The meeting of the Shareholder Committee included an update on the financial performance of Waltham Forest Services Ltd, an update on Evolve Norse's performance, and consideration of proposed changes to Waltham Forest Services Ltd's articles of association.

Waltham Forest Services Ltd

The Committee was asked to note Waltham Forest Services Ltd’s performance for the year to date and approve changes to its Articles of Association and the overarching SLA between the company and the Council.

The report to the committee says that:

The tightening of Council budgets has led to a forecasted drop in income of £900k this financial year against the business plan.

The committee was also asked to note the company's growth plans and its response to the Climate Emergency. The business plan showed a forecasted growth in net profit over a 5-year period.

The Articles of Association were due to be amended to change the required quorum for board meetings. The report proposes that:

Now that the Company has both Council, and independent officers, it is appropriate to amend the Articles so that the quorum requires at least one Director to be a Council Officer.

Appendix 2 - Articles of Association contains the proposed changes.

The committee was also asked to approve updates to the overarching SLA between the company and the Council, which had been updated to reflect the Council’s missions within Mission Waltham Forest. Mission Waltham Forest is the name given to the Council's current set of strategic priorities.

The updated SLA Appendix 3 - Overarching SLA between the Council and the company can be found in the report pack.

Evolve Norse

The committee was asked to note Evolve Norse's performance against its business plan between April and September 2024.

The report explains that:

Evolve Norse Ltd is the property services and built environment joint venture (JV) between the council and the Norse Group.

The report also asked the committee to note the financial performance of Evolve Norse for April 2024 – September 2024, and the financial projections for the rest of the year.

Evolve Norse is forecasting an annual net operating profit for 2024/25 of £99,000, which is 36% lower than its business plan target. According to the report:

A key risk to the JV’s success is the slowdown in growth of the council’s Capital Programme which, supplies Evolve’s future pipeline of works.