Section 172 Statement
MITRE SPORTS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Registered number: 02688851
Section 172 Statement
The Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018 requires Mitre Sports International Limited
to publish a statement explaining how the directors have given due regard for the matters set out in
section 172(1)(a) to (f) of the Companies Act 2006 while performing their duty to promote the success of
the company for the benefit of its members as a whole (“section 172 statement”). Below is the section 172
statement for Mitre Sports International Limited captured by these regulations.
Extract from the Strategic Report for the 13-month period ended 31 January 2025
The following disclosure describes how the directors have approached and met their responsibilities
under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, and in particular how the directors have satisfied
themselves that they have acted in a way which is most likely to promote the success of the company
for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing so having regard for stakeholders interests, and
forms the directors’ statement required under section 414 of the Companies Act 2006.
As a business we set high expectations for ourselves, our people, our business partners and our
suppliers. We have presented below a summary of the key stakeholder groups, as well as the key
decisions made during the year, with reference to how our key stakeholders were impacted and how
the directors engaged with those stakeholders to promote the success of the company.
- Pentland Group Limited
Pentland Group Limited is the company’s immediate parent undertaking and provides intercompany
funding to the company. Continued access to capital is vital to the long-term success of the company.
Regular profit and cash flow forecasts are provided to Pentland Group Limited and the Group Treasury
function, not only to advise on when funding is needed, but also to highlight sales and profit growth
to ensure we are creating value for the ultimate shareholders. These are challenged and scrutinised as
well as regular forecast update and outlook processes.
- Suppliers
Our suppliers are fundamental to the quality of our products. Most of our products across our brands
are manufactured outside the UK so it is important to ensure that we are compliant with legislative
and regulatory requirements such as the Modern Slavery Act, to meet the highest standards of social
responsibility. Our Risk Committee allows us to highlight any challenges associated with various
regions due to political or economic instability that may impact our ability to act in accordance with
the standards of conduct we set ourselves, or our ability to meet customer demands, and support our
suppliers if necessary.
Much of the engagement with our manufacturing base is through our sourcing partners, though we
regularly assess the results of our Payment Practices Reporting for all suppliers to ensure that we are
meeting their liquidity demands.
Modern slavery can occur in any global supply chain and is particularly prevalent in the apparel and
footwear industry, so understanding where the risk is higher helps us evolve our approach. Since 2023,
Pentland Brands, our brands portfolio manager and sister company, has partnered with Segura, a
technology platform to help drive more transparency and traceability within the supply chain.
Pentland Brands is due to publish its annual Modern Slavery report (covering 2024 activities) later
this year, sharing how it is assessing salient risks, seeking to improve the lives of the workers in its
sourcing markets and work towards 100% transparency across its supply chain.
The ‘Our Standards’ policy provides our partners with guidance on working ethically and transparently
and is available in the languages of all our major sourcing markets. We are continuing to look at how
we can work collaboratively with our suppliers to manage risks. You can read both the Modern Slavery
report and Our Standards policy on the Pentland Brands website -- pentlandbrands.com/reports-andresources.
- Customers
Sustaining long-lasting relationships with customers is vital to the company. We regularly review
contract terms and ensure that the company can meet customer demands, whilst maintaining our cash
flow requirements. This requires a careful analysis of key metrics by our supply chain, who regularly
engage with customers and relay important information to the directors, ensuring the company can
meet its customers’ needs.
- Employees
Whilst all employee contracts are held by Pentland Brands Limited, a sister company within the group,
the company recognises that a number of those employees represent the company in the conduct of its
principal activity. Accordingly, we believe they are crucial to operating our business successfully and
engage to ensure that we are fostering an environment in which they are happy to work.
To help its people with the cost-of-living crisis, Pentland Brands Limited applied an annual salary
increase for all employees during the period. Pentland uses a fair and consistent approach globally to
determine salary increases within each country it operates in. When reviewing, it considered the
predicted full period inflation forecasts for 2024 and factored in other labour market insights with the
aim to maintain salaries at a competitive level, while balancing affordability.
For 2025, a pay increase, informed by local inflation levels was applied to each of our markets, to reflect
the different economic environment in each.
- Community
Respect for the people and the environment has long been at the heart of our business, and we strive to
make all our decisions in good conscience.
Pentland Brands continues to enhance its brands by evaluating their impact, which is guided by its
ambitious 100-1-0 positive business strategy. Pentland Brands is due to publish its annual Positive
Business report (covering 2024 activities) later this year, which will share how it has worked towards
achieving those ambitious goals. Once published, the report can be found of its website –
pentlandbrands.com.
Mitre extended its partnership with The Football Association (FA) and continued its collaboration with
the Miss Kick Foundation, funding 10 young women to gain their FA Introduction to Coaching Football
qualifications and supplying them with branded equipment to support grassroots training. The
partnership also gave four girls the opportunity to attend the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley.
Mitre’s “Shaping the Game” initiative, in collaboration with Portsmouth Football Club’s community
programme, engaged 140 students across primary and secondary schools in the South of England.
Through interactive workshops on football design and branding, the initiative aimed to spark early
interest in sports-related careers and build confidence in underrepresented communities.
You can read more about some of the actions Pentland Brands and our brands are taking across all
areas at pentlandbrands.com/news/.
Our Principal Decisions
No principal decisions were made during the reporting perio