Modern Slavery Statement

The Burden Group Ltd, incorporating James Burden Ltd, Cavendish Ships Stores Ltd & Marbec Meats Ltd.

20^th June 2025

Summary Statement

This statement is made pursuant to s.54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and sets out the steps that The Burden Group Ltd has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain.

Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. The Burden Group Ltd has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to acting ethically, with integrity and transparency in all business dealings and to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within the business or our supply chain.

Our Business

James Burden Ltd is a poultry, game and red meat wholesaler based on Smithfield market in London and with two Trading Offices, in Kent and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Cavendish Ships Stores Ltd supplies food to passenger vessels in the UK, with the majority of customers being cruise ships. Marbec Meats Ltd supplies fresh, frozen and cooked meat products across London, the Midlands and the South of England.

Our Policies

We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner. These include:

Anti-Slavery policy. This policy sets out the organisation’s stance on modern slavery and explains how employees can identify any instances of this and where they can go for help.
Recruitment policy. We operate a robust recruitment policy, including conducting eligibility to work in the UK checks for all employees to safeguard against human trafficking or individuals being forced to work against their will.
Whistleblowing policy. We operate a whistleblowing policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how colleagues are being treated, or practices within our business or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.
Code of business conduct. This code explains the way we behave as an organisation and how we expect our employees and suppliers to act.

Our Suppliers

James Burden Ltd, Cavendish Ships Stores Ltd and Marbec Meats Ltd operate a supplier policy and maintain a preferred supplier list. We conduct due diligence on all suppliers before allowing them to become a preferred supplier. This due diligence includes an online search to ensure that organisation has never been convicted of offenses relating to modern slavery.

All suppliers are required to confirm that no part of their business operations contradict our anti-slavery policy. In addition, we may cease to trade with a supplier at any time should any instances of modern slavery come to light.

Training

We regularly conduct training for our procurement/buying teams so that they understand the signs of modern slavery and what to do if they suspect that it is taking place within our supply chain.

Our Performance Indicators

We will know the effectiveness of the steps that we are taking to ensure that slavery and/or human trafficking is not taking place within our business or supply chain if no reports are received from employees, the public, or law enforcement agencies to indicate that modern slavery practices have been identified.

Approval for this Statement

This statement was approved by the Board of Directors on 18^th June 2025.

Trevor Hussey
Group Managing Director
The Burden Group Ltd.
June 2025