Strategy

Under UK legislation, Grainger plc is required to publish its approach to the management of UK taxes. The statement below is published to allow the group to comply with its UK statutory duty under Part 2 of Schedule 19, Finance Act 2016.  The below statement has effect for the group’s financial year ending 30 September 2027.

As a group we remain committed to creating long term shareholder value through the delivery of our business strategy of long term investment in UK rental housing.  We adopt an approach to tax that supports this strategy and also balances the various interests of our stakeholders, including shareholders, government, employees and the communities in which we operate.  

Our aim is to pursue a principled and sustainable tax strategy that has strong commercial merit and is aligned with our business strategy.  We believe this will enhance shareholder value whilst protecting Grainger’s reputation.

We are committed to meeting our legal obligations by making tax return filings and tax payments on time. 

This tax strategy reflects and complements the group’s overall commercial strategy, aims and operations for the year ending 30 September 2027. This statement is published in accordance with the group’s UK statutory duty under Part 2 of Schedule 19, Finance Act 2016

Our approach to tax risk management and governance arrangements, and the level of risk that the group is prepared to accept:

Responsibility for tax policy and management of tax risks rests with the Chief Financial Officer who regularly reports on tax matters to the Board. The Chief Financial Officer is supported by the Director of Tax who has delegated responsibility for tax matters on a day to day basis.

The group has a robust risk assessment system in place. A risk scoring matrix is used to ensure that a consistent approach is taken across all risk areas, including tax.  These risks, and their impact and likelihood scores, are documented and reviewed quarterly. The Board reviews all material risks.

The group’s approach to tax risk reflects our objective of operating on a ‘low risk’ basis with HMRC. This is the level of tax risk the group accepts and operates at.

Our approach towards tax planning:

When evaluating tax planning, we will always consider the group’s reputation, brand, corporate and social responsibilities. We will seek to avoid tax pitfalls by considering tax as part of every major business decision, and ensure that statutory tax reliefs via claims and elections are made where appropriate.  The group will not seek to act in a way which we believe to be contrary to the intentions of Parliament when tax legislation was drafted.

Our relationship with HMRC:

We have a positive and transparent working relationship with HMRC and we continually seek to strengthen this relationship. HMRC rate us as a ‘low risk’ taxpayer, a status which we have held for some time.  The group works closely with HMRC to achieve early agreement on issues and certainty on a real-time basis.