The directors are required by the Companies Act 1985 to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the Group as at the end of the financial year and of the profit or loss for the financial year.

The directors consider that in preparing the financial statements the company has used appropriate accounting policies, consistently applied and supported by reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates, and that all accounting standards which they consider to be applicable have been followed.

The directors have responsibility for ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the company and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985. The directors have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Group and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.