Menu
close
HomeMenusRestaurantsGift VouchersOccasionsPrivate DiningCôte at HomeFAQsNewsletterContact Us
Cote
No restaurants found
MenusRestaurantsGift Vouchers
OccasionsPrivate DiningCôte at HomeFAQsNewsletterContact Us
Book Now
Book Now
No restaurants found
Book Now
Menus
Allergens
Cook with Côte
Côte at Home
Our Philosophy
Our Restaurants
Occasions
Restaurant Offers
Private Dining
Gift Vouchers
Corporate Gifting
Careers
FAQs
Preferences
Directory
Newsletter
Contact Us
Terms & Conditions
Privacy & Cookie Policy
Service Charge Policy
Modern Slavery Policy
Gender Pay Gap report
Corporate Governance
Sign up to our newsletter
Join us on InstagramFollow us on TwitterJoin us on LinkedIn
© 2025 Cote. All rights Reserved
Corporate governance

Corporate governance

For the financial year ended 26 September 2021 

Director Duties 

The Companies Act 2006 requires the Directors to act in a way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the Company and in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to:

  • the likely consequences of any decision in the long term
  • the interests of the Company’s people
  • the need to foster the Company’s business relationships with suppliers, customers, and others
  • the impact of the Company’s operations on the community and the environment
  • the desirability of the Company to maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct; and
  • the need to act fairly between shareholders of the Company. 

 

The directors define the successful running of the company in terms of achieving its long-term growth strategy, which focuses on building a sustainable, profitable business which has brand reputation at its heart. The success of the Group is about having positive and effective dealings with all stakeholders of the Group, and the directors were mindful of the long-term consequences of key commercial decisions made during the year. They determined these were in the interests of the company’s employees, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders, as they were all aligned to the Group’s growth strategy. 

 

Our Stakeholders

The directors consider the following as our key stakeholders here at Côte: 

Guests (customers) 

Team members 

Shareholders 

Suppliers 

Community and the environment  

 

Our Guests 

Our guests are key to the continued existence and growth of our business. The directors regularly review guest feedback, Net Promoter Scores, the products we’re selling, the monitoring systems used by the business and the training we provide our teams to ensure we Make it special and deliver the best possible food and service in our restaurants. Feedback from guest research in the year is also allowing us to understand what our guests want and what we should be offering them in the future. 

 

Our Team members 

The Group places considerable value on the involvement of its people and has continued to keep them informed on matters affecting them as employees and on the various factors affecting the performance of the Group. Our people representatives are consulted regularly on a wide range of matters affecting their current and future interests. 

The Group has set a goal to become the employer of choice and has invested considerably in establishing clear values and a full assessment of our reward and benefits offering. By doing this now, we are building for the future to attract and retain the best talent in the industry. 

 

Our Shareholders 

Our shareholders rely on us to manage their investment in a responsible and sustainable way to generate value for them. The directors are in regular contact with the shareholders and keep them informed on all Group operations and developments. 

 

Our Suppliers 

The Group regularly engages with its suppliers to maintain these critical relationships, as we rely on them to provide us with high-quality products to maintain our reputation as a high-quality dining establishment. During the pandemic, proactive discussions were held between the purchasing team and our suppliers to ensure they were kept up to date on trading plans and where possible, negotiations over Covid support that could be provided to the Group to assist with cash flows.

 

The Community and the Environment 

Côte has an important role in contributing not only to the local community but also to the wider community and our planet.  

 

We proactively consider Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) with a practical, purpose-led plan that delivers tangible, quantifiable, and sustained outcomes across a number of different dimensions that effect the world.  

 

The United Nations General Assembly established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 with an achievement deadline of 2030. The SDGs or global ‘goals’ are a collection of 17 interlinked targets designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.”  

 

Therefore, we have chosen a number of SDGs to align with and focus on in the year ahead, and have incorporated these into five our ESG goals: 

  • End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. We have identified Magic Breakfast, a UK charity that provides healthy breakfasts for children living with food insecurity to support. 
  • Sustainable consumption and production patterns. We have committed to ensuring more than half of any plastic packaging is made from recycled or renewable materials by 2025. We will work with our manufacturing partners and material suppliers to select materials that reduce stress on environmental systems. 
  • Combat climate change and its impacts. We are committed to climate action, and we will prioritise reducing our carbon emissions. Côte is targeting ‘zero waste to landfill’ We will also continue to set recycling and waste segregation targets, including completely separating food waste in all our restaurants. Côte will consider ways to reduce energy consumption, implementing an awareness programme and encouraging changes in behaviour. We will continue to offset our residual emissions to achieve carbon neutrality. 
  • Conserve oceans, seas, and marine resources, only using them sustainably. We source fish from sustainable sources. We will continue to work with our suppliers to remove all fish rated ‘5’ by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) from our supply chain. 
  • Protect and restore terrestrial ecosystems only using them sustainably. This includes managing forests, combatting desertification, and halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss. Our carbon offset projects incorporate forest management, tree planting as well as the generation of renewable electricity. 
  • ESG is important to our team, our guests and our shareholders and is a key factor in our decision making. 
  • The ESG targets set by our ESG Committee will play an important role in tracking our progress and ensuring we are accountable both internally and to all our stakeholders. 

 

 Corporate governance code 

The Group has not formally adopted any corporate governance code for the financial year under review due to its start-up nature, and with the trade and assets being bought out of administration. The options for subsequent years are under review. While no code has been formally adopted, the following corporate governance arrangements were in place during the financial year: 

 

The role and composition of the Board 

The Board of the Group is collectively responsible for promoting the long-term success of the Group for its shareholders and other stakeholders and to provide effective leadership within a framework of prudent and effective controls that enable risk to be assessed and managed. It does this in close collaboration with the Executive team. The Board, with the Executive team sets the Group’s strategic aims and ensures the necessary resources are in place to allow the Group’s objectives to be met, in a way that enables sustainable long-term growth. The Board and Executive Team meet formally on a monthly basis with additional meetings when required. The Executive team meets weekly. 

 

The Board establishes the Group’s culture, values and ethics, and these inform expected behaviours and practices throughout the Group. 

 

The Board of directors has a clear understanding of their accountability and responsibilities to ensure effective decision-making. 

 

The following matters are reserved for Board approval: 

  • Review and approval of strategies 
  • Review and approval of budgets 
  • Senior team compensation 
  • Risk appetite 
  • Acquisition of new sites  
  • Disposal of sites 
  • Capital expenditure (new sites and refurbishments) 

The Board use an extensive range of information sources to guide their decision-making, including financial information, key performance indicators, as well as team and guest feedback. 

 

The Board believes its structure, which includes senior management and subject experts who are not directors, includes the appropriate combination of skills, backgrounds, experience and knowledge, in line with the size and complexity of the Group.