The Group has a related-party relationship with its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures. Key management personnel has been defined as the executive and non-executive directors of the company. The definition of key management includes the close members of family of key management personnel and any other entity over which key management exercise control. Close members of family are those family members who may be expected to influence, or be influenced by that individual in their dealings with the Group. They may include the individual’s domestic partner and children, the children of the individual’s domestic partner, and dependents of the individual or the individual’s domestic partner.

Transactions with key management personnel

Independent non-executive directors do not participate in the Group’s share option, share purchase schemes or conditional share awards.

Details pertaining to executive directors’ compensations are set out in the directors’report. Directors’ remuneration in total is included in note 2.

The Group encourages its employees to purchase goods and services from Group companies. These transactions are generally conducted on terms no more favourable than those entered into with third parties on an arm’s length basis, although in some cases nominal discounts are granted. Transactions with key management personnel are conducted on similar terms. No abnormal or non-commercial credit terms are allowed, and no impairments were recognised in relation to any transactions with key management personnel during the year, nor have they resulted in any non-performing debts at the year-end.

Similar policies are applied to key management personnel at subsidiary level who are not defined as key management personnel at Group level.

Certain directors of the Group are also non-executive directors of other public companies which may transact with the Group. The relevant directors do not believe they have significant influence over the financial or operational policies of those companies. Those companies are thus not regarded as related parties.

The following transactions were made on terms equivalent to those that prevail in arm’s-length transactions between subsidiaries of the Group and key management personnel (as defined above) and/or organisations in which key management personnel have significant influence: