | 242 | 17,518 |
| Recognised in OCI/equity for the year | (208) | – | (47) | – | (264) | (519) |
| Recognised in profit or loss for the year | (685) | 10,040 | (1,881) | 3,217 | (1) | 10,690 |
| Exchange differences | 3 | (17) | 12 | 31 | 95 | 124 |
| At 31 December 2025 | 1,127 | 14,369 | 7,726 | 4,519 | 72 | 27,813 |
| At 1 January 2024 | 1,352 | 7,295 | 7,325 | 1,655 | (113) | 17,514 |
| Recognised in OCI/equity for the year | (45) | 700 | – | – | 88 | 743 |
| Recognised in profit or loss for the year | 706 | (3,434) | 2,708 | (254) | 121 | (153) |
| Exchange differences | 4 | (215) | (391) | (130) | 146 | (586) |
| At 31 December 2024 | 2,017 | 4,346 | 9,642 | 1,271 | 242 | 17,518 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
No. of | ||||||||
options out- | ||||||||
| Balance at | standing at | Base | ||||||
| 1 January | Granted | Exercised | Lapsed | 31 December | EPS/OP | Exercise price | ||
| Year of grant | 2025 | in year | in year | in year 2025 | range † | per share | Exercise period | |
2015 (Note 1)* | 255,000 | – | – | (255,000) | – | OP range | 526.0p-534.0p | Mar 2018 – Mar 2025 |
2016 (Note 1)* | 145,000 | – | – | – | 145,000 | OP range | 406.0p-427.0p | Mar 2019 – Mar 2026 |
2017 (Note 1)* | 155,000 | – | – | – | 155,000 | OP range | 435.44p | Mar 2020 – Mar 2027 |
2018 (Note 1)* | 1,209,865 | – | – | (190,000) | 1,019,865 | OP range | 529.0p | Mar 2021 – Mar 2028 |
2019 (Note 1) | 1,392,673 | – | – | (180,895) | 1,211,778 | OP range | 458.2p-473.80p | Mar 2022 – Mar 2029 |
2020 (Note 1) | 1,121,011 | – | – | (99,000) | 1,022,011 | OP range | 332.0p-387.47p | Mar 2023 – Mar 2030 |
2021 (Note 1) | 1,636,025 | – | – | (201,200) | 1,434,825 | OP range | 480.1p | Mar 2024 – Mar 2031 |
2022 (Note 1) | 1,950,138 | – | – | (260,138) | 1,690,000 | OP range | 492.8p-509p | Mar 2025 – Mar 2032 |
2023 (Note 1) | 2,331,305 | – | – | (221,526) | 2,109,779 | OP range | 439.6p | Mar 2026 – Mar 2033 |
2024 (Note 1) | 2,473,472 | – | – | (291,525) | 2,181,947 | OP range | 450.4p | Mar 2027 – Mar 2034 |
2025 (Note 1) | – | 2,375,000 | – | (229,444) | 2,145,556 | OP range | 324.1p | Mar 2028 – Mar 2035 |
Total 2025 | 12,669,489 | 2,375,000 | – | (1,928,728) | 13,115,761 | |||
| Weighted | ||||||||
| average | ||||||||
| exercise price | ||||||||
2025 (£) | 4.58 | 3.24 | – | 4.56 | 4.34 | |||
Total 2024 | 11,408,807 | 2,545,000 | (126,655) | (1,157,663) | 12,669,489 | |||
| Weighted | ||||||||
| average | ||||||||
| exercise price | ||||||||
2024 (£) | 4.61 | 4.50 | 3.70 | 4.73 | 4.58 | |||
2025 | 2024 | |||
| Number of | Number of | |||
| £’000 | shares | £’000 | shares | |
Allotted, called-up and fully paid ordinary shares of 1p each At 1 January | 3,286 | 328,618,774 | 3,286 | 328,618,774 |
Shares issued | – | – | – | – |
At 31 December | 3,286 | 328,618,774 | 3,286 | 328,618,774 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ESIP | MIP | |
| As at 1 January 2025 | 865,755 | 2,222,208 |
| Granted | 313,608 | 1,540,096 |
| Lapsed | – | (550,924) |
| Exercised | (314,823) | (687,218) |
| As at 31 December 2025 | 864,540 | 2,524,162 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Share Option Plans | Management Incentive Plan | |||
2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| Share price (£) | 3.24 | 4.50 | 3.24 | 4.50 |
| Average exercise price (£) | 3.24 | 4.50 | Nil | Nil |
| Weighted average fair value (£) | 0.46 | 0.69 | 2.60 | 3.63 |
| Expected volatility | 29.67% | 31.64% | 29.67% | 31.64% |
| Expected life | 5 years | 5 years | 3 years | 3 years |
| Risk free rate | 4.12% | 3.92% | 4.12% | 3.92% |
Expected dividend yield | 7.29% | 7.17% | 7.29% | 7.17% |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Group | Company | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
Cash at bank and in hand | 31,376 | 95,348 | – | – |
Short-term deposits | – | – | – | – |
Cash and cash equivalents | 31,376 | 95,348 | – | – |
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows | 31,376 | 95,348 | – | – |
Net funds | 31,376 | 95,348 | – | – |
22. Financial risk management
The Group has exposure to the following risks from its use of financial instruments:
(i) credit risk
(ii) liquidity risk
(iii) market risk
This note presents information about the Group’s exposure to each of the above risks, the Group’s objectives, policies and
processes for measuring and managing risk, and the Group’s management of capital. Further quantitative disclosures are
included throughout these consolidated financial statements.
The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the establishment and oversight of the Group’s risk management
framework.
The Group’s risk management policies are established to identify and analyse the risks faced by the Group, to set
appropriate risk limits and controls, and to monitor risks and adherence to limits. Risk management policies and systems
are reviewed regularly to reflect changes in market conditions and the Group’s activities. The Group, through its training
and management standards and procedures, aims to develop a disciplined and constructive control environment in which
all employees understand their roles and obligations.
The Audit Committee oversees how management monitors compliance with the Group’s risk management policies and
procedures and reviews the adequacy of the risk management framework in relation to the risks faced by the Group.
The Audit Committee is assisted in its oversight role by Internal Audit. Internal Audit undertakes both regular and ad hoc
reviews of risk management controls and procedures, the results of which are reported to the Audit Committee.
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Gross trade | Net trade | Gross trade | Net trade | |||
| receivables | Provision | receivables | receivables | Provision | receivables | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| Not past due | 136,083 | (887) | 135,196 | 140,168 | (908) | 139,260 |
| Past due 0-30 days | 46,908 | (307) | 46,601 | 51,156 | (332) | 50,824 |
| Past due 31-150 days | 29,216 | – | 29,216 | 31,025 | (1) | 31,024 |
| More than 150 days | 13,124 | (11,182) | 1,942 | 12,599 | (10,419) | 2,180 |
| 225,331 | (12,376) | 212,955 | 234,948 | (11,660) | 223,288 |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
| Balance at beginning of the year | 11,660 | 11,144 |
| Expected credit losses recognised on receivables | 31,666 | 33,425 |
| Amounts written off as uncollectable | (3,471) | (2,369) |
| Amounts recovered/reversed during the year | (27,479) | (30,540) |
| Balance at end of the year | 12,376 | 11,660 |
| Net trade receivables | ||
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
EMEA | 131,023 | 140,732 |
United Kingdom | 25,215 | 31,063 |
Asia Pacific | 24,165 | 21,969 |
Americas | 32,552 | 29,564 |
212,955 | 223,288 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Less than | 1-3 | 3-12 | More than | |
| 1 month | months | months | 12 months | |
| 2025 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
Lease liabilities | 3,454 | 6,191 | 27,019 | 110,948 |
Trade payables | 7,017 | 314 | - | - |
Accruals and other payables | 115,235 | 17,365 | 18,212 | 13,326 |
| Less than | 1-3 | 3-12 | More than | |
| 1 month | months | months | 12 months | |
| 2024 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
Lease liabilities | 2,824 | 4,895 | 24,961 | 104,110 |
Trade payables | 13,988 | 1,066 | 56 | - |
Accruals and other payables | 113,574 | 20,686 | 32,535 | 9,230 |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Derivatives at fair value | ||
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
Derivative assets | 206 | 322 |
Derivative liabilities | (566) | (538) |
Net derivative liabilities | (360) | (216) |
Equity | Profit before tax | |||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
| Euro | (7,758) | (7,870) | 738 | 1,048 |
| Australian Dollar | (597) | (698) | 124 | 429 |
| Swiss Franc | (259) | (323) | 87 | 58 |
| Chinese Renminbi | (637) | (546) | (106) | 340 |
| Hong Kong Dollar | (517) | (523) | (27) | (25) |
| Singapore Dollar | (1,507) | (1,561) | 48 | (36) |
| United States Dollar | (517) | (1,260) | 643 | 550 |
| Other | (2,938) | (3,106) | 98 | (363) |
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
24. Events after the balance sheet date
There have been no material events after the balance sheet date that require disclosure.
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | |
Wages and salaries | 5,865 | 6,240 |
Social security costs | 780 | 711 |
Short-term benefits | 657 | 444 |
Pension costs – defined contribution plans | 72 | 71 |
Share-based payments | 1,831 | 1,914 |
9,205 | 9,380 |
| Amounts owed | Amounts owed | |||||
| Dividends received | by related parties | to related parties | ||||
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | £’000 | |
Transactions | 27,021 | 166,204 | 1,435,597 | 1,336,349 | 1,632,987 | 1,485,461 |
Five-year summary
2021
£’000
2022
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2025
£’000
Revenue 1,643,740 1,990,287 2,010,303 1,738,937 1,596,577
Gross profit 877,720 1,076,294 1,007,132 842,586 769,516
Operating profit 168,510 196,079 118,815 52,449 20,865
Profit before tax 166,645 194,366 117,436 49,127 16,227
Profit attributable to equity holders 118,356 139,012 77,068 28,443 9,017
Conversion
†
19.2% 18.2% 11.8% 6.2% 2.7%
Basic earnings per share (pence) 37.2 43.7 24.4 9.1 2.9
† Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit.
186
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Annual General Meeting
To be held on 28 May 2026 at 9.30am at 200 Dashwood Lang Road, Bourne Business Park,
Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2NX.
Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2025
To be paid (if approved) on 17 June 2026 to Shareholders on the register of members on 15 May 2026.
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Kaye Maguire
Company number
3310225
Registered office, domicile and legal form
The Company is a limited liability company incorporated and domiciled within the United Kingdom .
The address of its registered office is:
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
1 More London Place
London SE1 2AF
Solicitor
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Exchange House
Primrose Street
London EC2A 2EG
Banker
HSBC Bank plc
1-3 Bishopsgate
London EC2N 3AQ
Shareholder Information
and Advisers
Joint corporate brokers
Citigroup
33 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London E14 5LB
RBC Capital Markets
100 Bishopsgate
London EC2N 4AA
Registrar
MUFC Corporate Markets
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds LS1 4DL
Financial PR
FTI Consultancy
200 Aldersgate
Aldersgate Street
London EC1A 4HD
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STRATEGIC REPORT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION