Embracing our agency

ANNUAL REPORT 2023/24

We choose to evolve as a business. Not simply

as a response to how communications, technology

and culture are changing and shaping our clients’

worlds. But because it’s more important than ever

that we embrace and direct the restless energy

that makes Emperor unique.

This report is about our agency. It celebrates

another year of ambition and adaptation. And tells

the story of the changes we’ve made that led us

to explore interesting spaces, find different ways

of working and meet new client needs.

Introduction

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

About EmperorOur year

Strategy and performance Governance

Our year

The story of the things that

have shaped us – and been

shaped by us in turn.

Agents of change

Throughout this report, we are celebrating

the people who made this year possible.

Rather than just tell you what went on,

we’ve passed the mic so you can hear,

in their own words, how our brilliant

partners made a difference.

Our strategy

and performance

We are an ambitious business.

Our strategy sets out how we

turn those aspirations into success.

Our

governance

Our governance holds

everyone to account,

ensuring transparency

for our most important

audience of all: our partners.

Who, what, how

We’re an employee-owned strategic

and creative communications consultancy.

This explains just exactly what we mean

by that.

Read more on

page 2

Read more on

page 62

Read more on

page 24

Read more on

page 16

Contents

Strategy and performance

About EmperorOur year Governance

Defining

our path

This is the story of the different things

that have shaped us in the past year –

and that have been shaped by us in turn.

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

In this section

4 Maximising our unique

footprint

6 Dedicated to our clients

8 Leveraging innovation

10 Moving with our markets

12 Championing our partners

14 Staying committed

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Smarter designs

for SmartestEnergy

For SmartestEnergy’s new suite of websites, you can really see the impact

of Emperor handling both brand and website design. We squeezed every

drop from the identity to create something flexible, dynamic and full of life.

Jack Lloyd Davies

Digital Creative Director

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

Maximising our unique footprint

Being ‘One Emperor’ gives us strength and agility in our

scale. For nearly 30 years we have helped clients navigate

new technology, shifting consumer preferences, and

global economic and political challenges. Alongside our

strong UK base, we are supporting clients in Europe and

the Middle East through rapid growth and seeing the

IPO activity that we haven’t in the UK recently.

Meanwhile, our unique regional footprint means we can

proudly support exceptional businesses local to our offices.

Taking a company public is one of the

most high-pressure and fast-paced

experiences in business. And one that

needs experienced and expert support

to get the best possible outcome.

In the Middle East and North Africa

(MENA), there’s been a burst of initial

public offering (IPO) activity – 54 in 2024

(a 12.5% year-on-year increase), raising

US$12.6 billion. And we’ve been at the heart

of this momentum, supporting high-profile

listings, including LuLu Group, Mair Group,

and Talabat.

Talabat’s IPO in Dubai was the largest

tech IPO of 2024, raising almost $2 billion.

It was also the biggest listing in the United

Arab Emirates. As the region’s leading food

delivery platform, Talabat’s market debut

marked a major milestone in its growth,

reinforcing investor confidence in the

digital economy.

We worked closely with Talabat to craft

a compelling first annual report, blending

engaging storytelling with clarity about

their strategy, growth ambitions and

market leadership. The report captured

the essence of the brand while meeting

regulatory and investor needs, establishing

a strong foundation for its journey as a

public company.

Market

debuts

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Andrey Demin

Creative Director

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

emperor.works

Picardy Place – Edinburgh

The creative concept, “Let’s Go!”, captured

the adventurous spirit of our target audience

– a rallying cry for something new and

exciting. We brought it to life through a

multi-channel campaign, including radio

ads, social media, dynamic out-of-home ads,

such as an Edinburgh city tram wrap.

It was a huge success – not just smashing

our targets but reframing Lost Shore as a

complete adventure experience and laying

the foundations for the resort’s future.

When we think surfing, we often think

distant, exotic locations. But Europe’s

largest inland surf destination is actually

much closer to home – Lost Shore Surf

Resort near Edinburgh.

Changing this perception was the heart

of our campaign work with Lost Shore –

normalising an unfamiliar idea of inland

surfing and making it appealing to a broad

range of people (especially given there are

only 650,000 surfers in the UK).

Surfing is a unique escape from the

everyday. Unfortunately, it feels out

of reach for most. These barriers are

all removed by Lost Shore’s location

– leading to our campaign strategy of

‘Escapism made easy’.

Making

waves

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Sheona MacPherson

Client Director

Dedicated to our clients

We’re expanding our offer to be increasingly

relevant to our exceptional clients, developing

our relationships and finding exciting new ways to

work with their teams on new projects and impact.

We are proud to have so many enduring

partnerships – lots over a decade – while also

welcoming new clients to the Emperor family

each year.

How do you make mandatory compliance

training more than an obligation, but

genuinely interesting? That was the

challenge put to us by Phoenix Group,

the UK’s largest long-term savings and

retirement business. We’ve worked with

them for more than five years across a whole

range of communications briefs, but this

was certainly something out of the ordinary.

To take the complex, technical – and often a

touch dry – and make it relatable, engaging

and easily understood.

Cracking a

compliance

challenge

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Henry Ker

Editor In Chief

The video podcast was our solution:

tapping into the cultural zeitgeist and a

familiar format many of us enjoy every

day, bringing personality, warmth and real

experience to the fore.

With an overarching creative concept of

‘Cracking the Code’, we wrote discussion

guides and steered Phoenix’s experts

through an engaging conversation and

their shared experiences. It was cool to

see how excited all the Phoenix colleagues

were on the shoot days – they saw it as

something special and were so enthusiastic

to be a part of it.

It was a big success. A 99% completion

rate within the first four weeks and average

rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 is testament to

the impact a creative approach to everyday

topics can have.

Years average tenure

among our largest

100 clients

Awards won

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

Ten years ago, the Emperor team arrived

at the BBC’s famous Broadcasting House,

filled with anticipation – not just for our

annual report pitch, but also to catch a

glimpse of a celebrity. While we didn’t

spot any stars, we did see the original

Doctor Who police box in reception.

Since the news that we were the pitch

winners, a decade of working together has

passed. One that has seen huge change for

news and media – and which the BBC has

evolved to meet. At Emperor, we’ve evolved

too. Today, our designs for the BBC’s report

are integrated into the Workiva platform,

allowing data to be automatically updated

across multiple locations.

I’ve formed a real friendship with Laura

(our client) over our shared love of

exploring London. That spirit of exploration

is reflected in our creative approach –

pushing boundaries to create inspirational

yet relevant designs that help bring the

‘BBC for everyone’ message to life.

Time has flown by but, a decade later,

that same core team still feels the same

thrill working with such an iconic British

institution. This enduring relationship is a

testament to shared aspirations and values.

And even now, every time we visit, I still get

a buzz from seeing the live newsroom in

action. And any Doctor Who props.

Travelling

together

through time

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Bart Hallett

Account Director

We have been considering how AI could

enhance our internal processes and support

the delivery of exceptional client work.

We see AI as an enabler for our partners,

enhancing innovation while strengthening

the people-centric culture.

We have identified the most important

areas of value for our teams and clients,

so there is alignment with our responsible

business approach.

This has involved mapping high-impact-use

cases, setting ethical guardrails, selecting

the right tools and establishing training

plans to upskill our partners.

We partnered with Ainigma, a people-first

generative AI consultancy, who have

helped us pinpoint key opportunities and

how to implement AI safely and ethically.

This creates a strong foundation to build

in the long term, rather than chasing short

term gains.

The possibilities are endless and we will

continue to explore new ways that AI can

make a difference. That said, AI at Emperor

will always be a catalyst, amplifying human

potential and guided by our people.

The fast

and the

AI-curious

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Oliver Long

Technical Director

Leveraging innovation

The systems and programmes we use are intrinsic

to the quality of support we can offer. We embrace

innovation and look to new tools, such as AI, and all

the opportunity they bring.

Our tried and tested core systems, developed

with both trusted existing technology partners

and exciting new entrants, ensure we are always

meeting the needs of clients.

Unless you have been living under a rock,

you will have heard about the progress of

AI technology. The new capabilities and

intense competition have pushed costs

down to allow for both experimentation

and full onboarding.

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

A fantastic opportunity to showcase

how technology can enhance reporting,

efficiency and high-quality communications,

last year’s Workiva Amplify conference

in Amsterdam brought together the best

in the business. We had the privilege of

presenting alongside our client, BT Group

– collaborating with our clients is always a

highlight and sharing the stage to discuss

real-world Workiva applications was

particularly rewarding.

Our session explored the future of corporate

reporting and how organisations can

work smarter, not harder. With increasing

regulatory demands and stakeholder

expectations, the need for integrated,

transparent, and accessible reports is critical.

The second session explored the broader

trends shaping reporting and how

companies are facing pressure to align

disclosures with evolving regulatory

requirements.

A huge thank you to our partners at

Workiva for such an insightful event and

to our clients for sharing their experiences

with us. The demand for intelligent, user-

friendly reporting solutions will only grow

– there are fascinating times ahead!

The Workiva event provided a fantastic

opportunity to learn and collaborate

face-to-face with my counterparts in

different organisations. It was also

insightful to understand the platform’s

future and its benefits.”

Sandra Gonzalez

Principal, Transformation and Production, BT Group

Workiva clients

Working

smarter,

not harder

5+ years

Using the platform to make

our clients’ lives easier

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Amanda Woodward

Chief Commercial Officer

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

Moving with our markets

New regulation in turn creates new work challenges

and the need to bring in new partnerships to add

to our ecosystem of specialists. It’s something we

are constantly monitoring and scrutinising, as we

look to offer our clients complete solutions.

Central to our work are the strong relationships

with the stock exchanges our clients are issuers

on. Over time we have moved beyond providing

insights and sponsorship to facilitating training

and development initiatives – setting ourselves

at the cutting edge of best practice.

We recognise that to be true strategic

advisors for our clients, we can’t always

go it alone. So we collaborate to co-create

new services.

Nowhere is this more critical than in

sustainability. The role of the Chief

Sustainability Officer (CSO) has expanded

significantly, as regulation demands deeper

integration of sustainability within strategy.

For example, the Corporate Sustainability

Reporting Directive (CSRD) means

CSOs must navigate complex regulation,

policy development, data collection and

management and reporting. As a result,

they are seeking agency partners that

can provide multi-faceted support.

This requires a blend of expertise –

capabilities rarely found in one place.

We have established a new partnership

with Tata Consulting Services (TCS).

TCS brings world-class innovation,

technology and data management

expertise, complementing our strengths

in strategy, reporting, and communications.

Together, we can provide seamless all-

service solutions.

This has supported our expansion in

areas where we previously had limited

reach, helping clients much earlier in

thei sustainability journeys – for example,

we recently launched our joint CSRD

Readiness Assessment. This is just the

beginning of our journey with TCS, and

we are energised about what lies ahead.

Seamless

solutions

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Lara Sharrock

Sustainability Director

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

1111

We love to collaborate with industry bodies,

stock exchanges, and academic institutions.

And through these partnerships, we’ve

delivered training to a whole range of

companies and shared our knowledge

on different industry platforms.

We were proud to be appointed an official

ESG training provider for Euronext this

year. From technical requirements to

the art of storytelling, our CSRD training

course blends regulatory expertise with

practical application. Having guided our

clients through CSRD reporting before

it became mandated, we are honoured

to be recognised as an industry leader.

We also deepened our partnership with

the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG),

facilitating and speaking on panels at

their Investor Relations Masterclass. It was

also great to see many of our partners in

the LSEG recording studio, participating

in the Marketplace Matters series and

helping listed businesses future-proof their

corporate reporting.

Our partnership with the IR Society

continues to grow. Earlier this year,

we were pleased to host IR Society

members at our London office for our

Introduction to Annual Reporting training

session – and we’re excited to collaborate

on a CSRD webinar in Spring 2025.

In MENA, we have been delivering training

workshops on Integrated Reporting in

Qatar and Al Khobar, Saudi, in partnership

with MEIRA. We also spoke at the MEIRA

Conference in Abu Dhabi and the Future

Sustainability Forum in Dubai, where we

moderated two panels.

This year’s partnerships with stock

exchanges and industry bodies position us

at the vanguard of industry developments,

while creating valuable opportunities

for our clients, peers, and colleagues.

Looking ahead, we have a dynamic

lineup of roundtables, webinars, and

thought leadership initiatives with new

and long-standing partners to further

strengthen our network.

Exchanging

ideas

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Samantha Trillwood

Director of Stakeholder Communications

1212

Championing our partners

Our partners come to us to build their skills and

experience and we are proud to nurture the fresh

faces that stay to have fulfilling careers at Emperor.

But alongside the exciting new hires we welcome

every year, we have many amazing long-standing

partners – with tenures of more than 10 and

15 years in many cases.

This year, we celebrated Marc Jenks’ 15th

anniversary. As Executive Creative Director,

Marc has played an invaluable role in shaping

creativity at Emperor. His thinking, craft,

and passion for all things design have

inspired countless colleagues and clients

over the years.

To recognise this incredible milestone,

those closest to him wanted to express

just how much he means to them. So,

we created a film sharing 15 memories

and observations from the past 15 years.

But one quote sums it all up: ‘genius

from day one, always a genius’.

Recognising

a true creative

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Adam Holloway

Chief Creative Officer

In my 15 years at Emperor, I’m

most proud of being able to play

a role in supporting outstanding

creatives as they progress in

their careers and develop their

craft. Sharing my experience and

seeing others flourish is incredibly

rewarding – not just for me,

but for our clients as well.”

Marc Jenks

Executive Creative Director

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

Giving young talent a shot is about as

‘Emperor’ as it gets. It’s been at the heart

of our way of doing things since we set

up the business 28+ years ago, and it’s

so pleasing to see each new generation

embrace this philosophy.

It’s embodied by our ‘We give youth

a chance’ pledge and we have set up a

number of different pathways to support

talented individuals in kick-starting

their careers. Through apprenticeships,

mentoring and hands-on work experience,

we help them build the foundations for

long-term success. This year, we were

pleased to confirm permanent roles for

apprentices in positions like Production

Assistant and Junior Artworker –

just one example of how we nurture

long-term growth.

From

apprentice to

master

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Steve Kemp

Chair and Founder

Partners with more

than 10 years’ service

New partners

I started at Emperor as an

apprentice more than 10 years ago

and have been supported at every

step of my career. Moving from

the content team into QA (quality

assurance) testing, I gained

industry qualifications, including

ISTQB certification, with Emperor’s

backing. Now, I’m sharing my

knowledge as a manager. There’s

always an opportunity to learn

here, and that culture of growth

has helped me develop both

professionally and personally.”

Julian Nesteriuc

QA Manager

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance Governance

Staying committed

We are committed to running Emperor responsibly

and transparently – so that our partners can

understand why and how we do things and then

share in our success. Although our governance

structures are now well established, we look to

periodically refresh our Board and Partner Board to

get new perspectives that challenge us to be better.

We also care about supporting the things that

matter most to us. We’re always looking for new

ways to raise funds and get our people involved

and activated in good causes.

My ‘day job’ is Global VP Executive Talent

at Mars Incorporated, a family-owned

$50 billion consumer goods company,

where I’ve been for more than 25 years.

That job focuses on recruiting, assessing

and developing senior leaders for continued

business success. It’s about having that eye

on the future. So, I’ve developed a deep

understanding of the skills needed to run

a business – both for today and those that

may be needed down the line.

We always need to balance these

demands when we hire – as well as building

development programmes to get the best

out of our current leaders.

There are many similarities between Mars

and Emperor. Both have been driven by the

brilliance of their founders, both have values

at their heart, and both know that the future

will be very different. Working with Emperor

is an opportunity to be part of a fantastic,

fast-growing, principled business.

This amazing business is about to celebrate

its 30th anniversary! The role of NEDs is to

ensure it celebrates its 40th. And its 50th.

And many more, always stronger than before.

New

perspectives

I was delighted to be asked to become

a Non-Executive Director at Emperor.

I started working with Emperor back in

2021, advising Steve and Kingsley as we

transitioned to become employee owned.

Now my role is about senior people

advisory support, as well as providing

my guidance for the Board and Senior

Leadership Team.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

David Haines

Non-Executive Director

In the very (very) early morning of

21 September 2024, 41 brave penguins

and their families set off through the cold

and dark to conquer Snowdon. We weren’t

just doing it for the thrill – but in support of

the Emperor Foundation’s chosen charity,

PAPYRUS, Prevention of Young Suicide. And

there couldn’t be a more deserving cause.

We envisioned a peaceful sunrise moment,

sipping tea on picnic blankets at the summit.

Reality? 50mph winds, pitch darkness, and

a full-body workout. Less ‘gentle hike’,

more ‘epic battle against the elements’.

Victoria Capstick

Client Director

£55,114

Raised from the

Snowdon climb

1,329

Supporters donated

to the climb

Climbing

for hope

But despite feeling like we’d accidentally

entered an extreme survival challenge, we

powered through. The group camaraderie,

sheer willpower, and occasional ‘are we

nearly there yet?’ carried us up the 3,560ft

to the summit before we descended to see

the stunning landscape. A view to behold.

But here’s the real victory: £55,000 raised

so far! That means 5,500 helpline calls to

PAPYRUS HOPELINE247, a lifeline for those

in need, alongside raising awareness for this

incredible charity.

About EmperorOur year Strategy and performance GovernanceAbout Emperor

Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year About Emperor

Telling

our story

Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year About Emperor

In this section

18 Who we are

20 What we do

22 How we do it

AGENTS OF CHANGE

The original

innovator

Sitting in a crowded room, watching this film gave me goosebumps.

Delivered across three parts – each exploring a theme critical to

the company’s mission – the storytelling, attention to detail, and

complex audio all came together to create something special.

Dow’s employees and industry partners felt the same, it was a

truly immersive experience.

Adam Holloway

Chief Creative Officer

1818

Emperor is an employee-owned strategic

and creative communications consultancy.

We help organisations connect with

their stakeholders to achieve great things.

We’re here to turn ambition into success

through the power of clear, confident

and consistent communications.

Years of sustainable business

300+

Experts supporting our clients

Years employee owned

B Corp

Certified since September 2022

Creative hubs

Who we are

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Established

Over 28 years, we have

created a powerful culture

and a sustainable business

model. We’re one of the largest

independent agencies in the UK

by size and scale, with a unique

national and international

presence.

Trusted

We earn the trust and

confidence of our clients by

understanding what matters to

them. We have a 300-strong

team of talented partners, all

with a diverse blend of skills

and experience, and the ability

to deliver across channels.

Flexible

Emperor has scale and agility.

Through our network of creative

hubs, we deliver for our clients across

the UK and internationally. We put

dedicated teams together from across

our business, matching the right

people for the right client with the

right expertise at the right time.

Partner-powered

Employee ownership means we

attract and retain a truly different

kind of talent. Becoming partners

in our business from their first day

creates a unique culture of ownership

and ensures our business remains

strong and sustainable.

Responsible

After we became employee

owned in January 2020,

B Corp felt like a natural

next step for us. We have a

track record of responsible

business and B Corp provides

a framework with which to

gauge our approach and

guide us going forward.

Connected

Our close links with industry bodies,

regulators, standard-setters and

thought leaders enable us to be our

clients’ eyes and ears. Through strong

cross-team collaboration and breadth

of contemporary and related services

we solve our clients’ challenges.

International

Today, our clients represent

44 countries and are truly

global in outlook and reach.

Our Dubai office gives us

a base to look east and

today we have 24 clients

in the MENA region.

Who we are

Why our clients

love us

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Stakeholder reporting

Our award-winning team supports

companies of all sizes on their reporting

journeys. We help our clients to navigate

the evolving regulatory landscape, create

a strong framework for future reporting

and unlock value through an engaging

reporting network, tailored to

stakeholder expectations.

Sustainability

We create sustainability strategies

laser-focused on the issues that matter,

inspiring award-winning reports, and

campaigns and communications that

differentiate from peers and connect

with all audiences. While our leadership

position is built on deep expertise in

regulation and reporting, it is unique

in its breadth across brand, employee

engagement, communications and digital.

Brand and campaigns

We guide our clients through the

moments that really matter on their

brand and marketing journeys. Through

a combination of strategic, creative and

delivery expertise, we define, revitalise

and activate brands. We create

sustainable impact through compelling

brand propositions, meaningful

employee engagement, and powerful

campaigns, content and experiences.

Creative,

compelling

communication

Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year About Emperor

What we do

Employee engagement

Our team of employee engagement

experts helps organisations to solve

critical challenges in talent, culture,

and employee communication. By

empowering people, we enable

businesses to thrive. Combining strategic

insights, creativity, and flawless delivery,

we engage employees in transformative

initiatives, reset cultures and values, and

shift mindsets and behaviours.

Moving image

Film and animation are powerful ways for

businesses to inform, inspire, and tell their

stories. Our moving image team is fully

in-house, including producers, directors,

cinematographers and animators.

It means that film and animation is

embedded in everything we do, from

strategic thinking to creative ideas and

implementation of the communications,

experiences, campaigns, websites and

content we create for clients.

Digital

We empower our clients to harness the

value of digital to communicate better,

design more effective services and

ultimately do better business. We do

this by combining our deep specialist

knowledge of the corporate and B2B

worlds to create innovative, creative

and measurably better experiences.

Presentations

Lifting an audience and winning their

hearts takes clear, uplifting visuals –

beautifully designed, animated and

interactive solutions that turn concepts

into moments that stick. We also craft

powerful templates for PowerPoint,

Word and social media, enabling every

employee to tell your story consistently,

while elevating your brand’s impact and

making every message unforgettable.

Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year About Emperor

What we do

Channelling

our energy

Our client-centric, collaborative approach and

partnership mindset drives our growth and success.

Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year About Emperor

How we do it

There’s a huge amount of passion,

energy and commitment involved

in making it happen. Our focus is on

channelling our thinking, our creativity

and our innovation into making sure

the work we do helps businesses and

organisations deliver their ambitions.

We earn the trust and confidence of our

clients because we work to understand

what really matters to them.

Client service

We deliver work to the highest of standards by

focusing on client satisfaction and excellence.

Creative

We are strategic creative

communicators, delivering

compelling and engaging

solutions for clients.

Client-centric

collaboration

Consultancy

We create insight and intelligence-driven

brand, sustainability, communications

and engagement strategies.

Quality assurance,

guidance & advice

Relationship

management

Artwork &

execution

across channels

Concepts

& ideas

Storytelling

& narrative

Design

& visual

language

Planning

& project

management

Research

& analysis

Audience

profiling &

comms planning

Technology

choices &

support

Horizon

scanning

Workshops

& focus

groups

Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year About Emperor

How we do itHow we do it

Moving

with

purpose

By prioritising client relationships, greater

connections, continuous improvement and

a higher-performance culture, we create our

strategic advantage.

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

About us

500+

Team of experts in Edinburgh,

Leeds, Manchester and London.

c.94%

Staff retent ion rate.

Our UK

National Team

We have …

Edinburgh HQ with UK-wide

presence

Hybrid working at our core

Expectation for regular in-

person meetings across

the UK

completed significant 8-figure

investment round

Logotype

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distort or try to recreate it.

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Typography

Headline typeface

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large headings only.

Bold is the only weight from this font that

should be used.

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Our brand assets

Syne Bold

The quick brown

fox jumps over

the lazy dog

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Syne Bold

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This is our brand

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into three distinct sections that are designed

to help you understand our brand thinking,

its assets and then inspire you to create brand

materials in a consistent and dynamic way.

Questions?

If you have any queries about how to work with our

brand identity or you need to get approval of your

branded materials get in touch using the email below:

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Unleashing

our potential

About us

We’re on a mission to

unleash the potential

in our clients, our colleagues

and our communities.

We are a digital consultancy and

delivery partner. Innovation, product

design and software engine ering

experts who will unleash the potential

in your business.

you imagine the future and deliver it.

Tog ethe r.

Whether it’s short, sharp consulting to get

things moving; or engaged, embedded

teams working alongside yours, we focus

on what will drive your business forward.

Strategy & Innovation, Product Design

& Engineering, Cl oud, DevOps and

Managed Services: we have everything

needed to create tomorrow’s growth,

toda y.

Version 1.1 // Launched January 2024

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Unleashing

our potential

Colours

Getting the

mix right

How we apply our colours is key.

The examples on the right show how colour

could be applied over three different mixes.

You’ll see that Carbon, Midnight and White

can all be used as dominant base colours

while Acid is usually a highlight, applied in

small amounts.

On some occasions – like when we really

need to grab attention in a social media post

– we can use Acid in a more prominent way

e.g. as a background colour or wash.

Cloud is also only ever used in small but

variable quantities, for example for a pull-out

content box or as texture to break-up a large

white area.

Mix One

Mix Two

Mix Three

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

Blades

Introduction

A key element of our visual language is an

asset we call Blades.

Blades represents the transformative impact

of unleashing the potential in our clients, our

colleagues and our communities.

Each Blade is an incremental step forward,

that, over time creates a giant leap forward

to a better tomorrow.

Looping animations of Blades echo our

constant drive for challenge and

collaboration.

Access this asset

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

Logotype

Monogram version

This monogram version can be used for social

avatars, favicons and other applications

where the master or stacked logotypes

would be too small.

Always use the approved artwork which

exists for use on dark and light backgrounds.

This version must not be used if the size is

less than 15 pixels wide, and please do not

distort or try to recreate it.

Minimum size: 15 pixels wide

Access this asset

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

Tone of voice

in a nutshell

We inspire trust

by talking

with conviction,

brevity and

authenticity.

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

Tone of voice

in a nutshell

We inspire trust

by talking

with conviction,

brevity and

authenticity.

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

04 January 2024 eperume lat venet perum faces cum imus

cusdand ipit harum ipsandis molenem.

A PROPOSAL TO LLOYDS BANKING GROUP

Unleashing

your potential

Colours

Core Colours

Our colour palette has been carefully

selected to give us stand-out against our

peer-group.

The next page (along with the ‘Our brand

style’ section) gives guidance on how to apply

these colours but it’s vital to remember that

Acid is usually only used in small amounts as

a highlight colour.

Carbon

#0A0019

010.000.025

095/088/052/085

Acid

#C4FF35

196.255.053

033/000/099/000

Cloud

#F2F2F2

242.242.242

006/004/005/000

White

#FFFFFF

000.000.000

000/000/000/000

Midnight

#24004C

036.000.076

099/100/033/042

Get CC palettes

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

Environments

Office wall

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand style

Blades

Endless

possibilities

We have created a bank of static and motion

assets from the Blades that give us huge

ﬂexibility and choice.

While the Blades are a signature component

of our brand identity, we take care not to

overuse them. Getting this balance between

enough and too much requires subtlety.

There is no need to use the Blades on every

single item or on every slide of a deck.

Instead, they could add a unique background

touch to a social media post or be used as a

visual marker on the cover and dividers of a

proposal.

See ‘Our brand style’ for best practise

examples.

Access this asset

CREATEFUTURE | OUR BRAND GUIDELINES

Our brand assets

In this section

26 CEO review

29 Our strategy

48 CCO creative review

50 Impact report

52 Responsible business

58 Our financials

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Creating

tomorrow

With a new name and a new mission (to create tomorrow, together,

today) the new brand identity for CreateFuture had a big story to tell.

Working at pace with a like-minded and ambitious client has been

extremely satisfying and the end results spoke for themselves.

David Hunt

Creative Director

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

Evolving

with intent

CEO review

Victoria Sugg CEO

As this exceptional business adapts to meet new opportunity,

what remains constant is the curiosity, excitement and energy

channelled by our partners.

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

CEO review

I was recently fortunate

enough to be interviewed

by Julia Hoggett, CEO of

the London Stock Exchange,

for their Be Inspired Series.

She asked me how Emperor has evolved

in the eight years since I arrived and I was

reminded of the business I met back then.

I could tell immediately that Emperor was

a very restless place, that was used to

change and both hungry for and excited

by that.

The same remains true today. The theme

of the report celebrates just that – an

exceptional business that is constantly

evolving to stay relevant, achieve the

highest levels of creativity and – most

critically – deliver the impact our clients

need from their communications.

A restless world

As we change, so do our clients. We

are supporting them as they respond

to a combination of forces – technology,

shifting consumer preferences, global

economic and political challenges.

This means it’s even more important

that we are fully connected into our world

for the benefit of clients. By building close

links with industry bodies, regulators,

standard-setters and thought leaders, we can

be our clients’ eyes and ears, keeping ahead

of all the latest changes and challenges.

I am proud of all the opportunities we

create to bring together our clients at

events, awards dinners, sponsorships and

– particularly – our Serendipity women’s

networking events, which continue to

grow in reach and popularity.

Our client relationships are deeper

and more interwoven than ever, and

the breadth of our services has grown

as we help them solve more complex

and inter-connected communications

challenges. Alongside grappling with

CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Directive) requirements, we are helping

businesses embed health and safety

campaigns and change behaviours.

While developing new brand narratives

to reposition a business, we are also

helping them attract a different type of

talent to fulfil their new ambitions. The

scope of our remits has expanded and our

client portfolio grown outside of the UK.

This has simultaneously brought in new,

exciting creative, technology, data and

consultancy partners to collaborate with.

Continual improvement

While we can’t control the world outside,

within we can focus on making Emperor

fighting fit, ready to not just handle what

comes our way, but lead with purpose.

Operationally, we have continued to

refine and strengthen our structure.

Our distinctive regional and international

footprint enables us to better service our

clients across the UK and the Middle East,

driven by new regional management teams.

We have taken a fresh look at our entire

leadership composition at Board, Executive

Committee and Senior Leadership Team

levels. Our recent SLT offsite was an

extraordinarily energising experience,

as we laid out the ‘must-win battles’ for

the year. I was proud and excited by the

team around me and the impact we can

have together. We now have a powerful

combination of leaders playing to their

strengths, and all with a growth mindset

and aligned vision for Emperor.

There are still commercial pressures on our

business, exacerbated by the rise in National

Insurance contributions. To address this,

we are concentrating on margin pressure

– particularly in the relationship between

the shape of our people base and the

seasonality of our work. Our commitment

to continual improvement remains a

cornerstone of our operational approach

and we are investing in automation and

AI to supercharge us into next year.

As we blend remote and in-office working,

we continue to invest in our spaces. The

new office in Edinburgh was a highlight of

the past year – an exhilarating new space

that’ll give the team renewed energy.

We have a powerful

combination of

leaders playing

to their strengths,

and all with a growth

mindset and aligned

vision for Emperor.”

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our beating heart

Our partners, as always, are the heartbeat

of what we do. We have invested further in

our teams, focusing on the overall partner

experience so that every aspect supports

our people to do their best work and have

the best possible working life at Emperor.

From mobility policies to Employee

Resource Groups, we’re dedicating the

time to ensure we remain an inclusive

workplace.

We ran our first annual engagement

survey, which told us that 86% of our

people would recommend working

at Emperor. Yes, we love the ginger

shots, run club, improvisation classes

and a walk for charity, whether that be

up a mountain or down a canal. But

it’s more about feeling that you have

the best career opportunities – from

learning and development opportunities

or secondments with different teams,

to doing our best work in an amazing

and supportive working environment.

The best is yet to come

In 2023/24, our industry felt the impact

of a tougher economic environment.

Emperor was particularly affected by

trading conditions in early Autumn

2023 and Spring 2024. Throughout

the remainder of the year, we were able

to recover and achieve encouraging

revenue growth, especially in our smaller

but fast-growing propositions, so that

on a full-year basis our revenue growth

was 3% (prior year 2%).

With clients consolidating their creative

agency and suppliers’ support, partly

because of cost and partly for efficiency,

we have to keep a razor-sharp eye on the

threat and an opportunity this represents.

Our Thrive 25 strategy has served us well

in navigating this period. As we look ahead,

we are – as ever – uniquely placed in terms

of capability, geography, network and

relationships to bring smart, integrated

solutions that drive better outcomes

for our clients.

The restless energy to think differently

and take Emperor to new places

I encountered on joining remains as alive

as ever. We look ahead with confidence

and excitement to the next year.

Victoria Sugg

Chief Executive Officer

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

CEO review

Our strategic framework

Responsible business

Outcome

Greater

returns and

opportunities

for all our

partners.

Our offer

We empower

clients to do better

and be better.

Client obsessed

Everything we do is about our clients. We’re doubling down on

understanding them better, building stronger relationships and

delivering amazing outcomes for all of our clients. We’re looking

globally and targeting those clients that will help us to grow even

further, faster.

Read more on page 44

Our strategic ambition

To be the most

relevant, creative

and impactful

communications

agency for the

good of our clients,

our partners and

society.

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

Our strategy

3030

Our strategy

Client

obsessed

By better understanding our clients, both their pain-points and

opportunities, we can deliver a more valuable service and grow together.

335

Guests hosted at

Emperor events

hosted

8/10

Average

recommendation

score for service

Industry events

Emperor spoke at

235

Registrations for

Building Business

Resilience event

series

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our strategy

In our 28th year, we are working with the

most exciting breadth of listed and private

businesses to date. Our clients are all

different shapes and sizes, at very different

stages of their journeys and across a

broader geographical reach than ever.

Going global

Changing forces – new technology,

shifting consumer preferences, and global

economic and political challenges – can

affect all our clients. And as we get more

global, we continue to flex and adapt to

meet each of their needs, be that from

UK FTSE stalwarts or Saudi IPOs and

exciting Texan growth businesses.

Today 31% of our revenue is from

outside the UK and we have 24 MENA

(Middle East and North Africa region)

clients. Alongside the wider industry

forces, we are grappling with a variety

of geographical nuances.

In the UK, we work with clients to fight

for attention and capital, so they get

a premium on the value they create.

In Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia,

we support businesses in adapting to the

responsibility of being a listed business

and the challenges associated with rapid

growth. In Europe, our focus this year

has been largely on integrated reporting

narratives and meeting environmental,

sustainability and governance (ESG)

disclosure expectations. The advent

of the CSRD has had a huge impact

on European businesses, which are now

looking for greater support from strategic

communications agencies like us, to

ensure they remain compliant while

still communicating efficiently.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Game, set

and match

‘Serving Up Global Returns’ is a global TV commercial celebrating

the partnership between Mubadala and the world of professional

tennis. It’s also a high-water mark of the production quality we now

can deliver. With over 1.2 million online views to date, we brought

together a blend of strategy, creative, design, film production and

3D animation. Award-winning work that we’re all very proud of.

Phil Horbury

Director of Moving Image

New clients and new remits

We welcomed 71 new clients this financial

year – on par with the previous year but at

a much higher average value, challenging

some of our perceptions that clients

are cutting budgets. These included

CAB Payments, Marex, Coloplast, Bupa,

Inchcape, AstraZeneca, Arab Bank COFRA

and Lindt & Sprungli. At the same time,

we are proud that a number of our clients’

tenure has now exceeded a decade,

including Dow, EnQuest, BBC, AG Barr,

Glanbia and Greencore.

We are also undertaking new kinds of

work for long-term clients, whether

the television advert for Mubadala’s

sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi Tennis Open,

a new corporate website for Card Factory,

brand exploration for Costain, employee

value proposition for CRH or podcasts for

Phoenix Group. The average spend by our

clients has increased as we build enduring

relationships and take on bigger and more

ambitious mandates.

Linked in

The better connected we are benefits

our clients. We have strong links with

the London Stock Exchange issuers’

team, speaking regularly at its summits,

and have a prominent role in the UK IR

Society – where we teach at its digital best

practice training sessions. We are involved

in a number of the FRC’s Labs, including

business model-focused reporting.

Regulation is constantly shifting, so

the partnerships we have built here are

invaluable – especially around sustainability.

Our specialist partners include SIFA Strategy,

ESG360 and Green Element. This year, we

also added Tata Consulting (TCS) and our

collaborative ‘CSRD Readiness Assessment’,

as well as other ESG-specific partnerships to

support our clients in creating sustainability

strategies and then communicating them.

This all adds to our existing exciting

collaborations with the likes of Workiva (for

whom we are an enhanced design partner),

BIMA, Ceradas, Warwick Business School,

B Corp and local business communities,

such as the Colmore BID (the business

district around our Birmingham office).

Championing clients

This year we’ve been proud to speak

alongside our clients at their events. At

the Workiva conferences in Amsterdam

and London, we presented the future of

reporting with BT and Lloyds Banking

Group. We also joined panels for the fifth

consecutive year at the London Stock

Exchange IR masterclass, alongside our

clients Helios, SThree and Travis Perkins.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Live from

the studio

A standout moment for me

this year was being in the

LSE’s recording studio to talk

about our future of reporting

guiding principles with some

of my Emperor colleagues. It

was exciting to join the dots

across our propositions to

drive the conversation on

balancing compliance with

impactful, ownable corporate

communications.

Samantha Trillwood

Director of Stakeholder

Communications

We also create our own opportunities

for connection in the events we host.

Speaking at partner events – such as

Bowen Craggs’ New York event on

challenges and opportunities for digital

corporate communicators or CorpComms’

Dublin Corporate Affairs Summit – is one

way we can share this insight. We are also

teaching, for example, in the Euronext

virtual classrooms on ESG reporting in

action. Our specialists wrote or were

cited in more than 10 publications, from

The Drum to Communicate Magazine,

on topics including ‘why Dyslexia is a

superpower’ and ‘how Social Impact

is mission critical for businesses’.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

We also create opportunities for

connection ourselves by hosting

events. At December’s Serendipity –

our women’s networking group events

– we hosted over 50 senior women in

corporate communications to examine

the role of place in business today. In

March, we met in Edinburgh for an open

discussion around work-life balance,

career development and the challenges

and opportunity of a multi-generational

workforce.

Greater understanding

Being employee owned and a client-centric

mindset have made a positive difference

to our proactivity and depth of client

relationships. However, it’s something

we continue to invest in. We hold internal

‘client days’, with this year’s taking place

in our London, Edinburgh and Birmingham

offices. These days really power the teams

up for the year and revolve around what’s

going on in our clients’ worlds, what they

need from us and how we can improve

our support, with a selection of client

and industry guests.

Our ‘Driving client success’ weekly

sessions, led by the client service and

consultancy teams, and ‘3XTEN’ monthly

creative showcase mean the business has

a regular drumbeat of inspirational work

to learn from and take to clients. We also

hold our annual training sessions – such

as ‘Pitch stars’, our account management

‘summer school’ and spring festival of

learning ‘Be Your Best Fest’.

The composition of our partner base is

important, with investment in new hires,

such as two client directors in London,

ensuring we continue to nurture existing

relationships and boost strategic counsel.

By understanding our clients, we can be

really accurate on the ambition for their

communications. Industry awards are a

recognition of these powerful partnerships

– but just as special as the awards

themselves is the time spent on the night

celebrating! In the past year, we’ve been

recognised with 22 wins at six different

award ceremonies. We were delighted

in particular to be shortlisted so many

times for the relatively new Lens Awards,

recognising the best in moving image.

£77k

Average client spend across

the top 350 (3% increase on

previous year)

Awards

£180k

Average client spend across

the top 100 (2% increase on

previous year)

New clients

AGENTS OF CHANGE

A meeting of minds

Attending the Workiva event in Amsterdam with

BT Group was a really valuable experience. Not only

did we learn loads about the future of reporting, but it was

a great opportunity to meet and get to know some of the

500 attendees. Whether sharing war stories or learning

about different best practices, everyone has a different

perspective on corporate reporting. Our client also loved

being involved in the talk on stage and it was rewarding

to spend time with them outside of project work.

Will Davies

Senior Account Manager

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Connected

services

The better interlinked our services

and network, the more effective and

efficient our client solutions are.

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our clients have a whole range of

communications challenges. Some are

familiar, others unique and specific to their

business. What is always true, however, is

that we solve them through a connected

and integrated service offering. We show

this through a strong and informed point

of view, a deep understanding of different

audiences and their needs, and the ability

to demonstrate the tangible impact our

work delivers.

This has never been more important – over

the past 12 months, we’ve seen our clients

consolidating their suppliers and creative

agencies in particular, due to cost pressures

and the drive for greater efficiency.

Our ability to add value and reduce

complexity through our broad but

harmonised capabilities, bringing integrated

solutions that address multiple needs

and drive better outcomes sets us apart

– something evidenced in the number of

clients that we work with across more than

one project, proposition or internal team.

Our strategy

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Four-ward

thinking

Retaining Channel 4’s annual report after nine years of working

together was a clear stand out of the year for me. With top notch

creative work from an all female design team that’s consistently

pushed the boundaries of what an annual report can and should be,

what’s not to love?

Tracy Gunn

Creative Director

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Doubling up

Investors, customers, regulators, and

partners are all expecting our clients to

integrate sustainability seamlessly into their

business and corporate strategies. It’s a big

ask and it means we’re getting more – and

more complicated – requests for our help.

Double materiality has been one focus

area for me since joining Emperor, a critical

tool to help clients better understand and

respond to their sustainability issues.

Bayard Rezos

Senior Sustainability Consultant

132

Clients worked with across

more than one proposition

Clients worked with across

four or more propositions

Clients spending >£100k

193

Clients that spent more

with us vs the year before

Converging challenges

Last year, we talked about our simple

commitment to provide our clients with

what they need, when they need it. Now,

as our clients navigate a whole range of

complex challenges, this determination

to keep our service fresh, focused and

relevant is more important than ever.

It has helped us unlock new and grow

existing key client relationships. For

Phoenix Group, we worked with the team

on a series of podcasts called ‘Cracking

the Code’ – an original approach to

delivering financial regulation training.

We are supporting a number of clients,

including Glenveagh, ArcelorMittal

and NOMAD, on detailed, data-driven

disclosures to the Corporate Sustainability

Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Leveraging social channels and other direct

communication methods can help leaders

humanise their approach and build deeper

connections – something we have done

with BT, Inchcape and Cero Generation.

And frequently, we are the ‘glue’ for our

clients’ comms teams, such as for South32

where we have workstreams spanning

sustainability, stakeholder communications,

brand, employee engagement and

campaigns – it’s a truly connected account

with our expertise shaping everything from

cultural alignment to strategic messaging.

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

New answers

With plenty of long-standing

communications challenges still needing

to be addressed, we are developing new

solutions and services that tackle them

in a more effective way.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Directive (CSRD) is the latest evolution in

the sustainability communications space.

It came into force in 2023, with companies

reporting for the first time in 2025, so we

have developed a new suite of CSRD offers,

helping us support our clients wherever

they are in their compliance journey, and

whenever they may fall into scope. This

has been successfully launched across all

offices internally, alongside training for

teams, before being offered to our clients.

Similarly, inclusion by design

(intentionally creating products, services,

or environments that consider and

accommodate the diverse needs of

all individuals from the very beginning)

is a powerful tool, and inclusive design

audits can support forward-thinking

clients to make accessibility a priority

and demonstrate that every voice and

perspective matters.

Thinking about the way we interact with

and consume digital content, we have

expanded our digital expertise in user

experience design and content strategy,

taking on new projects for the likes

of SmartestEnergy and Mars Petcare.

Collaborating with our Umbraco partner

we have also developed a digital design

library that is flexible, scalable, and fast

to implement. It leverages our wealth

of corporate digital expertise and was

recently launched with Gym Group.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

All for one

and one for all

Inclusive and accessible design is about creating

a single experience absolutely everyone can

enjoy. With one-in-six people experiencing

a disability, why would any brand willingly

ignore 16% of its audience? It’s a no-brainer.

But designing for all isn’t just the right thing

to do; it makes life better for everyone.

Just ask the electric toothbrush, bendy straws,

lowered kerbs, audiobooks… or even Alexa!

Jack Lloyd Davies

Digital Creative Director

A multidisciplinary team

There’s more scrutiny and expectation

on companies than ever before, and as

traditional communications boundaries

are blurred, our clients are further

integrating their different reputation

management and communications needs.

This requires a multi-skilled team,

able to support on a diverse mix of

client work, and we’ve built a future-

fit consultancy team able to respond

to a range of different strategic work.

Our cross-proposition ‘working group’

has refocused, with a new approach

aligning our go-to-market approaches

across the propositions and greater

collaboration in everything we do:

from client work to internal training

and our events.

We’ve revisited our team structure and

ways of working, hiring new multi-

disciplinary junior talent to work across

all propositions. This is supported by the

skills and expertise of three new senior

hires. For example, with growing client

sustainability requirements, we welcomed

Bayard Rezos to the team, who brings a

wealth of expertise from his previous role

at sustainability consultancy ERM, and

has been instrumental in developing our

CSRD-aligned Double Materiality offer.

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Drive to thrive

Employee engagement is all about the power of

collaboration to solve complex challenges. We’re working

with Williams Racing to help them build a high-performing

organisation. We’ve developed a strong employer brand

to help them attract the right talent, but that’s just one

vital area. We’ve helped drive a cultural and behavioural

shift to support their transformation – making sure change

actually happens, not just gets talked about. It’s all about

aligning people, culture, and performance so they can

better succeed, both now and in the future.

Siobhan Hammond

Head of Employee Engagement

The sum of our parts

Within our partnership network,

we’re forging new alliances to keep

us at the forefront of creative and

strategic communications solutions.

As previously mentioned, we’re proud

to have established a new partnership

with Tata Consulting Services, equipping

us with the right mix of technical, data,

reporting and communications expertise

to deliver an integrated end-to-end CSRD

offer to our clients.

We continued our work with BIMA

(British Interactive Media Association),

participating in roundtables on AI and

Accessibility in the industry, working with

up-and-coming talent through mentoring

programmes and judging on awards panels.

Our Employee Engagement team has

deepened its collaboration with behavioural

scientists, leadership coaches, and creative

specialists to deliver transformative work

for our clients. At Williams Racing, we’ve

worked in partnership with a leadership

coach to embed values and behaviours

into ways of working – aligning culture

and performance to support the team’s

transformation.

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

United thinking

We’re widening the focus of insight

we take to clients, bringing multiple

different perspectives into consideration.

For example, through our report and

event series ‘The future of reporting and

corporate communications’ we looked

beyond the annual report across the

broader reporting suite and channels,

reviewing 50 of the FTSE 350 across 10

sectors. The launch event was followed by

seminars that included digital, employee,

brand, reporting and sustainability insight.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Connecting

financial markets

The Capital Market Forum event in Riyadh is the largest in the region. We

supported STG across a vast range of design and communications – from event

branding and activation, to launch assets, social media and a coffee table book.

The complexity of the project was enormous. Spanning multiple disciplines,

multiple stakeholders and with tight deadlines. But it galvanised the team

and the end results are a real testament to the talent of everyone involved.

Pete Maloney

Creative Director

Our strategy

4040

Our strategy

Operational

excellence

Greater clarity, supported by smart technology, helps us

stay agile and adapt to changing client behaviour and needs.

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our clients are looking for greater

efficiencies and have changed their

procurement behaviour – while overall

spend levels have remained stable,

there has been a move towards more

cautious budget allocation. Our clients

are increasingly opting for phased

projects rather than approving full-scale

programmes upfront.

The recent changes to National Insurance

are already affecting businesses, with

many adjusting their financial planning in

response. While the full implications are

yet to unfold, we are preparing for further

shifts in client spending patterns and

resource allocation.

Structural recalibration

We have continued to refine and

strengthen our operational structure,

using our unique regional footprint to

better service our clients across the UK

and the Middle East. A key development

has been within our leadership team, so

our leaders are focused on driving impact

within specific regions. This balance means

decision making is informed by local

market knowledge, allowing for a more

tailored approach, while still benefitting

from the scale and strength of the whole

Emperor team.

This has led to closer collaboration

between our Manchester and Birmingham

offices, for example, fostering a more

integrated working model that draws on

complementary skills and expertise to offer

clients a comprehensive, one-stop solution.

We have welcomed two new faces at Board

level: Mandy Merron and David Haines,

our new Non-Executive Directors. Adam

Holloway, Chief Creative Officer, has joined

Emperor’s Executive Committee to bring a

voice on all things creative to the discussion.

At a team level, regional leadership teams

have played a crucial role in promoting

the value and importance of teams being

in the office. This has created a renewed

sense of energy and engagement, with

partners drawn by the benefits of in-person

collaboration, sense of community and our

investment in high-quality workspaces.

These foundations, both in organisational

structure and leadership, form a strong

platform for continued growth and

adaptation. We need to stay ahead of

macroeconomic and regulatory changes,

ensuring that we are prepared for

potential market shifts. Our ability to

remain flexible and proactive will sustain

momentum and drive long-term success.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

The perfect blend

The day we all came together for our very

first in-person Central Huddle we knew it

was the right thing to unite these teams.

The laughter, energy, openness... the shared

uniform. But seriously, this is a great mix

of skills and already we are seeing lots of

crossover and blended teams, as we all get

stuck in together.

Helen O’Brien

Creative Director

Our strategy

Clarifying roles

This year, we have aimed for greater

clarity of roles and responsibilities within

our teams. We are working harder to

engage our partners with our strategy,

so that everyone knows what their role

is and how they can make a difference

to our performance. Data, and how we

share it, is essential to this. We measure

performance at all levels, cascading

down from the Executive Committee to

all our partners so they understand what

success looks like.

Looking ahead, we will be reinforcing our

commitment to strong performance across

every level and using data-driven insight

to enhance operations. These analytics

and performance metrics make sure our

decision making is both informed and

effective, in turn improving efficiency and

delivering the maximum value to our clients.

A complete content solution

We have looked at the interplay between

core teams. We have realigned our content

teams – film and copywriting – with our

digital team and creative studio, which

reflects the importance of integrated,

strategic, multi-channel communications.

It will support us to deliver far-reaching and

cohesive award-winning campaigns that

resonate with audiences, and respond to

the changing communications preferences

of our clients.

We are working harder

to engage our partners

with our strategy, so that

everyone knows what their

role is and how they can

make a difference to our

performance.”

AGENTS OF CHANGE

All part of the journey

People engage better with content, whether that be

film, animation or copy, when it is considered as part

of a user’s journey, rather than in isolation. By aligning

our content, creative and digital teams we’re working

better to understand our clients and their audience’s

needs. Which is allowing us to create more meaningful

and exciting, creative content.

Toby Bull

Head of Digital

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

0.0 12.7

11.6

12.7

4.9

7.3

2021

2022

2023

2024

0.0 75.9

68.4

69.5

74.4

75.9

2021

2022

2023

2024

0.0 93.1

84.4k

89.9k

85.2k

93.1k

2021

2022

2023

2024

An AI on the future

We have made a significant investment

in technology to improve our service and

make production processes much more

efficient. AI is one major developing area

– we can see its potential and, at the

tail end of last year, engaged Ainigma –

a people-first generative AI consultancy

to help us pinpoint the opportunities

of AI and implement it consistently and

effectively in our teams.

Automation in report production has been

a huge focus this year. We built on our

partnership with Workiva, as we moved

into our second year as an Enhanced

Design Partner – one of only two original

EDPs in the UK. As more variations of

similar platforms emerge, we’re staying

at forefront of this space, developing new

partnerships with providers so we can

offer the best solutions.

We value both old and new technology

supplier relationships, as we benefit from

our mutual support. We were proud to join

our digital development partner, Vega,

at the Serbian Embassy in celebration

of their London office opening.

We have also made changes to our

IT arrangements, bringing in more

in-house support and relying less on

outsourced services. This has proven

more efficient and offered our partners

more in-person support.

1 Earnings (before exceptional costs) before

interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation

as a % of revenue.

2 Total staff costs excluding shareholder salaries,

including freelancers.

3 Total revenue/average permanent headcount.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Embracing potential

We have a unique relationship with Workiva and, with a

team that have fully embraced the platform, are together

coming up with innovative solutions that push what we can

do both technically and creatively. Change is always tricky

to manage, but it is such a powerful tool for our clients –

they can plug their financial data straight into our reports,

automatically updating content and text linking out to

other documents – saving them time and reducing risk.

Chris Gloster

Technical Production Director

Profitability

% Staff costs to revenue

% Revenue per head

We achieved a greater profitability compared to the previous year and remain

committed to further improvement in 2024/25 – without compromising on service.

As our people represent the largest cost within the business, talent remains a key

focus, ensuring we align the right resources with the needs of our clients. But it

was encouraging to see an increase in our revenue per head, reflecting progress

in balancing resource and revenue.

Our strategy

Talented

people

Our partners deserve a work environment and experience that

brings out the best in them. This year, we deepened our focus

on the overall partner experience, ensuring that every aspect

of life at Emperor supports our people in thriving.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Data-driven action

Partnering with new provider Culture

Amp means we could dive deeper into

our partner data and sentiment, better

understanding their views and engagement.

We launched our first annual all-partner

survey, which achieved an impressive 86%

response rate. 86% of our people would

recommend working at Emperor, seven

points higher than the benchmark for

creative agencies in the UK. 81% of our

people are proud to work for Emperor.

Culture Amp has provided us with a

rich data set, so we can pinpoint the

areas that require the most focus to drive

engagement and alignment. The survey

highlighted key areas for improvement,

particularly around clarity in our vision

and strategy, as well as career pathways.

All important considerations as we

move into 2025.

Retaining top talent

We’ve taken a more strategic approach

to how we attract and retain talent – in

both external hires and internal career

development. We started to proactively

reach out to potential partners so that

we’re prepared to bring in the right people

at the right time, ensuring a seamless fit

with our culture and ambitions.

We launched an Internal Mobility Policy,

reinforcing our commitment to career

development. By providing partners with

better visibility of the career opportunities

and making it easier for partners to move

between roles, we’re creating a more

fulfilling career experience. This initiative

is a direct response to partner feedback,

supporting ambitious individuals with

clear pathways to grow, without needing

to look outside the company.

New digs

In July 2024, our Edinburgh team

moved from our Charlotte House office

to a new space on Blenheim Place.

Moving from two floors to one has been

overwhelmingly positive, allowing for

more open collaboration and letting

us welcome guests into a stylish space

for external events, like the regular

Edinburgh Marketing Meet-Up.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Space = energy

As well as being able to literally work more closely

together, I believe that the new space has also helped

build stronger bonds between teams and teammates.

This has been a big factor in a renewed sense of energy

in the whole Edinburgh team.

David Hunt

Creative Director

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Amped up

The great thing about Culture

Amp is it isn’t just a bunch of

numbers (although it does

give you plenty of them)! But

it combines data science and

organisational psychology

to give you insights into how

people are really feeling and

where we need to prioritise

action. That’s a pretty

powerful tool for us when it

comes to creating a better

partner experience.

Tessa McCaffrey

Head of Partner Experience

and Learning

Our strategy

More inclusive

There was a more significant role for

our newly formed Women’s, LGBTQ+,

and Neurodiversity Employee Resource

Groups (ERGs), as they became more

independent and deeply embedded

in shaping our workplace culture. These

groups were established in response

to insight from our diversity data survey,

which consistently achieves a response

rate of over 90%. They are helping to

inform and influence company policies,

supporting inclusion and driving

awareness through events and initiatives.

Key achievements included co-designing

policies to support employees through

pregnancy loss, fertility treatment, and

menopause. They also led awareness

events, such as Pride celebrations, Trans

Awareness Week, and Neurodiversity

Awareness initiatives. The Neurodiversity

ERG made tangible progress in improving

workplace support, from advocating for

manager training, to introducing practical

measures like providing Loop earplugs

for those who benefit from them in busy

office environments. These efforts reflect

our commitment to creating a workplace

where all employees feel seen, supported,

and empowered to thrive.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Advocating for better

As part of the Women’s Collective, I was asked to facilitate a

session around women’s health advocacy. It was an absolute

privilege and really eye opening – hearing from women

and girls who’ve had to fight to be taken seriously and get

the right diagnosis and treatment. The session not only

made me aware of others’ challenges but also of my own

experiences – I’d say it was pretty life changing actually.

Leanne Ledger

Senior Brand Strategist

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our gender pay gap

We are committed to ensuring equal pay

– men and women performing the same

work receive the same compensation.

However, the gender pay gap looks at

the broader picture of average earnings

across the business, taking into account

factors like seniority. While we have made

progress, there is still work to do. Our 2024

gender pay gap figures show a decrease

compared to 2023, with a median pay

gap of 10.8% in favour of men. This is a 2%

improvement from last year, though the

mean pay gap has seen a slight increase

of 0.3%, now sitting at 15.4%. While these

figures indicate movement in the right

direction, they also highlight that we must

continue our efforts to close the gap.

It’s important to consider our progress

in a wider context. Since we first reported

in 2021, our median pay gap has dropped

from 18.9% to 10.8%, an 8.1% improvement.

We also remain below the national average,

with the Office of National Statistics

reporting a preliminary median pay gap

of 13.1% in 2024. Beyond the numbers,

our leadership representation continues

to improve, with our Executive Committee

now at 50% female and our Senior

Leadership Team at 56%. Recognition,

such as being featured in JP Morgan’s

Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses,

reinforces our commitment to building

a more balanced and equitable workplace.

While we celebrate our progress, we

remain focused on driving further change.

Building our inclusive and diverse culture

Our gender pay gap over time

Mean pay gap Median pay gap ONS (Median)

2021

21.8% 18.9% 15.4%

2022

13.2% 8.8% 14.9%

2023

15.1% 12.8% 14.3%

2024

15.4% 13.1% 14.8%

51%

Reduction in recruitment

costs year on year

12.8%

Employee turnover

Boomerangs

(returning employees)

Promotions

Our strategy

Discovering

the exceptional

Our creative work has to be ambitious – to disrupt expectations

and challenge tired thinking, so that it inspires a reaction.

Adam Holloway Chief Creative Officer

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

CCO creative review

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Creativity isn’t linear.

It’s a maze, full of dead ends.

That’s why we have our

creative principles – to keep

the quality of our ideas,

writing and craft sharp and

on the right path.

This is where we, as strategists and

creatives, add the most value. And when

we get it right, when the breakthrough

happens, it’s a dopamine rush like no

other. That’s why it’s so addictive.

But the creative process is not easy.

Tighter deadlines. Budget constraints.

The constant demand for high-fidelity

output. These pressures on both Emperor

and the companies we work with threaten

to erode creativity and impact our ability

to deliver high-quality work unless kept

in check. Yes, smarter tools can help us,

but they’re not the answer to everything.

Great collaboration is. Collaboration

between us and our fantastic clients.

Facing off

Tackling these challenges starts with a

conversation. Experience tells us that it’s

the meaningful, face-to-face conversations

that spark the best ideas and solutions.

This year we’ve had no less than 15

in-person ‘Red Table’ working sessions in

the London office alone – sessions where

we sit down with our clients and unpack the

complexities they’re facing, sharing ideas,

and discussing the strategies to solve them.

And it’s important we keep this

collaborative momentum going –

bringing people together for workshops,

where we get under the skin of a specific

challenge and share our advice and

expertise. When it comes to the kick-off

and briefing sessions, we think these

are more effective in person too.

It’s an approach that works. Client

satisfaction remains high and our work

continues to create impact and be

effective. And we’ve even won a few

awards – 22 to be precise. I couldn’t

be prouder.

Questioning ourselves

We’ve also learned. We’ve got better

at adapting – we’re quicker, sharper, more

resilient – so we can respond to change

without losing momentum. This is because

we’re more demanding. In a good way:

asking more questions so we understand

just what’s being asked of us. We’re

redesigning our briefing document

to make this process even sharper.

But we’ve also made mistakes. At times,

we didn’t believe in ourselves enough.

Some brilliant work never saw the light

of day. Overthought, second-guessed,

or simply mistimed. We played it safe

when we should have backed ourselves.

But this work doesn’t go to waste. It’s

a team effort, so we make sure to learn

from it and celebrate it. We do this by

sharing it internally through our 3XTEN

– a monthly showcase of our best work,

championing our young talent – the SMMU

– a no-holds-bar studio meet-up for more

informal creative discussions – and the

Huddle, a company-wide town hall where

we celebrate the best of the best from

across the business.

The uncomfortable truth

So, it’s time to dial it up. As a creative

studio, we are prepared to take more risks.

Disrupt more expectations. To challenge

each other and create work that even

makes our own teams a little nervous.

Because if we’re not uncomfortable, we’re

not pushing hard enough – and our work

will be all the better for it.

I can say this with added confidence

having been asked to join Emperor’s

refreshed Executive Committee. Not

only does this give me better insight into

how I effectively direct creativity toward

meeting the business’s ambitions, but I’m

now also in a better position to represent

and deliver for my team and advocate

for more ambitious creativity. This is how

I can add the most value.

Adam Holloway

Chief Creative Officer

Experience tells us that it’s

the meaningful, face-to-face

conversations that spark the

best ideas and solutions.”

CCO creative review

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our impact

Helping partners go

beyond their potential

Embedding environmental

ambitions within our operations

Championing equity,

diversity and inclusion

3,518

Learning hours (33.5% increase)

Participants in internal

mentoring programme

Career progressions

3rd

Annual festival of learning

Increase on emissions related

to partners working from home

Science based targets verified

by the SBTI

6 years

Of emissions data

40%

Reduction in water use

67%

Reduction in waste

34%

Reduction in electricity

carbon footprint due

to using renewable

energy

19%

Of partners under the age

of 24 or over the age of 55

4th

Gender pay gap report

>90%

Of our partners

disclosed their

EDI data

Read more on page 41Read more on page 54 Read more on page 54

Impact report

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

5 years

Of employee ownership

Partner voice sessions

‘Your Voice’ comments (this

was launched in March 2024,

replacing the Happiness Index)

Partner Board meetings

Board meetings

6,792

Hours of pro bono work,

supporting 12 organisations

2nd year supporting our

charity partner Papyrus

Interns

‘Early careers’ team members

(graduates, interns or

apprentices)

8/10

Service average

recommendation score

Client feedback calls

123

Client feedback surveys

193

Clients we have been working

with for more than five years

Industry awards

Committed to best practice

governance and transparency

Contributing to

our communities

Connecting

with our clients

in numbers

Read more on page 69 Read more on page 53 Read more on page 29

Impact report

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Acting

with

integrity

Championing a way of doing business that embraces

responsibility and sustainability at its heart.

Our responsibility as a business

to our people and wider society is

not an afterthought. It’s intrinsic

to Emperor and everything we do.

We bring it to life through employee

ownership, our pledges and our

commitment to reporting our activities

in five categories:

• Governance

• People

• Community

• Environment

• Clients

We’ve worked hard throughout the year

to have a positive impact on these areas,

while always looking for more opportunities

to embed this ethos into our operations.

Our impact report quantifies this effort

through data and can be found on page 50.

Stepping up for our causes

Our partners have been busy raising

money for the causes we care about.

This includes our chosen charity from the

past two years, PAPYRUS – a UK charity

dedicated to the prevention of suicide in

young people – and Maggie’s cancer care.

For 2024, to raise money for PAPYRUS,

we put our money where our feet are

and did a night-time trek up Mount

Snowdon, alongside a 15-mile canal

walk in Birmingham.

Highlights also included the Edinburgh

office bake sale, London’s night at the

virtual races and Birmingham testing

their mental mettle with a seasoned gold

lamé-clad entertainer in Let’s get Quizzical.

Our pledges are a set of 12 promises

and commitments that focus on

issues we’re passionate about.

Our pledges

We give back We give youth

a chance

We are most

welcoming

We help you

go beyond

your potential

We trust We look after

the whole you

We are always

accessible

We encourage

innovation

and ideas

We recognise

excellence

We are social We support

you through

thick and thin

We care for the

environment

Responsible business

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Aligning our supply chain

Our purchases, partners, suppliers and

customers are all part of a chain that links us

to the world. This chain reflects who we are

and what matters to us. Our vision is to be

part of a supply chain that’s as ambitiously

positive, resilient, collaborative and

responsible as us – and with sustainability

at the forefront of decision making.

We’ve further developed our Supply Chain

Management Programme by building on

our review and scoring process. Going

forward, this equips us with a gauge of

preferred suppliers and potential supply

chain risks that need to be addressed;

regular assessment of valued relationships

and where we need to help them improve;

and assurance that our procurement

partners are held to account in critical

areas, such as information security, ethics

and governance.

While we have been steadily increasing

the number of hours volunteered over

the past three years, we still want to

further broaden participation. Team-based

initiatives and mentoring partnerships

remain our focus.

Working for impact

By supporting socially responsible

organisations with our skills and expertise

for free, we can help them reach further

and have a bigger impact. This year,

we’ve given 6,792 pro bono hours – more

than last year and smashing our target

of 2,000 hours. The external nominal

value of these hours is £186,145.07.

Who we’ve supported

• Aleto Foundation

• Apex

• Art Against Knives

• Climate Tech

• Elton John AIDS Foundation

• Forth Children’s Theatre

• Grove Cottage

• Picton Property Income Limited

• RASASC

• Sibling Support

Who we’ve supported pro bono

• Hudson Advisors

• Justice & Care

• Maggie’s Cancer Trust

• Massiliote

• MIERA

• RCSL

• Rock Trust

Time for action

Giving back to the community often

starts with gifting our time. During

the year, our partners helped with

volunteering, mentoring and coaching

at Calthorpe Community Garden, Long

Covid Support, Advocacy Focus, Farnham

Junior School and Reading University.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Walking on water

Did you know Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice?

Many of our Birmingham team wanted to support Papyrus, however the

Snowdon hike was a little daunting. So we turned our feet to the longest

canal in the UK, the Grand Union. The route took in 15 miles of picturesque

Midland views, starting from Birmingham city centre and ending in the

Warwickshire village of Lapworth. It was a challenge, but the team of 15

(and two furry friends) encouraged each other – and the pub stops en

route helped restore energy levels too.

Ruth Hinman

Account Director

Responsible business

Vote of confidence

This year saw our third – and most

ambitious yet – ‘Be Your Best Fest’, our

annual festival of learning. It combined

in-office activities, virtual events and an

immersive offsite retreat for more than

50 partners.

The focus was on building confidence

in storytelling and presentation skills.

We worked with industry experts

Amy Kean and Seb Randall to design

an intensive workshop culminating

in a live television interview experience.

Returning for another year, the silent

disco and wild swimming helped

create a rounded and rewarding offsite

experience. The impact of this investment

has already been felt, with participants

showing greater confidence in client

pitches, internal presentations, and

high-stakes meetings.

Stronger sense of community

We have a number of initiatives

supporting our commitment to being

a place where everyone can thrive –

including Serendipity, our Emperor-led

network for women in our industry.

Our partners have shared inspiring

stories around Black History Month,

Ramadan and Diwali, bringing them

to life through film screenings, talks

and photography. This year, our diversity

survey gave us valuable insight and

we had numerous employee-led initiatives

through our Employee Resource Groups.

These groups have strengthened our

sense of community and empowered

our partners to have a greater influence.

The journey to zero

We are committed to reaching net zero

by 2040 – something that is verified by

the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

We have a 46.2% absolute reduction

target by 2029/30 for Scope 1 and 2

emissions from a 2018/19 baseline and a

55% intensity reduction goal for Scope 3.

Our approach to managing carbon

is an ongoing focus for the business

and we continue to improve data

quality and scope year on year. This

year, the data shows us tracking above

our desired trajectory in some areas.

Scope 1 emissions increased, owing

entirely to gas consumption across the

offices, with the London office responsible

for 92%. We will engage with our landlords

to address this challenge.

Scope 3 data highlights five carbon

hotspots:

1. Business travel accounts for 26%

of our total footprint, with air travel

responsible for 81%. We will track

our policy implementation, which

focuses on reducing domestic flights,

prioritising economy to reduce

the impact of long-haul flights and

ensuring travel is necessary.

2. Procurement – primarily food, drink

and IT equipment – accounted for 19%

of emissions. We are updating our

sustainable procurement policy and

have put processes in place to review

purchases in more detail. Improving

data is key to our procurement footprint,

alongside selecting suppliers with

science-based carbon reduction targets.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Art Against Knives

Art Against Knives develop creative spaces in London that support young

people, keeping them safe from being involved in crime. The spaces

include nail studios, hair bars and music studios – they also launched a

podcast in 2020, co-produced with young people in their group. We

worked with them to create their 2024 Impact Report, which highlighted

important stories from their year and included the voices and faces of the

people they’ve worked with. With the purpose of sharing their vision and

gaining support from an outside audience, the report aims to help them

grow the positive influence within the London community.

Rachel Scott

Account Manager

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Responsible business

0.00

776.48

385.60

272.49

243.03

381.87

590.74

776.48

2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24

310

202

218

259

306

310

293

3. Emissions from commuting makes up

10% of our carbon footprint. The is from

an increase in the average working days

in the office. 75% of Emperor partners

use public transport in their commuting

journeys and 49% include cycling and

walking in their commutes.

4. Our footprint related to working from

home is 8%. This has also seen an

increase, because of an update to

the UK residual electricity factor.

5. Digital emissions continued to increase

as a result of improved data availability

and quality for dwell time.

The voice of our owners

We became employee owned in 2020

and continue to celebrate this unique

point of difference. As ever, our Partner

Board represents the views of partners

and enables everyone to input into our

success by organising regular Partner

Voice sessions and feedback. This year

saw the rotation of new Board members

– full details can be found in the Partner

Board’s report on page 70.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Advocacy and

open dialogue

Our Women’s Employee Resource Group (ERG),

The Women’s Collective, partnered with the business

to co-design policies that support women through key

life stages, including fertility treatment, pregnancy loss,

and menopause. Together, we’ve also developed a

menopause manager toolkit, equipping leaders with the

knowledge and confidence to offer meaningful support.

These initiatives ensure employees feel understood at work.

For International Women’s Day, we hosted a talk –

Ovaries and Advocacy – on the challenges women face

in advocating for their health, highlighting how medical

research is often male-centric. This sparked an open

dialogue among women in the business, leading to a

dedicated Teams chat where we now share experiences,

resources, and support.

Leanne Ledger

Senior Brand Strategist

GHG emissions (tCO₂e) year-on-year comparison

Business travel

Procurement

Commuting

Homeworking

Printing

Digital

Electricity

IT equipment

Number of employees

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

Responsible business

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Walking the talk

This year we produced our third Client

Disclosure Report. This analyses our client

base from a sectoral perspective and

highlights those in controversial or high

carbon sectors. This is just one way we

seek useful context for our client base.

We have continued to build long-lasting

partnerships with businesses that share

our values. This is about ‘walking the talk’

when it comes to our commitment to

being a sustainable business.

We have a Resilient Client Selection and

Review Policy, which sets out what we look

for in a client partnership. This supports our

teams by reviewing existing relationships,

as well as new opportunities. Our Resilient

Clients Committee is in place to add a

further layer of scrutiny when a decision is

not clear. As an employee-owned business,

it’s vital that the committee is a diverse,

representative group, which reflects partner

perspectives from across the business.

The need for the Committee to make

decisions has been limited but we continue

to track conversations and collect data as

‘case law’, alongside the Client Disclosure

Report to help us reflect on our progress

in shaping a resilient client base.

Looking ahead, alongside our strategy

refresh in 2025 we will be reviewing

our responsible business commitments

and action plans. We’ll be re-engaging

the business, refreshing our network

of responsible business champions

and looking for new opportunities for

partnerships both new and from within

our existing ecosystem – be that suppliers,

clients or others in our industry.

Responsible business

On board with change

Our Board has been through a number

of changes since its inception – with

Non-Executives joining in 2015. This year,

alongside refreshing the constituents and

expectations of our Executive Committee

and Senior Leadership team, we welcomed

new perspectives to our Board with a

change to one of our Non-Executive

Directors and introduced regional

management teams. We also updated

our approach to risk management and

reporting. You can read more on this in our

Governance section, starting on page 62.

B-ing part of the community

We’re proud to support B Corp. And

there is a great community of like-minded

businesses that has formed, with great

networking and events to take part in.

Our CEO and Head of Partner Experience

took part in a British Academy-funded

B Corp Project to assess if organisational

democracy matters for ecological

sustainability in organisations. To

understand more around the ‘Challenges

of a B Corp’ we welcomed chophouse

Blacklock to our London office.

Head of Projects, Sam Dagger, joined

us for an informal discussion exploring

both the significance and challenges of

being a B Corp in the restaurant world.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Green fingers

No Emperor story would be complete without

mention of our Big Sprint Plant. Now in its third year, it

has become a cultural moment and a seasonal marker

for the imminent bright mornings and sunny evenings.

Originally launched as a post-pandemic initiative to

bring people together remotely, we grew tomato

plants at home the first year, sharing our experience

of germinating seeds on windowsills, looking for

green shoots of growth, then praying for fruit.

This year we grew herbs and salads from seed,

starting with a ‘Lunch and learn’ session in each office.

We carefully nurtured our new plants at work, until

they were ready to take home as they grew too big!

Simon Bennison

Head of Digital Strategy

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Responsible business

Creative climate disclosure

% Revenue by type of business

Listing Status

Sum of Revenue

(£) CY % PY %

Non-listed 7,718,500 29.21% 27. 55%

FTSE 250 4,742,159 17.94% 17. 22%

FTSE 100 4,333,259 16.40% 18.85%

FTSE SmallCap & Fledgling 3,692,881 13.97% 14.64%

Other Overseas Stock Exchange 3,239,771 12.26% 11.83%

AIM 1,523,559 5.77% 7.85%

AIM 100 495,483 1.87% 3.09%

ADX (Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange) 381,911 1.45% N/A

DFM (Dubai Financial Market) 363,239 1.37% N/A

Pre-IPO 328,733 1.24% 0.69%

Saudi Exchange/TADAWAL 41,541 0.16% N/A

AQSE 21,267 0.08% 0.01%

% Revenue by sector

Sector

Sum of Revenue

(£) CY % PY %

Financial & Insurance 5,643,629 21.36% 18.82%

Industrial & Manufacturing 4,007,142 15.16% 15.11%

Retail Travel & Leisure 2,676,301 10.13% 10.30%

Tech Media & Telco 2,156,290 8.16% 8.63%

Support Services 1,749,963 6.62% 6.88%

Health Bio & Pharma 1,698,583 6.43% 8.69%

Property & Construction 1,494,317 5.65% 5.14%

Oil & Gas 1,245,124 4.71% 5.70%

Real Estate Investment Trusts 1,188,219 4.50% 3.23%

Transportation & Distribution 1,070,988 4.05% 4.38%

Mining 917, 814 3.47% 3.62%

CleanTech (inc. Renewable Energy) 813,144 3.08% 2.14%

Professional Services 660,620 2.50% 1.72%

Food & Beverages 546,449 2.07% 3.40%

Fintech 216,486 0.82% 0.76%

Private Equity 210,181 0.80% 0.00%

Government & Public Sector 208,348 0.79% 0.82%

Utilities 188,600 0.71% 2.36%

Agriculture 146,450 0.55% 0.00%

Non-Profit 43,656 0.17% 0.08%

% Revenue by controversial sector

Controversial clients

Sum of Revenue

(£) CY % PY %

Non controversial clients 26,103,840 98.78% 98.31%

Alcohol 163,399 0.62% 0.82%

Arms 113,136 0.43% 0.60%

Gambling 47,0 84 0.18% 0.27%

% Revenue by carbon intensive sector

CDR carbon intensive sector

Sum of Revenue

(£) CY % PY %

Non CDR carbon intensive sector 19,507,614 73.82% 68.68%

Non-Renewables 1,513,188 5.73% 7.51%

Chemicals & Petrochemicals 1,020,378 3.86% 7.22%

Mining 925,344 3.50% 3.95%

Private Cars 860,304 3.26% 0.46%

Trucking & Shipping 660,624 2.50% 3.27%

Concrete & Cement 616,165 2.33% 2.38%

Aviation 500,314 1.89% 1.20%

Plastics 500,142 1.89% 3.25%

Iron, Aluminium & Steel 210,359 0.80% 0.82%

Meat & Dairy 109,863 0.42% 0.34%

Timber, Pulp & Paper 3,163 0.01% 1.26%

Maintaining

our momentum

The numbers show a robust performance, despite challenging conditions,

with improved revenue growth and tighter cost management.

Simon Newton Chief Financial Officer

About Emperor GovernanceOur year Strategy and performance

Our financials

The challenging trading

conditions that we

highlighted in last year’s

report continued for much

of the year to August 2024.

Although our performance fell short of

our aspirations and targets, we did find

more revenue growth than previously and

with tight cost control are able to show an

improved financial performance.

The results for 2024 presented here are

in our management format but reconcile

directly to the statutory accounts, which

are filed at Companies House.

The headline numbers show improvement.

Consolidated turnover (consolidation of

Emperor Design with its 51% subsidiary,

Emperor Presentations) was £35 million,

compared to £32.5 million in 2023. Our

key indicator of business activity, revenue

(turnover less direct bought-in costs), was

£28.3 million, an increase of £1.1 million

(4%). In the main Emperor Design business,

we were particularly impacted by trading

conditions in Autumn 2023 and Spring

2024. Throughout the rest of the period,

we achieved encouraging revenue growth,

especially in our smaller but fast-growing

Sustainability and Employee Engagement

propositions and on a full-year basis our

revenue growth was 3% (2023: 2%).

We further evaluated our cost base in

early Autumn 2023 and made a number of

reductions and we retained tight hiring and

freelancer controls throughout the rest of

the financial year. Earnings before interest,

taxes, depreciation and amortisation

(EBITDA) for 2024 was below our budget

expectations at the start of the year but

was an improvement on the previous year.

Emperor Presentations also experienced

a more successful year in 2024, its sixth

year of trading, with revenue of £2 million

compared to £1.7 million in 2023 and

it delivered EBITDA of £470,000

(2023: £350,000).

Operating profitability

Overall, we managed to restrict the

increase in our year-on-year cost base

to 2.7% in 2024. That increase was due to

the annualisation of the new Birmingham

and Dubai office spaces, which opened

part way through the prior financial year,

together with our new branch opening

in Abu Dhabi. We also incurred one-

off costs in relocating our Edinburgh

office and more expenditure on travel,

particularly to stimulate the growth and

develop the business in the Middle East.

EBITDA was £1.8 million (2023: £1.4 million)

and the margin at EBITDA level was 6.2%,

up from 5.0% in 2023.

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

For the year ended 31 August 2024

2024

£’000

2023

£’000

Turnover 34,985 32,535

Bought-in costs (6,652) (5,289)

Revenue 28,333 27, 246

Administrative expenses (excluding depreciation) (26,568) (25,871)

EBITDA 1,765 1,375

Depreciation (182) (207)

Interest payable (205) (183)

Profit before taxation 1,378 985

Tax on profit (423) (260)

Profit for the financial year 955 725

Profit for the financial year is attributable to:

Owners of the parent company 783 592

Non-controlling interests 172 133

955 725

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our financials

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Cash flow highlights

In 2024, our net cash from operating

activities was £1.3 million (2023: £1.1 million),

primarily as a result of the improved trading

performance. Capital expenditure was

again very limited at £70,000 compared

to £100,000 of the previous year.

We made payments of £1.3 million

(including £1 million to the EOT and

£300,000 of interest) in relation to our

quarterly repayments of our Santander

loan for which this is the second full year

of repayment.

At the year end, we held cash reserves

of £2.2 million (2023: £2.1 million).

Emperor Design has a revolving credit

facility provided by Santander Bank of

£2.5 million, which remains fully drawn

down. Santander also provide a working

capital facility of £500,000, which was

not utilised during the period and was

not outstanding at August 2024.

Balance sheet highlights

We have a strong balance sheet and good

liquidity. At the end of the financial year,

we had cash of £2.2 million and net current

assets of £3.1 million. The revolving credit

facility of £2.5 million was drawn down

on 19 May 2022. It is repayable on the

fifth anniversary of the drawdown.

Consolidated statement of financial position

As at 31 August 2024

	2024		2023
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets		313		425
Current assets
Stocks	196		160
Debtors	6,327		5,737
Cash at bank and in hand	2,151		2,054
	8,674		7,951
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(5,545)		(7,212)
Net current assets		3,129		739
Total assets less current liabilities		3,442		1,164
Creditors: amounts falling due after one year		(2,786)		(217)
Provisions for liabilities		(24)		(68)
Net assets		632		879
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital		1		1
Profit and loss reserve		433		655
Equity attributable to owners of the parent company		434		656
Non-controlling interests		198		223
		632		879

£28.3m

Revenue

Year-on-year revenue growth

Our financials

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Outlook for the year ahead

The macro-economic outlook continues

to remain uncertain with limited growth

anticipated across the UK and

Western Europe.

We have, however, started 2024/25 well

with consistent revenue growth ahead

of the prior year in each of the first few

months of our new Financial Year. This has

mainly come from our core Stakeholder

Engagement proposition with Sustainability

also performing strongly over this period.

It is also the case that we are seeing rising

costs across the business in this period,

although overall, at a profit level, they are

in line with our target and ahead of 23/24

at this stage.

We continue to see particular opportunity

in the Middle East where there is stronger

economic growth and we are building our

team and our office network, establishing

in Saudi Arabia, early in 2025.

As always, one of our primary concerns

is to do our best to support our partners

and provide them with job security

through this period. Our partners have

worked tirelessly throughout the past

year and they should be proud of the

exceptional work they have delivered

and the financial performance they

have helped to achieve.

Consolidated statement of cash flows

As at 31 August 2024

2024 2023

£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations 1,847 1,889

Interest paid (259) (178)

Income taxes paid (262) (569)

Net cash inflow from operating activities 1,326 1,142

Investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets (70) (113)

Proceeds on disposal of tangible fixed assets – 3

Interest received 43 23

Net cash used in investing activities (27) (87)

Financing activities

Capital contribution to EOT (1,006) (815)

Dividends paid to non-controlling interests (196) (147)

Net cash used in financing activities (1,202) (962)

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 97 93

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 2,054 1,961

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 2,151 2,054

£2.2m

Cash reserves

Our financials

Leading

with vision

With a reshaped leadership team

and strong governance guiding us,

Emperor is better positioned than

ever to seize the exciting opportunities

in front of us.

About Emperor Strategy and performanceOur year Governance

In this section

64 Chair’s review

68 Our governance

and leadership

70 Partner Board’s report

76 Risk overview

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Solidcore

Resources

The quality and thoughtfulness of the creative we produce

in condensed timeframes never ceases to amaze me. This full

rebrand for Kazakh gold producer Solidcore Resources illustrates

that beautifully – from the new logotype to the palette and visual

expression, it’s a fantastic piece of work.

Marc Jenks

Executive Creative Director

About Emperor Strategy and performanceOur year Governance

Energising

us all

Steve Kemp Executive Chair

The power of our partners is, for me, what makes this such a

special place to work. As we reflect on the past year, it is clear

Emperor has demonstrated both resilience and ambition.

About Emperor Strategy and performanceOur year Governance

Chair’s review

We have achieved notable

successes but must also

acknowledge the challenges

we face and, crucially, how

we address them to ensure

long-term sustainable growth.

What keeps me excited, 28 years on from

when I founded Emperor, is the privilege

of working with incredible clients, talented

people and projects that truly matter.

Whether it’s seeing young talent thrive,

like Rory – consultant team intern, buzzing

after his first major client presentation to

Fuller’s, Tom delivering his first reporting

analysis to Pinewood or creative rising

star Jun, coming back from her first

creative pitch to Skyscanner. Or the thrill

of opening new doors – whether they be

fast-changing geographic, technological

or creative opportunities.

These moments, large and small, remind

me why Emperor is such a special place

and why I’m as energised about our

future as ever.

Replacing to reshape

This year, Emperor generated

consolidated revenue of £28.3 million, with

a compensation ratio of 75.3%. But, despite

driving strong client relationships and

delivering high-quality work, our margins

remain under pressure. In part this is due to

external market conditions, but crucially we

need to optimise our structure to reflect the

scale of our 300-strong team, five offices,

and broad service offering. Addressing this

will be a critical focus for the year ahead.

A business of our scale and reputation

must remain financially resilient and

deliver sustainable profitability. Looking

ahead, we are focused on ‘Replacing to

Reshape’ – an approach that encourages

us to reassess our cost base and build

a team that blends experience with

emerging talent.

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than

seeing young people push themselves

beyond their comfort zone and grow into

their potential. I alluded to it at the start,

but Rory beaming with confidence after

his presentation and Jun channelling her

own experiences into an exciting piece

of campaign creative are the moments

that reinforce why our commitment

to early careers is so important.

More broadly, our priority remains on

commercial discipline – pricing our work

effectively, managing utilisation intelligently

and striking the right balance between

revenue growth and cost efficiency.

Balancing seasonality

One of our biggest challenges remains the

seasonality of our work. With the natural

peaks and troughs of annual reporting –

our largest area of work – we are taking

active steps to create a more balanced

revenue profile. This means increasing

our non-seasonal work, particularly in

digital, sustainability, and brand, while also

adopting a more agile resourcing model.

Flexibility is becoming a real differentiator.

Georgia, our Deputy Company Secretary,

has recently returned from a three-month,

nine-country ‘trip of a lifetime’ sabbatical,

proving that we can build careers that

accommodate life’s great adventures.

Equally, supporting working parents,

who can take the summer holidays off

to spend with their children, is a model

we’re proud to offer.

We have also made structural changes to

better align incentives with our commercial

realities, ensuring that as a business, we

remain both efficient and competitive

throughout the year.

The macro landscape

The rise in National Insurance contributions

for employers adds financial pressure,

particularly for a business with a

compensation-heavy cost base. This

underscores the importance of optimising

our resourcing approach and evolving our

employment model.

We must remain proactive, finding

ways to offset these headwinds through

productivity gains, operational efficiencies,

and informed commercial decisions.

What keeps me

excited, 28 years on

from when I founded

Emperor, is the

privilege of working

with incredible

clients, talented

people and projects

that truly matter.”

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Chair’s review

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Chair’s review

Investing in opportunity

To stay ahead, we are actively investing

in the opportunities that new technology

presents. By harnessing emerging AI

capabilities and digital transformation,

we can improve efficiency and enhance

client delivery. Our work in digital remains

critical to our long-term strategy and

we are committed to returning this part

of the business to profitable growth.

The annual report has always been a great

enabler for broader, long-term strategic

relationships. And as the UK’s largest

reporting agency, with such a strong

core, I believe that there’s never been so

many opportunities to cross-sell, grow in

adjacent or other geographical markets.

Just this week, I returned from Amsterdam,

where the buzz around their stock market’s

growth reinforced the potential for

Emperor in European markets.

At the same time, our expansion into

Saudi Arabia marks an exciting step

forward. With a new presence in Riyadh,

we are strengthening our footprint in

a key international market, supporting

our ambitions for growth in the Middle

East and beyond.

Fresh perspectives

Like all great businesses, as we evolve,

we require different expertise and

perspectives at Board level. As last year’s

annual report was published, we had just

appointed a new Non-Executive Director,

Mandy Merron, to the Board. This year

we welcome David Haines. We also thank

Paul Matthews, our outgoing NED, for his

knowledge, insights and support, which

have been invaluable in his time on the

Emperor Board.

We’re fortunate to have a Board that

provides wise counsel and a Senior

Leadership Team that understands the

balance between individual accountability

and our ‘One Emperor’ approach.

Both new appointments have been friends

of the business for a number of years and

they bring deep experience in financial

and people-related matters. They have

already had a great impact on Emperor.

Mandy’s extensive media and financial

expertise will strengthen the Board’s

financial oversight, while David’s talent

management and career development

will be invaluable.

Leadership transition

This year saw a significant leadership

change, with Victoria Sugg stepping into

the role of sole CEO. This transition has

brought greater clarity and focus to our

leadership structure. I would like to take

this opportunity to thank Cameron Gunn

for his leadership and contribution to

Emperor. His impact has been significant

and we are grateful for his dedication

over the years.

We have also formed a new Senior

Leadership Team, ensuring we have

the expertise, focus, and energy to

drive the business forward. This team

has a renewed emphasis on commercial

performance, operational efficiency

and creative ambition, and is committed

to leading Emperor into its next chapter.

As Founder and Executive Chair, I am

excited to be working in close partnership

with Victoria as together, we combine

entrepreneurial spirit and strategic focus.

I am confident this will drive financial

success and sustainable growth to ensure

Emperor remains strong, ambitious,

and well-positioned for the future.

By harnessing

emerging AI

capabilities and

digital transformation,

we can improve

efficiency and

enhance client

delivery.”

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Chair’s review

A thank you to the team

Emperor is defined by its people –

both partners and clients. Our creative

and commercial success is built on the

dedication, talent, and passion of our

team. I want to express my deep gratitude

to everyone who has contributed to our

journey. Over the past 28 years, we have

built a culture rooted in collaboration,

ambition and mutual support, and this

continues to set us apart.

Equally, we would not be where we

are without the trust and partnership

of our clients. We are privileged to work

with some of the world’s most ambitious

and forward-thinking businesses and

we remain committed to delivering the

highest standards of creativity, strategic

insight, and service.

As we move forward, our focus remains

clear: to be a commercially strong,

creatively ambitious, and client-focused

agency, delivering sustainable growth

and long-term success.

Steve Kemp

Executive Chair

AGENTS OF CHANGE

The essence

of Engine

I particularly love this logotype, it absolutely captures the essence

of Engine. The spark of imagination and energy, the portal inviting

clients into a new possibility, creating a north star to guide clients

as they improve customer experience – simple and beautiful.

Helen O’Brien

Creative Director

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our governance and leadership

As part of our ongoing commitment

to responsible and effective governance,

we ensure that our leadership, decision

making, and stakeholder engagement

align with our long-term ambitions as

an employee-owned business. Our

governance approach is guided by the

Wates Corporate Governance Principles for

Large Private Companies, which provides a

framework for transparency, accountability,

and sustainable business practices.

Purpose and leadership

The Board and Executive Committee

remain focused on our long-term

success, balancing commercial ambition

with the responsibilities of employee

ownership. This strategy continues to be

the foundation for our growth ambitions,

aligning strategic decision making and

financial sustainability.

Board composition

and effectiveness

Our governance has evolved in response

to our changing financial and strategic

situation and external context. Recent

changes include the departure of Paul

Matthews as a Non-Executive and the

appointment of Mandy Brown and David

Haines. Mandy Brown is a chartered

accountant who led the specialist media

practice at accountants Moore Kingston

Smith for many years prior to establishing

the firm’s media M&A practice and

chairing their governance board. David

Haines is the Global VP – Executive Talent

at Mars and has 26 years’ experience in

the HR and talent teams, rising up the

ranks of the organisation.

Executive Chair Steve Kemp

CEO Victoria Sugg

Non-Executive

Directors

Mandy Brown

David Haines

Miriam McKay

Executive

Directors

Kingsley James

Noel O’Connor

Philip Franklin

Jenni Fulton

Our Board meets four times a year, with

each session dedicated to a specific area

of strategic or financial governance.

Management of

opportunity and risk

Sustained financial stability is the Board’s

priority, balancing investment in future

opportunities (particularly in the Middle

East) with the strong financial discipline

of cost management, robust cash

flow forecasting and strategic growth

investments. Risk management remains a

focus, with the Board providing oversight

on financial and market risks, as well as

identifying opportunities in sustainability,

digital, and regulatory-driven reporting

developments, such as CSRD compliance

and Workiva integration.

Stakeholder engagement

Our governance structure drives

transparent and meaningful engagement

with key stakeholders:

• Partners (employee-owners):

Engagement is led by the CEO,

supported by our Executive Committee

and the Partner Board. The Board

continues to evolve the Partner Board’s

role to enhance its influence and

effectiveness.

• Financial stakeholders:

Our strong relationship with our bank,

Santander, remains critical to our

financial strategy, with structured

engagement led by our Executive

Committee and overseen by the Board.

• Clients and industry partners:

The Board and leadership team

continue to cultivate relationships

across Emperor’s partner network,

strengthening our position in the market.

Corporate responsibility

and impact

Our governance also ensures we operate

as a responsible business, with a balance

between financial performance and

environmental and social impact. The

Board remains committed to impact

reporting, fairness, transparency, and

sustainable growth.

With a robust governance framework in

place, we are well positioned to deliver

our ambitions. We have the right mix of

financial strength, responsible leadership,

and stakeholder engagement to navigate

the next phase of our journey.

Focus areas for 2025

1. Strategic implementation

Delivering sustainable growth within a

framework of smart financial controls.

2. Financial and commercial resilience

Strengthening cash management,

meeting refinancing requirements

and reinstating the partner dividend.

3. Employee ownership evolution

Enhancing the Partner Board’s role

in decision making.

4. Governance for growth

Structuring the business effectively

for any future expansion.

Guiding our growth

The better connected our services and network,

the more effective and efficient our client solutions are.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Our governance and leadership

Board

Executive Committee

Board and Executive Committee

Steve Kemp

Executive Chair and Founder

Kingsley James

Founder Director

Noel O’Connor

Founder Director

Mandy Merron

Non-Executive Director

David Haines

Non-Executive Director

Victoria Sugg

CEO

Miriam McKay

Non-Executive Director

Adam Holloway

Chief Creative Officer

Tessa McCaffrey

Head of Partner Experience

and Learning

Jenni Fulton

Chief Growth Officer

Simon Newton

Group Chief Financial Officer

Amanda Woodward

Chief Commercial Officer

Phil Franklin

Chief Operating Officer

Empowering

our voices

Partner Board’s report

As an employee-owned agency,

the Partner Board connects us as a

community and spearheads change.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Partner Board’s report

As continue on our employee ownership

journey, the Partner Board’s role has never

been more important. It is a critical part

of our governance structure: holding the

leadership team to account – ensuring

they communicate openly and honestly

– while acting as a conduit between

Emperor’s partners and leadership,

making certain our partners’ voices are

heard so that they can input into the

success of the business.

Our own experience and understanding of

the business and partner sentiment means

we are able to support the leadership

when communicating important changes

to the business, while providing structure

and a space for feedback. We do this by

facilitating regular Partner Voice sessions

and feedback loops.

New

members

Continuing

members

Our Partner Board

Miriam McKay

Chair

Louisa Holgate

Under 30s

Samer Anjoukeh

Edinburgh

James Alexander

Support Services

Rachel Bostok

Client Services

Matt Taylor

Birmingham

Michelle Newell

London

Emma Beech

Manchester

Pete Maloney

Dubai (new role created this year)

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Partner Board’s report

The year in numbers

Voice sessions

Executive Committee

presentations

‘Jostle’ posts (our internal

communications platform)

Board papers

‘Your Voice’ comments

(our open anonymous

feedback channel)

Partner Board meetings

Defining who we are

To mark four years of employee ownership

at Emperor, in February 2024, we launched

our new employee ownership narrative.

This aimed to explain why we are employee

owned, what that means for us as partners,

what this means for our leadership, what

it means for our clients and what we

expect of each other.

The previous Autumn, we ran workshops

in each of our hubs to understand our

partners’ views. We also conducted

a survey for all partners and interviews

with senior leaders to gather insights

from across the business.

Led by our Head of Partner Experience,

Tessa McCaffrey, and working closely with

Senior Leadership, this insight formed our

new narrative. This introduced the idea that

partners wear ‘two hats’: every individual’s

voice is influential as both an employee

and an owner and we have a shared vested

interest in the company’s prosperity, driving

a collective commitment to our success.

We also launched our ‘inform and

involve’ framework for decision making.

This emphasises that, more so than a

traditional agency, partners can expect to

be informed and have more transparency

as to how the decision came to be. There

are also times our partners can expect

to be involved in the decision-making

process and, as partners in Emperor,

we will always have the opportunity

to affect the things that matter.

A recent example of this framework

in action was the decision to relocate

our Edinburgh office in Summer 2024.

The Partner Board worked with the

Edinburgh leadership team and took

on board our Edinburgh partners’

thoughts and opinions on what they

would like from a new office space.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Partner Board’s report

Cultural reset

28 years since Emperor was founded

and following significant structural and

leadership evolution, it was time to

revisit one of the most celebrated and

talked-about aspects of life at Emperor

– our culture. We held culture workshops

with our partners across all our hubs,

involving 141 participants. This represents

over 50% of our overall partner community.

A strong, positive culture can lead to

higher employee satisfaction, better

performance, and a more cohesive

organisation. Conversely, a negative

culture can result in low morale, high

turnover and decreased productivity.

This is why it was crucial for our partners

to be aligned with our culture and have

the opportunity to contribute to what

culture truly means at Emperor.

We discussed what the desired

Emperor culture would be, current

cultural references and sentiments that

partners dislike, how partners want the

client experience to feel and the attributes

they want to see in their colleagues.

Our aim was to achieve a shared

understanding of what it means

to be part of Emperor and to create

a cultural framework that will inform

business decisions, recruitment,

appraisals, career progression, and

overall enable individuals to thrive and

teams to work together successfully.

How it feels to work for or with Emperor:

• What we believe in and what’s important to us

• The way we behave and get things done together

• What we do when things go wrong

• The standards we expect from each other

• The things we say, and how we say them

• The rules we follow and the rules we don’t

• The promises we make and keep

• The expectations we have of each other

• How, where and when we work

Culture through the eyes of our clients:

1. Emperor is a trusted partner, working as an extension

of our team

2. They are committed, dependable and enjoyable when

it comes to delivering

3. They have the right expertise and creativity

Culture through the eyes of colleagues:

1. Supportive, empathetic and collaborative team players

2. Problem-solvers who are proactive, accountable and

take the initiative

3. People who are dependable and driven – they get

things done

4. People who bring positive energy and attitude

5. People who are open to ideas, learning and challenges

What matters to you?

1. Recognised for my contribution

2. Feeling trusted & trusting

3. Working as a team

The culture workshop outcomes

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Introducing some new faces

In July 2024, five of our seven Partner

Board representatives’ tenures on the

board had come to a close. As well as

bringing on new members to replace

them, we decided to introduce a new

space for a Dubai representative, ensuring

our partners’ voices are fully represented

across Emperor – especially with our

growth in this region.

To recruit our six new representatives, we

launched a campaign aimed to encourage

all partners to apply: ‘calling all knowers,

growers, give it a go-ers’. As part of our

campaign, we ran Q&A sessions online

and in each hub, encouraged partners to

nominate their peers and created posters.

We received 34 nominations and arranged

an informal interview with each nominee

to find out more about what they could

bring to the Partner Board, why they were

interested in joining and provided an

opportunity to answer questions.

The Partner Board then reviewed the

applications to put together a new board

of strong nominees while also being

mindful of demographics such as seniority,

location, role, gender and skills to ensure

our new Partner Board fairly represented

our partner base.

The selected Partner Board representatives

started their roles in July 2023. This is

the first time Emperor had experienced

such a large-scale rotation of the Partner

Board, therefore a thorough handover

was essential. For the first couple of

months, both the new and outgoing

boards worked together – including

attending board meetings and voice

sessions – to ensure a seamless transition.

As a team, we were so impressed with the

range of candidates that put themselves

forward, and how passionate they were

about employee ownership and their desire

to make a positive difference at Emperor.

It made for a very difficult decision, as it

was important to us that we had a diverse

spread of roles, levels, office representation

and skills from across the business.”

Katie Eustace

Senior Engagement Strategist and former Partner Board member

My motivation is to ensure every partner’s voice

is heard and to be part of the team spearheading

change within the business. I see my role not only

as being the voice of the London Hub, but to ensure

we can find alignment between all hubs globally.

I am proud of what the new board has achieved

so far, I look forward to what’s to come and to

see what impact we can make as a collective.”

Michelle Newell

Senior Project Manager and Partner Board member

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Partner Board’s report

It has been eye-opening to see the ideas from

the partners and leadership, and to understand

the importance of the Partner Board in balancing

the needs of both sides.

The Middle East region being represented on the

Partner Board is positive – employee ownership is

not a familiar concept here, so this is the beginning

of a learning journey, and an opportunity to share

the nuances and insights of this region with the

wider team. I hope my role with the Partner Board

will bridge the gap – both geographically and

culturally – between our teams.”

Pete Maloney

Creative Director and Partner Board member

The new office is great, it feels more

collaborative having everyone on one

floor. It felt like the leadership team took

our (many) opinions into consideration

when looking for a new space and we’re

continuing to have input on how the

space is used now we’re in.”

Katie Wilkinson

Senior Designer and Partner, Edinburgh

A badge of honour

A big part of being employee owned is

connecting with like-minded businesses –

and the Employee Ownership Association

(EOA) sits at the heart of this network.

Because of this close connection, we

worked with the EOA on their rebrand

– launching in April 2024. A key part of

this rebrand was the ‘Proudly Employee

Owned’ badge for EOA members to add

to their website and communications

to showcase their membership of the

EO community. At Emperor, we join our

employee-owned peers in wearing our

badge with pride.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Partner Board’s report

The more we know, the

better we can prepare for

the different forces that

affect our industry.

Our principal risks are formally reviewed

four times a year by the Executive

Committee and twice a year by the Board.

We have evolved our risk management

strategy to encompass both macro factors

and the identification of risks that are

specific to each office. This approach allows

for more proactive mitigation and provides

stronger safeguards to our operations in

an increasingly complex global landscape.

Understanding

our world

Formal reviews a year by

the Executive Committee

Formal reviews a year

by the Board

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Risk overview

Risk Description and impact Developments since last review Controls and mitigations

Recruitment

and retention of

talent

Risk Level:

High

Impact Level:

High

The market for talent continues to be highly

competitive in several key disciplines in our sector.

However, the tide has turned on the candidate-

driven market from the early 2020s. In contrast

to the ‘Great Resignation’ of 2022, we see a more

pronounced employer-driven market. While we

continue to see redundancies in our sector, this is

leading to candidates being less willing to leave

current roles.

Our ‘time-to-hire’ remains at around 16–20 days,

significantly below the UK average of 36 days, and

our employee retention rate remains at a good level.

Our most significant challenge lies in the Middle

East, where business in our Dubai office is outpacing

our ability to staff work effectively. This will also

be the case for our new operation in Saudi and we

continue to lack a long-term recruiting solution for

the region.

The impact of the increased cost of living

continues to put pressure on salaries, however,

a drop in inflation has reduced this pressure to

a degree.

We have now fully incorporated salary

bandings into our salary review process and

will continue to update both of these annually

to ensure parity with the market.

We continue to minimise the use of recruitment

agencies to manage costs and reduce margins,

but have seen an increase in recent months due

to the growth in business in the MENA region.

Data from our engagement survey allows us to

keep an eye on employee sentiment and make

shifts to ensure retention of high-performing

talent.

Updated salary benchmarking was incorporated into the

December and June salary review, helping us ensure our

partners are remunerated appropriately and that position

in salary band is part of our decision making.

We continue to promote regular performance

conversations, as part of our performance review system,

which focuses on providing high-quality feedback

and contributing to a high-performance culture. Our

upcoming ‘Be Your Best Fest’ offsite learning festival will

specifically focus on manager and leadership capability

to help continue to embed our performance reviews in

the business.

We are focused on direct hiring and proactively

identifying candidates for our future talent needs, so we

are prepared if we need additional support with project

delivery. We have also started to apply more rigour to

how we replace our leavers. This includes a renewed

focus on employing more junior talent, which we remain

passionate about.

Employee health

and wellbeing

Risk Level:

Medium

Impact Level:

Medium

Our partners’ health and wellbeing have a direct

impact on the quality of work we produce, both in

terms of our strategic and creative output, but also

the quality of client relationships.

We are maintaining a hybrid working policy

but have been more explicit about the need for

in-office working and collaboration, with some

teams determining a need to be ‘more in than

you’re out’ of the office.

The impact of the cost-of-living crisis continues

to impact our partners, but we are also seeing

some alleviation of this as inflation reduces.

We continue to provide a range of initiatives and

activities focused on supporting the health and wellbeing

of our partners. We have implemented a programme of

regular benefits information sessions to provide partners

with a better overview of their entitlements. This has

a focus on Medicash, which gives access to a range of

wellbeing products and services.

Our Employee Resource Groups have identified key

opportunities to contribute to our ambition as an

inclusive employer. We continue to collaborate with our

Women’s, LGBTQ and Neurodiversity groups to co-

design policies and processes to enhance our culture.

Our Social Team continue to play a vital role in the

wellbeing of our partners, organising the Summer and

Christmas celebrations along with events in each office

throughout the year. Our Summer Hours and Festive

Shutdown initiative was also repeated in 2023/2024.

We will be looking to promote further flexible summer

working options in the coming months.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Risk overview

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Risk overview

Risk Description and impact Developments since last review Controls and mitigations

IT systems and

security risk

Risk Level:

High

Impact Level:

High

The cyber threat to all businesses is persistent,

evolving and growing. A cyber-attack could result

in operational disruption, reputational and financial

damage, depending on the type and extent.

Emperor is continually investing in appropriate

mitigation measures, software and monitoring

processes to protect our operations, our clients and

our people.

Human error is possible when sending client-specific

information by email. This could result in data leaks

with potentially significant implications for clients

and a financial impact on Emperor.

There continues to be a high level of phishing

attacks and in particular so-called ‘spear

phishing attacks’ – attacks that target a

specific person or group and often include

information known to be of interest to the target.

The IT Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing

all elements of IT system access and security. Processes

and policies are in place and include our Cyber Incident

Response Plan and Data Security Handbook. Cyber

security awareness training is provided to all partners on

an annual basis.

In the past two years, we have increased our investment

in the Darktrace security platform to cover all endpoints

(devices) in our network. There has been further training

and communication about spear phishing attacks and

a process has been implemented to respond when they

occur. Random phishing tests have also been undertaken.

We have strengthened our current working practices

with improvements in password complexity and

increased use of OneDrive providing greater control.

Evolving hybrid

working model

Risk Level:

Medium

Impact Level:

Medium

Building trust, maintaining our culture and fostering

team cohesion in a hybrid world is a challenge. Our

partners have expressed different preferences for

blended working arrangements between home and

office. The role of the office is changing but remains

crucial. If Emperor is unable to create the conditions

and workspaces that support an effective blended-

working model, we risk compromising quality,

collaboration, productivity and client service level, as

well as diluting our key strategic pillars.

We launched our Hybrid working policy and

guidelines last year. A working group was set

up and feedback taken via the Partner Board.

This has provided clear guidance on what is

expected and the benefits of regularly being

together in the office. The policy was reviewed

during the year and we continue to emphasise

the value of partners spending more time in

our offices.

As the opportunities arise, we are committed to making

changes to our offices to create inspiring environments

that are equipped with the technology for our partners to

do their best work, collaborate with colleagues and host

clients and contacts. We continue to monitor and assess

each office, making sure that the environment remains fit

for purpose.

We seek regular input and feedback from partners,

adapting systems, processes and management when

necessary. We continue to use technology platforms to

ensure people stay connected. There are clear policies

and procedures in place to support new ways of working.

Training is available for line managers focused on

managing remote teams.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Risk overview

Risk Description and impact Developments since last review Controls and mitigations

Underinvestment

in innovation

Risk Level:

Medium

Impact Level:

Medium

To meet the changing needs of our clients and to

keep ahead of the competition, it is important that

we continue to innovate our services and products,

delivery functions and operations. Failure to do so

could lead to client attrition, a loss in productivity

and reduction in margins.

During the year we have seen increased

demand from clients for projects using

emerging technologies.

The significance of AI to our sector and our

clients has become clearer and more relevant.

We have made a significant investment in many areas of

technology to improve our service for clients, but also

with a consistent theme of making us and our agency

production processes much more efficient.

We have implemented plans for upskilling our teams and

maximising all that AI has to offer our clients.

A team headed by our Technical Director has a specific

mandate to explore technical innovations in our

service portfolio. We are engaging with new software

entrants on the market to ensure we understand their

offerings and make the correct decisions around future

partnerships.

UK market

conditions

Risk Level:

High

Impact Level:

High

An uncertain macroeconomic environment often

results in reduced marketing and communications

budgets and a reduction in discretionary client

spend. In turn, this can result in lost clients and an

increased risk of bad debt.

Less IPO activity on the London Stock Exchange

reduces the size of our UK market for stakeholder

communications.

The economic environment continues to

impact our clients and their discretionary

spend. There continues to be slow client

decision making and some confirmed projects

put on hold.

The IPO market in the UK remains slow with

more companies currently delisting than

coming to the market.

Our broad UK client base across industries reduces our

exposure. Our core service offer, mandatory stakeholder

disclosure, makes up c.60% of our revenues and hedges

us against a reduction in discretionary spend.

We continue to focus on cost control, weekly monitoring

of aged debtors and maintaining a strong new business

pipeline.

Impact of global

economic

and political

instability

Risk Level:

High

Impact Level:

High

Economic and political uncertainty globally could

impact our clients’ spending, as well as increase

operational costs of the business.

The failure of banks could lead to issues for our

clients and threaten their ability to pay us in the

short term, or their long-term financial stability. It

could also impact on the stability of key suppliers.

With an increasing proportion of revenue coming

from overseas (mainly the Middle East), we are

becoming more exposed to the current significant

currency fluctuations.

The current economic and political uncertainty

globally, including the continuing war in Ukraine

and ongoing conflict in Gaza could have

increased impact on our international clients.

A significant proportion of our revenue outside of the UK

comes from our core stakeholder comms proposition.

Revenue from outside the UK or impacted by global

economic and political uncertainty remains a relatively

small proportion of total revenue. We have taken on a

number of forward currency contracts to mitigate our

exposure to increasing revenue from the MENA region.

We do not operate in any areas currently directly

impacted by conflict.

About Emperor Strategy and performance GovernanceOur year

Risk Description and impact Developments since last review Controls and mitigations

International

expansion

Risk Level:

High

Impact Level:

Medium

Expanding outside of the UK either through

establishing offices with local employees, or through a

remote working model has inherent and specific risks.

Failure to establish the correct legal, tax, operational,

management and resourcing structures could result

in both financial loss and reputational damage.

We have a growing a team on the ground in

the UAE and we are operating across Dubai,

Abu Dhabi and Saudi markets. We are in the

process of opening an office in Saudi to enable

us to operate in full compliance with the Saudi

legal and regulatory framework. The clients

and projects in this region are significant

in the context of Emperor as a whole and

fundamental to our growth plans.

The team is relatively inexperienced, and the

management structure is new.

The regulatory and tax regimes are constantly

evolving in these markets.

The team has tripled in size over the past 12 months. We

are building strong relationships with local partners and

referrers and continue to seek out the best local talent.

The local team is supported by an experienced UK-based

team which travels regularly to the region.

We have taken local advice on all key areas of law and tax

and engaged an experienced advisory company to assist

with the establishment of a Saudi office.

Supplier

concentration

Risk Level:

Medium

Impact Level:

Medium

A reliance on a small number of suppliers for key

services may cause concern, should those suppliers

run into difficulties that affect their fulfilment of

those services.

This can lead to dissatisfaction from our clients and

loss of current and future year revenue, or increased

costs for Emperor for sourcing alternative suppliers.

We continue to regularly review our supply

chain in order to meet our responsible business

objectives. This has further highlighted the risk

of supplier concentration.

Relationships with our key suppliers are long-standing

and collaborative. Their financial status is continually

reviewed. Alternative suppliers have been identified and

onboarded in a number of key areas.

Resilient client

base

Risk Level:

Medium

Impact Level:

Medium

To meet our responsible business and broader

strategic objectives, it is important that we build

a resilient client base that has a social and ethical

‘licence to operate’ for the long term. This may

result in short-term loss of revenue as unsuitable

opportunities are declined or existing accounts

resigned.

During the year there have been new

opportunities that we have declined to

pursue as they do not meet our resilient client

requirements. We have also disengaged with

existing clients for similar reasons.

A Resilient Clients Selection and Review Policy and

Resilient Clients Committee are in place providing a

process and framework to help us evaluate existing

clients and new client opportunities. The Committee

includes three Board Directors and other representatives

from around the business.

The Resilient Clients Committee ensures that controlled

decisions are taken, and the full financial impact of

decisions is considered and understood.

Risk overview

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