What happened? The Telegraph newspaper last night published an article on GPE, stating that a former employee had made claims about the company culture and that the company was hiring a law firm to undertake an investigation. The CEO reportedly informed staff of this update last Friday, with the investigation expected to be completed in a number of weeks and presented to the independent Board of Directors. At the time of writing, the stock is down c.1.5% today. BNPP Exane View: We have reviewed GPE''s whistleblowing policy here in light of the fact that the article (and indeed thus some equity market participants) suggests that the hiring of a law firm to undertake the investigation will be viewed as a sign of seriousness with which the company is taking the allegations. From our reading of the company''s policy, we note that with regards to ''investigation and outcome'' post a matter being raised, the company may ''appoint an investigator'' as part of the process. The article makes no suggestion that the whistleblowing is related to senior management specifically, nor that there are any financial implications of the accusations for GPE. We have also reviewed GPE''s recent sustainability performance tables and note that; 1) There hasn''t been an increase in employee turnover in recent periods (headcount has also increased YoY), 2) In the FY25 annual report, 80.3% (FY24: 74%) of staff stated that the company had a positive and inclusive culture (measured through employee engagement and inclusion index survey scores). GPE also reported that (FY25 AR): . 85% (FY24: 74%) of employees recommended GPE as a great place to work . 91% (FY24: 80%) of colleagues believes in what GPE is trying to achieve Changes YoY included setting and publishing team objectives to clarify roles and responsibilities, improving the HQ physical working environment and improving internal systems to optimise productivity. We personally have also not noted anything concerning...