Modern slavery statement — our commitment.

1. About this statement

This is the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement of Capital Business Media Ltd ("CBM", "we", "us", "our") for the financial year ending 31 December 2025. It is published in accordance with section 54(1) of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and describes the steps we have taken, and continue to take, to ensure that slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking are not taking place in any part of our own business or in our supply chains.

CBM does not tolerate slavery or human trafficking in any form. We expect the same commitment from every contractor, supplier, freelance contributor and partner we engage with.

2. Our organisation

Capital Business Media Ltd is a UK-incorporated specialist media group, registered in England & Wales with company number 05306700 and registered office at 7 Bell Yard, London WC2A 2JR. Our principal place of business is Level 18, Forty Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5NR, and we operate satellite offices in New York and Florida.

We publish a portfolio of independent specialist titles including Business Matters, Travelling For Business, EV Powered, Electric Home, Property Portfolio Investor, Not Ltd, Optimum, Fund Manager Today, Rural Business Awards and the Business Champion Awards. Our activities span editorial publishing (digital, print and newsletter), video and podcast production, contract publishing, live events and an awards programme.

Our workforce consists predominantly of office-based editorial, commercial and operational staff in the UK, US-based commercial staff, and a network of freelance journalists, photographers, videographers, designers and event suppliers. We do not operate in sectors traditionally associated with elevated modern-slavery risk such as manufacturing, agriculture, construction or hospitality.

3. Our supply chains

Our supply chain is short and overwhelmingly service-based. The principal categories of supplier we engage are:

• Editorial & production — freelance journalists, photographers, videographers, podcast producers, sub-editors and designers, the great majority of whom are UK or US-resident sole traders or limited companies.
• Print & distribution — UK-based commercial printers, paper suppliers and distribution partners (including the network that places EV Powered magazine into Gridserve charging hubs).
• Technology & hosting — cloud hosting, content management, analytics, email and SaaS suppliers, predominantly headquartered in the UK, EU or US.
• Events — UK and US venues, AV providers, catering, staging, photography and event-staffing agencies engaged for the Business Champion Awards, Rural Business Awards, Travelling For Business Awards and the EV Powered Awards.
• Professional services — legal, accounting, audit, insurance, banking and HR advisers.

We do not directly source goods from countries on the Global Slavery Index Government Response Scale categorised as "BB" or below, and we do not engage in raw-materials procurement.

4. Relevant policies

We maintain and review the following policies, which together underpin our approach to modern slavery:

• Anti-Slavery & Human Trafficking Policy — sets the group's zero-tolerance position and applies to every employee, contractor and supplier.
• Code of Conduct — the standards we expect from everyone working with or for CBM, including respect for human rights and lawful labour practices.
• Supplier Code of Conduct — contractual terms incorporated into our standard supplier agreements requiring compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and equivalent legislation.
• Whistleblowing Policy — a confidential channel through which concerns about modern slavery, human trafficking or any unethical practice can be raised without fear of retaliation.
• Recruitment Policy — ensuring right-to-work checks, fair recruitment, lawful pay and the prohibition of any form of forced or unpaid labour.
• Procurement Policy — setting due-diligence expectations for any new supplier engagement.

5. Due diligence

Our due-diligence approach is proportionate to the limited modern-slavery exposure inherent in specialist publishing and event production. The steps we take include:

• Conducting right-to-work checks on every employee and on freelance contributors engaged on a recurring basis.
• Paying all UK employees at or above the Real Living Wage and all freelance contributors at agreed market rates within stated payment terms.
• Including modern-slavery compliance clauses in new supplier contracts and renewal terms.
• Requiring tier-one event-production suppliers (venues, AV, catering, staffing) to confirm compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and to provide their own statement where their turnover obliges them to publish one.
• Reviewing the published modern-slavery statements of our principal print, hosting and event suppliers as part of annual supplier reviews.
• Investigating promptly any concern raised, whether internally or by a third party.

6. Risk assessment

Based on our assessment, the principal residual modern-slavery risks within CBM’s business sit not within our direct operations but in the deeper tiers of certain third-party supplier networks — in particular the cleaning, catering, event-staffing and print-distribution chains we engage indirectly through our venue and production partners. We therefore focus our due-diligence efforts on these tier-two and tier-three layers.

We assess our overall residual modern-slavery risk as low, reflecting the office-based, professional-services nature of our workforce, our UK and US operating footprint, and the predominantly UK/EU/US supplier base.

7. Training & awareness

Modern-slavery awareness is included in the induction we provide to new employees, alongside our Code of Conduct, Whistleblowing Policy and equality and diversity training. Senior managers responsible for procurement, recruitment, freelance management and event production receive additional briefings on identifying potential indicators of modern slavery and human trafficking.

8. Measuring effectiveness

We use the following indicators to monitor the effectiveness of our approach:

• Number of new supplier contracts incorporating the Supplier Code of Conduct.
• Number of modern-slavery concerns raised through the whistleblowing channel (zero in the reporting period).
• Annual review of supplier statements for tier-one print, hosting and event-production partners.
• Completion of right-to-work checks for new employees and recurring freelance contributors (100% in the reporting period).
• Annual sign-off of this statement by the board.

During the year ending 31 December 2025 we identified no instances of modern slavery or human trafficking within our business or supply chain.

9. How to raise a concern

Anyone — an employee, freelance contributor, supplier, partner or member of the public — who has concerns about modern slavery or human trafficking connected to CBM should report them as follows:

• Email (confidential): compliance@cbmeg.co.uk
• Post: The Company Secretary, Capital Business Media Ltd, Level 18, Forty Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5NR.
• External: The Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline on 08000 121 700, or unseenuk.org.
• Emergency: If a person is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.

All concerns raised are treated as confidential. We will not tolerate retaliation against anyone raising a concern in good faith.

10. Approval & signature

This statement was approved by the Board of Capital Business Media Ltd on 1 May 2026 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 December 2025. It will be reviewed and updated annually.