Suppliers and health and safety

Strategic report

Environment and community Community investment

Investment

The Group’s community investment is guided by the principle that our income is generated in Marylebone, and therefore support should be focused largely in the local area. Recognising that there are areas in need just outside the 92 acres of the estate, we broaden our reach to support neighbouring communities in the City of Westminster.

Community investment encompasses our charitable giving and support of local institutions and initiatives, and is aligned with our diversity and inclusion aims. It is also recognised as a contributing factor to enhancing employee engagement.

Our support is given through charitable and community support contributions (2022: £1,188,000, 2021: £926,000), fundraising, awareness raising, volunteering, and space in-kind donations.

Over the past year, we have supported our community and the vulnerable people within it in a variety of ways. We have seen and heard first-hand how impactful this support has been. Listed below are examples: — Our scholarships allowed two disadvantaged students from the University of Westminster to focus on their studies in the final year of their degrees. — Our donation to Advance Charity meant more women and children in Westminster, who were at risk of domestic abuse, were sheltered and supported. — Our donation to The Felix Project ensured that an additional 61,000 meals were redistributed to people facing food insecurity and less food ended up in landfill. — Our colleagues donated 46 toys to a local charity nursery, to ensure kids from disadvantaged backgrounds received a gift at Christmas. — Our donation to Pan Intercultural Arts delivered a creative programme for vulnerable young people attending

Beachcroft Academy in Westminster. — A group of six colleagues took part in the Tour de

LandAid challenge which closely mirrored the individual

Tour de France. They cycled 4,199 km shared between the six team members and raised £2,800 for a charity which helps young people experiencing homelessness. — Our donation to the Hospice at Home programme at St John’s Hospice covered the cost of a carer for 12 months. — A group of volunteers supported Age UK Westminster to pack Christmas hampers for elderly and vulnerable residents. — Our donation to ZSL London Zoo funded an educational programme to two local state schools. The programme allowed students unlimited access to the zoo, along with learning opportunities on conservation and protecting local wildlife. — Our partnership with social enterprise 2-3 Degrees allowed us to run a summer programme for local young people at the Fourth Feathers youth centre in north Marylebone. — Our donation funded a six-month ecotherapy programme to rejuvenate a neglected garden space in partnership with mental health charities Mind BWW and Look Ahead. — Our donation supported St Marylebone CE School sixth form with their Green Roof Project. The green roof space will not only improve air quality and benefit the surrounding environment but will also be used for outdoor learning and as a relaxation space for students and staff. — Our £50,000 donation to our local NHS hospital,

University College Hospital, London (UCLH), has continued to support a clinical research project for the

UCLH post-COVID service, following a similar donation last year. By supporting two research fellows, it will help develop innovative diagnostic pathways and evaluate treatment strategies.

Key worker housing

Our support also extended to offering discounted housing to key medical workers at local hospitals. Central London residential properties can be expensive to many and we are conscious that some key medical staff who work in the area are unable to afford to live here. To achieve this, we have been running our own defined housing programme since late 2019 to enable key workers from local hospitals to make Marylebone their home as well as their place of work. The scheme provides a mix of flats rented out at subsidised rates to successful applicants. At the end of the year, we had 16 properties (2021: 10) let to key medical workers at an average discount to market rent of 54% (2021: 55%) which equates to £209,000 (2021: £143,000) of rent foregone in the financial year.

Charitable and community support contributions £1,188,000

Rainbow mural

Following our £50,000 donation last year, UCLH commissioned a rainbow mural to commemorate the 1,000+ staff and volunteers that came together to work on the Critical Care Unit throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Look Ahead

Our donation funded a six-month ecotherapy programme to rejuvenate a neglected garden space in partnership with mental health charities Mind BWW and Look Ahead.

Sleep out to help out

A member of staff, Barry Greenstreet, participated in the LandAid SleepOut, helping raise £3,865 to tackle youth homelessness.

£3,865

WE HAVE BEEN RUNNING OUR OWN DEFINED HOUSING PROGRAMME SINCE LATE 2019 TO ENABLE KEY WORKERS FROM LOCAL HOSPITALS TO MAKE MARYLEBONE VILLAGE THEIR HOME AS WELL AS THEIR PLACE OF WORK.

“The Education Access Scheme at ZSL London Zoo has been invaluable to us this year in enriching the opportunities we provide our students. This scheme has removed the financial barrier and has encouraged us to bring all students to enjoy the zoo and to learn about the applications of science ‘in the real world’ and to explore careers in science too.”

Head of Physics,

St Marylebone CE School

The Queen’s Green Canopy

Our donation to The Queen’s Green Canopy allowed planting of 11 trees across Westminster, which will benefit current and future generations. With a focus on planting sustainably, they encouraged planting of trees in traditionally nature-deprived areas.