We promote a strong culture of integrity among our employees and embed that culture in our policies and processes. 

Good corporate governance is fundamental to 3i and our activities and is critical to the delivery of value to our stakeholders. Our corporate values are approved by the Board and the Executive Committee sets the tone and leads by example.

For full details of our governance structure and processes, please see the Governance section of our annual report.

Our standards of conduct and behaviour are promoted and enforced through a comprehensive suite of policies and procedures which, together with our compliance manual and our values, constitute our code of conduct. Our policies and procedures are reviewed annually.

Our Internal Audit and Compliance teams perform regular reviews which include compliance with our established standards of conduct and behaviour. The results of this work are reported quarterly to the Audit and Compliance Committee, which also carries out an annual review of risk and internal control effectiveness including general standards of conduct and policy compliance. Quarterly updates are also provided to the Board of our main regulated entity, 3i Investments plc, which includes members of the Executive Committee.

We evaluate our employees against our values as part of our annual formal performance review process. In addition, all employees have a mandatory conduct objective against which they are formally assessed as part of their annual performance review.

We believe that all employees and people connected with 3i deserve fair treatment and respect for their fundamental rights and therefore encourage everyone to speak up and report their concerns.

Where any employee discovers information which they believe shows malpractice or wrongdoing within 3i, under most circumstances they will raise concerns with their line manager, who will pass this information to the appropriate Executive Committee member. Should this route not be suitable, then the employee may approach the Directors of Compliance or Internal Audit, or the General Counsel and Company Secretary, who have been designated to provide impartial advice on the appropriate course of action to follow.

Alternatively, all employees across all our office locations may express and report their concerns on a completely confidential and anonymous basis to an independent “hotline” whistle-blowing service provided by EthicsPoint, an independent, external party. Our policies make clear that there should be no fear of reprisal or victimisation or harassment for whistle blowing. There were no incidents of whistle blowing in the year to 31 March 2024.