Message from the Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board is pleased with the result for 2022. The company made a modest profit in a turbulent year in which the company faced COVID and the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy prices and economy. Vebego is a healthy company. Partly because of that, it was able to bear the costs of large internal reorganisations in 2022. In addition, in a very tight labour market, the company managed to distinguish itself favourably in recruitment.
The Supervisory Board is satisfied with the performance and functioning of the Board of Directors. The financial dealings are in place and in order. The Supervisory Board concludes this on the basis of the monthly updates and the quarterly figures it received. Designing our Future, the major 2020 redesign focused on a future with eleven large companies in four countries, is on track. The integration of nine cleaning companies into one large Dutch cleaning company has become effective as of 2023. The newly to be formed large green business in the Netherlands is also in the pipeline, and will work towards full integration and, above all, one image in 2023. A major result in 2022 was the integration of hectas and Servico into one large German cleaning company. This company, that started calling itself Vebego Facility Services as of 2023, will definitively kick off in the first half of 2023. Major steps have been taken in terms of rebranding. The two large new companies in the Netherlands and Germany already bear the name Vebego. The other companies in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany are also working towards one name, one brand.
As a Supervisory Board, we focus on the long-term goals of the company. An important role here is to monitor the strategy. In discussions with the Board of Directors, we tested the strategy for consistency over the past year – Are you doing what you say you’re doing? Do you follow the plan? Is the end goal still in focus? - and on further implementation. We are always well-informed about the progress and about the present implementations. As a Supervisory Board, we emphasised the importance of an investment agenda in 2022, as one of the ways to bring the strategy to life and make it tangible. We also exchanged views with the management on several occasions in a broader sense about how Vebego can further shape the growth strategy. Is it mainly ‘Buy’ or mainly ‘Build’? Are we heading for incremental growth or for faster growth through acquisitions? The further design of a financing policy and an assessment process of companies has been put on the agenda. With the aim that Vebego can act quickly if acquisition opportunities arise.
The Board was informed in 2022 about CSRD, the new EU-imposed Sustainability Reporting Directive. Vebego wants to be at the forefront of this and is fully preparing for it. As a Supervisory Board, it has once again been confirmed to us that Vebego has an eye for the interests of all stakeholders. We also see it in the daily actions: Vebego invests a lot in the craftsmanship and job satisfaction of the employees.
As a Supervisory Board, we give solicited and unsolicited advice. We ask questions and introduce knowledge. As a Supervisory Board, for example, we have also thought along about the merger of hectas and Servico into Vebego Facility Services in Germany, knowing that it always takes effort and time to integrate companies. What is good, what is disappointing? How do we proceed? Also, although it does not formally have this role, the Supervisory Board was closely involved in the two new appointments to the Executive Board in 2022.
The Supervisory Board had four regular meetings in 2022. There were two company visits. The purpose of these visits is to get to know the business and the people at Vebego in more detail. In addition to a visit to Yask (now Vebego Facility Solutions) at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Supervisory Board spent two days in Switzerland at the invitation of Vebego AG. The Supervisory Board visited a large client (Lindt & Sprüngli) among others. There was also a presentation about the innovative iCITY ecosystem in the Basel region and about Great Place To Work; Vebego AG was in the Top 3 best workplaces in Europe in 2022.
As a Supervisory Board, we conducted a self-assessment in the second half of 2022 under the guidance of an external party. In doing so, we looked at the effectiveness of our work and at the mutual cooperation, among other things. Once again, we checked implicit assumptions about tasks and competences and made them explicit to each other. The self-assessment fits with the good governance we pursue and helps us to remain an effective Supervisory Board – a Board where complementary qualities are named and used. There were no changes to the Supervisory Board in 2022.
We hereby present to you the 2022 Annual Report prepared by the Board of Directors. The 2022 financial statements have been audited by Deloitte Accountants B.V. and are accompanied by an unqualified audit statement from an independent auditor. The financial statements have been approved by our Supervisory Board. We can endorse the result appropriation proposal included in the financial statements. We recommend that the General Meeting adopts the 2022 financial statements.
Was signed
Supervisory Board:
Pamela Boumeester, Chairwoman
Willem Cramer
Ton Goedmakers Sr.
Jan van Hoek
Loes van Rijsoort
Voerendaal, 15 May 2023