Statement of Directors' Responsibilities in Relation to the Group Financial Statement

The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Group financial statements in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and those International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union.

The directors are required to prepare Group financial statements for each financial year which present fairly the financial position of the Group and the financial performance and cash flows of the Group for that period. In preparing those Group 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;
• 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 IFRSs 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;
• state that the Group has complied with IFRSs, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
• prepare the accounts on a going concern basis unless, having assessed the ability of the Group to continue as a going concern, management either intends to liquidate the entity or to cease trading, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

The directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and enable them to ensure that the Group financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Under applicable UK law and regulations the directors are responsible for the preparation of a Directors’ Report, Directors’ Remuneration Report and Corporate Governance Report that comply with that law and regulations. In addition the directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Company’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.