Corporate Governance

The Wates Principles on Corporate Governance for Large Private Companies

In 2017, our then Chairman, Sir James Wates CBE, was invited by the Government to lead the development of corporate principles for large private companies.

The resulting code  – now known as the Wates Principles – was launched in December 2018 and provides a framework to help companies to meet legal requirements while promoting long term success. The Wates Principles encourage these companies to adopt a set of key behaviours to secure trust and confidence among stakeholders and benefit the economy and society in general.

Wates became the first company to embed these principles in our financial reporting, within our Annual Review of 2018. Since 1 January 2019, all private companies have been required by law to do the same and demonstrate how they have adopted the principles.