Cadogan Annual Report 2019
Directors’ Report The directors present their report and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019. Principal Activity and Review of the Business The principal activity of the group during the year continued to be property investment. The group’s other activities include the operation of hotels and a concert hall. A review of the group’s business during 2019 and its future prospects is contained in the Strategic Report on pages 8 to 45.
Dividends Interim dividends of £41,437,000 (2018 – £58,259,000) were declared and paid during the year.
Risk Management A summary of the principal risks and uncertainties has been included in the Strategic Report on pages 44 to 45.
Directors Of the directors listed on page 2, all held office for the financial year and up to the date of this report, except Sanjay Patel who was appointed to the board on 18 March 2019 and Harry Morley who was appointed to the board on 1 January 2020. The ultimate holding company maintains liability insurance for its directors and officers and for those of its subsidiaries in respect of proceedings brought by third parties, subject to the conditions set out in section 234 of the Companies Act 2006. Such qualifying third party indemnity provision remains in force as at the date of approving the Directors’ Report.
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Charitable Contributions The group’s charitable contributions for the year were £134,000 (2018 – £78,000). In addition, the Cadogan Charity, a shareholder in the company, makes donations to a variety of local and national charities.
Going Concern The group’s business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, its financial position, financial risk management objectives, details of its financial instruments and derivative activities, and its exposures to price, credit, liquidity and cash flow risk are set out in the Strategic Report on pages 8 to 45. The group has considerable financial resources derived from an established investment property portfolio in prime central London. The group has substantial longterm committed financing arrangements and also has access to overdraft and revolving credit facilities from its bankers. Following the year end, on 3 April 2020 we refinanced our revolving credit facilities, increasing them by £60m to £300m for a minimum duration of 3 years with two 1-year extension options exercisable after the first and second anniversary of the start date. The directors have considered the appropriateness of adopting the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, focusing in particular on the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, consumers and our tenants. The assessment is based on the group’s financial forecasts for the periods to 31 December 2021 overlaid with a severe downside COVID-19 scenario. The severe downside COVID-19 scenario reflects pessimistic assumptions for rent decline, debt write-off