20-F: Annual and transition report of foreign private issuers pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
Published on October 31, 2022
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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Form 20-F
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(Mark One)
OR
For the fiscal year ended June 30 , 2022
OR
OR
Date of event requiring this shell company report
Commission file number 001-38607
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(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter
and translation of Registrant’s name into English)
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England and Wales | ||
(Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | ||
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Chief Executive Officer
Endava PLC
Tel:
Email: investors@endava.com
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| (Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person) | ||
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
| * | Not for trading, but only in connection with the registration of the American Depositary Shares. | ||||
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act. None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act. None
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
Ordinary shares, nominal value £0.02 per ordinary share: 56,763,870 , as of June 30, 2022. As of June 30, 2022, 40,666,258 Class A ordinary shares and 16,097,612 Class B ordinary shares were outstanding.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. | ||||||||||||||||||||
¨ Yes
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Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Accelerated filer ¨
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Non-accelerated filer ¨
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If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
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† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing: | ||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. GAAP ¨
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Other ¨
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If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Item 17 ¨
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Item 18 ¨
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If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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F-1 |
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CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS AND PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 20-F to the terms “Endava,” “Endava Limited,” “Endava plc,” the “Group,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to (i) Endava Limited and our wholly-owned subsidiaries for all periods prior to the re-registration of Endava Limited as a public limited company and (ii) Endava plc and our wholly-owned subsidiaries for all periods after the re-registration of Endava Limited as a public limited company. On July 6, 2018, we re-registered Endava Limited as a public limited company and our name was changed from Endava Limited to Endava plc.
Our fiscal year ends on June 30. Our audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB. None of our financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP.
Our financial information is presented in British Pounds. For the convenience of the reader, in this Annual Report on Form 20-F, unless otherwise indicated, translations from British Pounds into U.S. dollars were made at the rate of £1.00 to $1.2128, which was the rate in effect on June 30, 2022. Such U.S. dollar amounts are not necessarily indicative of the amounts of U.S. dollars that could actually have been purchased upon exchange of British Pounds at the dates indicated. All references in this Annual Report on Form 20-F to “$” mean U.S. dollars and all references to “£” and “GBP” mean British Pounds.
We have made rounding adjustments to some of the figures included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 20-F contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 20-F can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential” and “should,” among others.
Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this Annual Report on Form 20-F and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intent, belief, or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various important factors, including, but not limited to, those identified under “Risk Factors.” In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a guarantee by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, or of other global outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases or fear of such outbreaks, including on the demand for our products and services, and on overall economic conditions and business customer spending levels;
•our ability to sustain our revenue growth rate in the future;
•our ability to retain existing clients and attract new clients, including our ability to increase revenue from existing clients and diversify our revenue concentration;
•our ability to attract and retain highly-skilled IT professionals at cost-effective rates;
•our ability to successfully identify acquisition targets, consummate acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired businesses and personnel;
•our ability to penetrate new industry verticals and geographies and grow our revenue in current industry verticals and geographies;
•our ability to maintain favorable pricing and utilization rates;
•the effects of increased competition as well as innovations by new and existing competitors in our market;
•the size of our addressable market and market trends;
•our ability to adapt to technological change and innovate solutions for our clients;
•our plans for growth and future operations, including our ability to manage our growth;
•our expectations of future operating results or financial performance;
•our ability to effectively manage our international operations, including our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;
•our future financial performance, including trends in revenue, cost of sales, gross profit, selling, general and administrative expenses, finance income and expense and taxes;
•the impact of political instability, natural disaster, events of terrorism and wars, including the recent armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia; and
•other risks and uncertainties, including those listed in the section of this Annual Report titled “Item 3.D—Risk Factors.”
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Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 20-F and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
You should read this Annual Report on Form 20-F and the documents that we reference herein and have filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 20-F, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
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MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA
Certain industry data and market data included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F were obtained from independent third-party surveys, market research, publicly available information, reports of governmental agencies, and industry publications and surveys. All of the market data used in this Annual Report on Form 20-F involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. We believe that the information from these industry publications and surveys included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F is reliable. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “Risk Factors.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.
NOTE REGARDING THIS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 20-F
The delay in completion of this Annual Report on Form 20-F was due to additional audit work being performed by our auditors, KPMG LLP, to address the substantial role participation of KPMG Audit SRL, a KPMG member firm in Romania, in KPMG LLP’s audit of our financial statements included in our annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. KPMG LLP has addressed those issues by performing additional procedures, none of which resulted in any amendments to the previously issued financial statements.
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PART 1
Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers
Not Applicable.
Item2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable
Not applicable.
Item 3. Key Information
A. [Reserved]
B. Capitalization and Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
D. Risk Factors
Our business faces significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this annual report and in our other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including the following risk factors which we face and which are faced by our industry. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. This report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our results could materially differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, as a result of certain factors including the risks described below and elsewhere in this report and our other SEC filings. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above.
Summary of Selected Risks Associated with Our Business
•Our results of operations may be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
•Our results of operations may be negatively impacted by the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
•We may not be able to sustain our revenue growth rate in the future.
•We are dependent on our existing client base and our ability to retain such clients.
•We generally do not have long-term commitments from our clients, and our clients may terminate engagements before completion or choose not to enter into new engagements with us.
•We must attract and retain highly-skilled IT professionals.
•Increases in our current levels of attrition may increase our operating costs and adversely affect our future business prospects.
•Our revenue is dependent on a limited number of industry verticals, and any decrease in demand for technology services in these verticals or our failure to effectively penetrate new verticals could adversely affect our results of operations.
•Our contracts could be unprofitable.
•Our profitability could suffer if we are not able to maintain favorable pricing.
•We must maintain adequate resource utilization rates and productivity levels.
•Recent acquisitions and potential future acquisitions could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute shareholder value and strain our resources.
•We may be unable to effectively manage our rapid growth or achieve anticipated growth, which could place significant strain on our management personnel, systems and resources.
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•If we do not continue to innovate and remain at the forefront of emerging technologies and related market trends, we may lose clients and not remain competitive.
•We operate in a rapidly evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not continue to be successful.
•We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, a long selling and implementation cycle with respect to certain projects that require us to make significant resource commitments prior to realizing revenue for our services.
•If we provide inadequate service or cause disruptions in our clients’ businesses, it could result in significant costs to us, the loss of our clients and damage to our corporate reputation.
•If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to disruption of our operations or ability to provide our services; regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; loss of customers or sales; and other adverse consequences.
•We are subject to stringent and evolving laws, regulations, rules, self-regulatory standards, policies, contractual obligations, and other obligations regarding privacy and data security matters, including in the European Union and the United Kingdom, where we have material operations. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could expose us to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation, fines and penalties or other financial liabilities, disruption of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profit, loss of customers or sales and/or adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.
•We may not receive sufficient intellectual property rights from our employees and contractors to comply with our obligations to our clients and we may not be able to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property.
•We use third-party software, hardware and software-as-a-service, or SaaS, technologies from third parties that may be difficult to replace or that may cause errors or defects in, or failures of, the services or solutions we provide, which could result in material adverse consequences.
•We incorporate third-party open source software into our client deliverables and our failure to comply with the terms of the underlying open source software licenses could adversely impact our clients and create potential liability.
•Changes in laws, regulations, rules or other obligations related to the internet or changes in the internet infrastructure itself may diminish the demand for our services, and could have a negative impact on our business.
•We have significant fixed costs related to lease facilities and may incur additional expense as we adapt our facilities in response to our transition to a hybrid working model.
•Our ability to expand our business and procure new contracts or enter into beneficial business arrangements could be affected to the extent we enter into agreements with clients containing non-competition clauses.
•Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and the price of our ADSs.
•Our revenue, margins, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected if general economic conditions in Europe, the United States or the global economy worsen.
•Fluctuations in currency exchange rates and increased inflation could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
•Our international operations involve risks that could increase our expenses, adversely affect our results of operations and require increased time and attention from our management.
•Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and have a negative impact on our reputation or business.
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•Changes and uncertainties in the tax system in the countries in which we have operations could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
•Emerging markets are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in any emerging market could disrupt our business.
•If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired, and the trading price of our ADSs may be negatively impacted.
•The price of our ADSs may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance.
•Shareholder protections found in provisions under the U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, or the Takeover Code, will not apply if our place of management and control is considered to change to outside the United Kingdom.
•The dual class structure of our ordinary shares has the effect of concentrating voting control for the foreseeable future, which will limit your ability to influence corporate matters.
•The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights typically offered to shareholders of a U.S. corporation.
•Holders of our ADSs have fewer rights than our shareholders and must act through the depositary to exercise their rights.
•Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.
•We may lose our foreign private issuer status, which would then require us to comply with the Exchange Act's domestic reporting regime and cause us to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses.
•We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future and, as a result, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our ADSs.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our results of operations may be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in late 2019 and continuing into this year, COVID-19 has adversely affected economic activity across virtually all sectors and industries on a local, national and global scale. While global vaccination efforts are underway and certain jurisdictions, including in the United Kingdom where our headquarters are located, have reopened businesses and governmental agencies, there remain limitations on the physical operations of businesses and uncertainties in global financial markets. Such global macroeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may reduce our ability to access capital and therefore could negatively affect our liquidity in the future. In addition, ongoing global economic uncertainty resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business, including the demand for our services, and the value of our ADSs. This financial uncertainty may also negatively impact pricing for our services or cause our clients to reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, which may, in turn, lower the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenue, profitability and cash flows. The increased uncertainty and disruption to global markets may also negatively impact our growth opportunities whether organically or through acquisitions.
Furthermore, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote or flexible working options have become more commonplace. While, in compliance with local regulations, we have re-opened most of our offices, we have enabled all of our employees to work remotely and have reduced travel worldwide for our employees. We also have limited company-sponsored events and non-essential in-person work-related meetings. These measures could negatively impact our marketing efforts, challenge our ability to enter into customer contracts in a timely manner, slow down our recruiting efforts or create operational or other challenges, including decreased productivity, lower employee morale and higher attrition rates, any of which could harm our business. In addition, prolonged remote working could result in employee isolation and burnout, leading to operational disruption and unexpected, regrettable attrition. If a significant number of our employees are infected with SARS-CoV-2 and have COVID-19 and are unable to work due to COVID-19, then our ability to deliver for our clients and run our business could also be negatively affected.
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While it is not possible at this time to estimate the full impact that the COVID-19 pandemic could have on worldwide economic activity and our business in particular, the continued spread of COVID-19 and the measures, and the market participant’s perception and responses to the measures, taken by governments, businesses and other organizations in response to COVID-19 could materially and adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, to the extent the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business, results of operations and financial condition, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks and uncertainties described in this “Risk Factors” section which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our results of operations may be negatively impacted by the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In late February 2022, Russian military forces launched a significant military action against Ukraine, which we refer to as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and sustained conflict and disruption in the region is likely. The impact to Ukraine, as well as actions taken by other countries, including new and stricter sanctions by Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States and other countries and organizations against officials, individuals, regions and industries in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, and each country’s potential response to such sanctions, tensions, and military actions could damage or disrupt international commerce and the global economy, and could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
While our business and operations are currently not significantly impacted, it is not possible to predict the broader or longer-term consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. For example, we have employees and clients based in Moldova, a neighboring country of Ukraine. If the armed conflict involving Russia and Ukraine were to spread to other countries such as Moldova, we may incur significant costs associated with assisting our employees with relocating to neighboring countries or providing other forms of aid. We may also lose clients or experience other disruptions of our business activities in the region.
Other consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict could include further sanctions, embargoes, regional instability, geopolitical shifts and adverse effects on macroeconomic conditions, security conditions, currency exchange rates and financial markets. Such geopolitical instability and uncertainty could have a negative impact on our ability to sell to, deliver to, collect payments from, and support clients in certain regions. This could be due to trade restrictions, embargoes and export control law restrictions, and logistics restrictions including closures of air space, which could increase the costs, risks and adverse impacts from supply chain and logistics challenges. There can be no assurance that the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including any resulting sanctions, export controls or other restrictive actions, will not have a material adverse impact on our future operations and results.
We may not be able to sustain our revenue growth rate in the future.
We have experienced rapid revenue growth in recent periods. Our revenue increased by 46.7% over the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, to £654.8 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, and has increased by over 20% in each of the prior two years. We may not be able to sustain revenue growth consistent with our recent history or at all. You should not consider our revenue growth in recent periods as indicative of our future performance. As we grow our business, we expect our revenue growth rates to slow in future periods due to a number of factors, which may include slowing demand for our services, increasing competition, decreasing growth of our overall market, adverse global economic or geopolitical conditions, our inability to engage and retain a sufficient number of IT professionals or otherwise scale our business, increasing prevailing wages in the markets in which we operate or our failure, for any reason, to capitalize on growth opportunities.
We are dependent on our existing client base and our ability to retain such clients.
Historically, a significant percentage of our revenue has come from our existing client base. For example, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, 91.1% of our revenue came from clients from whom we generated revenue during the prior fiscal years. Additionally, during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020 our 10 largest clients accounted for 33.8%, 34.9% and 38.1% of our revenue, respectively. However, the volume of work performed for a specific client is likely to vary from year to year, especially since we generally do not have
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long-term commitments from our clients and are often not our clients’ exclusive technology services provider. A major client in one year may not provide the same level of revenue for us in any subsequent year. Further, one or more of our significant clients could get acquired and there can be no assurance that the acquirer would choose to use our services in respect of such client to the same degree as previously, if at all. In particular, some of our clients are owned by private equity firms and are therefore inherently more likely to be sold at some point in the future.
In addition, the services we provide to our clients, and the revenue and income from those services, may decline or vary as the type and quantity of services we provide changes over time. In addition, our reliance on any individual client for a significant portion of our revenue may give that client a certain degree of pricing leverage against us when negotiating contracts and terms of service. In order to successfully perform and market our services, we must establish and maintain multi-year close relationships with our clients and develop a thorough understanding of their businesses. Our ability to maintain these close relationships is essential to the growth and profitability of our business. If we fail to maintain these relationships and successfully obtain new engagements from our existing clients, we may not achieve our revenue growth and other financial goals.
We anticipate that a limited number of clients will continue to account for a significant portion of our revenue in any given fiscal year for foreseeable future and, in some cases, a portion of our revenue attributable to an individual client may increase in the future. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in maintaining our relationship with and successfully obtaining new engagements from our existing clients. If we fail to maintain these relationships and successfully obtain new engagements from our existing clients, we may not achieve our revenue growth and other financial goals.
Additionally, if our existing client base, notably our largest clients, are adversely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict or other adverse global economic or geopolitical conditions, then we may experience a decrease in demand, delays in payment or postponement of projects, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We generally do not have long-term commitments from our clients, and our clients may terminate engagements before completion or choose not to enter into new engagements with us.
Our clients are generally not obligated for any long-term commitments to us. Our clients can terminate many of our master services agreements and work orders with or without cause, in some cases subject only to 15 days’ or less prior notice in the case of termination without cause. Although a substantial majority of our revenue is typically generated from clients who also contributed to our revenue during the prior year, our engagements with our clients are typically for projects that are singular in nature. In addition, large and complex projects may involve multiple engagements or stages, and a client may choose not to retain us for additional stages or may cancel or delay additional planned engagements. Therefore, we must seek to obtain new engagements when our current engagements are successfully completed or are terminated as well as maintain relationships with existing clients and secure new clients to maintain and expand our business.
Even if we successfully deliver on contracted services and maintain close relationships with our clients, a number of factors outside of our control could cause the loss of or reduction in business or revenue from our existing clients. These factors include, among other things:
•the business or financial condition of that client or the economy generally;
•a change in strategic priorities by that client, resulting in a reduced level of spending on technology services;
•changes in the personnel at our clients who are responsible for procurement of information technology, or IT, services or with whom we primarily interact;
•a demand for price reductions by that client;
•mergers, acquisitions or significant corporate restructurings involving that client;
•a decision by that client to move work in-house or to one or several of our competitors; and
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•uncertainty and disruption to the global markets including due to public health pandemics, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, or geopolitical instability, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The loss or diminution in business from any of our major clients could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and results of operations. The ability of our clients to terminate agreements makes our future revenue uncertain. We may not be able to replace any client that elects to terminate or not renew its contract with us, which could materially adversely affect our revenue and thus our results of operations. Further, terminations or delays in engagements may make it difficult to plan our project resource requirements.
We must attract and retain highly-skilled IT professionals.
In order to sustain our growth, we must attract and retain a large number of highly-skilled and talented IT professionals. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, we increased our headcount by 2,970 employees, or 33.4%. Our business is people driven and, accordingly, our success depends upon our ability to attract, develop, motivate, retain and effectively utilize highly-skilled IT professionals in our delivery locations, which are principally located in five European Union countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), four other Central European countries (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia) and four countries in Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay). We believe that there is significant competition for technology professionals in the geographic regions in which our delivery centers are located and that such competition will continue for the foreseeable future. Increased hiring by technology companies and increasing worldwide competition for skilled technology professionals has led to a shortage in the availability of suitable personnel in the locations where we operate and hire. In addition, the increased uncertainty and disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict may negatively impact our ability to recruit, hire and train the IT professionals we require to operate our business. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced new dynamics into the households of many of our employees, including struggling with work-life balance and feelings of stress and social isolation, which could result in lower employee morale and productivity and higher levels of attrition. As remote or flexible work options become more commonplace in light of the pandemic, potential candidates may choose to move to lower cost of living areas, which could negatively impact our ability to recruit appropriately skilled personnel for onsite positions. Moreover, we have observed increased wage expectations due to inflation and adverse global economic conditions. Such wage expectations could create challenges for our recruiting efforts in light of profitability considerations and margin requirements. Our ability to properly staff projects, maintain and renew existing engagements and win new business depends, in large part, on our ability to recruit, train and retain IT professionals. Failure to hire, train and retain IT professionals in sufficient numbers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Increases in our current levels of attrition may increase our operating costs and adversely affect our future business prospects.
The technology industry generally experiences a significant rate of turnover of its workforce. There is a limited pool of individuals who have the skills and training needed to help us grow our company. We compete for such talented individuals not only with other companies in our industry but also with companies in other industries, such as software services, engineering services, financial services and technology generally, among others. High attrition rates of IT personnel would increase our hiring and training costs and could have an adverse effect on our ability to complete existing contracts in a timely manner, meet client objectives and expand our business.
Our revenue is dependent on a limited number of industry verticals, and any decrease in demand for technology services in these verticals or our failure to effectively penetrate new verticals could adversely affect our results of operations.
Historically, we have focused on developing industry expertise and deep client relationships in a limited number of industry verticals. As a result, a substantial portion of our revenue has been generated by clients operating in the banking, capital markets, insurance and payments, or Payments and Financial Services, vertical and the technology, media and telecommunications, or TMT, vertical. Payments and Financial Services and TMT constituted 50.7% and 25.0%, 50.7% and 27.1%, and 52.8% and 25.7% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our business growth largely depends on continued demand for our services
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from clients in Payments and Financial Services and TMT, and any slowdown or reversal of the trend to spend on technology services in these verticals could result in a decrease in the demand for our services and materially adversely affect our revenue, financial condition and results of operations.
We have also begun expanding our business into other verticals, such as consumer products, healthcare, logistics and retail. However, we have less experience in these verticals and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in penetrating these verticals. There may be competitors in these verticals that may be entrenched and difficult to dislodge. As a result of these and other factors, including increased spending controls by companies due to global economic conditions, our efforts to expand our client base may be expensive and may not succeed, and we therefore may be unable to grow our revenue. If we fail to further penetrate our existing industry verticals or expand our client base in new verticals, we may be unable to grow our revenue and our operating results may be harmed. Other developments, including impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and deteriorating global economic conditions, in the industries in which we operate may also lead to a decline in the demand for our services, and we may not be able to successfully anticipate and prepare for any such changes. For example, consolidation or acquisitions, particularly involving our clients, may adversely affect our business. Our clients and potential clients may experience rapid changes in their prospects, substantial price competition and pressure on their profitability. This, in turn, may result in increasing pressure on us from clients and potential clients to lower our prices, which could adversely affect our revenue, results of operations and financial condition.
Our contracts could be unprofitable.
We perform our services primarily under time-and-materials contracts (where materials costs consist of travel and out-of-pocket expenses). We charge out the services performed by our employees under these contracts at daily or hourly rates that are agreed at the time at which the contract is entered. The rates and other pricing terms negotiated with our clients are highly dependent on our internal forecasts of our operating costs and predictions of increases in those costs influenced by wage inflation and other marketplace factors, as well as the volume of work provided by the client. Our predictions are based on limited data and could turn out to be inaccurate, resulting in contracts that may not be profitable. Typically, we do not have the ability to increase the rates established at the outset of a client project, other than on an annual basis and often subject to caps. Independent of our right to increase our rates on an annual basis, client expectations regarding the anticipated cost of a project may limit our practical ability to increase our rates for ongoing work.
In addition to our time-and-materials contracts, we undertake some engagements on a fixed-price basis and also provide managed services in certain cases. Our pricing in fixed-price and managed service contracts is highly dependent on our assumptions and forecasts about the costs we expect to incur to complete the related project, which are based on limited data and could turn out to be inaccurate. Any failure by us to accurately estimate the resources, including the skills and seniority of our employees, required to complete a fixed-price or managed service contracts on time and on budget or meet a service level on a managed service contract, or any unexpected increase in the cost of our employees assigned to the related project, office space or materials could expose us to risks associated with cost overruns and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, any unexpected changes in economic conditions that affect any of the foregoing assumptions and predictions could render contracts that would have been favorable to us when signed unfavorable.
Our profitability could suffer if we are not able to maintain favorable pricing.
Our profitability and operating results are dependent on the rates we are able to charge for our services. Our rates are affected by a number of factors, including:
•our clients’ perception of our ability to add value through our services;
•our competitors’ pricing policies;
•bid practices of clients and their use of third-party advisors;
•the ability of large clients to exert pricing pressure;
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•employee wage levels and increases in compensation costs;
•employee utilization levels;
•our ability to charge premium prices when justified by market demand or the type of service; and
•general economic conditions.
If we are not able to maintain favorable pricing for our services, our profitability could suffer.
We must maintain adequate resource utilization rates and productivity levels.
Our profitability and the cost of providing our services are affected by our utilization rates of our employees in our delivery locations. If we are not able to maintain appropriate utilization rates for our employees involved in delivery of our services, our profit margin and our profitability may suffer. Our utilization rates are affected by a number of factors, including:
•our ability to promptly transition our employees from completed projects to new assignments and to hire and integrate new employees;
•our ability to forecast demand for our services (and which may be impacted due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other global economic conditions) and thereby maintain an appropriate number of employees in each of our delivery locations;
•our ability to deploy employees with appropriate skills and seniority to projects;
•our ability to manage the attrition of our employees; and
•our need to devote time and resources to training, professional development and other activities that cannot be billed to our clients.
Our revenue could also suffer if we misjudge demand patterns, including as a result of uncertainties related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and any other global economic and geopolitical conditions and do not recruit sufficient employees to satisfy demand. Employee shortages could prevent us from completing our contractual commitments in a timely manner and cause us to lose contracts or clients. Further, to the extent that we lack sufficient employees with lower levels of seniority and daily or hourly rates, we may be required to deploy more senior employees with higher rates on projects without the ability to pass such higher rates along to our clients, which could adversely affect our profit margin and profitability.
Recent acquisitions and potential future acquisitions could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute shareholder value and strain our resources.
During the last five years, we have completed eight acquisitions, including Lexicon Digital Pty Ltd and Lexicon Consolidated Holdings Pty Ltd, or, together, Lexicon, in October 2022, Business Agility Consulting Ltd., or BAC, in February 2022 and Pet Minuta d.o.o., or Five, and Levvel LLC, or Levvel, each in March 2021. In the future, we may acquire additional businesses that we believe could complement or expand our business. Realizing the benefits of acquisitions depends in part on the successful integration of operations and personnel. Integrating the operations of acquired businesses successfully or otherwise realizing any of the anticipated benefits of acquisitions, including anticipated cost savings and additional revenue opportunities, is complex and time-consuming and involves a number of potential challenges, including the effective and timely alignment of the acquired entity’s processes and systems with Endava’s processes and systems, notably Endava’s Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, controls. In addition, travel and physical distancing restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related precautionary and safety measures could extend timelines and delay integration activities and operating synergies. The failure to meet these integration challenges could seriously harm our financial condition and results of operations. Past acquisitions and any acquisitions we may complete in the future will give rise to certain risks and we may encounter unexpected difficulties or incur unexpected costs, including:
•diversion of management attention from ongoing business concerns to integration matters;
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•lack of available staff to perform the integration in a timely manner or alternatively, to perform ongoing business activities due to their integration work;
•consolidating and rationalizing information technology platforms and administrative infrastructures;
•complexities associated with managing the geographic separation of the combined businesses and consolidating multiple physical locations;
•retaining IT professionals and other key employees and achieving minimal unplanned attrition;
•integrating personnel from different corporate cultures while maintaining focus on providing consistent, high quality service;
•demonstrating to our clients and to clients of acquired businesses that the acquisition will not result in adverse changes in client service standards or business focus;
•possible cash flow interruption or loss of profit as a result of transitional matters;
•inability to generate sufficient profit to offset acquisition and integration costs in a reasonable timeframe or at all; and
•inability to achieve the operating synergies anticipated in the acquisitions.
Additionally, acquired businesses may have liabilities or adverse operating issues that we fail to discover through due diligence prior to the acquisition. In particular, to the extent that prior owners of any acquired businesses or properties failed to comply with or otherwise violated applicable laws or regulations, or failed to fulfil their contractual obligations to clients, we, as the successor owner, may be financially responsible for these violations and failures and may suffer financial or reputational harm or otherwise be adversely affected. Similarly, our acquisition targets may not have as robust internal controls over financial reporting as would be expected of a public company. Acquisitions also frequently result in the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets which are subject to potential impairment in the future that could harm our financial results. We may also become subject to new regulations as a result of an acquisition, including if we acquire a business serving clients in a regulated industry or acquire a business with clients or operations in a country in which we do not already operate. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing convertible debt or equity securities, our existing shareholders may be diluted, which could affect the market price of our ADSs. As a result, if we fail to properly evaluate acquisitions or investments, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of any such acquisitions, and we may incur costs in excess of what we anticipate. Acquisitions frequently involve benefits related to the integration of operations of the acquired business. The failure to successfully integrate the operations or otherwise to realize any of the anticipated benefits of the acquisition could seriously harm our results of operations.
We may pursue acquisition opportunities which may cause our business to suffer.
We may pursue acquisition opportunities to grow our business. We can offer no assurance that any such acquired businesses will prove to be successful and accretive to shareholder value. Among other negative effects, our pursuit of such business opportunities could reduce operating margins and require more working capital, subject us to additional laws and regulations and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We are focused on growing our client base in North America and Europe and may not be successful.
We are focused on geographic expansion, particularly in North America and Europe. In fiscal years 2022, 2021 and 2020, 34.8%, 31.4% and 28.5% of our revenue, respectively, came from clients in North America and 21.1%, 24.2% and 24.5% of our revenue, respectively, came from clients in Europe. From fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022, our revenue from clients in North America and Europe increased by 62.8% and 27.8%, respectively, and from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021, our revenue from clients in North America and Europe increased by 40.0% and 25.7%, respectively. We have made significant investments to expand in North America, including our acquisitions of Velocity Partners LLC, or Velocity Partners, in December 2017 and Five and Levvel in March 2021, which
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increased our sales presence in North America and added nearshore delivery capacity in Latin America. We have also made meaningful investments to expand in Europe, including our acquisitions of Intuitus Limited, or Intuitus, in November 2019, Exozet Berlin, or Exozet, in December 2019, Comtrade Digital Services, or CDS, in August 2020 and Five in March 2021, which expanded our sales presence in Europe and expanded the services we can provide to clients. However, our ability to add new clients will depend on a number of factors, including the market perception of our services, our ability to successfully add nearshore delivery center capacity and pricing, competition, overall economic conditions, including factors such as market correction, economic downturn, recession or fears of recession, inflation, increased unemployment and negative impacts to the global supply chain. For example, the market correction, inflation or other negative global economic conditions resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict may slow down our revenue growth in North America and Europe and could materially negatively affect our expansion of business in the regions. If we are unable to retain existing clients and attract new clients in North America and Europe, we may be unable to grow our revenue and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may be unable to effectively manage our rapid growth or achieve anticipated growth, which could place significant strain on our management personnel, systems and resources.
We have experienced rapid growth and significantly expanded our business over the past several years, both organically and through acquisitions. We intend to continue to grow our business in the foreseeable future and to pursue existing and potential market opportunities. We have also increased the size and complexity of the projects that we undertake for our clients and hope to continue being engaged for larger and more complex projects in the future. As we add new delivery sites, acquire new companies, introduce new services or enter into new markets, we may face new market, technological and operational risks and challenges with which we are unfamiliar, and we may not be able to mitigate these risks and challenges to successfully grow those acquisitions, services or markets. In addition, the continued uncertainty and disruption resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact our growth opportunities as clients may reduce or postpone their technology spending and finding and consummating suitable acquisition opportunities becomes more challenging. We may not be able to achieve our anticipated growth or successfully execute large and complex projects, which could materially adversely affect our revenue, results of operations, business and prospects.
Our future growth depends on us successfully recruiting, hiring and training IT professionals, expanding our delivery capabilities, adding effective sales staff and management personnel, adding service offerings, maintaining existing clients and winning new business. We often recruit skilled professionals by having them visit our offices. Consequently, the ongoing travel restrictions or disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that prevent us from meeting with professional prospects may adversely impact our ability to recruit the IT professionals necessary to grow our business. In addition, we have observed increased wage expectations on a global scale due to inflation and adverse global economic conditions. Such wage expectations could create challenges for our recruiting efforts in light of profitability considerations and margin expectations. We may also need to increase the levels of employee compensation more rapidly than in the past to remain competitive, and we may not be able to pass on these increased costs to our clients. Further, effective management of these and other growth initiatives will require us to continue to improve our infrastructure, execution standards and ability to expand services. As our company grows, and we are required to add more employees and infrastructure to support our growth, we may find it increasingly difficult to maintain our corporate culture. If we fail to maintain a culture that fosters career development, innovation, creativity and teamwork, we could experience difficulty in hiring and retaining IT professionals. Failure to manage growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on the quality of the execution of our engagements, our ability to attract and retain IT professionals and our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We face intense competition.
The market for technology and IT services is intensely competitive, highly fragmented and subject to rapid change and evolving industry standards and we expect competition to intensify. We believe that the principal competitive factors that we face are the ability to innovate; technical expertise and industry knowledge; end-to-end solution offerings; delivery location; price; reputation and track record for high-quality and on-time delivery of
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work; effective employee recruiting; training and retention; responsiveness to clients’ business needs; scale; and financial stability.
Our primary competitors include next-generation IT service providers, such as Globant S.A. and EPAM Systems, digital agencies and consulting companies, such as Ideo, McKinsey & Company, The Omnicom Group, Sapient Corporation and WPP plc; global consulting and traditional IT services companies, such as Accenture PLC, Capgemini SE, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation and Tata Consultancy Services Limited; and in-house development departments of our clients. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources and greater name recognition than we do. As a result, they may be able to compete more aggressively on pricing or devote greater resources to the development and promotion of technology and IT services. Companies based in some emerging markets also present significant price competition due to their competitive cost structures and tax advantages.
In addition, there are relatively few barriers to entry into our markets and we have faced, and expect to continue to face, competition from new market entrants. Further, there is a risk that our clients may elect to increase their internal resources to satisfy their service needs as opposed to relying on a third-party service provider, such as us. The technology services industry may also undergo consolidation, which may result in increased competition in our target markets from larger firms that may have substantially greater financial, marketing or technical resources, may be able to respond more quickly to new technologies or processes and changes in client demands, and may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their services than we can. Increased competition could also result in price reductions, reduced operating margins and loss of our market share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully with existing or new competitors or that competitive pressures will not materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we do not continue to innovate and remain at the forefront of emerging technologies and related market trends, we may lose clients and not remain competitive.
Our success depends on delivering innovative solutions that leverage emerging technologies and emerging market trends to drive increased revenue, particularly in response to our hybrid working model and other effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which require many businesses to increase their reliance on digital technologies. Technological advances and innovation are constant in the technology services industry. As a result, we must continue to invest significant resources to stay abreast of technology developments so that we may continue to deliver solutions that our clients will wish to purchase. If we are unable to anticipate technology developments, enhance our existing services or develop and introduce new services to keep pace with such changes and meet changing client needs, we may lose clients and our revenue and results of operations could suffer. Our results of operation would also suffer if our employees are not responsive to the needs of our clients, not able to help clients in driving innovation and not able to help our clients in effectively bringing innovative ideas to market. Our competitors may be able to offer engineering, design and innovation services that are, or that are perceived to be, substantially similar or better than those we offer. This may force us to reduce our daily rates and to expend significant resources in order to remain competitive, which we may be unable to do profitably or at all. Because many of our clients and potential clients regularly contract with other IT service providers, these competitive pressures may be more acute than in other industries.
We are dependent on members of our senior management team and other key employees.
Our future success heavily depends upon the continued services of our senior management team, particularly John Cotterell, our Chief Executive Officer, and other key employees. We currently do not maintain key man life insurance for any of the members of our senior management team or other key employees. We also do not have long-term employment contracts with all of our key employees. We are only entitled to six to 12 months’ prior notice if our executive officers intend to terminate their respective employment with us and three months’ prior notice if any of our other senior executives intend to terminate their respective employment with us. If one or more of our senior executives or key employees are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, it could disrupt our business operations, and we may not be able to replace them easily, on a timely basis or at all. In addition, competition for senior executives and key employees in our industry is intense, and we may be unable to
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retain our senior executives and key employees or attract and retain new senior executives and key employees in the future, in which case our business may be severely disrupted.
If any of our senior management team or key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose clients, suppliers, know-how and IT professionals and staff members to them. Also, if any of our sales executives or other sales personnel, who generally maintain close relationships with our clients, joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose clients to that company, and our revenue may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, there could be unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge, business practices or procedures by such personnel. Any non-competition, non-solicitation or non-disclosure agreements we have with our senior executives or key employees might not provide effective protection to us in light of legal uncertainties associated with the enforceability of such agreements.
Additionally, we have a number of current employees whose equity ownership in our company gives them a substantial amount of personal wealth. As a result, it may be difficult for us to continue to retain and motivate these employees, and this wealth could affect their decisions about whether or not they continue to work for us. Further, although the Class B ordinary shares that are held by our employees are subject to certain restrictions on disposition for periods of up to five years following the completion of our initial public offering in July 2018, sales of our ADSs by our employees in the open market or the perception that such sales may occur may negatively impact the market price of our ADSs. The risk that our employees may sell ADSs in the open market may be made more acute as a result of the fact that we do not anticipate paying dividends for the foreseeable future, meaning open market sales or sales in registered offerings may be our employees’ only means of generating liquidity from their ownership of our securities.
Forecasts of our market may prove to be inaccurate, and even if the markets in which we compete achieve the forecasted growth, there can be no assurance that our business will grow at similar rates, or at all.
Growth forecasts included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F relating to our market opportunity and the expected growth in the market for our services are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates which may prove to be inaccurate. Even if these markets meet our size estimates and experience the forecasted growth, we may not grow our business at similar rates, or at all. Our growth is subject to many risks and uncertainties, including our success in implementing our business strategy. Accordingly, the forecasts of market growth included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F should not be taken as indicative of our future growth.
Our business will suffer if we are not successful in delivering contracted services.
Our operating results are dependent on our ability to successfully deliver contracted services in a timely manner. We must consistently build, deliver and support complex projects and managed services. Failure to perform or observe any contractual obligations could damage our relationships with our clients and could result in cancellation or non-renewal of a contract. Some of the challenges we face in delivering contracted services to our clients include:
•maintaining high-quality control and process execution standards;
•maintaining planned resource utilization rates on a consistent basis;
•maintaining employee productivity and implementing necessary process improvements;
•controlling costs;
•maintaining close client contact and high levels of client satisfaction;
•maintaining physical and data security standards required by our clients;
•recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of skilled IT professionals; and
•maintaining effective client relationships.
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If we are unable to deliver on contracted services, our relationships with our clients will suffer and we may be unable to obtain new projects. In addition, it could damage our reputation, cause us to lose business, impact our margins and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our sales of services, operating results or profitability may experience significant variability and our past results may not be indicative of our future performance.
Our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. Fluctuations in our operating results may be particularly pronounced in the current economic environment due to the economic slowdown, inflation and other financial uncertainties including those caused by, and the unprecedented nature of, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. You should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance.
Factors that are likely to cause these variations include:
•the number, timing, scope and contractual terms of projects in which we are engaged;
•delays in project commencement or staffing delays due to difficulty in assigning appropriately skilled or experienced professionals;
•the accuracy of estimates on the resources, time and fees required to complete projects and costs incurred in the performance of each project;
•inability to retain employees or maintain employee utilization levels;
•changes in pricing in response to client demand and competitive pressures;
•the business decisions of our clients regarding the use of our services or spending on technology;
•the ability to further grow sales of services from existing clients;
•seasonal trends and the budget and work cycles of our clients;
•delays or difficulties in expanding our operational facilities or infrastructure;
•our ability to estimate costs under fixed price or managed service contracts;
•employee wage levels and increases in compensation costs;
•unanticipated contract or project terminations;
•the timing of collection of accounts receivable;
•our ability to manage risk through our contracts;
•the continuing financial stability of our clients;
•changes in our effective tax rate;
•fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
•general economic conditions;
•the impact of public health pandemics, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; and
•the impact of unforeseen global and geopolitical events, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
As a result of these factors, our operating results may from time to time fall below our estimates or the expectations of public market analysts and investors.
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We operate in a rapidly evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not continue to be successful.
The technology services industry is competitive and continuously evolving, subject to rapidly changing demands and constant technological developments. As a result, success and performance metrics are difficult to predict and measure in our industry. Because services and technologies are rapidly evolving and each company within the industry can vary greatly in terms of the services it provides, its business model, and its results of operations, it can be difficult to predict how any company’s services, including ours, will be received in the market. Neither our past financial performance nor the past financial performance of any other company in the technology services industry is indicative of how our company will fare financially in the future. Our future profits may vary substantially from those of other companies and those we have achieved in the past, making an investment in our company risky and speculative. If our clients’ demand for our services declines as a result of economic conditions, market factors or shifts in the technology industry, our business would suffer and our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected.
We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, a long selling and implementation cycle with respect to certain projects that require us to make significant resource commitments prior to realizing revenue for our services.
We have experienced, and may in the future experience, a long selling cycle with respect to certain projects that require significant investment of human resources and time by both our clients and us. Before committing to use our services, potential clients may require us to expend substantial time and resources educating them on the value of our services and our ability to meet their requirements. Therefore, our selling cycle is subject to many risks and delays over which we have little or no control, including our clients’ decision to choose alternatives to our services (such as other technology and IT service providers or in-house resources) and the timing of our clients’ budget cycles and approval processes. If our sales cycle unexpectedly lengthens for one or more projects, it would negatively affect the timing of our revenue and hinder our revenue growth. For certain clients, we may begin work and incur costs prior to executing the contract. A delay in our ability to obtain a signed agreement or other persuasive evidence of an arrangement, or to complete certain contract requirements in a particular quarter, could reduce our revenue in that quarter or render us entirely unable to collect payment for work already performed.
Implementing our services also involves a significant commitment of resources over an extended period of time from both our clients and us. Our clients may experience delays in obtaining internal approvals or delays associated with technology, thereby further delaying the implementation process. Our current and future clients may not be willing or able to invest the time and resources necessary to implement our services, and we may fail to close sales with potential clients to which we have devoted significant time and resources. Any significant failure to generate revenue or delays in recognizing revenue after incurring costs related to our sales or services process could materially adversely affect our business.
Additionally, we have experienced and may continue to experience longer sales and implementation cycles for current and future clients due to the worldwide economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions and precautions that have been implemented by governments and companies, including ours, around the world. Notably, restrictions on face-to-face meetings with clients and our ability to work from client facilities could lengthen our selling and implementation cycles.
If we provide inadequate service or cause disruptions in our clients’ businesses, it could result in significant costs to us, the loss of our clients and damage to our corporate reputation.
Any defects or errors or failure to meet clients’ expectations in the performance of our contracts could result in claims for substantial damages against us. Our contracts generally limit our liability for damages that arise from negligent acts, error, mistakes or omissions in rendering services to our clients. However, we cannot be sure that these contractual provisions will protect us from liability for damages in the event we are sued. In addition, certain liabilities, such as claims of third parties for intellectual property infringement and breaches of data protection and security requirements, for which we may be required to indemnify our clients, could be substantial. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us in amounts greater than those covered by our current insurance
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policies could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Even if such assertions against us are unsuccessful, we may incur reputational harm and substantial legal fees. In addition, a failure or inability to meet a contractual requirement could seriously damage our corporate reputation and limit our ability to attract new business.
In certain instances, we guarantee clients that we will complete a project by a scheduled date or that we will maintain certain service levels. We are generally not subject to monetary penalties for failing to complete projects by the scheduled date, but may suffer reputational harm and loss of future business if we do not meet our contractual commitments. In addition, if the project experiences a performance problem, we may not be able to recover the additional costs we will incur, which could exceed revenue realized from a project. Under our managed service contracts, we may be required to pay liquidated damages if we are unable to maintain agreed-upon service levels.
Our business depends on a strong brand and corporate reputation.
Since many of our specific client engagements involve highly tailored solutions, our corporate reputation is a significant factor in our clients’ and prospective clients’ determination of whether to engage us. We believe the Endava brand name and our reputation are important corporate assets that help distinguish our services from those of our competitors and also contribute to our efforts to recruit and retain talented IT professionals. However, our corporate reputation is susceptible to damage by actions or statements made by current or former employees or clients, competitors, vendors and adversaries in legal proceedings, as well as members of the investment community and the media. There is a risk that negative information about our company, even if based on false rumor or misunderstanding, could adversely affect our business. In particular, damage to our reputation could be difficult and time-consuming to repair, could make potential or existing clients reluctant to select us for new engagements, resulting in a loss of business, and could adversely affect our employee recruitment and retention efforts. Damage to our reputation could also reduce the value and effectiveness of our Endava brand name and could reduce investor confidence in us and adversely affect our operating results.
Our cash flows and results of operations may be adversely affected if we are unable to collect on billed and unbilled receivables from clients.
Our business depends on our ability to effectively bill and successfully obtain payment from our clients of the amounts they owe us for work performed. We evaluate the financial condition of our clients and usually bill and collect on relatively short cycles. We maintain provisions against receivables. Actual losses on client balances could differ from those that we currently anticipate and, as a result, we may need to adjust our provisions. We may not accurately assess the creditworthiness of our clients. Macroeconomic conditions, such as a potential credit crisis in the global financial system and other economic effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict, have resulted and could continue to result in financial difficulties for our clients, including limited access to the credit markets, insolvency or bankruptcy. Such conditions have caused some clients and could cause other clients to delay payment, request modifications of their payment terms, or default on their payment obligations to us, all of which could increase our receivables balance. Timely collection of fees for client services depends on our ability to complete our contractual commitments and subsequently effectively bill for and collect our contractual service fees. If we are unable to meet our contractual obligations or effectively prepare and provide invoices, we might experience delays in the collection of or be unable to collect our client balances, which would adversely affect our results of operations and could adversely affect our cash flows. In addition, if we experience an increase in the time required to bill and collect for our services or if our clients are delayed in making payments or stop payments altogether, our cash flows could be adversely affected, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to make necessary investments and, therefore, could affect our results of operations.
We may be subject to liability claims for actual or perceived breaches of our contracts, which may not contain limitations of liability, and our insurance may be inadequate to cover our losses.
We are subject to numerous obligations, including indemnity obligations, in our contracts with our clients and suppliers. Despite the procedures, systems and internal controls we have implemented to comply with our contracts, we may breach these commitments, whether through a weakness in these procedures, systems and internal controls, inability to prevent acts by third parties, such as cyber threat actors or negligence or the willful act of an employee or contractor. Additionally, a client may make a claim against us because they believe such a breach of contract
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occurred. Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our contractual obligations, including our privacy and security obligations. Additionally, our insurance policies, including, but not limited to, our professional indemnity (errors and omissions) and cyber and data security insurance policies, may be inadequate to insure us for the potentially significant losses that may result from claims arising from breaches of our contracts, security incidents, disruptions in our services, failures or disruptions to our infrastructure, catastrophic events and disasters or otherwise. In addition, such insurance may not be available to us in the future on economically reasonable terms, or at all. Further, our insurance may not cover all claims made against us and defending a suit or claim, regardless of its merit, could be costly and divert management’s attention.
We are subject to stringent and evolving laws, regulations, rules, self-regulatory standards, policies, contractual obligations, and other obligations regarding privacy and data security matters, including in the European Union and the United Kingdom, where we have material operations. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could expose us to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation, fines and penalties or other financial liabilities, disruption of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profit, loss of customers or sales and/or adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, process) personal data and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, source code, intellectual property, sensitive third-party data, and customer data (including proprietary and confidential information of our customers and our customers’ customers, such as their confidential business data and intellectual property). Our data processing activities may subject us to numerous laws, rules, regulations, guidance, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements, industry standards, and other obligations related to privacy and data security, including in the UK and EU, where we have material operations, and other jurisdictions around the world.
European countries and the United Kingdom have imposed strict laws, regulations, directives and requirements for processing personal data, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or EU GDPR, and the United Kingdom’s General Data Protection Regulation, or UK GDPR, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002/58/EC, or ePrivacy Directive. For example, both the EU GDPR and/or the UK GDPR, together GDPR, require covered companies to offer individuals certain rights over their personal data (such as the right to be forgotten), impose additional data breach notification requirements, requires companies to appoint data protection officers in certain circumstances, and impose additional recordkeeping obligations, in addition to other, often onerous, requirements. Penalties under these laws (and others) can be severe. In particular, under the GDPR we may face temporary or definitive bans on data processing and other corrective actions that could materially adversely impact our operations and ability to do business; fines of up to 20 million Euros or 17.5 million pounds (under the EU GDPR and the UK GDPR, respectively) or 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is greater; or private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by individual data subjects or groups of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests. Developments and changes in privacy and data security laws in the EU and UK, including to the EU GDPR, UK GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, and EU or UK data breach laws, may more materially affect our operations than developments or changes to such laws in other jurisdictions because the majority of our operations (including employees) are based in the EU and UK, we are headquartered in the UK, and we serve customers across Europe. Additionally, we may be subject to various privacy laws in the jurisdictions where we operate, including Australian privacy laws, such as the Privacy Act of 1988, as well as Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, and various related provincial laws, as well as Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, or CASL. We also target customers and have operations in Asia, and may be subject to new and emerging data privacy regimes in the region, including Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act.
The European Union, United Kingdom and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized, heavily conditioning or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. We may be unable to transfer personal data from Europe and other jurisdictions to different countries due to data localization laws, regulations, requirements or limitations on cross-border data flows. Although there are various mechanisms that may be used in some cases to lawfully transfer personal data from the United Kingdom, Europe and other jurisdictions to the
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different countries, these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges and may not be available to us. A prohibition or material limitation on our ability to transfer personal data to other countries could materially adversely impact our business operations. In particular, the European Union has significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it has determined are inadequate. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data from Europe to such inadequate countries in compliance with law, such as the EU’s and UK’s standard contractual clauses and international data transfer agreement (respectively), these mechanisms are complex to implement effectively and subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal data to such countries, including the United States. Other jurisdictions may adopt similarly stringent data localization and cross-border data transfer laws, or such laws may be stringently interpreted by regulators. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the United Kingdom, Europe or other jurisdictions to different countries, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we could face materially adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations, the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions at significant expense, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines and penalties, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, and injunctions against our processing or transferring of personal data necessary to operate our business. Notably, some European regulators have prevented companies from transferring personal data out of Europe for allegedly violating GDPR and the EU’s cross-border data transfer limitations. Additionally, some of our customer contracts may require us to host personal data locally, and this further complicates our ability to transfer and process personal data in order to provide our services, operate and earn revenue.
In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous privacy and data security laws, including consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), data breach notification laws, and personal data privacy laws. For example, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA imposes specific requirements relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information, including on entities such as ours which are business associates under HIPAA. Various states have also implemented laws regulating the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information. Additionally, some of our U.S. healthcare industry customers may rely on our solutions to protect information as required by HIPAA and related regulations. As another example, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, effective January 1, 2020, which requires covered companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers, provide deletion, access and non-discrimination rights to California residents, and provide such consumers new ways to opt-out of certain sales of personal information, and allows for a new private right of action for data breaches. Additionally, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, or CPRA, effective January 1, 2023, will expand the CCPA’s requirements and establish a new regulatory agency to implement and enforce the law. Other states, such as Virginia, Utah and Colorado, have also passed comprehensive privacy laws, and similar laws are being considered in several other states. These developments may further complicate compliance efforts, and may increase legal risk and compliance costs for us, the third parties upon whom we rely, and our customers. Additionally, privacy and data security laws have been proposed at the federal, state, and local levels in recent years, which could further complicate compliance efforts.
In addition to privacy and data security laws, we may be contractually subject to industry standards adopted by industry groups and may become subject to such obligations in the future. We may also be bound by contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful. For example, certain privacy laws, such as the GDPR and the CCPA, require our customers to impose specific contractual restrictions on their processors or service providers. We may publish privacy policies, marketing materials and other statements, such as compliance with certain certifications or self-regulatory principles, including to our customers and others regarding data privacy and security. If these policies, materials or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators or other adverse consequences.
Obligations related to privacy and data security are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent, and creating regulatory uncertainty. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflict among jurisdictions. Preparing for and complying with these
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obligations requires us to devote significant resources. These obligations may necessitate changes to our services, information technologies, systems, and practices and to those of any third parties that process personal data on our behalf. We may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties on whom we rely may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations.
Any failure or perceived failure by us or the third parties on which we rely to comply with applicable privacy or data security obligations could result in significant consequences, including governmental investigations and enforcement actions (e.g., fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar), litigation (including class-action claims) or other claims, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight, bans on processing personal data, orders to destroy or not use personal data, and fines and penalties. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business or financial condition, including but not limited to: adverse publicity, loss of trust in us by our clients and partners, reputational harm, inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions, expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry, and interruptions or stoppages in our business operations.
If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences resulting from such compromise, including but not limited to disruption of our operations or ability to provide our services; regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; loss of revenue or profits; loss of customers or sales; and other adverse consequences.
In the ordinary course of business, we often have to collect, store and process (defined above) personal data and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, source code, intellectual property, sensitive third-party data, and customer data (including proprietary and confidential information of our customers and our customers’ customers, including their confidential business data and intellectual property). We and the third parties upon which we rely face a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to ransomware attacks, which could cause security incidents, disrupt our operations, result in the loss or exposure of sensitive information, regulatory actions, fines, penalties, reputational loss, a loss of customers and loss of revenue or profits.
Cyberattacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties upon which we rely. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, “hacktivists,” organized criminal threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states, and nation-state-supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyberattacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third parties upon which we rely may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyberattacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our goods and services. For example, we have employees and clients located in potentially unstable regions and regions experiencing (or expected to experience) geopolitical or other conflicts, including Moldova, a neighboring country of Ukraine (which was attacked by Russia in February 2022 through various means, including cyberattacks).
We and the third parties upon which we rely may be subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing), personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications and internet infrastructure failures, and other similar threats. Like many companies, any significant failure of our equipment or systems, or any major disruption to basic infrastructure like power and telecommunications in the locations in which we operate, could impede our ability to provide our solutions and services to our customers. We may not be able to consistently maintain active voice and data communications between our various global operations and with our clients due to disruptions in telecommunication networks and
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power supply, or system failures. Any significant failure in our ability to communicate could result in a disruption in business, which could hinder our performance and our ability to complete projects on time. Such failure to perform on client contracts could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, business, results of operations and financial condition and the market price of our ADSs. Additionally, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of sensitive data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments.
Additionally, our workforce has transitioned from being based primarily in our offices or at client sites to a hybrid working model. We anticipate that a significant number of our employees will continue to work from home at least part time, as part of this hybrid working model. This model has increased risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our employees utilize network connections, computers, and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations. Our operations could also be materially adversely affected by interruptions in internet service or power at employee residences. Additionally, the services we provide are often critical to our clients’ businesses and the level of criticality has increased in some cases as a result of our customer’s increased reliance on digital systems due to new hybrid ways of working. Future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies.
Additionally, we rely on third-party service providers and technologies, such as third-party hardware and software (including SaaS applications) to operate critical business systems, including but not limited to processing sensitive information. For example, we may use the following third-party service providers and technologies to process sensitive information: cloud-based infrastructure, data center facilities, encryption and authentication technology, employee email, technology to facilitate content delivery to customers, and others. We may also rely on third-party service providers and technologies to provide other products, services, or otherwise, apart from processing sensitive information, that are critical to the general operation of our business. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. In addition, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties’ infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised.
Any of the previously identified or similar threats could cause a security incident or other interruption that could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our or our customers’ or our customers’ customers sensitive information or information technology systems, or those of the third parties upon whom we rely. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties upon whom we rely) to provide our services. We may spend significant resources to endeavor to protect against, detect, and/or mitigate vulnerabilities or security incidents, and applicable laws or other obligations may require us to implement specific measures. We may also expend significant resources to modify our business activities to try to protect against security incidents. Certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information. Additionally, certain of our client contracts require us to comply with certain security obligations, such as maintaining network security and backup data, ensuring our network is virus-free, maintaining business continuity planning procedures, and verifying the integrity of employees that work with our clients by conducting background checks.
We have implemented security measures designed to protect against security incidents, but there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We have not always been able in the past and may be unable in the future to detect vulnerabilities in our information technology systems because such threats and techniques change frequently, are often sophisticated in nature, and may not be detected until after a security incident has occurred. For example, we have from time to time experienced minor security incidents, including for example an employee who inadvertently extracted data from a customer’s system (no personal data was extracted). None of these incidents, to
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our knowledge, have required regulatory disclosures or notifications. Promptly after each incident's discovery, we took remedial actions to assess and contain the security incident and to evaluate the likelihood and severity of risks to personal data. In each such instance, we determined that there was no material impact to our business or financial condition nor to individual’s personal data. While we believe we responded appropriately, there can be no assurance that we were successful in implementing these remedial and preventative measures or successfully mitigating the effects of any future security incident. Further, we may experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities.
Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us to notify relevant stakeholders, individuals, customers or our customers’ customers of security incidents. Such disclosures are costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences. Additionally, if we, a third party upon whom we rely, our customers or our customers’ customers experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience adverse consequences. These consequences may include: litigation exposure (including class action claims) and other claims for substantial damages against us; government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, regulatory fines, penalties, audits, inspections or intervention); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal data); indemnification obligations; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; loss of confidence in our security measures; reputational damage; negative publicity; reimbursement or other compensatory costs; additional compliance costs; and additional similar harms, and therefore could materially adversely affect our revenue, and results of operations, business and prospects, such as causing customers to stop using our services, deter new customers from using our services, and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business. If any person, including any of our personnel or former personnel or aforementioned threat actors, compromises our security or accidentally exposes our sensitive information, including our source code, or compromises the security, or accidentally exposes the sensitive information, including source code, of our customers’, our customers’ customers or other third party, or misappropriates such information, then we could be subject to significant liability from our customers, our customers’ customers or other third parties for breaching contractual provisions, including confidentiality, or applicable privacy and data security laws.
Additionally, the reliability of the systems that we develop and host for our customers is critical to our success. However, these systems could contain errors, defects, security vulnerabilities or software bugs that are difficult to detect and correct, particularly when such vulnerabilities are first introduced or when new versions of the systems are deployed. It may be costly and difficult to develop and deploy patches for vulnerabilities and delays in releasing patches or difficulties installing them may impact our customers’ or our customers’ customers ability to use systems and services, and result in security incidents. Additionally, some of our business depends upon our customer's appropriate and successful implementation of the systems that we develop and host for them. If our customers fail to implement or use these systems correctly, our customers may suffer a security incident or experience other adverse consequences. Additionally, any failure in a customer’s system, whether related to our solutions or services, could result in adverse consequences, including damage to our reputation or substantial damages against us. Even if such incidents are unrelated to our security practices, it could result in our incurring significant economic and operational costs in investigating, remediating, and implementing additional measures to further protect our customers, and could result in reputational harm, as well as other adverse consequences.
Our business operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by negative publicity about offshore outsourcing or anti-outsourcing legislation in the countries in which our clients operate.
Concerns that offshore outsourcing has resulted in a loss of jobs and sensitive technologies and information to foreign countries have led to negative publicity concerning outsourcing in some countries. Many organizations and public figures in the United States and Europe have publicly expressed concern about a perceived association between offshore outsourcing IT service providers and the loss of jobs in their home countries. Current or prospective clients may elect to perform services that we offer, or may be discouraged from transferring these services to offshore providers such as ourselves, to avoid any negative perceptions that may be associated with using an offshore provider or for data privacy and security concerns. As a result, our ability to compete effectively with competitors that operate primarily out of facilities located in these countries could be harmed.
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Legislation enacted in certain European jurisdictions and any future legislation in Europe or any other country in which we have clients that restricts the performance of services from an offshore location could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, legislation enacted in the United Kingdom, based on the 1977 EC Acquired Rights Directive, has been adopted in some form by many European Union countries, and provides that if a company outsources all or part of its business to an IT services provider or changes its current IT services provider, the affected employees of the company or of the previous IT services provider are entitled to become employees of the new IT services provider, generally on the same terms and conditions as their original employment. In addition, dismissals of employees who were employed by the company or the previous IT services provider immediately prior to that transfer are automatically considered unfair dismissals that entitle such employees to compensation. As a result, in order to avoid unfair dismissal claims, we may have to offer, and become liable for, voluntary redundancy payments to the employees of our clients who outsource business to us in the United Kingdom and other European Union countries who have adopted similar laws. This legislation could materially affect our ability to obtain new business from companies in the United Kingdom and European Union and to provide outsourced services to companies in the United Kingdom and European Union in a cost-effective manner.
Compliance efforts can be expensive and burdensome, and, we could be subject to regulatory investigations and orders, significant fines and penalties, mitigation and breach notification expenses, private litigation and contractual damages, corrective action plans and related regulatory oversight and reputational harm.
Governments and industry organizations may also adopt new laws, regulations or requirements, or make changes to existing laws or regulations, that could impact the demand for, or value of, our services. If we are unable to adapt the solutions we deliver to our clients to changing legal and regulatory standards or other requirements in a timely manner, or if our solutions fail to allow our clients to comply with applicable laws and regulations, our clients may lose confidence in our services and could switch to services offered by our competitors, or threaten or bring legal actions against us.
We may not receive sufficient intellectual property rights from our employees and contractors to comply with our obligations to our clients and we may not be able to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property.
Our contracts generally require, and our clients typically expect, that we will assign to them all intellectual property rights associated with the deliverables that we create in connection with our engagements. In order to assign these rights to our clients, we must ensure that our employees and contractors validly assign to us all intellectual property rights that they have in such deliverables. Our policy is to require employees and independent contractors to sign assignment of intellectual property agreements with us upon commencement of employment or engagement, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to enforce our rights under such agreements. Given that we operate in a variety of jurisdictions with different and evolving legal regimes, particularly in Central Europe and Latin America, we face increased uncertainty regarding whether such agreements will be found to be valid and enforceable by competent courts and whether we will be able to avail ourselves of the remedies provided for by applicable law.
Our success also depends in part on certain methodologies, practices, tools and technical expertise our company utilizes in designing, developing, implementing and maintaining applications and other proprietary intellectual property rights. In order to protect our intellectual property rights, we rely upon a combination of nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements as well as trade secret, copyright and trademark laws. We consider proprietary trade secrets and confidential know-how to be important to our business. However, trade secrets and confidential know-how are difficult to maintain as confidential. To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by competitors, our policy is to require our employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements with us. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data, trade secrets and know-how by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective. We cannot guarantee that our trade secrets and other proprietary and confidential information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets. Current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may
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not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Enforcing a claim that a third party illegally obtained and used trade secrets and/or confidential know-how is expensive, time consuming and unpredictable. The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Furthermore, if a competitor lawfully obtained or independently developed any of our trade secrets, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position. If the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret.
We have registered the “Endava” name and logo in the United Kingdom, the United States and certain other countries. We have pending applications for the “Endava” name and logo in other countries; however, we cannot assure you that any future trademark registrations will be issued for pending or future applications or that any registered trademarks will be enforceable or provide adequate protection of our proprietary rights. Our trademarks may also be subject to misappropriation in jurisdictions in which they are not registered.
We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that companies we have acquired, our employees or we have misappropriated their intellectual property, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.
We could be subject to claims by third parties that companies we have acquired, our employees or we have misappropriated their intellectual property. Our employees may misappropriate intellectual property from their former employers. Many of our employees were previously employed at our competitors or potential competitors. Some of these employees executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous employment. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed confidential information or intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee's former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. In addition, we are subject to additional risks as a result of our recent acquisitions and any future acquisitions we may complete. The developers of the technology that we have acquired or may acquire may not have appropriately created, maintained or enforced intellectual property rights in such technology. Indemnification and other rights under acquisition documents may be limited in term and scope and may therefore provide little or no protection from these risks.
If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party. Even if we successfully prosecute or defend against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distract management.
If we incur any liability for a violation of the intellectual property rights of others, our reputation, business, financial condition and prospects may be adversely affected.
Our success largely depends on our ability to use and develop our technology, tools, code, methodologies and services without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks. We may be subject to litigation involving claims of patent infringement or violation of other intellectual property rights of third parties. Parties making infringement claims may be able to obtain an injunction to prevent us from delivering our services or using technology involving the allegedly infringing intellectual property. Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming and could divert management’s attention from our business. A successful infringement claim against us, whether with or without merit, could, among other things, require us to pay substantial damages, develop substitute non-infringing technology, or rebrand our name or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all, and would require us to cease making, licensing or using products that have infringed a third party’s intellectual property rights. Protracted litigation could also result in existing or potential clients deferring or limiting their purchase or use of our services until resolution of such litigation, or could require us to indemnify our clients against infringement claims in certain instances. Any intellectual property claim or litigation, whether we ultimately win or lose, could damage our reputation and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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In addition, we typically indemnify clients who purchase our services and solutions against potential infringement of intellectual property rights, which subjects us to the risk of indemnification claims. These claims may require us to initiate or defend protracted and costly litigation on behalf of our clients, regardless of the merits of these claims and are often not subject to liability limits or exclusion of consequential, indirect or punitive damages. If any of these claims succeed, we may be forced to pay damages on behalf of our clients, redesign or cease offering our allegedly infringing services or solutions, or obtain licenses for the intellectual property such services or solutions allegedly infringe. If we cannot obtain all necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, our clients may stop using our services or solutions.
Further, our current and former employees could challenge our exclusive rights to the software they have developed in the course of their employment. In certain countries in which we operate, an employer is deemed to own the copyright work created by its employees during the course, and within the scope, of their employment, but the employer may be required to satisfy additional legal requirements in order to make further use and dispose of such works. While we believe that we have complied with all such requirements, and have fulfilled all requirements necessary to acquire all rights in software developed by our independent contractors, these requirements are often ambiguously defined and enforced. As a result, we may not be successful in defending against any claim by our current or former employees or independent contractors challenging our exclusive rights over the use and transfer of works those employees or independent contractors created or requesting additional compensation for such works.
We use third-party software, hardware and software-as-a-service, or SaaS, technologies from third parties that may be difficult to replace or that may cause errors or defects in, or failures of, the services or solutions we provide, which could result in material adverse consequences.
We rely on software and hardware from various third parties to deliver our services and solutions, as well as hosted SaaS applications from third parties. If any of these software, hardware or SaaS applications become unavailable due to extended outages, interruptions, cyber-attacks or because they are no longer available on commercially reasonable terms, it could result in delays in the provisioning of our services until equivalent technology is either developed by us, or, if available, is identified, obtained and integrated, which could increase our expenses or otherwise harm our business. In addition, any errors or defects in or failures of this third-party software, hardware or SaaS applications could result in errors or defects in or failures of our services and solutions, which could harm our business and be costly to correct. Many of these providers attempt to impose limitations on their liability for such errors, defects or failures, and if enforceable, we may have additional liability to our clients or third-party providers that could harm our reputation and increase our operating costs.
We incorporate third-party open source software into our client deliverables and our failure to comply with the terms of the underlying open source software licenses could adversely impact our clients and create potential liability.
We use open source software extensively in the solutions that we build for our clients and our client deliverables often contain software licensed by third parties under so-called “open source” licenses, including the GNU General Public License, or GPL, the GNU Lesser General Public License, or LGPL, the BSD License, the Apache License and others. Any piece of third-party software, whether proprietary or open source, can contain security flaws which in some cases can result in security vulnerabilities in the applications utilizing them. Though we employ strategies to actively manage our software supply chain for open source software and attempt to minimize these risks, there is no guarantee that these steps will be effective or successful. Any vulnerability in an application that we build for a client could be exploited to subvert the security controls in the system and allow a data breach or other security problem. Such an occurrence could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, client relationship, financial condition or prospects.
In addition, from time to time, there have been claims against companies that distribute or use open source software in their products and services, asserting that such open source software infringes the claimants’ intellectual property rights. Our clients could be subject to suits by third parties claiming that what we believe to be licensed open source software infringes such third parties’ intellectual property rights, and we are generally required to indemnify our clients against such claims. Use of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual
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protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. In addition, certain open source licenses require that source code for software programs that are subject to the license be made available to the public and that any modifications or derivative works to such open source software continue to be licensed under the same terms.
Although we monitor our use of open source software in an effort both to comply with the terms of the applicable open source licenses and to avoid subjecting our client deliverables to conditions we do not intend, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by courts in relevant jurisdictions, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our clients’ ability to use the software that we develop for them and operate their businesses as they intend. The terms of certain open source licenses may require us or our clients to release the source code of the software we develop for our clients and to make such software available under the applicable open source licenses. In the event that all or part of client deliverables are determined to be subject to an open source license, we or our clients could be required to publicly release the affected portions of source code (potentially amounting to the entire source code) or re-engineer all, or a portion, of the applicable software. Disclosing our or our client’s proprietary source code could allow our clients’ competitors to create similar products with lower development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of sales for our clients. Any of these events could create liability for us to our clients and damage our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, business, results of operations and financial condition and the market price of our ADSs.
Changes in laws, regulations, rules or other obligations related to the internet or changes in the internet infrastructure itself may diminish the demand for our services, and could have a negative impact on our business.
The future success of our business depends upon the continued use of the internet as a primary medium for commerce, communication and business applications. Federal, state or foreign government bodies or agencies have in the past adopted, and may in the future adopt, laws or regulations affecting the use of the internet as a commercial medium. Changes in these laws or regulations could adversely affect the demand for our services or require us to modify our solutions in order to comply with these changes. In addition, government agencies or private organizations may begin to impose taxes, fees or other charges for accessing the internet or commerce conducted via the internet. These laws or charges could limit the growth of internet-related commerce or communications generally, resulting in reductions in the demand for technology services such as ours.
In addition, the use of the internet as a business tool could be adversely affected due to delays in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols to handle increased demands of internet activity, security, reliability, cost, ease of use, accessibility, and quality of service. The performance of the internet and its acceptance as a business tool have been adversely affected by “ransomware,” “viruses,” “worms,” “malware,” “phishing attacks,” “data breaches” and other threats, and the internet has experienced a variety of outages and other delays as a result of damage to portions of its infrastructure. If the use of the internet is adversely affected by these or any other issues, demand for our services and solutions could suffer.
From time to time, some of our employees spend significant amounts of time at our clients’ facilities, often in foreign jurisdictions, which expose us to certain risks.
Some of our projects require a portion of the work to be undertaken at our clients’ facilities, which are often located outside our employees’ country of residence. The ability of our employees to work in locations around the world may depend on their ability to obtain the required visas and work permits, and this process can be lengthy and difficult. Immigration laws are subject to legislative change, as well as to variations in standards of application and enforcement due to political forces and economic conditions. In addition, we may become subject to taxation in jurisdictions where we would not otherwise be so subject as a result of the amount of time that our employees spend in any such jurisdiction in any given year. While we seek to monitor the number of days that our employees spend in each country to avoid subjecting ourselves to any such taxation, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in these efforts.
Additionally, the ability of our employees to work at our clients’ facilities has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to government restrictions and our own precautions, our employees may be unable to work at our clients’ facilities, and their ability to do so could be limited due to ongoing safety precautions, including
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social distancing and travel restrictions. We may face delays in completing projects, decreased productivity or increased difficulties in delivering for our clients for so long as our employees are unable to work at our clients’ offices.
To the extent our employees and contractors are able to work at our clients’ facilities, we may incur risks relating to our employees and contractors’ presence at our clients’ facilities, including, but not limited to: claims of misconduct, negligence or intentional malfeasance on the part of our employees. Some or all of these claims may lead to litigation and these matters may cause us to incur negative publicity with respect to these alleged problems. It is not possible to predict the outcome of these lawsuits or any other proceeding, and our insurance may not cover all claims that may be asserted against us.
Our business is subject to the risks of geopolitical actions, including natural disasters, war and terrorism and public health pandemics.
A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or a flood, a catastrophic event, such as a significant power outage, or a public health pandemic, such as COVID-19, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. In the event we are hindered by any of the events discussed above, our ability to provide our services to clients could be delayed. Additionally, a natural disaster, catastrophic event or public health epidemic could cause us or our customers to suspend all or a portion of their operations for a significant period of time, result in a permanent loss of resources, or require the relocation of personnel and material to alternate facilities that may not be available or adequate. Such an event could also cause an indirect economic impact on our customers, which could impact our customers’ purchasing decisions and reduce demand for our products and services.
In addition, our facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from human error, intentional bad acts, pandemics, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, international conflicts and war (including the Russia-Ukraine conflict), terrorist attacks, power losses, hardware failures, systems failures, telecommunications failures and similar events. The occurrence of a natural disaster, power failure or an act of terrorism, vandalism or other misconduct could result in lengthy interruptions in provision of our services and failure to comply with our obligations to our clients. The occurrence of any of the foregoing events could damage our systems and hardware or could cause them to fail completely, and our insurance may not cover such events or may be insufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to the future growth of our business, that may result from interruptions in the provision of our services to clients as a result of system failures.
All of the aforementioned risks may be exacerbated if our disaster recovery plan proves to be inadequate. To the extent that any of the above results in delayed or reduced sales or increases our cost of sales, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Any debt we incur may affect our ability to operate our business and secure additional financing in the future.
In October 2019, we entered into a new Multicurrency Revolving Facility Agreement, or the Facility Agreement, with HSBC Bank plc as agent, or the Agent, HSBC UK Bank plc, DNB (UK) Limited, Keybank National Association and Silicon Valley Bank as mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and original lenders, or the Mandated Lead Arrangers and the Original Lenders. The Multicurrency Revolving Credit Facility is an unsecured revolving credit facility in the amount of £200 million with an initial period of three years, and it replaced the previous £50 million secured facility with HSBC UK Bank Plc. In 2020, the Facility Agreement was extended by one year, to mature in October 2023. In 2021, with respect to £170 million of the Multicurrency Revolving Credit Facility, the term of the arrangement was further extended through October 2024. The Facility Agreement also provides for an uncommitted accordion option for up to an aggregate of £75 million in additional borrowing. The Facility Agreement remains undrawn; however, we may draw down from the Facility in the future.
The Facility Agreement requires us, and any debt instruments we may enter into in the future may require us, to comply with various covenants that limit our ability to, among other things:
•dispose of assets;
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•complete mergers or acquisitions;
•incur or guarantee indebtedness;
•sell or encumber certain assets;
•pay dividends or make other distributions to holders of our shares;
•make specified investments;
•engage in different lines of business; and
•engage in certain transactions with affiliates.
Under the terms of the Facility Agreement, we are required to comply with net leverage ratio and interest coverage covenants. Our ability to meet these ratios and covenants can be affected by events beyond our control and we may not meet these ratios and covenants. To the extent we draw down on the Facility, a failure by us to comply with the ratios or covenants contained in the Facility Agreement could result in an event of default, which could adversely affect our ability to respond to changes in our business and manage our operations. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, including the occurrence of a material adverse change, the lenders could elect to declare any amounts outstanding to be due and payable and exercise other remedies as set forth in the Facility Agreement. If any indebtedness under our Facility were to be accelerated, our future financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
We may also incur additional indebtedness under different agreements in the future. The instruments governing such indebtedness could contain provisions that are as, or more, restrictive than our existing debt instruments. If we are unable to repay, refinance or restructure our indebtedness when payment is due, the lenders could proceed against any collateral granted to them to secure such indebtedness or force us into bankruptcy or liquidation.
We may need additional capital, and a failure by us to raise additional capital on terms favorable to us, or at all, could limit our ability to grow our business and develop or enhance our service offerings to respond to market demand or competitive challenges.
We believe that our current cash balances, cash flow from operations and credit facilities should be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for at least the next 12 months. We may, however, require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities, draw down on our revolving credit facility or obtain another credit facility. The sale of additional equity securities could result in dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. Our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including investors' perception of, and demand for, securities of IT services companies, conditions in the capital markets in which we may seek to raise funds, our future results of operations and financial condition, and general economic and political conditions, all of which may be heightened due to the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Financing may not be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and could limit our ability to grow our business and develop or enhance our service offerings to respond to market demand or competitive challenges.
We have significant fixed costs related to lease facilities and may incur additional expense as we adapt our facilities in response to our transition to a hybrid working model.
We have made and continue to make significant contractual commitments related to our leased facilities. The total lease related expense (net of any related gains and income) included in our financial statements for the 2022 fiscal year was £13.0 million, and we are contractually committed to £14.0 million in such lease expenses for the 2023 fiscal year. These expenses will have a significant impact on our fixed costs, and if we are unable to grow our business and revenue proportionately, our operating results may be negatively affected.
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Additionally, as we move to a hybrid working model allowing for remote work, we may require less office space than we currently have under our leases. This could require us to renegotiate some of our leases to match a reduced need for office space, which may in turn lead to disputes with existing landlords. This process could be costly and time consuming, and we cannot guarantee that any new leases would be on the same or better terms as our current lease arrangements. Additionally, we plan to make significant changes to our offices to adapt them to new ways of working as we embrace a hybrid working model. This investment could be costly and time consuming as we evolve our plan to meet the requirements and opportunities this new working model presents and to increase our employees’ capabilities, wellness, job satisfaction and productivity under this model. Furthermore, these investments as well as our operating costs, such as utilities, could be negatively impacted by inflation rates and global economic and geopolitical conditions.
Our ability to expand our business and procure new contracts or enter into beneficial business arrangements could be affected to the extent we enter into agreements with clients containing non-competition clauses.
We are a party to a small number of agreements with clients that restrict our ability to perform similar services for such clients’ competitors. We may in the future enter into agreements with clients that restrict our ability to accept assignments from, or render similar services to, those clients’ customers, require us to obtain our clients’ prior written consent to provide services to their customers or restrict our ability to compete with our clients, or bid for or accept any assignment for which those clients are bidding or negotiating. These restrictions may hamper our ability to compete for and provide services to other clients in a specific industry in which we have expertise and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our current insurance coverage is or becomes insufficient to protect against losses incurred, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We provide technology services that are integral to our clients’ businesses. If we were to default in the provision of any contractually agreed-upon services, our clients could suffer significant damages and make claims against us for those damages. We currently carry professional indemnity (errors and omissions) and cyber & data insurance coverage in an amount we consider reasonable and appropriate for all of the services we provide. To the extent client damages are deemed recoverable against us in amounts substantially in excess of our insurance coverage, or if our claims for insurance coverage are denied by our insurance carriers for any reason, including reasons beyond our control, there could be a material adverse effect on our revenue, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our International Operations
Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and the price of our ADSs.
The global economy, including credit and financial markets, has experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, increases in inflation rates, higher interest rates and uncertainty about economic stability. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread unemployment, economic slowdown and extreme volatility in the capital markets. Similarly, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has created extreme volatility in the global capital markets and is expected to have further global economic consequences, including disruptions of the global supply chain and energy markets. Any such volatility and disruptions may have adverse consequences on us or the third parties on whom we rely. If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, including as a result of political unrest or war, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult to obtain in a timely manner or on favorable terms, more costly or more dilutive. Increased inflation rates can adversely affect us by increasing our costs, including labor and employee benefit costs. In addition, higher inflation could also increase our customers’ operating costs, which could result in reduced budgets for our customers and potentially less demand for our products and services. Any significant increases in inflation and related increase in interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Our revenue, margins, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected if general economic conditions in Europe, the United States or the global economy worsen.
We derive a significant portion of our revenue from clients located in Europe and the United States. The technology services industry is particularly sensitive to the economic environment, and tends to decline during general economic downturns. If the U.S. or European economies continue to weaken or slow, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine conflict, or if the global economic slowdown persists or exacerbates, pricing for our services may be depressed and our clients may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, which may, in turn, lower the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenue and profitability. A weak or declining economy could also cause our customers to delay making payments for our services. Additionally, any weakening or failure of banking institutions or banking systems, which could be caused by a weakening or slowdown of the U.S., European or global economies, could adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition and negatively impact our ability to receive and make payments. If we are unable to successfully anticipate changing economic and political conditions affecting the markets in which we operate, we may be unable to effectively plan for or respond to those changes, and our results of operations could be adversely affected.
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates and increased inflation could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We have operations in a number of countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam, and we serve clients across Europe, North America and the rest of the world, or RoW. As a result of the international scope of our operations, fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly between the British Pound, our reporting currency, and the Euro and U.S. dollar, may adversely affect us. Currency fluctuations related to the current geopolitical climate, notably in Europe but also, to a lesser degree, globally, had a significant impact on our financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, 40.8% of our sales were denominated in the British Pound, 33.1% of our sales were denominated in U.S. dollars, 23.9% were denominated in Euros and the balance were in other currencies. Conversely, during the same time period, 71.4% of our expenses were denominated in Euros (or in currencies that largely follow the Euro, including the RON) or U.S. dollars. As a result, strengthening of the Euro or U.S. dollar relative to the British Pound presents the most significant risk to us. Any significant fluctuations in currency exchange rates may have a material impact on our business.
In addition, economies in many regions where we do business, including the United States and Europe, are experiencing higher rates of inflation. Periods of higher inflation may slow economic growth and significantly impact our results of operations. Inflation also is likely to increase some of our costs and expenses, including wages, rents, leases and employee benefit payments, which we may not be able to pass on to our clients and, as a result, may reduce our profitability. To the extent inflation causes these costs to increase, such inflation may materially adversely affect our business. Inflationary pressures could also affect our ability to access financial markets and lead to counter-inflationary measures that may harm our financial condition, results of operations or materially adversely affect the market price of our securities.
Our international operations involve risks that could increase our expenses, adversely affect our results of operations and require increased time and attention from our management.
As of June 30, 2022, we had 11,853 employees (including directors), approximately 51.4% of whom work in nearshore delivery centers in European Union countries. We have operations in a number of countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam, and we serve clients across Europe, North America and RoW. As a result, we may be subject to risks inherently associated with international operations. Our global operations expose us to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal, tax and regulatory requirements, and violations or unfavorable interpretation by the respective
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authorities of these regulations could harm our business. Risks associated with international operations include difficulties in enforcing contractual rights, potential difficulties in collecting accounts receivable, the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws, repatriation of earnings or capital and the risk of asset seizures by foreign governments. In addition, we may face competition in other countries from companies that may have more experience with operations in such countries or with international operations. Such companies may have long-standing or well-established relationships with desired clients, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage. We may also face difficulties integrating new facilities in different countries into our existing operations, as well as integrating employees that we hire in different countries into our existing corporate culture. As a global company, our performance may also be affected by global economic conditions as well as geopolitical tensions, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and other conditions with global reach. Our international expansion plans may not be successful and we may not be able to compete effectively in other countries. These factors could impede the success of our international expansion plans and limit our ability to compete effectively in other countries. Additionally, addressing the operational and other challenges posed by our international operations will require significant time and attention from management, which may divert management's attention from other important matters.
Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by the various conflicting legal and regulatory requirements imposed on us by the countries where we operate.
Since we maintain operations and provide services to clients throughout the world, we are subject to numerous, and sometimes conflicting, legal requirements on matters as diverse as import/export controls, content requirements, trade restrictions, tariffs, taxation, sanctions, government affairs, anti-bribery, whistle blowing, internal and disclosure control obligations, data protection and privacy, labor relations and COVID-19 related regulations and restrictions. Our failure to comply with these regulations in the conduct of our business could result in fines, penalties, criminal sanctions against us or our officers, disgorgement of profits, prohibitions on doing business, unfavorable publicity, adverse impact on our reputation and allegations by our clients that we have not performed our contractual obligations. Due to the varying degree of development of the legal systems of the countries in which we operate, local laws might be insufficient to defend us and preserve our rights.
We are also subject to risks relating to compliance with a variety of national and local laws including multiple tax regimes, labor laws, employee health safety and wages and benefits laws. We may, from time to time, be subject to litigation or administrative actions resulting from claims against us by current or former employees individually or as part of class actions, including claims of wrongful terminations, discrimination, misclassification or other violations of labor law or other alleged conduct. We may also, from time to time, be subject to litigation resulting from claims against us by third parties, including claims of breach of non-compete and confidentiality provisions of our employees’ former employment agreements with such third parties. Our failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could have a material adverse effect on our revenue, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Many commercial laws and regulations in Central Europe and Latin America are relatively new and have been subject to limited interpretation. As a result, their application can be unpredictable. Government authorities have a high degree of discretion in certain countries in which we have operations and at times have exercised their discretion in ways that may be perceived as selective or arbitrary, and sometimes in a manner that is seen as being influenced by political or commercial considerations. These governments also have the power, in certain circumstances, to interfere with the performance of, nullify or terminate contracts. Selective or arbitrary actions have included withdrawal of licenses, sudden and unexpected tax audits, criminal prosecutions and civil actions. Federal and local government entities have also used common defects in documentation as pretexts for court claims and other demands to invalidate and/or to void transactions, apparently for political purposes. In this environment, our competitors could receive preferential treatment from the government, potentially giving them a competitive advantage. Selective or arbitrary government action could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and have a negative impact on our reputation or business.
From time to time, we may be party to various claims and litigation proceedings, including as part of class actions. We evaluate these claims and litigation proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and to estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. Based on these assessments and estimates, we may establish reserves, as appropriate. These assessments and estimates are based on the information available to management at the time and involve a significant amount of management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from our assessments and estimates. We are not currently party to any material litigation.
Even when not merited, the defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse judgments or settlements in some of these legal disputes may result in adverse monetary damages, penalties or injunctive relief against us, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows or results of operations. Any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or to obtain adequate insurance in the future.
Furthermore, while we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, such insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to various exclusions as well as caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and, if the insurers prevail, the amount of our recovery.
Changes and uncertainties in the tax system in the countries in which we have operations could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We conduct business globally and file income tax returns in multiple jurisdictions. Our consolidated effective income tax rate could be materially adversely affected by several factors, including: changing tax laws (such as the Inflation Reduction Act recently enacted by the U.S. government), regulations and treaties, or the interpretation thereof; tax policy initiatives and reforms under consideration (such as those related to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s, or OECD, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or BEPS, Project, the European Commission’s state aid investigations and other initiatives); the practices of tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate; the cancellation of or alteration to relevant tax incentive regimes; the resolution of issues arising from tax audits or examinations and any related interest or penalties. Such changes may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends received or (in the specific context of withholding tax) dividends paid.
In particular, there have been significant changes to the taxation systems in Central European countries and also in Argentina and the United States in recent years as the authorities have gradually replaced or introduced new legislation regulating the application of major taxes such as corporate income tax, VAT, corporate property tax, personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The post-Brexit deal that the United Kingdom agreed with the European Union did not include an exemption from withholding tax on dividends between U.K. and E.U. resident group members, and so profits recognized by us in Romania are now subject to a 5% withholding tax on distributions to us. In addition, the OECD is working on proposals, commonly referred to as “BEPS 2.0,” which, if implemented, would make important changes to the international tax system, by allocating taxing rights in respect of certain profits of multinational enterprises above a fixed profit margin to the jurisdictions within which they carry on business (subject to threshold rules) and imposing a minimum effective tax rate on certain multinational enterprises. As another example, in January 2021, the European Commission initiated a consultation on a proposed new digital levy in the EU.
We are unable to predict what tax reforms may be proposed or enacted in the future or what effect such changes would have on our business, but such changes, to the extent they are brought into tax legislation, regulations, policies or practices in jurisdictions in which we operate, could increase the estimated tax liability that we have expensed to date and paid or accrued on our balance sheets, and otherwise affect our financial position, future results of operations, cash flows in a particular period and overall or effective tax rates in the future in countries where we
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have operations, reduce post-tax returns to our shareholders and increase the complexity, burden and cost of tax compliance.
There may be adverse tax and employment law consequences if the independent contractor status of some of our personnel or the exempt status of our employees is successfully challenged.
We retain certain of our workforce as independent contractors, which has increased due to our recent acquisitions, and the determination of whether an individual is considered an independent contractor or an employee typically varies by jurisdiction and depends on the interpretation of the applicable laws. If there is a change in law or regulation, such as the changes to the rules often referred to as “IR35” or the “off-payroll working rules” in the United Kingdom that took effect from April 2021, or if a government authority or court makes a determination with respect to the requirements for being an independent contractor that differs from our approach either generally or specifically against an independent contractor who works for us, then we could incur significant costs. These could include increased employee benefits costs as well as withholding and other taxes (and potentially interest and penalties), and could apply to previous periods. Furthermore, any such change in law or regulation or government or court determination could negatively impact how we structure our business and who we hire, which along with any increase in our costs, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and increase the difficulty in attracting and retaining personnel.
Tax authorities may disagree with our positions and conclusions regarding certain tax positions, or may apply existing rules in an arbitrary or unforeseen manner, resulting in unanticipated costs, taxes or non-realization of expected benefits.
A tax authority may disagree with tax positions that we have taken, which could result in increased tax liabilities. For example, His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, or HMRC, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or another tax authority could challenge our allocation of income by tax jurisdiction and the amounts paid between our affiliated companies pursuant to our intercompany arrangements and transfer pricing policies, including methodologies for valuing developed technology and amounts paid with respect to our intellectual property development. Similarly, a tax authority could assert that we are subject to tax in a jurisdiction where we believe we have not established a taxable connection, often referred to as a “permanent establishment” under international tax treaties, and such an assertion, if successful, could increase our expected tax liability in one or more jurisdictions. Tax authorities in certain countries can be aggressive in their interpretation of tax laws (which can have inherent ambiguities), as well as in their enforcement and collection activities.
For example, a tax authority may take the position that material income tax liabilities, interest and penalties are payable by us, where there has been a technical violation of contradictory laws and regulations that are relatively new and have not been subject to extensive review or interpretation, in which case we expect that we might contest such assessment. High-profile companies can be particularly vulnerable to aggressive application of unclear requirements. Many companies must negotiate their tax bills with tax inspectors who may demand higher taxes than applicable law appears to provide. Contesting such an assessment may be lengthy and costly and if we were unsuccessful in disputing the assessment, this could increase our anticipated effective tax rate, where applicable.
We do not anticipate being treated as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the current taxable year, but this conclusion is a factual determination that is made annually and thus may be subject to change. If we were to qualify as a PFIC, this could result in adverse U.S. tax consequences to certain U.S. holders.
Generally, if, for any taxable year, at least 75% of our gross income is passive income, or on average at least 50% of the value of our assets is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income, including cash, we would be characterized as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For purposes of these tests, passive income generally includes dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or exchange of investment property and rents and royalties other than rents and royalties which are received from unrelated parties in connection with the active conduct of a trade or business. Our status as a PFIC depends on the composition of our income and the composition and value of our assets (for which purpose the total value of our assets may be determined in part by the market value of our ADSs, which are subject to change from time to time). Additionally,
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we generally are treated as holding and receiving directly our proportionate share of the assets and income, respectively, of any corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, 25% of its stock by value. If we are characterized as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs, the U.S. holder of our ADSs may suffer adverse U.S. tax consequences, including having gains realized on the sale of our ADSs treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain, the loss of the preferential rate applicable to dividends received on our ADSs by individuals who are U.S. holders, and having interest charges apply to distributions by us and gains from the sale of our ADSs, and additional tax reporting requirements, regardless of whether we continue to be a PFIC.
Although PFIC status is determined on an annual basis and generally cannot be determined until the end of the taxable year, based on the nature of our current and expected income and the current and expected value and composition of our assets, we believe we were not a PFIC for our 2021 tax year and we do not expect to be a PFIC for our current taxable year. However, our status as a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis after the end of each taxable year, and we cannot provide any assurances regarding our PFIC status for the current, prior or future taxable years, and our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for any taxable year. See “Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules” for a further discussion of the PFIC rules.
If we are (or any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is) a “controlled foreign corporation,” certain U.S. Holders may suffer adverse tax consequences.
If a “United States person” for U.S. federal income tax purposes is treated as owning (directly, indirectly, or constructively) at least 10% of the total value or total combined voting power of our stock, such person may be treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation,” or CFC, in our group (if any). A non-U.S. corporation will be a CFC if United States shareholders own (directly, indirectly, or constructively) more than 50% of the total value or total combined voting power of the stock of the non-U.S. corporation. Because our group includes one or more U.S. corporate subsidiaries, certain of our current or future non-U.S. corporate subsidiaries could be treated as CFCs (regardless of whether we are treated as a CFC). A United States shareholder of a CFC may be required to report annually and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of the CFC’s “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income,” and investments of earnings in U.S. property (regardless of whether the CFC makes any distributions to its shareholders). Additionally, an individual United States shareholder with respect to a CFC generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a corporate United States shareholder. A failure to comply with CFC reporting obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and prevent the statute of limitations from running with respect to the United States shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the taxable year in which reporting was due. There can be no assurance that we will assist our U.S. shareholders in determining whether we are (or any of our current or future non-U.S. subsidiaries is) treated as a CFC or whether such U.S. shareholders are treated as United States shareholders with respect to any such CFCs, or that we will furnish to any United States shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with CFC reporting and tax paying obligations. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the CFC rules in their particular circumstances.
Emerging markets are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in any emerging market could disrupt our business.
Central European and Latin American countries are generally considered to be emerging markets, which are subject to rapid change and greater legal, economic and political risks than more established markets. Financial problems or an increase in the perceived risks associated with investing in emerging economies could dampen foreign investment in Central Europe and Latin America and adversely affect the economy of the region. Political instability could result in a worsening overall economic situation, including capital flight and slowdown of investment and business activity. Current and future changes in governments of the countries in which we have or develop operations, as well as major policy shifts or lack of consensus between various branches of the government and powerful economic groups, could lead to political instability and disrupt or reverse political, economic and regulatory reforms, which could materially adversely affect our business and operations in those countries. In addition, political and economic relations between certain of the countries in which we operate are complex, and recent conflicts have arisen between certain of their governments. Political, ethnic, religious, historical and other
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differences have, on occasion, given rise to tensions and, in certain cases, military conflicts among Central European or Latin American countries which can halt normal economic activity and disrupt the economies of neighboring regions. The emergence of new or escalated tensions in Central European or Latin American countries could further exacerbate tensions between such countries and the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, which may have a negative effect on their economy, our ability to develop or maintain our operations in those countries and our ability to attract and retain employees, any of which could materially adversely affect our business and operations.
In addition, banking and other financial systems in certain countries in which we have operations are less developed and regulated than in some more developed markets, and legislation relating to banks and bank accounts is subject to varying interpretations and inconsistent application. Banks in these regions often do not meet the banking standards of more developed markets, and the transparency of the banking sector lags behind international standards. Furthermore, in certain countries in which we operate, bank deposits made by corporate entities generally either are not insured or are insured only to specified limits. As a result, the banking sector remains subject to periodic instability. Another banking crisis, or the bankruptcy or insolvency of banks through which we receive or with which we hold funds may result in the loss of our deposits or adversely affect our ability to complete banking transactions in certain countries in which we have operations, which could materially adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Wage inflation and other compensation expense for our IT professionals could adversely affect our financial results.
Wage costs for IT professionals in Central European and Latin American countries are lower than comparable wage costs in more developed countries. However, wage costs in the technology services industry in these countries may increase at a faster rate than in the past and wage inflation for the IT industry may be higher than overall wage inflation within these countries. We may need to increase the levels of employee compensation more rapidly than in the past to remain competitive, and we may not be able to pass on these increased costs to our clients. In addition, we have observed increased wage expectations on a global scale due to inflation and adverse global economic conditions. Such wage expectations could create challenges for our recruiting efforts in light of profitability considerations and margin expectations. Unless we are able to continue to increase the efficiency and productivity of our employees as well as the prices we can charge for our services, wage inflation may materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to the U.K. Bribery Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws, as well as export control laws, import and customs laws, trade and economic sanctions laws and other laws governing our operations.
Our operations are subject to anti-corruption laws, including the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the Bribery Act, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or the FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. §201, the U.S. Travel Act, and other anti-corruption laws that apply in countries where we do business. The Bribery Act, the FCPA and these other laws generally prohibit us and our employees and intermediaries from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper or prohibited payments, or anything else of value, to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. Under the Bribery Act, we may also be liable for failing to prevent a person associated with us from committing a bribery offense. We operate in a number of jurisdictions that pose a high risk of potential Bribery Act or FCPA violations. In addition, we cannot predict the nature, scope or effect of future regulatory requirements to which our international operations might be subject or the manner in which existing laws might be administered or interpreted.
We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including regulations administered by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States, and authorities in the European Union, including applicable export control regulations, economic sanctions and embargoes on certain countries and persons, anti-money laundering laws, import and customs requirements and currency exchange regulations, collectively referred to as the Trade Control laws. We may not be completely effective in ensuring our compliance with all such applicable laws, which could result in our being subject to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement
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and other sanctions and remedial measures, and legal expenses. Likewise, any investigation of any potential violations of such laws by United Kingdom, United States or other authorities could also have an adverse impact on our reputation, our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our ADSs and the Trading of Our ADSs
If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired, and the trading price of our ADSs may be negatively impacted.
As a public company, we are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment is required to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting identified by our management. We are also required to have our independent registered public accounting firm issue an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis.
As previously reported, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. These material weaknesses were remediated as of June 30, 2022, and we did not identify any additional material weaknesses during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. However, we may identify additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the future, and, if we do so, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future.
Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to conclude in the future that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines we have a material weakness or significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our ADSs could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the New York Stock Exchange, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.
The price of our ADSs may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance.
The trading price of our ADSs has fluctuated and is likely to continue to fluctuate. The trading price of our ADSs depends on a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance, including:
•actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition and operating results;
•variance in our financial performance from expectations of securities analysts;
•changes in the prices of our services;
•changes in our projected operating and actual financial results;
•changes in laws or regulations applicable to our business;
•announcements by us or our competitors of significant business developments, acquisitions or new offerings;
•our involvement in any litigation, including class action lawsuits;
•our sale of our ADSs or other securities in the future;
•changes in senior management or key personnel;
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•the trading volume of our ADSs;
•changes in the anticipated future size and growth rate of our market;
•natural disasters, pandemics, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;
•international conflicts and war, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, acts of terrorism and other events beyond our control; and
•general economic, regulatory, political and market conditions.
Stock markets frequently experience price and volume fluctuations that affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political, regulatory and market conditions, may negatively impact the market price of our ADSs. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention.
An active public trading market for our ADSs may not be sustained.
Prior to the completion of our initial public offering, no public market existed for our securities. An active public trading market for our ADSs may not be sustained. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your ADSs at the time you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider reasonable. The lack of an active market may also reduce the fair value of your ADSs. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling ADSs and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our ADSs as consideration.
Future sales of our ADSs by existing shareholders could cause the market price of our ADSs to decline.
Sales of a substantial number of our ADSs in the public market by our existing shareholders, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our ADSs and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our ADSs.
Our articles of association provides for various selling restrictions, including that each holder of Class B ordinary shares may not dispose of more than 60% of the Class B ordinary shares held by such holder until July 26, 2023 (including by conversion to Class A ordinary shares). As of June 30, 2022, we had 47,580,582 outstanding ordinary shares that were not subject to lock-ups or selling restrictions.
In addition, as of June 30, 2022 there were outstanding 2,338,924 Class A ordinary shares issuable by us upon exercise of outstanding share options or the vesting of restricted share units, or RSUs. We have registered all of the ADSs representing Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding options or the vesting of RSUs, and upon exercise of settlement of any options or other equity incentives we may grant in the future, for public resale under the Securities Act. Accordingly, these shares will be able to be freely sold in the public market upon issuance as permitted by any applicable vesting requirements, subject to restrictions on sales of our shares by affiliates.
Shareholder protections found in provisions under the U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, or the Takeover Code, will not apply if our place of management and control is considered to change to outside the United Kingdom.
The Takeover Code applies to all offers for public limited companies incorporated in England and Wales which have their registered offices in the United Kingdom and which are considered by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or the Takeover Panel, to have their place of central management and control in the United Kingdom.
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On July 6, 2018, we re-registered as a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales. Our place of central management and control was at that time, and remains, in the United Kingdom for the purposes of the Takeover Code. Accordingly, we are currently subject to the Takeover Code and, as a result, our shareholders are entitled to the benefit of the various protections provided under the Takeover Code. The Takeover Code provides a framework within which takeovers of companies are regulated and conducted. If, at the time of a takeover offer, the Takeover Panel determines that we do not have our place of central management and control in the United Kingdom, then the Takeover Code would not apply to us and our shareholders would not be entitled to the benefit of the various protections that the Takeover Code affords. In particular, the rules regarding mandatory takeover bids described below would not apply. The following is a brief summary of some of the most important rules of the Takeover Code:
•When any person acquires, whether by a series of transactions over a period of time or not, an interest in shares which (taken together with shares already held by that person and an interest in shares held or acquired by persons acting in concert with them) carry 30% or more of the voting rights of a company that is subject to the Takeover Code, that person is generally required to make a mandatory offer to all the holders of any class of equity share capital or other class of transferable securities carrying voting rights in that company to acquire the balance of their interests in the company.
•When any person who, together with persons acting in concert with them, is interested in shares representing not less than 30% but does not hold more than 50% of the voting rights of a company that is subject to the Takeover Code, and such person, or any person acting in concert with them, acquires an additional interest in shares which increases the percentage of shares carrying voting rights in which they are interested, then such person is generally required to make a mandatory offer to all the holders of any class of equity share capital or other class of transferable securities carrying voting rights of that company to acquire the balance of their interests in the company.
•A mandatory offer triggered in the circumstances described in the two paragraphs above must be in cash (or be accompanied by a cash alternative) and at not less than the highest price paid within the preceding 12 months to acquire any interest in shares in the company by the person required to make the offer or any person acting in concert with them.
•In relation to a voluntary offer (i.e. any offer which is not a mandatory offer), when interests in shares representing 10% or more of the shares of a class have been acquired for cash by an offeror (i.e., a bidder) and any person acting in concert with it in the offer period and the previous 12 months, the offer must be in cash or include a cash alternative for all shareholders of that class at not less than the highest price paid for any interest in shares of that class by the offeror and by any person acting in concert with it in that period. Further, if an offeror acquires for cash any interest in shares during the offer period, a cash alternative must be made available at not less than the highest price paid for any interest in the shares of that class.
•The board of directors of the offeror or any person acting in concert with it acquires an interest in shares in the offeree company (i.e., the target) at a price higher than the value of the offer, the offer must be increased to not less than the highest price paid for the interest in shares so acquired.
•The offeree company must obtain competent advice as to whether the terms of any offer are fair and reasonable and the substance of such advice must be made known to all the shareholders, together with the opinion of the board of directors of the offeree company.
•Special deals with favorable conditions for selected shareholders are not permitted.
•All shareholders must be given the same information.
•Each document published in connection with an offer by or on behalf of the offeror or offeree must state that the directors of the offeror or the offeree, as the case may be, accept responsibility for the information contained therein.
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•Profit forecasts, quantified financial benefits statements and asset valuations must be made to specified standards and must be reported on by professional advisers.
•Misleading, inaccurate or unsubstantiated statements made in documents or to the media must be publicly corrected immediately.
•Actions during the course of an offer by the offeree company, which might frustrate the offer, are generally prohibited unless shareholders approve these plans.
•Stringent and detailed requirements are laid down for the disclosure of dealings in relevant securities during an offer.
•Employee representatives or employees of both the offeror and the offeree company and the trustees of the offeree company’s pension scheme must be informed about an offer. In addition, the offeree company’s employee representatives and pension scheme trustees have the right to have a separate opinion on the effects of the offer on employment and pension scheme(s), respectively, appended to the offeree board of directors’ circular or published on a website.
The dual class structure of our ordinary shares has the effect of concentrating voting control for the foreseeable future, which will limit your ability to influence corporate matters.
Our Class B ordinary shares have 10 votes per share, and our Class A ordinary shares, which are the shares underlying the ADSs have one vote per share. Given the greater number of votes per share attributed to our Class B ordinary shares, holders of Class B ordinary shares collectively beneficially hold shares representing approximately 79.8% of the voting rights of our outstanding share capital as of September 30, 2022. Further, John Cotterell, our Chief Executive Officer, beneficially holds Class B ordinary shares, which along with the Class A ordinary shares he beneficially owns, represents approximately 42.4% of the voting rights of our outstanding share capital as of September 30, 2022. Consequently, Mr. Cotterell will continue to be able to have a significant influence on corporate matters submitted to a vote of shareholders. Notwithstanding this concentration of control, we do not currently qualify as a “controlled company” under New York Stock Exchange listing rules.
This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future. This concentrated control could also discourage a potential investor from acquiring our ADSs due to the limited voting power of the Class A ordinary shares underlying the ADSs relative to the Class B ordinary shares and might harm the market price of our ADSs. In addition, Mr. Cotterell has the ability to control the management and major strategic investments of our company as a result of his position as our Chief Executive Officer. As a member of our board of directors, Mr. Cotterell owes statutory and fiduciary duties to us and must act in good faith and in a manner that he considers would be most likely to promote the success of our company for the benefit of our shareholders as a whole. As a shareholder, Mr. Cotterell is entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our shareholders generally. For a description of our dual class structure, see “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association.”
Future transfers by other holders of Class B ordinary shares will generally result in those shares converting on a one-to-one basis to Class A ordinary shares, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate planning purposes. The conversion of our Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B ordinary shares who retain their shares in the long-term. The remaining restrictions on the transfer of Class B ordinary shares under the articles of association fall away on July 26, 2023, being the fifth anniversary of the date on which the ADS were listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
We cannot predict the impact our dual class share structure may have on our ADS price or our business.
We cannot predict whether our dual class share structure, combined with the concentrated control of our shareholders who held our ordinary shares prior to the completion of our initial public offering, including our executive officers, employees and directors and their affiliates, will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our ADSs or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have
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announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indexes. In July 2017, FTSE Russell announced that it plans to require new constituents of its indexes to have greater than 5% of the company's voting rights in the hands of public shareholders, and S&P Dow Jones announced that it will no longer admit companies with multiple-class share structures to certain of its indexes. Because of our dual class structure, we will likely be excluded from these indexes and we cannot assure you that other stock indexes will not take similar actions. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indexes, exclusion from stock indexes would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make our ADSs less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of our ADSs could be adversely affected.
The rights of our shareholders may differ from the rights typically offered to shareholders of a U.S. corporation.
We are incorporated under English law. The rights of holders of ordinary shares and, therefore, certain of the rights of holders of our ADSs, are governed by English law, including the provisions of the Companies Act 2006, or the Companies Act, and by our articles of association. These rights differ in certain respects from the rights of shareholders in typical U.S. corporations. See “Item 10.B—Memorandum and Articles of Association” and “Item 16.G—Corporate Governance” in this Annual Report on Form 20-F for a description of the principal differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and, for example, the Delaware General Corporation Law relating to shareholders' rights and protections.
Holders of our ADSs have fewer rights than our shareholders and must act through the depositary to exercise their rights.
Holders of our ADSs do not have the same rights as our shareholders and may only exercise their voting rights with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Holders of the ADSs have appointed the depositary or its nominee as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the Class A ordinary shares represented by the ADSs. When a general meeting is convened, if you hold ADSs, you may not receive sufficient notice of a shareholders’ meeting to permit you to withdraw the Class A ordinary shares underlying your ADSs to allow you to vote directly with respect to any specific matter. We will make all commercially reasonable efforts to cause the depositary to extend voting rights to you in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that you will receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote. Furthermore, the depositary will not be liable for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and you may lack recourse if your ADSs are not voted as you request. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders’ meeting. See “Item 12.D—Description of American Depositary Shares.”
Holders of our ADSs may face limitations on transfer and withdrawal of underlying Class A ordinary shares.
Our ADSs, which may be evidenced by ADRs, are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of your ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary think it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law, government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason subject to your right to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying Class A ordinary shares. Temporary delays in the cancellation of your ADSs and withdrawal of the underlying Class A ordinary shares may arise because the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books, the transfer of ordinary shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting or we are paying a dividend on our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, you may not be able to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying Class A ordinary shares when you owe money for fees, taxes and similar charges and when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities. See “Item 12.D—Description of American Depositary Shares.”
ADS holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.
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The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class A ordinary shares provides that holders and beneficial owners of ADSs irrevocably waive the right to a trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including in respect of claims under federal securities laws, against us or the depositary to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. If this jury trial waiver provision is prohibited by applicable law, an action could nevertheless proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a jury trial waiver under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by a federal court. However, we believe that a jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by a court of the State of New York or a federal court, which have non-exclusive jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement, applying such law. In determining whether to enforce a jury trial waiver provision, New York courts and federal courts will consider whether the visibility of the jury trial waiver provision within the agreement is sufficiently prominent such that a party has knowingly waived any right to trial by jury. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. In addition, New York courts will not enforce a jury trial waiver provision in order to bar a viable setoff or counterclaim sounding in fraud or one which is based upon a creditor's negligence in failing to liquidate collateral upon a guarantor's demand, or in the case of an intentional tort claim (as opposed to a contract dispute), none of which we believe are applicable in the case of the deposit agreement or the ADSs. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any provision of the federal securities laws. If you or any other holder or beneficial owner of ADSs brings a claim against us or the depositary in connection with such matters, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and/or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us and/or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have had, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action, depending on, among other things, the nature of the claims, the judge or justice hearing such claims, and the venue of the hearing.
Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.
We are incorporated under English law. Substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. The majority of our senior management and board of directors reside outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against them or us, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
The United States and the United Kingdom do not currently have a treaty providing for recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment for payment given by a court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. securities laws, would not automatically be recognized or enforceable in the United Kingdom. In addition, uncertainty exists as to whether U.K. courts would entertain original actions brought in the United Kingdom against us or our directors or senior management predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. Any final and conclusive monetary judgment for a definite sum obtained against us in U.S. courts would be treated by the courts of the United Kingdom as a cause of action in itself and sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that certain requirements are met. Whether these requirements are met in respect of a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws, including whether the award of monetary damages under such laws would constitute a penalty, is an issue for the court making such decision. If an English court gives judgment for the sum payable under a U.S. judgment, the English judgment will be enforceable by methods generally available for this purpose. These methods generally permit the English court discretion to prescribe the manner of enforcement.
As a result, U.S. investors may not be able to enforce against us or our senior management, board of directors or certain experts named herein who are residents of the United Kingdom or countries other than the United States any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws.
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As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from a number of rules under the U.S. securities laws and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than U.S. public companies.
We are a “foreign private issuer,” as defined in the SEC rules and regulations and, consequently, we are not subject to all of the disclosure requirements applicable to companies organized within the United States. For example, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that regulate disclosure obligations and procedural requirements related to the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations applicable to a security registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers and directors are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and related rules with respect to their purchases and sales of our securities. Further, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. public companies. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information concerning our company than there is for U.S. public companies.
As a foreign private issuer, we file annual reports on Form 20-F within four months of the close of each fiscal year ended June 30 and reports on Form 6-K relating to certain material events promptly after we publicly announce these events. However, because of the above exemptions for foreign private issuers, our shareholders are not afforded the same protections or information generally available to investors holding shares in public companies organized in the United States.
While we are a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to certain New York Stock Exchange corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. listed companies.
We are entitled to rely on a provision in the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance listing standards that allows us to follow English corporate law and the Companies Act with regard to certain aspects of corporate governance. This allows us to follow certain corporate governance practices that differ in significant respects from the corporate governance requirements applicable to U.S. companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For example, we are exempt from New York Stock Exchange regulations that require a listed U.S. company to (1) have a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, (2) require regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors each year and (3) have a remuneration committee or a nominations or corporate governance committee consisting entirely of independent directors.
In accordance with our New York Stock Exchange listing, our audit committee is required to comply with the provisions of Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act, both of which are also applicable to New York Stock Exchange-listed U.S. companies. Because we are a foreign private issuer, however, our audit committee is not subject to additional New York Stock Exchange requirements applicable to listed U.S. companies, including an affirmative determination that all members of the audit committee are “independent,” using more stringent criteria than those applicable to us as a foreign private issuer. Furthermore, the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance listing standards require listed U.S. companies to, among other things, seek shareholder approval for the implementation of certain equity compensation plans and issuances of ordinary shares, which we are not required to follow as a foreign private issuer.
We may lose our foreign private issuer status, which would then require us to comply with the Exchange Act's domestic reporting regime and cause us to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses.
As a foreign private issuer, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. We may no longer be a foreign private issuer when such status is assessed as of December 31, 2022 (the end of our second fiscal quarter), which would require us to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers as of July 1, 2023. In order to maintain our current status as a foreign private issuer, either (a) a majority of our ordinary shares must be either directly or indirectly owned of record by non-residents of the United States or (b)(1) a majority of our executive officers or directors cannot be U.S. citizens or residents, (2) more than 50 percent of our assets must be located outside the United States and (3) our business must be administered principally outside the United States. If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer, we would be
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required to comply with the Exchange Act reporting and other requirements applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, which are more detailed and extensive than the requirements for foreign private issuers and will require that we prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. We may also be required to make changes in our corporate governance practices in accordance with various SEC and rules. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws if we are required to comply with the reporting requirements applicable to a U.S. domestic issuer will be significantly higher than the cost we would incur as a foreign private issuer. As a result, we expect that a loss of foreign private issuer status would increase our legal and financial compliance costs and would make some activities highly time consuming and costly.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, the price of our ADSs and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our ADSs depends, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts or the content that they publish about us. If our financial performance fails to meet analyst estimates or one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our ADSs or change their opinion of our ADSs, our ADS price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our ADS price or trading volume to decline.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future and, as a result, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our ADSs.
We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the growth and development of the business and, therefore, we do not anticipate that we will pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares, including on the Class A ordinary shares underlying our ADSs, in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon our future financial condition, results of operations and capital requirements, general business conditions and other relevant factors as determined by our board of directors. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their ADSs after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.
Item 4. Information on the Company
A. History and Development of the Company
Corporate Information
The legal and commercial name of our company is Endava plc. We were originally incorporated in February 2006 as Endava Limited, a private company with limited liability and indefinite life under the laws of England and Wales. In July 2018, we completed a corporate reorganization, pursuant to which all of our shareholders were required to elect to exchange each of the existing ordinary shares in the capital of Endava Limited held by them for the same number of Class B ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares; provided, that the Endava Limited Guernsey Employee Benefit Trust, or the EBT, exchanged all existing ordinary shares held by it for the same number of Class A ordinary shares. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote per share and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to ten votes per share. On July 26, 2020, all of our Class C ordinary shares automatically converted to Class A ordinary shares.
On July 6, 2018, we re-registered Endava Limited as a public limited company and our name was changed from Endava Limited to Endava plc. We are registered with the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales under number 5722669, and our registered office is 125 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1AR, United Kingdom.
Our principal executive office is located at 125 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1AR, United Kingdom and our telephone number is +44 20 7367 1000. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Endava Inc., located at 757 Third Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10017 and the telephone number for Endava Inc. is +1 (917) 613-3859. Our website address is www.endava.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 20-F, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this Annual Report on Form 20-F. The Securities and Exchange
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Commission, or SEC, maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants, such as Endava, that file electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Our capital expenditures for the years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020 amounted to £13.7 million, £5.2 million and £7.3 million, respectively. These capital expenditures were related primarily to purchases of property and equipment for our delivery centers. We expect our capital expenditures to increase in absolute terms in the near term as we continue to grow our operations. We anticipate our capital expenditures in fiscal 2023 to be financed from cash generated from operations and our cash and cash equivalents. We will continue investing in technology services in Europe, Latin America and the United States.
B. Business Overview
Overview
We are a leading next-generation technology services provider and help accelerate disruption by delivering rapid evolution to enterprises. We aid our clients in finding new ways to interact with their customers and users, enabling them to become more engaging, responsive and efficient. Using Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale, we collaborate with our clients, seamlessly integrating with their teams, catalyzing ideation and delivering robust solutions. Our approach to ideation comprises an empathy for user needs, curiosity, creativity and a deep understanding of technologies. From proof of concept, to prototype, to production, we use our engineering expertise to deliver enterprise platforms for our clients that are capable of handling millions of transactions per day. Our people, whom we call Endavans, synthesize creativity, technology and delivery at scale in multi-disciplinary teams, enabling us to support our clients from ideation to production.
Waves of technological change are disrupting the nature of competition in every industry. New technologies have enabled the growth and success of companies that leverage these technologies in every aspect of their businesses, or digital native companies, allowing them to be nimble, innovative, data driven and focused on user experience, often through an Agile development approach. Technology has also increased customer expectations, giving customers the ability to choose not only the products and services that they want, but also where, when and how they want them delivered. Incumbent enterprises must undertake digital transformation of their businesses by leveraging technology in order to meet ever-evolving customer expectations and compete with digital native disruptors.
Technological transformation poses numerous challenges for incumbent enterprises. Incumbent enterprises are often laden with legacy infrastructure and applications that are deeply embedded in core transactional systems, making it difficult to reconcile maintenance of existing infrastructure and applications with a nimble approach to using next-generation technologies. Incumbent enterprises are also often stymied by institutional constraints that impede their ability to solve complex problems and rapidly respond to shifting competitive dynamics, as well as ingrained traditional approaches to development. The Agile methodology stands in stark contrast to the IT-department-driven, legacy approach often used by incumbent enterprises, which is premised on a sequential and siloed structure, involves long development cycles, fails to integrate user feedback and is often more costly. Likewise, internal IT teams at incumbent enterprises often struggle to absorb the rapid pace of technology development and its growing complexity. To effectively harness the power of technology, incumbent enterprises need talent in ideation, strategy, user experience, Agile development and next-generation technologies. While incumbent enterprises have historically looked to traditional information technology, or IT, service providers to undertake technology development projects, these traditional players were built to serve, and remain focused on serving, legacy systems using offshore delivery.
We reimagine the relationship between people and technology and help our clients become digital, experience-driven businesses by assisting them in their journey from idea generation to development and deployment of products, platforms and solutions. Our expertise spans the entire ideation-to-production spectrum. We create value for our clients through creation of Product and Technology Strategies and Intelligent Digital Experiences, delivered via world-class engineering and through our broad technical capabilities, grouped into four key areas: Define, Design, Build and Run & Evolve. We accelerate our clients’ ability to take advantage of new business models and
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market opportunities by ideating and delivering dynamic platforms and intelligent digital experiences that are designed to fuel rapid, ongoing transformation of our customers’ businesses. By leveraging next-generation technologies, our agile, multi-disciplinary teams provide a combination of Product & Technology Strategies and Intelligent Digital Experiences delivered via world-class engineering to help our clients become more engaging, responsive, and efficient.
At the core of our approach is our proprietary Distributed Enterprise Agile scaling framework, known as TEAM Enterprise Agile Scaling, or TEAS. TEAS utilizes aspects of common Agile scaling frameworks, but enhances them by balancing the requirements of delivering both quality and speed-to-market. With TEAS, our teams are able to quickly design, develop and test digital solutions, providing actionable insights into their value and business potential in a short timeframe. Our clients are able to release higher-quality products to market faster, respond better to market changes and incorporate customer and user feedback through rapid releases and product iterations. We believe that our TEAS framework is enhanced through advanced software engineering practices involving multi-skilled teams able to employ both Development and Operations (or “DevOps”) techniques, such as automated testing, continuous integration, continuous delivery and infrastructure automation.
We locate our nearshore delivery centers in countries that not only have abundant IT talent pools, but also offer us an opportunity to be a preferred employer. We provide services from our nearshore delivery centers, located in five European Union countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), four other Central European countries (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia), four countries in Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay) and in Asia-Pacific (Malaysia). We have close-to-client locations in seven Western European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), two countries in North America (Canada and the United States), two countries in Asia-Pacific (Australia and Singapore) and in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates). As part of our acquisition of Lexicon on October 6, 2022, we acquired additional close-to-client offices in Australia and a new nearshore delivery center in Vietnam. As of June 30, 2022, we had 11,853 employees (including directors), approximately 51.4% of whom work in nearshore delivery centers in European Union countries. We provide Endavans with training to develop their technical and soft skills, in an environment where they are continually challenged and given opportunities to grow as professionals, and with tools and resources to innovate.
As of June 30, 2022, we had 732 active clients, which we define as clients who paid us for services over the preceding 12-month period. We have achieved significant growth in recent periods. For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, our revenue was £654.8 million, £446.3 million and £351.0 million, respectively, representing a compound annual growth rate of 36.6% over the three year period. We generated 41.4%, 41.9% and 44.3% of our revenue for the three fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, from clients located in the United Kingdom; we generated 21.1%, 24.2% and 24.5%, of our revenue in each of those fiscal years, respectively, from clients located in Europe. We generated 34.8%, 31.4%, 28.5% of our revenue for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020 from clients located in North America. The balance of revenue in each of those fiscal years comes from clients located in RoW. Our revenue growth rate at constant currency, which is a measure that is not calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, was 47.6%, 29.6% and 21.0%, respectively. Over the last five fiscal years, 88.6% of our revenue, on average, each fiscal year came from clients who purchased services from us during the prior fiscal year. Our profit before taxes was £102.4 million, £54.4 million and £23.4 million, for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and our profit before taxes as a percentage of revenue was 15.6%, 12.2% and 6.7%, respectively, for the same periods. Our adjusted profit before taxes margin, or Adjusted PBT Margin, which is a measure that is not calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, was 21.1%, 20.6% and 19.0%, respectively, for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020. See notes 1 and 6 in the section of this Annual Report on Form 20-F titled “Non-IFRS Measures and Other Management Metrics” for a reconciliation of revenue growth rate at constant currency revenue growth rate and for a reconciliation of Adjusted PBT to profit before taxes, respectively, the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS.
Industry Background
Overview
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Waves of technological change are disrupting the nature of competition in every industry. New technologies have enabled the growth and success of digital native companies that leverage these technologies in every aspect of their businesses, allowing them to be nimble, innovative, data driven and focused on the user experience, often through an Agile development approach. Technology has also increased customer expectations, giving them the ability to choose not only the products and services that they want, but also where, when and how they want them delivered. Incumbent enterprises must undertake digital transformation of their businesses by leveraging technology in order to meet ever-evolving customer expectations and compete with digital native disruptors.
Significant Technology Innovation
Technology has gone through significant evolution in the last decade and this trend is expected to continue. The use of mobile connectivity, social media, automation, big data analytics and cloud delivery have become integral to business execution and emerging trends and technologies, including IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality and blockchain, hold the potential to significantly reshape industries. Because each new generation of technology builds on and advances the technology that came before it, the pace of technological innovation will continue to accelerate, increasing the pace at which enterprises will need to transform.
Empowered Customers and Users
The proliferation of new technologies has empowered customers and users across industries and increased their expectations. These technologies have allowed customers and users to have more information and more choices, thereby changing how they interact with enterprises and their products and services. Other users, such as employees, are bringing these same expectations to the workplace. Empowered customers and users are increasingly discerning and their preferences keep changing as technology evolves. As a result, for enterprises, continually transforming their interactions with all constituencies has become a competitive imperative.
Rise of the Digital Natives
These significant technological changes have enabled the emergence of digital native companies. These companies leverage emerging technologies in every aspect of their businesses and are nimble and innovative, data driven and focused on the user experience. Digital native companies are not encumbered by legacy technology. Over the past decade, they have revolutionized the way technology is used across all functions in an organization, how technology infrastructure is built and maintained and how technology solutions are developed, deployed and continually improved.
Increasing Adoption of the Agile Approach
Due to the influence of digital native companies, the adoption of Agile development across industries has become pervasive. Agile is an iterative and incremental methodology for development where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between cross-functional teams. Agile is user driven and focused on continuous delivery of small upgrades, facilitating highly differentiated speeds of innovation and time to market.
Challenges to Transformation
Incumbent enterprises must undertake digital transformation of their businesses by leveraging technology in order to meet ever-evolving customer expectations and compete with digital native disruptors. There are several challenges incumbent enterprises face in achieving technological transformation:
Significant Investment in Legacy Technology
For most incumbent enterprises, reorienting IT operations with new technology is expensive, time-consuming and risks service disruption. Incumbent enterprises are often laden with legacy infrastructure and applications that are difficult and expensive to operate and maintain. They cannot switch off and move away from legacy technology infrastructure investments as the legacy infrastructure is often deeply embedded in the core transactional systems that drive revenue. Incumbent enterprises must find ways to reconcile maintenance of existing infrastructure and applications with a nimble approach to using next-generation technologies.
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Barriers to Innovation
Incumbent enterprises are fundamentally built to do what they are already doing and can struggle with innovation. They are often characterized by ingrained processes and cultural norms that do not encourage strategic shifts, with decision makers isolated from the economic consequences of choices. These institutional constraints can impede incumbent enterprises’ ability to solve complex problems and rapidly respond to shifting competitive dynamics. Incumbent enterprises need to learn to “build many” and “fail fast” in order to efficiently allocate resources and optimize their opportunities for success.
Not Built for Agile
Incumbent enterprises must adopt new technologies and rapidly execute on initiatives in order to remain competitive, but are often stymied by ingrained traditional approaches to development. The Agile methodology stands in stark contrast to the IT-department-driven, legacy approach often used by incumbent enterprises, which is premised on a sequential and siloed structure, involves long development cycles, fails to integrate user feedback and is often more costly.
Lack of Required Expertise and Talent
The modern competitive environment requires incumbent enterprises to deliver experiences to customers and users that are intuitive and unobtrusive. This, in turn, requires connectivity across channels of customer and user interaction and successfully harnessing next-generation technology. Internal IT teams at incumbent enterprises often struggle to absorb the rapid pace of technology development and its growing complexity. Incumbent enterprises need user experience strategy and design capability, as well as technology and engineering expertise, to develop effective and frictionless user experiences. Developing this capability and expertise requires the acquisition and retention of talent in ideation, strategy, user experience, Agile development and next-generation technologies. However, the market for employees with expertise in these areas is highly competitive.
Limitations of Traditional IT Service Providers
Incumbent enterprises have historically looked to traditional IT service providers to undertake technology development projects. Traditional IT service providers are built for commoditized development, integration and maintenance engagements, where cost is key. They can deliver on large-scale projects using scaled, cost-effective infrastructure and are generally expert in legacy systems. While some of these traditional IT service providers have invested in capabilities to provide user experience strategy and design, as well as Agile development capabilities, they were built to serve, and remain focused on serving, legacy systems using offshore delivery.
The Endava Approach
We are a leading next-generation technology services provider and help accelerate disruption by delivering rapid evolution to enterprises. We aid our clients in finding new ways to interact with their customers and users, enabling them to become more engaging, responsive and efficient. Using Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale, we collaborate with our clients, seamlessly integrating with their teams, catalyzing ideation and delivering robust solutions. Our approach to ideation comprises an empathy for user needs, curiosity, creativity and a deep understanding of technologies. From proof of concept, to prototype, to production, we use our engineering expertise to deliver enterprise platforms for our clients that are capable of handling millions of transactions per day. Our people synthesize creativity, technology and delivery at scale in multi-disciplinary teams, enabling us to support our clients from ideation to production. We offer our clients capabilities in four key areas, which we refer to as: Define, Design, Build and Run & Evolve. The multiplicative impact of different combinations of these capabilities across the delivery of strategies, experiences, and engineering allows us rapidly to create real transformation for our clients.
Our Competitive Strengths
We have distinguished ourselves as a leader in next-generation technology services by leveraging the following competitive strengths:
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Ideation through Production
We help our clients become digital, experience-driven businesses by assisting them in their journey from idea generation to development and deployment of products, platforms and solutions. By providing user-centric digital strategies and engineering skills, we enable our clients to become more engaging, responsive and efficient in delivering products and services to their customers and users. We collaborate with our clients, understand their changing technology needs and seamlessly integrate with their teams to develop long-term embedded relationships and drive value. Our expertise spans the entire ideation-to-production spectrum. We create value for our clients through creation of Product and Technology Strategies and Intelligent Digital Experiences, delivered via world-class engineering and through our broad technical capabilities, grouped into four key areas: Define, Design, Build and Run & Evolve.
Proprietary Framework for Distributed Enterprise Agile at Scale
To allow us to deliver Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale, we have developed a proprietary Agile scaling framework, TEAS. Traditional Agile development methodologies have constraints that prevent them from scaling in a truly industrialized way without sacrificing agility. TEAS utilizes aspects of well-known Agile scaling frameworks, but enhances them by balancing the requirements of delivering both quality and speed-to-market. With TEAS, we seek to provide enough guidance to allow teams to start tackling client challenges with confidence, while building in flexibility to adapt to evolving client needs, environments and cultures. TEAS enables us to scale across the spectrum from ideation to production by having product level planning for a group of releases, portfolio level planning for a group of products and an overarching strategy to guide the development of the portfolio. As a result, our teams are able to quickly design, develop and test digital solutions, providing actionable insights into their value and business potential in a short timeframe, while our clients are able to release higher-quality products to market faster, respond better to market changes and incorporate customer and user feedback through rapid releases and product iterations. We believe our dynamic approach to Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale delivers tangible and valuable benefits for our clients.
Expertise in Next-Generation Technologies
We have deep expertise in next-generation technologies that drives our ability to provide solutions for Digital Evolution, Agile Transformation and Automation. Our expertise ranges from technologies developed over the last decade including mobile connectivity, social media, automation, high-productivity developer platforms, big data analytics and cloud delivery to next-generation technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality and blockchain. Our frameworks, methodologies and tools, including TEAS and our proprietary Chronos software analysis tool for risk assessment of software code, further enhance our ability to develop and deploy solutions based on these next-generation technologies. For example, we leveraged our expertise in augmented reality to conceive and build a solution that helps customers of a mobile communications company visualize areas where they can obtain network coverage.
We believe technology will continue to evolve and that enterprises must continue to evolve their service offerings in order to thrive in such a dynamic environment. Our company-wide initiatives such as Endava Innovation Labs, innovation competition, our internal Innovation Community and our monthly Rapid Insights sessions, regular updates on technical trends, illustrate the innovative culture important for us to maintain our strong expertise in next-generation technologies. We continue to advance our service offerings and solutions areas to remain at the cutting edge of technological developments.
Strong Domain Expertise
We have expertise and experience in industry verticals that are being disrupted by technological change.
In the Payments vertical, we have helped accelerate the transformation of leading payment processing companies by building new platforms and solutions such as merchant acquiring platforms, merchant portals with real time analytics, cloud-based real-time payment processing platforms, omni-channel e-commerce gateways, mobile wallets, mobile payment system integrations, downloadable mobile device Point-of-Sale terminals and Buy
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Now Pay Later solutions. We have also worked on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) systems and cryptocurrency technologies such as exchanges and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) issuance systems.
In Banking and Asset and Wealth Management vertical, we have designed and built software to solve problems across the front-to-back institutional landscape, including trading systems, settlement systems, digital engagement channels and event-based data integration and analytics platforms.
In the Insurance vertical, we are engaged with some of the largest insurers from both Personal and Commercial Lines insurance and the London and Specialty Market, delivering business transformation through the automation of claims and underwriting and pricing processes and data platform implementations to generate insights from the large data sets that insurers possess, as well as the implementation of low code tools to supplement core insurance products such as Guidewire and EIS.
In the Technology, Media and Telecommunications, or TMT, vertical, we have helped clients design and build solutions for the connected home and car, to enhance multi-channel customer experiences and to automate processes, including developing an automated solution to facilitate the purchase of television advertising in the United States. In the telecoms area specifically, we work for major providers and operators to accelerate their digitisation roadmap by introducing more digital services in areas including IoT, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), payments, automation, testing & 5G specific services. Additionally, we have built platforms, marketplaces and immersive environments that have elevated the experience for gamers.
For our Retail and Consumer Goods vertical we provide technology leadership and services to clients to deliver software solutions across e-commerce, product management, mobile, supply chain and fulfilment, payments and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
In the Healthtech vertical, we help improve the quality of the services provided in health by making them more efficient, more secure and more data-driven.
In the Mobility vertical, the movement of people and goods, we help clients with the last mile logistics, connected vehicle innovation and sharing and warehouse intralogistics. In the automotive industry, we are working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 manufacturers to bring technology (and our company’s know-how from other industries) into the automotive world to help them transition into their new role within the new Mobility ecosystem.
Employer of Choice in Regions with Deep Pools of Talent
We strive to be one of the leading employers of IT professionals in the regions in which we operate. We provide services from our nearshore delivery centers, located in five European Union countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), four other Central European countries (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Serbia), four countries in Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay) and in Asia-Pacific (Malaysia). We have close-to-client locations in seven Western European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), two countries in North America (Canada and the United States), two countries in Asia-Pacific (Australia and Singapore) and in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates). As part of our acquisition of Lexicon on October 6, 2022, we acquired additional close-to-client offices in Australia and a new nearshore delivery center in Vietnam. We locate our nearshore delivery centers in countries that not only have abundant IT talent pools, but also offer us an opportunity to be a preferred employer. As of June 30, 2022, we had 11,853 employees (including directors), approximately 51.4% of whom work in nearshore delivery centers in European Union countries. We locate our nearshore delivery centers in countries that not only have abundant IT talent pools, but also offer us an opportunity to be a preferred employer. For example, a majority of our employees are located in Romania, where we have been identified as a top employer for each of the last five years.
We believe the future Endava workplace will be based on a hybrid working model, enabling our people to work both from home and from an office, to get the best of both worlds. We are adopting this new approach which is a mix of working together in teams and communities within our offices as well as enjoying the flexibility to work remotely in our homes.
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Distinctive Culture and Values
We believe that our people are our most important asset. We provide Endavans with training to develop their technical and soft skills, in an environment where they are continually challenged and given opportunities to grow as professionals, and with tools and resources to innovate. Endava University, our “Schools of” capability programs, and “Pass It On” are key elements of our training and development framework. Endava University provides classroom based training, we run “Schools” training program to upskill, cross-skill and find new talent to hire in subjects including DevOps Engineering, Data, and Business Analysis, while “Pass It On” uses apprenticeship and open sharing so that our people can grow by way of collective experiences and knowledge. Our employees also have career coaches to customize their integration into their respective teams and to help visualize their development and future. Through Endava Innovation Labs and other innovation events, our teams are encouraged to express their creativity in using next-generation technologies to build innovative solutions. We believe that we have built an organization deeply committed to helping people succeed and that our culture fosters our core values of openness, thoughtfulness and adaptability.
Effective management of Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG, matters has been of strategic importance for us for years. During fiscal year 2021, we launched our We Care sustainability approach and published our first report that highlights our contributions to key ESG matters. Our sustainability report with respect to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022 was published in September 2022 and can be found on our website. The information on our website does not constitute a part of this report.
Founder Led, Experienced and Motivated Management Team.
Our management team, led by John Cotterell, our founder and chief executive officer, has significant experience in the global technology and services industries. Since our founding in 2000, we have expanded from a single office serving clients principally located in the city of London to a global enterprise serving clients across Europe, North America and the RoW from nearshore delivery centers located in Central Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. We believe that we have a strong partnership culture. Our most senior 92 employees have an average tenure at Endava of 11 years, which we believe evidences the success of our approach. Additionally, our management team focuses on mentoring our IT professionals at all levels to develop the next generation of leadership.
Our Strategy
We are focused on continuing to distinguish ourselves as a leader in next-generation technology services. The key elements of our strategy include:
Expand Relationships with Existing Clients
We are focused on continuing to expand our relationships with existing clients by helping them solve new problems and become more engaging, responsive and efficient. We have a demonstrated track record of expanding our work with clients after an initial engagement. Our ten largest clients together contributed 33.8% and 34.9% of our total revenue in the last two fiscal years, respectively, and the number of clients that have a minimum annual spend of at least £1.0 million has grown from 85 to 134 over the same time period. Expansion of our relationships with existing active clients will remain a key strategy going forward as we continue to leverage our deep domain expertise and knowledge of emerging technology trends in order to drive incremental growth for our business.
Establish New Client Relationships
We believe that we have a significant opportunity to add new clients. We have established ourselves as a leader in delivering end-to-end ideation-to-production services in the Financial Services and Payments and TMT verticals. Clients in the Payments and Financial Services vertical contributed to 50.7%, 50.7% and 52.8% of our total revenue in the 2022, 2021 and 2020 fiscal years, respectively. Clients in the TMT vertical contributed 25.0%, 27.1% and 25.7%, of our total revenue in the 2022, 2021 and 2020 fiscal years, respectively. Clients in our Other vertical contributed 24.3%, 22.2% and 21.5%, of our total revenue in the 2022, 2021 and 2020 fiscal years, respectively. We believe that we continue to have a significant untapped opportunity in these sectors and we plan to leverage this experience to expand our vertical reach. As waves of technological change sweep across industries and increasingly
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facilitate seamless integration of different aspects of customers and users lives, we believe our experience working within our core client base will also be of particular value in expanding our vertical reach. For example, as customers increasingly demand a frictionless and consistent buying experience and the payments and retail sectors converge, we believe our deep expertise in developing payment systems and e-commerce platforms will allow us to grow our base of retail clients. Similarly, we believe that our expertise in data analytics and augmented and virtual reality will be increasingly relevant in the healthcare industry as technology continues to reshape the practice and provision of medicine. We are also focused on the consumer products, logistics and professional services verticals as key areas for potential growth.
We are likewise focused on geographic expansion, particularly in North America. In the 2022 fiscal year, approximately 34.8% of our revenue came from clients in North America. In addition, we plan to evaluate other growth markets, including countries in the Asia Pacific region, to expand our client footprint.
Lead Adoption of Next-Generation Technologies
We seek to apply our creative skills and deep digital technical engineering capabilities to enhance our clients’ value to their end customers and users. As a result, we are highly focused on remaining at the forefront of emerging technology trends, including in areas such as IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality and blockchain. For example, we have developed next-generation technology solutions such as blockchain payment gateways and chatbot-enabled social payments. We are embedded and integrated with our clients, which gives us unique insight into how emerging industry trends can help address their needs. We plan to leverage these insights to continue innovating for our clients.
Expand Scale in Nearshore Delivery
We believe that our proprietary Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale framework requires that we have teams based in locations with similar time zones to those of our clients since our delivery teams are in constant dialogue and interaction with our clients. We focus on being an employer of choice for IT professionals in the regions in which we operate, which include countries with deep and largely untapped creative and engineering talent pools, and on being an employer of choice in local markets. As we continue to expand our relationships with existing clients and attract new clients, we plan to expand our teams at existing delivery centers and open new delivery centers in nearshore locations with an abundance of technical talent.
Selectively Pursue “Tuck-In” Acquisitions
We plan to selectively pursue “tuck-in” acquisitions. Our focus is on augmenting our core capabilities to enhance our expertise in new technologies and verticals and increase our geographic reach, while preserving our corporate culture and sustainably managing our growth. Consistent with these goals, we have completed six acquisitions in the past five fiscal years, all of which have enabled us to accelerate core strategic goals. For example, our acquisition of Levvel in March 2021 increased our client base in payments, banking, media and mobility in the United States and increased our U.S. onshore delivery capabilities. Our acquisition of Five in March 2021 enhanced our capabilities in digital product strategy and performance optimization services and increased our nearshore delivery centers in the Adriatic region. Our acquisition of Comtrade Digital Services, or CDS, in August 2020 increased our nearshore delivery centers in the Adriatic region and our client base in Europe across several verticals including logistics, mobility, energy, healthcare, government, banking and others.
We have a demonstrated track record of successfully identifying, acquiring and integrating complementary business and plan to leverage this experience as we pursue “tuck-in” acquisitions that help accelerate our strategy. All acquired companies have been integrated into our core and single operating segment immediately upon acquisition.
Our Capabilities
We reimagine the relationship between people and technology.
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We accelerate our clients’ ability to take advantage of new business models and market opportunities by ideating and delivering dynamic platforms and intelligent digital experiences that are designed to fuel rapid, ongoing transformation of their businesses.
By leveraging next-generation technologies, our agile, multi-disciplinary teams provide a combination of Product & Technology Strategies and, Intelligent Digital Experiences, delivered via world-class engineering, to help our clients become more engaging, responsive, and efficient.
We offer our clients capabilities in four key areas, as depicted below. The multiplicative impact of different combinations of these capabilities across the delivery of strategies, experiences and engineering, allows us rapidly to create real transformation for our clients.
DEFINE
Private Equity and Corporate Transaction Advisory
The constantly evolving technology landscape means that both private equity and corporate buyers need to understand if the technology operations of the company being acquired are capable of enabling the buyer’s investment thesis. The Endava Private Equity Group, or PEG, provides technology and digital advisory services across a wide range of industries, supporting the full transaction lifecycle.
Technology Strategy
The Endava Technology Strategy capability provides expertise and deep experience in helping clients with complex decision-making process through thorough diagnosis and delivery of executable IT strategies.
Business Analysis
Business Analysis is a dedicated discipline within the Endava organization. We support complex projects by acting as the mediator between the business and the technology teams. We distinguish ourselves through an understanding of our clients’ domains. We have business domain expertise across a wide range of industries.
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Program Management
We help our clients achieve transformational change by providing expertise in structuring and executing successful change programs and end-to-end delivery throughout the transformation lifecycle. We work with our clients to create the right environment for change, including effective sponsorship, governance and agile ways of working.
Digital Product Strategy
Our Digital Product Strategy services help clients turn their early ideas and business challenges into prototypes and market-ready products. Our objective is to ensure that we are always building the right product, focusing our efforts on capabilities that create the maximum value for the business and the best experience for their users. We help clients with their market positioning and differentiation.
Data & Analytics
We assist organizations in identifying, defining, and embedding the collaborative Data and Analytics that enhance both their productivity and profitability through the power of traditional Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, Big Data platforms, Analytics and Visualization, or implementation of Data Governance underpinned by Data Strategy.
DESIGN
Architecture
Technology systems must rapidly modernize and evolve to meet these challenges, and architecture is a key enabler to accomplish this by achieving alignment, simplification, and key qualities such as security, scalability, and resilience.
Extended Reality
Extended Reality (XR) covers the spectrum of spatial media from Virtual Reality (VR) to Augmented Reality (AR). Understanding the power of fully immersive interactions, we leverage our expertise in experience design, human factors engineering, advanced 3D technology platforms, and integrations with input and visualization hardware to conceive, design, build, and deliver both the virtual and augmented experiences of the future.
Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence are an emerging strategic area for Endava. In the last several years, Endava has enhanced its capability through Internal Data Lab & R&D exercises, prototypes and POC development. We have applied our expertise in a variety of domains such as healthcare, banking, payments processing, and private equity.
Product Design
At its core, Product Design at Endava translates established product strategies into their requisite design components to create innovative customer experiences and new business capabilities.
User Experience Design
Endava believes in a user-centered approach, which demands continuous user research, interviews, prototyping, testing, and iteration to understand and empathize with users throughout their journeys properly. Beyond the product launch, we believe a regular cadence of measuring, hypothesizing, designing, and deploying to improve KPIs continuously adds value to our clients.
Visual Design
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We use visual design to create meaningful experiences. We use building blocks, such as symbols, typography, color scheme, iconography, illustration style, visuals, animations, motion design, photography style, sound design, messaging, and tone of voice, to execute on complex objectives through imagery, film, 3D graphics, and language.
BUILD
Automated Testing
Endava uses agile techniques to include test automation as a standard part of development. We integrate test automation and performance frameworks into the continuous integration/continuous delivery pipeline, so that tests are executed as soon as there is a code drop, providing immediate feedback, reducing project delays, and improving time to market.
Cloud Native Software Engineering
We can deliver data platforms, real-time or batch data lakes, and enterprise reporting solutions, or use native machine learning on all major cloud providers, as we are technology-agnostic and offer guidance for choosing the right technology stack depending on the client's business objectives.
Continuous Delivery
Some of the areas we continuously improve include architecting for continuous delivery and automating almost anything, including pipelines with automatic quality gates, deploys, configuration, data migration, automation testing at the right level, infrastructure, and monitoring.
Distributed Agile Delivery
Endava has been successfully delivering large agile development projects for many years, Distributed Agile Delivery refers to the service through which we do scale agile development with scrum teams that are distributed in several locations, sometimes including client teams.
Collaboration technology such as distributed source code management, continuous integration, continuous delivery tools, wikis, video conferencing, and chat platforms all help our high-performance distributed teams be more effective.
Intelligent Automation
We are delivering Intelligent Automation, employing both more traditional techniques like robotic process automation and cutting-edge ones centered around cognitive computing elements like machine learning, natural language understanding and processing and computer vision.
Secure Development
We build security thinking into our secure development lifecycle by investing in our people, tools, and processes, so that these systems are secure by design. This involves cultivating a security-oriented mindset in all team members and ensuring security awareness and focus throughout the software development lifecycle, additionally integrating this thinking with DevOps ways of working to deliver practical DevSecOps where appropriate.
RUN & EVOLVE
Agile Applications Management
This capability focuses on optimizing and improving the value of our client's application estate by mitigating risk and increasing quality and reliability of their applications by keeping the client’s estate up to the latest market standards and enhancing it with new features. We help our clients run their businesses by improving agility, driving continuous improvement and reducing time to market.
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Cloud Infrastructure
Our capabilities include cloud migrations and hybrid solutions, and we support our customers in all stages of migration and adoption, from defining business goals and strategy through discovery and delivery into managed cloud operations.
DevSecOps
Complementing Endava’s commitment to an Agile delivery, our teams also adopt a DevOps approach to continuous and cross-functional collaboration between Development and Operations specialists.
Service Delivery
Operational IT ecosystems require services to be designed in a way that enables them to adapt and scale to business demands while meeting assurances and reliability expectations. We do this by understanding the service needs and interactions of the operational teams and recommending and managing industry best practice standards, policies, tools and grades of service.
Smart Desk
The purpose of the Endava Smart Desk is to provide a single point of contact, or SPOC, to all end users through a unified communications hub that ensures appropriate support in a timely manner. This includes the coordination of all End User Services, third parties and internal support teams for an excellent customer experience and seamless collaboration between all customer suppliers.
Telemetry & Monitoring
The purpose of IT infrastructure and application monitoring is to actively diagnose performance and accessibility problems across the entire infrastructure before an outage occurs.
Our Frameworks, Methods and Tools
Our frameworks, methods and tools, including TEAS, enhance our ability to develop and deploy solutions based on next-generation technologies. Developed with a focus on providing innovation, quality and productivity at scale, we believe our frameworks, methods and tools allow us to:
•Deliver outcome driven programs to our clients, with faster time-to-market and favorable return on investment;
•Tailor our approach to the needs of our clients and respond flexibly to changing client objectives and market conditions;
•Improve our clients visibility into budgets, status and progress of technology projects; and
•Provide better solutions.
Our key frameworks, methods and tools include the following:
TEAM Enterprise Agile Scaling (TEAS)
To allow us to deliver Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale, we have developed a proprietary Agile scaling framework, TEAS, which forms an important part of The Endava Adaptive Model (TEAM), our delivery framework. Traditional Agile development methodologies use small multi-disciplinary “scrum teams,” with members in close proximity. However, today most enterprise development projects require large development teams that are often geographically or organizationally dispersed. Collaboration, communication and oversight can break down, making it difficult to scale Agile development methodologies. Further, commonly used Agile scaling frameworks are generally either overly prescriptive, thereby compromising agility, or lack sufficient guidance to allow their confident application by organizations without significant existing expertise in Agile working.
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TEAS utilizes aspects of common Agile scaling frameworks, but enhances them by balancing the requirements of delivering both quality and speed-to-market. With TEAS, we seek to provide enough guidance to allow teams to start tackling client challenges with confidence, while building in flexibility to adapt to evolving client needs, environments and cultures. Each of our scrum teams typically consists of six to eight team members with the appropriate mix of technical ability, leadership and project management skills, domain expertise, creative and user experience capabilities and software development and quality assurance expertise. For larger and more complex projects, we employ a “scrum-of-scrums” approach, which is led by representatives from each scrum team, and facilitates an incremental level of collaboration across scrum teams. TEAS enables us to move beyond team-level Agile working to scale product-level planning for a group of releases, portfolio-level planning for a group of products and an overarching strategy to guide the development of the portfolio.
TEAS enables us to provide Distributed Enterprise Agile at scale with the same focus on communication, collaboration and iterative releases that makes smaller-scale Agile development effective. With TEAS, our teams are able to quickly design, develop and test digital solutions, providing actionable insights into their value and business potential in a short timeframe. Our clients are able to release higher-quality products to market faster, respond better to market changes and incorporate customer and user feedback through rapid releases and product iterations. We believe that our TEAS framework is enhanced through advanced software engineering practices involving multi-skilled teams able to employ both Development and Operations (or “DevOps”) techniques, such as automated testing, continuous integration, continuous delivery and infrastructure automation.
Chronos
Chronos is our proprietary software analysis tool for risk assessment of software systems. It analyzes data from multiple relevant artefacts around development: the code, the version control system, and the issue tracking system. Chronos detects traits and “anti-patterns" of a software system, many of which are not directly visible in the codebase, by innovatively combining data points from these artefacts, including the system’s evolution and the behaviors of the team who developed it. “Anti-patterns” are common practices that initially appear to be appropriate solutions but end up having negative consequences that outweigh any benefits. Chronos supports both quality and productivity improvement by providing deep insights into the evolution of large-scale software systems.
Chronos offers several benefits to our employees as well as our clients. It allows our clients to identify areas in the code that are higher risk or attract more defects than other areas, giving them an integrated, balanced, holistic view of the quality of the codebase and the risks embodied in it. Chronos also helps new team members get up to speed with a new project quickly. It helps managers oversee risks and proactively ensure skills are balanced effectively across scrum teams. It can increase the value and productivity of due diligence and technical reviews by providing information on the technologies and their evolution, on key people involved with the project and on code and process quality issues.
CSAT
Customer Satisfaction Analysis Tool, or CSAT, is our client management tool, which allows us to collect regular client feedback. CSAT relies on surveys, common use testimonials, continuous service improvement monitoring and the collection of social media mentions to gather a robust view of how clients feel about Endava and how we respond to their feedback. CSAT helps us differentiate ourselves in managing customers in a sustainable way.
Our Delivery Model
We believe the development of a scaled global, nearshore delivery model with selective close-to-client capabilities enables us to deliver high-quality technology services to meet our clients’ needs. Nearshore delivery locations with geographic proximity, cultural affinity and complementary time zones enable increased interaction with our clients, enhance relationships and improve responsiveness for more efficient delivery of our services. As a result, we are able to differentiate ourselves on projects that require a high degree of client collaboration and iteration.
We provide services from our nearshore delivery centers, located in five European Union countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), four other Central European countries (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova,
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North Macedonia, and Serbia), four countries in Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay) and in Asia-Pacific (Malaysia). We have close-to-client locations in seven Western European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), two countries in North America (Canada and the United States), two countries in Asia-Pacific (Australia and Singapore) and in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates). As part of our acquisition of Lexicon on October 6, 2022, we acquired additional close-to-client offices in Australia and a new nearshore delivery center in Vietnam. We locate our nearshore delivery centers in countries that not only have abundant IT talent pools, but also offer us an opportunity to be a preferred employer. As of June 30, 2022, we had 11,853 employees (including directors), approximately 51.4% of whom work in nearshore delivery centers in European Union countries.
Our nearshore delivery model was first established in Central Europe in order to efficiently deliver our solutions to European clients. Our primary delivery centers are located in Romania, where we employed approximately 5,051 employees involved with delivery of our services as of June 30, 2022. As of June 30, 2022, we had 1,694 such employees located in Cluj-Napoca, the second largest city in Romania and 1,358 such employees located in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. We believe Romania is an ideal location to source IT delivery talent due to its educational infrastructure, large multi-lingual population, advanced technological infrastructure and flexible labor regulation. As of June 30, 2022, we also had approximately 3,884 IT professionals across our locations in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia, which are countries that we believe offer many of the same benefits as Romania. To serve our North American clients, we had approximately 1,927 employees involved with delivery of our services across our ten Latin American delivery centers as of June 30, 2022, the majority of which are located in Argentina (734 employees) and Colombia (876 employees). We believe that the Latin American region as a whole has an abundant talent pool of individuals skilled in IT.
Employees at our close-to-client locations include our sales teams, as well as account management and other client-facing employees, which helps maintain quality and consistency in collaboration with our nearshore delivery teams.
In addition, we are highly focused on the security of our clients’ data and are certified to ISO 27001 standards.
Our Clients
As of June 30, 2022 we had 732 active clients, which we define as clients who spent money with us over the preceding 12-month period. Our clients are primarily enterprises based in the United Kingdom, European Union and United States. Our clients principally operate in the Payments and Financial Services and TMT verticals. We are also focused on growing our client base in other verticals, such as the consumer products, healthcare, mobility and retail verticals, and on providing services to our clients that span verticals.
During the fiscal years ended June 30, 2022, 2021 and 2020, our 10 largest clients based on revenue accounted for 33.8%, 34.9% and 38.1%, of total revenue, respectively.
We are focused on building deep, long-term relationships with our clients, which often begin with a discrete project and develop into larger engagements. We target clients to whom we believe we can demonstrate our deep understanding of technological trends and our capability to provide end-to-end ideation-to-production services.
Some of our representative clients by vertical include Backbase, Beazley, Pollinate, Rabobank, RSA and Worldpay in Payments and Financial Services; Adobe and BBC in TMT; and Maersk in Other.
Sales and Marketing
Our sales and marketing strategy is focused on driving revenue growth from existing and new clients. We run a single, highly integrated sales and marketing organization that comprises strategy, solutions and offers, marketing, lead generation, sales and account teams. As of June 30, 2022, we had 153 employees on our sales and marketing team located across our offices.
We have developed our Endava Sales Academy to cultivate sales talent internally and create a high-performing sales workforce that is culturally aligned with our values. Our Sales Academy begins with candidates joining lead
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generation teams, where they learn how to identify potential clients and sales techniques. Over the course of approximately three years, candidates progress through this program and can become business development managers.
We announced a strategic partnership with Bain & Company on October 11, 2018. The Bain-Endava partnership brings together deep skills in business and technology strategy, product ideation, technology development and deployment, and organizational change management to help support clients through successful transformations. As an indication of commitment to the partnership, Bain & Company has taken an ownership stake in Endava via our July 2018 initial public offering.
We announced the launch of an Integrated IT Due Diligence Product with Bain & Company in November 2019. With this extended and flexible IT due diligence offering, we address three core areas of current market need: a solid IT and Core technology assessment, a future-back assessment of digital readiness and a robust assessment of the value creation plan through the tech enablers.
We have received various awards, including being:
•recognized once again in the Leader category of the IAOP Global outsourcing 100®, the annual listing of the world’s best outsourcing service providers.
•awarded 3 prizes at the 7th edition of the Romanian Business Services Awards Gala in 2021: Business Services Company of the Year and Employer of the Year (for companies over 800 employees), and the best Wellbeing initiative.
•named Brand of the Year in Romania in 2020 by the Romanian Business Services Forum and Awards.
•the recipient of the ANIS Project of the Year award in 2020, along with Pollinate for cutting-edge, bank-grade digital solution which allows Banks to reimagine acquiring and value-added services for SMEs.
•a 5 Star “World Class” certification by the Service Desk Institute (SDI) in 2019.
•featured in the