Hermes Parcelnet Limited t/a Evri

Group Tax Strategy

Introduction

Evri is the UK’s biggest dedicated parcel delivery company, delivering more than 720 million parcels a year. The company has a mission to be the most convenient way to send, receive and return parcels, without costing the earth. Evri works with most of Europe’s top retailers, marketplaces and pre-loved sites. The roots of Evri can be traced back to Yorkshire in 1974 but the business has grown over the decades and now has a team of 8,000+ employees, 26,000+ couriers, 14,000+ out of home locations and a growing network of state-of-the-art hubs and depots.

Scope

This strategy applies to the group of companies headed by Concert Topco Ltd (“the UK Group”) which includes the following UK companies: Concert Midco Limited, Concert Bidco Limited, Concert Newco Limited, Hermes Parcelnet Limited, Hermes European Logistics Limited, Hermes General Services (UK) Limited and Parcelnet Limited.

The UK Group is a part of the wider Advent International Group which is a leading independent private equity investment business and operates on a global basis.

The strategy has been agreed by the relevant Executive Boards of the above UK Group entities and is considered to apply from its date of publication until it is superseded. Evri regards publication of the Strategy as fulfilling its obligation under paragraph 16(2) Schedule 19 FA 2016 for the period ended 2 March 2024.

Commitment to compliance

Evri aims to be a preferred choice for customers; building sustainable long-term relationships by acting fairly and, ethically with integrity, following necessary due process.

Evri always applies the core principles of social responsibility and sustainability to its business and considers potential reputational impacts as part of decision making.

Whilst the UK Group has a responsibility to deliver returns and value for its shareholders, the Group takes the requirements of all stakeholders into account and is committed to complying with UK tax rules and regulations and to paying the right amount of tax at the right time.

Advent expects its member businesses to aim for strict adherence to local tax legislation and Evri maintains this commitment.

Tax governance

The CFO of Hermes Parcelnet Ltd (“CFO”) has assumed responsibility and ownership of the tax strategy for all tax matters, for all Group companies, with day-to-day management resting with the Head of Tax of Hermes Parcelnet Ltd. The CFO is also appointed as Senior Accounting Officer (“SAO”) with responsibility for monitoring the integrity of the respective financial reporting systems, internal controls and risk management frameworks which includes those elements relating to taxation.

Processes relating to specific UK taxes are allocated to appropriate internal specialists who maintain monitoring of systems and activities to identify and mitigate risks. Changes to business activity and in legislation are considered for impact on existing systems, processes and reporting, with required consequential changes made to address risks based on materiality and relevant obligations.

The UK Group is also required to report to and consult with the shareholders regarding material issues affecting the structure or operation of the UK businesses from a tax perspective, including identification of significant tax risks.

Responsible attitude toward risk and arranging our tax affairs

The UK Group seeks to actively identify, evaluate, monitor and manage tax risk associated with our business activities.

The UK Group aims for certainty on the tax positions adopted and, in order to adhere to our principles, any structuring undertaken will have commercial and economic substance.

The UK Group will take advantage of available tax incentives, reliefs and exemptions in line with, and in the spirit of, the tax legislation.

The UK Group will not enter into transactions which it considers are contrived, artificial or counter the spirit of the law or whose main purpose is to create an abusive tax result.

UK tax law is complex and constantly evolving meaning that the correct position can sometimes be unclear. We aim to resolve these uncertainties through discussion with HM Revenue & Customs wherever possible.

Where there is significant uncertainty, complexity or material amounts in question, in order to address identified risks, we may seek external advice from reputable tax advisors, legal firms or tax counsel as appropriate and will follow necessary due process.

Relationship with HMRC

The UK Group is committed to the principles of integrity, transparency and openness and seeks to apply these in its dealings with UK tax authorities. Wherever possible we seek constructive and early discussions on any new arising tax matter to obtain certainty.

The UK Group is committed to paying its UK taxes in full and on time and provide any relevant information requested by the tax authorities.

Dated: 29 February 2024