The UK Corporate Governance Code 2018 (the ‘Code’) is the standard against which we measured ourselves in 2022.

A copy of the Code is available from the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk. We are pleased to confirm that we complied with all of the provisions set out in the Code for the period under review Further information about how the Board complies with the Main Principles can be found below and is also set out in the 2024 Annual Report.

The Terms of Reference of the Board’s principal Committees can be found below:

Savills Tax Strategy

Savills plc is a global real estate services provider listed on the London Stock Exchange. We have an international network of over 680 offices and associates and circa 42,000 staff throughout the Americas, the UK, Continental Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, offering a broad range of real estate advisory, management and transactional services to clients all over the world.

The governance of our business is led by the Board of Directors, which is committed to ensuring Savills continues to meet its business, financial and sustainability objectives. The Board has overall responsibility for strategy, governance, ethical trading and risk management, including taxation, globally.

Integral to our success is our integrity and reputation which is articulated in the Savills Code of Conduct, which provides the ethical framework in which our staff operate. This Code sets out our high standards of professional conduct, which extends to our approach to tax, as it does to all our financial matters.

We are committed to complying with our global tax obligations in a transparent and timely manner, consistent with our high professional standards. We aim to be a good corporate citizen which includes paying appropriate taxes due in the jurisdictions in which we operate. We make a significant fiscal contribution in all of the countries in which we operate through meeting our obligations in relation to: Corporation Tax; VAT / Sales Taxes; employment related income tax and social security contributions. We strive to maintain the balance between paying the appropriate amount of taxes and protecting shareholder value by making use of legitimate reliefs and allowances as intended.

Internal Governance

The Group Tax Policy in Savills is owned by the Board of Directors.

Management and policy implementation is overseen by the Group Tax Function. The Subsidiary Chief Financial Officers [‘Subsidiary CFOs’] have a first line of responsibility within their Subsidiaries and tax jurisdictions. The Group Tax Policy and Tax Risk Management Guidance, as published internally on the Group’s intranet and externally on the Group’s website, is reviewed on an ongoing basis as part of the tax and financial planning cycle in conjunction with oversight from the Group Risk Committee and the Audit Committee of the Savills plc Board of Directors.

Risk Appetite

The Board of Directors is responsible for setting the Group’s appetite for all aspects of risk, including tax.

The Savills plc Board has a low appetite for risk in all matters relating to tax. As such:

  • The Group does not engage in aggressive tax planning, avoidance or off shore schemes to artificially reduce tax payable by Group companies,
  • The Group takes a commercial, rather than a tax driven, approach to the management of its business, seeing its tax affairs as a consequence of doing business and not the reason for a transaction,
  • Where tax efficiencies can be achieved on the back of commercially led transactions, such as the use of group reliefs and/or tax free allowances, the Group seeks to use these as set out in legislation and only as intended by such legislation,
  • As a services business, the Group has staff in each jurisdiction in which it operates and pays tax in those territories. The Group does not artificially move profits from one territory to another to gain a tax advantage.

Risk Management

The Board is responsible for the Group’s system of risk management and internal control. Risk is assessed across the Group using a systematic risk management model covering both external and internal factors. The complex international tax environment means that a degree of risk is inevitable regardless of our approach to managing tax risk.

In line with our business generally, the Group adopts a risk based approach to tax management; we identify risks and assess in terms of the likelihood and impact of their occurrence, both at an inherent risk level and a residual, post-control level. The Group Tax Policy sets out the compliance, operational, transactional and reputational risks the Group faces and guidelines on how to manage and mitigate the risks. Where the Group or business units / subsidiaries consider that control improvements are necessary in order to further mitigate risks, appropriate action plans are implemented.

Where appropriate and with guidance from the Group CFO and Group Tax, significant risks may be escalated to the Group Risk Committee and, ultimately, Board level.

Relationship with HMRC and other tax authorities

Savills plc is committed to the principle of transparency and an open approach in dealing with HMRC in the UK and other tax authorities in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Our dealings with tax authorities will be conducted in a courteous, professional and timely manner. We aim to achieve early agreement on disputed matters and to achieve certainty where possible.

The Group maintains a strong, proactive relationship with HMRC and other tax authorities and we aim to engage in early dialogue in respect of potential tax risks and/or significant transactions within the Group.

Our tax strategy has been published in accordance with paragraph 16(2), schedule 19 of the Finance Act 2016, and relates to our accounting period ended 31 December 2024.