Materiality Matrix

Focusing on what is most material to us and our stakeholders A materiality assessment is a process in which a company identifies ESG and broader emerging issues that are most important to its business and stakeholders given its operating context. Hg undertook and published its first formal materiality assessment in 2022. In 2023, we re-conducted our materiality assessment, informed by the concept of ‘double materiality,’ to identify ESG topics from both an impact and financial materiality perspective. In 2024, we initiated a process to further align our materiality assessment to the requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD, 2022/2464/EU). For the purpose of this sustainability report, we are using the same materiality assessment as conducted in early 2023. We aim to report on our updated materiality assessment, in line with CSRD, once available next year.

Our materiality assessment is founded on an extensive review of primary and secondary information to identify the key ESG issues to Hg, our key stakeholders and the companies in which we invest. To develop the matrix, Hg’s ESG team:

• Engaged key stakeholders across the organisation, our portfolio and externally through interviews and surveys.
• Conducted a comprehensive peer review against private equity peers and big technology players.
• Leveraged an AI-based external media scanning tool, to embed the broader view of the media into the external stakeholder analysis.
• Completed a desk-based regulatory review of key ESG regulations to identify topics on the regulatory horizon.

This rigorous process enables us to focus on the ESG topics that pose the highest risk, while offering the greatest opportunities to Hg. In addition to good governance, which is covered separately (see previous page), Hg identified six ESG related topics that are most material to our business and key stakeholders. Each topic is covered in a deep-dive section in the rest of this report.