Sondrel (Holdings) plc

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2022, 2023)

Strengthened teams in India and Morocco, with the Moroccan team comprising 27% female engineers
Investment in employee training and development
Commitment to a diverse and inclusive culture
Focus on creating a 'great place to work'

Medium-term Goals:

Short-term Goals:

Geopolitical uncertainties impacting investment (e.g., trade restrictions on China, war in Ukraine, political uncertainty in Israel)
Project delivery challenges due to potential misjudgement of costs and schedule
Intellectual property protection risks
Cybersecurity threats
Customer concentration
Exchange rate fluctuations
Attracting and retaining talent

Diversification of customer base and geographical focus
Robust project management with close customer collaboration and change management processes
Non-disclosure agreements, internal and external controls to protect intellectual property
Strict security protocols and policies, ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certifications
Strategic growth in established markets
Natural hedging protection from currency fluctuations, consideration of financial instruments for risk mitigation
Creating a positive work environment, training, engagement, rewards, and employee share incentive plans

Work with suppliers to improve value and ethical business standards
Encourage suppliers to support environmental performance metrics and improvement programs

Frameworks Used: QCA Corporate Governance Code

Certifications: ISO 14001 (for paper usage)

Operates an equal opportunities policy which includes those who are classed as disabled. Applications for employment by disabled persons are always fully considered, bearing in mind the aptitudes of the applicant concerned. Individuals who identify as disabled are given equal opportunities with other employees in relation to training, development and promotion.

The Board is committed to complying with all applicable regulations and provides training and monitoring across the Group to all employees to encourage and ensure compliance.

Short-term Goals:

The current trading losses are targeted by the transformation plan to be eliminated by the last quarter of the year and thereby avoiding the need for any further fundraising to support trading activities.

Delays in both existing and expected new contracts meant that the second half of the year was extremely difficult with little revenue generated and trading losses recorded. The Group’s cash position also diminished and became very weak in the second half of the year as a consequence, such that employee salaries were delayed for some employees in December 2023 and a fundraising process was commenced.
Slow-down in the semi-conductor market in Europe.
Strategic decision to focus on project-based ASIC work meant that some of the smaller scale time and materials-based services work was lost.
Winning of new contracts in 2023 was particularly weak, with a total of new business won of only £4.0m (2022: £25.6m).
Delays on the largest ASIC project being undertaken meant that second half revenues fell significantly.

Fundraising exercise concluded in June 2024, with Rox Equity Partners investing a total of £8.5 million.
Transformation plan to re-establish its baseline costs, introducing revised robust management processes and refocusing the business to resolve matters that are central to the cash flow issues faced by the Group.
Negotiations with many of the Group’s suppliers and certain customers has allowed cash flows to be managed successfully during a period of significant cashflow pressure whilst additional funding was identified.
Improved short and long-term forecasting capability within the Group’s finance team.
Project management is focussed on delivering to the customer schedule. By careful management of engineer utilisation the business ensures sufficient resources are available to deliver the project to schedule. A close collaboration with the customer and IP vendors permits a clear scope of work to be agreed which together with a robust change management process ensures project risks are managed appropriately.