Managing our business for the long-term
Knights runs its operations with the highest standards of corporate governance and conduct.
All of this is overseen by a Board of Directors who bring a wide range of relevant skills and experience.
Board composition
- Non-legal background 80% (4 out of 5)
(2022: 80%) - Independent Directors 60% (3 out of 5)
(2022: 50%) - Gender diversity 60% (3 out of 5)
(2022: 60%) - Ethnic diversity 20% (1 out of 5)
(2022: 20%)
Accountability
- Board member accountable for ESG: Jane Pateman
- Independent Audit Committee chair: Gillian Davies
- Independent Remuneration Committee chair: Jane Pateman
- Compliance Director and Anti-Money Laundering Officer
- COLP and COFA
Foundations
- ESG and corruption fines: None
- Political contributions: None
- Compliance training: 88% of staff fully trained
The Board guides Knights’ approach and is committed to extending its values to all stakeholder groups, including shareholders, clients, employees, governments and regulators, as well as the communities in which it operates.
The Board comprises two Executive Directors, the Non-Executive Chairman and a further two independent Non-Executive Directors. The Board believes that the Directors have an effective blend of financial and public market experience, diversity, skill sets and capabilities. Our CEO, David Beech, is the only member of our Board with a legal background. The rest of the Directors bring a broad range of experience from across various disciplines and a wide range of industries.
We are scaling our culture of operating responsibly, sustainably and with integrity. This is essential to the long-term success of the Group.
The Group is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority and is committed to conducting its business to the highest standards.
Knights has a meticulous ‘Know Your Client’ process to ensure that its business is not used as a conduit for the proceeds of crime, terrorism or money laundering. The Group conducts thorough audits on client backgrounds prior to working with them, and its dedicated, independent in-house compliance teams rigorously monitor all work being conducted throughout the business on an ongoing basis.
All colleagues receive mandatory compliance training during the onboarding process and are required to refresh this every year, with more than 5,722 hours of refresher training delivered in FY23.
Anti-Bribery and Corruption
Knights is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethics and compliance with all relevant laws wherever it does business. The Group does not tolerate any form of bribery or corruption and requires all individuals working for it to comply with anti-bribery and corruption laws and ethical standards.
Whistleblowing
All employees of Knights should feel able to raise concerns about any safety, legal or ethical issues. If they feel unable to report these concerns to a manager, the Group also provides an anonymous whistleblowing process, which is detailed on its intranet.
The Group has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery anywhere in its supply chain and a full copy of its policy is available on our website.
- Board members 5
- Independence 60%
- Non-legal background 80%
- Gender diversity 60%