Risk

“(Aligned to the opportunities described)

- Protecting people & Enhancing communities: ■ Changes in the economy ■ Exposure to the UK housing market ■ Poor contract selection ■ Safety or environmental incident

- Developing people: ■ Failure to attract and retain talented people

- Working together with our supply chain: ■ Insolvency of key client, joint venture partner, subcontractor or supplier ■ Inadequate funding ■ Mismanagement of working capital

- Improving the environment: ■ Mispricing a contract ■ Changes to contracts and contract disputes ■ Poor project delivery

- Developing people & Working together with our supply chain: ■ Failure to innovate ■ Failure to invest in information technology

Source: p16-17 Annual Report

Opportunities

• We target growing markets and pursue opportunities that suit our experience and expertise. We take a long-term approach to relationships with our clients, aiming to deliver exceptional quality and service that encourages them to choose us on their next project and recommend us to others. In 2017 82% of our projects achieved Perfect Delivery1 (2016: 81%). To deliver consistently high quality, we recruit talented people and engage closely with our supply chain to ensure they are attuned to our values and standards.
• We invest in developing and motivating our people to help them achieve their potential. Personal development plans are designed bespoke to the individual and we promote internally wherever possible. In 2017, 8.2% of employees were promoted internally across the Group. Our decentralised approach empowers our employees to innovate and take responsibility for their decisions.
• We rigorously manage our cash, working capital and overheads. By working in partnership with local authorities and landowners we avoid the need to purchase land on the open market for development. We also use alternative sources of funding where the conditions are favourable.
• Operational efficiencies are achieved through Group-wide procurement agreements, continuously improving our systems and processes and developing and deploying new technology. By working closely with our clients and subcontractors, we can ensure projects run as smoothly as possible and changes are well managed. Energy savings are a product of our drive to reduce carbon emissions, and the reduction of waste is also regularly measured to reduce the impact of landfill tax as well as resources
• Employees are encouraged to think differently and given the opportunity to share and test their ideas. As the divisions function independently they are able to pursue innovations that best suit their markets and operations.