The Strategic Investment Board met to note decisions regarding director changes and staff consultation at Hendeca Group, a Local Authority Trading Company (LATCO) wholly owned by Surrey County Council. The board formally noted the resignation of the Managing Director (MD), the appointment of an Interim MD from within the council's staff, the appointment of a Board Director from within the council's staff, and the allocation of council resources to support staff consultation. Some of the discussion took place in private.

Hendeca Group: Director Changes and Staff Consultation

The Strategic Investment Board formally noted decisions taken by the Shareholder Investment Panel (SHIP) regarding Hendeca Group.

The decisions that were noted were:

• To accept the resignation of the Managing Director (MD). The MD is expected to leave Hendeca by 30 May 2025.
• To appoint an Interim MD from within the Council's current staff.
• To appoint a Board Director from within the Council's current staff.
• To allocate resource from the Council's People and Change team to support the Interim MD in managing the staff consultation process that was previously directed by the Shareholder Investment Panel (SHIP) to proceed.

The reasons for these decisions were:

• To ensure the company's operations and administration can continue to function effectively.
• To ensure the company's Board can be quorate, fulfil its legal duties and take necessary decisions in supporting the MD in the administration of the company
• To take the legally required steps in commencing staff consultation on the future of the company.

The report before the board noted that the Shareholder Investment Panel (SHIP) had met on 6 May 2025 to agree next steps following the resignation of two board members, one of whom also resigned as Managing Director, leaving only one remaining board member.

The report also included a commentary from Andy Brown, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director Resources (S.151 Officer) on the financial implications of the proposals.

Surrey County Council, like all local authorities, continues to operate in a very challenging financial environment, with significant budgetary pressures and future funding uncertainty. Despite coming from a position of strong financial resilience, the Council is not immune to the impact of increasing demand and costs of service delivery. The Council has a duty to ensure its expenditure does not exceed the resources available and therefore it is vital that we continue to place significant importance on financial management, the delivery of efficiencies and reducing spending, to protect service delivery and achieve a balanced budget position each year.

The report noted that the proposals would enable the Council to meet its Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) by mitigating risk and protecting the assets of its LATCO¹, Hendeca.

Exclusion of the Public

The board resolved to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.